Canadian gunned down in Thailand
Bangkok — The father of a Canadian slain in Thailand said he tried to warn his son to leave the country but the young man brushed off his concerns.
Thai police said that 34-year-old Francis Alex Degioanni, whom they characterized as a wealthy property developer, was gunned down Thursday. Investigators believe his death was related to his business activities.
The victim's father, Mario Degioanni, said the recent business dispute between his son and his son's partners had heightened his concern.
"All the time worried. All the time, all the time, all the time," he said in a telephone interview Friday from his home in Val-des-Monts, Queb.
But his son appeared unconcerned.
"He always said to me, he used to phone me twice a week, he said to me, 'There's no danger.'" said the 68-year-old Mr. Degioanni.
Mr. Deogianni described his son as a carefree man "always laughing." He grew up Pierrefonds, Que., and was educated at Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Pennsylvania. He moved to Thailand in his mid-20s.
His father said he was drawn to Thailand nine years ago because of its incredible physical beauty. He had since married a Thai woman and had a daughter. The couple was about to celebrate his birthday Thursday when he received a call. He told his wife that he had to deal with some urgent business.
As the victim drove away from his Patong Beach condo, on the popular tourist island of Phuket, witnesses said he was approached by gunmen. The men, both said to have had short, military-style haircuts, shot him eight times with .38 calibre pistols. He was wounded in the head, neck, chest and one arm.
"When I heard the shots I rushed down," said his wife, 22-year-old Tawadee Pencharoenwattana. "He was still alive and I dragged him across to the passenger seat and drove him to the hospital but he died before I reached it. We have only been living here six months."
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade confirmed that a Canadian had been killed in Thailand but, citing privacy law, offered no further details.
Police at the crime scene said they believe the shooting was business related.
"The Canadian was very wealthy and had been involved in property development in Phuket for over five years," Police Superintendent Krissak Songmoonmak said.
"We know he was in dispute with his Thai business partner and had claimed he had been cheated out of 20 million baht ($704,584 Canadian). That matter is already in the courts."
The victim's father questioned the description "very wealthy" but said his son had been successful selling condos to foreigners. He was almost finished moving his current inventory and was planning a visit back to Canada in the spring.
Instead his family received news Thursday that he had been slain. His mother flew straight to Thailand to arrange the body's transport home and to try to secure custody of his daughter.
Last year Canadian Leo Del Pinto, aged 24, from Calgary, was allegedly gunned down by a Thai policeman in the northern Thai village of Pai. The trial was abandoned late last year and the Department of Special Investigations has been asked to prepare a new case.
Also murdered in Thailand last year was Dale Henry, originally from B.C., but who spent much of his life as a paramedic and firefighter in Calgary. Police have arrested his Thai wife, her lover, and a hit man in connection with the shooting at his home in Thailand's Ranong Province, a case that is still going through the courts.
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