News from Thailand – April 21, 2012
Friday's hot weather has caused a peak in electricity consumption for the fourth time this year. According to the authorities, the hot weather is not unusual for the time of year, but it is warmer than last year with average temperatures of 34,4 to 35,8 degrees Celsius. On Wednesday and Thursday, the mercury will even reach 42 degrees in some places.
– The island of Phuket will disappear into the sea on April 28, according to two pamphlets distributed on the island. The predictions are said to have been made respectively by the Chinese goddess Kuan Yin and two legendary heroines, who led the islanders in pushing back Burmese invaders in 1785.
– The Federation of Thai Industries urges the government to postpone the increase of the minimum daily wage to 300 baht in 70 provinces, scheduled for next year, until 2015. Small and medium-sized businesses need time to adjust to the increase, according to the FTI. The reduction in business tax this year from 30 to 23 percent offers no solace, because 60 percent of SMEs do not pay that tax. The business community fears bankruptcies, redundancies and capital flight to low-wage countries. The Minister of Employment has already announced that there can be no question of postponement.
In 7 provinces, the minimum daily wage went up to 1 baht on April 300. In the other provinces it was increased by 40 percent and will go to 300 baht next year.
– The Supreme Court has Pheu Thai MP for Chiang Mai Chinnicha Wongsawat, a niece of former Prime Minister Thaksin, stripped of her parliamentary status. She is barred from holding any political office for 5 years and has been sentenced by the Supreme Court to a 2-month suspended prison sentence. Chinnicha falsified her declaration of assets in January 2008 when she was elected by failing to declare a 100 million baht loan she had borrowed from her uncle. She herself says she did this because the money, together with all the assets of the Shinawatra family, was frozen at the time when a committee was investigating corruption. Her lawyers are considering appealing to the Supreme Court joint session.
– The Constitutional Court has in two separate cases acquitted opposition leader Abhisit, a Democratic MP, the current Minister of Justice and six Pheu Thai MPs of unauthorized interference with the issuance of aid packages during the floods last year. Abhisit believes that the Pheu Thai people misled the victims at the time by suggesting that the packages came from themselves and the party.
– The Democratic MP for Bangkok is under fire from ruling party Pheu Thai because he had looked at a pornographic picture on his mobile phone during the parliamentary debate on Thursday. She insists on his resignation. According to the parliamentarian, a friend had sent the picture and he tried to remove it. The issue is sensitive because a pornographic photo appeared on the large plasma screen in the conference room the day before. That screen has a WiFi connection. It is suspected that a visitor had hacked into the system.
– Colonel Romklao Thuwatham was killed by red shirts on April 20, 2010 during the fighting between the army and red shirts at Kok Wua Intersection. This has been confirmed by Tarit Pengdith, head of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI). Those battles cost the lives of six soldiers, including Romklao, and 20 demonstrators. Since his death, Romklao's widow has been putting pressure on the authorities and the DSI to investigate the case.
– Another setback for the supply of tablet PCs to students of Prathom 1. An anonymous source says that the Chinese supplier Shenzhen can only produce 1.000 tablets per day and not the 24.000 tablets per day promised by the Chinese government. The supplier would also like to reduce the warranty period of the battery from 2 to 1 year and the number of service points Thailand decrease from 30 to 12. The purchase contract has still not been signed. All Prathom-1 students would receive a tablet at the start of the new school year on May 16. A tablet for all students is one of the election promises of ruling party Pheu Thai.
– Five insurgents were killed in a gunfight on Wednesday afternoon between soldiers, police and insurgents in the district of Krong Pinang (Yala); nine managed to escape. The Defense Minister has complimented the soldiers and agents for their action. The insurgents were planning to attack government buildings, police said.
– Two roadside bombs injured five rangers in Narathiwat province, one of them seriously. After one explosion, the rangers came under fire from the bushes. The attackers fled after a 3-minute firefight.
– Legal action is being taken against 25 owners of illegally constructed holiday parks in Thap Lan National Park (Nakhon Ratchasima). The 25 are part of an action against 104 parks by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation that began Tuesday. An earlier investigation revealed 118 illegally constructed holiday parks.
– The anti-drug operations center headed by Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung proposes to exclude persons sentenced to death for drug crimes from appeal. They should also be executed within 15 days of their conviction.
The police are looking for 60.000 drug traffickers and dealers. On the head of the 25 most important is a reward of 500.000 to 2 million baht. An amount of 12 million baht has been allocated for this.
– Eleven passengers, 5 of them seriously, were injured when a bus on its way from Bangkok to Roi Et collided with a concrete curb on a ramp of the Don Muang toll road. The driver was probably asleep.
– Two men who offered stolen or smuggled cars for sale as second-hand cars via the internet have been arrested. In two months they made nine victims.
– Residents of tambon Bang Kum (Ayutthaya) demonstrated at the district office because they only received 1.000 to 3.000 baht in compensation, while others received amounts of 10.000 to 20.000 baht in compensation for last year's water damage. According to the deputy district chief, the amounts were based on an assessment of the damage, but he promised to re-evaluate the damage.
– The dike around the Saha Rattana Nakorn industrial estate will probably not be completed in time for the rainy season because the executor stopped his work two days ago. The creditors of the land covered by the debt restructuring must now choose a new executor to be approved by the court. The construction of the dike is partly financed by the government; the rest is at the expense of the administrator. The ministry has asked Japanese companies in the field to open the door, but they want to see a guarantee first.
– Three hundred Burmese and Karen workers stopped work at the iron ore smelter GS Energy Co in Ratchaburi for a short time. They demanded a salary increase from 190 to 251 baht per day and higher allowances. The company is making a decision on their demands today.
– The union of the Government Lottery Office threatens further action if the dismissal of the director is not reversed. Previously, employees demonstrated at the Ministry of Finance. The current management is the third in a row to leave the field, reportedly due to a conflict over the allocation of lots. The board of the GLO does not intend to undo the resignation.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post