The family of a Royal Thai Air Force conscript who died last July remains suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his death after the Air Force claimed he died from a brain abscess.

Airman Phruetsapha Wimuttithamchai

Airman Phruetsapha Wimuttithamchai, 21, was a conscript attached to the 1^st Security Forces Battalion in Don Muang. According to former People’s Party MP candidate Nitchanan Wangkahat, Airman Phruetsapha died on 24 July 2025, 2 months after the beginning of his military service. His family said that a doctor ordered him exempt from training due to an illness, but he was still in his training uniform when he lost consciousness on 20 June 2025.

Phruetsapha’s mother told Nitchanan that she visited him one month into his training. He was unusually quiet and hugged her when he rarely ever did so. He said that the training was hard and requested that she visit him again the next day. When she asked why he was being allowed two days of family visit, he did not provide any details. During her visit the next day, he told her that he had lost his balance and could not walk straight, that other conscripts laughed at him, and that the instructor did not allow him to take a break even though he was sick.

According to the family, Phruetsapha said he had constant ear discharge and loss of balance. A doctor in the camp gave him paracetamol and ear drops, and he received the same medications at the next appointment although he was not getting better.

His mother told Nitchanan that the instructor did not allow Phruetsapha to stay at the infirmary. He was instead made to put on his training uniform and lie in a hammock under a building where other conscripts were training. At one point, he fell off the hammock, but the instructor told other conscripts to leave him. Some conscripts checked on him after they were done training for the day and found that he had no pulse. They performed CPR and took him to the Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital, a military hospital operated by the RTAF’s Directorate of Medical Services. Doctors resuscitated him but said that he was braindead. His mother asked them to perform surgery in the hope of saving him, but he did not respond to treatment and died a month later.

An administrative officer at the military camp told Phruetsapha’s mother that he knew Phruetsapha was walking abnormally and took a video clip, but when she went back after he had died to ask for the video, the officer told her he had already deleted the clip.

His mother filed for financial aid and was told by the unit that she is entitled to 42,000 baht. The family paid 58,000 baht for his funeral. They only received the promised 42,000 baht in January 2026.

RTAF Spokesperson Air Marshal Chakkrit Thammavichai said on 26 February 2026 that, between 6 May and 16 June 2025, Phruetsapha underwent 9 medical examinations for various illnesses, including an ear infection and influenza, as well as for a blood test and to have pus removed from his ear.

Doctors ordered Phruetsapha exempt from training between 9 June – 6 December 2025. AM Chakkrit said that the unit followed the order, allowing Phruetsapha to rest at the headquarters and took him to his medical appointments.

On 20 June 2025, AM Chakkrit said, Phruetsapha had a headache so his instructor had him rest at the unit. It was later found that he lost consciousness, so he was taken to Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was admitted to a neurosurgery ward. According to doctors, he died from a brain abscess.

Nitchanan and Phruetsapha’s family held a press conference on 26 February following a panel discussion held to mark the 3^rd anniversary of the coming into force of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act . According to The Reporters, Nitchanan said the family questions how the Air Force treated Phruetsapha, such as why he received only paracetamol and ear drops when he could not walk straight and had an ear discharge when such symptoms should have required a thorough examination as the brain could be affected.

His mother also asked why the family was not notified when he got sick and why he was not referred to a civilian hospital when his condition did not improve. She noted that when she visited her son at the camp, his instructor did not say he was sick or ask her for his medical history. Family members also insisted that he had no pre-existing condition and lived a healthy lifestyle.

His wife, who was pregnant when Phruetsapha was conscripted and had recently given birth, said that he often sent messages telling her he was sick and wanted to go home, but only received medications from doctors at the unit. He was never sent to an outside hospital. She noted that before his death, Phruetsapha was dragging his feet when walking and could not speak clearly. She also noticed that his personality had changed, becoming less happy and not himself.

His family has released his medical history. He saw a doctor several times for an ear infection and was given antibiotics. On 26 May 2025, he was diagnosed with an acute middle ear infection. A doctor removed pus from his ear and gave him ear drops and antibiotics. He was told not to let water into his ear and to come in for another appointment on 9 June 2025. At that appointment, his ear infection had not improved, so he was given stronger antibiotics. The doctor issued a medical certificate to exempt him from training because his eardrum had ruptured and he needed to keep water from going into his ear until his condition improved.

His condition did not improve at the following appointment on 16 June 2025. Three days later, Phruetsapha asked other conscripts to take him to see a superior officer because his condition had worsened and he wanted to go to a hospital. However, he was given the medication he already had and was not taken to a hospital.

When he lost consciousness and was taken to the emergency room on 20 June 2025, a CT scan found an abscess in his brain, which was swelling. Surgery was performed to remove fluid, but he remained unresponsive. He later developed a severe blood infection and died on 24 July 2025.