A Myanmar patient was shot dead while awaiting surgery at a public hospital in Muang district in the early hours of Friday.
The shooting occurred at Khon Kaen Hospital’s male surgery building, according to Pol Col Yotsawat Kaewsuebthanyanit, chief of Muang district police. The incident was reported to police around 1 a.m.
Upon arrival, police and forensic officials found Kyaw Swar Aong, 29, with a gunshot wound to his occipital bone on the fifth floor of the hospital. Despite efforts to treat him in the emergency ward, he was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
His Thai girlfriend, who requested anonymity, said her boyfriend had been admitted to the hospital on Wednesday due to a detected tumor in his back and was awaiting surgery before the shooting.
The couple, who worked at a fishing net factory in Khon Kaen, had been in a relationship for over four years and lived together in a rented room in the northeastern province. She insisted he had no conflicts with anyone but mentioned he had borrowed 12,000 baht from a fellow worker at the factory, offering his ATM card as collateral.
A medical team was scheduled to perform surgery to remove his tumor on Friday, she added.
Pol Col Yotsawat reported that the gunman posed as a visitor and inquired about the patient’s ward from a nurse. Once inside the ward, the gunman shot the patient and fled the scene immediately.
“Police are examining closed-circuit television footage and coordinating with an investigation team to find clues about the suspect, especially a Myanmar national working in the same factory who has disappeared and is believed to have fled,” said Pol Col Yotsawat.
(Photo: Chakkrapan Natanri)
