Captain in big trouble
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An Army investigation is under way into a notorious incident in which a captain from a cavalry battalion and his armed men beat up three Air Force police moonlighting as bouncers at a Pathum Thani pub.
First Army Region commander Lt-General Theerachai Narkwanich said the unnamed captain would be subject to severe disciplinary action once the probe was complete, as he exploited his status to order armed troops under his command to travel in military vehicles to sort out a personal problem with the three airmen.
The incident on Tuesday made headlines in Thai-language media and featured details about the captain yelling about his ties to the “Eastern Tigers”, the famous military units from the East that have seen three commanders become Army chiefs, including General Prayuth Chan-ocha, now the prime minister.
Theerachai said the incident was a personal problem of a few soldiers and had affected the image of the Army, which he said utilised tens of thousands of men in the military seizure of power and post-coup operations.
Their image was tarnished by a small number of men.
The captain and his men belong to the 30th Cavalry Battalion, from the Royal Guard, in Prachin Buri province.
The captain has said he and two subordinates visited the pub early Tuesday morning, and were told by the airmen to stop smoking.
He claimed the airmen harassed him and his men, and beat one of them up.
