A 27-year-old man is in custody after shooting another man to death inside a Bangkok police station during negotiations over an earlier traffic accident that led to an assault.
A lawyer representing the victim was also injured in the incident that took place on Friday at the Lak Song police station in Bang Kae district.
Lak Song police took Peerasin Kulchutisin to the Thon Buri Criminal Court on Saturday morning and applied for permission to detain him on charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder and carrying a firearm in public without permission. The court denied bail due to the severity of his crimes and the likelihood he could flee, according to police.
Komsan Intharit, 32, was shot dead with a 9mm pistol and lawyer Anusorn Wichathorn, 33, was injured during a negotiation stemming from a minor traffic collision between the two sides on Sept 27. The incident on Phetkasem Road had also led to a physical altercation.
Pol Col Theerachai Dedkad, deputy commissioner of Metropolitan Police Region 9, said the suspect confessed to the crimes, claiming he was under significant stress as Komsan had assaulted him using brass knuckles following the traffic mishap.
According to an earlier report in Matichon, the original incident occurred as Peerasin was driving a pickup truck carrying chilis when Komsan, who was driving a Honda sedan with a male friend, threw a bottle into the pickup. Peerasin lowered his window to ask why they had done that and then held up his mobile phone to make a video. A second bottle struck the phone.
Mr Peerasin tried to flee but Komsan and his friend got out of their car and assaulted him with brass knuckles, punching him in the face several times. He suffered a broken nose and three broken teeth, Matichon reported.
The shooter reportedly said on Friday that he was driven to carry out the crime after Komsan rejected his request for 9 million baht in damages and offered only a seemingly insincere apology.
According to an eyewitness account from the scene, Mr Peerasin gave a wai to the investigating officer and said “I apologise” before pulling a gun and firing eight shots at Komsan.
Answering questions about how a civilian managed to carry a gun into the station, Pol Col Theerachai explained that both parties had arrived with their lawyers and families and showed no signs of violence, giving no cause for a strict search.
Discussions have been initiated as to more stringent safety measures, he added.