Thai Soldier's Body Returned With Tissue Paper Instead Of Brain, Missing Organs

The family of a Thai soldier wants answers from the government after he died suddenly and his body was returned missing a number of organs including his heart and brain.

Pakapong Tanyakan’s family was told by the military that he died of a heart attack last month, but did not release an autopsy to the family. Pakapong Tanyakan, 18, was a cadet at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (AFAPS).

The soldier’s family then faked his cremation and had a second autopsy done privately that showed a number of inconsistencies with what the military was telling them. The second autopsy showed multiple unreported injuries and missing organs.

“It turns out when they opened up his skull, there was only tissue paper,” said Supicha Tanyakan, the cadet’s sister the Bangkok Post Wednesday. “What did they do to it?”

The autopsy revealed that the soldier was returned without his heart, bladder, stomach and brain. The private autopsy showed that the soldier had a broken rib and two broken collarbones.

On Tuesday, director of the AFAPS, Maj. Gen. Kanokpong Channual held a press conference stating that the soldier collapsed Oct. 17 with a weak pulse and was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The military said an autopsy was done and his organs removed for examination due to the unusual nature of his death.

“His body had no signs of injuries at all, so we partially removed some of his organs, like his brain and heart, for detailed examination,” said Lt. Col. Narut Thongsorn at the press conference.

The military also denied the death had anything to do with a punishment the soldier received in August.

Supicha Tanyakan said her brother had to sit in a sauna for several hours with his legs above his head Aug. 23 — discipline for disobeying rules. The cadet also reported to his family that he had been beaten before, and once passed out from being forced to stand on his head, according to the BBC.

The Thai military has had a history of hazing, according to the Australian Broadcasting Company, including one soldier who died earlier this year after allegedly being beaten.