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Thai police have filed defamation charges against a prominent forensic expert for questioning whether a fugitive murder suspect shot five times really committed suicide or was the victim of extrajudicial killing by police.

The defamation charges have been condemned by the Asian Human Rights Commission as an attempt to "intimidate and silence" people speaking out about human rights abuses in Thailand.

The police say that on May 21 Sunthorn Wongdao was found dead in his house with four bullets in his lung and one to his head. They called it suicide.

The charges against Porntip Rojanasunan, deputy director of the Central Institute for Forensic Science, and Manit Suthaporn, the Justice deputy permanent secretary, were made by five police who had been pursuing Mr Sunthorn.

Dr Porntip and Mr Manit suggested on TV that foul play, not suicide, might be involved in the case. Police Colonel Thirasak Surawong said his men did not kill Mr Sunthorn and the comments cast a bad light on them.

Dr Porntip, a celebrity in Thailand, has a reputation for speaking out against police and military brutality. She was the first to reveal the Tak Bai massacre in which 78 men suffocated when they were stacked one on top of the other in army trucks in southern Thailand last year.

"We did not try to make someone wrong," Dr Porntip told the Bangkok Post. "We only wanted to bring justice to the dead using forensic science. They should not jump to the conclusion that this case was a suicide. They should fully abide by the principles of forensic science before making any conclusion."

A report on Mr Sunthorn's death is due within days.

Nick Cheesman, project officer with the Asian Human Rights Commission, said the attack on Dr Porntip was aimed at silencing critics of the police."We are particularly worried about [the attack] on forensic science and the importance of proper criminal procedure," he said.

The commission has "grave concerns about torture, extrajudicial killings and disappearances in Thailand and the lack of opportunity to complain", he said. Police were using defamation as a counter-attack to intimidate people.

While the defamation charges were unlikely to stop Dr Porntip speaking her mind, he said, they may stop others from coming forward.

Sooner or later Thailands authorities are going to have to "clean up their act" as it were..... these sorts of things should not be tolerated for ever and the sooner changed is for the better....... authorities open to bribery and extorting from civillians should be a thing of the past.

Will it ever fully be disposed of though? I seriously doubt it as you only have to look at how western agencies operate. Its not as obvious on the surface but its there......

Seems like you would not need to be a forensic scientist to have some doubt that a person shot FIVE times did not commit suicide.

Me thinks the police may have picked a bad case in which to take a stand.

It is great to see someone with such credibility taking on these so called "enforcers of the Law" , the shame of it all is they are enforcing their own laws to protect their self interests and not the laws of the land.

Unfortunatley, she (Dr Porntip) is making some very dangerous enemies and I must repeat what I said in another link earlier this week, she needs to tread very carefully and watch her back as the people she is taking-on don't seem to have too many problems in removing permanently anything or anybody when it comes to protecting themselves.

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The police say that on May 21 Sunthorn Wongdao was found dead in his house with four bullets in his lung and one to his head. They called it suicide.

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Only fools believe.

Let me see if I can do this, shoot myself 4 times in the chest and then shoot myself in the head or was that the other way round????????????????

Edited June 24, 200521 yr by Kringle

Who in ###### can shoot themselves five times?

Reminds of the woman found dead in Pattaya. Police claim she stabbed herself 60 times and then hung herself.

The gun was turned to 'auto' and thus the shots fired out Simultenously

So, it hit out 5 shots

Maybe there are even more shots around that was not discovered

can tell you have never fired an automatic weapon. Pretty sure, it would be impossible to hold the weapon still long enough to shoot yourself 5 times before being dead. Recoil on a weapon of this type would be hard to handle.

he wasnt just commiting suicide, he liked pain also - shooting yourself 4 times in the lungs just for a laugh, before the final head shot? yeah right!

Kringle,

I'm just trying to be sacarstic about the police report of the victim taking his own life with 5 shots

That's why I say that 'maybe there are even more rounds still not discovered'

That's a pretty cool Bluetooth earpiece she has!

kenk3z

That's a pretty cool Bluetooth earpiece she has!

kenk3z

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She's a pretty cool chick for an oldie.

The gun was turned to 'auto' and thus the shots fired out Simultenously 

So, it hit out 5 shots 

Maybe there are even more shots around that was not discovered 

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What exactly was the weapon and caliber?