An irate Thai man, believed to be an off-duty policeman, shot dead two British backpackers in Kanchanaburi, the famed site of the Death Railway, after a heated argument in a restaurant, police said yesterday.
The couple, identified as Adam Lloyd, 25, from Northampton, and Vanessa Arscott, 24, from Torquay, were gunned down in the streets of Kanchanaburi early yesterday morning.
The killings followed an altercation on one of the town's floating riverside restaurants, said Kanchanaburi police superintendent Colonel Wate Somboun.
The two were killed after leaving the restaurant by a man who followed them in his car. The assailant, believed to be a Kanchanaburi policeman, forced the couple to stop and continued to argue with them, prompting Lloyd to punch him in the face.
The man then opened fire on Lloyd with a pistol and then chased Arscott who attempted to flee the scene. After running her down the gunman got out of the car and shot her dead.
Lloyd died of his wounds at Phaholpayusaena Hospital in Kanchanaburi, west of Bangkok.
"We are looking for the gunman and expect to catch him quickly," Wate said.
Kanchanaburi police have identified Senior Sergeant Somchai Wisetchim as the chief suspect.
"We believe it was Somchai because the car belonged to him," said Wate, who added that police were also looking for eyewitnesses.
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