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02-04-2012, 01:37 AM
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Re: Hatyai,Thailand For Sawadee Newbies
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02-04-2012, 09:41 AM
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Hatyai,Thailand For Sawadee Newbies
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02-04-2012, 09:44 AM
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Alert for car bombs in the South
Report from The Nation dated 2 April 2012 :-
Alert for car bombs in the South An alert has gone out about four missing vehicles in Hat Yai, because of fear they may be used in car-bomb attacks, Hat Yai police said yesterday. Local residents have been urged to watch out for a black Honda Civic, a blue Isuzu pickup, a gold Isuzu pickup and a white Toyota Tiger pickup. Hat Yai police, meanwhile, inspected local apartments looking for new arrivals or short-term tenants, who may be insurgents preparing for future attacks. A message spread by journalists and later among Twitter users said there could be three other cars on the police watchlist, bringing the possible total to seven. Licence plate numbers were also provided. A group of insurgents who are Yala locals has been identified as possibly behind the blasts in Yala on Saturday. Police yesterday released photos of Sahudin Tohjehma, a resident from Raman district sought for allegedly leading the group. Security sources said they had also detected links between the suspect and recent shootings of civilians by men dressed in police uniform. Security camera footage shows one of the two bomb-laden cars parked at the scene, before the driver got out and was picked up by a man on a motorbike. Officials and police in Hat Yai are still reviewing the footage and have not released details about possible key assailants and accomplices. A "safe zone" around Ruam Mit Street in Yala will be set up soon to allow vendors and small businesses to continue trading. Police said one of the cars used to carry explosives in Hat Yai, another black Honda Civic, belonged to Thanasorn Kuasuk, a local politician in Narathiwat. It was stolen by gunmen after they shot him dead in an ambush last October. Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapha, speaking yesterday after a meeting of officials from agencies handling national security, said the attacks were prompted by effective suppression of illegal trade and narcotics in the South. The drug-related link was confirmed by the spokesman of the Fourth Army Area, Colonel Pramote Phrom-in. Security has been heightened in two other provinces in the deep South - Narathiwat and Pattani - where no bombs have been set off in recent days. The minister said the blasts in Hat Yai went off before 6pm, as foreign Muslim tourists would hit the streets after that. Songkhla governor Krissada Boonraj admitted security officials were at fault for the bomb attack at the Lee Gardens Hotel and apologised for failing to provide adequate security. New security plans were being worked out to cope with heightened risk, he said. Two people of the three killed in Hat Yai were a married couple - Malaysian Low Tsian Hock and Thai wife Suphaphorn Janchaiyaphum, Hat Yai police said. A large number of Malaysian tourists are lodging complaints with police, to use the complaint paper as evidence to get a temporary pass to return to their home country, as luggage and travel documents were in the Lee Gardens Hotel, which has been closed for entry pending security inspections. The watch at border checkpoints has also been boosted to look for suspicious individuals. A Liberian woman with a 14-year-old son was detained at a checkpoint in Songkhla after the boy was found to have entered Thailand illegally. National police chief Priewpan Damapong, spoke after inspecting the Lee Gardens Hotel yesterday. He said the explosion at the hotel was a car bomb, ending early speculation and that it was a different type of attack to bombs in Yala. An independent analyst who asked not to be named - said the car laden with explosive was parked on level four of the hotel's five-storey underground car park on purpose. He said the attackers wanted to use fuel in more than 100 cars to multiply the blast, to try to weaken the hotel's structure and possibly cause it to collapse. "This has been discussed among a small circle of people, and I don't want to expand this theory further on, as it would benefit the insurgents, who want to basically terrorise anyway," he said. ----- KatoeyNewsNetwork
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02-04-2012, 09:58 AM
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Malaysian couple recounts terror ar basement carpark
Report from The STAR (Malaysia) dated 2 April 2012 :-
