Thai Police deny forcing 'Popcorn gunman' into making a confession

[webfact]

Police deny forcing 'Popcorn gunman' into making a confession
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Police on Wednesday denied that they had beaten up the so-called "Popcorn gunman" suspect to extract a confession that he was involved in the shooting incident at Laksi one day before the February 2 election.

Puangtip Bunsanong, lawyer for Wiwat Yodprasit, who is widely known as the "Popcorn gunman", claims her client was assaulted by the police to force him to confess to the charges.

National Police Chief Pol Gen Adul Saengsingkaew insisted that Wiwat was not a scapegoat as some observers had claimed.

Pol Col Athip Pongsiwapai, superintendent of Thung Song Hong police station, said the claim that the police beat the suspect to make him confess was groundless. He said the suspect had the right to change his statement and it would be up to the court's judgement.

"We have solid evidence, footage from a security camera and images from the social media networks. It is impossible that police who arrested him beat him up," he said.

Athip said police would check into evidence which would be used to seek court approval for issuing an arrest warrant for Sumet or Men Trakulwunnu, anti-government protester guard chief at the Chaeng Wattana rally base. Police want Sumet on charges of illegally harbouring Wiwat after he allegedly committed a crime.

The court earlier rejected the police's request to issue the arrest warrant for Sumet without giving a reason, Athip said.


-- The Nation 2014-03-26

[TVGerry]

Are we surprised if they did torture him into confessing? The BIBs always seem to get confessions out of alleged criminals. In this case, they even had him say the PRDC have weapons stocked up and are training men to fight. Could be true but the word of someone who has been 'interrogated' first by the Royal Thai Police is always suspect.

Red apologists will of course say the police didn't force him into confessing because the police here are such upstanding people.

[londonthai]

I have seen his face pictures just a few hours after the shooting. He took off his balaclava in a full few of media reporters, ron maak.

unless he has a lookalike and has 100% alibi that he wasn't at Laksi at that time, he is a burned popcorn.

the pdrc weapons cache was delivered to the fighters in a white van used to deliver money, all on pics all over.

by confessing and cooperating he cut his sentence to half, a wise move with that much of hard evidence against him. There would be witnesses against him from the place, where he was harboured - the cops were tipped off of his whereabouts

Edited March 26, 2014 by londonthai

[Pib]

I doubt he got beat up as Thais seem to confess immediately to get the sentence reduced by half...or death reduced to a life sentence which ends up being a 10 to 20 year sentence. I think the typical Thai feels they have no chance in being found not guilty and just immediately jump to confession in order the half their sentence. We see this type of confession behavior over and over in news reports for all types of crimes and the accused shows no signs of police abuse nor implies it verbally...heck, you see them smiling sometimes. It's just a Thai thing.

[fab4]

Are we surprised if they did torture him into confessing? The BIBs always seem to get confessions out of alleged criminals. In this case, they even had him say the PRDC have weapons stocked up and are training men to fight. Could be true but the word of someone who has been 'interrogated' first by the Royal Thai Police is always suspect.

Red apologists will of course say the police didn't force him into confessing because the police here are such upstanding people.

Beaten and tortured by police

Not beaten and tortured by PDRC

[webfact]

'Popcorn Gunman' Claims He Was Tortured

By Khaosod English


Mr. Wiwat Yordprasit (white T shirt) flanked by governmental officials at the police press conference, 20 March 2014

BANGKOK: -- The man accused of shooting at pro-government demonstrators in February has claimed he was tortured into giving false confession by the police, according to his lawyer.

Mr. Wiwat Yordprasit, 24, was arrested after he was identified by the police as the man behind the masked armed militant who fired a military-grade weapon concealed in a large popcorn bag during the gunbattle between anti- and pro-government protesters in northern Bangkok last month.

The clashes left one elderly man paralysed after being hit by a bullet.

