A STRESSED-OUT and armed Cambodian soldier who crossed the border to Thailand and held police at bay since last evening (Nov. 5) was this afternoon arrested after two SWAT teams carefully moved in and disarmed him with no one getting hurt, Naewna newspaper said.
The Cambodian soldier, only identified as Col. Sok, had driven a seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle through the permanent border crossing at Baan Khao Din in Sa Kaeo province at around 6 p.m. yesterday.
He then drove to Watthana Nakhon district and parked at an intersection where he remained in the vehicle till 9 a.m. this morning.
At 2:15 p.m. today Pol. Maj. Gen. Chaipotjan Suwannarak, deputy chief of the Provincial Police Region 2, confirmed the situation was now under control with no one having been injured.
Two teams of five Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) policemen carrying shields had slowly moved in on the Cambodian soldier before charging, disarming and capturing him.
He has been taken to a provincial hospital to undergo a drug test and Thai police have coordinated with Cambodian authorities to prosecute him.
After the Cambodian soldier drove the vehicle that had a Cambodian military licence plate and Cambodian military emblem on the bonnet at high speed into Thai territory, Thai policemen chased him and surrounded him at the Watthana Nakhon district.
By 9 p.m. the Cambodian soldier still refused to get out of the vehicle with Thai police barricading the area and a night-long siege ensued.
At 7 a.m. this morning he remained armed in his vehicle despite his relatives crossing over from Cambodia to persuade him to surrender.
However at 9 a.m. he did get out of the vehicle and walked around the intersection with his pistol.
The Thai SWAT team later carefully moved in and captured him.
CAPTION:
Thai police surrounded and then later captured the armed Cambodian soldier who had crossed the border to Thailand. Photos: Naewna
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