A STRESSED-OUT MAN who set fire to a hospital ward in Ubon Ratchathani province yesterday (Jan. 31) is not mentally ill but wanted to vent his anger after being cheated in the sale of a land plot, Thai Rath newspaper and TV Channel 7 said today.
Staff at Det Udom Royal Crown Prince Hospital’s third building, third floor, were quickly able to evacuate the patients from the ear-nose-throat ward with firemen taking an hour to put out the blaze. The suspect fired one shot at the building staff when they tried to do so after starting the fire by flinging a petrol bomb into the ward.
This hospital has now shut all six floors of this building to survey the damage while the patients were moved to other buildings in the compound. However six seriously ill patients were temporarily transferred to nearby hospitals.
Police said the suspect Mr. Phibun Rajathamsakun, 40, a baggage handler at Don Mueang Airport, drove a vehicle towards Na Yia district, which is 200 metres away from the hospital, after setting fire to the ward and hit a motorcycle injuring three people. There are reports that he took a 10-year-old boy hostage.
He then abandoned his vehicle and fled into a forest where he discarded his weapon but was finally tracked down and arrested after being identified in surveillance camera clips.
Police said the suspect did not display any signs of mental illness and talked normally when questioned. The motive stemmed from stress at being cheated in the sale of a land plot worth two to three million six years ago which led to mental pressure. He also had no reason to be angry with anyone at this hospital.
He has been charged with attempted murder, arson of a government building and possession of a firearm without permission.
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Pixelated image of the suspect and the hospital ward he set ablaze. Photos: Thai Rath
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