BANGKOK (THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Thailand's ruling body, the National Council for Peace and Order, announced on Tuesday night that the curfew period would be reduced to four hours a day from midnight to 4 am.

The new curfew time will take effect on Wednesday.

The curfew had been imposed from 10 pm to 4 am, ever since Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha abruptly announced last Thursday that he was seizing power and suspending the nation's Constitution.

The move came barely three days after the army declared martial law in the name of preventing more violence, as the country's political conflict remained deadlocked.

It was the 12th successful military coup since Thailand changed from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy in 1932.