Maj Gen Sinlert broke news at a press conference held at Phuket City Police Station at about 5pm, at the launch of an island-wide anti-crime blitz to be conducted for the week leading up to the Loy Krathong festival, to be celebrated nationwide next Monday (Nov 27).
The seven-day anti-crime campaign for Loy Krathong began yesterday, and continues through to this coming Sunday (Nov 20-26).
Before yesterday, police and local government officials had remained silent about the shooting, with not a single report released following the initial reports on Sunday.
Police were first alerted to the shooting at 2:25am, when officers at the Bangla Police Box were told of a brawl during which a firearm had been used, Maj Gen Sinlert said at the press conference yesterday.
Officers arrived at the scene, the parking lot in Soi Lao, a small sidestreet joining Bangla Rd, to find the shooter still with the firearm.
Maj Gen Sinlert referred to the shooter only as ‘Mr Boy’, 37, despite initial police reports on Sunday already identifying him as Jettanai Kongsiri.
Officers placed Jettanai under arrest and seized the gun, a legally registered .38-calibre Smith & Wesson revolver, Maj Gen Sinlert said.
All five bullets in the gun had been fired, he confirmed.
Jettanai used to work on Bangla Rd as a tout, soliciting customers, mainly tourists, who walked along the popular nightlife street. However, he ceased work as a tout about a year ago, Maj Gen Sinlert explained.
Only recently did Jettanai return to work as tout, he added.
While sitting in Soi Lao, Jettanai saw nine people with whom had already had a conflict with coming toward him to attack him. Jettanai fled further into Soi Lao, and fired the gun, Maj Gen Sinlert said.
Four people, three men and one woman, were injured in the brawl, and the gunfire that ended it. Ms Thidarat, a bystander to the brawl, was hit by a stray bullet on the right side of the neck. Mr Theerasak was shot in the left arm. Mr Somnuk was shot in the leg. Mr Pornsak suffered a knife wound on his right hand.
In conducting their investigation, Patong Police had checked additional CCTV cameras installed in Soi Lao, Pol Maj Gen Sinlert said.
The cameras were already installed following a previous order by Pol Maj Gen Sinlert himself to have security measures in the nightlife area ramped up, said an official report of the press conference.
Maj Gen Sinlert confirmed that Jettanai now faces three charges: attempted murder, carrying a firearm in a public area without reasonable cause, and firing a gun in a public area without reason.
Of note, despite his description of the events that led to the firing of the gun, Maj Gen Sinlert made no mention of self-defence.
Meanwhile, all eight people involved in the attack on Jettanai have been charged with “joining together to physically harm another person, causing harm to body or mind", Maj Gen Sinlert confirmed.
So far police and local officials have made no comment on the potential impact that the gang attack and subsequent shooting in Phuket’s busiest tourism nightlife area might have on the island’s appeal to allow 4am closing for nightlife venues in specified zones, including Bangla Rd.
Before the press conference yesterday, Maj Gen Sinlert inspected the scene of the shooting, joined by Phuket MP Chalermpong Saengdee.
Mr Chalermpong praised police efforts in responding to the incident. “In my opinion, police officers worked well and quickly,” he wrote in a Facebook post last night.