News from Thailand – August 14, 2014

Seven people are suspected by the police of negligence in the construction of the apartment building in Khlong Luang (Pathum Thani) that collapsed on Monday. Four were already arrested yesterday. Also yesterday, the elevator shaft was demolished, which was still standing and made it difficult to search for victims.

According to one of those arrested, the construction controlling engineer [supervisor?], the building collapsed because workers had poured concrete on the roof, for which permission had not been granted. The (arrested) subcontractor says he followed the main contractor's instructions when he ordered them to pour the concrete. The director of client U-Place (Tom) Co accepts all responsibility for the accident, including compensation to victims and their families.

Heavy equipment finally arrived on Wednesday so that the search for any survivors could begin in earnest. Two bodies were found, but they could not be removed yet. Five people are believed to be trapped under the rubble. The Ministry of Health has not yet adjusted the death toll of three. The number of victims is 28, five of whom are still in hospital.

The Engineering Institute of Thailand blames the collapse on a design flaw. The pillars were not strong enough to support the weight of the poured concrete. Lower floors gave way as a result. The collapsed building is one of six buildings [previously two] that are part of the same construction project. Two buildings are already occupied. According to the EIT, they are safe.

– An excavator started yesterday on the beach of Hua Hin to break down a restaurant that was illegally erected there (photo home page). According to the province, 66 companies must disappear; 22 were ordered to dismantle their structures by yesterday at the latest, but the owners did not show up. They allegedly went to Bangkok to file a complaint with the PM's Office. The demolition deadline has now been extended to today.

Also yesterday, Governor Veera Sriwattanatrakul of Prachuap Khiri Khan discussed with officials plans to reorganize the beach. It has been decided to sweep the area between the Hilton hotel and Khao Takiab clean. Cooking is prohibited and Wednesday is a compulsory day off for the operators [of?], so that the beach gets some 'respite'.

The next step will be a price measure for the food sold on the beach, ending the extortionate prices that some vendors charge. The authorities are also going to do something about the horses on the beach. Also here too high prices; moreover, the operators do not clean up the excrement.

– The Legal Execution Department wants this financial year seized property worth 100 billion baht to be auctioned. Before the end of this month, 22 billion baht must flow into the state coffers and then the 100 billion will be received. That amount includes 3,2 billion baht worth of land and real estate confiscated in more than XNUMX drug cases.

More than 2013 billion baht has been raised in auctions between October 78 and July, director-general Ruenwadee Suwanmongkol announced yesterday. If it succeeds in reaching the target of 100 billion baht, the economy will receive a significant boost, she says. But the deadline is approaching [the Thai budget year runs from October 1 to September 30], so there is still a lot of work to be done.

The department currently owns assets worth 236 billion baht. They come from civil cases, bankruptcy and business rehabilitation [?] Affairs. It concerns land, houses and apartments. In order to be able to sell more apartments, the department proposes that buyers should no longer be required to take over outstanding utility bills. The owner must tell that to the previous occupants.

– The fear of Ebola, which is rampant in some African countries, is well received by the Thai authorities, because the Ministry of Health has devised four measures to prevent the virus from spreading in Thailand. Ebola is considered a communicable and contagious disease by the ministry. As soon as a case is identified, the relevant authorities should be alerted.

– The lifeless body of a 33-year-old Russian man was found yesterday in a hotel in Phuket. He had several stab wounds to his chest. Police found a fruit knife and three suicide notes near his body. The man stayed there with his transsexual partner, a 38-year-old man from Nakhon Si Thammarat.

– The BTS station Bang Wah will have a walkway connection (pedestrian bridge) of 245 meters to the new pier Taksin-Phetkasem in the Khlong Phasi Charoen in Phasi Charoen. Bang Wah is the last station on the Thonburi side of Bangkok.

The newspaper reports about this canal that a ferry service with ten boats has started in the morning and evening rush hours. Every day, two thousand people board the boats, which commute between Pratunam Phasi Charoen pier and Phetkasem 69. Later, the ferry will also sail in the evening and the number of boats may be increased, according to the deputy governor of Bangkok.

– Earlier he was still a blow to the arm, but Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, the newly elected chairman of the NLA (emergency parliament) is now resigning as ombudsman. He wants to avoid a conflict of interest when the Office of the Ombudsman has to investigate the NLA.

Tomorrow the NLA will consider the 2015 budget and next week the interim prime minister will be elected. The Electoral Council expects to receive three thousand names for the National Reform Council to be formed, a council that will devise reform proposals. The NRC will have 250 members, so there is work to be done for the Electoral Council.

– Taxi drivers, get your chest wet, because the junta is going to tackle drivers who don't follow the rules. So from now on always turn on the meter and never again refuse a ride or make a long detour. Knot that in your ears.

In eight places plus at shopping malls, in bus terminals, community areas [?] and high traffic areas will have uniformed and plainclothes officers checking taxis. Those eight places are Future Park Rangsit, Yaowarat, Mo Chit bus station, CentralWorld, MBK, Platinum Fashion Mall in Pratunam, Wat Phra Kaeo and Soi Nana.

Drivers who go wrong risk a fine of 1000 baht or loss of their license. The taxi companies that rent out the cars are also held liable. According to the Land Transport Department, 10 to 20 percent of Bangkok's 160.000 taxi drivers do not have the required license. Between October and July, there were 23.753 complaints about drivers, 14.865 drivers had to be brought to justice, 32 licenses were suspended and one was revoked

– The maintenance of the eight metro trains on the Airport Rail Link, which was scheduled for April, has been postponed until the end of next year. The culprits are the delayed budget and management errors. As a result, spare parts are not yet available. SRT Electric Train Co, which operates the line, is also still hiring experts from Siemens Co and Knorr-Bremse. Minor maintenance can start in December, so postponing periodic maintenance is not a danger.

– It was and remains a prison sentence of 16 years for a woman who was convicted of arson in four ornamental fish stalls in Chatuchak weekend market. In July 2007, she gave the order to make room for a new building. The woman had appealed the verdict to the Supreme Court, which upheld the verdict. An arrest warrant has been issued against her, because she was missing from the hearing.

– Another appeal to the Supreme Court. A former police officer convicted of murdering his girlfriend in 2010 was also denied an appeal. He is allowed to hum for 10 years and has to pay a fine of 2.100 baht for carrying a weapon while off duty.

– A Thai Airways International aircraft, en route from Bangkok to Sydney, had to make a stopover in Bali on Tuesday because a crack had appeared in the cockpit window and the pressure in the cabin had started to decline, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The passengers had to spend the night in Bali. The flight was to resume yesterday afternoon.

– Two rangers were killed and a third seriously injured in a bomb attack in Kato (Yala) yesterday afternoon. The bomb exploded while a team of rangers was patrolling a school. The bomb was buried next to a tree near a canal. Earlier this month, two soldiers were killed when a similar bomb exploded in a rubber plantation.

– State oil company PTT Plc wants to privatize its transmission and distribution pipelines. According to former senator Rosana Tositrakul, this violates a 2007 court order to transfer all gas pipelines to the Treasury Department. She promises to oppose it together with environmentalists. "We won't let that happen."

PTT Plc is based on a cabinet decision of 2001. The network in question measures 3.715 km, of which 2.241 km offshore. The National Energy Policy Committee will meet tomorrow to discuss PTT's plan. PTT wants to set up a new company to manage the network and bring it to the stock exchange. A public hearing will also be held tomorrow. The value of the network is estimated at 47,66 billion baht.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

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