A soldier was shot in the side by a fellow military man during a drunken altercation at a party in Oddar Meanchey province’s Chongkal district on Wednesday night.

According to Lan Kheun, commander of the operational base in Chongkal, victim Chea Sopheak, 31, was seriously injured after allegedly being shot in right side of his rib cage by Chhou Thy, 41.

“The suspect was arrested immediately at the site and sent to the base in Oddar Meanchey province so a complaint can be sent to the provincial military court to take further measures,” he said.

Sopheak’s family and fellow soldiers, meanwhile, had him rushed to hospital in Thailand’s Surin province, Kheun added.

The doctor who operated on him there said he was likely to recover in about three weeks.

Kong Teum, 35, who hosted the party where the altercation occurred, said that one soldier had been loudly boasting and insulting other partygoers, prompting Thy to grab his CKC rifle and fire two shots in the air to end the abuse.

When Sopheak rushed him in an effort to take the gun away, a shot went off, striking him in the chest.