Isoc denies arrest of van driver traumatised children

Isoc denies arrest of van driver traumatised children

Students arrive at their school in Than To district of Yala on Friday following the arrest of the driver of a school van the day before. (Photo by Abulloh Benjakat)
Students arrive at their school in Than To district of Yala on Friday following the arrest of the driver of a school van the day before. (Photo by Abulloh Benjakat)

Security authorities have defended the way they handled the arrest of a school van driver in Yala, saying their actions did not cause panic among children as claimed.

A spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) on Saturday discussed the incident in which officers arrested Arlee Yiman at a security checkpoint in Than To district on Thursday.

The agency had reviewed the incident and found that border patrol police had set up a checkpoint in front of Wat Ban Bohin on Thursday to conduct random searches for illicit drugs, said Col Thanawee Suwannarat, a deputy spokesman for Isoc Region 4.

When the school van arrived at the checkpoint at around 3.30pm, the officers asked the driver to show them his driving licence or ID. After they examined the card, they found that the driver was wanted under the emergency decree, said Col Thanawee.

The officers told the van driver they would take him to the Than To police station. As they saw 26 young pupils and a teacher inside the van, they asked him to drive all the students home and to take the teacher to Sutthisartwitthaya School.

The officers later took Mr Arlee to the police station. He was later placed in military custody for interrogation. Further details were not given.

None of the students were panicked or cried as reported, said the Isoc deputy spokesman.

Security officers and local officials were later sent to explain the incident to students’ parents, teachers and local residents in a bid to create better understanding, said Col Thanawee.

He made the comments in response to media reports that teachers were unhappy about the way authorities handled the situation, given that the driver was in charge of a van full of children at the time.

One teacher told reporters earlier that the operation caused panic among the youngsters in the van, and some began crying.

Panic-stricken children returned home telling their parents they dared not go back to school. Teachers and the school director gathered at the Than To district office later on Thursday, calling for military authorities to explain the incident.

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