News from Thailand – June 20, 2013

For the fourth time, the OM has postponed its indictment against Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya, who created a motorcycle cop last September and then drove on.

Chief Prosecutor Ruecha Krairiksh says charges have been delayed because the suspect has appealed to the Attorney General against the speed limit violation charge.

The OM wants to prosecute Vorayuth for this because it turned out that he drove 170 km when he hit the officer. A prosecution for driving under the influence is not being considered due to lack of evidence. Vorayuth would only have reached for the bottle after he got home.

Vorayuth's lawyers have also asked the OM for a postponement. They say they need more time to question four witnesses and two experts. Ruecha agreed. The chief prosecutor has asked the police to speed up the questioning of witnesses about the speeding violation. That indictment is due in September.

Vorayuth, grandson of Red Bull founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, is accused of having shoveled and dragged a motor cop for 3 meters with his Ferrari on Sukhumvit Soi 47 in the early hours of September 200 last year. He then drove on and was arrested a few hours later at his home at Sukhumvit Soi 53. The police initially wanted to have him prosecuted for reckless driving resulting in death and damage, driving under the influence and failing to provide assistance to the victim.

– No rice has disappeared from government stocks, the Ministry of Commerce and the Public Warehouse Organization say in response to media reports that 2,9 million tons are missing. That rice could not be accounted for by a Treasury Department panel, but that was because it was not yet on the books, according to Vatchari Vimooktayon, Permanent Secretary of the Commerce Department.

Nevertheless, the National Rice Policy Committee (NRPC) has formed a committee to monitor government supplies. The cabinet also set up another committee yesterday to inspect the rice. The commission, which consists of independent surveyors and police, must report within one month.

– Red shirts yesterday protested at the office of the Nation Multimedia Group in Bang Na (Bangkok) because of a news report that the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD, red shirts) owed the Imperial World Lat Phrao department store 15 million baht in unpaid electricity bills . According to the demonstrators, it is a matter for the UDD leadership and not for the members.

On the fourth floor of the building is an office of the UDD and of the red shirt TV station Asia Update. The fifth floor is used for press conferences.

The local electricity company MEA says that it has not cut off the electricity because the department store has asked whether the overdue bills could be paid later. The MEA also does not want to dupe the other tenants of the building. An Imperial World representative says his company has issued a bank guarantee. According to him, Imperial World has become a 'target linked to politics'.

– Hassan Taib, chief negotiator of Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) in the peace talks with Thailand (photo homepage), says he will try to reduce the number of violent incidents in the South, but that does not mean that all attacks will stop. Hassan said this in a discussion on the Media Selatan radio station in Pattani on Tuesday.

According to Hassan, the third meeting last month went well. The Thai government is involved in the talks, but other groups such as the army and the Democratic Party are opposing it, he says. He called on all sectors in Thailand to consider the peace dialogue as a national agenda item. The ultimate goal of BRN is independence in the areas of freedom of education, economic affairs and social and religious ways of life.

Meanwhile, the violence continues unabated. In Pattani, a police officer was killed in a bomb attack on a road in Yala on Tuesday night (pictured) and a ranger was shot dead in an ambush. Eight police officers were also injured in the bombing.

– Was the newspaper wrong yesterday or did the police change their mind? Report today Bangkok Post that the police nevertheless take into account that there is a connection between the bombing last month in Ramkhamhaeng (Bangkok) and the violence in the deep South.

According to the police, the suspect has alleged involvement in a bomb attack in front of Narathiwat Provincial Airport last year. But the authorities have yet to verify that claim, says Piya Uthaya, spokesman for the Royal Thai Police, because the suspect does not appear on any list of southern insurgents.

Paradorn Pattanatabut, secretary-general of the National Security Council and leader of the delegation to the peace talks, does not consider a connection to the southern violence impossible because the suspect regularly traveled between Bangkok and Narathiwat.

Idris Sapator (24) was arrested on Monday during a raid on his home in Khok Khian (Narathiwat). Seven people were injured in the Ramkhamhaeng bombing. The police consider a business conflict between street vendors as a motive.

Asked if the insurgents are expanding their range to Bangkok, army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha says he is consulting with intelligence agencies about the possibility. He is also awaiting the results of the suspect's interrogation.

-A group of Buddhists has asked for an investigation into the behavior of Phra Wirapol Sukphol. Video clips and photos have shown that he is transported by helicopter and private jet, wears expensive fashion accessories, has high-tech toys and is said to be sleeping with a woman. The controversial monk is currently visiting France. This weekend he returns to Thailand.

– Today it appears Trafficking in Persons 2013 report from the US State Department. As in the past three years, Thailand expects to be on the tier-2 list of countries that are not doing enough against human trafficking. Relegation to list 3 is not likely; then Thailand could expect punitive measures. The report covers the situation in 188 countries.

