An army committee has been set up to look into two cases of physical abuse against conscripts which were posted on YouTube, army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said yesterday.
About 20 military instructors were allegedly involved, and the probe will extend to their immediate commanders to determine whether they failed to keep their subordinates in check, he said.
If found guilty, the instructors could be jailed for up to 30 days, while the officers would face a salary cut.
Video clips showing the assaults have circulated widely on the internet in recent days, drawing public condemnation. The footage shows army instructors assaulting conscripts in Pattani.
The first clip, released last week, shows three soldiers repeatedly kicking and slapping a young conscript.
The second clip, released several days later, shows three privates taking turns to kick two conscripts. The pair had said they did not smoke and the privates were trying to get them to admit that they did.Gen Prayuth urged the media and public to publish any other evidence of abuse against conscripts.
Any wrongdoers would be severely punished to prevent a recurrence of the violence, he said.
The army chief stressed no soldiers would be spared from punishment if found to have been involved in any form of violence against conscripts.
"We must join hands to make the army a safer place. I am ready to use all means possible to make the army a place the public can trust," he said.
"There were some 20 wrongdoers involved in the two recent abuse cases, while there are about 250,000 soldiers under the army's command. Though the number of wrongdoers is small, the cases are very serious."