WORLD : Three Thais Admit Massacre of 56
Police arrested three Thai fishermen who confessed they killed 56 Vietnamese boat people by attacking them with knives, sticks and axes and throwing them into the sea, an officer said today.
The men were arrested after they were identified by the only two survivors of the March 26 attack, said Lt. Col. Prakob Benjapong of Marine Police in the southern fishing port of Songkhla. Boat captain Boonrub Ruangdit, 27, and Vichoke Wongkan, 29, and Amnuay Saenghiran, 19, then made confessions, Prakob said.
According to Prakob, the fishermen said they robbed the Vietnamese then transferred 10 women to their boat. They called the Vietnamese men onto the deck one by one, struck them in the head and legs and threw them overboard, Prakob said. They later killed the women in a similar fashion.
Prakob said the fishermen towed the Vietnamese boat from the area and sailed around for an hour in an effort to make sure all the victims died.
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