The suspect, dubbed "popcorn gunman" by much of the media, publicly confessed that he was hired by the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD) as a security guard, and that he received the weapon from fellow guards during the clashes, which he used to fire at pro-election demonstrators.

But his lawyer, Ms. Puangthip Boonsanong, said Mr. Wiwat told her during their meeting at Bangkok Remand Prison that he was coerced and tortured by the police into confessing the alleged crime.

According to Ms. Puangthip, Mr. Wiwat was brought onto a van shortly after his arrest and blindfolded by a group of police officers who later allegedly punched and strangle him with a rope while a piece of cloth was wrapped around his neck in order to avoid any mark of violence.

Ms. Puangthip also claimed Mr. Wiwat was forced to read his confession from a script provided by the police during the press conference.

However, her accpunt was disputed by Pol.Gen. Adul Saengsingkaew, chief of the Royal Thai Police who said the Thai police do not have any policy which allows torturing of suspects.

"The police cannot do that" Pol.Gen. Adul insisted, while Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai Thongsong, deputy chief of the Thai police, said it was impossible that Mr. Wiwat was tortured, as there is no trace or evidence of the alleged tortures on his body.

He stressed that the suspect voluntarily confessed to his alleged charges, and that the police provided no script to Mr. Wiwat at the press conference. "Reporters at the conference could see that," the deputy police chief said.

Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai also voiced his speculatino that Ms. Puangthip brought the accusation against the police as part of her courtroom strategy.

Source: http://en.khaosod.co.th/detail.php?newsid=1395823221


-- Khaosod English 2014-03-26

[JoeThePoster]

He just broke down and confessed when they told him they'd arrested his accomplice - the Diet Coke gunman.

[fstarbkk]

Are we surprised if they did torture him into confessing? The BIBs always seem to get confessions out of alleged criminals. In this case, they even had him say the PRDC have weapons stocked up and are training men to fight. Could be true but the word of someone who has been 'interrogated' first by the Royal Thai Police is always suspect.

Red apologists will of course say the police didn't force him into confessing because the police here are such upstanding people.

Beaten and tortured by police

Not beaten and tortured by PDRC

Not exactly sure what point you are trying to make here, unless it's:

Because some PDRC guys allegedly beat up a red-shirt, it's only fair that the police beat the crap out of an alleged PDRC guard. Surely not even you, in your red haze, would stoop to that level. Right?

[BlueNoseCodger]

'Popcorn Gunman' Claims He Was Tortured

By Khaosod English

Mr. Wiwat Yordprasit (white T shirt) flanked by governmental officials at the police press conference, 20 March 2014

BANGKOK: -- The man accused of shooting at pro-government demonstrators in February has claimed he was tortured into giving false confession by the police, according to his lawyer.

Mr. Wiwat Yordprasit, 24, was arrested after he was identified by the police as the man behind the masked armed militant who fired a military-grade weapon concealed in a large popcorn bag during the gunbattle between anti- and pro-government protesters in northern Bangkok last month.

The clashes left one elderly man paralysed after being hit by a bullet.

The suspect, dubbed "popcorn gunman" by much of the media, publicly confessed that he was hired by the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD) as a security guard, and that he received the weapon from fellow guards during the clashes, which he used to fire at pro-election demonstrators.

But his lawyer, Ms. Puangthip Boonsanong, said Mr. Wiwat told her during their meeting at Bangkok Remand Prison that he was coerced and tortured by the police into confessing the alleged crime.

According to Ms. Puangthip, Mr. Wiwat was brought onto a van shortly after his arrest and blindfolded by a group of police officers who later allegedly punched and strangle him with a rope while a piece of cloth was wrapped around his neck in order to avoid any mark of violence.

Ms. Puangthip also claimed Mr. Wiwat was forced to read his confession from a script provided by the police during the press conference.

However, her accpunt was disputed by Pol.Gen. Adul Saengsingkaew, chief of the Royal Thai Police who said the Thai police do not have any policy which allows torturing of suspects.

