NACC executive admits pulling gun on Bangkok cabbie

By NATTHAPAT PHROMKAEW, 
KHANATHIT SRIHIRUNDAJ 
THE NATION

 

 

THE NATIONAL Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has given a fact-finding committee 15 days to determine why its assistant secretary-general Piset Nakhaphan pulled a gun on a taxi driver at the Chaeng Watthana Government Complex in north Bangkok.

 

Images captured by the taxi’s dashboard camera, which was widely circulated online, shows a man resembling Piset draw a pistol and point it at the taxi driver. 

 

As security guards gather, a woman appears and speaks to both the driver and the man with the gun, urging the latter to return to his car.

The taxi later leaves the scene. 

 

NACC secretary-general Worawit Sookboon confirmed that the gun-wielding man was Piset, but insisted this was a personal matter and had nothing to do with his official position or duties.

 

Worawit’s deputy, Natcha Kerdsri, will lead the fact-finding committee assigned to investigate the incident. 

 

According to an NACC source, Piset’s explanation in a letter to Worawit said the incident took place at around 3pm on October 10. He said he was heading to the complex to do an errand. 

 

He said the taxi that was in front of his car and stopped suddenly after turning towards the Government Complex. He waited for a while and then honked as a warning once before passing the taxi from the left. The taxi driver was upset, honked back, flashed his headlights several times and tailed Piset’s car. 

 

Piset said he stopped to confront the taxi driver and pulled out his gun for self-protection, but had no intention of firing it. When the taxi driver saw the gun, he waved to show he had no problem and turned the taxi around. So Piset got on with his errand, the executive wrote in his letter.

 

 

Meanwhile, Thung Song Hong superintendent Pol Colonel Parinya Leung-uthai said the incident falls under the category of a potentially non-compoundable criminal offence, so police can immediately proceed with investigation and prosecution without waiting for the taxi driver to file a complaint. 

 

Piset has acknowledged the charges of carrying a firearm in public without a sound reason, and threatening another person with a gun. He has also not provided official testimony when he went to meet police on Tuesday after the clip went viral, Parinya said. Police will search Piset’s house in Pathum Thani’s Thanyaburi district to see if the pistol is registered or just a toy. Piset has given permission for police to search his house without a warrant. 

 

Police will also check CCTV camera footage at the scene to check on the driving behaviour of both parties and see if the confrontation was warranted, he said. Police have also contacted Facebook user “Anchalee” who first posted the clip for more information, but has not had a reply yet, he said.

 

In the afternoon, Kittidom Sirisuk, one of the two traffic-directing volunteers who witnessed the event, said he did not notice if the vehicles were cutting in front of one another or not as he and a co-worker were both on a break at the time.

 

The other volunteer Prasong Thitipanit said all they could see from a distance was that two cars had stopped – as if in a minor road accident – and that Piset had got out with a gun. During the one-minute confrontation, the taxi driver, who appeared to be in his 40s, stayed in his vehicle (which had no passenger). Both parties then went their separate ways, Prasong said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30356640

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-10-18

 

 

 

23 minutes ago, webfact said:

Police have also contacted Facebook user “Anchalee” who first posted the clip for more information, but has not had a reply yet, he said.

If past experiences are an indication then there is no wonder the user is not replying. Probably fled the country already in fear.

 

Well, he will certainly go to jail for this. 

 

A member of the NACC executive will definitely, 100% for sure, absolutely, have the proverbial book thrown at him!!!

 

 

 

Sorry! Sometimes I write the most ridiculous things...

 

 

(sarcasm alert)

1 hour ago, webfact said:

NACC secretary-general Worawit Sookboon confirmed that the gun-wielding man was Piset, but insisted this was a personal matter and had nothing to do with his official position or duties.

Feeling safer already.

Nice driving too as he flew past the taxi up the inside lane.

Edited October 17, 20187 yr by gunderhill

2 hours ago, webfact said:

but insisted this was a personal matter and had nothing to do with his official position or duties. 

Those who are given the publics trust must act accordingly when in public.  Their actions in public reflect how they server the public.  The man child needs to locked up.  

Edited October 18, 20187 yr by yellowboat

Jail them both for a while.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

 

 

NACC secretary-general Worawit Sookboon confirmed that the gun-wielding man was Piset, but insisted this was a personal matter and had nothing to do with his official position or duties.

Somehow this comment from the NACC secretary-general is for me anyway one of the most depressing and symptomatic aspects of the whole sordid story.

A wai and grap should teach him not to do it again

Let me guess the outcome:

It didn't happen and it was all a misunderstanding anyway. The Facebook poster is arrested and the public ordered to stop talking about it. Then on to the next scandal.

Where else would you see a headline like that ?

