Marine abducted in Narathiwat found executed gangland-style

The marine snatched from his house in Narathiwat’s Rusoh district on Monday was discovered dead in Bacho district yesterday morning with his hands tied and his body shot several times.
Police have linked the abduction and killing of Private Ma-ela Tohlu, 24, to the February 13 attack on a military outpost in Ba Cho district of the province in which 16 suspected insurgents were killed. The troops had reportedly been tipped off by an informant about the raid.
The body of Ma-ela was lying beside a village road in Tambon Palukasamor, police said, adding that a white cable similar to the one used to bind Ma-ela’s wrists was also found in the February 13 incident.
His wife, Dareesoh Sorpee, had told police that eight armed men in military-style uniforms led Ma-ela away at gunpoint while he was on vacation at home.
Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat offered condolences to Ma-ela’s family and vowed to “respond to the malicious persons’ action with ‘an eye for an eye’”.
Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha urged security officials to exercise caution and employ self-defence measures, while declining to conclude that Ma-ela’s death was an act of retaliation.
Although authorities tried to avoid enforcing the emergency decree for fear of triggering more bloodshed, if the situation worsened, they would have to strictly implement more measures, he added. Nowadays, they just used the decree for search and arrest missions.
Paradorn Pattanatabut, secretary-general of the National Security Council (NSC), said the abduction and murder of Ma-ela wasn’t intended as a slap in the face of Thai authorities because there were still differences in ideologies among the separatist groups.
The peace talks had just begun, so time was needed to see results. The dialogue would continue on April 28, when the Thai team would be cut from 15 to nine members.
PM Yingluck Shinawatra urged the public not to link the ongoing southern violence to the NSC’s recent meeting with rebels held in Malaysia. It was still at an early stage of creating mutual trust after years of suspicion by both sides – not negotiations yet.
In Narathiwat, police yesterday inspected the scene where suspected insurgents launched a M79 grenade at the Cha Nae district office on Tuesday night but missed the target, possibly due to inexperience.
Officials cleared out bushes around the office to prevent anyone hiding behind them to fire grenades.
Ahead of Songkran next week, shopping malls in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district are beefing up security measures, including making all drivers scan their ID cards before parking, and putting up posters showing seven dangerous insurgents who might carry out violent attacks.