Loei: Police raided and arrested a young man who was hiding in a mosquito net after he was seen carrying a gun and stealing snacks from a local shop in the middle of a village. Officers from Na Din Dam Police Station in Loei Province arrested Mr. Chokchai, or Nueng, age 39, in his bedroom after he was hallucinating from drugs and armed with a shotgun, breaking into a local grocery store in Ban Sub, Nam Suai Subdistrict, Mueang District, Loei Province, to steal snacks while the owner was not there. Police negotiated with him to surrender, but he refused and threatened him with a gun, forcing him to retreat and make a new plan.
According to Thai News Agency, this morning at 7:00 AM, Pol. Col. Sompop Kaewrunkam, Superintendent of Na Din Dam Police Station, led a force of 20 officers with an arrest warrant from the Loei Provincial Court to arrest Mr. Chokchai. They had planned and rehearsed the attack and exercised caution, as Mr. Chokchai carried a gun with him at all times. The officers then marched into the house using shields to protect him, stormed up to the second floor of the house, and immediately charged at him while he was sleeping under the mosquito net, causing him to scream and yell. They were able to seize the 12-gauge shotgun used in the incident.
From questioning, Mr. Chokchai said that on the day of the incident, he did not take drugs. The reason for the incident was that he was hungry and wanted to cook something to eat, but the gas would not turn on. When he went to check, he found that the gas tank was missing. He thought that the shop where he went to commit the crime had taken it, so he took a short shotgun to the shop to get the gas tank. Because he was hungry, he stole some snacks to eat to satisfy his hunger.
Initially, he was taken along with the shotgun to the investigators. However, while Mr. Chokchai was being taken to the police station, Mr. Chokchai's grandmother came to her grandson and cried out of pity for him because he had been arrested and had not yet eaten rice or been fed sticky rice with pork. The police then took him for further legal action.