Photos have been revealed of the arsenal belonging to the son of a former general, who set fire to his own house before ending his life on the second floor. Authorities surrounded and inspected the property, finding a large cache of weapons including seven real firearms—five pistols and two rifles—with the rest being BB and blank guns. All explosives found were fake.
At 09:30 on 25 Sep 2016, Police Lieutenant Colonel Kritiphat Chinharak, investigation officer of Bang Phlat Police Station, received reports of a fire and gunshots at house number 238/1, Soi Charaslap, Sirindhorn Road, Bang Phlat, Bangkok. He informed superiors before inspecting the scene with Police Colonel Thepparatan Nipiworn, deputy commander of the Anti-Riot Division and acting commander of Metropolitan Police Division 7; Police Colonel Akkharaphon Janphet, chief of Bang Phlat Police; SWAT officers; forensic officials; EOD officers; firefighters; Bang Aor rescue workers; and volunteers from Poh Teck Tung Foundation.
The scene was a two-story detached house with a secure fence on a 200 square wah lot. The front gate and house doors were locked. The fire started in the ground floor living room. When officials tried to enter to extinguish the fire, gunshots were fired multiple times from the second floor, breaking windows. People inside shouted threats to detain officials from entering, warning they would blow up the house. Officials retreated outside the fence, allowing the fire to spread quickly to the second floor. Police then called in Bang Phlat Police SWAT to handle the situation. Just as SWAT was about to ascend upstairs, two gunshots rang out, followed by silence from inside. Officials then sprayed water to extinguish the fire, which took about 15 minutes to bring under control.
Inside the house near the garage, four old-model Mercedes-Benz cars were parked, all with bullet holes. In the living room, tires set on fire caused the blaze to spread to the wooden table and then upstairs. On the second-floor bedroom, the body of 49-year-old Sarayut, also known as Tok Kasorn-in, was found seated on a chair wearing a colorful short-sleeve shirt and brown shorts. He held an 11mm handgun in his right hand and a 9mm handgun in his left, with two gunshot wounds to the right temple. Spent shell casings were scattered throughout the house.
Over 50 pistols and rifles were found inside the room, along with ammunition and various explosives. There was a 16 kg gas cylinder and a 20-liter fuel container collected as evidence. Spray-painted messages were found on walls throughout the house expressing anger over the family’s property and legal disputes, including phrases wishing misfortune on anyone who takes the house and references to ancestral property.
Authorities contacted the police Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit to inspect the scene. A detailed examination confirmed five of the firearms were real pistols and two were real rifles; the rest were BB guns and blank guns. All explosives found were fake. Behind the house were cages housing many cats, birds, dogs, and an Amazonian snakehead fish pond; all animals were confirmed safe.
During investigation, 86-year-old Major General Saman Kasorn-in, a retired prominent military officer and father of Sarayut, stated that the family originally lived together—four members in this house. On 21 Sep, officials from the Court Enforcement Department posted a court order on the house forbidding entry, forcing the family to separate. He moved to a room in Bang Kruai district, and his son’s whereabouts became unknown.
He later learned that his daughter had sold the house under a mortgage for 50 million baht at an unknown time. The case went to court, which ruled in favor of the private company holding the mortgage. The enforcement order was then posted on the house. Sarayut was very attached to the pets inside: 23 cats, two dogs, Amazonian snakehead fish, and beautiful birds. When the gates and doors were locked, the pets cried out for their owner, causing Sarayut distress. He had no history of mental illness, drug use, or alcohol abuse.
Regarding the large cache of war weapons and explosives found in the house, the father confirmed they were not his and he did not know where his son obtained them from.