Pathum Thani –
A retired soldier who was arrested for reportedly shooting dead a Covid-19 patient in Pathum Thani and a convenience store employee in Bangkok yesterday, June 24th, has allegedly confessed to killing the two due to resentment issues.
The 23-year-old alleged shooter, named by law enforcement as Kawin Saengnilkul, intruded upon a field hospital at the National Institute on Drug Abuse Treatment in the Thanyaburi District, Pathum Thani, in the early hours of yesterday morning, June 24th, and killed a male Covid-19 patient before fleeing to his relative’s house in the Ranong province.
You can read the whole story we have covered yesterday below:
He surrendered to the police after a several-hour standoff with them who surrounded his relative’s home before he was taken to a local police station for legal proceedings.
According to his confession, he first shot and killed a convenience store employee, Rathawit Santikuptapong, 32, at a 7-11 on Wednesday night/Thursday morning after reportedly breaking a bottle of beer in the shop by accident and being asked to pay for the damages. He refused to pay and asked them to “get over it and it was an accident” but the employee insisted on the money, about 60 baht. The ex-conscript then reportedly shot the clerk 5-6 times, according to his statement, before fleeing the scene to the drug rehabilitation hospital in the Thanyaburi district.
He intentionally selected the place as it was a treatment center for drug addicts, which he claimed that he had been physically abused by a drug user while being trained in the military and was resentful since.
As he was entering the field hospital allegedly wearing camouflage and a red beret, a Covid-19 positive patient, Suksant Sewaphan, 54, was spotted walking out of a first-floor restroom. Kawin then asked him whether he was on drugs. However, before he could get an answer, he suddenly used his firearm and shot dead the patient before fleeing to his home in Ranong, where he was eventually caught. Both the Covid-19 patient and the convenience store clerk were complete strangers to Kawin.
During the investigation, the father of Kawin, who wasn’t named, was questioned for further details. He said that his son had two grievances when he was a conscripted soldier between 2017 and 2019. He claimed to have been physically abused by his teacher who was also reportedly addicted to drugs when he was studying English, causing long and suppressed resentment since.
Meanwhile, the Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Army revealed that during the initial investigation of the alleged gunman’s statement that there was reportedly no physical abuse at the training.
“The reports and details of his instructor, who had been accused of abusive behavior, his colleagues, and his seniors were collected for further investigation. However, as the incident reportedly occurred 2 years ago, most of the seniors and colleagues have already been discharged. However, the instructor insisted that there was no physical harm during the training,” he stated.
However, a further investigation will be conducted regarding the physical abuse at the training, including the training procedures and details at the Assault Battalion Basic Adjustment Training and whether it was overdone, physically and mentally.
Kawin will, meanwhile, face at least six charges, including first-degree murder, relating to the shooting and remains in police custody after performing re-enactments of the crimes earlier today.
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