Manhunt for Trang SWAT member after 1 killed, 2 injured in pub brawl

Pol Sgt-Major Chutipon Nakkaew or “Sergeant Bird” , a member of the provincial Special Weapons and Tactics police force, is accused of using his official 9mm pistol to shoot dead Jitakorn Kongchan, 32.

The incident took place inside the Country Home pub in Trang’s Muang district at 1.13am.

Police said Chutipon allegedly fired 10 shots at Jitakorn after a quarrel and stray bullets hit the victim’s friend, Ekkapoj Phetrat, 34, and another pubgoer.

The SWAT member was apparently drinking with Jitikorn for a while before a row broke out, witnesses said.

The pub was supposed to be a weapons-free zone.

Pol Colonel Ratthakorn Pakdeevant, chief of the Muang Trang Police Station, deployed some 50 police officers from both the SWAT team and other units to hunt Chutipon down.

Investigators first checked the SWAT office to see if rumours that he had broken in to steal assault rifles and bullet-proof vests were true. As of press time, police have not confirmed or denied this rumour.

Two other teams were also sent to check the homes of Chutipon’s relatives and close friends.

This is the second violent incident involving police this month.

On October 6, fired cop Panya Khamrab, who used the pistol he had bought under the police welfare programme to massacre 36 people, including many sleeping toddlers, before killing his wife, child and himself.

This pistol was his official firearm as a police officer and was not confiscated by the force when he was sacked.