A tattoo artist who told his customers his work would protect them from harm was fatally gunned down in southern Thailand early Monday morning, a local media outlet reported.
Authorities said that the victim, 40-year-old Khachon Cherdchoo, was a celebrated local practitioner of sak yant, a Southeast Asian custom that ascribes spiritual power to body art.
“He has many disciples and followers,” local police colonel Chalaermwuth Wongwiangchan said. “He has traveled to apply the yant to many celebrities around the country and has also traveled [to meet his customers] abroad.”
Local media reports that the perpetrator shot the artist four times as he walked home in Prachuap Khiri Khan province. Police have arrested three men on suspicion of involvement with the crime, but the assailant remains at large.
What prompted the murder remains unknown, though police said that Khachon had a “dispute” with others in his community.
- Elliot Page: Embracing My Trans Identity Saved Me
- How Safe Is India's Railway Network?
- The 'Dopamine Detox' Is Having a Moment
- Column: How the World Must Respond to AI
- What the Debt Ceiling Deal Means for Student Loan Borrowers
- LGBTQ Reality TV Takes on a Painful Moment
- What NASA Can Teach SpaceX About Protecting the Environment
- The Best Movies of 2023 So Far
