The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a Bangkok Criminal Court decision not to hear a petition from relatives of Tak Bai victims asking that it review the findings of the inquest by the Songkhla Provincial Court.
The Supreme Court ruled the Songkhla court has full authority in the Tak Bai inquest and the Bangkok court could not change its findings, as requested by the victims' relatives.
Seventy-eight people died in the 2004 crackdown on a protest in front of Tak Bai police station.
Thirty-four of the victims' kin filed an appeal with the Ratchada Criminal Court. They asked it to review the Songkhla inquest findings because it did not say who committed the wrongdoing and caused the deaths.
The Criminal Court dismissed the appeal saying the Songkhla Provincial Court has the same jurisdiction as the Bangkok court; therefore it could not consider the appeal against the findings.
The relatives then appealed to the Supreme Court, which yesterday upheld the Bangkok Criminal Court's decision.
Songkhla Provincial Court found in 2009 that 78 people rounded up in front of the Tak Bai police station on Oct 25, 2004 suffocated to death in custody while being transported to Ingkayuttaboriharn military camp in Pattani province.
Relatives of the deceased argued that the Songkhla court's decision was unconstitutional, incomplete and unlawful and they filed an appeal in Bangkok, seeking a review and revocation of the ruling.
Yaena Salaemae, 55, coordinator for the 38 relatives, said in a telephone interview from Tak Bai that the relatives believe the inquest should clearly state the full circumstances surrounding the deaths.
They want to know how the victims died and who killed them.
That the people were piled several layers high in trucks for hours before reaching the camp should be explicitly written in the inquest document, Ms Yaena said.
She said the government has endorsed 7.5 million baht in compensation for the families of each of the victims.
However, about 52 other victims who were injured during the incident, five of whom were disabled, have yet to receive assistance, she said.
Meanwhile, the Pattani Provincial Court on Wednesday ruled that four villagers at Ban Nam Dam of tambon Pulohpuyo in Pattani's Nong Chik district were shot dead by military rangers.
On Jan 29, 2012, military rangers shot dead the four villagers _ Saha Samae, 67, Issaman Dueramae, 55, Ropa Bueraheng, 18 and Hama Sani, 56 _ on board a pickup truck while they were patrolling the entrance of Ban Nam Dam.
The military rangers reportedly suspected the four were southern insurgents.
Last April, the Pattani public prosecutor asked the court to open an inquest into the villagers' deaths.
The court ruled the four had been shot dead by military rangers who told the court they had performed their duty. The court's inquest ruling will be sent to the prosecutor to proceed with the case.