KUALA LUMPUR: A decorated police officer and his son were tragically killed in a brutal roadside ambush in the restive Southern Thailand's Narathiwat region yesterday morning (Jan 14).
Police Lieutenant Colonel Suwit Chuaythewarit, 56, and his son Police Senior Sargeant Major Dome Chuaythewarit, 35, were attacked on the Sri Sakhon-Chanae Road in tambon Sri Banphot, Sri Sakhon district, around 9.50am, according to police reports.
The district is located in Narathiwat, southern Thailand which borders Malaysia.
Their pickup truck flipped and overturned due to a bomb buried in the road, the Bangkok Post reported.
Suwit was the headmaster of Tua Ngo Border Patrol Police School in tambon Sri Banphot, a primary institution with approximately 120 Muslim pupils, none of whom speak Thai as their first language.
A devout Muslim from the southern province of Phatthalung, Suwit, along with his son and 11 other teachers, dedicated their lives to the education of these children.
The two men were reportedly on their way to purchase school supplies when they were killed.
Suwit was a recipient of the Princess Maha Chakri Award a decade ago, honoured for his outstanding contributions to education and the betterment of student lives.
His own experiences as a child studying at a border patrol police school in Phatthalung inspired him to become a teacher at the remote Tua Ngo Border Patrol Police School in Narathiwat.
His goal was to provide education to children who did not speak Thai and to teach them the language so they could further their studies in other essential subjects.
Suwit's school also emphasised teaching morality and self-sufficiency.