News from Thailand – July 11, 2013

Controversial monk Luang Pu Nen Kham Chattiko left France on Tuesday. According to the website www.alittlebuddha.com, he would have left for the US in the company of three others.

The abbot of the Pothiyanaram temple, where Luang Pu was staying, allegedly asked him to leave and go to a house in California owned by Luang Pu. The website has downloaded a copy of the title deed to the house, plus posted a host of photos, including of the villa (pictured).

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI, the Thai FBI) ​​has discovered that the monk ordered 22 Mercedes-Benz cars from a dealer in Ubon Ratchatani. The most expensive costs 11 million baht; the others between 1,5 and 7 million baht. In total, this amounts to 95 million baht.

According to an anonymous source identified as a close associate of Luang Pu, the monk already owns six luxury cars, including a Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, BMW and Toyota, worth more than 50 million baht combined.

A photo has also surfaced on social media, showing the sleeping monk next to (presumably) a woman. Tarit Pengdith, head of the DSI, says the photo was not manipulated. But whether the person next to the monk is a man or a woman cannot be determined.

A team from the Central Institute of Forensic Science took DNA from a woman and her son yesterday. The 11-year-old boy is said to have been fathered by Luang Pu when the woman was 14 years old. The monk's parents have refused to provide DNA.

NB Chris de Boer, who watched TV this morning, notes that according to the newsreels of various TV channels, the 22 Mercedes-Benz were already delivered in 2010 and 2011. The TV also showed a picture of Luang Pu leaning on a chariot, decorated with a bow.

Update: In a breaking news item repeats Bangkok Post that the 22 Mercedes-Benz have been ordered. In addition, the DSI announced today that the monk has also purchased another 35 vehicles – sedans and vans of various brands – from various dealers. The DSI finds out who those vehicles were given to.

Tarit Pengdith, head of the DSI, also announced today that DNA has been obtained from the monk's half-brother. The parents have refused to provide DNA. On the basis of the DNA it can be determined whether Luang Pu is the father of an 11-year-old boy. He would have impregnated his mother when she was 14 years old.

Finally, the DSI will find out if Luang Pu can be deported from the US.

– A sub-committee of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which investigates G-to-G rice sales (government to government), has encountered suspicious bank checks. Some of the 1.460 cashier's checks under investigation concern payments of less than 100.000 baht.

And there's something fishy about that, because says committee member Vicha Mahakhun: 'Do you think that a G-to-G contract consists of a transaction of 80.000 baht?' The Committee has asked the banks that issued the checks for further information. According to Vicha, some banks need 'a little push' to provide it.

According to Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan (Trade), other governments have placed orders for a total of 10 million tons of rice. Memorandums of Understanding have been concluded with Indonesia, Malaysia and China. These countries will soon receive a visit from the minister and his state secretary (deputy minister) to complete the sale.

– Son Panthongtae of former Prime Minister Thaksin has confirmed it, so it must be true. The one voice in the audio clip of a conversation between two men posted on YouTube is his father's. But the clip does not contain the entire conversation, he writes on his Facebook page. When Thaksin and presumably the current deputy defense minister spoke, the deputy minister, Yuthasak Sasiprasa, had yet to be appointed.

The clip has caused a stir because it talks about Thaksin's return to Thailand with the help of the army command. He should ask the cabinet to grant amnesty to Thaksin by cabinet decision. Thaksin was sentenced in absentia in 2008 to a prison sentence of 2 years for abuse of power.

Panthongtae says he called his father about the clip. He has confirmed some comments. Panthongtae travels to Beijing today to meet his father. He takes the clip and will play it for Thaksin.

Army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha told army personnel on Tuesday that the clip has nothing to do with the army; only his name comes up during the conversation. Payuth said he has no idea if the clip is authentic. According to Prayuth, Yuthasak has denied being the man in the audio clip.

An anonymous source says army commander-in-chief Thanasak Patimapragorn called the commanders of the three army units and urged them to remain calm and do their job. Thanasak is said to have said that the clip is "an external factor" that should not affect the armed forces.

– Three Canon Hi-Tech employees were killed and four employees plus the driver were injured when the minivan they were in overturned. According to witnesses, the driver tried to overtake another vehicle at high speed. The driver had to apply his brakes when he changed lanes and a pickup truck appeared to be driving in front of him. The van skidded, hit a tree in the median and flipped over.

