The Border Patrol Police (BPP) commissioner travelled to Yala on Saturday to examine the case in which a gunman, who had earlier shot dead a village chief, was killed by the authorities in an exchange of gunfire at tambon Tanoh Puteh in Bannang Sata district of Yala.
Abdullateh Yaba, 49, was shot dead by a gunman riding pillion on a motorbike outside a mosque after in Ban Kalang Saturday afternoon.
Security officers caught up with the men in a local village. One of them ran behind a house and shot at the officers, who returned fire, killing him instantly. The other man fled. The body of the gunman was identified as Abadi Sa-eh, 30. A 9mm pistol was retrieved near the body.
Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang, the BPP chief, took a flight to the district to check on the probe. He said it was treated as an important security case as the gunman may have been involved in a local drug trafficking network.
A security source said Abadi was a member of the RKK insurgent group based in Krong Pinang district. He was arrested earlier under the emergency decree in Yala but later released.
