A monk sets fires on the funeral pyres of those who died in the day care center attack at Wat Rat Samakee temple in Uthai Sawan, northeastern Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. A former police officer burst into a day care center in northeastern Thailand on Thursday, killing dozens of preschoolers and teachers before shooting more people as he fled. - AP
BANGKOK, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha has ordered enforcement authorities to tighten gun ownership and crack down on firearms trade and drug trafficking in the country following a shooting rampage by a sacked policeman at a childcare centre in Uthai Sawan last week.
He has instructed relevant authorities to investigate and revoke the gun licences of owners who reportedly create chaos and threaten society, Acting Government Spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said.
"The prime minister also ordered authorities to crack down on firearms trade and trafficking in the kingdom,” he said in a statement.
Anucha said Prayut also instructed authorities to launch operations and take stern action to curb drug abuse in the kingdom.
Agencies have been urged to step up treatment including setting up rehabilitation facilities for drug addicts.
Meanwhile, National police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapat said the Royal Thai Police will recall guns from officials and police officers who have misused their firearms or showed aggressive behaviour whilst on duty.
A monk sets on fire the coffins of victims of the nursery mass shooting during the cremation ceremony in Na Klang in northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on , Tuesday, October 11, 2022. - AFP
He said regular mental health checks are required for gun licence holders.
"Prime Minister (Prayut) will chair a meeting to further discuss gun ownership control on Wednesday,” he said.
Last Thursday, a sacked policeman killed 36 people - including 24 children - in Uthai Sawan in Nong Bua Lamphu province, about 500 km northeast of Bangkok.
The 34-year-old man killed 23 children who were sleeping after lunch at the childcare centre.
The perpetrator later fled the scene in a vehicle, went home, and killed his wife and son before fatally shooting himself.
Gun ownership in Thailand is one of the highest in South-East Asia. Small Arms Survey in 2017 estimated that guns held by civilians in the country were 10.3 million including about 4 million which were illegal.
Devastated families in Thailand gathered Tuesday (Oct 11) for the cremation of their loved ones, killed in a nursery massacre that claimed 36 lives -- including those of 24 children, reports AFP
Police carry a coffin containing a victim in the day care center attack for cremation at Wat Rat Samakee temple in Uthai Sawan, northeastern Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. A former police officer burst into a day care center in northeastern Thailand on Thursday, killing dozens of preschoolers and teachers before shooting more people as he fled. (- AP
At Wat Rat Samakee temple in Na Klang, chanting monks began the ceremony as the exhausted and grieving close-knit rural community prepared to say a final goodbye to 19 of those killed.
"An incident like this shouldn't have happened," said local resident Thanakorn Nueangmatcha, 39, ahead of the funeral at the temple.
"They were only children."
At Wat Rat Samakee, incense and the fading scent of hundreds of flower bouquets hung in the air as 19 small brick pyres, decorated with swags of white and black fabric, stood in a line under the hot afternoon sun.
The victims' families -- some protected from the heat of the day by newly erected white-domed canopies -- watched as monks walked along the foot of the cremation plots and officials offered up prayers.
Prayut visited the temple complex in the late afternoon, taking part in a small ceremony while monks chanted, before travelling back to the capital.
The funerals, sponsored by the royal household, will end three days of rites that began Saturday.
Tuesday's mass ceremony is highly unusual -- bodies are normally cremated alone -- but the area's small local temples have been overwhelmed by the number of victims.
Temporary furnaces have also been set up at other nearby temples, local media reported. - Bernama
