Two Thai soldiers seek justice from PM

[webfact]

Two soldiers seek justice from PM

BANGKOK: -- Two soldiers from Lopburi on Monday lodged complaints to the prime minister accusing a regiment commander of forcing one of them to tell lies in an accident which killed an employee and wounded two others in Lopburi province.

The wounded is also a soldier in the same army barrack and his wife. He came with the army truck driver to petition for justice.

An information technology officer Sgt Chao Khaoprateep of the 31st Infantry Regiment of the Royal Guards, filed the complaint with the People’s Service Centre at the Prime Minister’s Office in Bangkok Monday.

In the complaint, he said he was hit by a position car of the regiment’s commander on Nov 5, 2013 in front of his billboard making shop.

He received was broken ribs, a cracked shoulder blade and leg bone. His brains and lungs were also damaged to the extent he could no longer live normally.

He said his wife was also badly injured and one of his employees died in the accident.

He said that since the accident, his commander had never helped him or even mentioned the accident. Only the driver of the car, Cpl Songkran Mahawan, paid for damages to his shop for the shop and motorcycle.

He also said he was forced to settle the case with proposal that he did not have to come to work at the regiment but could spend his time working at his shop.

He said he filed a complaint with the Interior Ministry’s Damrongdhama Center in Lop Buri, but it did not accept it.

Cpl Songkran, the driver of the car who caused accident and came with Sgt Chao also said he had done his best to help the victims but the commander forced him to take all the responsibilities alone.

He even was advised by his commander to perjure by saying he took the car out on his own although he was ordered to do so by the commander.

He also was forced to borrow 850,000 baht from a cooperative to pay for the damages with a 15-year repayment period.

His commander didn’t help anything even medical bill for the victims, thus prompting both of them to raise their complaints to the People’s Service Centre in Government House.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/two-soldiers-seek-justice-pm/


-- Thai PBS 2014-09-01

[clockman]

Not surprised.

[Patje]

And I'll bet this is not a single case .....

[ramrod711]

Doesn't sound like the commander was with them, I'm not sure if he would be responsible. The fact that the commander advised him to lie doesn't reflect very well on him. I guess it comes down to the soldiers following orders, having an accident which the commander could not have forseen, wanting the commander to be held responsible. Is he? never having been in the military, I have no idea.

[NongKhaiKid]

Doesn't sound like the commander was with them, I'm not sure if he would be responsible. The fact that the commander advised him to lie doesn't reflect very well on him. I guess it comes down to the soldiers following orders, having an accident which the commander could not have forseen, wanting the commander to be held responsible. Is he? never having been in the military, I have no idea.

A ' position car ' ? Maybe this means an ' escort ' with the commander in another vehicle and perhaps trying to make better progress than the traffic density allowed for, after all he is a commander.

All supposition of course and a lot more information needed but who could be surprised at a senior Thai taking a giant pace to the rear.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Doesn't sound like the commander was with them, I'm not sure if he would be responsible. The fact that the commander advised him to lie doesn't reflect very well on him. I guess it comes down to the soldiers following orders, having an accident which the commander could not have forseen, wanting the commander to be held responsible. Is he? never having been in the military, I have no idea.

Is a passenger in a taxi responsible for any accident the driver has?

Is a passenger in a bus responsible if the driver falls asleep and crashes?

So how could the general be to blame for anything his driver did?

[casualbiker]

Doesn't sound like the commander was with them, I'm not sure if he would be responsible. The fact that the commander advised him to lie doesn't reflect very well on him. I guess it comes down to the soldiers following orders, having an accident which the commander could not have forseen, wanting the commander to be held responsible. Is he? never having been in the military, I have no idea.

Is a passenger in a taxi responsible for any accident the driver has?

Is a passenger in a bus responsible if the driver falls asleep and crashes?

So how could the general be to blame for anything his driver did?

Because it should have been reported and insurance paid out .. no?

[Suriya4]

From the poor English in the article, I am sure the news was written by an army boy, who never had a falang English teacher in the barrack.

[ggold]

Doesn't sound like the commander was with them, I'm not sure if he would be responsible. The fact that the commander advised him to lie doesn't reflect very well on him. I guess it comes down to the soldiers following orders, having an accident which the commander could not have forseen, wanting the commander to be held responsible. Is he? never having been in the military, I have no idea.

Is a passenger in a taxi responsible for any accident the driver has?

Is a passenger in a bus responsible if the driver falls asleep and crashes?

So how could the general be to blame for anything his driver did?

I think you will find it is a military vehicle for the commanders use. So it should be down to him as commander. I would have thought it would be a matter of honour for the commander to do all he could to help the victims. But obviously there is no honour in the Thai Military!

[marcusd]

"He said he filed a complaint with the Interior Ministry’s Damrongdhama Center in Lop Buri, but it did not accept it."

