The wife of Chit Thammarat consoles her daughter yesterday after being told by police that her husband had been murdered. Two teenagers riding a motorbike attacked Chit with a machete, almost decapitating him. He died on the way to the hospital.

Five men were killed separately on Wednesday, with one almost decapitated in a machete attack, in the latest acts of bloodshed in the three southernmost provinces.

Chit Thammarat, 62, was riding a motorbike in the Mae Lan district of Pattani when another bike carrying two young men approached. Chit was slashed in the throat by a machete before the attackers sped away. His head nearly fell from his body and he died on the way to the hospital, police said.

Chit had been on his way to buy ice for his food stall. Officials suspect Muslim militants were behind the attack on Chit, who survived an attack by gunmen last year.

Late on Wednesday night, deputy village headman Mahama-rorsuedee Yair, 42, was shot dead at his home in Pattani's Sai Buri district and his neighbour, Dr Maleh Weng, was killed at his house around the same time.

Pattani Governor Panu Uthairat said yesterday morning that police had already gathered information on some of the suspected attackers.

He said the evidence was strong enough that they would be able to make arrests in the cases soon.

In the neighbouring province of Yala, Hama Kuno, 58, a canvasser for a Thai Rak Thai parliamentary candidate, was found dead in his house in Muang district.

Police said an unknown number of gunmen hid near his house and opened fire  as Hama walked to an outside toilet.

Around the same time in Yala's Raman district, Doha Dayeesor, 48, was found dead in a roadside forest, riddled with bullets.

Officials said Doha left his house after taking a telephone call and an unknown number of gunmen shot him in his head and body using M-16 and AK-47 rifles.

The police suspect the motives were personal but did not rule out a terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, Rin Kongchoo-duang, headmaster of Cho Kroh School in Songkhla's Saba Yoi district, said yesterday he expected the number of students enrolling at the school for the new semester to fall due to parents' fear of violence.

Parents were likely to move their children to schools elsewhere, Rin said. "I cannot tell the exact number of students right now. We must wait until the school reopens on May 16. But parents have been moving their kids out of the area so they won't be affected by the violence," said Rin.

On February 9, Ban Cho Kroh villagers surrounded the school to protest the arrest of the village's imam, Abdulpadi Ari.

The villagers eventually locked 35 teachers in a room. After hours of intense negotiations, Abdulpadi was released and the teachers set free.

The incident increased teachers' fears for their own safety. Rin said they agreed to continue teaching at the school only as long as he remained.

If the headmaster chose to leave, the rest of the teaching body would apply to be moved out as well, he said.

The Nation

Pattani