Bankok :An elephant killed a 28-year-old Thai man and injured his colleague as they were eating dinner at a beachside restaurant in eastern Thailand, police said on Wednesday.
The local telecoms employee died in hospital after the elephant gored his chest with its tusk as he ate hotpot with a fellow worker in the coastal city of Rayong late on Monday. “They were talking to the mahout (elephant keeper) about buying food for the elephant when it suddenly stabbed one man in the chest with its tusk and kicked the other,” local police Lieutenant Thawat Nongsingha told AFP.
The mahout has been charged with offences including violating animal welfare legislation and negligence causing death, Thawat said. He added the mahout had been released from custody while the elephant was still under the mahout’s care. The maximum penalty for negligence causing death is 10 years in jail and a fine of 20,000 baht ($600).
