The Criminal Court ruled Thursday there was not sufficient evidence to determine who was responsible for the fatal shootings of four people, including a Japanese journalist, during a red-shirt protest in 2010 and an anti-government rally in 2013.
In the first case, the court ruled that Hiroyuki Muramoto, a Reuters cameraman, and red-shirt protesters Wasant Phuthong and Tossacahai Mekngamfah were shot and killed on 10 April 2010 on Dinso Road by high-velocity weapons.
The bullets had exited their bodies and could not be found.
- Earlier report: Inquest places no blame
The court cited unclear accounts from witnesses and unavailability of photos to determine the positions of the three people before they were shot.
So ballistics could not be used to determine if the fatal shots came from the direction of retreating soldiers on the first night of the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration's dispersal of red-shirt protesters five years ago.
As forensic examinations could find neither bullet fragments inside the bodies nor bullet casings at the scene, the weapons used could not be identified.
At the time of the shootings, there were also fewer troops on the road as soldiers had been retreating after their comrades were injured.
Taishi Akimoto, first secretary at the Japanese embassy, said Muramoto's family will be informed about the ruling.
Sunanta Preechawej, Wasant's sister, said she has waited for five years for a ruling but the court could not conclude which side killed her brother.
Jessada Jaidee, the lawyer representing relatives of the three victims, said he respected the outcome.
Tida takes a tumble: A reporter rushes to the aid of red-shirt chief adviser Tida Tawornseth after she tripped outside the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court where she attended the inquest into the death of Hiroyuki Muramoto, the Japanese journalist who died covering the political violence in April 2010. She was unhurt. PAWAT LAOPAISARNTAKSIN
In a separate case, the Criminal Court also ruled there was insufficient evidence to determine who was responsible for the fatal shooting of Vasu Suchantabut outside the Thai-Japanese Stadium in Din Daeng on Dec 26, 2013.
Vasu, a member of the Network of Students and People for the Reform of Thailand, had been deployed to block party-list MP candidates from registering during the protest against the Yingluck Shinawatra government. He was shot in the stomach.
The court said there was no witness or evidence to establish who fired the bullet that killed him. The court was told that Vasu was seen walking outside the Social Security Office building with two other protesters before gunshots were heard apparently from Gate 6 of the stadium.
A shout was heard from Vasu's group that police were on the second floor when the shooting took place.
Thipabha Suchantabut, the victim's mother, said she accepted the court's ruling but said her offer of one million baht to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of the shooter was still available.