24 children were slaughtered. 13 adults were killed. In an event that shocked the world, there was a horrific assault on daycare in Thailand. Now, this tragedy has galvanized the people of Thailand to finally touch a sensitive issue that has been shied away from in the past. Gun Control. While the term "gun control" usually might make you think of America, Thailand suffers from very similar problems when it comes to regulating firearms. To give you an idea of how severe this issue is, consider the fact that there are enough guns in Thailand to arm 3 in 20 people with guns. Thailand has a population of 67.5 million. That means that there are an estimated 10m guns in Thailand right now. Now Thailand's policy on guns has always been much more viable on paper rather than in practice. This is due to rampant corruption, legislative loopholes, and strong gun-loving voters. In today's edition of DND, we will be breaking down the daycare assault, looking at past cases, the policies that led to this outcome as well as how this debacle could have been prevented.
But before we get into anything, let's talk about how exactly this event played out. First, the attacker was a father who was dishonorably dismissed from the police department after being caught for the possession of amphetamine about a year ago. He had come to the daycare looking for his child. He was seen holding a handgun and a knife approaching the daycare, hence the adults immediately closed and locked the door. The gunman simply blasted through the door and upon gaining entry proceeded to shoot and stab as many people as he could find (some of his victims being as young as 2). After which he got into his car and drove home. Along the way, he tried to drive his car into people as well as open fire on them, killing as many as 9 people. Finally, once he reached home, he killed his wife, his son, and then himself. So yes, at this point you can see why this incident has gotten so much attention and has motivated politicians and senior police officials to come out and promise change although whether or not any change happens is for us to see.
Now you might be wondering why the pessimistic sentiment and the reason is that there have been multiple shootings in Thailand's recent past and yet there has been no proper attempt at engaging the problem. The most notable example would be the case of the disgruntled army sergeant who hijacked an official jeep and stole weapons and ammunition to kill his commanding officer for tricking him into a house deal and then continued on a 17-hour rampage where he killed 29 other people including a 13-year-old boy. The Thai government promised to change them as well. 10 days after this incident, a man fatally shot his ex-wife and wounded another. This ex-wife is someone who he had been married to for 10 years before recently divorcing and left a note for the police to "give him some time" to kill her boyfriend. In another case. On May 5th this year, a man fatally shot his wife and then himself after discovering that she was on video calls with other men. The wife's job was a fruit vendor, and this led to her interacting with many men, something that her husband had been regularly upset with and they had argued a lot about in the past.
On June 9 this year, a soldier used his legally purchased gun to kill his ex-wife who did not want to get back together with him despite all his pleas and he killed himself after. This last incident holds jarring similarities with the shooter from the daycare massacre. Recognize that there are similarities in all these incidents. Poor mental health and even poorer gun regulations.
Let's ignore guns for the moment and focus on mental health. Poor mental health is at the root of most of these incidents. At the end of the day, even if you take away all the guns, if people are still mentally unstable, they will still find a way to hurt each other. The key thing here is that mental health is becoming an increasingly widespread concern for many countries, not just Thailand. Recognise that the issue is not treating mental health but rather detection We can have all the psychological specialists in the world, but it would not matter if we were not able to detect those who are having the mental issues So what can be done? The answer is support networks. It is impossible for the government to keep tabs on everybody's welfare (not to mention creepy). Hence, the best we can do is set up support networks for the people. These support networks do not have to stop at family. Neighbours, friends and co-workers are potential areas that can be tapped on. The government needs to emphasize the importance of such networks and help with the inculcation of such networks. From the school-going children to the working adults, this r be tackled at all ages. For schools, there can be more classroom activities and CCA activities that can be implemented while the teachers could also raise red flags about any students with suspected mental health issues by conducting monthly "fire-side chats with the students" during the assembly periods in the morning. For the workplace, there has to be safeguards put in place by the HR department to ensure the well-being of its workers. However, most importantly, the government needs to help cement the familial support networks, this can be done by making use of Sunday as family day and encouraging people in similar neighborhoods.
But before we start suggesting any improvements to Thailand's gun control regulations, the first thing we need to do is understand the existing policies. In Thailand, there is no automatic right to own a gun, and permits are not allowed for people who have been convicted of serious crimes, those who have been deemed mentally ill, or people with no income. Each gun requires a permit, and applicants must explain why they seek a license. Assault weapons are banned and there are limits on the number of guns and ammunition that civilians can buy. There is also a 40% tax when buying it. Civilians who want a gun must also undergo a background check and provide a reason for ownership, such as hunting or self-defense. Possessing one illegally carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of 20,000 baht (about $535).
