Second victim succumbs to injuries

Minimart owner Khonsan Kudedakeng, 64, died on Thursday night and his body was collected by relatives for an Islamic burial ceremony in Nong Chik district, the source said.

Meanwhile, a remedial centre for those affected by Tuesday’s attack is collecting claims and has organised a ceremony to confer Bt6.4 million assistance money to 37 people, centre head Arun Thongkhao said. 

Previously, the centre provided some Bt700,000 to aid the families of the dead and injured. He said there were a total of 68 people affected and damages were estimated at Bt30 million.

The car bomb attack at the Southern View Pattani Hotel took place only 10 days after a spate of bomb and arson attacks in Prachuap Khiri Khan and six upper southern provinces, which killed four and injured more than 30 others, including foreigners. 

The government and police have been denying links between Tuesday’s hotel bombings in Pattani and the earlier Mother’s Day bombings. 

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan revealed that a forward command committee will be set up to solve the issues in the deep South. It will probably comprise 10 members. Prawit said that on his planned August 29 visit to Malaysia he would discuss border fence construction and issues concerning people with double nationality. He would not discuss in this trip the Malaysia-brokered peace dialogue with separatists because he said the matter was the responsibility of the leader of the Thai team, General Aksara Kerdphol.

Dr Udomkiat Pulsawat is director of Pattani’s Khok Pho Hospital where a bomb went off on May 28, 2014, resulting in 10 injuries. He said: “The first no-injury bombing [at the Pattani hotel’s parking lot] was to lure people out and they gathered near the ambulance assuming it came to pick up anyone wounded, hence the many casualties. This is cruel.” An ambulance was used as a car bomb in Tuesday’s explosion.

He said that agencies and those responsible for tacking problems in the deep South must think outside the box to prevent violence and solve problems as international rules of war, such as not using public health agencies, seemed not to apply here. 

Dr Boonrat Prapanwong, director of Joh I Rong Hospital in Narathiwat, which was seized by insurgents who aimed to attack a nearby military outpost, said the hospital beefed up security since the incident and they made sure that hospital vehicles were only used when necessary.

The hospital also required visitors’ cars to drop off patients and park outside the compound, while more security cameras were being installed to back up security officers.