Wednesday, June 06, 2007

[Thai] Police arrest Muslim Cambodians enroute to Thai south

SA KAEO, June 6 (TNA) – Thai police nabbed 51 Cambodians for illegally entering Thailand on Wednesday, including eight Muslims en route to the violence-plagued southern border provinces.

Thai Army Rangers and provincial police arrested 48 Cambodians in the eastern province of Sa Kaeo, bordering Cambodia, at highway checkpoints there, while threemore Khmers were detained at the Aranyaprathet border crossing.

Of those arrested, eight are Muslims, traveling from Cambodia's Kampong Cham, who said they planned to go to Thailand's three southern border provinces to seek employment.

They told police that each paid 5,000 baht to middlemen to travel to work in Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat.

The police are questioning them on suspicion of having a connection with Muslim insurgents in Thailand's restive south.

Three other Cambodians were arrested at the Aranyaprathet border check point. The trio carried fake border pass documents, and confessed to buying the counterfeit papers from a Cambodian in Poipet. They said they intended to work in Thailand's southern border provinces.

Thai Supreme Commander Gen. Boonsang Niempradit conceded last month that the Thai authorities were investigating claims that Cambodian Muslims who entered Thailand were allegedly linked to insurgents operating the country's southernmost provinces.

The supreme commander, however, insisted that Thailand and Cambodia had no dispute over this issue.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

If there are any Ah Khmer-Yuons
among the accused, just throw
their asses in jail. Don't waste
time to investigate. They are
guilty beyond any doubt.