Police dispute burned bones are Den’s
BURNED BONES uncovered in the forest will be sent to the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) today to identify whether they are the remains of missing Chaiyaphum land rights activist Den Kamlae.
However, police say they believe Den is still alive and trying to escape charges of forest encroachment. There has not been any evidence found indicating the activist is dead, police said, adding that he is being sued for encroaching on protected national forestland.
It has been four weeks since Den disappeared after he entered the forest near his home in Chaiyaphum’s Khon San district on April 16.
In a further development, a team from the Northeastern Land Reform Network found burned bones on Friday that they believed to be human. The discovery gave new hope of finding evidence in the search for the missing activist.
The network said the bones were found buried in the forest about 100 metres from Nong Raikai Forest Ranger Headquarters. The bones were severely burned and barely recognisable.
Den’s wife Supap Kamlae said local residents also believed the bones to be human. The network will send the evidence to the CIFS today because the process will be too slow if the network waits for the police process, Supap added.
“I hope that CIFS can identify this evidence and make things clear. I always hope I shall meet my husband again,” she said.
She added that the network team had already sent bones samples to the police, who said they had to follow proper procedures. That process was deemed too slow so the network decided to take the evidence directly to the CIFS.
Before discovering the bones, local residents had found a large piece of wood that appeared to have been used to transport a heavy object and a spent shotgun shell.
Pol Colonel Suriya Jakno-one, the superintendent of Huai Yang police, questioned the significance of the burned bones, saying the remains were from an animal.
“Until now we still do not have any concrete evidence to prove Den is dead. The evidence the people found is all too weak,” Suriya said.
He said forest rangers had already inspected the bones, concluding they were from an animal and not similar to human bones.
“I believe he is still alive, but just ran away from his forest encroachment case because he was being sued by the Royal Forestry Department for invading the national protected forest. Nevertheless, we are doing our best to find him, as he is a missing person, before we press charges against him,” he said.
Suriya added that tomorrow the Chaiyaphum provincial governor would address the media and public regarding the search for the activist.
Earlier last week, a warrant was issued for Den’s arrest based on charges that he illegally hunted in Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary.
Supap denied that Den had committed the crime, while the National Human Rights Commission condemned the warrant, saying it might sway public opinion about whether Den had been abducted.
