Thai authorities have launched a manhunt for a Burmese army deserter suspected of stabbing two children, one of whom died, while robbing a home in the border town of Mae Sot, Thai-language website Manager Online reported on Friday.

Police say the prime suspect in the murder case has been identified as Hla Min Aung, 25, said to be a deserter from the Burmese army. It is alleged that he broke into a home of an ethnic hilltribe family in the village of Naung Nam Khio on the evening of 17 August while the parents were out. He allegedly stabbed the two brothers before making off with 24,000 baht (US$800) in cash.

Fourteen-year-old Dasu died from knife wounds to his face, stomach and limbs, while his 12-year-old brother was also injured in the attack.

A combined force of local police, soldiers and border guards on Friday put four villages on lock-down while searching for Hla Min Aung.

Citing local residents, the Manager Online reported that the Burmese man and his wife are suspected of taking refuge in an area with cornfields.

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