Police shooter in NE massacre was addicted to drugs since high school - got drugs from another ex-cop

[webfact]

Picture: INN

 

INN reported on the history of Pol Sgt Panya Khamrab who yesterday killed 38 people including himself in the NE of Thailand. 

 

He was a drug addict since high school, boasted of having 100 yaba pills, threatened people with guns and refused to do his job. 

 

He repeatedly annoyed colleagues and the public with belligerent behavior including shooting while drunk and shooting a dog dead.

 

He said he got yaba from an ex-cop who had also been sacked from the RTP. 

 

The media said that Panya became a policeman inn Yannawa, Bangkok, in November 2012 and in June 2019 moved to Na Wang police station in the area of yesterday's shooting and stabbing rampage.

 

When assigned to Na Wang his partner did not come with him. He became thin from repeated drug use.

 

He had a quick temper and was avoided by colleagues. He did not follow the orders of his station chief.

 

In one incident he was ordered to go and protect a branch of the Ormsin Bank but he fell asleep in his vehicle outside the bank instead.

 

When asked by the manager to move because there was an ATM cash delivery he refused and went for his gun to threaten the manager.

 

The manager reported this to his station chief.

 

He then formed a relationship with a karaoke girl called Ying. The bar was closed due to the pandemic.

 

Ying was the girlfriend of a drug suspect who was jailed in Bua Lamphu prison.

 

Panya frequently had loud drinking parties at his police accommodation that annoyed colleagues and the public alike.

 

He would discharge his weapon when drunk and once shot a dog owned by a member of the public. 

 

The police managed to keep this quiet so that Panya was not prosecuted.

 

In July 2021 he was found to be drunk at the police station and was the subject of action by the station chief for foul language and assault of colleagues. 

 

The current Na Wang chief Pol Col Suwatchai Malithong said that Panya had admitted to drugs use since he was in high school. He had promised to quit and his gun was taken from him.

 

But despite attempts to get him into a police rehab program he continued with drug taking.

 

When Nong Bua Lamphu police got involved in January of this year he reportedly said "I've taken yaba for ages - no one cared when I had 100 pills".

 

He said he got the drugs from a former cop who had been sacked from the force.

 

After this things improved but then yesterday's incident occurred. 

 

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[ThailandRyan]

Sad that this was not handled properly many years ago.

[Mr Meeseeks]

RTP must shoulder some responsibility due to their inability to properly deal with this animal. 

[Photoguy21]

If someone wants to join the police why is their history related to drugs, violence etc not checked and why are they not psychologically tested to ensure they are not going to totally flip like this guy did. Because of the "take anyone who wants to join" (apparently) attitude many innocent lives have been taken.

 

[khunpa]

36 minutes ago, webfact said:

The police managed to keep this quiet so that Panya was not prosecuted.

And that’s exactly the problem!!!!!

[2baht]

21 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

"take anyone who wants to join"

No, take anyone that can pay!

[Photoguy21]

Just now, 2baht said:

No, take anyone that can pay!

I cant disagree with that, you are 100% correct.

[bamnutsak]

Interesting to watch, for example, Doctor's groups rail on about the horrors of cannabis, while this country rots away from the methamphetamine plague.

 

 

[keithkarmann]

Maybe the powers that be will change their recruiting methods now and do proper checks on applicants to all government positions and not rely on who can pay the most.

[phetphet]

59 minutes ago, khunpa said:

And that’s exactly the problem!!!!!

So many red flag warnings in that article, but this one, takes the  biscuit:

 

The police managed to keep this quiet so that Panya was not prosecuted.

[Aussieroaming]

RIP to those dead, except for the scumbag who killed everyone. I truly do hope that there is a place called hell for Fkers like him.

[peter zwart]

the only good thing about this tragedy is that this Sj!thead is gone.

[rbkk]

How many others are in the ranks of the uniformed and weaponed?

[IamNoone88]

Cops robbing gold shops, cop suffocating suspect during torture/interrogation, drunken cop shoots and cripples noodle vendor in Patong, cops involved in drug deals ... the list is endless. Spot the common theme.

[redwhiteandblue]

He's a product of the Thai "mai pen rai" attitude and avoidance of conflict. This is a scurge of Thai society.  Don't want to deal with problems as they arise.