Now this part really grabs me. WHY NOT accept a complaint and investigate and see where that all goes? Looks like General Prayuth has a lot of work to do cleaning things up

[Arkady]

Doesn't the army have any insurance?

[rickirs]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Doesn't the army have any insurance?

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• An administration to negotiate, monitor adequacy of insurance contracts
• An administration to pay premiums and collect benefits
• Risk pools for pricing risks (some of which are not identifiable)
• Uncertainty of coverage being over risked or under risked coverage
• Financial resources set aside for paying benefits or compensation

Self-insured can provide substantial cost savings:

• No profit margin is paid out in premiums.
• Prevent or avoid losses through proactive administration of risks
• Claims settled immediately without prolonged administrative or legal involvement

[trogers]

Doesn't sound like the commander was with them, I'm not sure if he would be responsible. The fact that the commander advised him to lie doesn't reflect very well on him. I guess it comes down to the soldiers following orders, having an accident which the commander could not have forseen, wanting the commander to be held responsible. Is he? never having been in the military, I have no idea.

Is a passenger in a taxi responsible for any accident the driver has?

Is a passenger in a bus responsible if the driver falls asleep and crashes?

So how could the general be to blame for anything his driver did?

Difference in responsibility between contract for service (taking a taxi) and contract of service (employer with chauffeur).

In the latter case, the employer is to be held responsible.

[FangFerang]

More and more tips of icebergs are floating in the sea of tranquility -- which is supposed to be dry and on the moon......

[NongKhaiKid]

Doesn't sound like the commander was with them, I'm not sure if he would be responsible. The fact that the commander advised him to lie doesn't reflect very well on him. I guess it comes down to the soldiers following orders, having an accident which the commander could not have forseen, wanting the commander to be held responsible. Is he? never having been in the military, I have no idea.

Is a passenger in a taxi responsible for any accident the driver has?

Is a passenger in a bus responsible if the driver falls asleep and crashes?

So how could the general be to blame for anything his driver did?

This was a military vehicle where the rules are different.

Did the general order his driver / escort vehicle to break the law by speeding etc. ?

It would take a very brave soldier to decline to obey the order.

[siampolee]

An information technology officer Sgt Chao Khaoprateep of the 31st Infantry Regiment of the Royal Guards, filed the complaint with the People’s Service Centre at the Prime Minister’s Office in Bangkok Monday.

In the complaint, he said he was hit by a position car of the regiment’s commander on Nov 5, 2013 in front of his billboard making shop.

Is not or was not the injured party a career soldier, if so why would he be involved in a civilian business venture when his first duty was to the military?

He also said he was forced to settle the case with proposal that he did not have to come to work at the regiment but could spend his time working at his shop.

There would be it seems to me a conflict of interests that could actually lead to a dereliction of duty.

Perhaps a little care should be taken regarding the pursuit of the matter by the injured party.

He also said he was forced to settle the case with proposal that he did not have to come to work at the regiment but could spend his time working at his shop.

Seem's as if it is a case of wanting ones cake and eating it according to the above quote. .

[StefanBBK]

Doesn't the army have any insurance?

The army or their insurance, should have shouldered all expenses and paid compensation.

[Benmart]

Doesn't sound like the commander was with them, I'm not sure if he would be responsible. The fact that the commander advised him to lie doesn't reflect very well on him. I guess it comes down to the soldiers following orders, having an accident which the commander could not have forseen, wanting the commander to be held responsible. Is he? never having been in the military, I have no idea.

Is a passenger in a taxi responsible for any accident the driver has?

Is a passenger in a bus responsible if the driver falls asleep and crashes?

So how could the general be to blame for anything his driver did?

Yes, the article doesn't seem to be very clear, which is often the case in journalism.

It seems a mess indeed and one that hopefully will be solved by those with access to the facts and the parties concerned.

[MediaWatcher]

I wonder if the story reads better in Thai, because it certainly is lacking in English. You would think we'd be told what happened and what was the cause. A grade 7 kid could write better.

[katana]

From Thairath:
The driver of the car, Private Songkran Mahawan, said he had been told to lie to the police by his commander and say he had stolen the car. However Private Songkran said the truth was that he had been ordered by his commander to drive him back to his house when the accident happened.

From the OP:
"...he was hit by a position car of the regiment’s commander..."
In the Thai article they use the term ROT PRAJAM TAMNAENG (lit car regular position) which translates as office/official/company car.
So it looks like the 'position car' they refer to is just a bad translation from the Thai article and they should have used 'official car'.
Maybe the insurance for the commander's official car only covered the commander to drive and not his subordinate, who he was using as a chauffeur, hence the need for the commander to shift blame...?

Edited September 2, 2014 by katana