An inquest by the Criminal Court failed on Thursday to reach a conclusion as to whether a worker of the Dusit Zoo was killed by a soldier or a redshirt protester during a clash in April 2010.
The court ruled that public prosecutors failed to provide enough evidences to establish from which direction the bullet that killed Mana Artran, 24, was fired.
Mana was killed inside the zoo on April 10, 2010 when troops were deployed to crack down on the redshirt protesters on Rajdamnoen Road and the Kokwua Intersection.
The court was told that while Mana was leaving his night shift at the zoo at 11pm, gunfire was heard from the zoo's parking lot, and his friend, Boonmee Kaewsaithuam, saw him lying on the ground, presumably dead.
Boonmee testified that he took cover and heard the gunfire continue for about 20 minutes. Later, two bullet casings were found about 25 metres away from the body. Shirts and batons belonging to troops were also found nearby.
The court was told during the inquest that 150 troops from the Air Defence Artillery Battalion at Fort Suranaree had been deployed to maintain security at the zoo and at the Parliament. When gunfire was heard from the side of Parliament, someone shouted a warning, saying "they have come", the court heard.
The court ruled that public prosecutors had no witnesses as to who shot Mana. Public prosecutors only presented an account from a security officer of the zoo that he saw troops firing into the sky. However, the spot where the troops were firing into the sky was at a different location to where Mana was killed.
Moreover, troops also told Boonmee to lie down without any intimidation. The court said that had troops shot Mana, Boonme should have also been shot.
The court said ballistics tests carried out by police could only confirm that the bullet had entered the back of Mana's head but not confirm whether the bullet was fired from the direction where troops were lying on the ground.
The court said bullet traces found on trees indicated that bullets were fired from several directions and indicated that there were other people in the zoo at the time of the shooting.
The court said the checking of all 29 guns used by the troops in the zoo that day did not find weapons that matched the two spent shells found near Mana's body.
As a result, the court ruled that Mana was killed by a highvelocity bullet but without clear information as to who fired it.
Mana's family did not attend the court to hear the inquest's decision.
Mana was the sixth victim whose death has undergone an inquest by the Criminal Court. Earlier, the court was also inconclusive about the death of the fifth victim, Boonmee Rermsuk, 70, saying it could not be established which side killed him.
In the cases of the first four victims - Phan Khamkong, Charnnarong Polsrial, Chartchai Chalao and Kunakorn Srisuwan the court ruled that they were killed by bullets fired by troops.
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/02/21/inquest-inclusive-on-who-fired-fatal-shot-in-zoo-workers-death/
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