Thai police nab two more suspects in murder of Indonesian naval officers

BANGKOK, March 27 (TNA) - Thai police have arrested two more suspects in the murder of Indonesian naval officers. The two suspects, including Sorasit So-in from Phetchaburi Province in the Upper Thai South and Surawong Chuahom from Si Sa Ket Province in the Thai Northeast, were arrested while hiding on a trawler. So far, the Thai police have apprehended three of 12 fishing crew members suspected of being involved in the murder of two Indonesian naval officers on a Thai fishing boat on March 9, 2014. Indonesia has, in the meantime, banned Thai fishing boats from entering its waters since the murder case, reportedly affecting large-scale processed seafood operators as fishing boats from southern Thailand normally supply 10,000 tons of their catches from northern Indonesia on a monthly basis. If the ban continued, negative impacts will expand to general operators and consumers and seafood prices on the domestic market may rise by 20-30 per cent due to declining supplies. The Thai police are, therefore, speeding up their investigation into the murder, which has also affected bilateral relations, while the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has kept reporting progress in the investigation to Indonesian authorities. However, Fisheries Department Director-General Niwat Sutheemeechaikul told journalists that he has not received any report on serious negative impacts from the Indonesian closure of its waters, as most Thai trawlers have joint ventures with Indonesian operators. Niwat explained that Indonesia has banned Thai trawlers from entering its northern waters, affecting only about 70-80 Thai fishing boats, mostly from Thailand's central Samut Sakhon Province, which are joint ventures with Indonesian operators and most of their revenues go to the Indonesian operators. The senior official acknowledged if Indonesia closed off its southern waters, it could create a serious impact on Thailand, as more than 200 fishing boats from Songkhla and Pattani in the Thai far South are joint ventures with Indonesian operators there. (TNA)