NARATHIWAT: A wild-plant collector was shot dead and his companion wounded in an attack by two armed men who made off with the victims’ homemade guns in Rangae district of this southern province on Saturday morning.
The body of Thanom Suksathan, 42, of Rangae district, was found lying in a pool of blood on a local road in tambon Bor Ngo when police and soldiers arrived at the scene, said Pol Lt Col Voravat Chankhumuang, investigation chief at the Rangae police station, who was alerted at 10am.
Thanom had been shot in the head and body. Three spent M16 cartridges were found on the road.
Charan Muangmun, 43, who was injured in the attack, told police he was driving a motorcycle with Thanom riding pillion at the time. They were going to gather forest products and hunt wild animals nearby when two armed men emerged from the roadside trees and opened fire.
Two bullets were fired, one hitting Thanom in the back and the other glancing off his chin, said Mr Charan. The shooting sent the motorbike veering into a ditch, and Mr Charan fled into the forest to seek safety.
The two men then walked towards Thanom and fired at his head at a close range. They dragged the bike to the middle of the road and were going to set it on fire but changed their minds after they saw local residents riding nearby. The attackers fled with two homemade guns belonging to their victims, said Mr Charan.
Police said they believed the attack might be related to the ongoing southern unrest.
Officers gather evidence at the scene of the attack that killed Thanom Suksathan in Rangae district of Narathiwat. (Waedao Harai)
(Photo by Waedao Harai)