Nearly 200 party-list and constituency MP candidates have asked for police protection during the election campaign, Royal Thai Police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said yesterday.
"The Royal Thai Police Office has assigned more than 400 officers to provide security for the candidates as requested," he said.
He insisted at this stage, there were enough police officers to provide protection for all 199 candidates that had requested it.
Pol Maj Gen Prawut said the southernmost province of Narathiwat had been added to the list of constituencies on special watch because the poll competition there was especially fierce.
There are 36 constituencies in 16 provinces that have been listed as special watch areas, he added.
The top three provinces on the list are Narathiwat, Nakhon Sawan and Chiang Rai. The other 13 provinces are Bangkok, Khon Kaen, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Roi Et, Samut Prakan, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Ratchaburi, Phuket and Mae Hong Son.
In Bangkok, 12 constituencies are on the special watch list, including Laksi, Don Muang, Sai Mai, Bang Khen, Klong Sam Wa, Nong Chok, Bang Khunthian, Bang Bon, Nong Khaem and Thawi Watthana, he said.
Meanwhile, police have concluded that the recent shooting at the home of a canvasser for Samart Muangsiri, a Democrat candidate in Bangkok's Constituency 28, was politically motivated, Pol Maj Gen Prawut said.
He has ordered local police to step up security at the home of the canvasser, Wichan Rueangklan.
Pol Maj Gen Prawut said patrol officers had been sent to check on the homes of other candidates' canvassers as a precautionary measure.
Pol Col Prasopchok Phrommoon, deputy chief of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), said a police intelligence unit had been established to gather information related to the general election, including people on a watchlist, such as influential persons, hitmen and war weapons traders.
The CSD has dispatched 480 officers to 20 provinces where competition is especially tough, including Nakhon Sawan and Ratchaburi, Pol Col Prasopchok said.
In Chiang Rai, local police said they believed either business or political conflicts were behind the shooting death of Mongkhol Weerawatphongsathorn, 46, headman of Ban Huai San village in Mae Fa Luang district. He was also a canvasser for an MP candidate running for election in the province.
Source: Bangkok Post
No comments:
Post a Comment