Just as Thailand was set to mark the first anniversary of its worst-ever mass killing, the sound of gunshots broke out in the heart of Bangkok’s top luxury shopping mall.
Tuesday’s shooting rampage offers proof that government agencies remain powerless to prevent deadly gun violence despite lessons offered by the massacre in Nong Bua Lamphu province last year.
“I have seen no tightening of gun controls,” commented Assoc Prof Dr Krisanaphong Poothakool, an expert in criminology and law enforcement who serves as vice president of Rangsit University. He is also a former police officer.
On October 3, a 14-year-old boy opened fire at shoppers in Siam Paragon, killing two people and injuring five others.
Thailand ranks 13th among countries with the highest civilian gun ownership, according to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey (2017). The global survey recorded more than 10.34 million guns in the possession of Thai civilians – the equivalent of one gun for every seven people.
Worst killing spree
On October 6 last year, a former police officer went on a killing spree in the northeast province of Nong Bua Lamphu, using guns, a knife, and a vehicle to murder 36 people, many of them infants, before committing suicide.
The main site of the slaughter was a childcare center in Uthai Sawan, where the infants were sleeping. Never before in Thai history had a facility for children been targeted by a mass murderer.
Survivors and bereaved families have spent almost 12 months in mourning, but the grief and memories will keep many away from activities that will soon be held to mark the first anniversary of the massacre.
“No one wants to think about it,” said Danaichoke Boonsom, chief executive of the Uthai Sawan Subdistrict Administrative Organization. “We won’t force anyone to come to the anniversary event. Participation is voluntary.”
Pain burning inside
Nanticha Punchum, a teacher at the childcare center who survived last October’s killing spree, said that although she had returned to her daily routine, she knew life would never be the same.
“If you look at me from the outside, you will see that I have resumed living a normal life. But if anything triggers memories of that day, tears well up in my eyes,” she said.
Nanticha is still working for the same childcare center, though it has temporarily relocated to the library of a school.
“I have been busy throughout the past year, helping with the relocation, supporting the children’s parents, liaising with various authorities, and writing reports,” she said. “Still, I can’t forget what happened.”
Rejecting emergency-response plans
Nanticha said that like other locals in Uthai Sawan, she has never participated in an emergency-response drill, because just the thought of it is unbearable.
“We can’t embrace it. Doing the drills makes it feel like this kind of event could happen again. Deep down, all of us are praying hard that such a bloodbath will never recur,” the teacher said.
Her childcare center now has 68 children – four fewer than the 72 in attendance last October. She said the current attendees are not the same cohort who were at the center last year, so have not been affected by the massacre. Several agencies have also stepped in to support the center, which now has more activities and methods to educate children in various fun ways.
Asked about the first anniversary of the massacre, Chanpen Dejpok, a village head in Uthai Sawan, said locals had made it clear they would commemorate the loss of loved ones in their own way and not attend the anniversary events.
Danaichoke, the subdistrict’s administrative chief, said merit-making activities would be quietly organized in honor of the victims.
“The events will be simple. The provincial governor will also attend,” he said.
Efforts to prevent more killing sprees
Chanpen said local residents had been assigned to patrol their village. If they find anyone abusing drugs, they alert police, who then arrange a rehabilitation program for the person in question.
“So far, we have sent three drug abusers to rehab,” he said.
Krisanaphong, the academic and former cop, noted that drug rehabilitation was one of four measures announced by the previous government in response to the massacre in Nong Bua Lamphu.
The killer had attended court on a narcotics charge earlier on the same day as the massacre and had reportedly been addicted to drugs since his school days.
“Some of the [previous government’s] measures have already been implemented – but with flaws,” Krisanaphong said.
For example, he pointed out that police measures to arrest drug abusers and send them for rehabilitation often falter when new police chiefs are appointed.
“When the new chiefs arrive, operations tend to stall as staff wait to see if the bosses will set new directions,” he said.
Last year, the government also mentioned setting up a safe room at every childcare center so that staff and kids had a secure place to hide in the event of an emergency. However, very few local administrative bodies have acted on the idea, which includes a panic button. Among the handful of facilities that have implemented the idea is a childcare center in Kao Kloi Municipality, close to Uthai Sawan. If staff there push the button, police from the nearest station will reach the center within seven minutes.
Krisanaphong is also waiting to see how the new government, led by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, will respond to proposed changes to tighten firearm-control laws.
He recommends scrapping the lifetime gun-possession license, emphasizing that the license holders’ personality and qualifications can change over time. Career or family problems, for example, can lead to a buildup of stress and affect their mental health.
On the subject of mental health, he also commented that Thailand needed to produce more psychiatrists and psychologists to meet the demand for counseling and therapy.
Mental care is a must
Krisanaphong added that mental health care provision must extend beyond government officials to cover other sectors of society. He said the government should set up mental care facilities at all educational institutions and enterprises that employ more than 100 people, one of the four measures that the previous government had announced in the wake of the Nong Bua Lamphu bloodbath.
“There should be a psychiatric team and drug team for every district. These teams should also integrate their work,” he said.
Take action now
Krisanaphong said the government should start taking action immediately to combat outbreaks of deadly violence.
“Don’t wait till the violence recurs,” he said.
By Thai PBS World’s General Desk
