Phuket Newsman Killed In Gun Attack

[notime]

Hmmm... by the looks of the bullet holes, and since the bullet holes are high on the windshield but hit the man in the upper body, the gunman must have been standing on the hood of the car, or standing at the side but reaching over to fire through the windshield.

Maybe this is the way to do it. Side windows tend to be more heavily tinted so obscure the view of a person inside. Plus if they leaned on the hood and reached the hand with the gun over the confused driver would be less likely to drive off. This is definitely a "professional" job. It's really scary to think people like this freely walk around us. And even more so the ones who hired them. Poor victim. RIP.

[laurentbkk]

Phuket is so wonderful nowadays ..... road accidents , murders , jet ski scams etc ...... I really should think to go there for my next holidays ....

I've never been to Phuket, and never had a desire to visit. This is obviously a targeted killing, so no threat to visitors (unless caught in the crossfire) but it just seems like a sleazy place to me.

Phuket aka Hades. Never been there (despite my wife repeated requests to pay the place a visit) and have no desire to go there. Far too many Farhangs and crooks there. Better go to Koh Chiang before the spoil that paradise island.

Phuket still has some nice areas ,just avoid the Patong/Karon?kata .... the rest should be ok ! Koh chang was also nice but my latest trip I was so disappointed than I never went back . that's sad ! I remember Phuket 20years ago was paradise .

[MaiChai]

Back in 1998 I vowed never to go back to Phuket. As a treat to the girlfriend I took her there last year. Wished we had not gone. Next time, don't even think of going to Phuket (pinch yourself, etc).

No one deserves to die like this. Condolences and may he rest in peace.

[RichardSlack]

The result of mafia corruption running unchecked in Phuket. It will only get worse and worse until the Government realises the value of cleaning the place up. It needs a replacement of every official at every level especially those higher up and especially those where the posts have to be paid for - which is all of them pretty much.

Dream on .....

Until people wake up and vote with their feet and go elsewhere NOTHING will happen. They do not care and would love to see the foreigners leave...until they discover they would have to really WORK for a living. All foreign embassies should place Phuket on a travel warning to avoid.

I think if the foriegners left and tourists stopped going the place would be bankrupt and you couldn't give the hotels away.

VERY TRUE.

I won't be leaving any time soon, sorry. I like my little corner of Phuket, although it's not in the trashy South. No job could pay me enough to live down there.

[Yahooka]

So just curious to what areas of Phuket you define as the "Trashy South",Richard Slack ??

[banchangman]

May I suggest the Hilton, old chap? Everything you need within the hotel campus and a safe haven to boot. Enjoy!

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[toenail]

In Thailand teachers and monks get shot, elsewhere newpaper reporters and other innocent people get killed cold blooded. What bothers me is that no one seems to get angry about it...or wants to solve the problem. --As long as it isn't in my backyard attitude.

[Jimi007]

There has been a problem with land development in Phuket for years. Its not the same as bangkok where you have established land/zones and ancient buddha temple compounds everywhere. Phuket was just an insignificant island full of peanut farmers.

Along came the tourists and inexorably all the traditional farmers/families were booted off their beach front land and the mafia boys moved in for the big kill.

Same as Pattaya. Tourism is big money which destroys everything in Thailand.

Wouldnt be surprised if the latest newspaper man executed was related to a land scam story about to be published.

I read in a local news source that can't be named here due to forum rule #31, that said he was due to lead a group of Pheu Thai Party officials from Bangkok to look at Freedom Beach in the Patong area about some alleged corruption in the land deed.

Edited January 12, 2012 by Jimi007

[lifeincnx]

A sad commentary. My condolances to the family. RIP

[JetsetBkk]

There has been a problem with land development in Phuket for years. Its not the same as bangkok where you have established land/zones and ancient buddha temple compounds everywhere. Phuket was just an insignificant island full of peanut farmers.

Along came the tourists and inexorably all the traditional farmers/families were booted off their beach front land and the mafia boys moved in for the big kill.

Same as Pattaya. Tourism is big money which destroys everything in Thailand.

Wouldnt be surprised if the latest newspaper man executed was related to a land scam story about to be published.

I read in a local news source that can't be named here due to forum rule #31, that said he was due to lead a group of Pheu Thai Party officials from Bangkok to look at Freedom Beach in the Patong area about some alleged corruption in the land deed.

This afternoon I spoke to a couple of Thais who knew him. They said he had money problems, so the shooting may have nothing to do with his politics or investigations into land deals.

[NamKangMan]

It will be interesting to see if any "heat" comes out of Bangkok to solve this case.

Also, the scary thing is, there may be revenge attacks that may continue for quite a while.

[NamKangMan]

There has been a problem with land development in Phuket for years. Its not the same as bangkok where you have established land/zones and ancient buddha temple compounds everywhere. Phuket was just an insignificant island full of peanut farmers.

Along came the tourists and inexorably all the traditional farmers/families were booted off their beach front land and the mafia boys moved in for the big kill.

