Article 61

Ponoh official takes blame for murder

Islamic school was `lax' in treatment of student before he was charged for murdering Pattani judge Rapin Ruankaew

By Post reporters

Chairman of the Pattani Islamic Committee Waedueramae Mamingji says his Triam Seuksa Witthaya school, a ponoh school, is also to blame for the Friday murder of a judge as one of the three accused gunmen is its student.

Police arrested suspect Abdullah Pahsee, 20, at his dormitory _ a hut _ at the school located in Pattani's Muang district on Friday evening. They believe he took part in the murder of Rapin Ruankaew, 37, a Pattani provincial court judge, at an intersection in downtown Pattani in the morning.

The police seized from him a 9mm pistol and a bullet.

Police Region 9 deputy chief Thani Thawichsri said Mr Abdullah had confessed to killing the judge, along with Abdul Kama and Ibrohim Mamah, who are still at large.

Mr Abdullah said an unidentified ustaz _ Islamic religious teacher _ wanted him to liberate Muslim-dominated southern provinces from the Thai kingdom and urged him to kill police, soldiers and government officials.

Mr Waedueramae said he was sorry and hurt that his student was a murderer.

``He killed a judge. I am the Pattani Islamic Committee chairman. How can I hide myself from all these shames?'' he said. Mr Waedueramae admitted security measures at his school were lax and that he himself also was negligent.

He said Mr Abdullah had graduated since 2002 but was allowed to stay at the school. Mr Waedueramae said the school would step up security at its gate and check the records of its 1,000 students, 200 of whom are in school dormitories, and examine the backgrounds of 60 Islamic religious teachers.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said troubles in the South kept erupting partly because authorities had not checked if Islamic schools were breaking any rules.

Mr Thaksin said many Islamic religious teachers strongly believed in segregation and passed those beliefs on to their students.

``They made those children harm state authorities and the people who help them, so no one will want to be on the same side as the government,'' he said.

Mr Thaksin asked the public to be patient as ending the violence in the South was not easy.

Authorities had to be careful not to act in a way that could be seen as a violation of the constitution.

He expressed his condolences to the family of Mr Rapin and promised full protection for the late judge's wife, Duangnapa, who is also a judge working in Pattani.

Pattani court chief Justice Chamras Phetsuwan said all 11 judges in the troubled provinces now carried guns for self-protection.

Charan Pakdeethanakul, secretary-general of the supreme court president, said he was worried about Betong court in Yala, which was in a remote spot and could be targeted.

``Everybody there now wants to move elsewhere,'' Mr Charan said