Two Held Over Sompien Killing

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Two held over Sompien killing

By SANTIPHAB RAMASUT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY

SONGKHLA

SONGKHLA: -- Two suspected members of the gang that allegedly killed Police General Sompien Eksomya in an ambush last month were arrested here yesterday.

Zainudin Safaru, 25, and Ismail Muzu, 26, natives of Yala's Bannang Sata district, had been lying low in the southern province. Police raided a teashop in front of Songkhla Rajabhat University yesterday at 2am and apprehended them.

The duo had reportedly changed their names and home addresses and forged identity cards to avoid arrest.

Police said they had confessed to belonging to a group that wanted to create chaos, and had participated in various incidents in the three southernmost provinces.

However, they refused to make any statement or confess to their alleged involvement in the fatal ambush on Sompien.

Nine suspects, including the two arrested men, had twice earlier tried to kill Sompien with explosives, police said.

The police investigation also found that the same group had killed Pol Lieutenant Kittikhun Boonleu and Pol Captain Thoranit Srisuk in 2008.

Sompien, who was known as the "Fighter of Budo Mountain" and "Iron Leg", and was promoted to the rank of police general posthumously, had requested reassignment to Trang province before retiring next year after 40 years in service, but his request was rejected. He went to Government House to seek justice, making national news headlines.

Sompien and Senior Sgt-Major Sophon Intarabovorn died after an ambush on March 12.

-- The Nation 2010-04-04

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