Thailand’s Popcorn Gunman Goes Free, Serving Only 6 Years

A man dubbed “the popcorn gunman” by Thai media has been released from prison after serving less than six years for his role in a shoot-out in Bangkok in 2014 that killed one person and injured three others during violent street demonstrations.

In 2016, the Criminal Court sentenced Vivat Yodprasit to 33 years in prison for conspiring to perpetrate murder and another four years for carrying firearms in public in connection with the shooting on the eve of the February 2, 2014 snap election.

The shooting occurred in one of the hot zones during the street protests led by the now-defunct People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), which triggered the military coup three months later by then-army commander Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Mr. Vivat was a member of an anti-election group that was attempting to prevent officials from entering Laksi district venues to prepare for the Feb. 2 election.

In March 2016, the Criminal Court sentenced him to 33 years and four months in prison for perpetrating to commit murder and another four years for carrying firearms in public in connection with the shooting on the eve of the February 2, 2014 snap election.

At first, he was sentenced to life in prison, but this was reduced after he confessed.

Despite his confession, Thailand’s Court of Appeals absolved him of the charges in 2017; due to insufficient evidence, he was given the benefit of the doubt.

However, he remained imprisoned pending an appeal in the Supreme Court, which upheld the Criminal Court’s 37-year-and-four-month sentence in 2018.

Popcorn gunman never granted bail

He was first apprehended in March 2014 at a market in the Muang district of Surat Thani. Mr. Vivat was never granted bail and was held at Bangkok’s Khlong Prem prison.

During the clash, photographs in the media showed a masked man firing rounds from an assault rifle hidden inside a bag of popcorn, earning Mr. Vivat the moniker “popcorn gunman.”

Bullets struck four individuals.

The Laksi incident occurred in one of the hot zones during the street protests led by the now-defunct People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), which triggered the military coup three months later by now prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Mr. Vivat was a member of an anti-election group that was attempting to prevent officials from entering Laksi district venues to prepare for the Feb. 2 election.

A-Kaew Sae Liew, a bystander, died seven months later due to his injuries, and three others were injured.

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