An event in which shotguns were billed as draw prizes for public officials on Koh Phangan will be the last of its kind, a senior Interior Ministry official said on Thursday.
Narucha Khosasivilai, director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration, was responding to widespread public criticism of the event, which was held just three days after a mass shooting in Nonthaburi left nine people dead.
Firearms will no longer be given as prizes to kamnan (sub-district or tambon chiefs) and village headmen as part of a series of new gun-control rules announced this week, he said.
Local officials, meanwhile, said on Thursday that while guns had been awarded as draw prizes on the tourist island in Surat Thani in past years, this year’s winners were given cash.
Provincial governor Chumphot Wannachatsiri, acknowledging the social media storm, said there had been an agreement to designate the prizes as firearms for winners selected by lottery. However, no firearms were actually handed over. Instead, cash was given to the winners, who could decide whether to use the money to purchase a firearm.
‘The firearm was simply a symbol of the prize,’ he said. In any case, the timing of the event and images of participants holding up large pictures of shotguns raised eyebrows. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is also the interior minister, also ordered officials to make sure no more gun raffles take place.
On the same day that the Koh Phangan party was held, there was another shooting in Nonthaburi in which a former MP killed the head of the provincial administrative organisation, a former policeman.
Responding to the events in Nonthaburi, Mr Anutin on Tuesday ordered a blanket ban on issuing of new gun permits, along with a halt to the controversial ‘welfare guns’ programme for public officials.
He has also ordered a new gun-control law to be drawn up within 60 days, with a strong emphasis on using technology to track and trace weapon sales and registrations.
Welfare guns on hold
Discussing the suspension of the ‘welfare gun’ scheme, Mr Narucha said it was originally intended to help officials to acquire firearms for maintaining public order at very low prices.
The programme, under which the government has procured tens of thousands of cut-price guns over the past 15 years or so, has given rise to a large resale market.
Given the government’s new policy to curb and limit firearms ownership, the programme has been suspended to ensure equal treatment between public officials and ordinary citizens.
Mr Anutin has also ordered a blanket ban on carrying weapons in public without proper authorisation.
Police have expressed concern that restrictions on carrying firearms, including requirements for officers to leave their weapons at their workplaces, could delay their response in emergencies.
Mr Narucha said the matter would be handled by individual agencies. As a solution, officials who are on duty may carry firearms if they have a written order from their superior assigning them to maintain public order within their area of responsibility.
Morale boosting event
Elaborating on the Koh Phangan event, Mr Chumphot said cash prizes had been provided to kamnan and village headmen in recognition of their assistance to government agencies throughout the year. The morale-boosting practice has been in place for many years.
District chief Paisit Thongcherm said prize money was contributed by businesses and members of the public, with firearms used as the symbolic form of the awards.
In the past, he said, winners of the Department of Provincial Administration’s gold-pin award for kamnan had received handguns or official-duty shotguns as prizes.
The Koh Phangan club, however, gives cash prizes ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 baht. Some winners have used their prize money to purchase personal firearms, but any such purchase must comply fully with government regulations.
‘Sometimes criticism on social media can affect the morale of people who work to assist the government, and may discourage good people,’ Mr Paisit said.
Sonchai Sithongkul, a member of the Surat Thani Provincial Administration Organisation, in an earlier television interview, said the purpose of offering firearms as prizes was to boost morale and provide equipment for officials performing their duties, as the weapons available to personnel in the area were insufficient.
He acknowledged that in light of the government’s tougher stance on firearms, organisers would need to discuss arrangements for future events and consider different types of prizes.
Mr Sonchai said local officials working in the area needed to take their safety into consideration because they could encounter armed offenders.