Religious rites held at bombing site in Hat Yai

BANGKOK, April 5 (TNA) - Three religious ceremonies were held Thursday morning in Hat Yai of Thailand's southern Songkhla province, following a car bombing attack at the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in the southern Thai business hub area, killing three people, including one Malaysian, and injuring hundreds others. Songkhla Governor Krisda Boonraj and Hat Yai Mayor Prai Pattano jointly presided over the Buddhist, Christian and Islamic ceremonies on Saneha Nusorn Road in front of the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel, where the bomb attack took place last Saturday. The religious rites, including an alms giving to 90 Buddhist monks, were also joined by local officials and the general public, aimed to let the fatalities and survivors be blessed by the Lord Buddha and the Gods. The Hat Yai Mayor expressed his sorrow over the March 31 bloody bombing incident, encouraging local people to be strong minds to get through the crisis and to help restore confidence in Hat Yai among international travellers. Acknowledging that the damage was caused by ill-intentioned people, the Hat Yai mayor declared that the area, where people of all raced have long lived peacefully together, is on the Thai soil, belongs to the Thai people, not a land for instigating any conflict or violent incident. (TNA)