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Published on January 11, 2008

After the shooting of two young Canadians in Pai, locals are torn on the cause of the drama.

People are unsure whether to believe a 24-year-old Canadian woman, who some claim is a troublemaker, or a 37-year-old Thai police sergeant, with a reputation for drinking - and shooting his gun off.

Controversy is raging in Pai, in Canada, and on the Internet. The only established facts are that 24-year-old tourist John 'Leo' del Pinto is dead, after being shot in the head and chest.

His companion Carly Reisig, also 24, was also shot in the chest, but survived. She may be the only witness against Police Sergeant Uthai Dechawiwat, who has been charged with murder and manslaughter.

On Monday, Reisig, from British Columbia, was adamant police claims the sergeant shot in self-defence were untrue. The policeman had hit her without provocation, she said. Then, after del Pinto threw him to the ground, the officer, in plainclothes, got out his gun and deliberately fired into del Pinto's head, then his chest, before firing at her.

In Canada, del Pinto is regarded as a hero for going to Carly's aid. But yesterday she admitted she had been involved in heated rows in the past in Pai and had herself struck a Thai policeman.

Reisig said that two months before del Pinto arrived in Thailand from Calgary, she had intervened in a scuffle in a bar involving a tourist and a former Thai boyfriend called 'Nui'.

"The Israeli guy hit my Thai boyfriend and I tried to break it up ... the police came and took them outside and they circled around Nui and were pushing him, so ... I went in there and hit one of the cops. I was very drunk that night," she said.

On another occasion she said she was involved in a fight at a regular party at a nearby arts market called Pittalew with her current boyfriend Rattaporn Varawadee, nicknamed "Fuen".

Reisig, however, stuck to her claim Police Sgt Major Uthai was the one who struck the first blow at 2am last Sunday. "Leo and I were always messing around and play-fighting. We might have even been yelling at each other, play-fighting, but it didn't give anyone the right to shoot us. The guy who did this was crazy."

But Thai witnesses now insist it was Reisig, not the officer, who started the fight.

Kanasphuchit Sankam, owner of a karaoke bar, who was eating at the noodle shop, said: "I watched the couple come up, punching each other and yelling... It didn't look like they were pretending, it looked like a real fight ... 

"I watched Uthai go over to try and stop the fight. He said 'Stop, I am police' and held out his hand in front of him, with his other hand ready to draw his gun. They pushed him over and he got his gun out.

"The girl started crying loudly and he told her to calm down and go and sit down. The policeman then started walking away from the scene, but the girl got up and hit him.

"Leo then joined her in hitting him and they all fell onto the ground. I couldn't see them anymore because of the parked cars, but I heard three shots go off. If the girl had not provoked him, it wouldn't have happened."

A similar story, in almost uncannily identical words, was told by the noodle shop owner. But the Thai witnesses deny seeing the actual shooting.

Meanwhile, an American known as Rob, said he believed Reisig's version of events "largely because the accused officer has a reputation for gunplay".

Rob told Canadian papers he attended a concert in Pai last year during which Uthai fired into the air several times.

"He was drunk. All the off-duty officers were drinking together. He fired his weapon into the air and everyone had to scatter. He has a reputation in town for pulling out his weapon," he said.

Police investigator Lt-Col Sombat Panya has already given a reason for the couple fighting. He said del Pinto, recently arrived in Thailand, found out Reisig was pregnant to her Thai boyfriend Fuen. Reisig, however, denies being pregnant.

Witnesses also say Uthai was earlier drunk in the BeBop Bar. Witnesses supporting the police version will give their names. Those supporting Reisig won't.

As in the case of British backpackers gunned down by a policeman in Kanchanaburi in 2004, it seems unlikely Reisig will be able to produce witnesses to prove her side of the story. The only uncontested evidence may be forensic, which is in the hands of local police.

But, Sgt Uthai, who claims his gun fired accidentally, may have to explain how three bullets hit vital targets so accurately.

Andrew Drummond,Cindy Tilney

 Special to The Nation

Chiang Mai