Police check Koh Chang’s only shooting range after receiving complaints of encroachment

Pol Lieutenant Chingchai Chotsiri led a team of officers to inspect Koh Chang Shooting, the only shooting range on the island, on Monday morning.

The police team was accompanied by Sirawit Srisuk, deputy chief of Koh Chang district, and some Interior Ministry officials based in the province.

They checked the facility and questioned the owner, Sombat Boonkerdphanit.

This was in response to a complaint filed by Pollawee Buchakiart, chief of the Mu Koh Chang National Park.

In the complaint, Pollawee alleged that the shooting range had held a shooting competition on Saturday night, in which the contestants fired inside the adjacent national park and into the sea.

The park chief backed the allegations with pictures posted on Facebook by the participants.

Sombat, however, told the authorities that his range has a licence to operate and that the competition organiser had rented the entire range for Saturday night. However, he said, the organiser did not use the facilities of the range.

Instead, he said, the organiser set up a field target by putting a canoe on a canal near the range and putting targets in the sea.

Sombat said some of the land his shooting range is on has been reclaimed by the sea, so he is not certain whether the activities were within the boundary of his land or not.

Since the shooting range is located next to the national park, he said, the organiser may have unknowingly encroached on the park during the competition.

Sombat said he always ensures safety when organising shooting events because he has to serve tourists.

Chingchai, meanwhile, said police investigators will have to first check the park and the shooting range’s boundaries before further action can be taken.

District officials will also be deployed to survey the exact location of the shooting range, Chingchai added.

He said firing into the sea was a crime committed by the shooters, so the range owner should not be held responsible.