Groom Shot Dead, Bride Wounded

Groom shot dead, bride wounded

A THAI labourer was shot dead and his bride injured when they were attacked by gunmen on their wedding night, police said Wednesday.

Pramote Keowmanee, 32, and his wife of a few hours Peeraya Sae-ngo were gunned down Tuesday night by three suspects after returning home from their wedding reception in Chachoengsao province just east of Bangkok.

"We have established two possible motives for the killing, either a love triangle or a financial conflict as the groom was moonlighting as a local loan shark apart from being a day labourer," Lieutenant Colonel Thawat Yodmanee said.

Shortly after the shooting Pramote was pronounced dead at a provincial hospital, while his wife, a municipality worker, was struck by one of the bullets but was expected to recover.

No arrests have been made and police said they had launched an investigation into the attack.

--AFP 2004-03-03