Phuket Governor Chamreon Tipayapongthada is currently investigating the alleged deadly police chase that claimed the lives of two people, which led to a mob of angry residents led by the victim's parents, group together at Thalang police station demanding justice and explanation.
The two victims, Prathomwat Panarak, 22, and a 17-year-old whose name has been withheld, were allegedly chased by another patrol car which caused them to crash their motorbike on Tonsai Waterfall Rd in Thalang.
Thalang Police Lt Col Amnoy Kraiwuttianan explained that the two men were drug suspects and were speeding when they spotted a patrol police on Thepkasstri Rd near the airport. The patrol officers chased them down the road and asked them to pull over but they refused and carried on.
The motorbike lost control and slammed head on into another oncoming patrol car near the entrance of Tonsai Waterfall Rd. The crash impact left both victims with severe head injuries and were both pronounced dead upon arrival at Thalang Hospital.
The parents of the victims demanded justice and asked police to explain the deadly chase. They said police took matters into their own hands, which went beyond their duties and resulted in the loss of two innocent men. Local residents claimed that the police that chased the victims fired a gun into the air to get them to stop.
The names of the police who drove the patrol car that the victims crashed into were identified as Pol L/C Kantapong Kongnookade (driver) and Pol Sen Ser Maj Prasan Pheungphol. The Phuket News is currently trying to identify the names of the police officers who chased the victims.
The mob of people stormed to the third floor of the station and broke the window of Thalang Police Chief Lt Col Chanucharn Cholsuwat's office who was in there at the time. There are currently 300 people at the scene, continuing to damage property.
The scene escalated quickly and Maj Gen Pachara arrived at the scene to try and ease the situation and speak to the crowd of people, while Thepkassatri Rd is closed in both lanes.
Lt Col Amnoy added that officers found 50 meth pills and one kilogramme of kratom on the victims at the accident site.
Governor Chamreon, Thalang District Chief, Veera Kerdsirimonkol and Provincial Police Deputy Superintendent Col Pinit Sirichai are currently investigated the incident.
Governor Chamreon said that the person who damaged the glass door at the police station will be punished for damaging government property and is facing a fine. He also ordered a doctor to check on the decease bodies to identify if they were under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident.