Thailand judge shoots himself in court after acquitting murder suspect

Thailand : A Thai judge shot himself inside the court room after acquitting several murder suspects and decrying the kingdom's judicial system in an impassioned speech broadcast on Facebook Live.

Thailand court has been questioned several times for favouring the rich and powerful and delivering harsh punishments to the normal people for regular offences.

But no judge has ever spoken a word against it.

Kanakorn Pianchana, a judge at Yala court in the heart of the insurgency-battered Thai south, delivered his verdict against the five Muslim men over their involvement in a gun murder case on Friday afternoon.

He acquitted all the suspects, delivered a courtroom plea for a cleaner justice system, before pulling out a handgun and shooting himself in the chest. 

"You need clear and credible evidence to punish someone. So if you're not sure, don't punish them," the judge said addressing the court and broadcasting his words on his phone on Facebook live.

"I'm not saying that the five defendants didn't commit the crimes, they might have done so...

"But the judicial process needs to be transparent and credible... punishing wrong people makes them scapegoats."

According to a news agency AFP, his treatment is being carried out in the hospital and he is now out of danger.

"He is being treated by the doctors and is out of danger," Suriyan Hongvilai, the spokesman of the Office of the Judiciary, told AFP on Saturday.

"He shot himself because of 'personal stress'. But the cause behind the stress is not clear and will be investigated," he said.