Black May's black boxes?

A tiny underwater camera may soon slip through a hole in a mysterious container on the seabed off Chon Buri's Sattahip district to check what is inside.

"We have found a hole in the container through which groupers swim in and out," Central Institute of Forensic Science director Porntip Rojanasunan revealed yesterday.

Skulls discovered

She said she would today have a meeting with representatives from the Customs Department, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), marine archaeologists and noted marine biologist Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat to discuss possible means of checking what's inside the container and where the container came from.

"Representatives from underwatercamera companies will attend the meeting too," Porntip said.Porntip has been assigned to investigate the containers after rumours spread that the bodies of those who died in the Black May incident were inside. Chon Buri's Samaesan district chief Pramote Towsakul said local people had in the past discov¬ered human skulls in sunken containers but were too scared to report to the police.

Porntip's team has already located one of the containers. After examining the size of the barnacles attached to the con¬tainer, officials say it has prob¬ably been on the seabed for more than 20 years.

This prompted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to point out that the mysterious container could not be related to the Black May incident, which took place 17 years ago.

In 1992, prodemocracy street protesters in Bangkok faced a violent crackdown from which many never re¬turned home.

Port Authority of Thailand acting director Sunida Sakulrattana said her agency was poring over old files to identify a company found carrying con¬tainers of industrial waste into Thailand's seas about two or three decades ago.

"Officials turned a ship away for carrying industrial waste into Thailand without permis¬sion. Now, we have to find out whether the ship secretly dropped the containers on its way out," Sunida said.

Customs Department direc¬torgeneral Utid Tamwatin said if officials could see the serial number of the container, they would be able to identify its contents and origin.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Committee of the May 1992 Heroes' Relatives, Adul Khiewboriboon, has submitted a let¬ter urging the army to return the remains of protesters.

He said three generals should know where the re¬mains are located. "The three generals were involved in the Black May incident. They should know the answer."

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The sea's secrets

The public is anxiously waiting to hear what is inside mysterious containers found on the seabed off Chon Buri's Sattahip district.

So far, rumours include:

l The remains of prodemocra¬cy protesters killed during the Black May incident 17 years ago

l The remains of humantrafficking victims

l Toxic or industrial waste