Bangkok: Three people have been fatally shot in a courtroom in eastern Thailand when a long-running legal feud turned violent.

Suriyan Hongwilai, a spokesman for the Chanthaburi Provincial Court, said in a statement that the shooting took place when the plaintiff and defendant in a perjury case were awaiting the arrival of the judge on Tuesday, local time.

He 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 quarrelled.