A Thai policeman shot dead a Canadian tourist and wounded his pregnant ex-wife during a scuffle outside a bar, authorities said today.
John Leo Del Pinto, 25, died after being shot in the face and torso while Carly Reisig, also from Canada, was taken to hospital with a bullet wound.
Colonel Sombat Panya, of Pai district police in northern Mae Hong Son, said the officer involved claimed the shooting was an accident.
But he revealed Sergeant Uthai Dechawiwat had since been charged with premeditated murder and released on bail.
Del Pinto and Reisig, who rented a home in the town of Mae Hong Son, were drinking at a bar in Pai on Saturday night.
Witness described how the pair began arguing after Del Pinto learned that Reisig had become pregnant with a Thai man, Sombat said.
Outside the bar the argument turned physical, and when Uthai tried to intervene the couple attacked him, officials said.
The police officer told investigators that Del Pinto had tried to grab his pistol and the gun "accidentally went off" three times.
"The policeman, who is about 1.6m tall, was beaten to the ground by the man, a bodybuilder, and the hippy woman," said the local police chief, Wanchai Suwanririkate.
Del Pinto, a frequent visitor to Pai, died at the scene, while Reisig was rushed to hospital in the nearby province of Chiang Mai. One of the bullets grazed her upper left torso but her foetus was unharmed, Sombat said.
Uthai was charged with premeditated murder for Del Pinto's death, and with "intent to kill" in connection with Reisig, Sombat added.
A spokesman for the Canadian embassy in Bangkok was not available for comment. It is not known where in Canada the couple were from
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This post is old. Looks like it was a police murder and cover up. Read below.
From Andrew Drummond Web site.
SHOOTING DEATH
Police tale fabricated: Pornthip
NHRC wants DSI to take over Pai inquiry Published on February 9, 2008
Top forensic doctor Pornthip Rojanasunan has rejected the police account of the shooting of two Canadians, one of whom was killed, in the northern town of Pai last month.
Pornthip has been studying post mortems carried out both in Calgary, Canada and in Chiang Mai. She said this week that police claims that Leo del Pinto, 24, had been shot from below by a local policeman “as he was falling to the ground” did not match the evidence.
Carley Reising 01 with Dr Pornthip Rojanasun 1
“What the police say is just not possible. Evidence shows that the gunman was above Leo when he was shot in the head,” she said at the Maharaj Chiang Mai hospital after studying medical records.
Picture: Carly Reisig with Dr. Pornthip and assistant to Canadian Honorary Consul in Chiang Mai
“One bullet went through his abdomen, piercing his kidney and liver, and the entry and exit points were at quite similar points. The bullet that entered the man’s head entered through his right cheek, went down through his larynx and was embedded under his shoulder,” she said.
Her comments add to a growing belief that the inquiry by local police into the incident is a sham, designed simply to get their colleague off the hook.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is set to formally request the Justice Ministry’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) take over investigation into the shooting of del Pinto and Carly Reisig.
Rights Commissioner Surasee Kosolnavin, who has been looking into the case with the DSI’s Colonel Piyawate Kingkate and Pornthip, also indicated a range of concerns about the police probe.
“The most telling point of all is that police have given evidence that the bullet which hit Carly Reisig also hit Leo del Pinto. It is not possible,” said Commissioner Surasee. “So we are starting from that point and going back.Carley HRC Commissioner Surasee Kosolnavin
Human Rights Commissioner Surasee Kosolnavin with NHRC team at Pai police station
“There are reports that the policeman has been charged with murder and attempted murder, but no such charges have been brought. They have, however, now been put to the officer [at the court hearing on Wednesday] ,and we will be referring the case to the governing board of the DSI and recommend they take over the investigation.”
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej may be asked to decide whether the DSI should take over the case, as the new PM is understood to head the committee that will consider the matter.
Reisig and del Pinto, both 24 and from British Columbia, were shot in the main street of Pai at about 2am on January 6.
Pai Police Sergeant Uthai Dechawiwat was freed without bail after admitting to shooting the two Canadians. He pleaded not guilty in Mae Hong Son Court on Wednesday to charges of murder and attempted murder.
But Uthai’s claims to have acted in self-defence after a fight erupted when he confronted the two tourists and that his gun discharged accidentally are contentious.
Reisig told the court on Wednesday she had been pistol-whipped then shot in the chest and that del Pinto had been fatally shot straight afterwards, despite having his hands in the air and pleading with Uthai to “Stop! Stop!”
Reisig’s account has been backed by two local witnesses, now in protective custody, who have given their account to the NHRC and DSI in Bangkok.
Andrew Drummond
Special to The Nation
Mae Hong Son
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