BANGKOK (The Nation Thailand/ANN): Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at Muang Thong Thani about discussions with national police chief Pol Gen Kittharath Punpetch at Government House, following a visit to the scene of the mass shooting at Debsirin Nonthaburi School.
Anutin said he had discussed the need to amend legislation with Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilprapunt, including introducing stricter controls on firearms.
“I am still stressing the same point: priority must be given to setting up checkpoints and conducting inspections. If we find anyone carrying a firearm in any public place, in a vehicle or outside their residence without an official duty requiring it, that is illegal and they must face serious charges,” he said.
Anutin rejected a proposal to allow teachers to carry guns for self-defence, maintaining that firearms should not be allowed and that teachers were not authorised officers.
Anutin also addressed the possible revival of a previous programme under which illegal or otherwise unauthorised firearms could be surrendered to state officials without penalty.
He maintained that all illegal guns must be seized and that an illegal firearm could not be lawful.
As long as he remained in government, anyone caught with one, or found to have one during a home search connected with another offence, would be breaking the law and face further charges on additional counts.
It was not worth the risk, he added.
The weapons should be surrendered to the Department of Provincial Administration or a district office, or taken to a police station so that an official record could be made, because such firearms were inherently illegal.
On the broader issue of bullying, including suggestions that the student who carried out the shooting had been bullied and that others might face similar treatment in future, Anutin said police should first complete their investigation and establish the facts.
He urged people not to speculate and said those responsible should be allowed to do their work, while those without an official role should not raise suspicions that could cause public anxiety.
The government’s long-term approach to suppressing unlawful activities would involve more than the Department of Provincial Administration, Anutin said.
Police and other authorised officers had also received orders and policy directives to conduct thorough inspections.
Anutin said guns kept in homes, even if not taken out for use, must be registered, kept out of children’s reach and stored securely.
Both the registered owner and the person who used a weapon in an offence would be held responsible. -- The Nation Thailand/Asia News Network
