BANGKOK - A Thai senator accidentally shot his cousin dead as he tried to put away the 9mm sub-machine gun that he had placed on the table during a family meal, police said on Monday.
Boonsong Kowawisarat fatally injured Chanakarn Detkard, 46, when he mistakenly fired the Uzi in a private dining area of the Garden Resort, in Phrae province, northern Thailand, on Sunday evening.
Chanakarn, who worked as a secretary to the senator, suffered a bullet wound to the stomach and died on the way to hospital, according to local police, who said about five family members were at the hotel dinner.
Police said 56-year-old Boonsong, who is a lawyer and the Senator for Mae Hong Son province in the north of Thailand, will be charged with causing death by negligence. He faces a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and a B20,000 baht fine.
“From our initial inquiry, the secretary’s family will not sue because they were relatives and it was an accident – he didn’t mean to do it,” a local police officer said.
Just why the senator felt it necessary to come to the dinner table armed with a submachine gun is not yet clear.
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