Police Volunteer Who Shot Taxi Driver Surrenders Himself

October 24, 2013

A police volunteer at Huaikapi, who chased an escaping taxi to the Sansuk area, fired his gun but the bullet hit a female passenger, then when the taxi stopped he shot the driver in the stomach. The volunteer sent the victims to the hospital and then disappeared, but has since surrendered himself.

CHONBURI – October 22, 2013[PDN]; at 4.30pm, Police Colonel Itthiporn Pothong, (the Director of Sansuk police station), reported to the larger Samet Police Station, that a police volunteer was alleged to have attempted to kill a taxi driver. He was helping the Samet police at a check point, but a taxi driver had tried to escape, so he followed the taxi to the Sansuk area. He fired his gun, but the bullet hit a female passenger and when the taxi stopped, he shot the driver in the stomach. The driver fell to the ground, so the volunteer sent the victims to a hospital and then rapidly disappeared.

Police then asked the volunteer who shot the taxi driver to surrender himself, before an arrest warrant was issued, so this is what he did.

The police volunteer, Mr. Poonlarp Samerkit, was assisting police at Huaikapi and allegedly shot at the driver and the three female passengers, at Sansuk, and came to surrender himself to Police Lieutenant Captain Supornchai Neelasamit, (who was the officer of the shift at Samet police station). After he surrendered, the evidence was that he used a 9mm calibre pistol and fired into the taxi that drove off to escape the checkpoint controlled by the Samet police station. This occurred at 2.30 am. on Oct. 20th, and when the taxi reached Sansuk area, in front of Nongmon market, the volunteer and his companion tried to drive across to cut off the taxi. The volunteer, Mr. Poonlarp Samerkit, then opened the window and fired his gun into the taxi, saying later that he shot at the car, because he thought that the driver was involved with drugs.

Mr. Add, the taxi driver stated that he was just doing the taxi driving as a ‘side line’ job and said that he drove with the three passengers, heading for Bangsaen Beach. When he reached the check point he was afraid to be caught because of a driving license and his possession of a BB gun, so he drove through the check point. He did not think that the police would shoot his passengers or himself and went on to state that he parked the car and tried to surrender himself, because he wanted to send the passengers to a hospital.

The police volunteer, Mr. Poonlarp Samerkit, sent him and the wounded passenger to Bhurapha University Hospital before he vanished and the other police volunteers knew from the Sansuk police station, that Mr. Poonlarp was accused of attempting to kill. He stated that at first he did not wanted to fire his gun, but he saw a gun in the taxi and did not think it was fake, so he fired to protect himself. However, the two victims, (namely the taxi driver and one of the female passengers), had accused him of attempting to kill and would said that they would fight this matter in court. Later the police from Sansuk police station took the police volunteer, Mr. Poonlarp, to stage a re-enactment at the crime scene, which passers-by found to be a very interesting event.

Volunteer Police Shoot Down An Escaping Taxi Cab

Samed Police together with volunteer police decided to pull the trigger on a taxi cab that broke through a police checkpoint. Two were injured in the reported incident.