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If it weren't so depressing, the first hearing on Imam Yapa Kaseng's death may have seemed to some people as comical. A half-frightened 27-year-old physician was trying hard to be true to his profession and at the same time refrain from calling a spade a spade. But in the end Dr Supawit Pakdichote, who carried out the autopsy, stood his ground and survived the sarcasm - and comments designed to lead - from the lawyer whose aim was to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the imam had died from torture and that the explanation put forward by the Army was bogus. The stakes were extremely high and it was understandable why the young doctor had to choose his words carefully, state only the facts as he saw them, and not give the impression that he was reaching a premature conclusion.

Imam Yapa died on March 21, two days after he and his two sons were taken into custody by Narathiwat-based army Task Force 39. Immediately after his death, the Army unabashedly came up with all kinds of excuses and possibilities. The imam had passed out and fell heavily to the ground, thus cracking his ribs, was one of the initial explanations. Another explanation was that a soldier was trying to resuscitate the dead imam and accidentally cracked his ribs. Obviously, the soldier must have been pushing on all the wrong places because, according to the doctor, nine ribs were cracked - four in the front and five in the back.

But don't be surprised, because Thailand's finest are not exactly bright sparks, especially when it comes to spinning stories. Given all of these incredible explanations, one wonders why the Army hasn't blamed lightning from the sky for the imam's death.

During Monday's cross-examination of the young doctor, the lawyer pushed the right buttons to ensure that all these rib-tickling explanations were put to rest once and for all. And when all these possibilities are discredited, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it was soldiers' boots that pummelled Yapa's body so hard that he died.

Like other controversial cases, Imam Yapa's death shook up the political and military establishment. Army chief General Anupong Paochinda, who was in the restive South at the time of the imam's death, immediately vowed to get to the bottom of the incident that had given the security forces a big black eye. Anupong said a committee would be set up to look into the case. Bangkok-based diplomats and human-rights advocates welcomed the Army chief's prompt response.

The hearing was part of the standard procedure required for cases that involve the death of suspects while in custody. It should not require a major initiative on the Army's part. but the absence of any follow-up by Anupong has become a cause for concern that Yapa's case will go down the road to oblivion. But as in other suspect cases involving state security agencies operating in the region, there were attempts to reach an out-of-court settlement with Yapa's family. It didn't work. His daughter wouldn't toe the line.

It is in the interests of Thailand to get to the bottom of Yapa's case. Civil society organisations must play their part to ensure that justice prevails for all, regardless if the person is a suspected Malay Muslim separatist hell-bent on carving out a separate homeland for Muslims in the southernmost provinces. Unfortunately, the public has become so de-sensitised to the daily killings in the deep South that even cases like Imam Yapa's do not get the coverage they deserve. No wonder the Malays in the deep South feel like second-class citizens in their own country.

We don't seem to realise that if we fail to bring justice to Yapa's case, we fail as a nation.