Andrew Drummond

 

Urgent: No. Sor Mor 0001/335 

Offfice of the National Human Rights Commission of

Thailand  Pathumwan,

Bangkok 10330

Re: Report of investigation into the case of Mr Leo Delpinto and Ms Carly Reisig who were shot by an officer from Pai Police Station To: Director General, Department of Special Investigation Encl.: Report of investigation by National Human Rights Commission As the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken up the case of Mr Leo Delpinto and Ms Carly Reisig, Canadian tourists who were shot by the police in Pai, which caused the death of Leo Delpinto at the scene of the incident, while Miss Carly Reisig was injured and sent to Pai Hospital. The event occurred on January 6th, 2008. The NHRC has assigned the subcommittee for protecting human rights in the judicial system to investigate the case according to National Human Rights Commission Act 1998.  In investigating the facts, the subcommittee had the opinion that the testimony of individual witnesses at the court conflicted with facts from the police investigation, but were consistent with testimony from anonymous witnesses to the NHRC. It is thus credible that there has been a violation of human rights by state officers in the justice system, a matter in which the Canadian Embassy and the media has a special interest. As state officials are involved and the damaged party are foreigners, this has impacted international relations, and public order and decency. The investigation of this case requires gathering complex evidence requiring a special investigative method to gather evidence for the greatest justice for all parties concerned. After consideration, the NHRC has resolved to send the report of this investigation to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to take on as a Special Case, according to the Special Investigation Act 2004. Thus for your consideration to action, and for requests for results of the undertaking, NHRC will thank you greatly Sincerely  Mr Arinnapong Sutsukhon

Secretary General of the NHRC 

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Report on the Violation of Human Rights by National Human Rights Commission

Results report number 77/2551  Re: Rights in the justicial process in the case of Canadian tourists being shotComplainant: Case taken upComplainee: Police officers from Pai district Police Station, Mae Hong Son province.  Case taken up On Monday, 7 January, 2008, many media published news that Pol Corp Uthai Dechawiwat, a police officer from Pai district Police Station, Mae Hong Son province, had shot Canadian tourists with one dying and one injured. The event occurred on 6 January, 2008 on Highway 1095, Moo 8, Wiang Tai subdistrict, Pai district, Mae Hong Son province. The deceased was Mr Leo Delpinto aged 25, and the injured was Ms Carly Reisig, aged 24. Pol Corp Uthai claimed he heard the sound of the deceased and Ms Carly arguing and attempted to stop the situation by revealing himself as a policeman, but the deceased and Ms Carly turned on him. Pol Corp Uthai thus drew his gun to control the situation. The deceased tried to wrest the gun from him causing the gun to go off and the round to enter the body of the deceased and Ms Carly, who was severely injured. After considering the matter, the Office of the NHRC thus resolved to take up the case as Complaint No 39/2551 dated 11 January 2008, and assigned the subcommittee for protecting human rights in the judicial system to take action.  Investigation of the facts:   The subcommittee investigated the facts as follows: 

 1. On Wednesday 30 January, 2008 an (anonymous) witness testified to the subcommittee that on 6 January, 2008, the day of the incident, there had been an open-air musical performance at Reggae Place near the scene of the incident. There was playing around the bonfire until the music ended at about 0200 hours. The witness walked to eat rice soup at P.Dang shop, about 20 metres from the Ting Tong business. He saw Ms Carly walk with Mr Leo. At the same time, Mr Rattapon, a male friend of Ms Carly rode a motorcycle past them and turned around. The witness saw Mr Rattapon talk to Ms Carly. They were arguing and he heard loud shouting ending with the word “dog” (asking afterwards he found out Ms Carly was admonishing Mr Rattapon for not feeding a dog). Mr Rattapon was slapped hard on the face three times. Mr Rattapon thus turned to punch Ms Carly in the face once, and they fought until they both fell to the ground. Mr Leo thus pulled up Mr Rattapon and said “Stop”. During this, a man half-walked, half-ran from the direction of Pai Police Station wearing a sweat jacket and yellow shirt held a gun and said “you get down”. Mr Rattapon got down, Leo put his hands up. Ms Carly stood up, the man holding the gun used it to hit Ms Carly in the face and kicked her in the ribs. With Ms Carly doubled over, he fired a shot at Ms Carly. Ms Carly withdrew, holding her chest. Mr Leo called out, “stop please”. The man walked backwards and tripped on a motorcycle, making him bend over backwards. Mr Leo gave his hand for the man to get up. A shot came from the gun hitting Mr Leo in the stomach, causing Mr Leo to slump. The man fired another shot which hit him in the face. People saw the man walk away, and after a while the police arrived. Mr Rattapon took Ms Carly to Pai

