Thai police backtrack on cameraman death

Thai police said yesterday they had no evidence that troops killed the Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto last year, backing a recent reversal of preliminary findings that a soldier may have fired the fatal bullet.

After reviewing a report by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), police said they could not determine whether Muramoto, a 43-year-old Japanese national, was killed by troops while filming anti-government demonstrations last April.

The DSI had said last November that a soldier may have fired the shot, but now says the type of bullet was inconsistent with those used by soldiers that day. The latest police investigation concurred with the DSI.

Muramoto was killed by a high-velocity bullet wound to the chest while covering clashes between "red shirt" protesters and troops in Bangkok's old quarter.