The post-mortem examination report over the death of a young soldier has concluded that he was beaten to death by other soldiers in the military barrack in Isaan, northeastern Thailand.
The Provincial Court of the Isaan province of Surin on Tuesday, 26 July 2016, read the autopsy report on the death of Corporal Krittikon Suthiraphan, 25, a soldier at Weerawat Yothin Army Camp in Surin.
Krittikon died in a military prison in Weerawat Yothin Army Camp on 21 February 2016. He was imprisoned after he was accused of assisting other detainees in the military prison to flee.
According to the report, the late soldier died from brutal beating by three soldiers, Nontawat Jaimon, Yutthapichai Sanpat and Jeerasak Sitthisorn, and a member of the Royal Thai Volunteer Force, Chukiet Nantapan.
Krittikon was brutally beaten to the point that he sustained severe head injuries and his stomach was broken, the post-mortem examination report summarised.
The prosecutor on the case listed five plaintiff witnesses for the trail, which include Boonrueang Suthiraphan, Krittikon’s mother, a doctor from Surin Provincial Hospital who performed the forensic examination of the body, staff of the military prison in Weerawat Yothin Army Camp, and soldiers in the investigative committee formed for the case.
During the trial, the plaintiff’s lawyer also shown video footage of the beating as evidence.
According to Krittikon’s mother and the doctor, Krittikon was found dead in the military prison with his feet chained.
Earlier, she testified that she tried to visit Krittikon many times, but the authorities denied her requests and prevented her from making any contact with the soldier, citing military prison rules.
“They never told me anything, never told me if he was hurt or sick. [They] just told me that I couldn’t visit him because he was under investigation. I went there one day before they contacted me, but they didn’t tell me anything,” said Boonrueang.