Malaysian couple recounts terror ar basement carpark Hooked up to a ventilator and unable to speak, Malaysian Ooi Fook Chuan wrote about his terror when two car bombs ripped through a basement as he and his wife were getting off their car. The blast flung them away, but they were lucky they landed near an air vent and could breathe despite the choking smoke. Meanwhile, Malaysians are fleeing Thailand while those here are calling off planned holidays in the north. Ooi Fook Chuan, 33, was lying in his bed in the ICU of the Rajyindee Hospital here. He could not speak as he was on drips and hooked to a ventilator. But the terror he had witnessed a day earlier was in his eyes and he wrote out his terrifying experience for The Star. He said he was taking out his luggage from his car at Level B2 of the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel when a car bomb went off, flinging him back. His wife Wong Sze Ee, 28, was not as badly affected. She was breathing from an oxygen tank when met in the normal ward. She said there was a blackout in the car park after the explosions and the place was filled with smoke. "I was terrified. I thought this was the end for me. My husband and I hid underneath a staircase. There was an air vent there which supplied us with fresh air from outside. "After shouting for help for about an hour, we heard footsteps from the car park a floor above. We then climbed up the staircase holding a broken metal railing and screamed louder. "Someone spotted us and threw several bottles of mineral water to us, and we were then rescued," said Wong, adding that they might have died from suffocation if they had not been rescued. There is said to be another Malaysian woman in the isolation ward at the same hospital whose identity has yet to be determined at press time. Choo Kok Boon, 46, from Kuala Lumpur, was walking past the outlet with his Thai wife when they were hit by flying glass shards from the glass panels on the outlet which broke. He was warded at the normal ward of the Rajyindee Hospital here for injuries to his head, arms and legs. A couple from Kuala Kedah suffered severe burns. Lew Kim Lai, 39, and his wife Lim Hock Bee, 37, were unable to talk when met at the Songkhlanagarind Hospital. Lew, who had 70 per cent burns all over his body, was in the ICU and on drips while Lim, whose face was badly burnt, was in the normal ward. Two other women from Malacca, K. Sangathala, 33, and Mini Ng, 35, were discharged from the hospital yesterday. Sangathala said she ran out of her room on the 16th floor upon hearing the explosions. The hotel management then told guests to go to the pool area on the 12th floor, she said. "There were about 200 to 300 people gathered by the pool. We waited for two to three hours before we were rescued," said the accounts clerk who was treated for inhaling too much smoke. At least 27 Malaysians were among the 416 people injured. ----- KatoeyNewsNetwork
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02-04-2012, 10:29 AM
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Re: Hatyai,Thailand For Sawadee Newbies
More Hat Yai bombings feared
Published: 1/04/2012 at 09:56 PM Online news: Bangkok Post Security authorities in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district have placed the city on high alert as they search frantically for four vehicles suspected of being rigged for fresh attacks after a car bomb that caused a fire in the city centre a day earlier and left five people killed and hundreds injured. Meanwhile, Police say they have identified the gang they believe planted the bombs in Yala and Hat Yai on Saturday which killed 14 people in total. Hat Yai Police Station’s radio centre on Sunday notified all security units to launch a thorough search of the city for the four vehicles including two Isuzu pickup trucks – one coloured blue and the other bronze metallic - a white Toyota Hilux Tiger pickup and a black Honda Civic sedan, media reports said. All have been stolen. It's believed the vehicles were used as getaway cars after the bombings and police sources said it was likely they would be rigged to stage more attacks in downtown Hat Yai following Saturday’s car bombing at Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel and shopping mall. Police have identified the owner of the car used in the attack at the five-star hotel as Thanasorn Kuasook, ex-deputy chief of Choeng Khiri tambon administration organisation in Narathiwat's Sri Sakhon district. He was killed by suspected militants in his hometown in October last year and his car was stolen, according to authorities. Explosives ordnance disposal and forensic police have collected partial evidence from Thanasorn’s car which was parked in the underground parking floor, level B2, of the 33-storey Lee Gardens. Officials’ can proceed only investigate three of the five underground floors because the air in the area is still filled with gas and has little light. More than 200 owners of cars damaged in the attack have submitted their registration papers to the authorities, reports said. BlueDragonNewsNetwork Last edited by BlueDragon193; 02-04-2012 at 10:49 AM.
