Narathiwat Bans Malaysian Sim Cards

[george]

SOUTHERN UNREST: Narathiwat bans M’sian SIM cards

Move follows authorities’ failure to halt mobile-phone detonated bombs attacks

NARATHIWAT: -- Narathiwat Governor Pracha Therat yesterday ordered a ban on mobile-phone SIM cards from Malaysia in the restive south after authorities found that a bomb in Sungai Kolok district on November 20, was detonated by mobile phone, despite official efforts to stymie such attacks.

The governor immediately banned all telephone outlets in the province from selling SIM cards for imported cell phones.

The authorities have failed to block militants from using mobile phones to detonate explosions, although they have restricted the use of pre-paid mobile-phone services and cut the signals of users who failed to give their names to phone operators.

The explosion in Sungai Kolok injured 12 people, including three police officers, was detonated by a mobile phone which used a pre-paid SIM card from Malaysia.

Mobile phones with pre-paid SIM cards from Malaysia are widely used in the border district of Sungai Kolok as network coverage is available there. International roaming is unnecessary.

Cell-phone-detonated explosions remain a major concern as authorities have no effective means to control the deadly practise after phone registration did not work.

Interior Minister Khongsak Wantana said he would consult the Information, Communication and Telecommunication Ministry about blocking Malaysia’s telephone network in border areas. The authorities will also explore other methods to stymie remote control bombs, he said.

Meanwhile, violence continued unabated in the restive south, resulting in two more deaths and one person critically injured.

In Rusoh district of Narathiwat, a secretary to the chief of Khoksatoh tambon’s administrative organisation, Magoree Chebaga, 34, and a construction technician, Virat Sukchan, 33, were shot dead by suspected militants.

Police reported that the two were riding motorcycles separately on Batong-Khoksatoh Road in Rusoh district when two gunmen riding on a motorcycle approached them from behind and opened fire. Both died at a local hospital.

Also in Narathiwat, a construction worker Annop Khaopan, 20, was shot twice in his stomach and was admitted to a local hospital in Yarang district. Annop was working on a construction site when two gunmen riding a motorcycle shot him with a 9 mm pistol before speeding away.

More than 1,000 people have been killed since unrest broke out in January 2004 in the three Muslim-majority provinces.

--The Nation 2005-11-30

[britmaveric]

Hmmm that should help!!!

[kenk3z]

Ulp! No way they could smuggle in something as small as a Malaysian SIM card.

kenk3z

[tuky]

They need to deal with this in a different way, there is no way to stop this from happening without cutting off the whole mobile service in the region. C'mon guys look for the root cause, not just explainations. 4X100, Malay sims just does not cut it.