The Royal Thai Army investigated a sergeant who punished a soldier excessively in a unit in Lopburi Province. He was found guilty and sentenced him to 45 days in prison, along with the company commander, for neglecting his supervision.
Col. Richa Suksuwanon, deputy spokesman of the Royal Thai Army, said that regarding the release of images and messages of punishment of conscripts until they were injured and some had to be hospitalized, and that it was a military unit in Lopburi Province, the Royal Thai Army has investigated and found that such an incident actually occurred and has set up an investigation committee. The incident occurred on October 1 and 2, 2014, and was a punishment of conscripts, with the unit’s sergeant-in-chief ordering the punishment. The reason for the offense was that the conscripts had secretly drunk kratom leaves and were found to have drugs in their urine.
The sergeant admitted that the punishment was excessive, causing one soldier to be injured in the back, so he was sent to the
unit’s medical platoon for treatment. During the punishment, two soldiers became dizzy and fainted, so they were sent to the emergency room at the unit’s military hospital. After the doctor examined them and observed them until they were back to normal, they were sent back to the unit the same day.
From the investigation results, the unit’s committee considered punishing the sergeant who committed the offense for 45 days in prison for not following the punishment regulations, which was a serious violation of the commanding officer’s orders, along with punishing the company commander with 7 days of house arrest for neglecting to supervise his subordinates. The unit contacted and explained the facts to the soldiers’ relatives and facilitated in cases where they wished to proceed with legal action.
Source: Thai News Agency