Police headquarters commander shot dead 'by wife'

published : 19 Feb 2023 at 19:58

The body of Pol Lt Gen Panya Pinsuk, 59, was found outside his house in Thawi Watthana district, Bangkok, on Sunday afternoon. (Police photo)

Pol Lt Gen Panya Pinsuk, 59, commander of the Royal Thai Police Office, was found shot dead at his home on Sunday afternoon and the Bangkok police chief said his wife killed him out of stress.

The death was reported to local police at 1.45pm. The incident happened at house number 278 on Boromratchonnanee Road in Thawi Watthana district.

Police found the body lying beside a silver Toyota sedan parked in front of the house, dressed only in blue trousers. There were bullet wounds to the right side of the chest and at a collar bone.

In one of the rooms in the house, police found a .38 revolver on a cupboard and a Glock pistol on the floor near a pool of blood.

Police learned that before his death, Pol Lt Gen Panya was with his wife inside the house, and she was the one who first saw the body.

Pol Lt Gen Thiti Saengsawang, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, was at the scene. He was a police cadet classmate of the dead commander.

The Bangkok police chief said the incident arose from tension concerning a family matter, resulting in the wife shooting her husband. Police brought her out of the house in a state of shock. There was no a trace of a struggle in the house.

Pol Lt Gen Panya handled many well-known cases, including those involving human trafficking, as well as the black leopard hunting case involving construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta. He was also recognised as a legal expert of the Royal Thai Police Office.