THAILAND: Families demand real perpetrators of bus shooting be brought to justice 

Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges you to voice your support for the parents of children killed and injured in an attack on a bus by armed men, who are demanding that the police investigate and arrest the real persons behind the attack. The family members claim that a police officer organised the shooting in June 2002 because of a personal conflict with the bus driver. However, a local villager has been set up as the culprit. Although the criminal court that heard the case found him innocent, the Office of the Attorney General is appealing against the decision. The parents want the prosecutors to drop the case, and instead for senior police to investigate and arrest the persons actually responsible for the attack.

The AHRC requests you to call on the responsible persons to see that justice is done in this case. Additionally, you are requested to call on the government of Thailand to establish an independent body to monitor and investigate complaints against the police, as no such agency exists at present. The lack of such an agency greatly inhibits the possibility of police being held accountable for their crimes.

Urgent Appeals Desk

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

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DETAILED INFORMATION

The parents of the children killed and injured in a shooting attack on a bus in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand, in 2002, have called on the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) of the Royal Thai Police to investigate a local police officer whom they allege was responsible for the attack.

Three children were killed, and 12 injured, when a group of men opened fire on the school bus with machine guns in June 2002. At the time, a minority villager by the name of Jobi was arrested and forced to admit to the attack. A court has since found him innocent, however, the Office of the Attorney General has chosen to appeal against the decision, despite widespread public acknowledgment that he was set up.

The families of the child victims have approached the CSD to claim that they knew all along that Jobi was innocent, and that the attack was organised by a local police officer that had a conflict with the driver of the bus over a karaoke bar. On August 9 they submitted documents to Police Colonel Somkuan Puengsup of the CSD containing their allegations and evidence against the Ratchaburi police officer, who has continued living in the area and holding his position in the police force since the attack.

“We want to see justice for our children, and since the Ratchaburi police won’t do anything, we have come to the CSD for assistance,” said Chalong Uthapao, father of one of the slain children, according to media reports. In response, Police Colonel Somkuan promised to send officers from CSD to investigate.

Meanwhile, the innocent victim of the police set-up, Jobi, has been kept in immigration detention after he was accused of being an illegal immigrant from Burma. Jobi claims that he was born in a village in the jungle near the border, where there was no proper registration of births and deaths by the Thai authorities. However, a number of local headmen are reported to have offered support for his claim. The case over his status is continuing, and he has been receiving treatment in hospital for illnesses he has suffered while in jail and in immigration detention, where he has been kept since he was arrested. It is believed that his legs may be permanently damaged as a result. His case attracted the attention of the Queen of Thailand, who is sponsoring his medical treatment.

In a recent interview, Jobi recalled how he was set him up, and threatened by the men believed hired for the killing. “I had to plead guilty because I was afraid,” he said. “They said they would kill me if I didn’t. And if I ran away, [they said] they would kill my wife and my children.” He was told that he would be freed if he did as the police told him. “I was told it was just an act [and] that the police would soon set me free so that I could return to my family,” he said. “But when they didn’t keep their promise, I decided to tell the truth that I didn’t do it.” If Jobi is found innocent, he may be able to claim compensation from the Ministry of Justice, however, as the case against him is pending in the Appeals Court, to date he has been unable to exercise this right.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

The appeal by the families of the child victims in Ratchaburi comes at a time of seriously declining human rights conditions in Thailand (see earlier Urgent Appeals on Thailand during this year UA-73-2004, UA-76-2004, UA-91-2004, UA-94-2004, Updated Appeals,  UP-14-2004, UP-26-2004, UP-31-2004, UP-40-2004 and Forwarded Appeal FA-06-2004. See also the contents of the AHRC Thailand webpage, in Thai or English.) Most recently, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand has released a report stating that the current administration of Thailand has brought a new level of authoritarianism to the country in recent times. However, the attack on the bus in Ratchaburi province in 2002 also speaks to deeper institutional problems that have persisted in law enforcement in Thailand for many decades. Police there have long been known to organise killings and fabricate cases with impunity, however, no independent agency exists to investigate allegations against police officers. This is despite the fact that under the 1997 Constitution, many other bodies have been established to monitor the actions of various departments of the civil administration. The CSD, to which the current case has been brought, is the highest investigating body, located in Bangkok. Although if the CSD takes up a case it is moved out of the hands of local officers who may be colluding to cover up their crimes, nonetheless, it is a part of the police department. As such, the CSD is still subject to the same overall controls and system of authority as the rest of the police force.

SUGGESTED ACTION

Please write to the Prime Minister of Thailand to urge that he ensure that the CSD intervene in this case to ensure that the alleged police officer and his accomplices are brought to justice, and the falsely accused man to be freed from the charges against him. Please also request that the Prime Minister take steps to see the establishment of an independent agency in Thailand to investigate and act upon complaints against police officers.