Survivors fear they’ll get no justice in 2004 southern Thailand massacre

Statute of limitations expires on Oct. 25 in the killings of 85 men in Tak Bai.
Nontarat Phaicharoen
2024.10.18
Bangkok
Survivors fear they’ll get no justice in 2004 southern Thailand massacre Thais gather around a peace symbol to demand justice for the victims of the October 2004 Tak Bai massacre during a demonstration in front of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Oct. 15, 2024.
Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP

With less than a week before the 20-year statute of limitations expires in an infamous mass killing in Thailand’s troubled southern border region, none of the 14 suspects have been arrested after being charged in the case weeks ago. 

Relatives of the 85 men who died in the so-called Tak Bai Massacre are skeptical they will see justice for their loved ones – most of the victims suffocated to death in the backs of military trucks after they were rounded up during a protest on that day, Oct. 25, 2004.

The 14 suspects include former army commanders, police brass and officials in the Thai Deep South, and a former member of Parliament. They remain at large after they all failed to appear at recent court hearings to respond to charges of having roles in the killing of the 85 victims.

A court in Narathiwat province named the 14 as suspects in August and September, after agreeing to take up an unprecedented lawsuit.

“There’s still no confidence in the justice process, no belief in the pursuit of perpetrators for punishment. It feels like we haven’t received clarity. The court has issued arrest warrants, but not a single defendant has been caught. The relatives still feel unresolved, uneasy,” said Muhammasawawi Useng, who lost his brother in the incident. 

“We’re tired, but we must fight for the justice of those who have died,” Muhammasawawi told BenarNews.

The incident stands out as the most infamous one tied to a long-running separatist insurgency in the border region, but it could result in no criminal trials, much less convictions – if the Criminal Code’s statute expires on Oct. 25.

Rutsada Manuraksa, a lawyer representing the victims’ families, pointed out that time was running out for the accused to enter the justice process.  

“While the legal case may end if the statute of limitations expires, the memory and questions of the people will never fade,” he told journalists.

On Friday, eight security officers were injured in a series of bombings in Su-ngai Padi, a district of Narathiwat. Officials suspected that insurgents had set off the bombs to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Tak Bai Massacre. 


14 DEFENDANTS

  • Gen. Pisarn Wattanawongkiri
  • Lt. Gen. Sinchai Nusatit, 76, now known as Gen. Chaloemchai Wirulpetch 
  • Police Gen. Wongkot Maneerin 
  • Police Lt. Gen. Manoch Kraiwong
  • Police Maj. Gen. Suksommai Puttakul
  • Siwa Saengmanee
  • Wichom Thongsong, 78, former governor of Narathiwat province
  • Sub Lt. Nathawut Lueamsai
  • Wisanu Lertsongkhram
  • Lt. j.g. Wisanukorn Chaisarn
  • Piti Yankaeo
  • Chief Petty Officer 3rd Class Pitak Srisuwan
  • Lt. Col. Prasert Matmil
  • Lt. Rithirong Promrit

The case stems from a protest outside the Tak Bai police station in Narathiwat, where over 1,000 people demanded the release of village security guards accused of providing government-issued firearms to Malay Muslim insurgents.  

Authorities fired into the crowd to clear the area, killing seven in the process. Later, 78 died from suffocation or organ collapse while being transported in overcrowded military trucks to a detention center 150 km (93 miles) away. 

18-TH-Tak-bai-2.JPG
Thai soldiers apprehend hundreds of men after demonstrators clashed with police outside the Tak Bai police station in Narathiwat province, Oct. 25, 2004. [Reuters]

Police Col. Rangsi Manjit, the Investigation Division commander, expressed frustration with efforts to locate the suspects, adding that investigators had checked phone records, electronic devices, residences and interviewed close associates.  

“Two are believed to be abroad and Interpol red notices were requested on Oct. 7, 2024. With a deadline of Oct. 25, 2024, the investigation team works daily despite the difficulties,” he told reporters earlier this month.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether Thailand’s new government will act to ensure the suspects are brought to justice in a country where the military casts a long shadow.

“We must allow it to follow the legal process. We are already cooperating with the law, but ultimately it is the duty of the police officials,” Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said Wednesday, responding to questions about the Tak Bai case. 

Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong and officials at his ministry did not respond to BenarNews requests seeking comment for this report. 

Two cases

Thai courts are dealing with two legal proceedings linked to the incident. One is being heard in the Narathiwat Provincial Court and involves 48 relatives of the victims who are suing high-ranking officials.

The second more-pressing case because of the statute of limitations, was filed by the Office of the Attorney General and is pending in the Pattani Provincial Court. It targets the commanders and truck drivers involved in the incident.

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Demonstrators hold up the names of the victims of the October 2004 Tak Bai massacre when scores of Muslim protesters suffocated in army trucks during a rally in Narathiwat, Oct. 15, 2024. [Madaree Tohlala/AFP]

The criminal case has taken on political dimensions as one of the defendants, former 4th Army Region Commander Gen. Pisan Wattanawongkiri, had served in parliament as a member of the ruling Pheu Thai Party before resigning on Oct. 14. Thai media reported that Pisan is one of two suspects not in Thailand.

In his resignation letter, Pisan said he was recovering from medical treatment abroad and would not return to Thailand to face trial in the Tak Bai case before the statute of limitations expired on Oct. 25, but that he would tell his side of the story later, The Nation newspaper reported.

While concerns grow that no officials will be held accountable, the government approved compensation in 2013 for those affected by the incident. A total of 641.45 million baht (U.S. $18.9 million) was allocated to the families of the 85 deceased and 49 injured individuals. 

Ruj Chuenban in Bangkok contributed to this report. 


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2 decades on, families of Tak Bai Incident victims seek justice

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