Security lapses evident in Thai soldier’s shooting spree

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand — It’s still unclear how a Thai soldier managed to steal heavy weapons from an army base that he then used to kill 29 people and hold off security forces for almost 16 hours while he was holed up in a popular shopping mall.

That he could take the arms is less surprising, say experts in military matters.

The question has a special sting because the country’s tough-talking army commander just a few weeks ago gave a high-profile interview in which he said he had ordered all army units to take precautions with weaponry.

“All weapons must be kept under good care and ready for use,” the Bangkok Post cited Gen. Apirat Kongsompong as saying. He stressed, “the army will never let ill-minded people steal them.“

Apirat clearly meant political opponents of the current government, led by former army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha.

The rampage theft was particularly dramatic and bloody, even though it falls into the category of inside jobs. In many past cases, guns have been quietly siphoned off by corrupt officials from police and army stores.

The most disastrous weapons theft took place in Thailand’s deep south in 2004, when Muslim separatist militants raided an army base, killed four soldiers and made off with 400 assault rifles. Some of the weapons are believed to have been sent to Muslim militants in Indonesia’s Aceh province, but most stayed with the Thai rebels, who since then have been carrying out an insurgency that has taken about 7,000 lives.

While details have yet to be released in this case, experts in military matters identified serious deficiencies in how the weapons were safeguarded.

That the gunman, identified as Sgt. Maj. Jakrapanth Thomma, snatched three assault rifles and two machine guns from his army base and escaped...