Thai Police Pilloried for Tragic End to Hostage Drama by Phairath Khampha 15 November 2001 Police in Thailand were pilloried after they bungled a hostage rescue that saw the hostage killed and the hostage-taker beaten so badly by a mob that he later died. Legal and human rights groups, the media and members of the public complained that the police had a poor record of dealing with hostage-takers and frequently broke their solemn duty to protect suspects and allowed unruly mobs to take vigilante action and kill the suspect. The man had grabbed a 19-year-old female economics student at a bus stop near the site of Bangkok's famous Weekend Market in Mawchit on November 6, 2001. The knife-wielding Sombat Khunthienpradit, 32, then dragged her on to a pick-up truck he had demanded from the police. The police driver drove slowly towards a "more relaxed" area for more "negotiations" with the hostage-taker, who had demanded to see his brother. The pick-up was surrounded by police outriders and chased by television camera crews in the midst of the usual heavy rush-hour traffic. No attempt was made to defuse the situation. Rather, the macho polciemen made the situation worse has they began to behave as if they were actors in a Thai action hero movie. Police officers at the scene said later that they noticed that the victim, Jitra Ruancharoenchai, who also had a noose round her neck, appeared to be have lost consciousness - prompting them to rush the pair. A furious crowd closed in on Sombat and beat him after the police rushed his victim away for emergency treatment. Sombat was pronounced dead at a hospital later in the day. Doctors said Jitra has been slashed about 15 times and had a deep stab wound in her back. She died in hospital the following day. Sombat was found to have strong traces of amphetamines in his blood. Such hostage-taking dramas are regular features of Thai life, fuelling TV news programmes that focus in on the victims' pain, showing in gory detail all the pain and suffering. The dramas are frequently ended by a police rush to seize the hostage-taker accompanied by an adolescent and unporfessional behaviour more reminiscent of Sylvester Stallone movies. The inevitable crowd usually manages to land a few blows on the suspect, if not after his capture then later when the police force him "re-enact" the alleged crime. "The police don't really know what to do in these situations. In this case they appear to have moved in too late to save the victim, yet at the same time they let the crowd kill the suspect. They have no right to do that," said Jaran Ditha-apichai, of the National Human Rights Commission. "It is against the law in Thailand." "Is this a case of the police, in their frustration, letting the public take out its anger on a man who had lost his reason?" he asked rhetorically The girl's family also said the police appeared to act too late and too unprofessionally. "I wouldn't wish this to happen to anyone else. It's a nightmare," her mother, Nongnuch Ruancharoenchai, said. A Bangkok police commander, Major-General Phadet Thalawong, said police could do nothing to save the girl because the perpetrator was "mad with violence" on drugs. "We're blamed whatever we do. Too quick or too slow. Too hard or too soft. This was very ugly and I'm very sorry this girl died," he said. The police said there would be no inquiry because it was just another ordinary day at the office as far as they were concerned. No blame, no inquiry, says police chief There would be no inquiry into the handling of the fatal hostage drama at Mawchit bus terminal, the national police chief said on November 8. Pol Gen Sant Sarutanont insisted police had done nothing wrong. The officers were well-trained in hostage situations, he said, and were not to blame for the death of Jitra Ruamcharoenchai or her attacker, Sombat Khunthienpradit. "The police did their best and did not let the situation get out of control," he said. The rescue operation was effective and there was no need for an official review was what he said. Given that the situation ended fatally for all those concerned, one wonders what the police general meant by "effective". The people who attacked Sombat would be arrested once they were identified, he said. City police chief Anand Piromkaew said the officers should be praised for resisting the temptation to shoot Sombat, which would have been the easiest solution but not the most socially-acceptable one. "We must try to save not only the hostage's life, but also the abductor's," he said.