Last-ditch bid to make Tak Bai case arrests

National police chief Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet has demanded a last-ditch bid to locate the whereabouts of all the suspects in the 2004 Tak Bai massacre case before the statute of limitations expires on Friday.
Pol Gen Kitrat on Tuesday gave an update on efforts to arrest the suspects, with only two days remaining before the statute of limitations expires.
More than 80 people were believed to have died in the events which followed the crackdown on protesters in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province and their subsequent transport to a military facility in Pattani province.
The massacre resulted in 14 suspects being identified.
Seven, including Gen Pisal Wattanawongkiri, then the Fourth Army Region’s commander; Pol Lt-Gen Wongkot Maneerin, then assistant national police chief; and Maj Gen Chalermchai Wirunpeth, then the 5th Infantry Regiment’s commander, have been indicted by the Narathiwat Provincial Court in a case filed by the victims’ families. Their arrest warrants have also been issued.
Meanwhile, the attorney-general also filed a case against eight suspects with the Pattani Provincial Court on Sept 12. Maj Gen Chalermchai is a suspect in both cases.
Pol Gen Kitrat said that he was visiting Provincial Police Region 9 to speed up the process of tracking down all the suspects before the case expires.
According to him, efforts to do so have included issuing arrest warrants and coordinating with international agencies like Interpol to issue red notices.
Pol Gen Kitrat said the authorities had conducted 29 searches and 180 surveillance monitoring activities to prevent suspects from fleeing the country, as instructed by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The national police chief also urged the public to inform the authorities immediately if they have any information on the suspects’ whereabouts.
According to him, an investigation found some suspects had already fled the country before warrants were issued with no clear information on their current locations.
When asked about possible changes to the law that could extend the statute of limitations, Pol Gen Kitrat said the police are focusing solely on arresting the suspects within the current legal timeframe and police have nothing to do with political matters.
He also stressed that his officers have been instructed not to stop searching.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters that a legal team is studying the possibility of seeking a royal decree to extend the deadline for the arrests.
Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong insisted there are no double standards in the justice process between cases against civilians and those involving state officials.