The Corrections Department has yet to provide the medical records of Netiporn Sanesangkhom, a pro-democracy activist who died in pre-trial detention during a hunger strike, claiming that a power of attorney was not done correctly. Netiporn’s lawyer has said the information he has received contradicts the statement made by the Department to the media.

Following the death of activist Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom on 14 May, lawyer Krissadang Nutcharat of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights told the media on Friday (17 May) that the Corrections Department has not yet complied with the request of his legal team to hand over Netiporn’s medical records and CCTV footage from the Corrections Department earlier in the morning, according to  The Reporters. Krissadang’s team  was granted power of attorney by the activist’s older sister,

Sahakarn Petchnarin, Director-General of the Corrections Department, told the media on the same day that Netiporn’s representative had already obtained the records in the morning. Regarding the CCTV footage, he was concerned about privacy as others also appeared on camera.

Krissadang said the Director General had previously affirmed to him that a lawyer could make the request, but when Netiporn’s lawyer arrived, a Corrections Department official insisted that the regulations stipulate that only a parent can obtain the records. Krissadang observed that this was suspicious and he would not trust what the Department told the media until he saw the documents himself.

The lawyer also remarked that the information he received from Tantawan Tuatulanon, an activist who was in the same hospital as Netiporn, was not consistent with the statement given by the Corrections Department to the media. He reiterated that the Corrections Department should be transparent by disclosing all the facts and bringing them to the table for discussion.

Krissadang expressed dissatisfaction with the actions of the Corrections Department, asserting that this is not a legal matter but a person’s life. The lawyer also emphasised that Netiporn’s parents and her lawyer are not seeking legal action against anyone, but merely an answer to the cause of her death.