NARATHIWAT, Thailand – The Narathiwat Provincial Court has given seven defendants in the 2004 Tak Bai case until October 25 to surrender or be apprehended by authorities as they failed to appear for their second scheduled hearing on Tuesday (Oct 15).
October 25, 2024 marks the expiration of the statute of limitations for the case.
Despite the defendants’ absence and the challenges faced by authorities in apprehending them, the court has set a new hearing date for October 28, 2024.
The case stems from a 2004 incident in Thailand’s southern province of Narathiwat, where security forces dispersed protesters in front of the Tak Bai police station, resulting 85 deaths primarily due to suffocation during detainee transport.
The defendants include former Army Region 4 commander Gen. Pisarn Wattanawongkhiri, military commanders, police chiefs, and a former provincial governor, involved in the incident.
In a related development, Gen. Pisarn, a party-list MP for the Pheu Thai Party resigned from the party on October 14.
This comes after he was accused of fleeing the country to avoid facing charges in the Tak Bai case. The court has issued an arrest warrant for him.
The resignation was announced just before a weekly meeting of Pheu Thai MPs, where some members were prepared to propose Gen. Pisarn’s expulsion for damaging the party’s reputation. (TNA)