[khunpeer]

2 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

If someone wants to join the police why is their history related to drugs, violence etc not checked and why are they not psychologically tested to ensure they are not going to totally flip like this guy did. Because of the "take anyone who wants to join" (apparently) attitude many innocent lives have been taken.

 

"psychologically" I don't even know if that word excists in thai language... I would say: first and above all: frequent bloodtests for all, that means everyone!

[Snig27]

20 minutes ago, IamNoone88 said:

Cops robbing gold shops, cop suffocating suspect during torture/interrogation, drunken cop shoots and cripples noodle vendor in Patong, cops involved in drug deals ... the list is endless. Spot the common theme.

And those are only the ones that make the media. But the blame flows all the way to the top and back. Zero attempt has been made to address police corruption by successive govts. The current nitwit said it was something he was going to urgently take on within days of him not becoming PM in 2014. Eight years on they are worse than ever, in part because he likes to keep them tame so he can stomp on dissent. It's not just the cops who are to blame, the poison is also above.

[off road pat]

2 hours ago, khunpa said:

And that’s exactly the problem!!!!!

You beat me to it, wanted to day the same thing,...

[spidermike007]

Not that we would expect any more out of the RTP, but it is a bit surprising that nothing in the way of a background check is done, before someone is hired. I guess since they are expected to work the franchise, rather than practice law enforcement, this should not be shocking. 

 

What is incredible, is that this guy could get away with such atrocious behavior, over a period of so many years. And even though he was a constant annoyance to the other cops, and even though he was obviously a very poor performer, he was kept on. It is as if they have no standards, and one has to really go out on the limb to get fired. Many of us have long considered the RTP to be a very toxic force within Thailand. Is this even more confirmation of that?

[ThaiFelix]

29 minutes ago, rbkk said:

How many others are in the ranks of the uniformed and weaponed?

Exactly!  There is barely a day goes by that we dont hear of some madman who robs, beats, shoots or kills somebody and it turns out to be a cop or ex cop.  Its almost like a person must meet some psycho criterea before he/she can join the police force.

[Pattaya Spotter]

Thailand (and the rest of the world) could learn from Singapore...treatment for addicts...death for traffickers!

[Photoguy21]

10 minutes ago, khunpeer said:

"psychologically" I don't even know if that word excists in thai language... I would say: first and above all: frequent bloodtests for all, that means everyone!

Random blood tests like we have in the Oil & Gas industry

[zyphodb]

2 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

If someone wants to join the police why is their history related to drugs, violence etc not checked and why are they not psychologically tested to ensure they are not going to totally flip like this guy did. Because of the "take anyone who wants to join" (apparently) attitude many innocent lives have been taken.

 

I think it's more likely to be, take anyone who can afford the bribe to join...

[Expat68]

1 hour ago, 2baht said:

No, take anyone that can pay!

I live in neighbouring province, I have heard this story many times, the student goes to college, once leaving college with his/her certificate (????) applies for a job at a hospital/government establishment, then the parents of the student(s) pays money under the table to secure the job.

[zyphodb]

40 minutes ago, rbkk said:

How many others are in the ranks of the uniformed and weaponed?

Given the lack of checking more than brown envelopes, quite a few I should imagine...

 

[4MyEgo]

So he bought himself into the force through drugs, because there is no way in h-ll he would have passed the test, but then again...LOL

[4MyEgo]

12 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Is this even more confirmation of that?

Absolutely, hopefully the nail in the coffin, but doubt it as a life is worth nothing here, no doubt we will see some heads roll, and the rest will be swept under the carpet so to speak.

 

[Photoguy21]

10 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

I think it's more likely to be, take anyone who can afford the bribe to join...

True but it isnt anyway to run a "police force"

[Tarteso]

He was a piece of trash. Burn in the hell.

[robsamui]

15 minutes ago, Expat68 said:

I live in neighbouring province, I have heard this story many times, the student goes to college, once leaving college with his/her certificate (????) applies for a job at a hospital/government establishment, then the parents of the student(s) pays money under the table to secure the job.

It's not a "story", it is the established process in Thailand. It doesn't matter whether you are a bank manager or clerk, government employee or policeman - you have to buy your way into the job. And the greater the job-opportunities for bribery, extortion, or other corruptions, the higher the cost to get in.