Pornthip Rojanasunan knows that dangers are lurking at every corner, yet she moves ahead without fear. All she wants is to find more clues and scientific evidences to help the police solve the bombing cases in Thailand's troubled south, and bring those responsible to book.

In a predominantly Buddhist country, Islamic outfits in the southern provinces of Songkhla, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat have been engaging in separatist movements over the decades with the ultimate motive of establishing an independent Islamic state.

Since January 2004, in particular, the chaos in southern Thailand has taken a drastic change for the worse, and so far more than 3,000 lives have been claimed by the separatists' violent acts and bombings.

According to reports, the Thai government has openly denied the involvement of aggressive Muslim militants in these attacks, and does not rule out the possibility that a series of violent crimes in the southern part of the country have been caused by the clash of smuggling or prostitution gains between local crime syndicates and corrupt officials.

Pornthip said she did not rule out the possibility that the suspects of violent and bombing attacks in southern Thailand had been associated with local crime syndicates, and that some could have even been sponsored by politicians.

During the three-day interview with Pornthip in southern Thailand, Guang Ming Daily found that during a raid into a shophouse for evidences of crime, some baby napkins believed to be counterfeits were unexpectedly recovered. These napkins had been brought in from a neighbouring country.

Pornthip said the sources of counterfeit napkins would be investigated by the police, but initial investigations showed that these napkins, believed to be made in Indonesia, could be related to the suspects involved in violent and bombing attacks in the region.

She believed these militants might need sufficient funds to finance their operations, and it was therefore possible that they had paired up with local crime syndicates, or been involved in smuggling and other illegal activities to rake in lucrative profits.

"As what I understand, it is very likely that they have been sponsored by the politicians."

A thorn in the flesh

As the director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS), Pornthip is well aware of the turmoil in southern Thailand, and has assumed the all-important task of setting up a DNA database in the South.

Pornthip is a well-known, authoritative woman in the South, and has been widely respected by the military. She has been commanding each and every fact-finding mission there, with scores of military officers and bodyguards taking instructions from her.

That said, the Thai police do not seem to go too well with her, and few police officers are willing to work with her.

As such, the military has been her major partner in southern Thailand, and its Intelligence Unit at Angkayut military camp in Pattani has helped her search for more clues to resolve the criminal cases.

A self-sufficient workstation

Pornthip's workstation looks very much like any dilapidated building. Despite its simplicity, the workstation is well equipped with some of the most sophisticated technology.

There are about 20 other people working with her in this office, and from the way these people carry out their job functions, it could be seen that they have all been very professional and dedicated. They ride their motorbikes to collect all the necessary information themselves, and even spend their lunch hours working at their office.

The office is located inside the military camp and is itself a self-sufficient place.

We put up in double-storey house about 1km from Pornthip's office. There are grocery stores selling all kinds of stuff, mainly for supply to the military.

Besides, there are also hawker stalls and temples.

Perhaps the monotonous life inside the camp needs to be spiced up with some recreational activities, the officers keep dogs as companions. (Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Guang Ming Daily)

Part 1: Wanted: Pornthip's head!
Part 2: Tracking down the bombing mastermind
Part 3: The sensational side of Pornthip Rojanasunan