Town Mayor Shot To Death In Hat Yai With M-16

[sriracha john]

Star mayor gunned down in Haad Yai

SONGKHLA: The mayor of Khlong Hae Town in Songkhla’s Haad Yai District was gunned down in his car on the evening of May 16.

Aphichat Sangkhachat, 39, was shot at around 10:30pm as he stopped at an ATM on Ratyindee Road in downtown Haad Yai City while on the way home from a funeral at Wat Khlong Ple. He was hit once in the chest.

Haad Yai, about 250 kilometers south of Phuket, is a major commercial and transport hub and gateway to Thailand's Deep South region.

Rescue volunteers took Mr Aphichat to Bangkok Hospital Haad Yai, but he later died of his injury.

Suphawat Thapkhliow, Superintendent of Haad Yai Police, said that Mr Aphichat’s killers were driving a pickup truck.

“The perpetrators are likely to have followed the victim all the way from the temple. They were unable to get a good opportunity to shoot [Mr Aphichat] until he stopped to withdraw money," Col Suphawat said.

A few days before the attack, Mr Aphichat had been warned by relatives that his life was in danger. The victim was taking a risk by traveling alone at night as he knew killers were just waiting for the opportunity to strike, Col Suphawat said.

At the scene police found one 5.56mn cartridge case of the kind fired by an M-16 assault rifle.

While serving as mayor of Khlong Hae, Mr Aphichat played an important role in the establishment of the Khlong Hae Floating Market.

The market, the only floating one in the South, is a popular attraction for Thai and Malaysian tourists.

Mr Aphichat had served as mayor for over two years. He was reportedly very popular among his constituents and was considered a rising star of local politics in Songkhla.

Commander of Songkhla Provincial Police Wirun Iamphaichit said that debt or a political dispute were the likely motives for the killing.

The murder came just one day after two young girls, aged 7 and 12, were found hanged in their back yard in Klong Hae in what police believe may have been a robbery or silencing killing related to a land dispute.

-- Phuket Gazette 2009-05-18

[roamer]

I find the last paragraph far more horrendous and it hasn't been given a mention on Thaivisa as far as I can see:

"The murder came just one day after two young girls, aged 7 and 12, were found hanged in their back yard in Klong Hae in what police believe may have been a robbery or silencing killing related to a land dispute."

So sad.

[bulmercke]

And who shot dead these poor innocent girls at point bank range? A Thai male - for sure.

A story like this would be a HUGE HUGE story in the UK and Fleet Street would remorsefully follow it for weeks - if not months - but here in Thailand - it will be lucky if it gets a few column inches in any of BKKs dailies - before it is buried for good -

[Maestro]

The news story about the two girls hanged by robbers is here on ThaiVisa:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Robbers-Hang...ry-t265749.html

--

Maestro

[Boater]

And who shot dead these poor innocent girls at point bank range? A Thai male - for sure.

A story like this would be a HUGE HUGE story in the UK and Fleet Street would remorsefully follow it for weeks - if not months - but here in Thailand - it will be lucky if it gets a few column inches in any of BKKs dailies - before it is buried for good -

i have only just seen this story now, and i agree this would make front page of every UK paper and run for months untill the person responsible was caught..................

but remember life is cheap in thailand... sad fact but true,

This is to sad to carry on

RIP

[JR Texas]

And who shot dead these poor innocent girls at point bank range? A Thai male - for sure.

A story like this would be a HUGE HUGE story in the UK and Fleet Street would remorsefully follow it for weeks - if not months - but here in Thailand - it will be lucky if it gets a few column inches in any of BKKs dailies - before it is buried for good -

i have only just seen this story now, and i agree this would make front page of every UK paper and run for months untill the person responsible was caught..................

but remember life is cheap in thailand... sad fact but true,

This is to sad to carry on

RIP

Two innocent young girls hanging from a tree.....I want to throw up. This would most certainly make every newspaper, TV news program, etc., in the USA.

[animatic]

Even here it boggles the mind.

Depraved

Function: adjective

: marked by moral corruption or perversion as shown by a capacity for extreme and wanton physical cruelty depraved state of mind of the murderer> depraved nature of the crime>

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law,

[joskydive]

Where were these kids family when they most needed them?

[oevna]

...

but remember life is cheap in thailand... sad fact but true,

...

I don't mean to get on your case Boater, but I hear this expression "life is cheap in Thailand" a lot around here, and it's starting to bother me.

I know many Thai people who are horrified by this kind of story -- many of whom dedicate their lives to the treatment of hospital patients, the education of children, and the advancement of their local communities. Not one of them considers life to be cheap.

Also, there are plenty of depraved people in so-called "first world countries." The difference lies in the degree of enforcement of law. There are (obviously) even corrupt police in rich countries, but they are supervised more closely so that they take larger risks when they knowingly turn a blind eye to crimes, or commit crimes themselves (I am not saying that it doesn't happen in rich countries, but the fact that no one expects the Thai police to make a serious effort to bring criminals to justice in Thailand demonstrates that people believe enforcement is less in Thailand and other poor countries).

