News from Thailand – August 15, 2014

The Bangkok city council chairman has been detained on suspicion of extortion from street vendors, an accusation he denies.

Pipat Lappattana, councilor for Bang Rak, says they are falsely accused by them. They do this because the municipality is busy removing (illegal) vendors who block sidewalks. Pipat believes his arrest will discourage officials from taking action against illegal vendors in the future.

Pipat can be held in custody for a week. He is questioned by the Crime Suppression Division. The racketeering allegation comes from vendors at Wat Hua Lamphong and Sam Yan MRT station. They not only point the finger of blame at Pipat, but also at his advisor.

The arrest of the municipal council chairman is not the first case of alleged extortion. Wednesday became one thetsakit Inspector [no explanation] of Bang Rak District arrested. He has been accused by some city councilors of extorting motorcycle taxi drivers. According to a source at City Hall, street vendors and motorcycle taxi drivers have been extorted for a long time.

And then there is a case of extortion of traders who transport goods to Laos via the Chon Mek border post. A customs officer is suspected of this. The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) has asked management to take disciplinary action against the man. The man was caught in an undercover operation by the PACC. The PACC had been tipped off about the extortion practices of customs officials.

– The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has stopped its investigation into alleged suspicious donations from two MPs of the Democratic party. That decision was made yesterday after a meeting between the current director general and two legal experts from the Democrats. According to them, the former DSI head Tarit Pengdith started the investigation to intimidate the party(members).

The donations relate to the amount of 20.000 baht that was deducted monthly from the salary of all Democratic MPs by the secretariat of the House of Representatives and transferred to the party. Tarit believed the donations violated the Political Party Act. The Electoral Council already established in July last year that this was not the case.

A second investigation has also been stopped by the new director general. This concerns a donation of 1 million baht from the East Water Group in 2010. The Democrats received this money for aid to flood victims. Nothing wrong with that, the Electoral Council thought last June. The DSI has now adopted that conclusion.

– More Tarit, but now his wife. He is said to be involved in the illegal construction of two (now demolished) holiday homes in a national forest reserve in Nakhon Ratchasima. The DSI will investigate even though the Land Department has determined it had nothing to do with it.

Wassamon owns several holiday homes on an adjacent piece of land that she owns. This has been confirmed by the Land Department. The demolished holiday homes plus associated land are said to be owned by a friend. A former senator claimed earlier this year that Wassamon's buildings are also on the reserve's territory. And that's exactly what the DSI is going to find out.

– The death toll from Monday's collapse of a flat under construction in Pathum Thani has risen to eleven. The bodies of three construction workers have not yet been found. Some bodies found cannot be identified because they are in an advanced state of decomposition.

The police are investigating the quality of the building materials used. Seven persons are suspected of negligence; the four arrested on Wednesday have been released on bail after posting 100.000 baht bail. Two of the three suspects who are still being sought have said they will turn themselves in voluntarily.

A representative of Thai General Insurance is surprised that the building was not insured. He believes that new requirements should be introduced to guarantee that victims and surviving relatives are properly compensated. The Social Security Office is now helping with 30.000 baht for funeral expenses. The relatives of three deceased workers have already received the money.

The office of the Consumer Protection Board will have a hearty word with the client of the construction. Presumably many buyers will want to cancel their purchase contract. The office will ask the company to return as much of the deposit as possible.

The construction of an identical flat has been halted by the Engineering Institute of Thailand pending further investigation and reinforcement of the structure.

– In a house in Sai Buri (Pattani), three suspects were arrested yesterday who were in possession of firearms and materials to manufacture bombs. In the house, the police found three handguns and an improvised bomb and the materials to make bombs within a radius of 500 meters around the house. They also dug around the house to see if there was anything left.

A military ranger and four officers were injured in bomb attacks on Highway 42 in Sai Buri and Road 4071 in Thung Yang Daeng yesterday. In Sai Buri the bomb exploded when a patrol of rangers charged with protecting teachers passed and in the other district when a pickup truck with police officers passed.

There were also two incidents of vandalism. In Yala, the text 'Pattani Merdeka' (Independence for Pattani) had been spray-painted on the road in a square and elsewhere in Muang district, car tires had been set on fire and flares had been fired at a shed.

– A bill on public rallies, which was approved by the House of Representatives three years ago but has not progressed, has been shelved by a panel chaired by Acting Police Commissioner Watcharapol Prasarnratchakit.

The proposal requiring rally organizers to give 24-hour notice of a rally and setting other restrictive conditions was not considered by the Senate at the time because the Abhisit government resigned. The Yingluck government, which made a big gain in the subsequent elections, then withdrew it.

According to the National Human Rights Commission, the draft law could violate the 2007 constitution (which has been overruled by the junta), which guarantees freedom of assembly and the right to peaceful gatherings. A former Democratic MP fears that the junta will use the repeal of the 2007 constitution to push through the proposal. The panel that is considering the proposal says it can still be changed. There will also be hearings, Watcharapol promises.

– Five suspects in the murder of mayor Peera Tantiseranee of Songkhla in November last year have been acquitted by the Songkhla Provincial Court due to lack of evidence. Peera's wife had filed a complaint against the five, including the chairman of the Songkhla Provincial Council. The wife, Peera's mother and younger brother do not give up the fight. They are appealing the verdict.

A total of ten people were involved in the murder. Two were shot dead during the trial and three had already been acquitted. Peera was hit by a barrage of bullets as he smoked a cigarette in front of an office building. It is suspected that he was shot at by three people from a pickup truck. The report says that the motive has to do with the election of the positions of mayor and chairman of the Provincial Council.

– He gets to contemplate his sins for a year behind bars and he will probably wonder why the amulets failed him. Former Pheu Thai MP Chaowarin Latthasaksiri was found guilty yesterday by the Appeals Court of fraud involving Jatukarm Ramathep amulets in 2007. He said they were blessed in a ceremony at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and at the City Pillar.

The Criminal Court had previously sentenced Chaowarin to two years in prison. The Appeals Court made it a year because of his confession and because he had refunded two victims their money. According to the report, Chaowarin had 40.000 amulets made.

– The authorities in Hua Hin are determined to demolish the structures of 22 vendors on the beach. A total of 66 sellers have to leave the field; the 22 are accused of charging extortionate prices and intimidating customers. They have complained to the NCPO about the proposed demolition.

Yesterday, the mayor of Hua Hin and the district chief met with the dissidents and officials. It is agreed that the stalls [stalls?] be moved further back on the beach; they must not exceed 6 by 21 meters and 2 meters must be kept clear for pedestrians on the beach side. The sellers must also put up a price list. There will be another meeting next Wednesday. Then it's about food prices and service. [NB The first sentence of this message contradicts the agreement made yesterday.]

– The Ministry of Education yesterday agreed on the first phase of a plan for educational reforms between 2015 and 2021. Nine issues are addressed in the first phase. I will highlight a few: the number of subjects is being reduced, students must be taught in life skills [?] and vocational education should be better aligned with the labor market.

The intention is that the number of students in vocational education will increase from 34 percent to 50 percent in 2021 and 60 percent in 2026. The permanent secretary of the ministry says that the image of these students should improve, so that more students opt for vocational education. There is something wrong with that image, because students from rival vocational schools regularly beat each other's brains.

– The carcass of a dolphin and a porpoise washed up on the coast of Khlong Yai (Trat) on Wednesday. This brings the number of dead (protected) fish to 15 this year. The dolphin probably suffocated when it got entangled in a fishing net.

– During a patrol of fifty forest rangers and soldiers in Namtok Pha Charoen National Park in Tak province, a forest ranger was shot dead and another was injured. The patrol was looking for illegally used land by poachers.

– In Thai agriculture, angrily sprayed with insecticide is confirmed by a study in Lampang. Farmers have too high a concentration of insecticides in their blood. A survey of 4.000 farmers in Kelang Nakhon found that 82 percent are at risk of health problems. A survey of villagers found 80 percent. The mayor calls the situation 'dangerously critical'.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

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