Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha has ordered security forces to tighten gun laws and step up crackdown on drug use and trafficking after the massacre that left the country in shock last week.
A total of 37 people died, including 24 children aged two to five years – most stabbed to death -, killed by a former police officer who raided a day care center in the city of Uthai Sawan, 500 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, the country’s capital. The episode, which ended with the attacker killing his wife and four-year-old son before committing suicide, is one of the worst solo attacks involving children in recent history.
In a statement, the government said Prayuth had instructed security forces to investigate and test authorities for illicit drug use, and to strengthen addiction treatments. The perpetrator had been removed from the corporation for possession of methamphetamine last year, and it is suspected that he was under the influence of drugs at the time of the break-in.
Thailand is part of the so-called Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia, a notorious center of drug trafficking and production since the beginning of the last century, which also includes Myanmar and Laos. Methamphetamine in particular has been a problem in northern Thailand since the 1990s, and despite efforts by authorities and international agencies, drug trafficking remains strong in the region. UN data indicate that the amount of methamphetamine lozenges confiscated in East and Southeast Asia last year exceeded one billion.
The prime minister also announced a series of actions related to the possession of firearms. He ordered, for example, the revocation of licenses for individuals who have a history of threatening behavior, and an even more intense fight against smuggling and the illegal use of weapons.
He also plans to confiscate weapons from officers and police officers who have misused firearms or who have shown aggressive behavior on the job.
Regular mental health checks will also be required for those who already have or wish to obtain a firearms license, Police General Damrongsak Kittprapas told the press.
Thailand is one of the countries with the most weapons in circulation in the world, and officials have long been concerned about the potential for gun violence. A study by Gun Policy, a non-profit organization based at the University of Sydney, points out that in 2017 there were 15 guns for every 100 citizens of the country. It’s much less than in the US — where, that same year, the ratio was 120 guns for every 100 citizens — but a higher rate than most Asian countries.
The country also has one of the highest gun homicide rates on the continent and the largest market for firearms smuggling in Southeast Asia, followed by Cambodia and Vietnam. Experts say many of the illegal weapons come from neighboring countries.
Even so, attacks like the one last week are rare — even though, in recent years, there have been two similar cases by men linked to the Armed Forces. Last month, a sergeant killed two colleagues in a shootout at a military training center in Bangkok. Two years earlier, a soldier killed 29 people and injured 57 others when he had a falling out with a superior during the sale of a property.
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