Former Thai MP Reawraeng Shooting Ends in Chilling Confession

Bangkok (GNP): A former Thai member of parliament has been arrested after allegedly shooting dead a local official in the southern province of Nonthaburi, in an incident that included a live telephone confession made during a YouTube broadcast. Former Nonthaburi MP Chalong Reawraeng informed the host of the livestream, political commentator Anchalee Paireerak, that he had shot Thongchai Yenprasert, a former police official, outside his office.

Thongchai, who was struck in the neck during the shooting, later died in hospital. His driver sustained gunshot injuries to the arm and hand during the same incident. Following his arrest, Chalong was permitted to hold a press conference at a police station, where he attempted to explain the circumstances surrounding the shooting while speaking to reporters.

During the press conference, Chalong said Thongchai had been angry with him prior to the incident, though he did not specify the reason. He described Thongchai as a close friend and maintained that he had not intended to shoot him. According to Chalong, he had approached Thongchai wanting to talk, but was pushed away and told that Thongchai did not wish to speak with him. Local media reports indicate the two men had been involved in a personal dispute prior to the shooting.

Chalong told reporters that he followed Thongchai toward his vehicle and drew a firearm, still maintaining he had not intended to shoot. He said the situation escalated when Thongchai’s driver drew a weapon and pointed it at him, prompting him to fire. Thongchai, a retired police colonel, had been serving as president of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation, a local government body, at the time of his death.

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Prior to his arrest, Chalong had called into a live YouTube broadcast hosted by Anchalee Paireerak to inform her of the shooting. Video of the broadcast showed Anchalee reacting with visible shock upon receiving the call, asking whether the victim had died and instructing the caller to remain at the scene and wait for police to arrive.

The shooting occurred three days after a fourteen-year-old boy killed eight people at his home and school before taking his own life, in what was described as Thailand’s worst mass shooting since 2022. Authorities have said the two incidents are unrelated. Following the earlier school shooting, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered stricter enforcement of firearms regulations, including the deployment of police checkpoints and tighter controls on the possession, carrying and use of firearms.

The latest shooting is expected to intensify ongoing debate around gun control in Thailand, which maintains the highest rate of gun ownership in Southeast Asia by a significant margin.