At least four dead in Burmese massacre

RASSADA: Four Burmese fishermen were murdered yesterday in what appears to have been the slaughter of the crew of one boat by the crew of another at the fishing port.

One badly injured man is in Wachira Phuket Hospital, and police believe that more bodies may yet turn up.

Phuket City Police Station Inspector, Pol Maj Yongyuth Krongmalai, told the Gazette this morning that two of the dead were found floating yesterday in Klong Tah Chin, and another two were found this morning in the same vicinity.

The area has come to be known as the “Burmese Cemetery” because of the number of murders that have occurred there in recent years, almost all of the dead being Burmese.

Each of the victims in yesterday’s slaughter had been stabbed at least five times about the head and face before being thrown into the water.

All were identified as crew members of the fishing boat Issaraporn 1, which had moored near the fish market to unload its catch.

“The information we have is that two groups working on different boats were heard arguing at a karaoke bar near where the boat was moored,” Maj Yongyuth said.

“Then, at about 3 am yesterday, a group of as many as 20 people, led by the crew from the other boat, boarded the Issaraporn 1 and killed the victims as they slept, then threw them in the sea.

“After that they smashed up the boat and then ran away,” he added.

“So far we have found four bodies and one person is still being treated at Wachira Phuket Hospital,” he said, admitting that police are not yet sure how many people were killed; the number may be as high as six or seven, he said, because it appeared that the entire crew of the Issaraporn 1 had been stabbed and thrown into the sea.

“I don’t know why the fight happened,” Maj Yongyuth said, adding, “They still have animal-like instincts. They are not developed and have no sense of morality. When I saw the bodies I was horrified. But I believe that, in this case, we will be able to apprehend the perpetrators.”