Final ruling in activist murder case postponed
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THE SUPREME Court's verdict on the 2004 murder of environmentalist Charoen Wat-aksorn was postponed yesterday to October 13, after a defendant former kamnan Juea Hinkaew did not show up due to illness.
The other defendant lawyer Thanu Hinkaew failed to appear without notice, hence the court issued an arrest warrant for him.
Charoen, 37, a leader in the protest against the Bo Nok and Hin Krud coal-fired power plant project led by Gulf Electric Co, was shot dead on June 21, 2004, in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bo Nok district.
The late activist was getting off a bus from Bangkok, where he testified to the anti-graft agency over a public land encroachment case, when he was shot nine times. His death is believed to be linked to the protest, which partially contributed to the project’s cancellation.
The prosecution initially named five men Saneh Lekluan; Prachuab Hinkaew; Thanu, 53; former Prachuap Khiri Khan provincial councillor Manote Hinkaew, 49; and Juea, 78.
However, the accused gunmen Saneh and Prachuap died in jail in August 2006, and the other three men accused of arranging the killing were granted bail releases pending trial and final ruling.
The primary court in 2008 sentenced Thanu to death, while acquitting Manote and Juea.
The Appeals Court in 2013 upheld the two men’s acquittal and also acquitted Thanu on grounds of insufficient evidence.
