The authorities have claimed that a draftee in Chanthaburi died of heat stroke. The soldier’s father found no injury marks on his body.
On 14 February 2018, Muhammad-Erfan Je-ma, a conscript in the Royal Thai Marine Corps, was subjected to punishment (colloquially called ‘repairing’) until his death at a military camp in Chanthaburi Province. It is not known what punishments caused the draftee’s death.
The conscript’s father, who asked not to be named, told Prachatai that on 14 February, marine officers delivered the conscript’s body to his home in Narathiwat and paid compensation to the family. One officer said that the conscript died of heat stroke. The father has scrutinised his son’s body and found no bruises or injury marks.
The father said that Muhammad- Erfan was conscripted into the marines in early November 2017. On 28 January, during basic training at a Chonburi military camp, the draftee was admitted to an ICU after allegedly suffering heat stroke. After recovering, he was transferred to a marines camp in Chanthaburi. The conscript allegedly suffered heat stroke again on 13 February, which appears to be the immediate cause of death
“I called my son on the phone several times but there was no answer. Then I called the military trainer. He said that [my son] was sick and could not be contacted because he was in an ICU. He said his condition was serious. At around 10 pm, they had to do CPR and then he died,” the father recalled the day his son passed away. “I don’t know how it happened because we are far away. I have no chance to check the information at the hospital. I’m just an ordinary person. It’s difficult.”
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