"The police cannot do that" Pol.Gen. Adul insisted, while Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai Thongsong, deputy chief of the Thai police, said it was impossible that Mr. Wiwat was tortured, as there is no trace or evidence of the alleged tortures on his body.

He stressed that the suspect voluntarily confessed to his alleged charges, and that the police provided no script to Mr. Wiwat at the press conference. "Reporters at the conference could see that," the deputy police chief said.

Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai also voiced his speculatino that Ms. Puangthip brought the accusation against the police as part of her courtroom strategy.

Source: http://en.khaosod.co.th/detail.php?newsid=1395823221

-- Khaosod English 2014-03-26

So which part of his confession does he want to retract? That he was the popcorn gunman part, or even that he wasn't there are all, i.e. he's not this man here with his mask up, or is he claiming the man with the mask up isn't the popcorn gunman?

Edited March 26, 2014 by BlueNoseCodger

[NongKhaiKid]

What a terrible allegation to make, the BIB would never fit a case up anymore than they would take bribes.

[thesetat2013]

I have seen his face pictures just a few hours after the shooting. He took off his balaclava in a full few of media reporters, ron maak.

unless he has a lookalike and has 100% alibi that he wasn't at Laksi at that time, he is a burned popcorn.

the pdrc weapons cache was delivered to the fighters in a white van used to deliver money, all on pics all over.

by confessing and cooperating he cut his sentence to half, a wise move with that much of hard evidence against him. There would be witnesses against him from the place, where he was harboured - the cops were tipped off of his whereabouts

If what you say is true about him confessing to the police the day he arrived in BKK and making a public appearance on national TV to receive a lighter sentence then WHY would he be changing his tune now?

You must be always in the right place and at the right time to be able to witness and be 100% sure whatever pics you saw were not doctored and the people in the pics were PDRC?

I am NOT claiming you to be a lier but am just pointing out that your theory has a lot of holes without knowing for sure.

Maybe this man is the popcorn gunman? But knowing how the police can be also lends credence to what he is saying is true now that he has a lawyer.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[NCFC]

It's not the police he has to fear now. The PDRC are going to want to silence him now. He knows too much

[chotthee]

'Popcorn Gunman' Claims He Was Tortured

By Khaosod English

Mr. Wiwat Yordprasit (white T shirt) flanked by governmental officials at the police press conference, 20 March 2014

BANGKOK: -- The man accused of shooting at pro-government demonstrators in February has claimed he was tortured into giving false confession by the police, according to his lawyer.

Mr. Wiwat Yordprasit, 24, was arrested after he was identified by the police as the man behind the masked armed militant who fired a military-grade weapon concealed in a large popcorn bag during the gunbattle between anti- and pro-government protesters in northern Bangkok last month.

The clashes left one elderly man paralysed after being hit by a bullet.

The suspect, dubbed "popcorn gunman" by much of the media, publicly confessed that he was hired by the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD) as a security guard, and that he received the weapon from fellow guards during the clashes, which he used to fire at pro-election demonstrators.

But his lawyer, Ms. Puangthip Boonsanong, said Mr. Wiwat told her during their meeting at Bangkok Remand Prison that he was coerced and tortured by the police into confessing the alleged crime.

According to Ms. Puangthip, Mr. Wiwat was brought onto a van shortly after his arrest and blindfolded by a group of police officers who later allegedly punched and strangle him with a rope while a piece of cloth was wrapped around his neck in order to avoid any mark of violence.

Ms. Puangthip also claimed Mr. Wiwat was forced to read his confession from a script provided by the police during the press conference.

However, her accpunt was disputed by Pol.Gen. Adul Saengsingkaew, chief of the Royal Thai Police who said the Thai police do not have any policy which allows torturing of suspects.

"The police cannot do that" Pol.Gen. Adul insisted, while Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai Thongsong, deputy chief of the Thai police, said it was impossible that Mr. Wiwat was tortured, as there is no trace or evidence of the alleged tortures on his body.

