Read from the Thai Nation Newspaper
Seem like the killings has spread to songkhla....within an hour to hatyai
TAK BAI AFTERMATH: 6 shot dead as violence spirals in deep South
Published on November 05, 2004
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Buddhist monk, rail officials, police officer among dead
Six people, including a Buddhist monk, were shot dead and two others injured in the South yesterday in what police classified as terror-related attacks amid an escalation of violence in the wake of last week’s Tak Bai crackdown.
In 24 hours, there were six separate armed assaults in Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Songkhla.
In Narathiwat, assailants killed two state railway employees in the early morning in Sungai Padi district, said Colonel Toem Intasara, the local police chief.
Amporn Padungyart, 55, and Yaya Panpakdi, 48, died from multiple gunshot wounds, Toem said. Investigators found five spent casings from a shotgun and an 11-mm pistol at the scene. The two were inspecting the railway at a remote area before the deadly assault.
Amporn’s body was later run over by a train, while Yaya’s body was found lying intact between the tracks.
Thanongsak Pongprasert, regional chief for train traffic, said he had asked for increased security at the Sungai Padi train station and protection for maintenance workers in the field.
In Pattani, two assailants killed Jehasae Jehma, 61, a former kamnan and orchard owner, in Yaring district. He died from three gunshot wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen.
Witnesses told police they heard five gunshots before catching a glimpse of the backs of two men fleeing the scene on a motorcycle.
The attack happened at the entrance of the victim’s orchard located near a local road.
A provincial police officer, Major Kaow Kosaiyakanont, 53, was killed instantly after being shot in the head at his grocery store in the town of Yala.
Two men were seen fleeing the scene, said General Boonphen Bumphenboon, deputy national police chief.
In another Yala attack, lubricant salesman Thaweesak Monthong, 42, was killed by an unidentified gunman riding pillion on a motorcycle. Thaweesak’s colleague Banlue Payontrat, 42, was shot in the leg.
In Songkhla, Buddhist monk Phra Nikorn Kaewpradit, 31, was shot by two assailants. He was pronounced dead later in the day at hospital.
The monk was on his way to perform a merit-making ceremony in Chana district when he was attacked.
Two assailants also opened fire on rubber plantation workers, wounding Somnuek Thongkham, 35, in Bannang Sata district in Yala.
The attack appeared to target Buddhist migrant workers from outside the South.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra lashed out at militants for trying to sow terror in the region.
“It is cruel and inhumane. I have received reports about the shooting deaths of two railway workers before leaving their bodies for a train to run over,” the prime minister said.
He said the militants should examine their conscience, saying four or five innocent people were being killed every day for no reason.
He also urged local Muslim leaders to cooperate with his government in addressing their grievances and fighting terrorism.
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