Inquest not conclusive in 2010 shooting

An inquest into the death of a man who was killed during the 2010 political protests was inconclusive on whether he was shot by soldiers or by armed protesters.

Boonmee Rermsuk, 71, died of an infection from a gunshot wound to the abdomen, the Criminal Court said in the ruling.

He was reportedly caught in the crossfire between soldiers and armed protesters on Rama IV Road.

The bullet found in his body is suspected to have been fired from an M-16 assault rifle, but ballistics tests failed to match it with the rifles used by the 40 soldiers. Armed protesters were also using assault rifles with the same type of ammunition.

Furthermore, the court said, the victim might have been moved from wherever he was shot to where he was found at a petrol station.

There is no physical evidence or any eyewitnesses to confirm where the shooting occurred. Nor did the victim's statement given before his death pinpoint the exact location.

Boonmee's daughter Nattapat Termwichit said she found the inquest unsatisfactory and that she would think things through before deciding her next move. "My father told me the shot was fired from where the soldiers were deployed and I don't think he had any reason to lie," she said.

One thing the inquest makes clear, Democrat MP Thaworn Senneam said, is that the protesters were armed with assault rifles just like the soldiers, adding that the Department of Special Investigation had erred in trying to portray the soldiers as armed and the protesters as unarmed.

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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/01/17/inquest-not-conclusive-in-2010-shooting/