News from Thailand – Thursday, March 5, 2015
This page contains a selection from the Thai news. We list headlines from major news sources including: Bangkok Post, The Nation, ThaiPBS, MCOT, etc.
There is a web link behind the news items. When you click on it you can read the full article at the English source.
News from Thailand – Thursday, March 5, 2015
Both The Nation and Bangkok Post open with the article that the commission that writes the new constitution (CDC) makes a strong proposal. To avoid a conflict of interest, the CDC proposes excluding members of certain groups from political office for the two-year period when the new constitution is in effect. These are the current junta, the parliament, the constitution committee, the cabinet and the reform council. The parties involved are of course not happy with this proposal and oppose the idea of the CDC: http://goo.gl/Xf7O6V en http://goo.gl/NUcfw0
– In the province of Nan, a monk has been arrested for an attempted sexual abuse of two boys. Police acted after a 33-year-old mother accused the monk of attempting to abuse her 12-year-old son and her 10-year-old nephew. The boys were allowed to spend the night in a monastery on Makha Bucha Day for their initiation. The monk had tried to abuse the children that night but both boys fled and warned the parents. According to the police, the monk in question has psychological problems and has already been banned from monastic life.
In Bangkok, at Wat Bang Pakok, a 56-year-old monk has been arrested for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in his room. After a raid, police found three packs of marijuana, four swords, three BB guns and a cell phone used to videotape his sexual acts. The monk had known the girl for several years and showered her with sweets and presents: http://goo.gl/o735S0
– A 53-year-old German expat has been found dead in his home on Lat Phrao Road in Bangkok. The man, who works as a computer programmer, was found with a plastic bag over his head and a suicide note, the police assumes suicide. His Thai wife (21) lived with the man for more than four years. According to the woman, the man had serious financial problems and did not have enough income to support the family. The police are investigating the case and are awaiting the results of the autopsy: http://goo.gl/oiTBIR
– A member of the voluntary police force in Pattaya was attacked yesterday by a drunk bar owner who violated the closing hours and alcohol ban on this important Buddhist day: http://goo.gl/iOi5Ts
– There has been unrest among the owners of bars and discotheques in Bangkok. For two weeks, all entertainment venues should close at midnight instead of 02.00am. Several bars and clubs were visited by police officers and soldiers with the announcement that they had to close earlier. No explanation has been given as to why this measure is in force: http://goo.gl/p6Weqt
– An Australian tourist (42) was seriously injured in an attempt to commit suicide in his hotel room on Phuket. Police found the man in a pool of blood in the bathroom and he was rushed to hospital. It is unclear why the man tried to take his own life with a knife. According to the hotel staff of the Patong Tower Hotel, it was a quiet unobtrusive man who usually stayed alone in his hotel room: http://goo.gl/F6tGy3
– You can read more current news on the Twitter feed of Thailandblog.nl: twitter.com/thailand_blog
The CDC wants to exclude certain groups from political office for 2 years (see specific groups). And there are protests. Of course!
If you, as a fairly yellow-oriented person, are just on your way to possibly also be allowed to simmer away in the government plush, you will have to deal with such a proposal. No chance of plush. No, the protesters now want to push through, democratic process or not.
It's going the old way again.
Commit suicide by putting a plastic bag over your head...almost as good as the man who killed himself by shooting himself THREE times in the head. The miracles are not over yet. After falling off the balcony and slipping in the bathroom, we apparently enter a new era: committing suicide in unlikely ways.
Sometimes people REALLY commit suicide.
There is no reason in the story itself to accuse the woman of murder.
I fear that many Thai women believe that their farrang husband has serious financial problems because he does not have enough income. Exchange rate and a plastic bag… a deadly combination?
Now wonder how my Thai wife estimates the impact of the exchange rate on my person 🙂
And all plastic bags immediately leave the house 🙂
Mark,
you should only worry if you have arranged a very good life insurance policy for her on your life.
Otherwise, she will certainly not kill the walking ATM - despite lower Euros. And a house without a plastic bag means smelly waste at some point. So don't throw away garbage bags.
It strikes me that there are a lot of suicides in Thailand in recent weeks or months. These are often expats. Is this because of the situation in Thailand or is this something to do with the global economy? My Thai wife lives and works in the Netherlands, so we don't notice much of the general mood among the expats. But what about the people living in Thailand? Income has become lower, the Bath is very high (euro low ..). Is there any sign of a bad mood, depressed background? By the way, a suicide by means of a plastic bag around the nel is a valid way to come to an end. This is also used in some sexual acts, one gets a more intense orgasm. This often goes wrong, by the way.
Only if you have budgeted at E 1 = TBH 50, for example, then you may now run into problems. But apart from a low Euro – thanks in part to the Greeks, Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese – there is little going on here.
