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BANGKOK (AP) — Three people have been fatally shot in a courtroom in eastern Thailand when a long-running legal feud turned violent.
The Chanthaburi Provincial Court said the shooting took place Tuesday when the plaintiff and defendant in a perjury case awaited the arrival of the judge.
It said an argument broke out between the two sides during which defendant Thanin Chantratip, a retired senior police officer, drew a handgun and fatally shot plaintiff Bancha Porameesanaporn and one of his lawyers, Wijai Sukharom.
Thanin also shot and wounded Bancha's wife and another lawyer before a court policeman shot and killed him.
The court said the two sides had been engaged in a 10-year dispute over land carried on through several criminal and civil cases, during which they frequently quarreled.
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