Teeranai Charuvastra
Khao Sod English

SONGKHLA — A gun at his hip, police captain Puripan Suwannarat squared off against his adversary on a sunny afternoon. Despite favoring a long stick to his sidearm, he walked away from the duel standing – with a buffalo in tow.


Photos showing Puripan confronting an agitated buffalo inside an apartment building in the southern province of Songkhla have captivated social media since Wednesday. In the images, he holds a long wood pole toward a buffalo that’s assumed a defensive crouch in a residential hallway. The would-be bullfighter’s pics have spawned countless jokes and left many puzzled over what led to the encounter.

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