The former deputy minister and Democrat Party MP has tried to appease animal lovers by claiming his shooting of a stray dog dead outside 7-Eleven was self-defense.
Tawee Kraikupt, 78, who once served as a deputy minister for the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Commerce, asked the public for understanding after he was widely condemned online for shooting the dog dead outside the convenience store in Ratchaburi on Monday.
“I’m a 78-year-old man in a situation where I encountered three large dogs that tried to bite me.” Tawee told Channel 3 news. “I can’t sleep. I can’t get the image of their fangs out of my mind.”
Tawee reportedly ran back to his car and pulled out a handgun. He fired five shots at the dogs, killing one of them.
Tawee said he regretted the incident and had carried a gun with him because he was on his way to deposit THB300,000 cash, reported Thai PBS.
He has been heavily criticized online after the incident became a major news story on local media and went viral on social networks.
Tawee faces three charges including cruelty to an animal, carrying a weapon in public, and firing the weapon without a proper reason.
