Thai-ASEAN News Network



Former Pheu Thai MP Shot Dead in Petchaburi

UPDATE : 12 September 2011

The commissioner of the Region 7 Provincial Police Bureau said the shooting of a former Pheu Thai MP in Petchaburi Province might be related to a conflict he had with authorities after he filed a complaint, in which he accused Kaeng Krachan National Park officials of razing the homes of Karen people.

A police inspection of the car that former Pheu Thai MP for Phetchaburi Province Thatkamol Ob-om was shot dead in last night, has revealed that Thatkamol was on his way to downtown Phetchaburi when gunmen in a pick-up truck caught up with him and shot him.


Commissioner of the Region 7 Provincial Police Bureau, Police Lieutenant General Pongsan Jiem-on who inspected the scene of the assassination, said police are gathering evidence and are trying to identify the gunman and to obtain an arrest warrant.

He noted that Thatkamol is close with the Karen group living along the Thai-Burmese border who have been accused by Thai authorities of having encroached on the Kaeng Krachan National Park.

He led the Karen group in filing a complaint, accusing officials from the Kaeng Krachan National Park of razing their homes.

Pongsan added that Thatkamol also led a group of students from a technical college, who were threatened by teachers to file a complaint with an agency in Bangkok.

However, the actual motive for the murder is unclear.

Further investigation is needed to determine who, or what group of people, are responsible for the murder.