BANGKOK — A panel investigating a fatal military raid in the southern province of Pattani has postponed the release of their findings, citing the need for more time to question witnesses and assess evidence.

The group is investigating a controversial raid in To Chud village on 25 March that left four men dead. Authorities said the raid was an effort to arrest Islamic militants involved in a bloody insurgency in the region, but community leaders and witnesses say the four men killed in the operation were innocent.

In response to public outcry, authorities formed a 15-member panel to investigate in the incident. Their report, initially scheduled for release today, has now been “postponed indefinitely,” said Waedueramae Mamingi, chairman of the Central Islamic Committee in Pattani and a member on the panel.

“Currently, the investigation result is not clear,” he said. “The committee is still summoning individuals who are related to the incident to give testimony, including witnesses at the scene and forensic science officials.”

The 15-member also includes representatives the military, local administration, and Fatoni University, where two of the deceased were students.

“There are many debated or contradictory points, such as issues about the weapons confiscated at the crime scene, whether the victims were armed, and drugs,” said Waedueramae. “We will continue to summon people and investigate the facts until we have clear conclusion.”

Police told the media they opened fire after encountering resistance from the suspects, who they believed were plotting attacks in the area. Two of the deceased were initially identified as members of RKK, one of the Islamic militant groups behind the secessionist movement. 

However, it later emerged that none of the victims had any pre-existing criminal records of participating in the secessionist movement.

Security officers also said they confiscated three firearms at the scene, which according to forensic testing, have never been used in documented insurgent attacks in the region.

Twenty-two men were arrested after the raid and taken to army camps for several days of interrogation. The men were released in batches, with the final group reportedly leaving the army camps yesterday. None of them have been charged with any crimes.

Police say seven soldiers will be charged with murder for their role in the raid, though the men failed to report to hear their charges on Wednesday. Police said the suspects postponed their meeting "indefinitely," but declined to comment further.

According to relatives of the victims and community leaders, two of the deceased were Fatoni University students in their twenties, one was a known drug addict with no links to the insurgency, and the fourth victim was a 32-year-old man preparing to assist Thai authorities as a Village Defense volunteer after two of his relatives were killed by militants. 

More than 6,200 people have been killed since secessionist violence broke out in the three southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat in early 2004, according to data compiled by rights groups. Sixty-thousand security officers are stationed in the region, known as the Deep South, to combat the insurgents, who are seeking to establish independent Islamic state. 

Although suspected insurgent attacks are responsible for the majority of casualties, human rights activists have also documented cases of excessive brutality and foul play by security officers in the region. 

In August, a volunteer ranger admitted to killing a local 14-year-old boy and planting a firearm on his body to implicate him as an insurgent.

MANILA (DPA) — Thousands of Catholic devotees on Friday trooped to a northern Philippine village where men were nailed to wooden crosses or flogged themselves bloody in annual rituals re-enacting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

At least 60,000 spectators witnessed the rituals held under the blistering sun in at least three towns in Pampanga province, 70 kilometres north of Manila, which are the highlight of Easter celebrations in Asia's largest predominantly Catholic country.

A scene of the re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, in San Pedro Cutud village, San Fernando city, north of Manila, Philippines, 03 April 2015. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Hooded and barefoot penitents walked the streets of San Pedro Cutud village in San Fernando City, the main site of the religious event, whipping their backs with ropes fitted with broken glass or bamboo sticks.

Others carried wooden crosses in a procession before more than 20 were nailed to wooden crosses one by one.

The penitents were led by 54-year-old Ruben Enaje, who was nailed to the cross for the 29th time this year.

"I'm offering this for our country and everyone who needs help," he said. "I'm also praying that this typhoon that supposedly is coming will not bring too much damage and death in the country."

Typhoon Maysak has weakened before it was expected to hit the north-eastern Philippines on the weekend, but authorities warned it could still trigger tidal surges, flashfloods and landslides.

The Catholic Church disapproves of the practice, which began in 1962, but does little to stop the rituals that have become a major tourist draw on Good Friday.

Easter is a major religious event in the Philippines, where more than 80 per cent of the population is Catholic.

Most of the week had been declared public holidays to allow Filipinos to go home to their provinces or take vacations. Government offices, private companies and commercial establishments are closed.

BANGKOK — Thailand’s national anti-graft agency has named former army chief Anupong Paochinda as a witness in a legal case investigating the violent military crackdown on Redshirt protesters in 2010.

Panthep Klanarongran, chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), said today that Gen. Anupong will testify in defense of former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has been charged with "abuse of power" for ordering the crackdown that lasted from April to May 2010 and left over 90 people dead.

Redshirt protesters cheered as they stormed into the Government Complex in Bangkok, 5 April 2010.

Abhisit's former deputy, Suthep Thaugsuban, is facing the same charge.

The charges, which were filed in February, are a preliminary step in an impeachment process against the two Democrat Party politicians. If the NACC continues with the case, Abhisit and Suthep’s fate will be determined by the junta-appointed interim parliament, who will vote on whether to retroactively impeach the pair and thereby ban them from political office for five years.  

In addition to Gen. Anupong, then-chairman of the National Security Council Thawil Pliensri will also be summoned to provide testimony, Panthep said.

"By 21 April, NACC officials will invite the two witnesses to give their testimonies to the NACC," Panthep told reporters at today's press conference. "They can come to explain themselves on their own, or they can send documented explanations to us." 

The crackdown was launched in response to tens of thousands of Redshirt demonstrators who descended on Bangkok in March of that year to demand a new election from Abhisit. On 10 April 2010, Abhisit ordered the army, which was led by Gen. Anupong at the time, to disperse the protesters on Ratchadamnoen Avenue, but the operation was called off after security officers were attacked by shadowy militants known as the Blackshirts. 

