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Assistant village leader gunned down in southern Thailand
An assistant village leader was gunned down in an ambush in Yala province late Tuesday morning.Adong Maseng-bangee was heading back home on his motorcycle from his rubber plantation on a local road when gunmen hiding in the roadside trees fired on him with shotguns. He fell from his motorcycle and tried to escape, but the gunmen followed, shot him again at close range and then fled. Adong was hit three times and died on the spot. PULO separatist gets life in prison The Appeals Court on Wednesday sentenced a member of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (PULO), a separatist movement, to life in prison, reversing the Criminal Court's decision to drop all charges against him. Prosecutors indicted Koseng, or Useng, Cheloh, a PULO member, on charges of rebellion and illegal assembly of weapons and men to conduct terrorist activities. The court was told that between 1968 and Feb 10, 1998 Koseng and other PULO members had recruited Muslims into the separatist movement, extorted protection money from businessmen in the five southern border provinces and used the money to set up armed units to conduct terrorist activities, including attacks on government installations, destroying rail tracks with bombs and burning down bridges and schools, causing extensive damage and a large number of casualties. The Criminal Court on Dec 1, 2008 dismissed the case against Koseng on the grounds that evidence against him was doubtful. The state appealed. The Appeals Court today reversed the Criminal Court's decision and sentenced Koseng to death. The death sentence was commuted to life on the grounds that his testimony was useful. Posted by: ryuge 2012-06-27 |
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