Same as Pattaya. Tourism is big money which destroys everything in Thailand.

Wouldnt be surprised if the latest newspaper man executed was related to a land scam story about to be published.

I read in a local news source that can't be named here due to forum rule #31, that said he was due to lead a group of Pheu Thai Party officials from Bangkok to look at Freedom Beach in the Patong area about some alleged corruption in the land deed.

This afternoon I spoke to a couple of Thais who knew him. They said he had money problems, so the shooting may have nothing to do with his politics or investigations into land deals.

That's exactly what the perpetrators of this assissination would want the public to believe.

Dead men don't pay up. So, the hypothesis of bringing attention to illegal land titles is more feasible.

[steelepulse]

There has been a problem with land development in Phuket for years. Its not the same as bangkok where you have established land/zones and ancient buddha temple compounds everywhere. Phuket was just an insignificant island full of peanut farmers.

Along came the tourists and inexorably all the traditional farmers/families were booted off their beach front land and the mafia boys moved in for the big kill.

Same as Pattaya. Tourism is big money which destroys everything in Thailand.

Wouldnt be surprised if the latest newspaper man executed was related to a land scam story about to be published.

I read in a local news source that can't be named here due to forum rule #31, that said he was due to lead a group of Pheu Thai Party officials from Bangkok to look at Freedom Beach in the Patong area about some alleged corruption in the land deed.

Even Inspector Cluseau would look into the Freedom Beach property dispute to see who the various parties are, but I'm sure it will be one of the "influential families" or a "Patong business man" that's involved somehow. Timing suggests this as if it was a red shirt yellow thing, something would have already happened.

[Willeyeam]

Wonder if it was because he was a Red Shirt supporter, or because of something he published in his newspaper.... (Or both)

Sure there will be an interesting story to come out here. RIP to his family anyway ..

I agree with you on that point that there is no doubt an interesting story behind it - but I doubt it will come out, I suspect it will just get swept under the carpet as usual, sad though.

[Willeyeam]

Unfortunately he isn't the first journalist getting murdered here. Often they are after exposing someone involved in something lucrative, such as property development.

Being a journalist can be dangerous work wherever employed. French journo yesterday in Syria and thousands more like him in the past in areas of unrest. Remember Neil Davis the Australian journo who stayed in Vietnam for over eleven years and then got killed covering a coup d etat attempt in Bangkok. Not something that I would enjoy doing.

A little bit difference here though - This guy was assasinated - not killed covering a war.

[piewarmer]

if a gunman on a motorbike cuts me off I might just accidentally run him over.

RIP and condolences to his family and best wishes to the good people doing the media jobs.

[KunMatt]

Back in 1998 I vowed never to go back to Phuket. As a treat to the girlfriend I took her there last year. Wished we had not gone. Next time, don't even think of going to Phuket (pinch yourself, etc).

No one deserves to die like this. Condolences and may he rest in peace.

I've been there 3 times in the last 7 years and every time we go back I like it less. After the last time I left despising the place and swearing we would never go back again. Money, money, money - that's all Phuket is everywhere. When you live somewhere else in Thailand and you can see the extortionate prices people try to charge for things in Phuket it makes you sick, 300 baht for one hour parking in Kata for example! That would be the equivalent of someone in London trying to charge £90 for an hours parking.

All of the negative stereotypes people associate with Thailand I never see anywhere else, but in Phuket it is in your face all of the time. I would never advise anyone to visit the Island anymore, I'm glad it is so far removed from real Thailand that I don't need to think about it or see that sort of thing when I get back home.

One another note, the grouping in those bullet holes in the windscreen is impressive!!

[Lite Beer]

Gunmen kill Thai journalist on tourist island

BANGKOK, January 12, 2012 (AFP) - Gunmen shot dead a Thai journalist, local newspaper owner and political activist Thursday in a targeted attack on the tourist-friendly island of Phuket, police and local media said.

"He was shot four times while driving in his car. Gunmen on a motorcycle cut in front of the vehicle and shot him. He was sent to the hospital and died there," police colonel and district chief Chote Chidchai told AFP by telephone.

"The other passenger was not injured. The gunman specifically killed him only," he said, adding that it was "too soon to say" the motive.

Chote said the man was the owner of a small local newspaper called "Inside Phuket", and he was named by Thai media as 40-year-old Wisut Tangwitthayaporn.

Thai media also said his newspaper had reported about corruption related to the land department in Phuket, and that he was well-known on the island as a member of Thailand's "Red Shirt" political protest movement.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-01-12

[Lite Beer]

UPDATE: Phuket Police suspect land issues in murder of local journalist

People gather at the scene of the killing on Thepkrasattri Road during rush hour this morning. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha has noted the high-profile nature of the killing and said he was keeping an eye on the police investigation.

PHUKET: Police suspect reporting on illegal issuance of titles for prime Phuket land as a possible motive for the assassination of Wisut “Ae Inside” Tangwitthayaporn in broad daylight during rush hour on a major Phuket thoroughfare today.

