Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn, a former chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park, has been acquitted of murder in connection with the disappearance of Karen rights activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen nine years ago.
However, he was sentenced to three years in jail for dereliction of duty in connection with Billy’s detention, in a case that has been closely watched by human rights groups. Three subordinates accused with him were cleared of all charges because the court said they were only following their superior’s orders.
Mr Chaiwat plans to appeal his conviction under Section 157 of the Criminal Code, which covers the conduct of public officials. The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases approved bail of 800,000 baht and ordered him not to leave the country.
Billy was last seen on April 17, 2014, when he was detained by Mr Chaiwat and other park officers at a checkpoint at the entrance to Bang Kloi village in Kaeng Krachan district of Phetchaburi. Wild bee honey and a motorcycle were seized from him.
At the time he was on his way to a meeting with indigenous Karen villagers in preparation for a hearing in their lawsuit against park officers including Mr Chaiwat for forced evictions and burning of their homes.
The court said Mr Chaiwat was guilty of dereliction of duty for not reporting the arrest and handing Billy over to police.
Turning to the charge of forced detention, the court said a witness saw the four defendants taking Billy to a vehicle but no weapons were used to force him.
No witnesses confirmed the defendants’ claim that they had released Billy near an intersection. At the same time, however, no witnesses showed up to testify that the four defendants had illegally detained the activist.
In reviewing the murder charges, the court said forensic results could not establish that bones found by Department of Special Investigation (DSI) agents in 2019 belonged to Billy. When the DSI first attempted to press murder charges, prosecutors said they thought the DNA evidence was not conclusive.
The court noted that the plaintiffs could not show whether Billy was still alive or dead. The evidence could not make the court believe that the four defendants committed a murder.
Pornpen Khongkhachornkiart, a lawyer representing Billy’s wife, said her client planned to appeal the ruling.
Because Mr Chaiwat was found guilty of not following proper procedure in connection with the detention of a suspect, this meant that Billy was still considered a missing person, she said. Consequently, state officials are duty-bound to verify his disappearance, she added.
Billy’s wife Pinnapa “Mueno” Preuksapan broke into tears after hearing the ruling. She vowed to continue fighting until all lingering doubts about where her husband had gone are cleared up.
Mr Chaiwat, 59, was sacked over his alleged role in the burning of Karen villagers’ homes in the national park nearly a decade ago but he challenged the decision. The Phetchaburi Administrative Court in September last year reinstated him as a civil servant.
In February of this year, he was appointed the new chief of the National Parks Office.
Athapol Charoenshunsa, director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said Mr Chaiwat could continue performing his work because the court case against him was not yet final.
Pinnapa “Mueno” Preuksapan, the wife of Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen, speaks to reporters outside the court after its ruling on Thursday in the disappearance of her husband. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)
