Although confused and with little knowledge of politics, he took the oath and began secret training at age 19.
His teachers stressed the sufferings of Palestinian Muslims and those in Afghanistan and Thailand, where many Muslims feel they are second-class citizens in a Buddhist-dominated land.
The teachers detailed the Tak Bai tragedy of 2004 when Thai security forces confronted Muslim protesters, resulting in the deaths of 85.
Most of the victims died of suffocation when authorities arrested 1,300 people and stacked them on top of each other in trucks.
"I was shaken when I heard the story. I was revengeful and I did hate them, those who did this to us Muslims," Waekaji said.
During training, he learned how to do knuckle push-ups, wield knives, swords and guns and how to take a life by squeezing an opponent's Adam's apple with his hands or breaking a victim's neck.
"They recruit responsible, tight-lipped and trouble-free teenagers ... people who can carry out orders and who don't attract attention to themselves," Thai army Colonel Shinawat Mandej said. "They train their minds before training their bodies. They get them at the most vulnerable age when they need something to believe in and turn them into cold-blooded killers."



