A foreign national was charged with attempted murder this morning after he allegedly shot two cops during a raid on his gilded mansion southeast of the capital.
Zhang Yang, 35, who held a passport from St. Kitts and Nevis, was charged with shooting the officers, one of whom remains in critical condition, according to Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang of Chonburi police.
A group of seven officers arrived yesterday to search the sprawling property on the Phoenix Golf Golf and Country Club in Chonburi’s Banglamung district on a tip that its “unusually rich” residents were involved in unspecified transnational crimes.
When officers arrived with a warrant, police say that Yang opened fire, shooting Capt. Panthepsri Boonnak in the shoulder, chest and stomach. Sen. Sgt. Maj. Kreeta Thipnet was shot in the foot.
After the shooting, police called for a SWAT team, which threw smoke bombs into the residence until Yang and his compatriots surrendered.
Fugitives often buy passports from the dual-island nation, which sells them to “investors.”
Thiti said they have opened an investigation into Yang, who had a 9mm handgun, as well as eight others including his girlfriend, chef, gardener and two housemaids.
