Picture courtesy of Daily News.

 

Police in Yala province are investigating the attempted murder of a village headman who was shot and seriously wounded late on 11 August while purchasing durians. The attack bears chilling similarities to the fatal shooting of his father in the same month last year.

 

The victim, Mr Ahamah Mahni, headman of Village 3 in Khuean Bang Lang subdistrict, Bannang Sata district, was at a durian buying stall in Banang Sareng subdistrict, Mueang Yala, when gunmen opened fire from nearby scrubland. One bullet struck him in the back, causing him to collapse.

 

Local residents rushed him to Yala Regional Hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery. His condition is reported as critical.

 

On 12 August, explosive ordnance disposal officers, forensic police and a joint task force inspected the scene. Several vehicles, including an Isuzu MU-X and multiple motorcycles, were parked at the stall and investigators collected evidence in an effort to identify the perpetrators.

 

Police are probing whether the shooting was motivated by personal conflict or linked to the ongoing unrest in the region. Investigators are also examining possible connections to the murder of Mr Ahamah’s father, Mr Muli Mahni, a durian trader who was gunned down alongside Mr Prakit Klomsard on 21 August 2024 in Ban Sai Kaeo, Taling Chan subdistrict, Bannang Sata.

 

Authorities say they are treating the case as a priority and are working to determine whether both attacks were carried out by the same group.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Daily News 2025-08-13

 

 

 

He wanted a durian. That's all. A simple transaction under a bruised sky. But in this village, the fruit is always rotten, and the deals are always deadly. They say the village headman was a man of some clout, a man who knew the angles. But he didn't see this one coming. A slug from a .38, delivered with the same cold indifference as a parking ticket.
He's in the hospital now, trading the promise of sweet fruit for the sterile scent of antiseptic. Another victim in a village that eats its own, one bullet at a time. The papers will call it an attempted murder. I call it a damn shame. A man can lose his life over a woman, a gambling debt, a crooked deal. But a durian? That's a new low, even for this village. It makes you wonder what's really worth living for. If a spiky fruit can get you shot, what hope is there for the rest of us?