Thailand's police force came under fire Thursday for allowing a man who abducted and fatally wounded a young woman to be lynched by an angry mob in front of officers staging a rescue operation.
The 19-year-old woman was abducted from a Bangkok train station Tuesday at knifepoint by Sombat Khunthienpradit who police said was crazed from taking "yaaba", a popular form of methamphetamines.
Police overpowered Sombat after agreeing to drive the pair to a city temple, but not before the woman, Jitra Ruamcharoenchai, was stabbed more than a dozen times.
Reports of the incident remained sketchy, but it appeared that as police focused on rushing Jitra to hospital, a mob that had learned of the attack descended on the area and attacked Sombat.
He was severely injured and died hours later in hospital. Jitra also died of her wounds in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Law Society secretary-general Thana Benjathikul said the police and onlookers had broken the law and that Sombat's attackers should be arrested and charged with murder.
"The police cannot let the people take the law into their own hands. The man had done wrong, but no one has the right to stomp him to death," he told the Bangkok Post, calling for an inquiry into the case.
"This will be a case of justice going wrong if the police let these people escape unpunished," he said.
National human rights commissioner Charan Dittha-apichai asked whether police had made every efforts to stop the violence.
"The police cannot deny responsibility because the suspect was already under their custody," he told the Post.
Metropolitan police defended their handling of the case, but said the situation got out of hand and the officers could do nothing to prevent the mob lynching.
"On behalf of the police I extend sympathy and regret to the victim's family, but I can reassure you that the police did their best," said deputy metropolitan commander Major General Phadet Thalawong.
"We could not have charged (Sombat) sooner because the priority was to keep the hostage safe," he told reporters
National police chief General Sant Sarutanont backed his officers, saying police were trying to negotiate with Sombat and that shooting him before then was not an option in predominantly Buddhist Thailand.
"The police could have immediately shot the suspect as he was armed and threatening to hurt the victim, but since Thailand is a Buddhist country the police were trying to avoid violence," he said -- AFP
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