News from Thailand – August 1, 2012
The parents of British backpacker Kirsty Sara Jones, who was strangled in Chiang Mai in 2000, will come to Thailand to inquire about the progress of the police investigation. They are offering a 1 million baht reward for those who information can provide, leading to the arrest of the perpetrator.
A month after Jones' death, police arrested the guesthouse owner Andrew Gill, where she was found dead in her room. But the OM decided not to prosecute due to lack of evidence. Chiang Mai police have now questioned 80 witnesses; she turned the case over to the Department of Special Investigation.
– Foreign tourists visiting Thailand are most concerned about safety. Tourists from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and Italy in particular have the least confidence in visiting Thailand due to previous bad experiences with fraud and communication problems in the service sphere. Many tourists also have the impression that Thailand is bad at responding to and managing crises.
This is according to a survey of 3.640 respondents from 14 major tourist markets, both first-time and previous visitors. It took place between February 20 and March 31 by order of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The study, called Thailand Destination Image Survey, concludes that security issues negatively affect the image of Thai tourism.
But there are also pluses. Most tourists say they get their money's worth and tourists from Korea say that no other country in the world can offer such comfort for comparable prices. Asian tourists are particularly fond of the price-quality ratio of the products for sale here.
The top five responses to Thai tourism are: welcoming, friendly, amazing, happy and exciting. The five least reactions are: slow, sexy, messy, shy and noisy.
The main draws are the beaches, spas and wellness clinics and the variety of adventure activities.
– Thailand has won its first Olympic medal: silver. Yesterday, Pimsiri Sirikaew (22) lifted himself to the podium with a combined lift of 236 kilos (100 kilos in the snatch and 136 kilos in the clean and jerk). Number 1, the Chinese Li Xueing, finished first with 246 kilos.
The victory does Pimsiri no harm, because she receives 13 million baht from the government and companies. She will receive a certificate of honor from parliament, parliament chairman Somsak Kiatsuranont said. 'She made us all proud', says Somsak.
– Bangkok Post celebrates its 66th birthday today. On August 1, 1946, the newspaper appeared for the first time with 4 pages. It is now 50 pages. In addition, the news is available via website, e-paper, e-magazines and mobile phones.
Editor-in-chief Pattnapong Chantranontwong writes to be proud of the slogan of the newspaper 'the newspaper you can trust': 'Despite the changes in format, printing technology, editors, reporting staff, and shareholders, one thing which remains constant is the Bangkok Post spirit to report facts faithfully to our readers and to act as an opinion leader for society.'
– An unknown number of people were injured in a bomb attack yesterday afternoon for the CS Pattani hotels in Muang (Pattani). The hotel was partly damaged, caught fire and the lights went out because a transformer was damaged. The hotel guests were evacuated.
About half an hour after the blast, two other transformers exploded elsewhere in the city. This caused the light to go out in large parts of Muang district.
It is the second time that the hotel has been the target of a bomb attack. In 2008, two people were killed in an attack.
Prime Minister Yingluck called a special meeting yesterday to assess the situation before deciding on the establishment of a new command center in Bangkok to combat violence in the South. Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung has already come up with a name for it: Pentagon II.
Opposition party Democrats will request an emergency debate in the House of Representatives. The party notes that violence is increasing in the South. The month of June had 80 incidents. 47 people were killed, including 15 government officials.
– Two MPs from the ruling Pheu Thai party were sentenced by the Criminal Court yesterday to a suspended prison sentence of 1 year and a fine of 50.000 baht, because they defamed the president of the Constitutional Court. The parliamentarians must publish an abbreviated version of the verdict in 7 daily newspapers for 3 days. One of the two has said it will appeal.
The Constitutional Court filed a complaint against several red shirt leaders on Friday, also for defamation. During speeches, some had released the phone numbers of the judges and called on their audience to harass them. The reason was the decision of the Court on 1 June to suspend the consideration of a constitutional amendment.
– No referendum, as recommended by the Constitutional Court, but also no continuation of the parliamentary consideration of the proposal to amend Article 291 of the Constitution for the time being. Pheu Thai MPs decided that yesterday. There is now a campaign to explain to the population why the 2007 constitution should be changed.
That constitution was drawn up by the government, which was put in place after the military coup. On July 13, the Constitutional Court recommended holding a referendum to determine whether the population would like to amend the constitution. The constitution of 2007 was approved by a majority of 58 percent in a referendum.
– The five police officers convicted of the murder of a 17-year-old boy from Kalasin during Thaksin's 'war on drugs' have been released on bail. The victim's aunt, one of the three key witnesses, is going to ask for an extension of her protection, because she fears for her life. She was in a Department of Special Investigation witness protection program until Monday, when the court handed down the sentences.
