CHIANG RAI: An assistant village chief has been arrested and charged for allegedly killing a driver who failed to stop at a checkpoint set up by local officials.
Pol Maj Krittinan Wiengkham, an officer on duty at the Mae Suai police station, said Wutthichai Injai was arrested and charged on Thursday following an approved arrest warrant from the Chiang Rai Court.
The assistant village headman of Ban Pa Hieng in the district faces charges of killing Sornchai Sathitrakdamrong, 35, after questioning him and about 10 other people at the checkpoint throughout Wednesday night.
Sornchai was shot on Tuesday night when he did not stop at a makeshift checkpoint at Ban Mae Tam, while driving his girlfriend, Sirirat Yaepieng, to Chiang Mai. Sornchai later lost control of the car and slammed it into an electricity pole in front of Wat Ban Mae Tam.
The case has caught public attention since the clip of the incident from the camera installed in Sornchai's car was posted in social media. It shows a dark area with dim flashlights and some hands gesturing the driver to stop.
Netizens lambasted the shooter for overreacting as he targeted the driver instead of shooting at the vehicle to slow it down.
Police later found that the checkpoint was set up by the community for the safety of villagers.
Local residents rally outside the Mae Suai police station on Thursday to see Wutthichai Injai after he was charged with shooting to death Sornchai Sathitrakdamrong.
Ms Sirirat and some local residents assembled in front of the police station on Wednesday and Thursday to demand the police find the culprit quickly. In a protest outside the station on Thursday, they asked to see the suspect but later dispersed after they were told he was sent to the court in Muang district for detention.
Deputy Chiang Rai police chief Pol Col Veerayuth Prasopchokchai said the suspect denied the charges, although he admitted to firing into the sky three shots from a 9mm pistol at the time.
Pol Col Veerayuth said the suspected handgun and Mr Wutthichai's clothes had been sent for forensic tests.
Forensic police on Wednesday inspect the car of Sornchai Sathitrakdamrong damaged by gunshots after passing a makeshift checkpoint in Mae Suai district, Chiang Rai. (Photo by Chinnapat Chaimon)