Furious Anutin demands answers after ex-MP Chalong Riengrang gives interviews without handcuffs following the fatal PAO shooting. PM brands him a murderer, orders no special treatment and launches gun checkpoints nationwide.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has blasted police after former Nonthaburi MP Chalong Riengrang appeared to hold a relaxed press conference just hours after allegedly gunning down PAO President Pol Col Thongchai Yenprasert. Anutin branded Chalong a murderer and demanded to know why he was neither handcuffed nor treated like a murder suspect. He ordered police to move decisively, with no leniency or political favouritism. National Police Commissioner Pol Gen Kittirat Panpetch has since reprimanded local officers. Meanwhile, the killing has triggered a nationwide gun crackdown, district-level checkpoints and a halt to the welfare firearms programme driving gun ownership.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered decisive action against former Nonthaburi MP Chalong Riengrang following a fatal political shooting. He demanded swift action without leniency, favouritism or special treatment for the former lawmaker.
At the same time, Mr Anutin criticised police for allowing Chalong to appear publicly without handcuffs. He also questioned why the murder suspect was allowed to give relaxed interviews shortly after the killing.
The Prime Minister intervened on Monday, August 10, after receiving a progress report on the investigation. Chalong is accused of fatally shooting Pol Col Thongchai Yenprasert, President of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO).
Following the briefing, Mr Anutin issued direct instructions to senior provincial officials. He ordered the Nonthaburi Governor and provincial police commander to accelerate the investigation. Crucially, he said Chalong’s former political status must provide no protection.
Anutin demands no special treatment as police face criticism over Chalong’s conduct after fatal shooting
Mr Anutin said there could be no leniency or favouritism towards the former MP. He described the circumstances as clear and called the perpetrator a murderer who had broken the law. Accordingly, he said no special privileges would be granted during the investigation. Provincial officials and senior police must work alongside local investigators handling the case. The Prime Minister also demanded rapid progress.
However, Mr Anutin reserved particularly sharp criticism for the police treatment of Chalong after the shooting. Images showed the former politician without handcuffs while speaking openly to reporters. Only hours earlier, Pol Col Thongchai had been shot dead. Yet the suspect appeared before reporters in circumstances Mr Anutin compared with a press conference.
“How is it possible that those images got out into the public eye?” Mr Anutin asked. “Just a few hours ago, someone was shot and killed, and now they’re holding a press conference as if nothing happened. That’s unacceptable.”
In response, Mr Anutin contacted National Police Commissioner Pol Gen Kittirat Panpetch directly. He raised the handling of Chalong with Thailand’s most senior police officer. According to the Prime Minister, Pol Gen Kittirat had already reprimanded the local police involved. Furthermore, the police chief said additional action would follow according to law. Mr Anutin stressed that the response must be swift.
Anutin says firearm carrying permits have expired as Chalong’s possession of a gun draws scrutiny
Separately, the Prime Minister focused on the firearm carried during the incident. He said the offence involving the carrying of a gun was already clear. A permit to possess a firearm did not provide permission to carry it publicly. Notably, Mr Anutin said Thailand no longer issues permits allowing people to carry firearms.
“The crime has already been committed. He was carrying a firearm, and we prohibit that,” Mr Anutin said. “Even if he had a permit to possess a gun, he didn’t have a permit to carry it because Thailand no longer issues permits.”
The Prime Minister then detailed the position surrounding previous permits to carry firearms. Those permits required annual renewal. According to Mr Anutin, the latest permits were issued around late 2023 and early 2024. Consequently, those permits have now passed their expiry dates. People relying upon old permits could therefore already be breaking the law.
“Anyone carrying a gun now may not even realise that they are already breaking the law,” Mr Anutin said.
PM pushes tougher gun laws as welfare firearms programme and Chalong’s party status face review
Against this backdrop, Mr Anutin called for clearer government measures covering the carrying of firearms. He also raised possible amendments to existing laws. In particular, the Prime Minister said the rules must operate without exceptions. His comments linked the Nonthaburi shooting directly with wider enforcement against unlawful firearm carrying.
On another front, Mr Anutin addressed the government’s welfare firearms programme. He said the programme should be put on hold for now. Moreover, he said proposals connected with the scheme should not be submitted to him. The Prime Minister said he would not approve them anyway.
