A military inquiry has concluded that Royal Thai Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School cadet Pakapong Tanyakan died of acute heart failure, with no evidence of physical abuse.
The committee investigating Pakapong's death was chaired by ACM Chawarat Marungruang, deputy head of the joint chiefs of staff.
ACM Chawarat said on Friday that on the day he died, Oct 17, Pakapong had suffered chest pain, spasms, numbness and shortness of breath and had been admitted for treatment at the academy hospital.
At the hospital he was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the family was informed. The family had requested continuous CPR while they were on the way to the hospital. Twenty medical staff took turns giving him CPR for four hours before announcing his death.
ACM Chawarat said the investigation found that the first-year cadet did not suffer any physical assault or punishment on that day. He collapsed while walking in a building at the preparatory school after talking to his parents. There were four witnesses to his collapse.
The committee questioned a total of 42 people.
Prior to his death, on Oct 10 Pakapong was injured in a fall on some stairs. ACM Chawarat said a security camera showed he slipped and fell down about eight steps from the second floor onto a landing, a heightof 1.5 metres. He lay on his left side, with his hand holding his chest. A teacher and friends helped him to the hospital, where an examination showed no signs of internal bruising.
Pakapong went home on Oct 12, his parents took him for an x-ray outside the school, and the result was normal. He returned on Oct 15.
After midnight on Oct 15, a group of cadets including Pakapong faced disciplining. They were also disciplined during breakfast on Oct 16. Pakapong showed symptoms of hyperventilation so he was sent for treatment.
ACM Chawarat said the committee concluded the two rounds of disciplining did not cause Pakapong's death.
The overall examination by the Institute of Pathology showed no external bruising. The committee did not rule out CPR as the cause of a broken right rib.
Unusual cells were detected in his heart muscle, cells rarely found in an 18-year-old.
ACM Chawarat said the committee concluded that Pakapong died from acute heart failure and did not find anyone had ordered punishment or any physical assault that would be the cause of death.
He said Pakapong’s family would be invited to hear the result of the committee’s finding on Monday.
ACM Chawarat said the curriculum at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School was set at a standard, but was adjusted from time to time. The school will in future be stricter in its physical examination of students before enrolment.
He insisted that disciplining was a good system, but said some postures the cadets were ordered to take would be changed. If someone was found enforcing a prohibited positioned, they would be punished.
Pakapong died on Oct 17. The academy provided a death certificate indicating he had died of sudden cardiac arrest but gave no details, his family said.
The family later secretly removed their son’s body from the cremation ceremony at a temple on Oct 24 and took it for private autopsy at the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFC).
The autopsy found that his heart, bladder, stomach and brain were missing, and his brainpan filled with tissue paper. The army later returned the organs to the family.
The family has received the full autopsy result from the CIFC but has not disclosed it publicly as they plan to pursue further legal action.
