Pheu Thai MP facing arrest in Tak Bai case ‘undergoing treatment abroad’

Pheu Thai Party MP General Phisal Wattanawongkiri has gone abroad for medical treatment, Wisut Chainarun, chief government whip of the party said, explaining his failure to appear in court regarding the 2004 Tak Bai protest crackdown in Narathiwat.

The Narathiwat Provincial Court has issued an arrest warrant for Phisal.

Wisut said he was not aware in which country Phisal was receiving treatment. 

“According to Section 125 of the Constitution, any arrest or detention of an MP during a parliamentary session requires prior approval from the House of Representatives,” Wisut said. “Regardless of whether it's Phisal or any other MP, they cannot be arrested while in Thailand without parliamentary consent, unless they have turned themselves in, been charged, and subsequently released on bail, in which case the court may summon them,” he added.

“I do not know where General Phisal is; he did not inform me. My role is to ensure MPs are present to vote, but this matter is for the court to handle. I am not invoking the Constitution to defend him. The principle is that during a parliamentary session, any arrest or detention must go through the House first,” Wisut said.

He also addressed an oral question in the House of Representatives raised by Rangsiman Rome, an MP from the People's Party, regarding the Tak Bai case on October 3 that he found the debate inappropriate. 

"Debates should not confuse the public. I do not understand the intent behind the questions — whether it is to gain votes or sow division in the country. These are very sensitive issues, and I don't want this to escalate and cause further damage," he said. 

"Reopening old wounds is painful for all parties involved, and no one wants such incidents to occur again," Wisut concluded.

The Tak Bai case dates back to October 25, 2004, when the southern army used force to disperse a protest by local Muslims in front of the Tak Bai Police Station.

The protesters were arrested and piled on top of one another on 25 military trucks to be sent for detention at the Ingkayut Borihan Military Camp in Pattani. By the time the trucks arrived at the camp, 78 of the protesters had died of suffocation.

The statute of limitations in the case expires on October 25.