– Academics from Thammasat University have advised the government to hold a referendum before amending the constitution for the sake of political stability. The advice was issued in response to the government's request to three universities to comment on a ruling by the Constitutional Court in July.

The Court then halted the parliamentary consideration of an amendment proposal. That proposal called for the formation of a citizens' assembly that would be tasked with revising the entire 2007 constitution. The Court recommended that a referendum be held first, a position adopted by the Thammasat people.

According to them, the Court made a recommendation at the time and not a legally binding order. Nevertheless, they think it is wise to first ask the population whether amendment of the constitution is desirable. Failure to do so could lead to a new round of political conflict.

Thammasat academics were divided on the government's question of whether the constitution should be rewritten in its entirety.

– The new Minister of Natural Resources and Environment will form a panel of 15 people that will be tasked with solving the problem of illegal use of forests that has been dragging on for years. This concerns illegally built holiday parks and illegally built holiday homes. The panel will look into the pending cases and hand them over to the police for further investigation.

The minister denies that the formation of the panel is a delaying tactic. On the contrary, he says, it helps authorities to conduct careful investigations into the problem. It is not yet known when the panel will be formed.

The minister plans to visit all national parks and forests where there is illegal construction, including Thap Lan National Park in Prachin Buri, which is notorious for its many holiday parks.

Damrong Pidech, former head of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, who advocated a strict approach, thinks a panel is unnecessary. The most practical solution is for the heads of the national parks to take legal action, he says.

– During Ramadan, which started yesterday, no troops will be withdrawn from the South. Withdrawal is one of the conditions of the BRN, the resistance group with which Thailand is holding peace talks, to try to contain violence during the month of fasting. But Paradorn Pattanatabut, secretary general of the National Security Council and leader of the delegation at the talks, said yesterday that this cannot be the case.

However, in some places army personnel can be replaced by volunteers and police and in some areas fewer house searches will take place. "But that [first] is not a troop withdrawal," says Paradorn.

Yesterday was a quiet day in the South, as no incident was reported, but the authorities do not yet dare to conclude that the ceasefire is working.

– Indonesia is ready to support Thailand's efforts to end violence in the South, if requested by Thailand. This was said by Minister Marty Natalegawa (Foreign Affairs) yesterday when he was a guest of the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Bangkok. Our position is clear. We are willing to share the lessons we have learned ourselves.'

In 2005, the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh movement signed a peace agreement after 29 years of conflict. The government granted amnesty to the rebels and political prisoners and extended Aceh's autonomy.

Thailand has been talking to resistance group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) since February, but this has not led to a reduction in violence.

– The chairman of the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative and six others are suspected of having pushed back 2007 billion baht since 12. The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) announced this yesterday after several raids were carried out to look for evidence. The chairman is being put to the test today.

The case was brought to light by a former adviser and 300 members who had become suspicious of cash withdrawals. Last month, Amlo seized 1 plots worth more than XNUMX billion baht, ten vehicles and eleven bank accounts.

– A 51-year-old Russian man has been arrested in Bangkok on suspicion of forging credit cards stolen in Europe in order to withdraw money in Bangkok. In his hotel room, police found 129 credit cards, a skimmer and a notebook. The suspect had arrived on Saturday and had already withdrawn money six times, but when he was arrested he only had 500 baht with him. The police suspect that he passed the money on to accomplices.

– The Royal Irrigation Department has proposed developing Thailand's longest dam, the Khun Dan Prakarnchon in Nakhon Nayok (2.594 meters), into a major tourist eco-attraction. That initiative was approved yesterday by Prime Minister Yingluck, who visited the dam in the company of three cabinet members. The plan includes environmental improvement, more water activities, restaurants and recreational places. Implementation of the plan will cost 1,042 billion baht.

– A man (24) and his 14-year-old sweetheart were stabbed to death by the girl's jealous friend. Their bodies were found in (near?) a school in Sawi (Chumphon) on Tuesday. The suspect is on the run.

– A 67-year-old British pedophile, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in absentia in Cambodia, is deported to Cambodia. The court yesterday rejected his appeal against the court's deportation order. The man was arrested in Bangkok in 2010.

– Enter the message Sunday Times that former Prime Minister Thaksin intends to acquire a share in the Indonesian coal mining company Bumi is incorrect, says Noppadon Pattama, Thaksin's legal adviser.

Financial economic news

– The new income tax brackets are unlikely to go into effect this tax year. The Council of State is now examining the proposal to expand the number of brackets from 5 to 8 and to lower the rate for the highest bracket from 37 to 35 percent.

