Pubdate: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 Source: Nation, The (Thailand) Copyright: 2004 Nation Multimedia Group Contact: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1963 DRUG RAID: Kin want probe into son's jail death Doubt cast on initial autopsy citing respiratory failure in wake of commando assault on house in Ayutthaya The couple whose Ayutthaya house was raided on suspicion of producing illegal drugs will ask the Forensic Institute to conduct an autopsy on the body of their son, as they suspect he was murdered in prison, family member said yesterday. Adisorn Satakurama served terms in Bangkok Special Prison on a theft offence and died on Friday, two days after 50 commandos sprayed bullets into his parents' house. Adisorn had also been convicted of processing heroin and faced a suspended jail term in 2002. Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana yesterday insisted Adisorn had died of an immune-system malfunction. Pongthep said Adisorn had been treated as a sick prisoner ever since he had been in jail, after a physical check-up revealed he suffered from an immune system malfunction. "Whether he was silenced in prison, I couldn't say: we are still probing to find the truth. But the fact of the matter is he died of disease, and there is proof of that,'' Pongthep said. Kanittha Satakurama, younger sister of Adisorn, said that after checking the body of her brother, her family had decided to ask the Forensic Science Institute to conduct another autopsy today. "There were several suspicious points. His hip bone seemed to be broken,'' she said. Forensic Science Institute deputy director Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunant confirmed that Adisorn's family had requested the autopsy. Maj-General Kosin Hinthao, Crime Suppression Division commander, said that Dr Pisit Thammasuriya, who conducted the first autopsy on Adisorn, had cited respiratory-system failure as the cause of death. He added that if the family wanted the record of their son's physical check-ups while in prison he would be ready to assist them. Nissai Satakurama, Adisorn's father, said he did not know his son had been jailed until yesterday, when he saw the family crying upon receiving news of the death. He admitted he had not been close to his son and had only seen him once in six months. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he had assigned Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to look into the probe over the controversial raid, which has been strongly criticised and deemed a human-rights violation. Piyanuch Thamnukasetchai WIRIYA SATHIRAKUL - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart