Yala police "purged" after an orgy of bomb attacks for three running days
A spate of more than 30 bomb blasts in Yala’s municipal area from May 14 until May 16 has led to the purge of several senior police officers in this restive southern province.
On Sunday May 17 after three last bombs rocked the township, Pol Gen Somyot Pumpunmuang, the national police chief, ordered the abrupt removal of Pol Maj-Gen Thanongsak Wangsupa, the commander of the provincial police, to be attached to the operations centre of the National Police Office with his position scrapped.
The national police chief then appointed Pol Maj-Gen Somsak Chanthaping, deputy commissioner of the operations centre of southern border provinces, as the acting commander of Yala provincial police replacing Pol Maj-Gen Thanlongsak.
One day afterward, Pol Lt-Gen Anurut Krisanakaraket, commissioner of the operations centre of southern border provinces, ordered the transfer of four senior Yala police officers to the centre with immediate effect.
The four axed police officers were Pol Col Chamlong Suvalak, the superintendent of the Yala provincial police; Pol Col Sutthiveth Bunyarataklin, investigative superintendent of Yala provincial police; Pol Lt-Col Sopon Saisuree, deputy suppression superintendent of the provincial police; and Pol Lt-Col Chulachai Saengkul, deputy investigative superintendent of the provincial police.
In the meantime, four police officers were appointed to fill in the four axed police officers’ posts on acting capacity. The four appointees were Pol Col Prayong Kotesakha, the enquiry superintendent; Pol Col Surapong Chartsut, superintendent of Tanyong district police; Pol Lt-Col Prompattana Sanitsri, deputy suppression superintendent; and Pol Lt-Col Supachai Yeewanggong, deputy suppression superintendent of Bukaeta police.
Police reported that there were altogether 38 bomb explosions at 36 spots in Yala’s municipal area for three consecutive days from May 14-16 injuring 21 people. Eleven more bombs were destroyed.
The latest targets were the Racha furniture store at the junction of Na Nakhon and Siroros roads and behind the toilet of a clinic of Dr Nongluck.
It was the second time within year that Racha furniture store was struck by bombs. The first bomb attack took place on April 6 last year. Later on the store was relocated to a new site which was just the opposite of the first store.
In the second attack on May 16, the store was completely burned. It was not known whether the owner would still carry on with the business or not.
Police said that the bombs used in the multiple attacks were pipe bombs and pingpong bombs and they were intended to cause chaos rather than to kill or maim.
Lt-Gen Prakarn Cholayuth, commander of the 4th army region, has offered two theories to explain the bomb blasts. The first theory was that the bomb attacks were a retaliation of militants against the crackdown campaign launched by security forces against militant groups resulting to the death of one key militant and the arrest of another.
The second theory was that the spate of attacks was symbolic as most of the targets of attacks were shophouses belonging to Thai Buddhists and ethnic Chinese.
Another theory which could not be overlooked was that the bomb blasts were politically motivated as all the incidents took place before the first anniversary of the May 22 coup in Bangkok.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caption : Bomb blast incidents on three days in Yala