The family and friends of the victims have my condolences; I hope that they can find peace. And I hope that the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice, however unlikely that may be.

[angiud]

Is there any chances that these two event, in the same town, have some kind of connection?

[BSJ]

Poor kids. What kind of a sick mongerel hangs little kids......the same sort that shoots down an unarmed man. I never knew Aphichat Sangkhachat, but he or anyone else sure don't deserve that.

[cat5]

And who shot dead these poor innocent girls at point bank range? A Thai male - for sure.

A story like this would be a HUGE HUGE story in the UK and Fleet Street would remorsefully follow it for weeks - if not months - but here in Thailand - it will be lucky if it gets a few column inches in any of BKKs dailies - before it is buried for good -

It may not have received much attention on this website, but the story has definitely been covered in the newspapers. The last I read, it was suggested that the two girls were killed by a relative who may have entered the house looking for some papers regarding some family dispute over land.

[TPI]

And who shot dead these poor innocent girls at point bank range? A Thai male - for sure.

A story like this would be a HUGE HUGE story in the UK and Fleet Street would remorsefully follow it for weeks - if not months - but here in Thailand - it will be lucky if it gets a few column inches in any of BKKs dailies - before it is buried for good -

It may not have received much attention on this website, but the story has definitely been covered in the newspapers. The last I read, it was suggested that the two girls were killed by a relative who may have entered the house looking for some papers regarding some family dispute over land.

Aaaah! The drunken uncle lurches in, the girls give him an earfull, he takes his woes out on the innocent?

"Drunken uncles" the bane of Thailand...just a guess?

[sbk]

The murder of the two girls is reported here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Robbers-Hang...ry-t265749.html

Please post there.

This news is about the murder of a rising young politician. Quite reminiscent of the murder of a popular local official on Koh Phangan who was murdered a year ago by a political rival.

[JR Texas]

The murder of the two girls is reported here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Robbers-Hang...ry-t265749.html

Please post there.

This news is about the murder of a rising young politician. Quite reminiscent of the murder of a popular local official on Koh Phangan who was murdered a year ago by a political rival.

Right........sorry........most of us, I think, were just horrified by reading the "note" about two young girls found hanged.

[Scott]

It seems that both in the newspapers and on ThaiVisa, there has been less reporting on the South. I don't know if this is by design or accident. One of the problems is that Thailand is so Bangkok-centric that the rest of the country is generally relegated to the back burner--so things like the Red's and Yellow's are front page (even if they aren't doing anything), while the south burns.

My deepest condolences to the family, friends and the community that needed him.

[Briggsy]

If you follow Thai news, you will know local politics in Thailand is littered with murders. A general election will see over 20 directly-related murders. These murders are rarely of the candidates themselves but usually of the euphemistically named "canvassers", the people who guarantee votes from a particular constituency, usually a village but it could be a group of employees, in exchange for cash.

[Junglejumbo]

I haven't read any of the stories in Post or Nation....but then I don't read every page usually. Seems a lot of headline stories aren't making it into the English language papers either for lack of staff or on purpose.

Phi Phi deaths still remain unreported by the Post even though the story was hard to miss, so to does the body found dead in the water at Phi Phi a few days before the girls, and then the girl found dead on Krabi beach a few days later who police initially said was due to strangling but later said this wasn't the reason.....

I might be wrong but in the past this kind of shooting would have made top stories in the newspapers. Without media attention this kind of thing will happen more often...

Also, what happened to the supposed arresting of Sondi's assassins? Remember the police said they already had a good idea and were about to move in (about three weeks ago now).....still nothing and I expect nothing of course. But what is worse is that the newspapers forget about this story entirely...

Thailand is going downhill.

[khundon]

And who shot dead these poor innocent girls at point bank range? A Thai male - for sure.

A story like this would be a HUGE HUGE story in the UK and Fleet Street would remorsefully follow it for weeks - if not months - but here in Thailand - it will be lucky if it gets a few column inches in any of BKKs dailies - before it is buried for good -

bulmercke

The girls were hung not shot.

RIP girls.

[seri thai]

Also, what happened to the supposed arresting of Sondi's assassins? Remember the police said they already had a good idea and were about to move in (about three weeks ago now).....still nothing and I expect nothing of course. But what is worse is that the newspapers forget about this story entirely...

Thailand is going downhill.

Can't arrest them-they haven't finished the job yet.

[Datsun240Z]

Nice to know my girl is out there in the southern region, with all those potential rapers and killers....

It's dangerous out there, muslims extremists are no good. If anything happen to her, i/d come down myself and gun down the whole fuc_king place, one man war.

Edited May 20, 2009 by Datsun240Z