Govt urged to amend criminal code
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A conscript was tortured to death by 10 soldiers in Narathiwat's Joh Rong district, but just nine officers were punished, while the first lieutenant, a major general's son who allegedly ordered the torture, was only jailed for 15 days, a relative of the
The victim’s family member, who attended a public hearing held to mark the International Day against Torture, said their fight for justice was regularly met with obstacles, buy-out attempts and threats.
Meanwhile, research has revealed that there have been several cases of torture, with victims having difficulty accessing justice, hence related agencies have been urged to amend the Criminal Procedure Code or draft a torture prevention bill.
At a forum hosted by the Law Reform Commission’s subcommittee on Justice Reform and attended by some 100 justice officials, military, NGOs and the media, Thammasat University student Narisarawal Kaewpanarat said her uncle Private Wichien Pheuksom took up monkhood after completing his master’s degree. However, he had to give up his saffron robes when he was conscripted.
Wichien died on the night of June 5, 2011. The doctor said he had sustained injuries from being beaten by blunt objects, his teeth were shattered, his ribs cracked and his kidneys failed.
Wichien was beaten up for allegedly deserting the Army, she said. On his deathbed, Wichien allegedly told medical staff that some 10 soldiers, led by a first lieutenant, had attacked him on several occasions before he had to be taken to hospital.
A first lieutenant did indeed attend the victim’s funeral and offered the family Bt3 million initially and then Bt5 million in exchange for silence. However, the family kept the body and filed complaints against those involved, but the case did not make much progress, Narisarawal said.
FINALLY SOME LIGHT
It was only when she took her appeal to Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda that an investigation was launched. The Army concluded that nine soldiers were in the wrong and would face legal action, while the first lieutenant, who was allegedly behind the torture, was only detained for 15 days because he was a major-general’s son. She said the family was later offered Bt10 million to give up their demand for justice.
Narisarawal said the nine suspects were still working as trainers at the boot camp despite the ongoing criminal case, while the Bt14-million civil lawsuit against the Defence Ministry had shown no progress. She said that even though her family regularly received death threats, they would continue their hunt for justice.
Sugriya Baheh from the Duay Jai Group said the torture of suspects in the three southernmost provinces, especially in Songkhla, had worsened. Citing a three-month study interviewing 70 national security defendants from April to July 2010, she said most complained of being tortured while in custody or during interrogation and 83 per cent of them said that they were forced to confess.
Veteran human-rights lawyer Ratsada Manuratsada concurred with the situation in the South, saying that since the Army was allowed to hold suspects for seven days and police for 48 hours and then imprisoned for up to 30 days, the authorities tried to force confessions out of suspects.
“One out of six suspects die from torture during interrogation, while the rest have to stay in prison till the 30-day period is up,” he said.
REPORT CASES RIGHT AWAY
Dr Panjai Wohandee from the Justice Ministry’s Central Institute of Forensic Science Thailand said that as many methods of torture did not leave detectable wounds, it is best to gather evidence as soon as it happens. He said this does not just affect the individual, but also their family and that Thailand had laws about human rights, but officials often did not inform the suspects of their rights.
Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen, an anti-torture campaigner from Cross Cultural Foundation, suggested that related agencies amend the Criminal Procedure Code to prevent torture or push through a torture prevention draft bill, under which an official caught for torturing suspects would face three to 20 years in jail and Bt50,000-Bt100,000 in fines.
She said the Muslim Centre Foundation received 133 torture complaints in the South alone, adding that complaints were rare because suspects in jail were often afraid. Besides, complaints rarely went forward because related officials denied allegations to block investigation.
National Human Rights Commis-sioner Paiboon Warahapaithoon backed the draft bill as a gesture to respect human rights and urged state agencies to create confidence and transparency. He said the NHRC was working on 57 torture complaints.
