Don’t Jump The Bank Queue In Thailand - You’ll Get Shot

Filed under: Thailand Written by:Chris Mitchell.

Find The Cheapest Flights to Thailand Book Thailand Hotels - Up To 70% Off!

From today's Bangkok Post - reproduced here because they put all stories behind registration after 24 hours. (Original Bangkok Post story link):

Bank queue-jumper shot by annoyed security guard in mall

Nonthaburi - A security guard shot and wounded a university student after she annoyed him by jumping the queue at a Bangkok Bank branch at a shopping mall in Muang district yesterday. A female teller was also wounded when the guard, Thong-arn Nalard, 37, lost his temper during an argument with the queue-jumper, Patthira sae Tia, 25, a student at Sripathum University.

Muang district police said the guard told them he pulled the trigger in a fit of temper after Ms Patthira taunted him, asking if he had the guts to use the gun.

He said the bank's queue-ticket machine was out of order, but all other customers had lined up in orderly fashion to wait their turn at the counter.

Ms Patthira showed up and jumped the queue. He asked her to go to the end, but she refused and looked upset.

As he was turning to walk away, one of his arms accidentally hit Ms Patthira. She accused him of bullying her and hit him once on his back, prompting a fierce argument, he told police.

The guard claimed he did not aim at anyone when he fired his pistol. One of the bullets hit Ms Patthira in the left collarbone and the second hit the teller, Noppawan Kansook, 25, in the right thigh.

The wounded women were taken to nearby Nonthavej Hospital. When police arrived they found a large crowd of onlookers and Mr Thong-arn waiting to surrender at the empty bank counter with his .38 handgun. He was charged with attempted murder.

Reporter: Pongkan Jongjaikarn

See also the Bangkok Post's previous magnum opus Flying Dead Toad Used To Smuggle SIM cards into Bangkok prison

Latest 5 articles about Thailand

Posted on February 10th, 2006.