300 police posted at Klong Toei market to keep the peace

The latest victim is Pol Lt Col Kittipong Suwan, a deputy superintendent from Wat Phrayakrai Police Station.

"I was assigned to ensure safety at the market and to supervise the transportation of boxes from a stall to the Tha Rua police station," Kittipong said.

But around 2am yesterday, someone blew a whistle and the light suddenly went out. The policeman was nearly shot.

"A bullet scraped past my left arm," he said, "I saw that the gunman was wearing red."

Kittipong shouted for his subordinates to catch the gunman but he got away on foot.

The shooting took place despite 150 police at the market.

About 50 robust men from Legal Professional Company, which has won a concession to manage the market from the Port Authority of Thailand, stood by the police when the gunman pulled the trigger.

The company's security guards have clashed with vendors many times.

In March, two of the vendors' security guards were shot dead.

The company says some of the vendors have refused to pay rent, but the vendors say the company has charged rental fees that are too high.

In the face of their boiling conflicts, police have been dispatched to keep watch on the fresh market, which is in the heart of Bangkok.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lt General Worapong Chiewpreecha said yesterday their presence could only deter violence.

"It's high time for parties in the conflict to tackle the root cause of the problem," he said.

Legal Professional chairman Thammanas Promphao said yesterday he would rely on legal action to deal with the protesting vendors.

"We have tried to talk to them many times before but our efforts have been fruitless."

He insisted that just 24 out of at least 3,000 vendors had caused the problems.

However, Fish vendor Yupa Umpetch said more than 400 vendors in the market were unhappy with the company's "harsh" actions.

"Why does it have to bully vendors who have been earning their living through honest means?" she asked.

With the conflict dragging on for months, Worapong yesterday doubled the number of police near the vendors' protest site from 150 to 300.

"They will keep close watch on the site. Searches will be regularly conducted to check if anyone is carrying weapons," he said.

The police chief said if any violence broke out at the Khlong Toei market, riot police would be able to control the situation within half an hour.

Meanwhile, investigations are continuing to try to identify the man who shot at Kittipong early yesterday.