22-07-2025
Army culture of impunity
The Military Court delivered a ruling yesterday over a fatal assault at a cadet school in 2017. Despite the verdict finding the defendants guilty of assaulting the young cadet, it is unlikely to deter a culture of hazing and impunity within the Thai military.
The judges found the defendants -- two senior cadet students -- guilty of causing the death of freshman cadet Pakapong "Moei" Tanyakan on Aug 27, 2017, at a cadet school in Nakhon Nayok province. Both were given four months and 16 days imprisonment. Each must also pay a fine of 15,000 baht. As the court found that the defendants did not have criminal records, they were also each given a two-year suspended jail term and allowed to continue serving in the army.
The lenient ruling has alarmed Thai society, which has witnessed a series of brutal physical assaults and Spartan treatment in army units. The case of Pakapong has once again shed light on the culture of impunity and systematic cover-ups within the armed forces.
To begin with, the lawsuit would not have occurred without Pakapong's family's fighting spirit. Following his death, the army was quick to tell them he died because he suffered cardiac failure. The case would have been closed if the family believed what the top brass told them. Society is fortunate that they did not.
The family secretly removed his body from a cremation ceremony at a temple on Oct 24, 2017, to undergo an autopsy at the Central Institute of Forensic Science under the Ministry of Justice. The family was reportedly shocked when they learnt Pakapong's internal organs -- his heart, kidneys, brain, spleen and lungs had been removed from his body.
The autopsy also found bleeding around the collarbone and bruises on the left torso and a broken rib, which was unlikely to be caused by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). An initial autopsy performed by the army said CPR caused all the bruises.
The verdict in the case also raises the question of whether military courts are a suitable venue for handling criminal cases involving soldiers. Indeed, there are proposals from lawmakers to move serious criminal cases, such as threats to national security and serious homicides in military camps, to be handled in civilian courts.
This case follows the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases in May, giving 10-20 years jail terms to two army trainers and 11 conscripts found guilty of beating 18-year-old conscript Vorapraj Padmaskul to death last year.
This case was the first time that victims used the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act 2022 to handle all torture cases committed by security personnel.
This lawsuit was also the first time that security personnel were given hefty jail terms, raising hopes that the military will act tough on the use of force within its ranks.
However, it is regrettable that just two months later, the military court handed down a sentence that is hardly commensurate with the crime. Such half-baked justice will only continue to foster a culture of impunity in the army.
