Thai news in brief – January 2
The New Year is in the South of Thailand started with heavy rains, flooding, evacuations, presumed one dead and eight hikers missing.
The rains, which are caused by a combination of the northeastern monsoon in the Gulf of Thailand and a low pressure area in northern Malaysia, will continue into tomorrow.
– Rock singer Sek Loso was admitted to the Thanyarak Institute in Pathum Thani on December 27 to kick his drug addiction. Doctors who have examined him say he is exhausted and debilitated, symptoms suggesting he must have been on drugs for more than a year. They estimate that he will need treatment for four to six months.
– Confusion everywhere now that the exploitation of the famous Chatuchak weekend market is transferred from the municipality of Bangkok to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) today. And the reporting is just as confusing. Now a majority of merchants would be against the transfer. [The number of merchants is now suddenly set at 10.000.]
They fear that the rent will go up, that some contracts will not be renewed because SRT people put their own friends there and they fear similar incidents to the Sunday Market. Last year, a group of armed men raided that market, also on Chatuchak, and destroyed some stalls after the SRT took over the operation. The market has since closed.
The merchants have been told by both the SRT and the municipality that they must register today at the latest. Many have only done so with both, because they do not know who will ultimately hold sway over the market.
– The Bhumibol dam did not collapse on New Year's Eve, which according to seer Pla Bu would happen. He made that prediction 37 years ago at age 6. Recently, the prediction has been circulating the internet; many people living downstream panicked. Five thousand people were not fooled; they attended a count down at the dam organized by the province to debunk the rumours. Pla Bu is also said to have predicted his own death and the 2004 tsunami. He died of a brain tumor at the age of 7.
– On Wednesday, he robbed the branch of Kasikornbank in Robinson's building on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok; Saturday he was already arrested in Chiang Mai. Of the 420.000 baht he had stolen, the police found 300.000 in a friend's house. According to the suspect, the rest would have been spent on going out.
– To prevent an outbreak of H5N1 (bird flu), the Livestock Development Department carries out extra strict checks at the border during the New Year holidays because large numbers of chickens are always brought into the country during this period. Vehicles transporting poultry between Thailand and neighboring countries are being disinfected. The campaign will run for a month and will also include testing on poultry in areas where there were previously outbreaks of H5N1. The first outbreak devastated the poultry industry in January 2004; the last was in November 2008. More than 60 million animals died or were destroyed. 27 people were infected, 17 of whom died.
– The court has ordered MP Khanchit Thapsuwan (Democrats) to hand over his pickup truck and gun to the police for examination. Khanchit is suspected of the December 25 murder of Udon Kraiwatnussorn, president of the Samut Sakhon provincial administration organization, at a petrol station in Samut Sakhon. Udon was shot eight times in the head in the toilet. The police have so far interviewed ten witnesses.
– The construction of the new parliament building on the banks of the Chao Praya River, for which Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn laid the first stone on August 12, 2010, has not even started or there is already a threat of a delay of a year due to hassle about the price. The transfer of land has also been delayed. Furthermore, existing buildings must first be demolished, but they have not yet been vacated by the current users.
– During the first three days of the 'seven dangerous days', 1.605 people died in 165 traffic accidents and 1.782 were injured. Only two provinces, Chaiyaphum and Trat, did not experience any accidents during these days. And it just doesn't stop. Score after four days: 241 dead, 2.382 wounded.
– The authorities are concerned about the increased number of accidents on roads damaged by the floods. Many roads have holes and traffic lights do not always work. According to the Ministry of Transport, 18.000 roads have been damaged. Ayutthaya has been hit especially hard; this province is one of the five provinces where the water has not yet completely disappeared.
– The drum band of Suan Lumpini Primary School won first prize in Hong Kong during the Marching Band Festival 2011. The 67 musicians are between 7 and 16 years old. For a stateless brother and sister it was still quite a hassle to get papers for the travel to arrange, but with the help of teachers and the Bangkok Legal Clinic we finally succeeded.
– New Year's Eve 2011 passed without significant incident. The count down in Laem Bali Hai on it beach of Pattaya attracted the most partygoers. Thousands of uniformed and civilian police officers were present.
At CentralWorld in Bangkok, 2.000 agents were deployed and six dogs with a nose for finding explosives. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the public already started to flock through two entrances with metal detectors. Bags were checked by hand. Earlier, the police had searched the area for suspicious objects. Ambulances, the explosives disposal service, riot police, fire brigade and soldiers were kept on standby.
There were also prayer services in various temples, in which more than a million believers participated.