
PHUKET — Police officers from Kathu Police Station in Phuket are investigating a case where a Thai teenager on a motorcycle used a gun to shoot at a pickup truck driver with whom he was in dispute on the road. However, the bullet hit and killed a 15-year-old Myanmar girl.
The incident occurred at 1:30 AM on August 18. Kittipong, 27, was driving a white Toyota pickup truck with Nattawut, 21, sitting on the left side next to the driver. Ms. Namphueng, a 15-year-old Myanmar national described as a “tomboy,” was sitting on Nattawut’s lap. Namphueng’s girlfriend was lying in the back seat. They were all traveling from Patong sub-district towards Phuket City.
About 50 meters before reaching the Si Ko intersection on Phra Phuket Kaeo Road in Kathu district, a motorcycle with a driver and a passenger pulled up next to the pickup truck. The motorcycle rider then shot at the pickup truck passengers, with the bullet hitting Namphueng in the left side of her head. She died while rescue workers were transporting her to the hospital.

Mr. Lo, the owner of a nearby food stall and a witness, said he heard a sound like firecrackers. When he looked, he saw the pickup truck stopped at a red light, with someone on a motorcycle firing about two shots. The shooter then got into another pickup truck and turned back towards Patong.
Later, the police investigation identified a 19-year-old suspect named Danusorn. He was arrested at his rented house in Soi Ton Pho, Talat Yai sub-district, Phuket. He confessed to having an argument with the pickup truck driver who almost hit him near a gas station on the way down from Patong hill.
He then chased the pickup on his motorcycle. When he caught up, the pickup reversed into him and opened the window, so he fired his gun. He then had a friend throw the gun into the sea at Khao Khad viewpoint in Wichit sub-district, Phuket City.
The police searched the suspect’s room and found the clothes he wore during the incident, which were seized as evidence. They then sent a team to search for the gun used in the crime, requiring them to rappel down a 10-meter cliff at the Khao Khad viewpoint.

Mr. Suchart, 55, who had raised Ms. Namphueng since she was 4-5 years old, revealed that her father was Thai and her mother was from Myanmar. She had stopped studying to work, helping with dishwashing and selling goods. She enjoyed going out like a typical teenager but wasn’t involved with drugs.
On the night of the incident, she had initially planned to ride a motorcycle with her girlfriend, but due to a flat tire, they left it at home and got a ride in their friend’s pickup truck. She became a victim of the stray bullet in this incident.
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