Father Shoots and Kills Drug Addicted Son

An assistant village chief in southern Thailand has surrendered to police after shooting and killing his drug addicted son, saying his son was a violent drug user and he was acting in self-defence.

Pol Capt Veerasak Malithong of the Nakhon Si Thammarat police said the shooting occurred at about 5.45pm on Sunday.

Nakhon Si Thammarat Police called to the scene and reported that Mr. Ruangrit Phromthong, assistant chief of the village, was waiting when they arrived. He surrendered and handed them a shotgun.

His son Adisak, 33, was lying dead in front of the family home with a shotgun wound to the face.

Mr. Ruangrit told police that his son had long been a drug addict and attacked family members often when high. In the past, Adisak had hit him on the head, and he had been admitted to the hospital.

Drug Addicted Rage

On Sunday, his drug addicted son again erupted into a rage and started attacking people in the family. Mr. Ruangrit said he came to intervene.

According to Mr. Ruangrit, his drug addicted son turned on him and charged at him with a knife in his hand, threatening him. He grabbed a shotgun and fired one shot that hit his son in the face, killing him instantly.

According to Ruangrit, he acted in self-defence because otherwise, he would have been killed.

As part of their investigation, the police continued investigating Mr. Ruangrit to determine what legal action they should bring against him.

Drug Addiction Thailand

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Thailand has become a “narcotics hub” and the Southeast Asian country most affected by drug abuse and addiction.

According to the Office of Narcotics Control Board and the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, Thailand ranks highest among ASEAN member states for drug use and addiction.

Thai police regularly seize methamphetamines in large quantities – sometimes hundreds of thousands of pills – but the problem persists, partly because of persistent demand.

The war on drugs waged by the Thai government for over 30 years has had disastrous consequences, as shown by the over-incarceration rate in prisons and detention centres, including those in the guise of ‘treatment for drug addiction’.

Thailand has the world’s highest share of people in prison for drug offences. We lock up so many people who use or sell drugs, young and old but mostly poor, in places where we cannot see them suffer.

Incarceration is the remedy to drug addiction

In addition, we lock them up in overcrowded and poorly maintained facilities under the guise of ‘drug addiction treatment. Drug dependence treatment seekers should not be coerced into any program, nor should they be imprisoned.

Using drugs or being dependent on them should not lead to punishment and incarceration.

In discussing Thailand’s approach to drug dependence, this article highlights some of the outcomes in terms of people in prison and the drug rehabilitation system.

It will also outline the experiences of people who have recently completed drug rehab programmes to evaluate its impact.

In conclusion, it will offer recommendations for consideration by Thai authorities responsible for responding to drug addiction.

In other news, on Saturday, in southern Thailand’s Songkhla province, the narcotics suppression police seized 631 kilograms of crystal meth, known as ya ice, and arrested seven suspects.

Narcotic Suppression Bureau (NSB) commissioner Pol Lt Gen Sarayuth Sanguanpokhai said the action followed the June 22 arrest of drug addicted suspects with 402,000 meth pills.

According to the suspects, they delivered ice from Bang Len district, Nakhon Pathom province, to contact in Sungai Kolok district, Narathiwat province.

The men have been charged with illegally possessing illicit drugs with the intent to sell them.