PUBLISHED : 23 Aug 2023 at 05:44
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) was on Tuesday ordered to pay compensation to two anti-government protesters severely injured by police munitions used during protests in the capital in 2021.
In the first case, the Criminal Court ordered the RTP to compensate Thanat “Luk Nut” Thanakitamnuay for injuries caused during an anti-government protest at Victory Monument on Aug 13, 2021.
Mr Thanat is expected to receive 3.05 million baht in compensation from the RTP for injuries to his right eye caused by a teargas canister thrown by crowd control police during the protest.
After the protest, he was sent to receive medical treatment at a hospital, but he lost the sight in his right eye. The court on Tuesday likewise ordered the RTP to pay 4.2 million baht in compensation to Thanakorn Phanpinij, who sued the RTP after police munitions severely damaged his eyes during a protest at Din Daeng, also on Aug 13, 2021.
Mr Thanakorn was shot with a rubber bullet in the face, which led to the sight in his right eye being completely lost, while his left eye still has little visibility after four operations.
After the ruling, Mr Thanat posted the court order and screenshots of a chat message between him and his lawyers on his Facebook page.
Mr Thanat wrote that he was “speechlessly glad” about the ruling, as he saw little hope during the court process. He said he hopes every rights violation case involving state officials sees compensation.