He stressed that the suspect voluntarily confessed to his alleged charges, and that the police provided no script to Mr. Wiwat at the press conference. "Reporters at the conference could see that," the deputy police chief said.

Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai also voiced his speculatino that Ms. Puangthip brought the accusation against the police as part of her courtroom strategy.

Source: http://en.khaosod.co.th/detail.php?newsid=1395823221

-- Khaosod English 2014-03-26

So which part of his confession does he want to retract? That he was the popcorn gunman part, or even that he wasn't there are all, i.e. he's not this man here with his mask up, or is he claiming the man with the mask up isn't the popcorn gunman?

He didn't pull the trigger.

God did it, as he was only an angle send by God to protect the innocent people.

Edited March 26, 2014 by chotthee

[londonthai]

If what you say is true about him confessing to the police the day he arrived in BKK and making a public appearance on national TV to receive a lighter sentence then WHY would he be changing his tune now?

You must be always in the right place and at the right time to be able to witness and be 100% sure whatever pics you saw were not doctored and the people in the pics were PDRC?

I am NOT claiming you to be a lier but am just pointing out that your theory has a lot of holes without knowing for sure.

Maybe this man is the popcorn gunman? But knowing how the police can be also lends credence to what he is saying is true now that he has a lawyer.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

because "Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai also voiced his speculatino that Ms. Puangthip brought the accusation against the police as part of her courtroom strategy".

I wasn't at Laksi, but I have seen pics posted immediately after the shooting.

suthep admitted the very same day, that shooters were from pdrc and threatened to use them again against the voters the next day

[fab4]

d tortured by PDRC

Not exactly sure what point you are trying to make here, unless it's:

Because some PDRC guys allegedly beat up a red-shirt, it's only fair that the police beat the crap out of an alleged PDRC guard. Surely not even you, in your red haze, would stoop to that level. Right?

Selective use of the word allegedly there - shouldn't that be used in both cases?. Careful, your bias is showing.

[rubl]

If what you say is true about him confessing to the police the day he arrived in BKK and making a public appearance on national TV to receive a lighter sentence then WHY would he be changing his tune now?

You must be always in the right place and at the right time to be able to witness and be 100% sure whatever pics you saw were not doctored and the people in the pics were PDRC?

I am NOT claiming you to be a lier but am just pointing out that your theory has a lot of holes without knowing for sure.

Maybe this man is the popcorn gunman? But knowing how the police can be also lends credence to what he is saying is true now that he has a lawyer.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

because "Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai also voiced his speculatino that Ms. Puangthip brought the accusation against the police as part of her courtroom strategy".

I wasn't at Laksi, but I have seen pics posted immediately after the shooting.

suthep admitted the very same day, that shooters were from pdrc and threatened to use them again against the voters the next day

The last you need to prove. Wasn't it more that Suthep said something like depending on some armed guards again in case the UDD red-shirts would start their violence and start shooting? I mean it seems that the popcorn shooter came AFTER the PDRC members were attacks and shot at by red-shirts.

[speedtripler]

its the same fat face ..........unless he has a watertight alibi that puts hims somewhere else

other than lak si on the day of the day of the shootings id convict him

he was firing a military weapon into a crowd of protesters ,so what if the police roughed him up a bit ??

what about the elderly man who was too slow to get out of the way and took a bullet through the spine

and is now paralised because of this piece of shit ?

[rubl]

""We have solid evidence, footage from a security camera and images from the social media networks. It is impossible that police who arrested him beat him up," he said."

Who said that allegedly the police who arrested the shooter beat him up? Also the evidence from Laksi has no relation with an alleged beating up later I would assume?

Anyway, at least we now know that the Thai police do not have any policy which allows torturing of suspects.

[fab4]

If what you say is true about him confessing to the police the day he arrived in BKK and making a public appearance on national TV to receive a lighter sentence then WHY would he be changing his tune now?

