News from Thailand – October 19, 2014

British police are coming to Thailand as an 'observer' to observe the progress of the investigation into the Koh Tao double homicide. But that's where her role ends. The British are not going to help with the investigation.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said this yesterday after returning from Milan, where he attended the Asian-Europe Meeting. He distanced himself from reports from the BBC and British newspapers Telegraph, suggesting that Prayut might be over.

Prayut would have yielded to British Prime Minister Cameron's request that the British police be allowed to assist in the investigation. According to those reports, the British would be allowed to verify the DNA material and investigate the allegations that the two suspects were tortured.

Bangkok Post reports this today under the headline 'PM denies UK role in murder case' in its opening article. The article also discusses reports of the demonstration in Milan against the junta. Prayut has not seen anything, he says, and the newspaper reports little about it [self-censorship?]. The rest of the article rehashes old news, but I'm not going to repeat that here.

– Iron-eater and former deputy prime minister in the Yingluck cabinet, Chalerm Yubamrung, already knows that his party will return to the government plush when elections are held. Thailand is expected to go to the polls in early 2016, ending military rule. According to Chalerm, Pheu Thai still enjoys strong support in the Northeast and North and former Prime Minister Thaksin is still very popular with large parts of the electorate.

Only when Thaksin turns his back on politics or dies can Pheu Thai be defeated, Chalerm prophesies. He also expects Yingluck to return as prime minister, unless she is removed from office (retroactively) as a result of the rice mortgage scandal.

Chalerm plays with the idea that Prayut Chan-o-cha will stay on if he sees a chance to reduce the cost of living and thereby win the sympathy of the population. The army would then have to set up a political party to put Prayut in power. “But Prayut doesn't. He is smart.'

– Thailand is 'well prepared' for a possible outbreak of Ebola, says the Department of Disease Control (DDC). Deputy Director-General Opart Karnkawingpong points out that the country has experience in curbing infectious diseases such as SARS, bird flu, foot and mouth disease and "more".

Opart says this in response to the outbreak of Ebola in the US, where eight cases have been detected in the past week and a few deaths in Spain. Since March, the highly contagious disease has claimed 4.500 lives in West Africa. So far, Asia is Ebola-free.

Travelers from one of the affected countries must report to the DDC upon arrival. They are only admitted with permission from the DDC. The DDC contacts them daily for three weeks to inquire about their health.

Those who become ill go to one of the four designated hospitals in Bangkok. Outside of Bangkok, patients must report to a regional hospital. They are quarantined. Individuals who have been in contact with a suspected Ebola patient are followed for XNUMX days.

Two thousand Thais have arrived from the affected areas since June. Temperature scanners are only installed at major airports, such as Suvarnabhumi, Hat Yai and Chiang Mai.

– It seems like an exciting detective story: the disappearance of a Japanese man and the arrest of his girlfriend who has withdrawn 700.000 baht from his bank account in fourteen transactions in the past two weeks.

The woman appears to have previously been married to a Japanese man who was killed in a fall from a staircase. The police attributed this to the atherosclerosis from which he suffered, but his family has serious doubts, especially because the man had taken out a life insurance policy.

And how coincidental, now the woman declares that her partner, who has been missing since the end of September, suffered from the same problem. She had escorted him to a hospital in Bang Na for treatment that day.

The police now suspects the woman not only of embezzlement but also of molestation. Yesterday, her home in Samut Prakan and homes of relatives were searched. For the time being, the police cannot make a connection between the woman and the disappearance of the Japanese.

The woman was apprehended at the man's apartment in Din Daeng while she was packing her bags. She has been released by the court on 100.000 baht bail. As I wrote last time: We will never see them again.

– That the strict law against lèse-majesté is abused to silence political opponents is well known (and criticized). Two retired soldiers are now using the article to keep history alive.

They have sued Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent scientist, for daring to question whether King Naresuan's famous XNUMXth century elephant duel actually took place. According to Sulak, there are no witnesses to this duel, which is described in the history of the monarch. He told this earlier this month during a seminar at Thammasat University.

The soldiers believe that Sulak has violated Article 112 of the Penal Code, which reads: Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.

Sulak (82) has been accused of lèse-majeste twice before, but he was acquitted both times. Human rights lawyer Somchai Homlaor says it is unlikely that Article 112 also applies to a historical monarch.

– It is not yet very successful in finding investors for the ambitious Dawei project in Myanmar, a joint venture between Thailand and Myanmar. Prime Minister Prayuth is now trying to warm up Indian businessmen to the project (deep-sea port, industrial estate, petrochemical complex, gas pipeline). He discussed this in Milan with the Indian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. India has a 'Look East' policy and Thailand a 'Look West' policy, so that's a good thing.

Japan would already be interested in Dawei, but that country also has its hands full in Thilawa near Yangon, where construction of a large port and an industrial estate started last year. Dawei and Thilawa are two of the three economic zones that Myanmar wants to develop. The third, Kyaukphyu in Rakhine State, is largely financed by China.

The development of Dawei was awarded to Italian-Thai Development Plc in 2001, but that company was sold because it could not find investors. It is said to have already invested US $ 189 million in the project, an amount that the new management company, set up by both countries, will pay back.

– A team of 'security officials' [I always wonder if they mean soldiers, policemen or others.] yesterday surrounded the village of Sangabura in Pattanu after receiving a tip that insurgents were present. One man has been arrested. He would have confessed that he was making a bomb for a friend who wanted to carry out an attack. Various items that served for this purpose have been seized.

– Previously there was talk that the contractor would receive compensation for the work that had been done up to that point, but now I don't read anything about that anymore.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission will investigate the repair of Thailand's longest wooden bridge in Kanchanaburi.

The bridge, part of which collapsed last year, was officially opened on Saturday. After the contractor was removed for faulty work, local carpenters and soldiers took over the repair. It only took them 36 days to complete the job.

The bridge, which was built in 1987, is officially called Uttamanusorn bridge, but is more commonly known as Mon bridge. It lies across the Song Kalia River. The bridge measures 850 meters.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post. No News Featured today.