OPINION

Harsh on heroes

Re: "Dechapol and Supissara fall", (Sport, July 21).

Isn't it a bit harsh? Do you know what it takes to be in the final?

They did not fall!

Why not write: Dechapol and Supissara settle for silver?

Abuse in the ranks

Re: "Cadets tied to student's death get leniency", (BP, July 23) & "Army culture of impunity", (Editorial, June 23).

Two senior cadets have been convicted of "the fatal disciplinary abuse" of first-year military cadet Pakapong "Moei" Tanyakan in 2017. It seems to me the army is using "fatal disciplinary abuse" as a euphemism for murder, with which they should have been charged and sentenced accordingly, not the whitewashed suspended sentence they received, with continued service in the army.

As your editorial rightly says, this is a continuation of an army culture of impunity with no signs that any serious action is being taken to change it.

But the primary purpose of my letter is to again record the names of other servicemen "murdered" by their so-called comrades in arms in recent years.

In August of 2017, the same month that cadet Pakapong died, 21-year-old Pvt Noppadol Worakitpan, who was stationed at Vibhavadi Rangsit Military Camp, died when he returned home. Based on news reports, the army's initial autopsy found the private had suffered cardiovascular system failure, and army officials denied any maltreatment.

Despite this, the mother of Noppadol told the media that two other privates informed her that her son had been disciplined physically on the evening of his death after he sneaked out of the camp to meet other soldiers and smoke a cigarette.

In the same year, also at the Surat Thani-based camp, Yutthakinun Boonniam, 22, died after enduring violent physical punishment. The other two were Pvt Wichian Puaksom, 26, who died after being beaten at Narathiwat Ratchanakarin in 2011, and Pvt Songtham Mudmad, who suffered a brain haemorrhage at a camp in Yala's Bannang Sata in 2016.

There well may be others that the army managed to keep from public scrutiny, not to mention those who were tortured and beaten, but managed to escape with their lives. Lest we forget.

Self-serving Senate

Re: "Senate won't wait for scandal verdicts", (BP, July 22).

If I were a senator guilty of illegally colluding in last year's Senate election, I'd jump at the chance to choose those who'd sit as my judges.

I wouldn't care that my act would severely undermine public trust, for my well-being would trump that of the Senate and Thailand.

Yet that's precisely what the Senate has done in voting to select nominees for Constitutional Court and Election Commission vacancies without waiting for the scandal verdicts.

To those who insist that delays could cause independent bodies to be unable to form quorums, I'd point out that incumbents normally serve until their replacements have been chosen.

Why did 130 senators act as if they were guilty by voting to choose the nominees without delay? For shame, senators.