Registration documents for the gun, whether they are legal in Thailand or not, are totally irrelevent. They certainly wont be legal in Japan.

The facts are, that this idiot tried to board a flight carrying a loaded firearm, breaking the Aviation Authorities International Laws against such acts, which have been introduced to stem the tide of terrorism.

As a so called " respectable " person who has held positions of authority, he should know these facts.

Preperation for a huge billion baht bail out coming soon....

He forgot or didn't know that it was in his medecine bag. Why would you want to put one there in the first place? Strange place to put your rod.

I have read elsewhere there is an interview corculating of him talking about his four favourite handguns incuding the one that got him in to trouble.

And I hope he will be stuck there for a very very very long time.

I have read elsewhere there is an interview corculating of him talking about his four favourite handguns incuding the one that got him in to trouble.

I hear this one that got him into trouble has now been dropped from his list of personal favorite handguns. It is now on his list of guns I wish I never bought.

Hmmmm. It now seems the guns registration papers are in a friends name. That doesn't work for me. The whole purpose of having the gun registered to the owner is to provide a direct link between the weapon and the individual responsible for it. No one in their right mind lends a registered gun to someone else. If you gift or sell a gun to someone, then of course you change the registration and ownership to them.

Two main points ...

1, illegal possession of a firearm ( no licence in Japan ).

2, attempting to carry a loaded firearm onto a plane.

Either of these are serious offences, jointly they must equate to jail time. I suspect that an old pal is scurrying around somewhere in the bowels of police HQ Thailand, in an attempt to make up enough excuses for the worm to wriggle free.

If there is no Thai serial number on the gun, which the Japanese have reportedly said is the case, it can't be registered to anyone in Thailand. On a handgun the Thai serial number would be engraved or stamped in Thai letters and numerals on the metal butt of the gun, under the grips, if these are removable and the current model has removable wooden grips. Both the Thai and manufacturer's serial numbers have to appear on the Por 4 permit and the first thing anyone does on receiving a new Por 4 is to check that the serials numbers match those on the gun.

If he really didn't know he had it in his possession, he will have to produce convincing evidence that someone planted it in his luggage and he was not taking regular prescription medicine that would have made him look inside the medicine bag and spot the gun. Proving that someone planted it would require a confession from someone very close to him who had access to both his luggage and the gun. Even in such an unlikely event, it would be difficult to persuade the Japanese authorities or drop charges or the court to acquit. Japan's aviation safety and its strict gun laws are at stake here.