3 acquitted of attempted murder in Trat PDRC attack

3 acquitted of attempted murder in Trat PDRC attack

In this Feb 26, 2014 photo, PDRC demonstrators light candles to pay tribute to a five-year-old girl, Natchaya
In this Feb 26, 2014 photo, PDRC demonstrators light candles to pay tribute to a five-year-old girl, Natchaya "Nong Khim" Rorsungnoen, who was shot dead near an anti-government protest site in Trat. (Bangkok Post file photo)

The Trat Provincial Court on Tuesday acquitted three men of attempted murder charges in the deadly gun and grenade attacks on an anti-Yingluck government rally site in 2014.

The three defendants - Watchara Krachangklang, Somsak Poonsawad and Somsak Sunan - were charged in connection with the assault on the People's Democratic Reform Committee rally in Trat's Khao Saming district that killed two five-year-old girls and a woman on Feb 22, 2014. The attack also injured 33 others.

The case was brought by public prosecutor Somkanae Sangthong and seven other plaintiffs comprising relatives of the dead and injured victims.

The men were arrested at a hotel in the same district on May 23, 2014 by local marine officers, a day after the military seized the power from the Yingluck Shinawatra administration. The raid seized a large number of war weapons, ammunition and two pickup trucks used in the attack.

However, the court ruled that the plaintiffs could not provide sufficient evidence to show that the defendants had committed the offence or implicate them in the crime.

The court sentenced Mr Watchara to five years in jail on charges of possession of war weapons and acquitted him and the other two defendants on attempted murder charges.

Mr Somkanae said the families of the victims who were the co-plaintiffs could not seek compensation as the court dismissed the attempted murder case.

He said he could not decide on the decision to appeal. The provincial prosecutor's office would ask the Office of Attorney General Region 2 to proceed and the process may take a while.

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