Family Seeks Answers after Man Shot and Killed at Chiang Rai Check Point

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CHIANG RAI – The Girlfriend and family of a 35 year-old Chiang Rai man are seeking answers and justice after a fatal shooting at a road checkpoint in Mae Suai district of Chiang Rai.

28 year-old Miss Sirirat Rabiang, the girlfriend of the dead victim, Mr Sornchai Sathitrong, 35, told Thai media that she was sitting next to Mr. Sornchai who was driving on their way from Ban Huey Nam Khun, Mae Suai district, to Chiang Mai on Tuesday night.

When they approached a checkpoint in Mae Suai disrict they didn’t see anyone manning it and proceeded to drive through at about 8:30 pm.

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When their car was about 10 meters away from the checkpoint, she said she heard a thud of what appeared to be a gunshot and then she saw Sornchai’s head bend backward and the car engine accelerated before it crashed into a roadside power pole.

She said unidentified officials then emerged from a hiding spot along the road and told her to raise her hands. After they searched her and failed to find any contraband, she was allowed to call relatives and police.

Rescue workers later arrived at the scene and rushed Sornchai to the district hospital, but he dead prior to arriving at the hospital.

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The lawyer of the victim’s family, Mr Chirasak Damrongchokchaikul told Thai media that the family wanted answers of who killed his and why. He said they would wait from an autopsy report from the hospital to determine the cause of the death and that someone must be held accountable if Sornchai was killed by a gun shot.

Meanwhile, Chiang Rai provincial police commander, Pol Maj-Gen Yutthachai Puaprasert, said he had already instructed police in the area to investigate the fatal shooting.