A village headman shot and killed a thief who allegedly stole his chickens at around 6am this morning in Songkhla province, southern Thailand. The shooter said the man was threatening him with a machete so he shot him three times in the chest out of self-defence. Police are speaking with eyewitnesses to determine what happened.
When police arrived at the scene, 36 year old Nappakao (surname withheld) was lying dead on the ground next to a cowshed. The shooter, Wirot (surname withheld) was standing at the scene holding a 9mm pistol. A machete was found lying next to Nappakao’s body.
Wirot said his relatives called him early this morning to tell him that a thief was stealing his chickens. Wirot said that when he went outside, the thief raised a machete up at him, so Wirot fired a shot at him. Wirot said that after the first shot, Nappakao was still holding up the machete, so he fired two more shots at his chest, causing Nappakao to fall dead to the ground.
The deceased’s ex-wife – who has two children with Nappakao – said that since the pair split two years ago, he has had a history of petty theft and drug use.
Police confiscated the weapons and took Wirot to Bang Klam Police Station for questioning. Police said they will speak to eyewitnesses to assess whether the murder was really an act of self-defence or not and undertake legal proceedings accordingly.
SOURCE: KhaoSod