You must be always in the right place and at the right time to be able to witness and be 100% sure whatever pics you saw were not doctored and the people in the pics were PDRC?

I am NOT claiming you to be a lier but am just pointing out that your theory has a lot of holes without knowing for sure.

Maybe this man is the popcorn gunman? But knowing how the police can be also lends credence to what he is saying is true now that he has a lawyer.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

because "Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai also voiced his speculatino that Ms. Puangthip brought the accusation against the police as part of her courtroom strategy".

I wasn't at Laksi, but I have seen pics posted immediately after the shooting.

suthep admitted the very same day, that shooters were from pdrc and threatened to use them again against the voters the next day

She's a very good lawyer, she must be as she's kept the PAD protesters and leaders who took over Suavarnabhumi and Don Meuang airports out of jail for 6 years, but being a PAD lawyer I'm sure she has lots of friends.

[rubl]

its the same fat face ..........unless he has a watertight alibi that puts hims somewhere else

other than lak si on the day of the day of the shootings id convict him

he was firing a military weapon into a crowd of protesters ,so what if the police roughed him up a bit ??

what about the elderly man who was too slow to get out of the way and took a bullet through the spine

and is now paralised because of this piece of shit ?

'this piece of shit' ?

You mean you know it was the same man who caused that injury?

[fstarbkk]

d tortured by PDRC

Not exactly sure what point you are trying to make here, unless it's:

Because some PDRC guys allegedly beat up a red-shirt, it's only fair that the police beat the crap out of an alleged PDRC guard. Surely not even you, in your red haze, would stoop to that level. Right?

Selective use of the word allegedly there - shouldn't that be used in both cases?. Careful, your bias is showing.

My post was not intended to discuss who beat whom, but rather to point out the apalling implications of yours.

By the way, one does not have to read between the lines of your posts to detect your bias.

Just for the record, I don't support violence as a means to solve any problem. But if indeed violence was used to extract a confession and/or damaging information about other people from the suspect, this taints and discredits the entire process of law enforcement and justice, IMO.

[Luk Mhee]

I doubt he got beat up as Thais seem to confess immediately to get the sentence reduced by half...or death reduced to a life sentence which ends up being a 10 to 20 year sentence. I think the typical Thai feels they have no chance in being found not guilty and just immediately jump to confession in order the half their sentence. We see this type of confession behavior over and over in news reports for all types of crimes and the accused shows no signs of police abuse nor implies it verbally...heck, you see them smiling sometimes. It's just a Thai thing.

Possibly correct, not beaten up by the police, just call in some reds to do the dirty work.

[fab4]

because "Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai also voiced his speculatino that Ms. Puangthip brought the accusation against the police as part of her courtroom strategy".

p

I wasn't at Laksi, but I have seen pics posted immediately after the shooting.

suthep admitted the very same day, that shooters were from pdrc and threatened to use them again against the voters the next day

The last you need to prove. Wasn't it more that Suthep said something like depending on some armed guards again in case the UDD red-shirts would start their violence and start shooting? I mean it seems that the popcorn shooter came AFTER the PDRC members were attacks and shot at by red-shirts.

it seems that the popcorn shooter came AFTER the PDRC members were attacks and shot at by red-shirts.

Oh, rubl, aren't you even the slightest bit embarrassed by defending this gunman and his brothers in arms with your version of events ?

We had decided to go to a suburb of Bangkok, an area called Lak Si, where I had heard a group of pro-election campaigners were marching to the Lak Si administration office where voting ballots for that constituency were kept. That office had been blocked by anti-election protestors. A few hours later, the pro-election protesters arrived but kept a distance of several hundred meters from their counterparts. All of a sudden, I heard the sound of firecrackers being thrown back and forth though I couldn't work out exactly where the noise was coming from.

