BANGLAMUNG, Thailand: A senior local police officer has been charged with intentional murder after fatally shooting his wife at a kindergarten, officials said Thursday.
Police Sub-Lieutenant Thattapong Thongthat, 55, known as “Muad O,” deputy inspector of the inquiry division at Banglamung Police Station in Chonburi province, surrendered early Thursday after a standoff of nearly 20 hours. He is accused of shooting his wife, Pailin Thongthat, 48, a kindergarten teacher known as “Khru Peul,” at a municipal kindergarten in Nong Pla Lai, Bang Lamung. She died at the school.
After the shooting, Thattapong returned to his home and barricaded himself inside. Officers and the couple’s son, who is also a police officer, negotiated with him overnight. He came out and surrendered on Thursday morning.
At 2 p.m. on September 10th, 2026, officers questioned him for about six hours on the third floor of Banglamung Police Station. Relatives, including his son, were present. After the interview, police charged him with intentional murder and two firearms offenses: carrying a gun in a city, village or public place without permission, and firing a gun without cause in a populated area.
He was then taken downstairs to be fingerprinted. Witnesses said he appeared tense, kept his head down and had a towel over his head. Police later transferred him to Pattaya Provincial Court for an initial detention request.
Police said they will also appoint a committee to investigate him for serious disciplinary violations, which could lead to his dismissal from the force.
When The Pattaya News reporters asked if he wanted to say anything as he was led to a vehicle at about 3:15 p.m., he did not answer.
Pol. Col. Sarawut Nuchanart, superintendent of Banglamung Police Station, said the operation ended without further injury. Investigators believe jealousy was the motive but declined to give further details, calling it a family matter. He said Thattapong had no record of violence toward colleagues and that supervisors would pay closer attention to officers’ personal and family problems.
Separately, at 1:30 p.m., rescue workers from the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation in Pattaya, acting on police instructions, took Pailin’s body to the Police General Hospital’s Institute of Forensic Medicine for a full autopsy, including a ballistics examination. Relatives have not yet decided which temple will hold funeral rites.