But yes, if you do not get your annual visa extended, there may be a problem. The Euro will rise again and then the sun will start to shine (even) harder.
the Euro will not start rising again anytime soon. This is not due to the southern European countries, but to the short-sightedness of the Europoliticians. The European Central Bank has decided to print quite a few billions, which in turn reduces the value. The intention is to undo that in time (and if you don't believe it, we'll tell you something else) and meanwhile to be able to get the economy going again due to the low exchange rate of the Euro. For this, the focus is again specifically on America. After all, the low Euro makes it possible to export cheaply. Purchasing Thai Baht, however, can be compared to imports and due to the low exchange rate of the Euro, it is now a lot more expensive. We should not expect a recovery of the Euro in the first five years. I wish it were different, but that remains really wishful thinking today. Selling your gold stock or printing money is a very short-sighted action with no guarantee of success and impoverishment of the population as a result.
Patrick,
Waarom wordt er geld bijgedrukt denk je? Als je de EU bekijkt dan moet je vaststellen dat de zuid-europese landen niet of nauwelijks groeien, de hoogste werkloosheidscijfers hebben en de grootste staatsschuld (procentueel). Dus welke economieen moeten worden aangejaagd? Nederland? Daar komt groei dit jaar op ca 1,5 % uit.
The southern countries (also read how things are going in Italy) have done nothing for years except build up debt. And now Northern Europe can foot the bill and offer the solution.
That is perhaps even justified, because in the past they (northern Europe) paid too little attention to what southern countries were up to.
Another solution is: introduction of the Neuro and the Zeuro.
It is dismissed in the newspapers as suicide, but that is of course the spin the police give it. As soon as one finds a dead question, it is soon suicide: case solved, good report for the police! It is too common for a farang to jump out the window of his hotel room or condo (just thrown after an argument), hang himself (hands tied behind his back), shoot himself in the head (3 times ), etc etc I dare to say that at least half of the farang suicides are not suicide but murder and the police know that too, but yes, it's only a farang: suicide, case closed and solved!
Sure! The Thai Bath is no laughing matter! For one euro you don't get more than 35,50 Bath today! So bad times and hope that things will be different one day. We don't mind that ourselves! Putting the shit to the hering…. After all, most Thais also have to do this.
Europe and its € are now up to the move.
Greetings and have a nice relaxing time!
Jan and Supana.
Relatively speaking, holidays in Europe are becoming cheaper again. You spend less Baht for that.
Suicide with a plastic bag over your head? Doesn't look like a normal suicide to me. Murder? You poke a hole in a bag like that, don't you?
As a response and support to what has already been written, I think the following also applies.
Given the knowledge and skills of the average Thai policeman or woman, it is not surprising that cases are sometimes or regularly dismissed as suicide. The police officer receives a low level of education and is partly dependent on the budget that is provided. Therefore, it does not have good equipment to conduct thorough investigations. When you also see on TV how these kinds of cases are handled, tears come to your eyes. In the Netherlands, such a case would never be solved in this way and every criminal lawyer makes mincemeat of that. If you see how things are going in court, you also have an explanation for what follows. This can go either way except…
In Thailand, little tax is levied and then there is also little money for purchasing equipment and training the police. I was told that the police officer must purchase his own service weapon/clothing and motorbike. Then you are already three points behind and this is also a reason for pocketing fines.
The clumsy staged reconstructions of the crimes committed that are shown on TV, the incorrect handling of the crime scene. Showing all kinds of information on TV and so on.
No, we certainly won't be reading the latest suicide note. There is always a human drama behind these kinds of things and the person in question is no longer heard about and the other parties involved have their own interests and views. Of course there are also people who have butter on their heads. There are also plenty of examples of this from the past.
The hassle in Europe is a long-term thing as long as there is no separation between the northern and southern countries.
Pumping money into the economy of Europe may be an improvement in the long term . Just look at America (USA) where this has also happened and where the economy is improving, resulting in a stronger dollar. Very strange for a bankrupt country with a towering debt burden, but yes, those mathematicians that our world is rich always know how to bring it nicely.
Ik denk dat we moeten hopen dat de Aziatische landen anders met het Euro geld om gaan zodat we niet steeds verder afglijden naar een nog lagere wisselkoers. Ik vind die ongeveer 25 % die we nu al inleveren tov 2008 al meer dan zat. Ze moeten hier toch ook beseffen dat er nu steeds minder toeristen uit de EU zullen komen en dat de aanwezigen in Thailand ook minder kunnen uitgeven en zullen gaan uitgeven. Dit land leeft grotendeels van het toerisme. Enfin een hoop gaat er goed maar ook een hoop niet. Gedoe zal er altijd wel blijven. Ieder zal zijn eigen boontjes moeten doppen en te meer reden om zeer goed na te denken alvorens belangrijke grote beslissingen te nemen. Ik wens iedereen sterkte met het maken van de juiste keuzes.