Family of soldier beaten to death refutes military claim

The Royal Thai Army says that a newly recruited private, who died yesterday after being brutally beaten by other soldiers, had reportedly used drugs. The family says otherwise.  

BBC Thai reported on Monday, 4 April 2016, that Col Winthai Suwaree, spokesperson of the Royal Thai Army, announced that the Royal Thai Army is sorry for the death of Private Songtham Mutmat, 23, from Phayak Military Camp in Bannang Sata District of the restive Deep Southern Province of Yala.

Col Winthai announced that the late private was beaten by other officers as punishment for a serious disciplinary offence, adding that he was guilty of drug abuse at the military base.

The army spokesperson added that the army will contact the family of Pte Songtham to offer compensation and that it has set up a committee to investigate his death, adding that so far six soldiers are accused of the beating.

Contrary to the army’s claim of drug abuse, Manop Sonthong, Songtham’s uncle, said that he does not believe that the Songtham committed such a crime although he admitted that his nephew has record of drug abuse, BBC Thai reported.

“It might be that one of the officers wanted to borrow 5,000 baht from Pte Songtham which he had prepared for his mother, but the next day the money was gone. When Pte Songtham approached the officer to try to get the money back it ended up in a fight. Later, he was punished at the order of a Sub-Lieutenant notorious for abusing soldiers,” BBC Thai quoted Manop as saying.

Yesterday, Thapanee Ietsrichai, a reporter from Channel 3, posted a status on her Facebook profile that Chatphisut Chumphan, a friend of Songtham from Payak Military base in Yala who was also beaten from the same incident, said that Pte Songtham did not abuse drugs, but was punished for having a fight with another soldier who allegedly stole money from him.

Chatphisut told Channel 3 journalist that he and Songtham were punched, kicked, and burned with candles as punishment.   

On the incident, Pornpen Kongkachornkiet, Director the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF), a human rights advocacy group, said that if it is concluded that Pte Songtham was beaten to death by other soldiers, the perpetrators will face criminal charges, adding that the alleged crime could be classified as ‘torture at the hands of state officers’.

She said “there has to be an independent investigation into the matter. Such crimes happen often and tend to go too far because they are ignored by [military] superiors.”

The mother of the deceased reported earlier to the Manager News that Pte Songtham was severely beaten to the point that he became unconscious and had to be assisted by a respirator while he was at the hospital, adding that he had bruises all over his body and suffered a brain haemorrhage.

Allegations of torture of draftees in Thai military bases are not new.

In June 2011, Wichian Puaksom, 26, a conscript in the Deep South province of Narathiwat, died after alleged brutal torture by about 10 soldiers.

An investigation by the 4th Army Region found that Wichian was severely tortured by other soldiers and his superiors after he was accused of running away from military training.

The Army report said that a number of soldiers at the request of Sub Lt Om Malaihom on 1 June 2011 stripped Wichian down to his underwear and dragged him over a rough cement surface before repeatedly kicking him with military boots and beating him for several hours.

The report added that the soldiers applied salt to the wounds of the torture victim to increase the pain and wrapped his entire body with a white sheet, tying his hands together as for a corpse and reading the funeral rites, before engaging in another round of beating.

After suing the Ministry of Defence, the Royal Thai Army and the Prime Minister's Office for malfeasance, Wichian’s family was given 7 million baht in compensation for their loss. However, up to now, none of the accused soldiers have been officially prosecuted for criminal offences.

  Pictures of Chatphisut, a friend of Songtham who was also beaten in the military base, posted on the Facebook page of Thapanee Ietsrichai

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