Bt42m for Tak Bai
The Defence Ministry paid Bt42 million in compensation yesterday to relatives of 79 people killed in the Tak Bai tragedy three years ago.
Sitirohkaya Salae, a representative of victims who died after a military crackdown on a large protest at the Tak Bai police station on October 25, 2004, sued the ministry and demanded compensation for the loss of life. Six people were shot and killed during the crackdown to end the protest in Narathiwat's Tak Bai district and 79 others died of suffocation in the back of Army trucks while being transported to a military camp in Pattani, some 150 kilometres from the protest site. The Defence Ministry, whose officials were responsible for the incident, cut the deal with relatives of the deceased. The case, which went to court on December 20 last year, was settled when relatives of the victims went to Pattani provincial court yesterday to receive the compensation. A total of 27 people injured during the Tak Bai protest have also filed lawsuits against the ministry and demanded compensation. The Narathiwat provincial court is considering their cases.
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