When the Council of State agrees, parliament still has to consider it in three 'readings', but that process can be accelerated by completing all three terms at the same time.

The aim of the operation is to ease the burden on taxpayers, in particular middle-income earners, and to boost domestic consumption, which is somewhat lagging.

The Tax and Customs Administration estimates that tax revenue in fiscal year 2013 (which ends September 30) will be slightly above the target of 1,77 trillion baht. In the first seven months (October to April), the tax authorities collected 821 billion baht, 16 percent more than in the same period last year and 5,4 percent more than planned.

An employee of a media company would regret if the new brackets were introduced a year later, because she had already planned her tax payments based on the new rates. Now she needs to tighten her belt and save more in it equity and retirement mutual fund than previously budgeted.

– The Tanachart Bank (TBank) is not in trouble due to the tight cash reserves of the Saha Farms Group. As a result, the percentage of NPLs (non-performing loans) will not increase, because the bank has already set aside money to absorb the loss on Saha's loans. The bank has informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

TBank is one of Saha Farms' three creditors. The other two are the Krunthai Bank (KTB) and the Siam Commercial Bank. KTB is the largest creditor with 5 billion baht, followed by T Bank with 1 to 2 billion baht.

Saha Farms, with a 20 percent share of the country's poultry market, is in liquidity trouble due to losses incurred last year from rising feed costs, rising labor costs and the appreciation of the baht.

On Friday, the company was confronted by protesting workers, mainly from Myanmar, because they had not received their salary. The chairman of the company has previously stated that the company is in the process of selling assets to improve its financial position.

– In 5 years Thailand will have hardly any rice hulling mills that are in Thai hands. Due to rising labor and energy costs, the little ones (the exact number is not known) who peel less than 50 tons per day will have died. They can only survive through the formation of joint ventures.

This says Manat Kitprasert, president of the Thai Rice Mills Association. In order to remain competitive, they will not only have to join forces, but will also have to focus more on premium rice to increase value and invest more in production and packaging development.

Thailand currently has 2.400 rice hulling mills. Thai rice exports are largely in the hands of international traders.

– The economic slowdown is no reason for the Monetary Policy Committee to deny the policy rate to lower, thinks Usara Wilaipich, economist at the Standard Chartered Bank (Thailand). For the MPC, financial stability is paramount in its decision-making. He said this on Tuesday, a day before the MPC's monthly meeting.

According to Usara, current interest rates are not too high and the central bank expects them to remain at the same level throughout the year. Usara says rising household debt and low interest rates from commercial banks are forcing the MPC to policy rate keep it at the same level. Other considerations include the slowdown in China's economy and the sluggish recovery in the eurozone and the US.

In May, the MPC lowered the policy rate (from which the banks derive their interest rates) by a quarter percentage point.

– The turnover of PTG Energy Plc, Thailand's sixth largest petrol company, rose 33 percent year-on-year in the first half to 26 billion baht. Calculated in terms of volume, sales were also 33 percent higher; a total of 800 million liters were tanked.

PTG opened 68 new gas stations, bringing it to 647 points of sale. This year, 160 are to be added, 30 more than the previous target. This has been increased because the demand for fuel is increasing. The company expects to add 80 tankers to its fleet of 103 vehicles. She also plans to expand the gas stations with minimarts and coffee shops.

– BTS station Bang Son is ready. It is located on Krung Thep-Nonthaburi Road. Passengers can transfer to Bang Son Railway Station and BTS Red Line in due course. The message does not say when the new station, part of the Purple Line, will be commissioned.

– Thailand's economy is likely to record a low growth rate in the second quarter due to sluggish private investment and contracting household consumption, industrial spending and agricultural production. This prediction is made in a National Social and Development Board report presented to the cabinet on Tuesday.

Household spending stalled at 0,8 percent in April and May, compared to 3,9 percent in the first quarter. Figures for the first two months of last year are not available and for June have not yet been released.

Private investment fell by 2,1 percent in April and May (Q1 2013 up 11,1 pc) and average industrial spending was 63 percent (Q1 67,1 pc). The only sector that showed promising figures was tourism with a growth of 19,4 percent or 3,9 million visitors.

According to a government spokesman, Prime Minister Yingluck is concerned about the malaise. She has instructed the relevant government departments to hold a workshop on Friday to evaluate economic trends and develop measures to stimulate the economy.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post