The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a verdict to acquit former Bangkok police chief Pol Lt Gen Suchart Mueankaew of malfeasance in connection with the fatal dispersal of anti-Thaksin demonstrators at the parliament in 2008.
Supporters of the now defunct People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) tried unsuccessfully to block the government of former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat from delivering its policy statement at the venue on Oct 7 of that year.
They failed to stop the statement after Pol Lt Gen Suchart ordered officers to shoot tear gas at the protesters in a clash that led to two deaths -- one police officer and a PAD supporter -- as well as injuries among 381 people.
The PAD accused police of firing deadly weapons. However, the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Holders stated yesterday Pol Lt Gen Suchart only used tear gas as a method to control the crowd and he had no intent to injure people.
The majority of the nine-member judge panel ruled Pol Lt Gen Suchart was not guilty of neglecting his duty under the Criminal Code's Section 157 because he needed to resort to tear gas which "suited the situation" to prevent it from escalating.
The use of tear gas is also a common measure in other countries during incidents which are likely to spread out of control, the court said.
The verdict was along the same lines as its earlier ruling handed down Aug 2 last year when the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) brought the issue to the court, accusing Pol Lt Gen Suchart, together with three senior officials, of abusing their authority in the deadly dispersal.
The three senior officials were former prime minister Somchai, 71, his deputy prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, 86, and former national police chief Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon, 69. The court cleared the four defendants of dereliction of duty.
The court reasoned the four suspects had performed their duties as stated in the constitution in assisting cabinet members and members of the Lower House leave the parliament.
The eight-member NACC later met to discuss its plan to appeal the verdict and decided to only prosecute Pol Lt Gen Suchart.
According to media reports, the corruption watchdog viewed Pol Lt Gen Suchart as an official who had "direct responsibility" for the incident. The former city police, who commanded the crowd control operation that day, should have known what would spark violence, the NACC said.
The appeal led to yesterday's verdict which ended Pol Lt Gen Suchart's 10-year fight in this legal battle.
Now 67, Pol Lt Gen Suchart said yesterday he received support from his family and friends during the NACC's probe and court hearings.
"That day," Pol Lt Gen Suchart said, recalling the Oct 7 violence, "everyone did their duty."
He said he could not elaborate further about what was right or wrong during the mayhem. He only wants to comply with the court verdict.
However, in Pol Lt Gen Suchart's view, "I don't think the ruling will set a standard for police work. It still depends on the situations they face."
