• 
• 

Police are still collecting evidence they hope will lead them to the killer. They said demonstrators were not proving helpful.

Narongsak Kobthaisong, 55, a Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD) supporter, died of head injuries sustained during Tuesday morning's street riots.

His nephew, Palakorn Singhaklangpol, 42, a Kanchanaburi village deputy headman, wants his uncle's death to be the last one as a result of political divisiveness.

He blamed no one for the fatality, saying he knew was difficult to maintain order in large crowds of people with differing ideologies.

Narongsak was single and an odd-job worker in Bangkok. He was interested in politics and started going to DAAD rallies at Sanam Luang during the Thaksin Shinawatra administration, Palakorn said. He was cautioned not to break the law.

"I learned about his death from the news and have come to collect his body," he said, calling on the DAAD to pay for the funeral.

Elder sister Chaba Singhaklangpol, 70, almost fainted when she saw her brother's badly beaten body.

"My brother will not have died for nothing," she said.

She demanded justice and wants the DAAD to help. She said the family had rejected the group's offer to erect a statue in his honour as a "a fighter for his country". She wants the funeral paid for.

She also said this should never happen again.

"We should love each other and live in harmony for the country and the King," she said.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Police commander Maj-General Amnuay Nimmano said they were looking for any film there might be of incidents on Tuesday, including the shooting of another demonstrator.

He pleaded for witnesses to come forward.

Nang Lerng police deputy superintendent Lt-Colonel Phubet Senkhao said officers had interviewed several of the injured from Tuesday. He said they "covered up" information and asserted they got caught up in the rally as it passed by. They did not expect violence.

Some refused even to give their names.

Phubet said security-camera images and television news footage were being looked at.

In related news, Petchawat Wattanapongsirikul, a leading member of the Rak Chiang Mai 51 Group, yesterday started taking donations to help Narongsak's family. He has collected Bt27,000.

He called Narongsak a "hero".

Rosana Tositrakul and 10 other senators visited the injured DAAD supporters at Vajira Hospital and offered money to pay for their treatment.

They said Thais should not kill or hurt each other over politics.

The senators said democracy must be upheld and that violence was not an answer to people's differences.