Car, motorcycle businesses in troubled south get added security
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District chiefs and security authorities in Yala have deployed additional guards after armed men torched a car dealership belonging to a senator in Pattani on Wednesday.
Yala Governor Dejrat Simsiri said he has instructed the chiefs of eight districts in the province to increase security following the torching, particularly in the car and motorcycle sector, in Yala municipality and in the province.
Deputy Prime Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapha said after the Pattani incident that the insurgents were now targeting businesses because they were unable to attack wellsecured government offices in the region. However, he added that it has not been confirmed that they have changed their tactics or targets.
Around 10 people wearing hoods stormed into the dealership at about 3am on Wednesday and forced the security guard to lay down on the floor. They then set fire to the cars. It was a fiveminute operation, but it took firefighters more than two hours to get the blaze under control.
The owner of the Honda showroom in Pattani that was torched, destroying 15 cars and doing about Bt20 million in damage, is Pattani Senator Anusart Suwanmongkol. He also owns the CS Pattani Hotel, which has been attacked on a number of occasions.
Yala governor said Anusart has a branch of his car business in Yala; Pattani Charoen Trading (1972) selling Isuzu cars. “Security volunteers are now deployed to provide security for Khun Anusart’s Isuzu showrooms to prevent a reoccurrence of the Pattani attack,” the governor said.
