Thai Judge Shoots Himself In Court After Delivering Not-Guilty Verdict To Five Murder Suspects

A judge in Thailand shot himself in court Friday after delivering a not-guilty verdict to five Muslim murder suspects in the southern province of Yala.

Before the act, Judge Khanakorn Pianchana read a statement, where he said that he had been pressured to give a guilty verdict to the suspects despite a lack of evidence.

"You need clear and credible evidence to punish someone. So if you're not sure, don't punish them," he said in the court, with the event being broadcast on Facebook. He added that "punishing the wrong people makes them scapegoats."

He then took a legal oath before shooting himself.

A spokesman from the court claimed that "stress" caused the shooting, and that "there is no interference in the work of judges. They are independent in making verdicts."

People then laid flowers in front of the court on Saturday. The judge was rushed to the hospital but reportedly has been taken out of the intensive care unit.

A separatist insurgency in predominately Muslim southern Thailand has claimed some 7,000 lives over the past 15 years. The rebels want an independent state, with some of the separatist groups using jihadist language to justify their cause.

Human rights groups have criticized the Thai government and the separatist groups for human rights abuses.

Although violence has quieted down, a motorcycle bomb killed three civilians in Yala in January 2018. An estimated 90% of people killed in this conflict have been civilians.