NHRC says its hands are tied on red-shirt shooting

A man who was shot in the arm and left permanently disabled during the 2009 red shirt-led protests has filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to hold negotiations with the army to drop all court-related charges against him.

Sawai Thong-om, a Surin native, won a Civil Court case in June 2011 that ruled the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the Royal Thai Army had to pay him 1.2 million baht in damages for his disability, medical bills and inability to continue working, then as a mechanic in Bangkok.

The two agencies appealed the ruling. Finally, the Supreme Court decided the army would not have to compensate Mr Sawai as the soldiers were not carrying pistols that could fire 9mm bullets. This was reportedly the size of the bullet that tore into Mr Sawai’s left arm.

The court also ruled he would have to pay 212,114 baht in court-related fees.

Mr Sawai sustained serious injuries when troops fired to disperse a crowd on April 13, 2009 at the Din Daeng junction area of Bangkok.

However, National Human Rights Commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit said there was little she could do beyond formally accepting the complaint and forwarding it to the army for consideration as new laws prevent the agency from officially mediating in such cases.

“We will submit Mr Sawai’s complaint to the armed forces, since the government already has reconciliation policies and should be able to come up with a conclusion,” Ms Angkhana said. “We hope they will listen to him.”

Mr Sawai had earlier said he was “confident” a soldier had shot and hit him in the left arm in 2009. He said yesterday the armed forces could have enlisted an attorney to handle the case instead of a lawyer as attorneys are cheaper.

He said most of his assets, including eight rai of land in Surin, have already been confiscated by the government because he lacked funds to honour the ruling. He added the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives froze his bank account earlier this month.

He said he had around 4,400 baht left in it.

APICHIT JINAKUL Sawai Thong-om shows his left arm, which he says was hit by a bullet during the 2009 red-shirt protests, to National Human Rights Commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit. He was seeking justice from the NHRC after the Supreme Court ruled the army did not have to compensate him.