Delivery man shot by police for wearing a helmet inside a shopping mall

A Khlong Luang Police Station officer shot an unarmed parcel delivery man after he violated safety measures by wearing a motorcycle helmet inside a bank in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok. Incredibly, some members of the public believe the officer was right to shoot the defenceless man, stating he was ensuring the safety of others in a public place.

The delivery man, 27 year old Arkorn Yuenyong, yesterday was shot in his left foot at about 5.30pm by Deputy Traffic Inspector Phantae Buawichaisin. Arkorn was swiftly taken to the hospital by emergency rescue officials. His motorcycle, a black Honda Wave, without a registration plate was found in front of the Big C supermarket.

The confrontation reportedly arose over Arkorn’s refusal to comply with the police officer’s orders to remove his half-face helmet inside the shopping mall. The order follows measures to maintain the safety of banks and gold shops in shopping malls as most thieves hide their identities by wearing a helmet when committing the crime.

Arkorn’s colleague, 22 year old Sakkarin Chato, told the media that his friend wore a helmet inside the shopping mall almost every day to deposit money at an automatic cash deposit machine. He added they don’t take off their helmets because they are on a tight schedule to deliver parcels.

Sakkarin explained that he and Arkorn visited Big C to deposit money at Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) on the incident day. A police officer who sat at the food court approached Arkorn and requested he took off his helmet.

According to Sakkarin, Arkorn had already finished his transaction and was leaving the mall, as CCTV footage shows, and refused to compile with the police’s order. Arkorn walked toward the entrance to get his motorcycle with the officer in pursuit. The officer berated him for ignoring his order.

Arkorn told the police officer to stop complaining. He then withdrew his firearm and pointed it at Arkorn. Sakkarin said he thought the officer was only threatening him but then he suddenly shot his friend.

The Superintendent of the Khlong Luang Police Station, Kiattisak Mitprasart, explained that thefts at the gold shops and banks inside the mall are common, so Phantae ensured the safety measures were implemented.

Many Thai netizens agreed with the superintendent that the delivery man deserved to be shot because he violated the rules. Others reckoned that the shooting was a step too far.

Some believed the police officer was drunk but Kiattisak clarified that his alcohol test results came back negative.

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Kiattisak insisted that officers would consider the justice issue and provide it to both parties. Arkorn and Phantae would be questioned and evidence would be gathered before any charges were considered.