Military off the hook in death of Boonmee

Military off the hook in death of Boonmee

A 71-year-old man who was killed during the 2010 political turmoil was shot by an unidentified attacker, the Criminal Court has ruled.

The Southern Bangkok Criminal Court ruled yesterday there was not enough evidence to establish who fired the shot that killed Boonmee Rermsuk on May 14, 2010.

Boonmee suffered a gunshot wound to his stomach while he was in front of a petrol station on Rama IV Road in the Klong Toey area.

Bangkok was under a state of emergency amid the anti-government red-shirt protests.

Boonmee died on July 28 at the Police General Hospital due to septicemia.

The ruling marks the first case in which the court has not blamed soldiers for a shooting during the violence.

The previous rulings have all said the victims were killed by military gunfire.

The court's ruling was based on the testimony of members of a television camera crew.

They told the court an exchange of gunfire took place between soldiers and armed men who were among the red shirt protesters.

The court said the victim was hit by a .223 calibre bullet, a type used by soldiers.

However, some security officers were also found to be shot and wounded by .223 bullets.

This gave the court ground to believe someone other than the soldiers could have been responsible for the shot that hit Boonmee.

"The fact is that the victim was hit by a .223 bullet, but it cannot be established from which side the bullet was fired," the court said.

Natpassorn Termwichit, Boonmee's daughter, said he told the family while he was in the ICU that he was shot by the military.

"Why would he lie to us?" she asked.

Her family will not give up their pursuit of justice, she said.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (6)