Survivors of Thai death truck to be deported

By Nopporn Wong-Anan

SUKSAMRAN, Thailand (Reuters) - Survivors of a human smuggling tragedy in Thailand, in which 54 people suffocated in a locked container truck, will be deported back to army-ruled Myanmar, a Thai court ruled on Friday.

Fifty survivors were fined up to 2,000 baht ($62) each for being in the country illegally, but most could not pay and faced a brief jail term before being deported, officials said.

Another 14 youths were sent to an immigration centre to await their return to the former Burma.

Human rights groups condemned the ruling.

"Rather than encourage their participation in the legal prosecution of exploitative smugglers, the Thai authorities will instead summarily deport them to Burma," the Migrant Working Group, a coalition of NGOs, said in a statement.

The horrific deaths of the 54, who were among 120 people crammed into a stifling hot 20-ft container for several hours, has focused attention on migrant labor and the scourge of traffickers and smugglers in the region.

The Migrant Working Group said it documented 10 cases in which more than 100 people had died being transported to Thailand in the past year.

The driver of the container truck, identified by police as Suchon Boonplong, has eluded a manhunt since he abandoned the vehicle late on Wednesday.

"Police from various units are looking for Suchon and other people involved in the trafficking ring," Police Major-General Apirak Hongthong told reporters.

Both men will be charged with conspiracy to hide, help or smuggle illegal aliens into Thailand, and for careless actions causing death, police said.

If convicted, they face a maximum 10 years in jail.

Survivors said they pounded on the sides and screamed at the driver as the air grew thinner after the air conditioning system broke down.

"We contacted the driver using a mobile phone, but he told us in Burmese to keep quiet and make no trouble," Tida Toy, 21, told the Bangkok Post newspaper.

"He switched off the phone and drove on," she said.

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