Article 89

Rebels wound policeman, village head

Dogs slain, bid to lay ambush trap likely

POST REPORTERS

A policeman and a village headman were wounded in separate gun attacks in Pattani and Narathiwat yesterday.

In Pattani, Pol Sgt-Maj Vinai Saengsuthat, 39, of Ratapanyang police station in Yaring district, was attacked while riding a motorcycle to work.

He was travelling near Burjuerang village in Muang district when one of two men following him on another motorcycle fired two shots from an AK-47 rifle, hitting his arm and mobile phone.

The injured officer continued on his motorcycle about 500 metres to a school, from where he was rushed to hospital.

In Narathiwat, Arong Taye, 45, head of Village Group 4 in Muang district's tambon Bang Po, was returning home on his motorcycle along Narathiwat-Sungai Padi road when four men on two motorcycles began following him.

The pillion rider of the second motorcycle fired four shots at him with an 11mm pistol before fleeing. Mr Arong was seriously wounded.

Elsewhere in Narathiwat, about 10 dogs were poisoned and died in what was believed to be the work of separatists hoping to lure police to investigate the deaths and then ambush them.

An anonymous caller phoned local police late at night to report the dog deaths in Tak Bai district.

Similar calls were made on three consecutive nights, said a source, but police chose to inspect the scenes in the morning.

Leaflets were also distributed in Tak Bai district asking locals to stop giving police information.

The leaflets also warned people not to go to places where police were gathered as they might be killed or injured by bombs.

Pol Col Kamol Pothiyop, acting Narathiwat police chief, said he had ordered police stations in 13 districts to increase security for police booths and checkpoints following reports that separatists planned attack on police to get cash rewards being offers for killing state officials.

Meanwhile, 43 schools in Pattani's Nong Chik district have been closed as local teachers were worried for their safety following the shooting of a local deputy principal on Wednesday.

Kowit Suebpradit, 40, was shot four times by motorcycle gunmen while he was riding his motorcycle to school in the morning. He was seriously injured but his condition was stable.

Chien Sriruang, director of Pattani's education zone 2, said after a meeting of local school executives yesterday that all the schools would reopen on Monday.

Prasert Rujira, principal of Ban Koh Poh School where Mr Kowit worked, said school executives decided to suspend classes pending discussions with authorities on protection for teachers in the deep South.