Calling young driver in van crash a 'killer' was overly harsh

Burin Kantabutra calling this driver a “killer” or “murderer” is rather cruel. Killer is defined in a dictionary as “murderer, assassin, executioner, destroyer, slayer, slaughterer, exterminator, cut-throat, gunman, homicide”. She is none of the above since she had no intention to take life, but her recklessness caused the tragedy.

To say the punishment is too lenient is somewhat rash. It was reported of general satisfaction from the victims’ relatives. Why? Because the judgement will facilitate quick judgement from subsequent civil suits for compensation from the affected parties for the loss of lives and injury. The total claims against the girl and her parents in a civil suit could be hundreds of millions of baht. Hence there was also a report that an appeal against the guilty verdict from the girl is likely.

Was the punishment for this crime of recklessness fair? The answer is a resounding “yes”. Not only fair but also wise.

In this case, justice has partially been served under our criminal court and has yet to be completed in the civil court. Gratified punishment, like in a cowboy or kung-fu film, has never been regarded as civilised in our modern world.

Songdej Praditsmanont

Bangkok