BANGKOK, 21 September 2012 – Following Nor Kham’s allegations of Thai soldiers’ involvement in the massacre of Chinese sailors in the Mekong River last October, Deputy Prime Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapa is demanding further clarification from the murders’ principal suspect.
Alleged Myanmar drug lord Nor Kham told a Chinese court yesterday that he suspected that Thai soldiers had murdered 13 of the Chinese crew and planted drugs on the vessels in the Mekong River last October.
General Yuthasak said he had been informed that Nor Kham had reversed his statement of defense by denying committing the attack. The Deputy Prime Minister is asking that the drug lord identify the names of Thai soldiers involved in the killings rather than drawing a general conclusion on the case.
He elaborated that the National Security Council is overseeing the investigations and that if found guilty, Thai soldiers implicated in the incident will be convicted of murder.
The trial of Nor Kham and five others from Myanmar, Thailand and Laos is taking place in China’s Yunnan province and is set to last three days.