Hospital, close to the scene. Nobody took Mr Leo to the Hospital. The witness thus borrowed a motorcycle and went to the hospital to get a doctor. Then the police came. Almost 20 spectators gathered and then disappeared. 2. Ms Carly Reisig testified to Mae Hong Son Court on 7 September that on the day of the incident, she and her male friend Mr Leo, who were staying in the same place, had been walking along the road to the Be-Bop shop for about 15 minutes when they met Mr Rattapon who was riding a motocycle past them. They asked Mr Rattapon to stop and asked him where he was going. Mr Rattapon replied that he was going home, and she asked whether he had given food to the dog named ‘Magic’. When she found out that Mr Rattapon had not yet fed her dog, she admonished him and they had a heated argument. The witness slapped Mr Rattapon hard on the face three times. Mr Rattapon was angry and punched the witness once in the face and they fought. Mr Leo came in to break them up by separating the witness and Mr Rattapon from each other. Then a man wearing a jacket and dark-coloured trousers ran up. The man kicked the witness in the ribs making her bend over. The man then drew a revolver and aimed it at her face. She pushed it out of the way. The man used the gun to hit her on the forehead once and then fired one shot into the area under her left breast. Mr Rattapon then came in to hold up the witness. The witness turned to look at the man and saw Mr Leo walking in slowly with both hands in the air, saying “Stop Stop Please!”. The man then walked backwards and tripped over a motorcycle making him bend over backwards. Mr Leo extended a hand to help him get up, but the man used the gun to fire two shots at Mr Leo. She saw Mr Leo holding his stomach and the man run away. Mr Rattapon then cried out for help, and Mr Rattapong took her on the motorcycle to Pai

Hospital, while Mr Leo was still lying on the floor. While she was being taken to hospital, the witness was conscious throughout, until doctors inserted a rubber tube into her wound, and the witness passed out, becoming conscious again when she was being moved to a hospital in Chiang Mai. 

 3. Mr Rattapon Warewdee testified to Mae Hong Son Court on 7 September that on the day of the incident, he had ridden a motorcyle past Ms Carly and Mr Leo who were walking. Ms Carly called for him to stop. After that there was an argument with Ms Carly, the reason being that Ms Carly was angry that the witness had not fed her dog. Ms Carly than slapped him hard on the face three times. The witness was angry and thus got off the motorcycle and punched Ms Carly one time, and they had a fight. During the melee, Mr Leo had separated them. During this, a man of name unknown and previously not known to the witness ran up. The man walking out used his foot to kick Ms Carly in the ribs once. Ms Carly got up and  the man drew a gun, the type unclear, and aimed it at the face of Ms Carly. Ms Carly thus used her hand to push the gun out of the way. The man then used his gun to slap Ms Carly in the forehead once. Ms Carl slumped as she had been injured by the slap on the head. Then while Ms Carly was looking up, the man used the gun to fire one shot at Ms Carly. Seeing that he went in to hold up Ms Carly and saw that she had a gunshot wound under her left breast. During this, Mr Leo had walked towards the man, where Mr Leo had both hands in the air, while saying “Stop, Please stop!”. The man walked backwards and tripped over a motorcycle, causing him to bend over backwards. Mr Leo extended a hand to help him get up, but the man used the gun to fire two shots at Mr Leo. After that, he hurried to take Ms Carly on the motorcycle for treatment at Pai Hosital. As for Mr Leo, he was lying down at the scene of the incident and subsequently died. 

4. On 5 February, 2008, Dr. Khunying Porthip Rajanasanun inspected the body of Ms Carly and met the Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai

University, and the doctors, who conducted the post-mortem from the Faculty of Medicine,

Chiang

Mai

University, and received explanations and various still pictures concerning the death of Mr Leo. It was found that Mr Leo had been shot twice. One shot had hit the stomach and exited from the back, another shot went in at the cheek and penetrated under the armpit. The bullet hit vital places and made him die immediately. She gave the opinion that the characteristics of the shooting should not make it a case of the gun going off accidentally. 

5. The subcommittee met policemen at Pai Police Station in Mae Hong Son, and the policemen explained that it was an accident of the gun going off from a fight for the gun.  6. The subcommittee met the governor of Mae Hong Son and the Deputy Commissioner of Mae Hong Son police to state that police officers were carrying out investigation of the case.  Opinion of the subcommittee for protecting human rights in the judicial system The subcommittee, after consideration, had the opinion that facts from the testimony of witnesses at court, and the facts from the investigation were in conflict with that, where the testimony of individuals in the court were reasonably consistent with the anonymous witness at the scene testifying to the subcommittee. It is thus credible that there has been a violation of human rights by state officers in the judicial system, where this complaint is of interest to the Canadian embassy in Thailand and the media have been showing special interest in the case. It was thus seen as appropriate to refer the matter to the Department of Special Investiation (DSI), a neutral organization, for further action according to its powers, for the maximum justice of all parties. 

Resolution of the Office of the National Human Rights Commission The NHRC approved the resolution of the subcommittee at meeting number 4/2551 of the NHRC dated 14 February, 2008. 

Mr. Saneh Jamrik, President of the NHRC 

Miss Naiyana Suphapeung, Board of the NHRC 

 Mr. Pradit Charoen Thaithawee, Board of the NHRC

Mr. Wasan Panich, Board of the NHRC 

Mr. Suthin Noppaket, Board of the NHRC 

Mrs. Suni Chaiyaros, Board of the NHRC 

Mr.Surasi Kosolnavin, Board of the NHRC  Khunying Amporn Meesuk, Board of the NHRC  Miss Arporn Wongsang Board of the NHRC