'Again?" I believe that is the question asked by many over the death of a first-year student of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (Afaps) as public mistrust of the military's training and disciplinary methods grows.
The death of military cadet Pakapong Tanyakan, 18, captured the public's attention after the army returned the young man's body to his family with some of the body parts missing, and appeared to offer a less than complete explanation for his death.
The young man died at school on Oct 17. The academy provided his parents with a death certificate with an initial autopsy result indicating he died of sudden cardiac arrest. His family, however, was not convinced, because Pakapong was a healthy young man. They suspect he might have been beaten by his superiors at the camp and that this may have contributed to his death.
Paritta Wangkiat is a reporter, Bangkok Post.
The story unfolded like the plot of a crime movie. On Monday, the family revealed they burned an empty coffin at his funeral rites after quietly taking Pakapong's body for a second autopsy at a private centre.
They were shocked to find out some of his internal organs including his brain, heart, stomach and bladder had been removed from the body. Four ribs were broken and his abdomen was bruised. The Institute of Pathology at the army-owned Phramongkutklao Hospital said it removed Pakapong's organs for a more complete autopsy to address his family's concerns over his cause of death remaining unclear. They had not been returned to his body when it was handed over for the religious rites.
Afaps director Maj Gen Kanokpong Channual insisted the army's probe shows Pakapong fainted and died without suffering any physical assault. He admitted Pakapong was punished by his superiors a couple of months ago for breaking the rules, but insisted there was no violence involved. However, the unclear circumstances of his death have inflamed public anger towards the army. They also raise questions whether the army's corporal punishment norms are excessive.
This is not the first time that the military has used what is suspected to be excessive violence in disciplining young recruits. Previously, military conscripts are known to have died or have been brutally assaulted during training.
Two cases have emerged this year alone. The first concerns the death of 21-year-old Pvt Noppadol Worakitpan who was attached to the 45th Military Circle in Surat Thani. He died at home after returning from barracks on Aug 19. Fellow conscripts told his sister he was physically punished prior to coming home.
An autopsy report shows his heart and spleen were fractured, with bleeding in the chest and lungs apparently as a result of being crushed. But the army said it conducted a "careful and thorough investigation" which concluded that no assault occurred.
The other case concerns the death of 22-year-old Pvt Yutthakinun Boonniam. He died at Surat Thani Hospital on April 1 after being detained at the 45th Military Circle's camp for two days as disciplinary punishment.
The Surat Thani military court later issued arrest warrants for nine suspects, all low-ranking army officers. A leaked investigation paper revealed a higher-ranking officer may have been aware of the violence but did not try to stop it. There is no conclusion at this stage.
Whenever violence takes place in the barracks, the military usually treats it as an "internal issue". The army often sets up its own committee to investigate or uses its own bodies, such as military courts, which do not disclose information to the public. This repeated resort to violence has something to do with the military's traditional mindset. With Pvt Noppadol's death, some army officers remarked on social media, saying "discipline must be preserved" because "sometimes juniors may not obey their seniors".
This was similar to the response on Wednesday by Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon about Pakapong's death. He said he himself experienced tough disciplinary punishment in his day, but added that alleged violence in the military "has nothing to do with human rights violations". Students who are concerned about it, he said, "shouldn't come to the army academy". He seemed to suggest that any kind of savage act would be acceptable for the sake of discipline.
The unexplained deaths of young recruits in the military shows the armed forces believe they can operate under their own rules. Yet its attempts to shield itself from scrutiny will only sow public distrust.