Accused in Billy murder case summoned to hear more charges

Acting on an order from the public prosecutors of the Department of Special Litigation of the Office of the Attorney-General, the DSI investigators summoned Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn to hear more charges. The three other suspects are Bunthaen Butsarakham, Thanaset Chaemthet, and Kritsanapong Chitthet.

The four face additional charges of collusion to use weapons to force another person to do something or concede something by making him fear that his life, body, liberty, reputation or assets would be in danger.

The four suspects face charges of abduction and murdering Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen, a leader of the Karen Ban Pong Luek community inside the park in Kaeng Krachan district of Phetchaburi province.

They were summoned to meet the investigators at the DSI head office inside Government Complex in Bangkok’s Lak Si district at 10am after which their case would be forwarded to the public prosecutor for arraignment.

The attorney-general issued an order on August 10 to settle the dispute over what charges the four suspects should face.

The four face a long list of charges:

 Collusion in committing a premeditated murder for retaining their interest earned from other offences and to cover up their wrongdoings and to avoid penalties in other crimes committed

 Collusion to use weapons to force another person to do something or concede something by making him fear that his life, body, liberty, reputation or assets would be in danger

 Collusion to detain a person unlawfully, resulting in the death of the detainee

 Collusion to disguise the cause of death or change the surroundings of the area where the body was found before an official autopsy could be performed with a goal to change autopsy results.

Billy was last seen on April 17, 2014 when he was detained by Chaiwat and several park officers at Ma Rew checkpoint inside the national park.

Chaiwat has always denied the accusations, saying he had nothing to do with Billy’s “disappearance”.

Billy was a member of the Tambon Huay Mae Priang Administrative Organisation in Kaeng Krachan district and had been an activist campaigning for the rights of Karen people, especially their right to reside in forests that were declared as national park later.

He was a grandson of the spiritual leader of the Karen community, who died in October 2018 at the age of 107.

Billy was also a key witness in the case against park officials who burned houses of the Karen community in 2010 and 2011 in an attempt to force them to leave the forests.