A judge shot himself in the chest in a court in Thailand after he was reportedly pressured to find several defendants guilty despite the lack of evidence against them.
Khanakorn Pianchana made the apparent suicide attempt after acquitting five people of murder and firearms charges in his courtroom in the southern province of Yala on Friday.
Mr Khanakorn was rushed to hospital for surgery but his injuries were not life-threatening, the Bangkok Post reported.
A statement attributed to him that circulated online claimed his superiors had tried to force him to change the verdicts to guilty.
The verdicts could have condemned three of the men to death and sent two to prison. The evidence did not support a guilty verdict, the statement said.
1/50 4 October 2019
Footage of a hugely rare polka dot zebra has been captured in Kenya. The foal was photographed in the Maasai Mara National Reserve
Abdelrahman Hassanein
2/50 3 October 2019
A devotee dressed as the Hindu deity Maha Kali performs during Navratri festival celebrations in Ajmer in Rajasthan state, India
AFP/Getty
3/50 2 October 2019
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4/50 1 October 2019
Protesters clash with an Iraqi riot police vehicle during a demonstration against state corruption and poor services in Baghdad
AFP/Getty
5/50 30 September 2019
A student protester throws a burning stick at riot police officers during a clash in Jakarta, Indonesia
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6/50 29 September 2019
An anti-government protester wearing a mask depicting U.S. President Donald Trump is pushed away by riot police during a demonstration at Causeway Bay district in Hong Kong, China
Reuters
7/50 28 September 2019
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8/50 27 September 2019
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PA
9/50 26 September 2019
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12/50 23 September 2019
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EPA
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1/50 4 October 2019
Footage of a hugely rare polka dot zebra has been captured in Kenya. The foal was photographed in the Maasai Mara National Reserve
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2/50 3 October 2019
A devotee dressed as the Hindu deity Maha Kali performs during Navratri festival celebrations in Ajmer in Rajasthan state, India
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A gust of wind lifts the cassock of Pope Francis during the weekly general audience at St.Peter’s square in the Vatican
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Protesters clash with an Iraqi riot police vehicle during a demonstration against state corruption and poor services in Baghdad
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5/50 30 September 2019
A student protester throws a burning stick at riot police officers during a clash in Jakarta, Indonesia
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6/50 29 September 2019
An anti-government protester wearing a mask depicting U.S. President Donald Trump is pushed away by riot police during a demonstration at Causeway Bay district in Hong Kong, China
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7/50 28 September 2019
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EPA
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22/50 13 September 2019
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23/50 12 September 2019
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24/50 11 September 2019
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EPA
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Damaged homes after hurricane Dorian devastated Elbow Key Island in Hope Town, Bahamas. The hurricane hit the island chain as a category 5 storm and battered them for two days before moving north
Getty
28/50 7 September 2019
An artist performs on Tverskaya street during celebrations marking the 872nd anniversary of the city of Moscow
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29/50 6 September 2019
Children play football next to a defaced portrait of Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in Harare on the day he died, aged 95. The former leader was forced to resign in 2017, after a 37-year rule, whose early promise was eroded by economic turmoil, disputed elections and human rights violations, has died
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EPA
31/50 4 September 2019
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32/50 3 September 2019
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AP
33/50 2 September 2019
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EPA
34/50 1 September 2019
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AP
35/50 31 August 2019
A man sits in front of riot officers during the rally ‘Calling One Hundred Thousands Christians Praying for Hong Kong Sinners’ in Hong Kong, China
EPA
36/50 30 August 2019
A migrant forces his way into the Spanish territory of Ceuta. Over 150 migrants made their way into Ceuta after storming a barbed-wire border fence with Morocco
AFP/Getty
37/50
A beagle jumps through hoops during a show at the Pet Expo Championship 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. Although the four-day expo is primarily dog oriented it features a wide array of stalls catering to pet owners’ needs as well as showcasing a variety of animals including reptiles, birds, ferrets, and rabbits
EPA
38/50 28 August 2019
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AP
39/50 27 August 2019
Burning rubbles in the market of Bouake, central Ivory Coast, after a fire broke overnight
AFP/Getty
40/50 26 August 2019
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, second from left, sits between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as they take part in a meeting at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France
The Canadian Press via AP
41/50 25 August 2019
A Brazillian Air Force jet drops water to fight a fire in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil
EPA
42/50 24 August 2019
A police officer prepares to strike a protester as clashes erupt during a pro-democracy march in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Bay
AFP/Getty
43/50 23 August 2019
Oxfam activists in costumes depicting leaders of the G7 nations protest in Biarritz, France on the day before the summit is due to be held there
AFP/Getty
44/50 22 August 2019
A vendor sits as she sells models of the Hindu deity Krishna on display at a roadside ahead of the ‘Janmashtami’ festival in Chennai
Getty
45/50 21 August 2019
A girl reacts next to Pope Francis as he leads the weekly general audience in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican
Reuters
46/50 20 August 2019
A masked dancer takes part in the Nil Barahi mask dance festival, an annual event during which dancers perform while posing as various deities that people worship to seek blessings, in Bode, Nepal
Reuters
47/50 19 August 2019
Protesters take to the street to face off with Indonesian police in Manokwari, Papua. The riots broke out, with a local parliament building being torched, as thousands protested allegations that police tear-gassed and arrested students who supported the restive region’s independence
AFP/Getty
48/50 18 August 2019
People survey the destruction after an overnight suicide bomb explosion that targeted a wedding reception in Kabul, Afghanistan. At least 63 people, mostly wedding guests from the Shi’ite Muslim community, were killed and more than 180 injured when a suicide bomber attacked a wedding hall
EPA
49/50 17 August 2019
A man retrieves his prize after climbing up a greased pole during a competition held as part of Independence Day celebrations at Ancol Beach in Jakarta. Indonesia is celebrating its 74th anniversary of independence from the Dutch colonial rule
AP
50/50 16 August 2019
Swiss pianist and composer Alain Roche plays piano suspended in the air at dawn during the 20th “Jeux du Castrum”, a multidisciplinary festival in Switzerland
AFP/Getty
Mr Khanakorn’s alleged statement also criticised the security situation in the south of Thailand, where a Muslim separatist insurgency has led to around 6,000 deaths since 2004 amid accusations of army brutality.
The statement said the confessions obtained from alleged insurgents in harsh conditions of detention were not convincing evidence.
It also recounted an earlier case, in which he was allegedly pressured to ease the sentences against three soldiers involved in killing a civilian because he was told they were carrying out their state duties.
The statement went on to protest about how junior judges were treated unfairly, claiming many were forced to work overtime to write verdicts and are forbidden from taking a second job to earn extra money.
It called for a change in the law to prevent senior judges from reviewing the verdicts of junior judges before they are issued.
A spokesman for the court told Thailand’s public broadcaster the judge had shot himself due to stress.
Yingcheep Atchanont of the independent justice watchdog group iLaw expressed his “respect” for Khanakorn.
“As one of the people who are campaigning for judicial reform, I always believe that there are judges who have principles and dare to break the system but never know where they are,” he wrote in a post.
“Thank you for letting us know that our belief is true and that there is hope.”
- You can contact the Samaritans at any time on the charity’s free number 116 123, or visit www.samaritans.co.uk
