Thread: Billy’s death now a murder case as four national park ex-officials charged

Sounds like some "compromises" have been made.

The former superintendent of Kaeng Krachan National Park Chaiwat Limlikhitaksorn and three alleged accomplices have been charged with intentionally killing Karen activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen.

The official filing of the charge against Chaiwat and his alleged accomplices by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) changes the status of the case from missing to murder.

A letter from the OAG to the Department of Special Investigation on August 10 says Chaiwat and his accomplices have been charged with intentionally killing for personal interest or concealing wrongdoing, using a weapon to threaten another, detaining another person to cause death, and concealing the victim’s body to influence the autopsy or case outcome.

The OAG revoked the previous charge of misbehaviour against Chaiwut and his accomplices, as they had acted on their own.

The office also revoked charges on a private person for supporting the four suspects.

Billy was last seen at Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi province on April 17, 2014, when he was apprehended by Chaiwat and three of his men for allegedly collecting wild-bee honey illegally.

A piece of skull proved to Billy’s was found in a submerged oil drum near a bridge leading to Kaeng Krachan Dam in April 2019, leading to the issuance of arrest warrants against the four.

The three alleged accomplices are: Boonthaen Bussarakham, Thanaseth, or Phaitoon Jaemthes, and Krisanaphong Jitthes.

Billy’s death now a murder case as four national park ex-officials charged

First court hearing in the murder case of Karen activist “Billy” on Monday

Thailand’s Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases is to hold its first hearing in the murder case of ethnic Karen human rights activist Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, aka “Billy”, on Monday.


Three prosecution witnesses, including Porlajee’s mother Pirojee, his widow, Phinnapa Phrueksaphan, and a villager of Ban Bang Kloy in the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi province, are scheduled to testify.


The four defendants, including Chaiwat Limlikhitaksorn, former chief of the national park, and his three former subordinates, are to be present during the hearing. They were charged with premediated murder, abduction and illegal detention, among other offences.


Porlajee went missing after he was last seen on April 17th,2014, when he was arrested by a group of park officials, led by Chaiwat, for allegedly illegally collecting wild honey in the park. Chaiwat claimed that Porlajee was released after being questioned.


Phinnapa subsequently asked the Department of Special Investigation to open a special probe into the case, but the DSI rejected her request on the grounds that she was not legally married to Porlajee and thus had no standing to petition the DSI and that the DSI investigation could proceed if Porlajee’s body was not found.


Under pressure from rights groups, local and international, the DSI ultimately stepped in to investigate the case. They eventually found an oil drum, containing burned human remains, in a river in Kaeng Krachan national park.


DNA tests on skull fragments found in the drum, which were believed to be Porlajee’s, were found to be a partial match to his mother’s DNA.

First court hearing in the murder case of Karen activist "Billy" on Monday | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

Nine fucking years. What a joke.

Shitty people, shitty society, shitty country.