Gunman points revolver in point-blank range at candidate’s employee in Buriram

By Thai Newsroom Reporters

AN UNKNOWN GUNMAN yesterday (May 3) allegedly pointed a handgun to the head of one of a Palang Pracharath candidate’s campaign employees in Buriram, telling him to give it up for his own life, police said.

The unidentified motorcycle-riding gunman wearing a black jacket and a helmet accosted and stopped the pickup truck mounted with electoral campaign signs and loudspeakers on a road in the lower-northeastern province’s Baan Dan district which is part of Constituency 1.

Manit Santhi, who has been employed as one of the truck drivers running campaign errands for the Palang Pracharath contestant, namely Jetsadakorn Khiannilsiri, rolled down the window of his parked vehicle as the gunman quickly drew his revolver and aimed it at his head in point-blank range.

The gunman threatened the panic-stricken truck driver to immediately stop helping the Palang Pracharath candidate vying in the May 14 general election or risk living his life in grave danger, the police said.

The gunman and the accompanying motorcyclist have yet remained at large after they had intimidated the truck driver and followed him a distance down the road.

The Palang Pracharath candidate’s archrival contesting in Constituency 1 which mostly covers the capital district of Buriram is largely known to be ex-Bhumjaithai MP Sanong Thepaksornnarong, who is seeking re-election under the tickets of the same party, steered by de facto party boss Newin Chidchob.

In the 2019 election, Newin’s camp swept all eight MP seats in Buriram, virtually viewed as the Bhumjaithai capital and his hometown, which is now having 10 MP seats up for grabs in the May 14 election.

CAPTION:

The Palang Pracharath pick-up truck stopped by the gunman in Buriram, above, and the candidate’s campaign employees reporting the threat to police and displaying the police report, below and Front Page. All photos: Naewna