The case has also raised questions about Chalong’s membership of the Bhumjaithai Party. Reporters asked Mr Anutin about the former MP’s membership status following the killing. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister said he was not interested in becoming involved in that issue. He noted that he was not a member of the party’s executive committee. Therefore, he had no involvement in decisions concerning individual membership.
Instead, Mr Anutin pointed to the party’s existing regulations. He said membership could automatically end under rules already governing party members. Specifically, those regulations require members not to become involved in criminal cases. They also cover violations of laws or the constitution, according to the Prime Minister.
Governors ordered to establish gun checkpoints nationwide as police face action over suspect’s treatment
Meanwhile, Mr Anutin widened his response beyond the murder investigation in Nonthaburi. Before leaving the event, he issued instructions to provincial governors attending the gathering. He ordered firearm checkpoints to be established at district level nationwide. Officials were told to seize weapons from people carrying them unlawfully.
As part of this, governors were instructed to ensure strict enforcement across their provinces. Mr Anutin maintained that anyone carrying a firearm without valid permission was breaking the law. He therefore ordered legal action against people found carrying weapons unlawfully. The instructions extended the response from one murder investigation into nationwide firearm enforcement.
In parallel, the Prime Minister continued pressing senior police over their treatment of Chalong. His criticism centred on the absence of handcuffs and the suspect’s access to reporters. Mr Anutin questioned how images of those scenes had reached the public. The criticism came alongside his demand for rapid progress in the murder investigation.
For his part, Pol Gen Kittirat told the Prime Minister that local officers had been reprimanded. Further action would also be ordered under the law. The intervention placed the conduct of local police alongside the murder investigation as a separate issue requiring action.
Nonthaburi officials ordered to accelerate murder case as nationwide firearm enforcement is tightened
At provincial level, the Nonthaburi Governor and provincial police commander now have direct instructions from the Prime Minister. Both must accelerate their work and support the local investigation. At national level, meanwhile, the police chief has been told directly about concerns surrounding the suspect’s treatment.
Beyond the investigation, Mr Anutin has also moved against the carrying of firearms nationwide. District-level checkpoints are to target people carrying weapons unlawfully. Governors must oversee enforcement, while firearms found being carried illegally are to be seized. Those involved must face legal action.
At the policy level, the Prime Minister has called for clearer measures or amendments governing firearm carrying. He has also withheld support for the welfare firearms programme. At the same time, he said previous carrying permits have expired because they required annual renewal.
The murder case remains centred on Chalong and the fatal shooting of Pol Col Thongchai. However, the immediate police response has now prompted intervention from both the Prime Minister and national police chief. Chalong’s former political status has also become part of the government’s response to the case.
Anutin demands decisive murder probe as nationwide gun checkpoints and stricter enforcement are ordered
Above all, Mr Anutin instructed officials not to give the former MP special treatment. He said political status must not produce leniency or favouritism. The Prime Minister described the perpetrator as a murderer and demanded decisive action from investigators.
In addition, the shooting has prompted orders reaching every province and district across Thailand. Governors must establish checkpoints targeting unlawful firearm carrying. Police must seize weapons and pursue offenders under the law. Meanwhile, the welfare firearms programme is to remain on hold.
Political bigwig charged with murder in Nonthaburi after gunning down Provincial Authority President
The Prime Minister has therefore issued orders across several levels of government following the killing. Nonthaburi officials must accelerate the murder investigation. National police must address the treatment of the suspect. Across the country, governors must tighten enforcement against people carrying firearms unlawfully.
Join the Thai News forum, follow Thai Examiner on Facebook here
Receive all our stories as they come out on Telegram here
Follow Thai Examiner here
Further reading:
Political bigwig charged with murder in Nonthaburi after gunning down Provincial Authority President
Kamnan Nok finally handed down a Life in-prison sentence for 2023 murder of a senior police officer
Kamnan Nok death penalty case leads to a national crackdown on all illegal activity and corruption
Prisons boss confirms that the man being held in jail is the real Kamnan Nok to counter rumours
Kamnan murder case sees probe into possible corruption in Ministry of Interior contract bids
Local corruption linked to the police under the spotlight after officer’s murder in Nakhon Pathom
Corruption and border smuggling linked to the Muno blast in Narathiwat. Call for top-level probe
Explosive report on the Red Bull scandal exposing ‘corruption’ due at the Prime Minister’s office
Police accused of bribery file complaint with the AG’s Office based on new 2022 anti-torture law