[For details on this case, see July 31 notice: Three officers sentenced to death.]
– Government services employ 500 people with disabilities; that should be 16.000, according to the Persons with Disabilities' Quality of Life Promotion Act of 2007. The law requires that 1 in 100 jobs, both in government and private business, must be occupied by a person with a disability . In Japan, Cambodia and Laos a ratio of 2:100 is used.
Private sector employers would rather give money to a special fund to rehabilitate them than hire them, says Boonthat Sopa of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. Employers are required to report annually on October 1 how many disabled people they employ, but many do not.
– The Thai Netizen Network calls on the government to limit the definition of 'computer information' in the Cyber Crime Act. Now the definition is often misused as an instrument of censorship and that is contrary to freedom of expression. The network proposes to include data, spam, viruses and malware under that definition.
According to the Thailand Internet Freedom Research Project, five government centers search the Internet daily for unwelcome information. They block around 60.000 URLs every year. The costs involved are estimated at 139 million baht per year.
– The Thai Women Empowerment Funds have received their first grant of 20 million. At least, Prime Minister Yingluck yesterday ordered the money to be transferred during the official launch of the funds. In total, the provincial funds will receive 7,7 billion baht to improve the position of women in society.
– Cancel the agreement on the purchase of electricity produced by the Xayaburi dam to be constructed in Laos. The Rivers Coalition in Cambodia makes this request in a letter to Prime Minister Yingluck and the Prime Minister of Laos. The organization also asks both countries to order the (Thai) contractor to stop all work until a (new) study into the environmental consequences of the dam has been completed. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand purchases 95 percent of the electricity.
– The Thai Sea Watch Association, a network of small fishermen, opposes the Fisheries Department's plan to register 2.107 illegal trawlers. With such a registration, exporters can comply with EU directives. The network says those trawlers damage the marine environment because they cast their nets in protected areas. Officially no fishing is allowed between the coastline and 3 kilometers seawards. Coral reefs are also damaged.
The Fisheries Department has registered illegal trawlers 30 times in the past 5 years, but the number keeps increasing. The Network suspects that the fisheries department is under pressure from exporters and large shipping companies. 6.700 trawlers fish in the Gulf of Thailand and 1.145 in the Andaman Sea.
– Most if not all newly appointed members of the Special Case Committee of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) have ties to governing party Pheu Thai, says a source at the DSI. The committee consists of 21 people. DSI chief Tarit Pengdit declined to comment on the allegation yesterday. The list of 9 names has been drawn up by the Minister of Justice and requires the approval of the cabinet. The anonymous source points out that some of the matters that are being investigated by the committee have everything to do with government policy.
– All of the 14 waste processing companies investigated so far are suspected of illegally dumping waste. Thirteen have been told by the Industrial Works Department to improve their operations within 30 days and two have been shut down for a month. The 14 are part of an inspection round of 96 companies.
Most factories either had no machinery or had been bartered, which Sukda Punkla, director of the Industrial Cluster 1 Bureau says, is indicative of illegal dumping. Other problems include expansion of buildings without informing the authorities, lack of dust prevention systems and failure to report.
During the inspection, the inspectors at Wax Garbage in Ratchaburi were surrounded by four armed men and at Kittikorn (Chachoengsao) the inspectors found guns. At KSD (also Chachoengsao) the waste was scattered around the factory.
Outside of industrial areas, Thailand has 136 general waste treatment plants, 1.209 industrial waste dumps and 395 recycling plants. There are 39 factories on industrial estates, which are controlled by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand.
– Ayudhya Capital Auto Lease Plc, a subsidiary of the Bank of Ayudhya, is booming thanks to the government's tax incentives for first-time car buyers, as well as the growing demand for eco-cars. In the first half of the year, the number of loans increased by 20 percent, 2 percent above forecast, and the auto financing portfolio recorded a growth of 24 percent.
“The increase in car sales,” says director Pairote Cheunkrut, “is due to the momentum created by the strong recovery of the country after the floods. The recovery has boosted growth in auto lending, particularly in the eco-car and pickup truck markets.”
The cabinet has now decided to slightly relax the conditions of the car plan. Buyers still have to order their car this year, but it can also be delivered next year. The auto industry had asked for this because the supply of parts is still not optimal due to last year's floods.
Buyers of a (first) car with a maximum cylinder capacity of 1.500 cc, which costs a maximum of 1 million baht, will be refunded the tax up to a maximum of 100.000 baht. The condition is that the car remains in their possession for 5 years, otherwise the benefit must be repaid.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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