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02-04-2012, 10:33 AM
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Steps urged to ease tourists' fears after South attacks
Report from The Nation dated 2 April 2012 :-
Steps urged to ease tourists' fears after South attacks Carbomb attacks in Yala and Hat Yai district in Songkhla have badly affected tourism and local businesses, and a quick recovery is important in salvaging plunging visitor confidence in Thailand, hoteliers and business operators said yesterday. A large number of tourists from Malaysia and Singapore who remain in Thailand have been relocated to other lodgings. While the heavily damaged Lee Gardens hotel is being inspected for safety and security, visitors' luggage and travel documents are being collected and returned to them, said Suraphol Kamphalanonthawat, head of tourism business in Songkhla. "Panic among tourists is apparent and inevitable. It depends on how quickly we can rebuild their confidence in Thailand," he added. The head of hotel business in Songkhla and Hat Yai, Somchart Phimthanaphoonphorn, said measures to draw tourists for preSongkran celebrations were being readjusted to get them back in two weeks. He added that 25,000 tourists booked Hat Yaibased rooms last year from April 1 until after the end of Songkran in midApril, generating around Bt300 million in income for local businesses. "I'm not sure the figure can reach half that amount this year," he added. Songkhla governor Krissada Bunraj said that apart from the damage to property, the economy and tourism in Songkhla had been badly affected, the public's confidence hurt and business opportunities lost. Praphas Inthanapasat, a senior local Tourism Authority of Thailand official, said the Hat Yai Songkran Midnight Festival would continue as planned, to boost tourist confidence. He expressed belief in the capacity of officials to maintain security during the Songkran holiday break, which falls from April 1316 this year. The secretarygeneral of the Federation of Thai Industries, Sommat Khunset, called for tighter control authorities, saying security and counterinsurgency operations in the three southernmost provinces were not enough to ensure overall safety in areas at risk of insurgent violence. "The authorities must realise and make sure that such violence will not recur and the security issue in the South should be handled with importance equal to the ongoing water management planning to cope with floods this year," he added. The chairman responsible for policies at the Tourism Council of Thailand, Kongkrit Hiranyakrit, dubbed the multiple car bombs the worst incident, greater even than the past travel advisory against coming to Thailand issued by many countries. The mayor of Hat Yai municipality, Phrai Phatthano, said that rebuilding tourist confidence would require at least two years and negative media coverage of the blasts and followups would keep the issue hot. He called on Hat Yai residents to watch out for clues and suspicious signs. ----- KatoeyNewsNetwork
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02-04-2012, 10:38 AM
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Avoid southern Thailand, Malaysians told
Report from The New Straits Times dated 2 April 2012 :-
Avoid southern Thailand, Malaysians told PHNOM PENH: The Malaysian government has issued a travel warning against Malaysians going to southern Thailand following the bomb blasts in Hat Yai and Yala, which killed five people, including a Malaysian, and injured more than 100 others on Saturday. Twenty-seven Malaysians were among those injured, while one was still reported missing, Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said yesterday. Anifah said Malaysians were strongly advised against travelling to the region for the time being. "This is our concern. Our advice to Malaysians is, if you do not have anything really important, please avoid travelling there until the situation improves. "If there are no important engagements, meetings or dealings, please avoid southern Thailand." Anifah said so far only one Malaysian -- Low Thian Hock, 46, of Bukit Mertajam, Penang, was confirmed killed in the 2pm (Malaysian time) bombing. Of the 27 Malaysians injured, 17 were given outpatient treatment. Ten, who suffered between 30 and 50 per cent burns, respiratory-related injuries and breathing problems, were admitted to three hospitals in Hat Yai. However, five of them -- K. Sagunthala, 34, Mini Ng, 35, and sisters Chiaw Pui Pui, 34, Chiaw Pui Hoon, also 34, and Chiaw Pui See, 33 -- were discharged yesterday. Lew Kim Lai, 39, Lim Hock Bee, 37, Wong Sze Ee, 32, and Fook Hock Chuan, also 33, are warded at the Songkhla Nagarind Hospital, while Choo Kok Boon, 46, is at the Rajyindee Hospital. Anifah said their condition were being monitored. Asked if those injured would be sent back, he said: "At this stage, it is not advisable to move them to Malaysia because what they need is urgent treatment and attention. "I don't think the doctors (in Hat Yai) will recommend that they be moved for now. At this point of time which is critical, they should get treatment there." On the Malaysian still reported missing, he said: "One Malaysian is still missing and there is one body still unidentified. By tomorrow, we should know the results as they are still doing the DNA test." Anifah also said initial findings by the Thai authorities revealed that the bombs were placed on two motorcycles, in a car and a pick-up truck. "When the explosion occurred at Hat Yai, the initial reaction was that it was caused by a gas leak. But when authorities seized the pick-up truck, they detected bomb residues. That is the initial report we got from the Thai authorities," he told Malaysian journalists covering the 20th Asean Summit here yesterday. He also said Thai authorities had given an assurance that they would pay for the medical expenses of all Malaysians injured in the incident. Anifah also said all family members of victims had been informed. He said they could contact the Malaysian consulate general office in Songkhla at +6674 311062, +6674 316 274 or fax their queries to +6674 324 004. Anifah said the hotel where the bomb occurred -- Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel -- was popular not only among Malaysians but also Singaporeans. He said he would discuss the bombing incidents with his Thai counterpart. "I want to know what kind of assurance he can give our people and those from Asean. I will also ask him whether it is safe for Malaysians to travel to southern Thailand." In Hat Yai, Malay-sian consul-general Mohd Aini Atan said Malaysians who were in the region should either cut short their visit or avoid popular places like shopping complexes or karaoke lounges. "This is just a temporary measure and I believe everyone can understand our concern for their safety." Meanwhile, it was reported that the bomb blast would cost Hat Yai's tourism at least 1 billion baht (about RM100 million) in losses. Some 60 per cent of the city's hotel rooms, which had been fully booked, were cancelled. Despite this, Hat Yai tourism players have decided to go ahead with plans to hold the three-day Songkran festival from April 12. Last Saturday's bombing was not the first time Hat Yai had been targetted. In April 2005, a bomb exploded at the airport, killing four people. In September 2006, a series of explosions occurred but there were no Malaysian casualties. ----- KatoeyNewsNetwork
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02-04-2012, 11:51 AM
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Re: Hatyai,Thailand For Sawadee Newbies
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02-04-2012, 01:25 PM
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Re: Hatyai,Thailand For Sawadee Newbies
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02-04-2012, 03:08 PM
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KatoeyNewsNetwork ............
