Authorities pledge tighter controls, but gun culture ingrained in rural areas Read more at straitstimes.com.
BANGKOK – Retired government officer Phairoj Kullavanijaya spends most of his days working on his fruit farm in Chachoengsao in south-central Thailand – an area most consider to be generally safe.“I’ve always been interested in guns. It’s natural that a man would want to own a gun for protection,” said Mr Phairoj, who used to work in the Commerce Ministry.
“They don’t have confidence in crime control policy to protect them, their possessions or their land, so they prefer to carry a gun for assurance.”most of them preschool children, in the north-eastern province of Nong Bua Lamphu.
The threat of gun violence is something locals are aware of, and many private and public organisations, including shopping malls and schools, hold regular safety training that include active shooter drills.Estimates by gunpolicy.org, a gun control portal hosted by the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health, say that in 2021, there were 7 million guns in Thailand, with over 1 million of them undocumented or illegal.
The process to get a legal gun licence can take anywhere from two to six months, and requires documents including bank statements and letters of guarantee from employers or community leaders. No one below the age of 20 is allowed to own a gun, but minors are generally allowed to handle firearms if supervised.
“This programme has introduced many guns into Thailand,” said Pol Maj Chavanut, adding that there have been cases where officers who bought their weapons under the programme sell their weapons on the black market for fast cash.Imitation guns modified to fire real bullets a cause for concern following Bangkok mall shooting
“But one year later, nothing has changed,” said Pol Maj Chavanut, who believes current gun laws are not strict enough.
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