Yet more embarrassment for RTP as gun stealing/ gambling cop nabbed trying to flee Thailand

[webfact]

Picture: Thai Rath

 

It is yet another case that will fall into the lap of under pressure and new commander of the Thai police Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittipraphat.

 

Just three weeks into his new job Damrongsak is still dealing with the fallout from a recently sacked cop involved with drugs who massacred children in the NE.

 

Then followed a badly bungled sting that resulted in police being robbed of their state property in the south.

 

Now comes news that a Nonthaburi police senior sergeant has stolen a staggering 100+ guns from the Pak Kret station where he was based. 

 

He subsequently fled.

 

He pawned the weapons that he stole a few at a time and used the money to fuel an online football gambling habit.

 

Earlier a warrant had been issued by the Nonthaburi court for the arrest of Chaowalit Phumkhajorn on a charge of theft from state property.

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

Provincial commander of Nong Khai Pol Maj-Gen Pornchai Cholladech plus immigration discovered that Sgt Chaowalit had arrived in Nong Khai  (a north eastern province that borders Laos).

 

They found him staying alone at a resort in Ban Nong Dert, Muang Mee sub-district of Muang district. 

 

A search of his room found nothing illegal and no guns. There were just a bag and clothes. He was taken to provincial police HQ for questioning.

 

Thai Rath's sources suggested that preliminary questioning of the suspect had revealed that he had been in Nong Khai for four days.

 

He was trying to get a passport.

 

While he was waiting for the passport he rented a motorcycle to get around. 

 

He received his passport that day (yesterday).

 

The suspect said that he stole the weapons over time taking one or two each time. He gambled on the internet on football.

 

The media did not follow up as yet on how such a large number of weapons could go missing from a single police station before action was taken, notes ASEAN NOW.

 

A question that Damrongsak may have to face as a mounting list of headaches build up in his first month at the helm of the RTP. 

 

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[Iamfalang]

7 minutes ago, webfact said:

The media did not follow up as yet on how such a large number of weapons could go missing from a single police station before action was taken

no comment

[Liverpool Lou]

On 10/21/2022 at 10:36 AM, webfact said:

The media did not follow up as yet on how such a large number of weapons could go missing from a single police station before action was taken, notes ASEAN NOW.

The guns did not all disappear in one go.

The media didn't have to follow up on that as it was widely reported in the media yesterday, including the English-language Bangkok Post, that he was tasked with disbursing materials at the station, including guns, and that he had created forged documents showing that the guns had been disbursed to officers over a two-year period.

[Liverpool Lou]

15 minutes ago, Iamfalang said:

22 minutes ago, webfact said:

The media did not follow up as yet on how such a large number of weapons could go missing from a single police station before action was taken

no comment

No need for comment, the Bangkok Post explained it all when the incident was first reported earlier this week.

[webfact]

UPDATE:

 

Gun stealing cop flown back to Bangkok to face Big Joke and big inquiry - he was in charge of the armory

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

The Nonthaburi sergeant who has admitted to stealing more than 100 police guns was flown back to Bangkok yesterday to the police airport in Ram Intra.

 

After this he was taken away for interrogation by a team of senior RTP bigwigs headed by Pol Gen Surachate "Big Joke" Hakpan.

 

The suspect has admitted to using money from the guns that he sold to associates, shops, pawn shops or other gamblers to fuel his own gambling addiction.

 

Chaowalit Phumkhajorn was in charge of the armory at Pak Kret police station, it has been revealed.

 

He claimed that he only started stealing from April. He pawned or sold Glock, Sig Sauer and Colt Carbines guns getting 20,000 baht each per weapon, reported Thai Rath. 

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

The police think he has been stealing much longer and have already identified nine places where he offloaded weaponry that he should have been guarding. 

 

The embarrassing case for the RTP comes as they carry out gun crackdowns nationwide in the wake of the NE nursery massacre. 

 

It was further revealed that the suspect was arrested after applying for an emergency travel document and had an accomplice over the border in Laos, a foreign woman.

 

He was about to go to Vientiane when he was arrested at a resort.

 

Police are now appealing for people who may have their guns to come forward.

 

Some 27 have so far been recovered. 

 

Surachate said that he is forming a special task force to look into the whole case. 

 

-- © Copyright  ASEAN NOW 2022-10-21

 

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[ThailandRyan]

Maybe he was the station armorer and kept the numbers fudged.  Then someone either found an individual with a police gun who should not have had it or an arrest was made in another case where a police gun was located at the scene.  One wonders if a monthly audit is ever done here on evidence or equipment like we do in the west.

 

I see I was correct to him being the armorer.....

[ikke1959]

I big need to reform the RTP as show many times what a mess it is in this organization

[Orinoco]

Only surprise,  is he got caught !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

 

[Gottfrid]

21 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

Only surprise,  is he got caught !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

 

One more surprise! only 100, when he could have been going for thousand. Not greedy enough!

[phetphet]

I tell you. All these transfers and moves to inactive posts that are coming up. It's starting to look like musical chairs.

[billd766]

56 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

I big need to reform the RTP as show many times what a mess it is in this organization

Wasn't that one reason for the coup in 2014?

