A former assistant of Move Forward Party (MFP) MP Tisana Choonhavan has been found dead while serving as a military conscript ahead of being discharged.

Tisana posted on Twitter (X) last night (19 March) that Komthach Phanrit, one of her former campaign assistants, had been found hanged in the military camp where he was serving as a conscript. In a video, she said that Komthach had been telling her about his military service experience. He said he was being made to stand guard over valuable objects like mobile phones and spare batteries and was not allowed to take breaks because no one was relieving him. He also told her that, if he has to take bathroom breaks or falls asleep, he would be punished if something goes missing, which caused him a significant level of stress.

Meanwhile, other conscripts were smoking marijuana in the barracks and were being so loud that Komthach told Tisana he could not sleep. Tisana said she could not do anything but offer him encouragement and asking him to make a record of his experience, and that he promised her he would make a record of human rights violations in the military to be submitted to the House Committee on the Armed Forces.

Tisana posted screen captures of messages between her and Komthach. In one message, he told her that he would be assigned to paperwork duties, but said in another message that a higher ranking official would not allow that and that he might be assigned to do chores around his commanding officer’s house. He told her in another message that he wants to ask his sister to pay a bribe to get him discharged so he can go to work or study, since his family has no money after his father died. He also said that another conscript had already been discharged because his father was friends with a commanding officer, noting that anyone with a connection would be discharged first.

Tisana said she last heard from Komthach on Sunday evening (17 March) saying that he was going to be discharged soon. She does not believe his death was a suicide, since he had put up with the situation in the barracks for a year and was telling her how happy he was about his upcoming discharge.

She said that Komthach’s family needs to consent for a second autopsy to be conducted. She noted that an autopsy conducted by the Army could find that he committed suicide because of personal issues – a reason often used by the Army. However, she said that it is unclear whether Komthach’s aunt, who he lives with, is allowed to consent to a second autopsy, noting that his mother left him when he was around 10 years old and his father is overseas.

MFP MP Tanadej Pengsuk, Deputy Chair of the House Committee on the Armed Forces, said that the Committee received a report from the Army stating that Komthach committed suicide due to a relationship problem. He said that the Committee will be following up on the investigation, including a forensic report from the police and testimonies of other conscripts.

Tisana issued a statement today (20 March) calling for the House committee on the Armed Forces to investigate Komthach’s death. She calls on the Army to release the autopsy report to the public or at least to the Committee and on Komthach’s commanding officers to take responsibility for his death and release information relating to his cause of death. The Army must also implement measures to address mental illness among conscripts caused by their military training and service.

Komthach’s death sparked a call for an end to mandatory conscription among Thai netizens, many of whom shared previous reports of violence in military barracks and the deaths of conscripts. Some also pointed out that the Pheu Thai Party proposed during its election campaign to replace mandatory conscription with voluntary enlistment.