Published on September 28, 2005 - A senior police officer in charge of the five southernmost provinces yesterday dismissed accusations that a government death squad was behind last week’s fatal shooting at a teashop in Narathiwat province, which prompted a hostage drama and the brutal killing of two marines.

Lt-General Wirayuth Sithimalik, deputy commissioner of the Ninth Police Region, said physical evidence from the crime scene showed that Muslim separatists were behind the attacks that killed two villagers and injured four others in Ban Tanyonglimo.

“I can conclude that the culprits planned this out thoroughly. Regarding suggestions that the authorities were behind the attacks, you can toss that out,” Wirayuth said.

The AK-47 assault rifle that was used at the teashop was the same one used in two previous attacks in the restive region, he said. However, he did not explain how such a conclusion could be reached since no weapons were confiscated.

Villagers at Ban Tanyonglimo gave a different account of the shooting.

They said the two marines were taken hostage shortly after hooded gunmen in dark outfits drove up to the teashop in a white pickup truck and unleashed a volley of gunshots.

One villager said the customers at the teashop saw the gunmen and believed they were members of a death squad from one of the security agencies.

The chief of Rangae district and the district permanent secretary, the first two government officials at the scene, were told that the two marines would be released if the authorities tracked down the gunmen and a committee was set up to investigate the incident.

They also called on the authorities to permit foreign media, preferably Malaysians, to enter the village to report the incident.

Hundreds of women and children blocked the entrance to the village until their demands were met.

But as the hostage drama unfolded and the marines were found to have been beaten to death, the villagers found themselves implicated in the deaths and accused of obstructing justice.