Appeals Court acquits ‘popcorn’ gunman
The Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned the conviction ruling of the Criminal Court against a Surat Thani man accused of being the “popcorn gunman” who shot dead a man and injured four other people at a 2014 red-shirt protest.
The Appeals Court ruled that there were no witnesses to implicate Wiwat Yodprasit in the crime.
The gunman fired a M16 assault rifle covered with a popcorn bag at red-shirt protesters in February 2014.
During the clash between protesters led by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee and red-shirt protesters at Lak Si Intersection near the IT Square shopping mall on February 1 2014, a man was seen firing the M16 at the red-shirt side. Akaew Saelim, 70, was killed.
Police arrested Wiwat in Surat Thani province on March 19, 2014.
On March 3, 2016, the Criminal Court sentenced Wiwat to 37 years in jail for murder and carrying a gun in public.
Despite the acquittal, the Appeals Court ordered Wiwat to be detained pending the Supreme Court’s decision on the case.