Then -- the sound of a gunshot. I saw pro-election protesters flinch and throw themselves to the ground. Things went quiet for a bit. Then some pro-election protesters started gathering together, and I ran over to see what was going on. It was a man sitting on the floor. He was shot in the chest, but could still talk. What had been a relatively peaceful protest that day turned violent with no warning and this man the first casualty. More was to come.

The pro-election protesters started to yell at an anti-government protest group who had just arrived with a big loudspeaker truck on the other side of Lak Si intersection in Bangkok. One pro-election protester told me the shot was fired from that side.

I moved behind a square-shaped cement barrier, and thought maybe I could put my camera on top of the barrier and take a steady shot as the truck passed by. That's when a group of three masked men ran from behind the truck. I thought, "That's strange, their leader said to walk along the truck. That's when I realized the men were running toward me, toward my camera. They saw me for sure. The group of men reached my position and there was only a low cement barrier between us. Suddenly they started firing handguns in the direction of the pro-election protesters. One man carried a large green bag, which looked to conceal a rifle. I was sitting upright, but I dropped my back to the ground immediately. All I could think was that I had to keep my camera recording. Would my lens capture the gunmen?

I peeked my head from behind the cement barricade and I asked a nearby man, "Can I leave, please? Or should I stay?" Only after I had spoken, did I notice the pistol in his hand. His face looked stern. "You journalist, don't film this. If I have to destroy your camera, then don't blame me." So I had to put my camera down. Apart from myself, there were at least a half-dozen other cameramen who were stuck and trapped along these gunmen, for 40 minutes or more. Eventually I tried again. I asked the same man, "Is it a good time for us to leave?" He said okay. "Keep yourself lower than the barriers and crawl." So we left -- I went first. We crawled along the road, keeping next to the cement barriers along the way. I crawled past six pistol-wielding gunmen who were mingling with anti-government protesters. Some gunmen wore masks, some didn't. They were firing toward the pro-election protesters the whole time. I could feel bullets zipping not far past my ears.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/03/world/asia/thai-protests-gunfight-kocha/

So what do you reckon then, rubl? Still sticking with the PDRC party line on who started firing on whom?

[fab4]

d tortured by PDRC

Not exactly sure what point you are trying to make here, unless it's:

Because some PDRC guys allegedly beat up a red-shirt, it's only fair that the police beat the crap out of an alleged PDRC guard. Surely not even you, in your red haze, would stoop to that level. Right?

Selective use of the word allegedly there - shouldn't that be used in both cases?. Careful, your bias is showing.

My post was not intended to discuss who beat whom, but rather to point out the apalling implications of yours.

By the way, one does not have to read between the lines of your posts to detect your bias.

Just for the record, I don't support violence as a means to solve any problem. But if indeed violence was used to extract a confession and/or damaging information about other people from the suspect, this taints and discredits the entire process of law enforcement and justice, IMO.

No "appalling implications" in my post. I just gave titles to the images to reflect the respective viewpoints of the majority on this forum from their posts.

[rubl]

because "Pol.Lt.Gen. Winai also voiced his speculatino that Ms. Puangthip brought the accusation against the police as part of her courtroom strategy".

p

I wasn't at Laksi, but I have seen pics posted immediately after the shooting.

suthep admitted the very same day, that shooters were from pdrc and threatened to use them again against the voters the next day

The last you need to prove. Wasn't it more that Suthep said something like depending on some armed guards again in case the UDD red-shirts would start their violence and start shooting? I mean it seems that the popcorn shooter came AFTER the PDRC members were attacks and shot at by red-shirts.

it seems that the popcorn shooter came AFTER the PDRC members were attacks and shot at by red-shirts.

Oh, rubl, aren't you even the slightest bit embarrassed by defending this gunman and his brothers in arms with your version of events ?

We had decided to go to a suburb of Bangkok, an area called Lak Si, where I had heard a group of pro-election campaigners were marching to the Lak Si administration office where voting ballots for that constituency were kept. That office had been blocked by anti-election protestors. A few hours later, the pro-election protesters arrived but kept a distance of several hundred meters from their counterparts. All of a sudden, I heard the sound of firecrackers being thrown back and forth though I couldn't work out exactly where the noise was coming from.