However, buying guns becomes much easier if you are the police or army official. For starters, you can buy your guns directly from the government meaning that the price is fixed and reasonable compared to if one had to buy it from other external bodies. They can avoid the background check and they do not have to pay exorbitant taxes, essentially buying the gun at half of its market price. These officials actually make use of these advantages in the symptom to make a profit. This is done by buying guns from the government directly and holding on to them until they are able to sell them to other civilians. Given the fact that these are black market guns, these officials rarely screen the people that they are selling to. In fact, in 2019, there was a Bangkok police captain that was charged with buying 9mm pistols through official channels and selling them for a few hundred dollars apiece. With all these legislative loopholes, it is no wonder that there are an estimated 10m guns circulating around Thailand at this moment.
Now that was Thailand before the daycare shooting, there are now some proposed measures that are meant to prevent such tragedies from taking place again. For starters, Under the new measures, anyone applying for a gun license will have to undergo a psychological evaluation and present a character reference from an employer or authority. Registered owners who have reportedly "behaved in ways that threaten society" could see their licenses revoked. Current or former members of the police or military will undergo regular evaluations for gun ownership. The government also plans to introduce legislation that would allow people to hand in unregistered guns without facing penalties. (Usually up to 10 years in jail). Now, this sounds very promising but like most of Thailand's Gun control regulations in the past, it is mainly a paper tiger.
According to Paul Chambers, a Thai University Lecturer in the field of security forces, the character evaluations will end up being a sham. He believes that psychologists will become "shrinks-for-hire in any state-manipulated attempt to forge a facade of gun control". In other words, where there is demand there will be supply and there will be people willing to become false character references in exchange for a quick buck. Moreover, Chavanut Janekarn, a criminologist and lecturer at Thailand's Thammasat University and a 25-year veteran of the police force, added that the amnesty drives will also fail based on his knowledge of past drives. This is usually because the criminals believe that the odds of them getting caught were too low to scare them into coming forward. But both of them agreed on one thing, the biggest problem is the effective enforcement of the law.
In all honesty, when I first read the tragedy that took place at the daycare centre, one of the first things I wanted to know was why there was no proper gun regulation. After all, it had been a year since the gunman had been dismissed from the police force for the possession of drugs so how come he was still allowed to hold on to his firearms? But that is only the tip of the iceberg, the real problem is the rampant corruption that is taking place in Taiwan. One can set all the legislation that one wants but it does not matter if all it takes is a few bribes to get the officials to overlook any discrepancies. If there really is to be any fixes to Thai gun regulations, the first thing they would have to do is to clean house. The only problem is that this rampant corruption goes all the way to the top. Although dubbed the "Prime-minister", in truth, the Thai Leader actually seized power by launching a military coup in 2014 and has been reigning ever since. He has been known for his willingness to use to enforce his rule (sending the police to detain a noodle vendor after comments about her wanting him to retire made the news or sending students who protested against him to re-education camps).
But let's be real, it's not exactly probable to remove a military leader from power. Rather let's focus on the steps that he should take to solve the problem of gun violence that he is facing right now, because let's be honest there is a reason, he has been attempting to placate the people by rolling out all of these new measures. If the discontent gets out of hand, he could have a situation similar to that of the Iranians right now where the country is plunged into civil war due to protests. What exactly are some of the measures he should take? The key solution is still the same. He should form a new branch of the police department dedicated to clawing back all the black-market guns whilst also forming an investigative team of trust-worthy people to sniff out government officials who have been selling guns.
Whilst that is happening, he should move to disallow citizens from buying guns (not directly because that would take too long but rather disincentivize them by increasing the tax rate to 300%). This would make guns a highly luxurious item preventing them from entering into the hands of poor or middle-class people (Statistically, the most likely to commit the crimes). In the meantime, he should also end the sales of guns by government to officials and instead lease them out to only those who need it at the start of the shift and account for them when they have been returned at the end of the shift. Finally, until he is able to achieve 99% control of the guns, there should be armed guards stationed at crowded areas like malls and more importantly schools and daycares. You might be worried about the idea of guns being around children, but the truth is, there is no other choice, the playing must be leveled. We have always said that children are our most precious resource, yet we protect our banks and our offices better than we protect them. After all, this has been done, legislation should be passed to disallow civilians from carrying firearms and a 3-month buyback can be done where the guns are bought back at a slightly higher price than what they are worth. This will incentivise middle income to return their guns and will not jeopardise his standing with the upper income groups too much. (Because let's be honest, he is still a politician, and he cannot possible benefactors).
Honestly, at the end of the day, we can talk about all the possible changes that could be made until the cow comes home. But the improvement that will be made is honestly dependent on how long the outrage and the shock of the incident goes for. This incident was a truly horrific one but unless it impacted you personally, chances are, it is going to slip your mind within the next 2 weeks but that's not your fault we all have our problems to deal with. The only issue is that eventually if we do not do something about it, it is going to be our problem eventually and when it does there will not be people to fight for you. The power and the will of the people is strong, but it is up to them to remember what they are fighting for. If there should be one takeaway from this entire piece, it should be this. Look out for your friends and look out for your family, if you see them slipping or losing their way, stick out a hand and help them find their way back. Congratulations, you have just prevented lives from being ruined and made the world a slightly better.
Comments