YALA -- A village security team member and his wife were shot dead at a rubber plantation in Raman district early on Monday, police said.
Pol Capt Chamnong Kaewpimol, the duty officer at Raman police station, said Ma-ae Limada-i, 58, and his wife Bido left their house about 5.30am to tap latex at a plantation near the village.
When they had not returned home by 8am, their relatives went to the plantation to fetch them as it was time for Ma-ae to go on security duty at the village school. Instead they found them lying dead there.
Ma-ae and his wife had been shot many times, in the head and body, with an M16 rifle and a 9mm pistol. Many empty bullet cases were found at the scene.
Police believed at least two attackers had hidden in the rubber plantation, waiting to kill them. They blamed insurgents, pointing out that the couple's son is also a defence volunteer in Raman district.