The distancing from this serious event has only just started. "It was personal", " we didn't see it we were on break". And the suspects work mate at the NACC will lead the "fact hiding finding committee" to investigate the event. Given the speed at which this same institute has investigated the watch scandal, expect no great hurry.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

but insisted this was a personal matter and had nothing to do with his official position or duties.

he missed the point by a very wide margin; anti-crime official publicly breaking the law for seemingly little-to-no-good-reason, but all of us should just mai-pen-rai it

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Police will also check CCTV camera footage at the scene to check on the driving behaviour of both parties and see if the confrontation was warranted

What a joke. How can any confrontation with a gun be warranted?????

"Meanwhile, Thung Song Hong superintendent Pol Colonel Parinya Leung-uthai said the incident falls under the category of a potentially non-compoundable criminal offence, so police can immediately proceed with investigation and prosecution without waiting for the taxi driver to file a complaint."

 

Crikey, how many heinous crimes have been committed by officials and HiSo's that apparently don't fit this category? 

"but insisted this was a personal matter and had nothing to do with his official position or duties."

 

I'd be more comfortable if he was shown pulling a gun on the corrupt as part of his duties, although that wouldn't pay very well.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Piset said he stopped to confront the taxi driver and pulled out his gun for self-protection, but had no intention of firing it.

Just for self-protection i will pull a gun next week when i come withdraw some money from my bank account, after which i go to the police station to make a complaint about noise in my neighborhood, also with a pulled gun for self-protection. Lets see how that goes...

 

What an absolute idiot excuse, this guy is not fit for having responsibilities in life and needs to be locked up for some time.

He's connected - case dropped.  Thai Justice.

It's not very smart to point a fake gun at someone (if it was indeed fake). We've all seen that many real guns are on the street. 

"Piset said he stopped to confront the taxi driver and pulled out his gun for self-protection, but had no intention of firing it."

 

Self protection ??  against what ? He was the aggressor, he caused the vehicles to stop, he got out of the car and postured as if to fire !!!

The other guy hadnt moved !! and remained in his vehicle so where is the need for self protection ? He created that situation.

 

No, a bully with rank and a gun got caught.

Well he admitted the crime so then where is the arrest?

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Police have also contacted Facebook user “Anchalee” who first posted the clip for more information, but has not had a reply yet, he said.

Only want to contact "Anchalee" to prosecute them for spreading "alarm" (hurts tourism) or any other concocted offence! ????

 

Sounds like "shoot the messenger" is probably still alive and well in the Kingdom. 

I can understand that people worrie about insane taxi drivers, but this was a little over the line.....

Could hardly deny and why would he do that? A short wai and probably 500 Baht.

Who cares? Next time a bigger car for Boforts and some AKGs

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Police will also check CCTV camera footage at the scene to check on the driving behaviour of both parties and see if the confrontation was warranted

Ah, in such a ‘piously Buddhist’ country where the mantra very much seems to be ‘mai pen rai’ and ‘jai yen’, it’s seems threatening others with a deadly weapon for tailgating can be ‘warranted’. 

 

Raise your voice at someone for being rude or inconsiderate - no, no, no, you heathen! 

 

Pull a deadly weapon on someone for making you lose face - well, what did the other person do to make them lose face? Let’s not judge this spiritual and peace-loving gun-toter til we know why. 

Edited October 18, 20187 yr by rkidlad

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Piset said he stopped to confront the taxi driver and pulled out his gun for self-protection

Maybe I'm pissed already (it's 8:20 am), but I don't see any threatening behaviour from the clip shown.

Do you know who I am?  No, well meet my friend, , Smith and Weston, or

Mr Colt, Ruger. So now do you know who I am. Yes I am the man with a gun.

  Next move punk. That is how this Hi So government man was really thinking.

Geezer

 

9 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Next move punk.

"Make my day".............someone once said.  

50 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

Just for self-protection i will pull a gun next week when i come withdraw some money from my bank account, after which i go to the police station to make a complaint about noise in my neighborhood, also with a pulled gun for self-protection. Lets see how that goes...

 

What an absolute idiot excuse, this guy is not fit for having responsibilities in life and needs to be locked up for some time.

He is exactly like the cast majority of people here. That is what is scary. They all share the same cultural rendering which teaches that status is above law and ethics. 

" He said he was heading to the complex to do an errand. " That's all, case closed.

1 hour ago, jayboy said:

Somehow this comment from the NACC secretary-general is for me anyway one of the most depressing and symptomatic aspects of the whole sordid story.

Just as taking money from someone under investigation by the NACC to drop or fudge the case is, presumably, also a personal matter as the money would not be used for official purposes?

LMAO.  These clowns could not get any more ridiculous.