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02-04-2012, 03:11 PM
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Hatyai,Thailand For Sawadee Newbies
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Hope you can leave the Thai-girl's den in 1 piece ! Clap, clap, clap, ..............
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02-04-2012, 03:14 PM
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MFA advises Singaporeans against travelling to southern Thailand
Report from AsiaOne dated 1 April 2012 :-
MFA advises Singaporeans against travelling to Southern Thailand SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) advises Singaporeans against travelling to the South Thailand including the provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla. This is in view of the recent bomb blasts in Yala and in Hat Yai, which led to a fire at the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel killing three people including a Malaysian tourist. MFA advised Singaporeans with an urgent need to travel to these provinces to monitor local news and developments, take all necessary precautions for their personal safety and purchase comprehensive travel insurance. In a statement to the media, MFA said it is closely monitoring the situation in Hat Yai. It added that the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok has established that the 31 Singaporeans in Hat Yai, including the 10 who were at Lee Gardens Plaza hotel, are safe. An officer from the Embassy is in Hat Yai to provide consular assistance to these Singaporeans and to determine if there are other Singaporeans who may need assistance. Singaporeans travelling to these provinces should also eRegister with MFA at http://eregister.mfa.gov.sg to facilitate contact in an emergency. Singaporeans who require consular assistance should contact the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok or the MFA Duty Officer (24-hours) at: Embassy of the Republic of Singapore 129 South Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120 Tel: 001-66-(81) 844-3580 / 001-66-(2) 286-2111/ 001-66-(81) 8443580 (Duty Officer) Fax: 001-66-(2) 286-6966 Email: [email protected] Ministry of Foreign Affairs- MFA Duty Office Tel: 6379 8800, 6379 8855 (24 hours) Fax: 6476-7302 Email: [email protected] ----- KatoeyNewsNetwork
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02-04-2012, 03:19 PM
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Priewpan: Hat Yai-Yala bombs linked
Report from Bangkok Post dated 2 April 2012 :-
Priewpan: Hat Yai-Yala bombs linked The car bombings in Yala and Songkhla's Hat Yai district on Saturday were a coordinated attack, national police chief Pol Gen Priewpan Damapong said on Monday. He was convinced of this after thoroughly inspecting the scenes of the bombings - the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in Hat Yai and in municipal Yala. Judging from the way the bombs were assembled, the timing of the blasts and other circumstances, it was clear the series of explosions were linked. Pol Gen Priewpan said investigators at the Police Operational Centre for the Southern Border Provinces knew which groups of insurgents were responsible for the attacks, but he did not give details. Sources in the police explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) unit that scoured the basement carpark floors of the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel said the bomb was concealed in a black Honda Civic car registered to Thanasorn Kuasuk, secretary of the Choeng Khiri tambon administration organisation in Si Sa Khon district of Narathiwat province. Mr Thanasorn was attacked and robbed of his car and an M16 rifle on Oct 23 last year. In Yala, the bombs exploded at two spots. The first was at the intersection of Chong Rak and Ruam Mit roads, where the militants planted a 15kg bomb concealed in a gas cylinder in a blue Isuzu pickup truck. The other site was in front of a 7-Eleven store where a similar bomb was planted in a Toyota Tiger pickup truck. The bombs were detonated remotely by mobile phone. The other explosion was from an LPG-powered van parked near the intersection. Three people were killed in the explosion and blaze in the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel's basement carpark. They were identified as Mrs Yupin Puthima, 38, Low Tsian Hock, a Malaysian man, and an unidentified Thai man. More than 300 people were wounded, but only 133 were still being treated at different hospitals, a source said. Ten people, five men and five women, were killed in the Yala bomb blasts and 112 wounded. Of the injured, 32 were still in hospital this morning. ----- KatoeyNewsNetwork
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02-04-2012, 03:58 PM
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Re: Hatyai,Thailand For Sawadee Newbies
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02-04-2012, 04:02 PM
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Re: Hatyai,Thailand For Sawadee Newbies
thx all for the advice i will monitor the news for these few days and see how it goes like how one of the bro here say if i dun enter the tiger den who will
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