SING BURI - Two men who were sent home by police from a nightclub which had stayed open after hours are charged with returning armed with shotguns and attacking them, seriously wounding all seven members of the police squad.
Local police believed the attack was in retaliation for their ongoing policy of strict inspections of entertainment venues, which has upset nightclubbers.
The seven-strong police squad were conducting a search of a nightclub parking lot early Sunday morning when the attack occurred, according to a report in Daily News.
Two men rode in on a motorbike and opened fire at them with shotguns, a witness told investigators.
All seven policemen were seriously wounded and were rushed to hospital. They are Pol Capt Sommai Sukong, Pol Sen Sgt Maj Yordsuk Wannapapa, Pol Sen Sgt Maj Suwit Naksumarit, Pol Sen Sgt Maj Daoruang Ponglai, Pol Sgt Maj Somdul Nakpanich, Pol Sgt Maj Krisada Larnsuntud, and Pol Sgt Maj Tewin Malimai.
Suriyo Supprasert, 30, and Kaemarin Sukpengdee, 32 were arrested later that day, but both men denied charges of attempted murder and carrying a gun in public without a permit.
However, the policemen who were shot said they remembered the shooters, because the two were not wearing helmets at the time and their features were visible.
They had sent the same two men home earlier that morning when they closed a nightclub that had stayed open after the legal trading hours.