Almost six months after young Lahu activist Chaiyapoom Pasae was shot dead at a checkpoint in Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district, the case remains a mystery.
Seventeen-year-old Chaiyapoom, who was president of the Northern Traditional Plant Preservation Network, was travelling with a friend in the morning of March 17 to Chiang Mai's Muang district when he encountered a checkpoint, manned by soldiers, just 10km from their home in Ban Kong Phak Ping village in Chiang Dao. The soldiers stopped his car and during the search allegedly found some amphetamine pills in the vehicle.
The soldiers claimed the young activist brandished a hand grenade as he tried to flee from the spot. That prompted one soldier to fire a single shot which killed him instantly. Chaiyapoom's friend, also a young Lahu man, was put behind bars. According to the authorities, the pills numbered more than 2,000.
The extra-judicial killing in broad daylight sparked an uproar.
A number of human rights advocacy groups came out to demand the truth in the case which reminded the public of the "war on drugs" ordered by then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra that killed more than 2,200 in 2003. Many were innocent victims.
Right after the tragic death, some cabinet ministers made an attempt to defend the soldier who gunned down Chaiyapoom. Given that there was no solid evidence to prove the allegation that the young activist possessed drug and arms, the move further fuelled public anger. Yet, the authorities repeatedly claimed they had footage from CCTV that captured the moment when the shooting took place. But they refused to release it to the public.
The public uproar prompted Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to order a probe which to date has seen no progress with the case seeming to disappear into thin air.
A previous claim by the authorities that they had access to Chaiyapoom's bank account which showed a questionable amount of money the slain activist allegedly made from selling drugs has never been clearly verified. Even the prime evidence, the CCTV footage in question, remains a secret. Shortly after the killing, the authorities involved claimed they had seen the footage but refused to show it for fear it might affect the investigation. Such a claim was dubious in the extreme.
Then in May, the police said the military handed them a computer CPU that was supposed to contain a file of the footage, yet they dared not open it, and instead decided to forward it to the Department of Forensic Science to verify it. We have not heard about the footage since.
Despite the lack of evidence to prove Chaiyapoom's alleged wrongdoing, the authorities have relentlessly pursued accusations against the activist's two relatives, trying to establish a link between them and illicit drugs. They received arrest warrants, and earlier this week, were summoned to court.
Several of Chaiyapoom's neighbours in Ban Kong Phak Ping village in Chiang Dao district, mostly of the Lahu ethnic minority group, complained of house raids searching for drugs in a move that many see as state intimidation. Given that several of them are stateless, they have no legal rights to protect them. Shortly before Chaiyapoom was slain, a young ethnic villager was killed in a similar manner. He was accused of possessing drugs -- a charge against which he had no chance to protect his name or life.
It's a shame that some six months on, this case is still clouded in mystery. The failure on the part of state authorities to produce evidence in the long-overdue case is not acceptable. Unless the truth comes out, public trust in the state will erode.
The authorities must be aware that they owe the public an explanation over the case which threatens to bruise the country's human rights record further.
On top of that, the state has an obligation to bring justice to Chaiyapoom and his family.
