Bangkok: Trouble-makers, the ugly side of Songkran
Songkran is not always a good time for everyone, and the celebration brought injury and unpleasantness for people in some provinces this year.
Violence erupted not once, but twice, in Ayutthaya on Thursday night when revellers sprayed bullets instead of water during the festivities.
Four people from Bang Sai district were hurt by gunshots fired by another group of youths as they celebrated the Thai new year at Wat Phu Khao Thong, a popular venue in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district of the province, about 7.30pm, Ayutthaya police reported.
Two hours later, members of another youth gang shot at rivals in a parking area of the Ayutthaya Park shopping centre in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya used for a Songkran party. Seven people were injured, police said.
Details of the weapons used were not released and no arrests had been made.
Deputy Ayutthaya police chief Pol Col Puwadit Chanakchapat said police were tracking down the people who pulled the triggers at the two events.
“They damaged the image of Ayutthaya. This is a Word Heritage site and a popular tourist attraction,” he said. More police and volunteers would be deployed to prevent further violence, he added.
Police in Chon Buri arrested 10 youths and charged them with public mischief after they threw more than just water at people and motorists in Muang district.
Pol Lt Gen Jitti Rodbangyang, the Police Provincial Region 2 commander, said the gang, two of them 17 year-olds, had been detained on Wednesday night after they pelted people with engine oil, polluted water and fermented fish in small plastic bags.
They would not all be fined and released, but instead sent directly to face the charge in the Criminal Court, to teach them a lesson for causing trouble for other people.
The incident was posted on social media, including the @Tichakondemnaka Facebook account, on Thursday morning.
