Nai Tala Lawi, Mi Rot Chai : On November 20, 2010, along the water route between Sangklaburi and Thong Pha Phum Irrigation Canal, a Thai soldier standing sentry shot Nai Lun, 30 years old, between 9 and 10 p.m. Nai Lun lives in Dong Sak, an area in the Mon quarter of Sangkhlaburi.
Nai Lun, the boat driver, was traveling with another man by the name of Nai Sar Rong, sitting at the head of the boat, when a Thai soldier noticed the two and called out to stop. These two men did not stop, and the Thai soldier, appearing to believe they were engaging in illegal activity, shot at Nai Lun and Nai Sar Rong. Nai Lun was directly killed while Nai Sar Rong was not hit.
Nai Sar Rong carried his friend to the road and telephoned the police explaining that a soldier had shot and killed his friend. By the time the police arrived, Nai Sar Rong had run away, and when the police investigated the battalion standing watch on the night of the 20th, no soldier admitted to shooting Nai Lun.
The police were forced to take Nai Lun’s body to Bangkok to undergo an autopsy because no soldier admitted to shooting Nai Lun.
An individual at the Sangklaburi police station heard the policeman say, “it is not fair and there are no laws which enable a Thai soldier to shoot someone, even if they are suspicious of illegal activity. The soldier can arrest them, but not shoot.”
It is well understood within Nai Lun and Nai Sar Rong’s village (Dong Sak) that both men work as brokers, transporting people from Burma into Thai cities, more specifically taking individuals along the river between Sangkhlaburi and Thong Pha Phum where they will be picked up by another broker. A neighbor of the two men explained that it is quite common for both men to scout out the area first, by taking the boat down the river and looking for Thai soldiers. If it appears that there are no soldiers standing guard, the two men will return to Sangkhlaburi, pick up the individuals who have paid to be taken into Thailand, and drive the boat to Thong Pha Phum.
A member of the Sub-district Administration Organization in Dong Sak said “yes, these two men are brokers but the Thai soldier should not have shot at them.”
Nai Lun has a family in Dong Sak. His wife’s name is Kon Soi, and they have three children, two boys and one girl, with none above the age of 3 and the youngest one and a half months old.
Last year, a similar situation occurred in which a Thai soldier shot a broker from Sangkhlaburi on his way to Thong Pha Phum. That soldier took responsibility and paid the family 5,000 Thai Baht.
