by Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent

Bangkok - The death of an imam while in army custody last year will present Thailand's new government with its first test of whether it can deliver justice in the country's troubled southern provinces.

On Christmas Day, a court in Narathiwat ruled that 56-year-old imam Yapa Kaseng was tortured and killed while being interrogated by soldiers in March.

The body of the Muslim community leader bore evidence of blunt force trauma, including rib fractures. His lungs were punctured, and his body was covered with bruises, and had abrasions on the back.

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