CHIANG RAI – A heartbreaking story of structural failure and a sluggish legal system continues to haunt a small family from Nan Province, Thailand. Nearly a decade ago, a young pregnant woman lost her life in a horrific accident at a Bangkok train station. Today, her elderly parents are still fighting for the compensation promised to them by a court of law.
According to an investigative report by MGR Online, the family has not received a single baht in compensation. Instead, they have been forced into severe debt just to keep their legal battle alive.
The Fatal Accident That Shattered a Family
The tragedy occurred on June 19, 2017. Rossarin Pliamla, a 31-year-old native of Wiang Sa District in Nan Province, was six months pregnant. While waiting for her train at the Ban Thap Chang Airport Rail Link station in Bangkok, she tragically fell onto the tracks. An oncoming train struck and killed her instantly.
The loss was devastating for her family in more ways than one:
- The Breadwinner: Rossarin was the primary source of income for her household, regularly sending money home to support her aging parents.
- A Future Cut Short: The accident took both Rossarin and her unborn child, leaving the family emotionally destroyed.
- Sudden Destitution: Without her financial support, her parents were left with no income and mounting daily expenses.
Years of Legal Delays Drive Aging Parents Into Debt
For nine long years, Rossarin’s father, Weera Pliamla, and her mother, Thanyaporn Pliamla, have been locked in a grueling legal fight against the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
A lower court previously ordered the rail authority to pay the family 2.9 million baht in damages. However, the railway chose to appeal the decision. This move effectively locked the case away in the Appeals Court and froze any financial relief for the grieving parents.
Mr. Weera shared his deep frustration, explaining that he and his wife are simple villagers with no wealth or legal experience. To pay for regular trips to Bangkok and cover their rising legal fees, they have had to borrow heavily from both formal banks and informal loan sharks.
“We had to take out loan after loan just to fight for our daughter’s justice,” Mr. Weera said through tears. “It has been nine years since the lower court awarded us 2.9 million baht. But because the railway appealed, we have not seen a single cent. Our lives are ruined, but we cannot give up on her.”
Lawmakers and Legal Aid Steps In
In a bid to break the deadlock, Prasit Notha, a Member of Parliament for Nan Province, stepped forward to champion the family’s cause. He personally escorted Rossarin’s parents to meet with Pol. Lt. Col. Supot Ruangroj, the provincial prosecutor for rights protection and legal aid in Nan.
During the meeting, the prosecutor reviewed the case files and confirmed that the lawsuit remains stalled in the Appeals Court.
To help the family move forward, the legal aid office provided several recommendations:
- Close Coordination: The family’s private lawyer must actively track the case files directly with court officials to push for a hearing date.
- Regular Monitoring: The legal team should request formal status updates from the Appeals Court to identify any procedural bottlenecks.
- Ongoing State Counseling: The rights protection office pledged to provide continuous, free legal counsel to ensure the family is not taken advantage of during the remainder of the dispute.
MP Prasit Notha publicly vowed to stick by the family, stating that this case highlights the immense difficulties ordinary citizens face when seeking justice from large state enterprises.
The Human Cost of Slow Justice
For the Pliamla family, this nearly ten-year struggle is about far more than just a financial payout. It is a desperate plea for basic human dignity, institutional accountability, and closure.
Every day that the state appeals process drags on, an elderly, grieving couple slips deeper into poverty. They are paying out of pocket to remind the world that a young mother and her child were lost to a preventable transit accident. Nearly a decade later, the platform safety issues may have changed, but for this family from Nan, the pain remains the same as day one.
