Bangkok is a popular holiday destination for Singaporeans.

It’s a place where you can get cheap and delicious food, and shop till you drop without going bankrupt.

But when you’re there, it’s better to keep vigilant of your surroundings as well.

Read Also: New Images & Info of JB New Mall Give S’poreans More Reasons to go JB on 17 Oct

Because not only do you have to be worried about getting scammed out of your money, you might just lose your life.

One Tourist Killed In Gang Shootout Behind the Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel

On 8 Oct, a Bangkok health official said that one tourist was killed and four others injured in a gang shootout in tourist hotspot Pratunam district.

The incident happened in a street behind Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel.

Gunfight Broke Out After An Argument

A police spokesperson said that “several teenagers” had an argument and the fight broke out.

Three teenagers started shooting at their rival gang with rifles after a dispute between them at a nearby snooker hall.

After the shooting commenced, witnesses said about 20 young men came out of the snooker hall armed with sticks, knives and pistols.

In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time

A group of Indian tourists were waiting for their tour bus nearby when the bullets started flying.

They were brought by coach to dine at the India Gate restaurant on the ground floor of the shopping mall.

After the dinner, they were given some time to shop around.

Some of the tourists had decided to wait at the carpark for their coach after they were done with shopping.

A 42-year-old Indian national, Gakhrejr Dheeraj, died in hospital while 28-year-old Keovongsa Thonekeo, a Lao, was initially announced dead but had actually survived.

Sharma Dharmendra, another 45-year-old Indian national and two Thai men were also injured in the firefight.

AK-47 Shells Found At The Scene

The group of teenagers are still at large and the police are still conducting investigations into the case.

While they have yet to determine the type of rifles used in the shootout, they did reveal that they’ve found empty AK-47 shell casings at the scene.

They believed that the rival gangs are made up of teenagers in the area and they’re still hunting for them.

While most Singaporeans might know Thailand as the land of smiles, they’re hiding something behind their smiles.

(Article continues below) Xing Xing is a 34-year-old Singaporean lady who decides to meet up with an online friend she found in Facebook. But it turns out that he’s not what he seems to be: Prepare boxes of tissue and watch the saddest Singapore Facebook love story here:

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It’s not 笑里藏刀, but 笑里藏枪 (hiding a gun behind a smile).

TIL: Thailand has a thriving gun culture, and you can register and own a firearm in the country itself.

GunPolicy.org estimated the number of privately-owned firearms in Thailand in 2017 to be 10 million, both legally and illegally owned.

And a report ran in The Straits Times 3 years ago said that locals are not afraid to use them to settle disputes.

A man was gunned down after an argument with a security guard.

A woman was shot in the neck by a jilted lover.

And a bus driver shot his passenger in the chest because the passenger kept insulting his driving skills.

But Singaporeans will still travel to Thailand anyway because let’s face it, there’s danger everywhere.

Moral of the story: be polite in Thailand. Be very, very polite.

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