3 Thai Fishermen Seized in Deaths of 56 Viet Boat People
Three Thai fishermen have been arrested on suspicion of killing 56 Vietnamese boat people in the latest of a spate of bloody attacks in the Gulf of Thailand, police said Friday.
Thai officials said the fishermen used knives and axes to kill all but two of the people on board a refugee boat on March 26. Some of the victims had their kneecaps smashed first to prevent them from swimming to safety.
The boat people were attacked three days after they sailed from the southern Vietnamese town of Vung Tao. Ten of the victims were women.
Survivors Pham Ngoc, 33, and Do Va, 14, were rescued by a Malaysian boat and handed over to U.N. refugee officials. Pham escaped by hiding beneath the boat while Do Va stayed on board but played dead.
Thai officials, who are investigating 10 similar attacks, said the pair identified the three fishermen Thursday.
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