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Tak Bai Massacre Case Expired: Defendant Returns to Work


webfact

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File photo courtesy: VOA

 

A local official involved in the Tak Bai incident, Wissanu Loetsongkram, has resumed his duties after the case against him was closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. No defendant faced trial.

 

Wissanu returned to his role as the district assistant chief at Tha Uthen district office in Nakhon Phanom province, announced on Tuesday by the Public Relations Office.

 

The tragic events of October 25, 2004, resulted in the deaths of 85 demonstrators. The statute of limitations, lasting 20 years, elapsed at 11:59 pm on Friday, prompting the Provincial Court in Narathiwat province to declare the case closed on Monday.

 

Wissanu was among eight defendants in the second group implicated in the incident. Despite state prosecutors deciding to bring charges against them in the Pattani Provincial Court as of September, none of the defendants were apprehended or appeared in court.

 

According to prosecutors, Wissanu drove one of the military trucks transporting detained protesters from the rally at Tak Bai police station to Ingkayutthaboriharn army fort in Nong Chik district, Pattani, about 150 kilometres away. They were reportedly stacked in the back of the vehicles, which led to 78 deaths by suffocation.

 

Wissanu, who had been on sick leave since October 15, returned to work under District Chief Preecha Sa-ingthong. He maintained that his role was merely to drive, deflecting responsibility for the deaths, as reported by the Government Public Relations Office.

 

Initial reports indicated he served in the 5th Infantry Division in 2004, though his exact rank at the time wasn't specified. His district, Tha Uthen, lies along the Mekong River, sharing a border with Khammouane province in Laos, reported Bangkok Post.

 

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-- 2024-10-29

 

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PM Paetongtarn said Tues gov't officials who were Tak Bai massacre suspects and now returning to work after the statute of limitations exoired may face difficulties advancing in their careers & denied their pension & retirement allowance.

 

https://x.com/KhaosodEnglish/status/1851185999566504436

 

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13 hours ago, webfact said:

A local official involved in the Tak Bai incident, Wissanu Loetsongkram, has resumed his duties after the case against him was closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. No defendant faced trial.

How sick is that... 

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13 hours ago, webfact said:

Wissanu, who had been on sick leave since October 15, returned to work under District Chief Preecha Sa-ingthong. He maintained that his role was merely to drive, deflecting responsibility for the deaths, as reported by the Government Public Relations Office.

Unbelievable.. but then I took a peek out of the widow and yes.. I'm in Thailand... so I retracted my first thought

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