Wife of Ah Kong, a late elderly lese majeste convict who died of cancer under custody in 2012, continues to pursue a court case against the Department of Corrections of Thailand at the Civil Court over her husband's death.
The Civil Court on Monday, 17 August 2015, held a pretrial hearing on the case over the death in custody of Amphon Tangnoppakul, aka. Ah Kong, a convict whom in late 2011 was sentenced to twenty years in prison under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, lese majeste law, for allegedly sending four SMS messages with anti-monarchy content.
Rodmalin Tangnoppakul, Ah Kong’s wife who is the plaintiff on the case, earlier filed the case against the Department of Corrections to the Administrative Court. However, the court transferred the case to the Civil Court.
The wife of a late lese majeste convict demands the Department of Corrections for a 2,070,000 baht (about USD 58500) compensation over the death of her late husband.
She accused the prison authorities of negligence of the health conditions of prisoners resulting in the death of her husband which is against Article 51 of the 2007 Constitution on the rights to public health provisions and Article 32 on the rights and liberty of individuals. Moreover, she also requested the authorities concerned to compensate her for the cost of Ah Kong’s funeral.
The Civil Court will rule whether to accept the case or not on 19 October 2015.
In 2013, a formal inquisition into Ah Kong’s death concluded that although he died under custody, no one could be held responsible for his death.
Ah Kong died at the age of 62 years-old behind bars on 8 May 2012 after suffering from metastatic cancer. His death while in prison prompted public outrage about the logic of harsh sentences for alleged crimes of lese majeste and concern about whether or not the conditions of prison healthcare met minimum international standards.
Rodmalin Tangnoppakul (left) and Anon Numpa, the lawyer on the case