According to Director-General Sek Wannamethee of Foreign Affairs (US and South Pacific), Thailand is taking the fight against human trafficking seriously. Some officials were indicted in 2012 and 2013, but those cases are still pending.

In January, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul accompanied a group of ambassadors to Samut Sakhon. There, children would work in the fish processing industry. The government has formed a working group led by Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung to investigate human trafficking and child labour.

– Airports of Thailand is going one this year Advance Passenger Processing System install (APPS). This system enables customs, immigration, airport staff and airlines to obtain the profile of passengers from their own country. This way they can see if passengers are on a blacklist or have no access to a certain country. The system applies to both departing and arriving passengers.

– Seven hundred Vietnamese who came to Thailand for a Herbalife seminar and a tour of Bangkok are left out in the cold because the Vietnamese travel agent has not paid its Thai partner for transport and hotels, according to Vietnamese News.

– Thailand objects in advance to a possible visit by Koichiro Matsuura, former director-general of Unesco, to Hindu temple Preah Vihear. When the visit is confirmed, the government will protest to Unesco, said Deputy Minister Pithaya Pookamon (Natural Resources and Environment), who is currently attending the World Heritage Committee (WHC) meeting in Phnom Penh.

Pithaya believes the visit is in violation of the International Court of Justice's direction to avoid problems over the disputed site. Unesco's current director-general says that UNESCO's current policy is that the temple and its surroundings are not visited. A visit could lead to an escalation of the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Koichiro has already visited the temple in the company of two others. He would have looked around for 2 hours. The WHC meeting ends next Thursday.

– The number of HIV patients who do not respond to first line en second line anti-retroviral drugs increased from 5,8 percent in 2008 to 11,5 percent last year. The resistance arises because the patients do not take the HIV inhibitors regularly. Starting next year, the National Health Security Office will distribute the third-line drug Darunavir.

– In a raid on June 10 in a building in Min Buri, 14 white lions, four otter civets, two hornbills, an loris and seized 23 meerkats. The animals are said to have been imported by a businessman from Singapore. According to a man who looked after the animals, he would have an import license for the animals, most of which come from South Africa. The lions would be destined for a private zoo in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Political news

– Opposition party Democrats will attempt to send the cabinet home. According to her, the tender of the water management projects, for which 350 billion baht has been allocated, is not transparent. A small number of companies would be favored, which allows them to manipulate the price.

Impeachment proceedings require the signatures of 120 MPs. The request goes to the President of the Senate, who forwards it to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The Democrats will then file a vote of no confidence and they are considering a so-called censor debate (a kind of interpellation) when parliament meets again in August.

The Democratic party is also disappointed that the government has decided to lower the guaranteed price for paddy from 15.000 to 12.000 baht per ton. That decision dupes the farmers and it contradicts the government statement of Pheu Thai. Moreover, the main problem, corruption in the mortgage system, is not addressed.

The party maintains that since its introduction in 2011, the system has made a loss of 260 billion baht and not 136 billion baht, as the government claims.

Economic news

– Unilever will open its first factory in Myanmar next month. The Anglo-Dutch company wants to become the market leader in consumer goods in Thailand's neighboring country over the next 10 years. Unilever first settled in Burma 80 years ago, but withdrew in 1965 due to the political situation. Since 2010, Unilever products are again available in Myanmar. Knorr, Sunsilk, Clear and Pond are well-known brands.

The new factory is located in Yangon and will be the first to produce Knorr dried soup mixes and spices. 150 employees will be employed. A second factory will open later this year and another 100 people will be hired. By 2015, Unilever aims to employ 2.000 people directly or indirectly.

Unilever (Myanmar) is an independent company with support from Thailand. It is led by Bauke Rouwers (that must be a compatriot), chairman of the Unilever Group of Companies in Thailand and Indochina.

– Amari Estates Co expects to sell 12 billion baht worth of second homes on Phuket in the next 2,3 months. President and CEO Yuthachai Chanarachitta says Thai buyers are increasingly embracing the so-called 'leaseback concept', where a housing unit is shared with other residents in order to generate income.

Over the past four months, Amari Residences Phuket has sold 17 condos for a total of 170 million baht: 14 to Thais and 3 during a roadshow in Hong Kong. In total, the project consists of 148 condos that range in size from 44 to 102 square meters and cost between 7 and 24 million baht. Twelve 'pool villas' have a price tag of 60 to 74 million baht.

– Nok Air is expanding its fleet this year with two ATR 72 aircraft, a 2-engine turboprop short-haul airliner from the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. Nok Air wants to purchase six in total, but due to the high demand for the device, only two are available this year. The budget airline already flies with two ATRs to Phitsanulok and Mae Hong Son. The aircraft have a capacity of 66 to 70 passengers.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post