Then -- the sound of a gunshot. I saw pro-election protesters flinch and throw themselves to the ground. Things went quiet for a bit. Then some pro-election protesters started gathering together, and I ran over to see what was going on. It was a man sitting on the floor. He was shot in the chest, but could still talk. What had been a relatively peaceful protest that day turned violent with no warning and this man the first casualty. More was to come.

The pro-election protesters started to yell at an anti-government protest group who had just arrived with a big loudspeaker truck on the other side of Lak Si intersection in Bangkok. One pro-election protester told me the shot was fired from that side.

I moved behind a square-shaped cement barrier, and thought maybe I could put my camera on top of the barrier and take a steady shot as the truck passed by. That's when a group of three masked men ran from behind the truck. I thought, "That's strange, their leader said to walk along the truck. That's when I realized the men were running toward me, toward my camera. They saw me for sure. The group of men reached my position and there was only a low cement barrier between us. Suddenly they started firing handguns in the direction of the pro-election protesters. One man carried a large green bag, which looked to conceal a rifle. I was sitting upright, but I dropped my back to the ground immediately. All I could think was that I had to keep my camera recording. Would my lens capture the gunmen?

I peeked my head from behind the cement barricade and I asked a nearby man, "Can I leave, please? Or should I stay?" Only after I had spoken, did I notice the pistol in his hand. His face looked stern. "You journalist, don't film this. If I have to destroy your camera, then don't blame me." So I had to put my camera down. Apart from myself, there were at least a half-dozen other cameramen who were stuck and trapped along these gunmen, for 40 minutes or more. Eventually I tried again. I asked the same man, "Is it a good time for us to leave?" He said okay. "Keep yourself lower than the barriers and crawl." So we left -- I went first. We crawled along the road, keeping next to the cement barriers along the way. I crawled past six pistol-wielding gunmen who were mingling with anti-government protesters. Some gunmen wore masks, some didn't. They were firing toward the pro-election protesters the whole time. I could feel bullets zipping not far past my ears.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/03/world/asia/thai-protests-gunfight-kocha/

So what do you reckon then, rubl? Still sticking with the PDRC party line on who started firing on whom?

I know you don't like this forum and me quoting from it, but since I'm logged in anyway ...

"According to the Erawan Emergency Medical Service Centre of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, seven people were wounded during the exchange of fire at Lak Si and one of them was still in hospital."

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/703327-thai-police-seek-help-identifying-gunman-involved-in-shooting-at-lak-si/

"While the PDRC protesters were rallying, hardline red-shirt leader Wutthipong Kachatham, or Ko Tee, led some 200 red shirts to confront the protesters. Nation Channel reported that sounds of explosions were heard four times while the two sides were about 800 metres from each other - believed to be giant firecrackers. A car was also reportedly smashed amid the chaos.

At around 4pm, two firecracker explosions were heard under an overpass at the Lak Si intersection and three people were slightly injured, including Jirawat Sukanon, a Daily News reporter, who suffered wounds to his mouth and nose.

Up to 40 gunshots and several giant firecracker explosions were then heard. It was later reported that at least one person was wounded by a gunshot in front of the nearby IT Square Mall, which shut shortly after.

PDRC protesters at the Lat Phrao intersection sent men to rescue fellow protesters at the district office compound.

As gunshots continued to be fired in the Lak Si intersection area, some 30 bystanders were caught up on a nearby pedestrian bridge and barged through the mall's doors to seek refuge inside the building."

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701357-rival-groups-clash-at-lak-si/

BTW it's interesting that some of the reports seem to come from reporters who were at the PDRC side, no reports of reporters on the red-shirt side it would seem.

[fstarbkk]

d tortured by PDRC

Not exactly sure what point you are trying to make here, unless it's:

Because some PDRC guys allegedly beat up a red-shirt, it's only fair that the police beat the crap out of an alleged PDRC guard. Surely not even you, in your red haze, would stoop to that level. Right?

