THAILAND: BANGKOK: Gunfire and explosions at Democracy Monument leave five wounded

THAI PBS

Five anti-government protesters were injured by gunshots and explosions which happened before dawn near the site where several thousands of protesters were gathering to hear their leaders giving speeches demanding the ouster of the caretaker prime minister.

The five injured were admitted to Ramathibodi and Central  hospitals. Doctors  said now condition of all the injured are safe.

According to guards providing security for protesters, gunshots and explosions were heard in front of Rattanakosin hotel on Rajadamnoen Avenue where several protesters were gathering.

They said gunman riding on the pillion of a motorcycle fired several shots and the protesters while riding down the Pinkklao bridge at about 2.00.a.m.

Meanwhile at 4.00.explosions and gunshots were also heard near Yaek Kokwua intersection. In both incidents five protesters were injured, the guards said.

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Seven persons were injured in a series of gunfire and bomb explosions at the protest site of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) throughout midnight and before dawn today.

They said the injured were rushed to hospitals from Yaek Kokwua intersection and from the Rattanakosin hotel. All are now safe.

Among the injured is a ThaiPBS channel photographer Panuwat Ritthitham. A bullet was said to penetrate his trouser but caused no injury except a small bullet hole.

Gunshots were fired near the Rattanakosin hotel at 2.00 a.m. by  drive-by gunmen riding motorcycles.

Explosions and gunshots were also heard near Yaek Kokwua intersection causing tourists visiting Khao Sarn road to running in panic.
Periodic gunfire and explosions were also heard until daybreak.

The gunfire and explosions left seven protesters injured with no death.

Earlier security guards of the Network of Students and People for the Reform of Thailand arrested one plainclothes policeman and a soldier for assaulting a guard. Both were in drunk, they said.

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A youth was shot in the leg and a man was injured from explosion. The two were admitted to the Central Hospital for treatment.

Later at 4.00 a.m. today Erawan Emergency Center director Patpong Kamchornkitkan said five were injured in the gunfire and small bomb attacks. Three were admitted to the Central Hospital,  one at Vajira and another at Ramathibodi hospitals. All are now safe.

Guards of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee said gunman riding on the pillion of a motorcycle fired several gunshots at protesters near Rattanakosin hotel while riding down Pinklao bridge and sped. The incident happened at about 2.30 a.m.

Meanwhile there were explosions at Siyaek Kokwua intersection and gunfire at 4.00 a.m.

The two incidents left five protesters injured.

BURMA_THAILAND: Hsarm PU, a Shan arrested in Tachilek, had confessed that his assignment was to assassinate former PM Thaksin Shinawatra during his visit to the border city

UPDATE :Alleged gunman Hsarm Pu (earlier written erroneously as Hsarm Wu and Hsarm Boon) is a Kieo (wonton soup) seller going from one place to another in a hand cart in Tachilek, according to a businessman working in the city. “He said he used to work for a Wa paw liang (financier) when he was in Mongla and Mongphen,” he told SHAN. “I don’t know whether he was ever trained in weapons or if he used to be in the UWSA. But if he were a gunman, why was he selling Kieo to make a living? It doesn’t make sense.” (SHAN)

• Hsarm Boon, a Shan arrested in Tachilek, had confessed that his assignment was to assassinate former PM Thaksin Shinawatra during his visit to the border city, according to Deputy PM Chalerm Yubamroong. The suspected mastermind is a retired general whose name begins with a “P”. (Agencies)

• 4 November 2012 Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen, Secretary General of Thailand’s Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), discloses during his visit to Thonburi that he was be visiting Burma to meet with his counterparts to discuss cooperation against drugs. (ASTV)

a gunman on Sunday afternoon shot dead Li Shauk Wei a.k.a. Sai Lone (52) and his son Sai Htun Hla (29) with 9 mm pistols in their residence on Pone Tun Street in Pone Tun Ward of Tachileik.

Father and son shot dead in Thai-Burmese border town
by Ko Wild
Monday, 20 July 2009 21:01

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – In a sensational killing, a father and his son were shot dead in Tachileik of eastern Shan State on Sunday, local residents said.

Local sources said, a gunman on Sunday afternoon shot dead Li Shauk Wei a.k.a. Sai Lone (52) and his son Sai Htun Hla (29) with 9 mm pistols in their residence on Pone Tun Street in Pone Tun Ward of Tachileik.

“U Aik Lone a.k.a. Sai Lone was the owner of San Yay Drinking Water Company and lived in Pone Tun Ward. The armed man barged into his residence and killed him at about 1 p.m. His son came out on hearing the gun shots when the gunman was leaving after killing his father. The assailants shot dead the son too,” a local resident of Tachileik told Mizzima on Monday.

But when contacted, an official at the Tachileik police station said, “If you are from news agency, you better ask people from the locality,” and refused to divulge anything.

A local resident, quoting eyewitnesses said, the armed man came in a car accompanied by a woman to the victims’ house, located at the corner of the 4th Lane on Pone Tun Street.

Despite of the local authority efforts to keep the double murder case under wraps, locals speculates that it could have a link to drug trafficking.