Fire-fighters battle to control a fire at a public healthcare clinic in Pattani’s Kapho district.

The previous round of protests ended last Friday when Pattani Islamic Committee chairman Waduramae Mamingji, mediated a negotiation between the protesters and officials that the suspect be freed on bail of Bt700,000.

The protesters returned to the district hall again yesterday after they failed to raise the bail money and insisted the authorities free Sama-ae - who they claim is innocent - without conditions.

Meanwhile, at around 12.30pm, while the demonstration was going on, two men broke into a public health clinic five kilometres from the protest site and set it alight.

The clinic and medical equipment were damaged although two health officials working there were unharmed.

It was unclear whether the arsonists and protesters belonged to the same group or were linked to each other. Police believed they were part of the same group and had burned the health clinic to create more trouble during the demonstration.

 Islamic committee chairman Waduramae said the protesters might not have understood the legal procedure to free the suspect, or probably did not have the money for the bail.

"No matter what caused the resumption of the demonstrations, the authorities should seek a proper solution to end the conflict before a third party takes advantage to create more problems," he said.

At the end of the day, the protesters agreed to stop the demonstration but officials believed they would not give up and might return later.

A spate of violence erupted in the deep South three years ago and has killed more than 1,900 people so far.

A fresh incident took place yesterday when a school janitor, Sithichai Phungnartmorakot, was shot dead in Yala's Bannang Sata district while riding his motorbike to work in the morning.