Thailand has a gun problem - 10 million of them

Just three days after a 14-year-old opened fire at his school, killing eight people before shooting himself, another incident in the same province illustrated even more starkly Thailand's troubled relationship with guns.

Chalong Riewrang, a 71-year-old former politician, went into the local administration office to discuss a large sum of money he says he was owed by the administration chief, Thongchai Yenprasert, a man he called his friend.

The conversation ended abruptly with Chalong pulling out a gun and firing four shots through the window of Thongchai's car, hitting him and his driver. Thongchai later died from his wounds.

Chalong then left the scene, and phoned a startled journalist he knew who was in the middle of a live broadcast on YouTube, to tell her what had happened.

After the police intercepted him and took him to the station, he was allowed to speak to reporters, casually smoking a cigarette and seemingly unperturbed by what he had done.

He explained that he had "not intended to shoot his friend", but opened fire when the driver also pulled a gun. The police did find two guns in the car, but said they were not in a state where they could have been fired.

This was not the only gun fatality in Thailand on that day. In Prachinburi, east of Bangkok, a police sergeant shot his wife in the head while arguing with her as she was driving their car to pick up their young son. The car crashed and the sergeant then shot himself in the head. His wife died in hospital.

There were probably other gun deaths that day which were not reported by the media.

The Thai police do not keep their own tally, but in recent years the number of gun deaths every year is estimated to range between 2,000 and 3,000. In Britain, which has a similar population, the number is less than 50.

Guns are sometimes used in robberies, and for a relatively modest fee you can hire a hitman in Thailand to kill someone for you. But the typical gun death occurs during domestic disputes, financial disagreements, or in bar brawls fuelled by alcohol.

Thailand has more than 10 million civilian-owned guns in circulation - 4 million of those unlicensed. So that means minor altercations over trivial issues can suddenly turn lethal.

"It's very unfortunate that Thailand has a very high tolerance for violence," says Boonwara Sumano at the Thailand Development Research Institute.

"Guns are seen as a status symbol, and there are so many ways that civilians can get them. Also, showing strength, wielding power, is seen as the right thing to do in Thai society. So, when you have a norm that promotes the possession of weapons to show your strength, and access to those weapons, this is the result."

At first sight Thailand appears to have quite strict gun regulations. Anyone wishing to buy a gun must first apply for a purchase permit, then, once they have bought it, apply for a second possession permit. If they wish to carry the gun outside their homes they then need a third permit. Imported guns – most of them - are very expensive.

But there are huge loopholes. The possession permits are valid for the lifetime of the holder. There is no requirement for mental health screening. And there are no checks on how safely guns are stored. For instance, the boy who carried out the latest school shooting was able to get hold of his grandfather's legally owned gun and large quantities of ammunition.

There is also a government scheme under which police officers and other officials can buy guns at steeply discounted prices.

Around 200,000 guns have been imported every year, mostly from the US, under the scheme, which started in 2009.

They can then be resold after five years, which has become a lucrative business.

The scheme has been investigated several times over alleged corruption. Together with weapons made locally by unlicensed gunmakers it is believed to be the source of many black market guns in Thailand.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered immediate measures to tighten gun control, suspending the discount purchase scheme and the issuing of all purchase licences.

He is talking about limiting the validity of possession permits, and a possible amnesty to encourage those with unlicensed guns to hand them in.

He has asked parliament to work on a new law, and vowed severe penalties for those who break the rules.

But we have been here before.

After the massacre of children and teachers by a former police officer at a nursery in 2022, and then after a shooting by another 14-year-old boy at Bangkok's most popular shopping mall in 2023, Anutin, then the interior minister, ordered similar measures.

The discount scheme was also suspended back then, but almost immediately reinstated. The carrying of firearms by anyone not on official duty was banned after another school shooting in February this year.

The problem is not just regulation. The sheer number of guns in circulation, endemic corruption, lax enforcement of laws in all walks of life, the glorification of guns and a decades-long military culture are all contributing factors.

In the most recent asset declarations by government ministers more than a dozen owned guns: the justice minister owns 10, the minister for the environment and natural resources said he had 12, and one female MP has declared ownership of 48 guns.

Boonwara Sumano also highlights the pervasive influence of the military in Thailand, even when it is not actually running the country, which it has done for most of its modern history.

"If you notice every Children's Day in Thailand, instead of taking children to a museum or park, many families take their children to an army or air force base to see the weapons, take photos holding guns, this kind of thing.

"It's in the culture. You see big men in the military looking so powerful, they kind of make you want to become one of them," she told the BBC.

Thailand is an outlier in this region.

Compared to Thailand's 10 million, Indonesia has only 82,000 civilian-owned guns, with a population four times larger. In Malaysia the number is 107,000, and deaths from gunshots are rare.

The Philippines is the only other country with a similar gun-culture and comparable levels of gun crime.

Gun enthusiasts in Thailand now worry that the government will react to public anxiety over the latest attacks by making even responsible gun ownership much harder.

Yod, a 53-year-old businessman, told the BBC he viewed his collection of more than 70 guns more as luxurious toys – he said he had never fired most of them.

"Most of the gun crimes in this country are carried out by illegal weapons. New measures to control legally owned guns are not the right solution. There are blank guns and spare parts which can be assembled as real guns being imported legally into the country. Why hasn't that been chased up?"

Sathit, a shop-owner with more than 40 guns in his collection, cited the weakness of law enforcement in Thailand as his reason for arming himself.

"Look around this country nowadays. There are crimes every day. It is not safe. Drugs are rampant. People need to protect themselves because there are not enough police officers. People should have access to guns to survive, for their own safety."

As he waited to be charged for carrying out a killing he had apparently not even thought about when he walked into the local administration office, Chalong Riewrang, a powerful local figure accustomed to getting his own way, ruminated to reporters on his unforeseen situation.

"I can't believe I'm in this position, sitting here. Throughout my life, I have never had to come to a police station."

At one time, according to the police, he had possessed permits for nine guns, but in recent years had reduced that to just one. One gun, it turned out, was enough to end the life of his friend, and turn his upside down.