Drug-war victims' kin raise cases
Prompted by the government's promise to reopen cases of drug-related murders during the anti-narcotics campaigns of the Thaksin government, families of the victims have contacted authorities to seek justice.
One of the many high-profile cases was the accidental shooting in April 2005 of a nine-year-old boy in a sting operation by Bang Chan police in Bangkok. Jakkraphan Srisa-ard was hit in the head by a stray bullet from an officer's gun while the arresting team was trying to apprehend his parents, Sathaporn and Phornwipha, who were drug dealers. Relatives of the Srisa-ard family will today meet with Justice Minister Charnchai Likhitjittha and permanent secretary Jaral Phakdeethanakul to discuss reopening the case. Each victim, if deemed qualified, is entitled to Bt50,000 compensation from the Rights and Liberties Protection Department. Charnchai said yesterday that the Department of Special Investigation would consider taking over the cases if initial evidence found that policemen or state officials had some part in the drug-related murders. Sombat Cha-aim, a Lop Buri native, said police in Tha Luang district, had made little progress in seeking a group of men who twice sprayed her house with automatic fire four years ago when she and her husband Somphong were charged with drug dealing. The woman said she and her husband were later acquitted by the Lop Buri court.
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