Following a month of skirmishes between protesters and security officers, the Abhisit government mounted another military operation in May 2010 against the protesters. Redshirt leaders eventually surrendered and called off the protest on 19 May 2010, after at least 90 people – mostly civilians – had died. 

Abhisit, Suthep, and other members of the government and the military at the time have sought to distance themselves from the fatalities and blame the violence on Blackshirt militants who were allegedly allied with the Redshirt protesters. 

However, numerous court inquests from 2013 have attributed civilian deaths to soldiers, some of whom shot indiscriminately into crowds of unarmed protesters. Human rights groups have also faulted Thai authorities for failing to hold state officials accountable for the 2010 crackdown.

SURAT THANI — More than 50 vendors on the southern island of Koh Samui gathered in front of a police station last night to protest alleged rampant bribery among police officers on the island.

The rally was sparked by the arrest of 42-year-old woman who sold counterfeit purses near Chaweng beach yesterday evening. 

Patcharee Chimthaprasert, 49, who represents an association of vendors selling counterfeit goods on the island, said the arrest occurred several hours after she and police had failed to agree on bribe fee.

According to Patcharee, police had originally demanded a total of 50,000 baht from the store owners to overlook their violation of copyright laws. However, they later raised the price to 190,000 baht, which the group refused to pay.

"Because we disagreed on the fee, those police officers immediately made an arrest at one of the shops that sells brand names bag," said Patcharee.

"This is like killing the chicken in front of the monkey," she continued, using a Thai idiom that describes making an example of someone in an effort to intimidate others. "Arrest today and make us pay tomorrow. They are acting like racketeers. We cannot accept that."

After news of the arrest spread, around 50 vendors from 20 shops near Chaweng beach closed down their stores and staged a rally in front Bo Phut Police Station.

"Today, they can arrest me, but I won't let them get away with it," said Nampueng Moongraiklang, who was charged with selling copyrighted material. "I don't sell narcotics. I don't kill anyone. They extorted money out of me, and when they couldn't do it anymore, they arrested me.”

Speaking to reporters, Pol.Lt. Pitaksith insisted that his team raided the shop and arrested Nampueng because the store violated copyrights laws. 

"Law enforcement officers have the power to make arrests without complaints from the victims, because the state is the victim in this case," Pol.Lt. Pitaksith said. "There is also a notice by the Royal Thai Police to strictly arrest cases of counterfeit goods of copyrighted material that has been registered in foreign countries, so we made the arrest." 

He also explained that his team only targeted one store because "there were only four officers, so we could not arrest other shops," but he vowed to crackdown on similar offenders soon. 

"As for whoever accused the officers of demanding bribes, there may be legal action against them, on charges of insulting law enforcement officers," Pol.Lt. Pitaksith said. 

Patcharee, the representative of the vendors, said the officers acted rudely during the raid. She submitted CCTV footage and mobile phone videos of their behavior to police at Bo Phut Police Station as evidence.

"I couldn't pay the amount of money [police demanded], because the economy is bad at the moment," Patcharee said, referring to the 190,000 baht fee that officers allegedly demanded earlier in the day. "Our profit is small. Nowadays, there's only debt, and I cannot simply quit my business, because I wouldn't be able to find money to pay my rent and other expenses."

SURAT THANI — More than 50 vendors on the southern island of Koh Samui gathered in front of a police station last night to protest alleged rampant bribery among police officers on the island.

The rally was sparked by the arrest of 42-year-old woman who sold counterfeit purses near Chaweng beach yesterday evening.

According to the owner of the shop, police arrested her employee several hours after they demanded 50,000 baht to overlook the store’s violation of copyright laws. 

The owner, Patcharee Chimthaprasert, 49, said she initially agreed to pay the bribe, but that officers later raised the price 190,000 baht, which she was unable to afford.

Four officers returned several hours later and arrested her employee, Nampueng Moongraiklang, and confiscated 28 bags as evidence, she said. Nampueng was charged with selling counterfeit copyrighted material. 

After news of the arrest spread, around 50 vendors from 20 shops near Chaweng beach closed down their stores and staged a rally in front Bo Phut Police Station. The group filed a complaint that the four police officers extorted bribes from Nampueng and other vendors in the area. 

According to Nampueng, her store, called Mirror, paid officers 2,000 baht in bribes every month in exchange for permission to continue selling their products.

"Every vendor has to pay them," Nampueng said, "Today, they can arrest me, but I won't let them get away with it. I don't sell narcotics. I didn’t kill anyone. They extorted money out of me, and when they couldn’t do it anymore, they arrested me."

Speaking to reporters, Pol.Lt. Pitaksith insisted that his team raided the shop and arrested Nampueng because the store violated copyrights laws. 

"Law enforcement officers have the power to make arrests without complaints from the victims, because the state is the victim in this case," Pol.Lt. Pitaksith said. "There is also a notice by the Royal Thai Police to strictly arrest cases of counterfeit goods of copyrighted material that has been registered in foreign countries, so we made the arrest." 

He also explained that his team only targeted one store because "there were only four officers, so we could not arrest other shops," but he vowed to crackdown on similar offenders soon. 

"As for whoever accused the officers of demanding bribes, there may be legal action against them, on charges of insulting law enforcement officers," Pol.Lt. Pitaksith said. 

Patcharee, the owner of the store, said the officers acted rudely during the raid. She submitted CCTV footage and mobile phone videos of their behavior to police at Bo Phut Police Station as evidence.

"I couldn't pay the amount of money [police demanded], because the economy is bad at the moment," Patcharee said, referring to the 190,000 baht fee that officers allegedly demanded from her earlier in the day. "Our profit is small. Nowadays, there's only debt, and I cannot simply quit my business, because I wouldn't be able to find money to pay my rent and other expenses."