YALA - Three local residents were shot and their pickup truck stolen by a group of armed men wearing police-style uniforms on a village road in Muang district on Tuesday night.
One of the three wounded passengers was also believed to have been abducted.
The holdup occurred on Thung Kha-Seekhong Road in tambon Lammai, and was reported to police about 9pm.
Thongchai Khemphet and Jeerasak Charnprakop were found lying wounded on the road when a combined team of police, soldiers and volunteers arrived at the scene. They were rushed to a nearby hospital.
The third person in the pickup, Adisorn Sukhakhern, was missing, and was believed to have been forced back into the black pickup by their attackers before they fled in the stolen vehicle.
The three friends were on their way to Lammai market when a group of 7-8 men clad in black, some carrying rifles and traffic batons, stopped their vehicle at a temporary road checkpoint.
They forced them to get out of the pickup and stand in front of the vehicle. At this point the men opened fire at them and then drove off in the car with Mr Adisorn. The other two passengers had tried to flee but received head wounds.
Despite an extensive search covering a radius of 20km from the scene, Mr Adisorn was still missing when forensic experts examined the scene on Wednesday morning. They found extensive blood stains on the road, which is bordered by a rubber plantation, and several spent M16 and 9mm bullet cartridges.
The search was continuing, but it was feared Mr Adisorn was dead.
Bomb disposal officers inspect the robbery scene on Wednesday morning. Blood still stained the road and several spent M16 and 9mm bullet cartridges were found there. (Photo by Maluding Deeto)
