Bullets may have come from both sides

As per the Criminal Court's inquest into the death of five redshirt supporters during the armed dispersal of protesters in May 2010, bullets from the troops' side had killed the first four. However, in the fifth case, the court said it could not determine which side the bullets came from. The inquest into the first four cases started with that of Phan Kamkong and the fifth, inconclusive case is that of Boonmee Rermsuk.

Here is a comparison of Phan and Boonmee's cases:

Site of death:

Phan: A restricted area on Ratchaprarob Road marked as a livebullet zone.

Boonmee: Bon Kai community near the ThaiBelgium overpass on Rama IV Road.

Bullets:

Phan: A round of .223 bullets.

Boonmee: A round of .223 bullets.

Ruling:

Phan: The socalled "men in black" were not present at the time of the shooting and there were no reports of a gunfight.

A witness testified that he heard the military warning a van not to enter the restricted area. Phan was then seen running out, before the sound of gunfire was heard. Then Phan was seen returning to the building, yelling he had been shot before he collapsed.

Boonmee: In a transcribed statement, Boonmee allegedly said he was shot at from where the troops were deployed. However, according to a video clip presented in court, Boonmee was heard making this claim but there was no way to verify the statement was transcribed.

Phan: Witness Komsanti Thongmak, a member of the Nation Channel news crew, testified that he filmed the incident when the military issued a warning at the van before shooting at it with assault rifles.

Boonmee: A witness from the Channel 7 news crew recorded a gunfight between soldiers and protesters.

Phan: A photograph of the van showed signs of bullets being fired from different types of weapons. A forensic check on Phan revealed he was shot in the right arm by a round of .223 bullets, the same type of bullet found embedded in the liver of the van's driver.

Boonmee: Hit by a round of .223 bullets used in assault rifles - the type of bullets that also injured soldiers. Hence, there is cause to suspect that the troops were not the only ones armed with assault rifles.

Thus, the inquest concluded that though a round of .223 bullets hit Boonmee, it could not be determined which side was responsible for his death.