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| Southeast Asia |
| Two school officials, two soldiers injured by bomb in southern Thailand |
| 2012-09-25 |
| Two school directors and two soldiers were injured in a bomb explosion at a school in Narathiwat province yesterday morning. The bomb went off about 9:40 a.m. at a pavilion at the entrance of Batu Mitrapap 66 School. The explosion wounded Kordae Laemaenae, director of the school, Ma Durama, director of Bunae Piyae School, and Pvt Wattana Sridej and Pvt Panuwat Chinrak, both from Narathiwat Task Force 32. Police said the bomb was homemade, weighed about 5 kg. and was packed inside a metal box. The school was preparing a meeting of school directors when the bomb went off. The injured were talking at the pavilion when the bomb, hidden under a marble table where they were sitting, was remotely detonated by mobile phone. Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday said the army was ready to comply if the emergency decree now imposed in the three southern border provinces was lifted, but doing this would weaken law enforcement by authorities. Gen Prayuth was responding to a comment by Lt Gen Paradorn Pattanathabutr, who had earlier said he would ask security officials to lift the decree imposed in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. Gen Prayuth said if the special law was revoked, security officers would need to seek a court warrant to make an arrest or conduct a search; would no longer have the power to detain suspects; and could have difficulty examining evidence. He added that it would be easy for culprits to escape unpunished as well. Meanwhile, the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center plans to buy the deserted Chang Lee Hotel in downtown Yala for 167 million baht to turn it into a center for government offices. The hotel has remained unused since a 2007 bombing there. |
| Posted by:ryuge |