[herfiehandbag]

Surely it is a fundamental principle that weapons in an arm's kote are at the very least counted daily by a senior person, with the armour present. If let us say 100 weapons belong to that armoury, then 100 should be present, or properly signed out. At regular intervals 100% checks of weapons by registered numbers are carried out. Any weapons signed out and held by individuals are also produced by the holders, checked by registered numbers and inspected.

 

Sergeant Somchai says he knows where all the gats are is not an adequate check!

[brianthainess]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Police are now appealing for people who may have their guns to come forward.

[ezzra]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

has stolen a staggering 100+ guns from the Pak Kret station where he was based. 

In for one gun or in for 100, same same so might as well, and this guy now will spend good number of years behind bar, what perplexing here is how did he manged to fool everyone and still so many guns?...

[kingstonkid]

1 hour ago, herfiehandbag said:

Surely it is a fundamental principle that weapons in an arm's kote are at the very least counted daily by a senior person, with the armour present. If let us say 100 weapons belong to that armoury, then 100 should be present, or properly signed out. At regular intervals 100% checks of weapons by registered numbers are carried out. Any weapons signed out and held by individuals are also produced by the holders, checked by registered numbers and inspected.

 

Sergeant Somchai says he knows where all the gats are is not an adequate check!

The challenge would be following up on the paperwork.

 

Unfortunately, if the paperwork looks in order the brass is not going to worry.

 

There are a myriad of things that need to happen and the unfortunate thing is that there may not be the will for people to take action.

 

On a side note, I would love to see an official audit by non-military of all military weapons.

 

I think the fact that crime is so rampant here is the issue.

 

The problems are many and the solutions are more difficult than they may seem.

 

RTP is reminding me more and more of the 1920's Chicago police force of media fame.

 

 

 

[bamnutsak]

The police are basically footsoldiers for the Thai establshment/mafia, but with crappy clothes and silly haircuts.

 

They even have mafia-like nicknames.

[Archie Baker]

3 hours ago, Iamfalang said:

no comment

Audit, traceability and accountability seems to be missing. 

[worgeordie]

I always thought the Police had to buy their own guns and ammo ?

biggest worry , who did he sell them to .

regards worgeordie

[Purdey]

I wonder if any of the teams he bet on won? 

[TheFishman1]

They should do a count in every police station in the country they may be very surprised how many other weapons have gone missing or walked away TIT

[mikeymike100]

3 hours ago, Orinoco said:

Only surprise,  is he got caught !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

 

Correct, how many do not get caught? Rhetorical question!

[thailand49]

Drain the swamp from top to bottom but impossible you scrape the bottom of a <deleted>ter you still going to get <deleted>! 

[ThaiFelix]

He seems very well qualified for the RTP.

[Lucky Bones]

Unless their names are shortened, I can't see much happening here.

[ThailandRyan]

31 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

I always thought the Police had to buy their own guns and ammo ?

biggest worry , who did he sell them to .

regards worgeordie

True to an extent, but in order to ensure everyone was carrying a similar weapon the RTP bought guns to be sold to the officers. Yet as you can see from the last sentence of which I quoted from the Wikipedia link each station received 60 handguns to be held in the armories.  This was so that if an officers handgun was needing repair he or she would be issued one from the armory.  These are more than likely the guns the armorer in the OP stole.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Thai_Police

 

In mid-2015, Pol Gen Somyot Phumphanmuang, Royal Thai Police Commissioner, initiated a program to allow officers to purchase US-made, 9 mm SIG Sauer P320 pistols^[34] for 18,000 baht each. The Thai market price for this gun is several times higher. The affordable price is made possible by a special police exemption from import quotas and import duties.^[35][36] In December 2017, 150,000 SIG Sauer P320SP pistols became available for purchase by police for 23,890 baht each. The RTP will, in addition, distribute 55,000 of the new pistols to police stations nationwide, each station receiving 60

[spidermike007]

It would be a tough job. If you are being scrutinized. How do you answer for the massive pyramid scheme under you, and how do you justify the fortune you are making, by acting as Master franchisee? 

[Mavideol]

am just waiting for dirt on Big Joke to come out, he's Thai, part of the RTP..... and we all know how corrupted they are as corruption is on their DNA,  it's impossible for the guy to be clean, impossible, just a matter of time but it will come out

[GroveHillWanderer]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

In for one gun or in for 100, same same so might as well, and this guy now will spend good number of years behind bar, what perplexing here is how did he manged to fool everyone and still so many guns?...

Because he was in charge of the weapons store and forged paperwork showing the guns had been legitimately distributed.

[Aussieroaming]

The RTP is rotten from top to bottom, so purge from the top. The ones caught are the mere tip of a corrupt iceberg. When you pay for a police position it would seem obvious that you expect to recoup the entry fee and more.

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, Iamfalang said:

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The media did not follow up as yet on how such a large number of weapons could go missing from a single police station before action was taken

no comment

Thais are taught almost from birth not to question their 'betters'. Hardly good grounding for journalists. I worked with some here, and it was always I who had to ask the questions. They are utterly useless and wouldn't last a week in the real world. One that I worked with even made three factual errors in his opening paragraph, which is quite a feat,