Article 65

Man shot dead, bomb defused

Yala _ Police yesterday defused a home-made bomb placed under a traffic police box in the town of Betong, while in Pattani a former village chief was shot dead by two assailants in Nong Chik district.

Police said the two attackers came on a motorcycle and one of them fired three shots at Praeng Pinlamai, 73, former headman of Ban Nam Dam of tambon Pulo Puyo, who was walking home on Nong Chik-Yarang road.

Police said the bomb in Betong was made of a PVC pipe stuffed with about 1kg of urea fertiliser and power gel explosive, connected to a fuse and a mobile phone circuit panel with a SIM card.

It was hidden inside a traffic cone which was placed under the police box at Lian Yu intersection on Sukhayang road in Betong municipality, but was noticed by passers-by before it could explode.

A bomb squad from Border Patrol Police Unit 445 defused the explosive. Police believed the bomber intended to kill police who reported for traffic duty.

They also say unidentified men have been gathering information on the home addresses and regular travel routes of high-level officials. The killing of a judge in Pattani on Friday confirmed fears that Muslim dissidents were targeting high level officials, sources said.