Selective use of the word allegedly there - shouldn't that be used in both cases?. Careful, your bias is showing.

My post was not intended to discuss who beat whom, but rather to point out the apalling implications of yours.

By the way, one does not have to read between the lines of your posts to detect your bias.

Just for the record, I don't support violence as a means to solve any problem. But if indeed violence was used to extract a confession and/or damaging information about other people from the suspect, this taints and discredits the entire process of law enforcement and justice, IMO.

No "appalling implications" in my post. I just gave titles to the images to reflect the respective viewpoints of the majority on this forum from their posts.

Well, reflection can be good for your personal growth.

[djjamie]

It is not surprising to have "police", "Adul" and "extraction of a confession" in the same sentence when an OP reflects indicting "enemies" of the regime. Of course a photo of Chalerm with the culprit always has to be at hand as well.

Interesting that Akeyuth's lawyer Suwat Apaipak said.the suspected killers of Akeyuth said he did not murder the businessman, but rather several men in uniform killed him and he was coerced into a confession. Of course this was about a week or two before the lawyer dropped the case like a hot potato as he was getting daily death threats if he continued to hunt the truth.

​Now we have the same tactic used by the regime on this man that potentialy saved the lives of dozens of innocent citizens by defending them against Ko Tee and his militia who threatened to loot, burn and destroy Bangkok with a force that one can only imagine would mirror the brutal 2010 terrorist uprising.

If we had a defender of all the principles of democracy like that of Wiwat's ilk in Trat that fateful day the terrorists attacked those innocent protestors then maybe things may have turned out more favorably and lives may have been saved.

​The above picture shows the criminals alright, but they are on either side of Wiwat.

Edited March 26, 2014 by djjamie

[webfact]

DSI chief denies “pop corn” gunman was beaten up by police



BANGKOK: -- Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief Tarit Pengdit today (Wednesday) denied the allegation that the suspected “pop corn” gunman was beaten up by police in order to force him to make confession.

Speaking in his capacity as the secretary of the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO), Tarit claimed that he had checked with police responsible for investigating the alleged offences against Mr Vivat Yodprasit, the alleged “pop corn” warrior and were told that the suspect was not forced to make confession to the alleged offences.

Mr Vivat reportedly told his lawyer that police investigators beat him up since he was escorted to Bangkok from Surat Thani where he was arrested and also he was made to read the confession note.

Tarit insisted that Vivat was the real suspect who involved in the shooting with red-shift followers at Laksi on February 1. He also defended that no policemen had beaten him up to extract his confession as alleged.

Pol Col Arthip Pongsivapai, superintendent of Thung Song Hong police, also insisted that the suspect was not beaten up or tortured as alleged. He said that the suspect had the right to reverse his testimony after he made confession.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/dsi-chief-denies-pop-corn-gunman-beaten-police/


-- Thai PBS 2014-03-26

[Scamper]

This is what happens when justice is meted out in press conferences and in the newspapers, rather than through the courts. Regardless as to guilt or innocence, the whole modus operandi of the police is questionable from almost any standpoint of the law and legal representation. Time and time again we see those arrested suddenly come before the cameras to " reenact " crimes or to make statements that never ever contradict the police's narrative. Coincidence ? The first rule of any law is access to a lawyer, and the first rule of any lawyer is not to make statements. As a charge of coercion has been made, one can assume that he had no access to a lawyer to begin with. That taints the process.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Scamper

[Cricketnut]

Yes he looks terribly beaten up to me.... My goodness, can we all take this with a grain of salt? Doesn't look beaten up at all, miserable? Yes. Scared Yes and so he should be and on multiple fronts. If this happened in Australia, I can tell you right now that the cops would have beaten the living day lights out of the guy and had just had a nasty fall down the stairs, his a lucky son of a gun IMO.

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