NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT (Gazette, Kom Chad Luek): A Buddhist ordination ceremony in Phraphrom District took a turn for the worse on July 6 after an outbreak of violence led to a firearms incident which left one unlucky follower of the Middle Way with a serious pain in his crotch.

The evening began jovially at the ceremony held in Na Phru Village 3.

A band had been hired and youths from around the area turned up to join in the festivities, with each group establishing their own drinking circle.

Later in the evening, while the drinks continued to flow, the young crowd started to strut their stuff on the dance floor.

A few drunken dancers began bumping into each other and tempers became frayed.

Bumps turned into pushes, pushes into punches, and punches into chairs hurtling through the air. Before long, the dance floor had erupted into an all-out riot.

The first victim of the night was Theeraphon Wongkrasap, 19, who was stabbed twice in the back. On seeing his friend attacked, Sayan Phannana, 20, went to draw a shotgun that was tucked into his belt.

In his haste to pull out the weapon to save his friend, and as a result of inebriation, Sayan set off the hair-triggered rifle while it was still in his trousers.

The blast blew his penis “to smithereens” and the bullet lodged in his left foot.

When Lt Col Chalermwan Wannasathit, duty inspector at Phraphrom District Police Station, arrived with his team he found a scene of utter destruction, with tables and chairs strewn all over the place and smashed bottles and glasses covering the floor.

In the midst of the chaos, Theeraphon and Sayan lay groaning in pain. They were rushed to Maharaj Hospital, where Sayan was immediately admitted for emergency surgery.

Doctors said it was unlikely that Sayan would ever be able to use his sexual organs again.

Police are now hunting for the youth who stabbed Theeraphon.