Monday, May 16, 2011

Thai Election 2011 (part 4)

The Royal Thai Police yesterday issued the list of gunmen they believe are most likely to cause trouble ahead of the July 3 election. The 112 include 43 hitmen whose names are new to the list, as well as those from previous years who have yet to be caught. The list was issued as part of measures to curb political violence ahead of the election.

The list has been distributed across the country to crack down on the gunmen and ensure influential people do not support or protect them.

Last Tuesday, former Pheu Thai MP for Samut Prakan Pracha Prasopdee was injured when a man shot at his car in the province's Phra Pradaeng district . Deputy national police chief Panupong Singhara Na Ayutthaya said yesterday political conflict is heating up with the use of violence and weapons to get rid of political rivals. He said most violence stems from conflicts among candidates in fiercely contested areas, such as Samut Prakan. Pol Gen Panupong said a centre to manage violent incidents has been set up to crack down on hitmen on the blacklist to prevent them from committing politically-related crimes.

Police have blacklisted 112 professional hitmen across the country. They also have details of another 126 new hitmen who have just joined the criminal underworld. Police have also blacklisted people suspected of supporting these hitmen, Pol Gen Panupong said. In 2005, police arrested 25 hitmen or about 50% of those on their blacklist.  In 2006, 18 hitmen were arrested (36%). The next year, seven of 31 hitmen (8%) on the police blacklist were captured.

This year, 50 hitmen are wanted on arrest warrants. Six of them have been arrested. One has died. The remaining 43 are still at large, Pol Gen Panupong said. A police source said the six gunmen who have been arrested are Paisarn Pangleng, Narong Hemdecho, Wutthichai Maspin, Sawaeng Suwanwong, Somjit Paedsura, and Paisarn Klatae. A 100,000 baht cash reward will be offered to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of each hitman on this year's blacklist.

Among the wanted hitmen are Sgt Somchai Bunnag and Sgt Maj Panya Srihera, the hitmen accused of attacking Sondhi Limthongkul, People's Alliance for Democracy leader, in 2009. The lists of the wanted hitmen can be seen at gunman.police.go.th. A reward of 50,000 baht will be given to anyone providing tips leading to the arrest of hitmen named in previous blacklists, Pol Gen Panupong said. The lists have been distributed to police across the country. "We are not waiting to respond to the crime," Pol Gen Panupong said. Police would visit areas of intense political rivalry and act as go-betweens for rival politicians to clear the air. Officers would also crack down on hitmen on arrest warrants.

Pol Gen Panupong said police are also keeping a close watch on some provinces in the central region, in the North and the Northeast where intense competition between candidates is expected. However, Pol Gen Panupong said there is no evidence to suggest that any of the hitmen on the police blacklist were involved in the shooting of Mr Pracha. Meanwhile, Pol Maj Gen Kamronwit Thoopkrachang, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 1, yesterday met Mr Pracha at Praram 9 Hospital to ask him to provide further details of the attempt on his life. Investigators handling the case will meet tomorrow to discuss how to proceed with it.
A source said a witness has fled for fear of attack by Mr Pracha's rivals if he gives information to police.

(Courtesy of Bangkok Post)

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