The news was announced at a meeting of some of Phuket’s top police officers this morning.

“We held the meeting to discuss how to catch the assassins,” said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Pornsak Nuannhu.

Specifically, officers are considering the coverage by Mr Wisut’s newspaper, Inside Phuket, of suspected fraud in the issuance of title deeds for prime land at Freedom Bay south of Patong and at Nakalay Point in Kamala.

However, Col Pornsak added that Phuket police were also investigating gambling debts and conflict over a romantic relationship as possible motives.

“We have to further investigate the matter and question witnesses before determining the actual motive behind the killing,” he said.

No less than five teams of officers have been assigned to investigate the murder, he said.

“They will carry out their investigation throughout Phuket and nearby provinces. They will also try to determine the motive for the assassination,” he said.

Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha noted the high-profile nature of the case.

“I am coordinating with police so I can keep a close eye on the case…. This is a serious case and especially challenging due the to the victim’s role in the media and because it happened in such a public area with many witnesses.

“I am unsure why he was killed. He had reported on the problem of land title deeds in Phuket, which is a continually recurring issue,” he added.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2012/article11983.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-01-12

[RaoulDuke]

I am far from an underworld guru, but I would think the odds of being killed because you are working on exposing a major corruption ring would be infinitely higher than the odds of being killed for a gambling debt, especially when you factor in that it is a high profile person who would be missed, and has a steady source of income. And the attack seems entirely too professional to be tied to a lovers quarrel. Then again, maybe it was actually a suicide.

In any case, I do hope some good comes of it. Once again, it is always the people who seem to be the 'good guys' who always end up dead, while the ultra-rich scum continue to get away with murder. It is hardly unique to Thailand, happens every day in the USA/EU/etc, Thailand is just not as good at covering it up and keeping it out of view.

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

Phuket is so wonderful nowadays ..... road accidents , murders , jet ski scams etc ...... I really should think to go there for my next holidays ....

Just another Thai cesspool...Take your pick...

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

Hmmm... by the looks of the bullet holes, and since the bullet holes are high on the windshield but hit the man in the upper body, the gunman must have been standing on the hood of the car, or standing at the side but reaching over to fire through the windshield.

Looked like head shots to me also...

[moskito]

I remember a couple of similar "accidents" in the past year....I will better not ask if any of them are solved in the meantime....next week nobody will talk about it anymore and Phukets roads will be safe as usual....

may he rest in peace, my condolences to his family and friends

[Farangdam]

2 double tap a professional job maybe??

[bigbamboo]

Phuket is so wonderful nowadays ..... road accidents , murders , jet ski scams etc ...... I really should think to go there for my next holidays ....

Just another Thai cesspool...Take your pick...

Sadly, one by one, what were once beautiful parts of Thailand have been ruined by what are commonly known as 'dark forces'. As Don Henley once sang on the portentious Eagles track, The Last Resort, "Call some place paradise... kiss it goodbye."

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

Phuket is so wonderful nowadays ..... road accidents , murders , jet ski scams etc ...... I really should think to go there for my next holidays ....

Just another Thai cesspool...Take your pick...

Sadly, one by one, what were once beautiful parts of Thailand have been ruined by what are commonly known as 'dark forces'. As Don Henley once sang on the portentious Eagles track, The Last Resort, "Call some place paradise... kiss it goodbye."

I "sadly" must agree...I am so glad I live 30 kilometers East of Chaing Rai city in a very nice village...

[housepainter]

Oh no ...................... not another conflict - personal, business etc or just a guy telling the truth and payinf for it with his life.

Sounds about right.

Phuket? Isn't that the hopliday destination? Should boost tourism no end. Certainly won't harm it. Murders, assinations etc., all part of the attraction as nothing is ever done to improve, stop or solve it.

I expect it'll be at least another week before we're here again. Until then keep believing it'll never happen to you but always someone else.

I reckon Baghdad is a safer bet right now. Beirut sure is.

Tehran anyone?

[wxyz]

self inflicted?

[Expatinphuket]

It is getting worse every day in Phuket. Just see what going on in Karon in the old JK company Islandia area. The old JK Company rent out all the Public Street area and owners must pay 10000 baht in key money and 3000 baht per month to get into their own shop house or else ?. Clearly not legal and No recipes are given to take off in tax. Old fashion mafia extortion but in Phuket just business as usual. Guess why.

[bulmercke]

It is getting worse every day in Phuket. Just see what going on in Karon in the old JK company Islandia area. The old JK Company rent out all the Public Street area and owners must pay 10000 baht in key money and 3000 baht per month to get into their own shop house or else ?. Clearly not legal and No recipes are given to take off in tax. Old fashion mafia extortion but in Phuket just business as usual. Guess why.

It's the same in all areas frequented by Western tourists. Many parts of Bangkok - Pattaya - Chiang Mai - Koh Samui etc. Business goes on as usual. Stand up to the local mafia and refuse to pay their outrageous fees and you'll probably get attacked.