Photo Courtesy of Khaosod
BANGKOK – A gay man was crushed dead last night at 02.00a.m. by a pick-up truck. He was standing at a bus stop when the vehicle veered towards him. Lieutenant Mondate Manam from Ladprao police station arrived at the scene to find a black Ford Ranger pick-up, plate number 1422 slammed against a bus stop; the gay man sandwiched in between.
The victim appeared to be a 19-year-old named Mr. Supanut Yamsomjit, wearing flower pattern shorts and a sexy black top. After the victim had been hit by the truck, the advertisement light box near the bus stop further dropped on his body. The victim’s stomach had large lacerations and bruises. The side of the torso was almost torn in two and the neck had snapped backwards. It was too late by the time rescue teams got to him.
The pick-up truck driver escaped and is now on the lam with police in pursuit.
Mrs. Wilai Yamsomjit, 52-years-old, the mother of the victim said that Supanut was her youngest son who had a strange habit of dressing like a woman but he managed to make a living on his own so she was never worried.
Courtesy of Khaosod
Writer: Adrian Tse & Chet Chetchotisak
Note: It is interesting and perhaps disconcerting that this story has little substance once you take away the victims sexual orientation. The fact that the victim was gay seems to be the focus, not the tragedy. But then from the reporting perspective, it almost seems necessary to do this because it is important to give the person an identity – even if this identity is a kind of cardboard cut-out. I guess you can’t ask for much more depth from a short report like this; journalists simply don’t have the time. It’s an interesting dilemma. Adrian.
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