Young Lahu activist "might have been drug dealer": police
Police believed that the young Lahu activist who was killed during a raid in Chiang Mai province was guilty of drug dealing and might have been involved with the local drug dealing network, otherwise he would not have resisted the soldiers at the checkpoint, a senior provincial police said on Monday.
“We believe that Chaiyapoom (Pasae) was guilty of drug dealing. The police are now investigating and we will conclude the investigation soon,” Pol Lt Colonel Tulanat Kehaloo said.
Chaiyapoom Pasae, a 17-year-old civil rights activist was shot in an extrajudicial killing by military personnel on Friday in Chiang Mai. The soldiers claimed that he was stopped at the military checkpoint but refused to obey the officers’ order and tried to fight back so was shot.
The driver of the car and the only non-military witness Phongdanai Saengtalar is currently being detained at Chiang Mai Court.
He added that 2,800 amphetamine pills and Chaiyapoom’s car were seized following the arrest and are regarded as evidence in the investigation.
Chaiyapoom was a young active campaigner for Lahu ethnic minority’s rights. His work also included the campaign against drugs.
