Two army instructors have been given a prison sentence, along with 11 other conscripts acting as the instructors’ assistants, for the beating and death of an 18-year-old military conscript in Chonburi.

On 27 May, Region 2 Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases found the two army instructors guilty of charges under the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act for the assault on and death of Private Vorapach Padmasakul, an 18-year-old military conscript at Fort Nawamintharachini in Chonburi.

One instructor was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while another was given 15 years. The 11 conscripts, who were appointed as assistants to the instructors, were each given 10 years.

The Court noted that it found the defendants’ testimony questionable because they pleaded not guilty in court but did not back up their defence. They also confessed to the police when charged with assault, but recanted their confession after Vorapach died without giving a reason why.

The Court also noted that most prosecution witnesses were new conscripts in the same military camp as Vorapach and the defendants, and so are unlikely to try to frame the defendants for something they did not do.

Vorapach died on 2 August 2024, three months after he enlisted. It was reported that, according to his doctors, he had a brain oedema, broken ribs, a pneumothorax, a broken clavicle, and a broken spine. On 22 June 2024, his mother was informed that he was admitted to the Fort Nawamintharachini Hospital with sepsis, and that his family should come to the hospital. When they visited, they found that he was unconscious and on a ventilator. The military camp told the family that he was injured during a ‘disciplinary action,’ and at first was not taken to hospital but treated at the camp infirmary.

Nitchanan Wangkahat, a former Chonburi MP candidate from the Move Forward Party, said that one of the instructors learned that Vorapach wanted to go to their superiors after being beaten, so he beat Vorapach again. Other conscripts found the instructor in a room performing CPR on Vorapach, who was taken to the hospital 14 minutes after falling unconscious. He remained in a coma for 40 days before dying.

Vorapach’s mother said after the sentencing that she felt that the penalties given to those responsible for her son’s death are too light, especially because some of them are officers. Her son was only 18, she said, and that he would have been able to do more good if he lives. The family is now discussing with their lawyers the possibility of filing an appeal for the defendants to receive a stronger sentence.

The family also filed a civil lawsuit against the Army for compensation, but no progress has been made.

Vorapach voluntarily enlisted and hope to become an officer. He first applied in November 2023, but did not qualify because he was overweight. He enlisted again in May 2024, after losing enough weight to qualify. Noting that Vorapach has two younger brothers, his mother said that she does not want anyone else in the family to enlist.  Conscription is not dangerous, she said, but it is dangerous to have an instructor who is not capable and does not have the mindset of a teacher.

Meanwhile, Army spokesperson Winthai Suvaree said in a statement that the Army finds it unacceptable that an officer would assault another soldier, who should be seen as family. The Army is very sorry for what happened, and thanks the justice system for being reliable.

Winthai noted that the Army has taken disciplinary actions against the guilty instructors and their superiors, and that it cooperated with the police to bring some of the defendants into custody when they attempted to flee, as well as during the investigation.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Southeast Asia Regional Office issued a statement on its Facebook page welcoming the verdict and Thailand’s “commitment to uphold the principles of accountability, justice, and their legal obligations against torture.”

It noted that this was the first verdict delivered under the 2022 Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act, and urged the Thai authorities to “continue their efforts to eradicate torture & uphold the rights of victims.”

Meanwhile, Elaine Pearson, Human Rights Watch's Asia director, said that the verdict is "a major step in Thailand's efforts to end torture and inhumane disciplinary measures against soldiers in barracks."

“Appropriate sentences will chip away at the Thai military’s entrenched impunity and show that commanders can be held accountable," she said.

Vorapach’s case is one of the 21 deaths of conscripts reported between 2009 and 2024, three of which occurred after the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act already took effect. Human Rights Watch said that the Thai authorities should investigate all deaths of conscripts and prosecute those responsible under the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act and in accordance with Thailand's obligations under the Convention Against Torture, which Thailand ratified in 2007.

“Thailand needs to take swift action to show that there is no place in its armed forces for those who believe they have unchecked powers to abuse conscripts or anyone else,” Pearson said. “The government and military commanders should act to ensure that Private Worapatch’s death will be the last case of barrack brutality in Thailand.”