Man With Fake Gun Threatens Employer Over Pay in Trat
Police in Trat detained a 39‑year‑old stateless man after he threatened his employer with a BB‑gun replica over unpaid wages. The worker claimed he had not been paid the agreed 800 baht per day for boat‑painting work, while the employer said he had provided transport, food and lodging out of sympathy and that no fixed wage had been set. Officers seized a knife and the fake gun from the man’s bag and took him in for questioning.
The employee said he started working as a boat‑painter three or four days earlier under an agreement to earn 800 baht daily, but after four days he had received no wages and repeatedly asked for an advance. He said he brandished the weapon because the employer kept making excuses and lying about payment. The employer countered that no fixed daily rate of 800 baht had been agreed, as the worker had only been on the job for three days. He said he had hired the man out of sympathy after a friend’s recommendation, paying 1,000 baht for transport from Nakhon Pathom and covering accommodation at 350 baht per night in an air‑conditioned room, even giving up his own bed so the employee could sleep comfortably. He added that the night before the incident he paid for just one room and still slept on the floor to let the worker have the bed. That morning he invited the worker to fetch polishing equipment, but the worker refused, saying he would wait for his money despite being told the employer was still clearing payment with the boat owner. The employer said the worker had shown violent behaviour earlier, attempting to strike him with an iron rake around noon before pulling the BB‑gun from the room’s bag, racking the slide as if to shoot, prompting him to flee and call police.
