Judge shoots himself in court in Thailand
BANGKOK (Reuters) – A judge in southern Thailand shot himself in court after delivering a not guilty verdict in the case of five Muslim suspects charged with murder in the predominantly Buddhist country’s restive south.
Khanakorn Pianchana shot himself in the chest after acquitting the suspects charged with murder, illegal association and gun-related offences on Friday afternoon because of insufficient evidence. He was in hospital on Saturday.
On Saturday, people laid flowers in front of the court in Yala, one of the three Muslim-majority southern provinces at the heart of the insurgency that has claimed more than 7,000 lives since 2004.
“He is safe now. We don’t know why he did this, probably his stress from personal issues,” Suriya Hongwilai, spokesman of the Court of Justice, told Reuters.
“I confirm that there is no interference in the work of judges. They are independent in making verdicts,” he said.
Suriya said he would report the incident to the Office of the Judicial Commission on Monday.
“I don’t think it’s just about insurgency in the three southernmost provinces, he (the judge) may want to convey a message that there is a problem with the entire judicial system,” said Yala resident Ameed Mata.
“The insurgency issue is the most intense in the judicial system, his decision was apparently to show Thailand that this problem does exist,” he added.
Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat were part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate before Thailand annexed them in 1909. Some rebel groups want an independent state.
Source: ReutersJudge shoots himself in court after railing at Thai justice system
A Yala judge shot himself in the chest in front of a packed court after acquitting several murder suspects and decrying the kingdom’s judicial system in an impassioned speech broadcast via Facebook Live.
Critics say Thailand’s courts often work in favor of the rich and powerful, while delivering swift and harsh sentences on ordinary people for minor offenses. But it is virtually unheard of for judges to criticize the system.
The story is being widely suppressed in domestic media.
Kanakorn Pianchana, a judge at Yala court in the heart of the insurgency-battered Thai south, was delivering the verdict for five Muslim suspects in a gun murder case on Friday afternoon.
He acquitted the group, delivered a courtroom plea for a cleaner justice system, before pulling out a handgun and shooting himself in the chest.
“You need clear and credible evidence to punish someone. So if you’re not sure, don’t punish them,” the judge said addressing the court and broadcasting his words on his phone on Facebook.
“I’m not saying that the five defendants didn’t commit the crimes, they might have done so…
“But the judicial process needs to be transparent and credible… punishing wrong people makes them scapegoats.”
The Facebook feed then cut, but witnesses said Kanakorn recited a legal oath in front of the former Thai king’s portrait, before shooting himself in the chest.
“He is being treated by the doctors and is out of danger,” Suriyan Hongvilai, the spokesman of the Office of the Judiciary, told AFP on Saturday.
“He shot himself because of ‘personal stress.’ But the cause behind the stress is not clear and will be investigated,” he said.
No Thai judge has ever breached protocol by making similar statements on the wider justice system, he added.
A lawyer working with the suspects said Judge Kanakorn had ruled the prosecutor’s evidence was insufficient to convict.
“Right now the five are still being detained and are waiting to see if the state prosecutor appeals their acquittal,” Abdulloh Hayee-abu, of the Muslim Attorney Centre in Yala told AFP.
More than 7,000 people have died in 15 years of conflict in the Malay-Muslim majority southern region.
Thousands of suspects have been jailed for acts linked to the insurgency, many under emergency laws imposed on the restive region.
Advocacy groups in the Thai south have long accused security forces of trumping up charges against Muslim suspects and using emergency laws to drive cases through the courts.
Source: AFP, Coconuts Bangkok