Jesada Chandee, a lawyer representing the families of Reuters cameraman Hiroyuki Muramato, at the Bangkok south criminal court yesterday.

Agencies/Bangkok

A Thai court ruled yesterday that it could not establish who fired the shot that killed a Reuters cameraman during clashes between troops and anti-government protesters in Bangkok in 2010.
Hiroyuki Muramoto, 43, was killed by a high velocity bullet that struck him in the chest during street violence on April 10, the court said.
“The direction the bullet came from cannot be determined,” the Bangkok South Criminal Court said in a statement.
Jesada Chandee, a lawyer representing the families of Muramoto and two others who died on the same day, said he would consider an appeal against the findings of the post-mortem inquest, which was held to establish the cause and circumstances of the deaths.
“We respect the court’s orders but his family still wants to issue an appeal because they believe that witnesses and evidence can determine how their family member died,” he said.
Tokyo-based Muramoto was on assignment in Bangkok covering the anti-government “red shirt” protests that lasted from March to May 2010.
“Reuters continues to mourn the loss of our respected video journalist, Hiro Muramoto,” said Reuters spokesman David Crundwell. “The safety of our journalists is our highest priority and we take every precaution we can to ensure it.”
More than 90 people, including two journalists and members of the security forces, were killed during the two months of unrest in the Thai capital.
Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) had initially stated the bullet that killed Muramoto was fired by a type of gun not used by soldiers, but acknowledged in 2011 that troops could have been responsible.
The DSI said it would review the court’s findings and continue its investigation into the deaths during the security crackdown. If the DSI considers it has enough evidence, it could still initiate a criminal prosecution.
The Bangkok court launched an inquest in May 2012 into the deaths of Muramoto and the two others. They were Thai civilians Wassan Phuthong and Tosachai Mekngamfa. The court delivered the same verdict for them on Thursday, stating it was unable to determine who shot them.
The case is part of a wider investigation into the role the authorities played in the violence.
Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is pursuing impeachment charges against leader of the Democrat Party and then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his former deputy Suthep Thaugsuban for their role in the crackdown. Both men have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The red shirts broadly support fugitive former Prime  Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 coup.
The protesters had been camped in the centre of Bangkok for weeks in 2010 demanding an early election. Their protest ended bloodily on May 19, 2010, when the army stormed the red shirts’ encampment.
The defence team for two Myanmar migrant workers accused of murdering a pair of British holidaymakers in Thailand last year will be allowed to independently analyse the evidence against their clients, a Thai court ruled yesterday.
Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun have pleaded not guilty to the murder of 24-year-old David Miller and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, on the island of Koh Tao in September.
The accused, who have been in custody on nearby Koh Samui since October, face several charges including murder, rape and robbery.
If found guilty at their trial — which is expected to start in early July — they could face the death penalty, in a case that tarnished Thailand’s image as a tourist haven.
The pair’s defence team have long voiced concerns over the quality of the Thai police investigation, claiming the crime scene was contaminated and that their clients were tortured into confessing.
“We asked the court... to let us commission independent scientists or experts to check the evidence,” Nakhon Chomphuchat, head of the defence team, told AFP after the hearing, adding the request was granted.
He said the defence intended to independently examine DNA samples as well as physical evidence at the crime scene including blood stains and a shirt.
The defendants, both aged 22, confessed to the crimes after their arrest in October but later retracted the admission of guilt, alleging it had been extracted under duress.
Rights groups have accused Thai authorities of using the men as scapegoats.
“We are confident the evidence that we have collected is strong enough to prove the truth in court,” Koh Samui’s deputy prosecutor, Theerawut Pramhun, told AFP.
In November British detectives travelled to Thailand to review the police investigation into the murders after widespread criticism of blunders that included allowing reporters to trample over the crime scene.