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Police Interrogation of 14-year-old Siam Paragon Shooting Suspect Deemed Unlawful
Prosecutors in Thailand have returned the case file of the 14-year-old suspect in the Siam Paragon shooting on October 30, 2023, claiming that the police interrogation was illegal.
According to public prosecutors, the suspects’ police interrogation took place without waiting for the youth’s mental health assessment from the Galya Rajanagarindra Institute.
According to Nakane Thongpraiwan, deputy spokesman for the Attorney-General’s Office, the police transferred the youngster to the institute for assessment and treatment because they felt he was not mentally fit to face trial.
He stated that the police investigation team filed official accusations against the youngster while the report on his mental health was still being written while the boy was still at the institute.
According to the report, the psychiatrist evaluated the boy’s mental health and concluded that he did not grasp the charges against him, was unable to communicate, was unable to answer questions, and was unable to manage his emotions and behaviour. As a result, he was deemed incompetent to stand trial.
According to Nakane, the public prosecutors ruled that the police investigation was illegal under the Criminal Procedural Code.
He also stated that the police could reopen the investigation if the youngster is mentally healthy, noting that the statute of limitations in this case is 20 years. The mass shooting killed two persons and injured five more. Another person died 10 days after the incident.
The child opened fire using a customized blank firing rifle he bought from a Facebook page.
Chinese Tourists Cancel Thailand Visit After Siam Paragon Mall Shooting
After the shooting at Siam Paragon on October 3, which shook the confidence of Chinese tourists in Thailand, hoteliers and tourism businesses in Chiang Mai are urging the government to tighten gun laws to safeguard the safety of the tourism sector.
After the shooting at Siam Paragon, which left three dead (including a Chinese tourist) and four injured, almost 60,000 Chinese visitors have cancelled their travels to Thailand. After the incident, the number of Chinese tourists arriving in Thailand dropped by 9.2 per cent, from 650,000 to 590,000.
Before the pandemic, China was Thailand’s most important foreign market, with an expected 11 million Chinese visitors this year.
According to him, Standard Tour handled 20,000 Chinese tourists every month in 2019. His company currently brings between 8,000 and 9,000 Chinese visitors monthly, with over 70% being family groups.
Mr. Chutidech speculated that several factors, beyond the incident in Bangkok, may have contributed to the decline in Chinese tourists.
Many Chinese sectors still aren’t back to full health. “If we want Chinese tourists to come back, we need to keep an eye out during the high season and major holidays like Loy Krathong, New Year’s Day, and Songkran,” he said.
Mr. Chutidech, however, expressed optimism, stating that he thinks the tourism industry in the North should have a positive outlook.
