BANGKOK — A Bangkok police officer was arrested Wednesday after allegedly shooting a Frenchman to death.
Senior Sgt. Maj. Kantapong Huadsri, 49, a squad leader at Lumpini Police Station, was discharged from the force after police said he was caught on security camera shooting 41-year-old Djamel Malik Ait Kaki near BTS Nana this morning.
Ait Kaki was shot in the chest and hip inside the Trendy Office and Plaza in Soi Sukhumvit 13. He died at the scene.
Update: No Bail For Bangkok Cop That Shot Frenchman
A friend of the victim told police he had gotten into an altercation with Kantapong at a nearby bar. She said Kantapong was upset that he lost the fight and followed the victim back to the building and shot him in front of a Dunkin’ Donuts stall.
Speaking to reporters, Maj. Gen. Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn said Kantapong has confessed to shooting Ait Kaki out of rage in a fight over a woman. He added that the officer was convicted on a weapons-related charge for a shooting six years ago.
According to Bangkok police commander Sutthipong Wongpin, Kantapong shot and killed a taxi driver in a drug-related case in 2012. He said the incident was ruled self-defense as the driver tried to run over Kantapong with his car.
Surachate said the family of the victim has been notified, adding that Ait Kaki had relocated to Thailand to look for a job within the past year.
Maj. Gen. Mongkol Warunno of Metropolitan Police Division 5 said the other involved party was a waiter at the bar with whom Kantapong left his gun while he was drinking.
Police spokesman Kritsana Pattanacharoen promised Kantapong would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Update: This story has been updated with additional information about the shooting and officer Kantapong’s previous shooting incident.
