SONGKHLA -- Seven years after his death, the family of Pol Col Somphian Eksomya, better known to the local people as Ja Phian, performed a merit-making at their house No. 31 on Kanchanawanich Road in tambon Kho Hong of Hat Yai district on Sunday morning. Pol Col Somphian, a former Bannang Sata district police chief in Yala province, was killed in a bomb explosion on Mar 12, 2010 while performing his duty in an area near Ban Thap Chang in tambon Talingchan of Bannang Sata district. He was dubbed "hero of the Budo Mountain Range" for his brave and relentless fight against the insurgency carried out by armed separatist groups in the far South. After his death, Pol Col Somphian was promoted to the ranked of police general.

Source: Bangkok Post March 12, 2017 08:34 UTC