A leader of southern landless communities was shot dead after leading a campaign against a private oil palm plantation allegedly using land given to the communities. Somsuk Kohklang, a 50-year-old land rights village activist from the southern province of Krabi was shot dead on Wednesday the 3rd December while driving a motorcycle with his wife in an oil palm plantation in Muang District of Krabi. Somsuk, a village leader who was active in advocating land rights for landless communities in Krabi, earlier took part in leading villagers to press the state officials to check a land concession of about 2,000 acres, given to the locals on documents, but which was in reality allegedly utilised by a private oil palm business. The village movement later led state officials to set up a provincial committee to kick start the procedure to revoke the concession. The police suspected that the assassination might be connected to Somsuk's activism against the private oil palm business.