Ex-policeman gets 19 and half years for two shooting incidents
The Criminal Court Friday sentenced a former crowd-control policeman to 17 years in jail for a drunken shooting spree last year that injured two people and damaged six vehicles.
The court also sentenced Thirayu Phetmeekha, 29, a former police lance-corporal, to two and a half years for shooting and injuring Kittisak Sriwattanaworachai in another case on August 5, 2006.
Regarding last year’s incident, the court found Thirayu guilty of shooting and injuring Suradet Sukthaworn and Niphaporn Prasertsri on the night of December 23.
Thirayu carried out the shooting spree in the jurisdiction areas of Prachachuen, Sutthisan and Dusit police stations. He was arrested in Songkhla later in December.
He confessed during the investigation and pleaded guilty in court. He said he had got drunk at a restaurant on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok and started the shooting rampage.
The court ruled that witnesses clearly identified Thirayu as the one who committed the crime. It initially sentenced him to 33 years and four months for attempted murder and another year for violating gun-control laws. Since he pleaded guilty, the court reduced the sentence to 17 years and two months plus two and a half years for the 2006 shooting incident.
Thirayu said he would not appeal against the ruling.
