News from Thailand – August 25, 2014
In the fight against long waiting times before the police finally show up to a problem on the street, the police have set up a pillar with a direct connection to the nearest police station on Srinakarin Road as a test. The idea, which fits in nicely with the police campaign 'Police Help Me', is an initiative of the Prawet office.
When people now need police assistance, they either call the office in their own residential area of which they know the number, or 191. They then alert the local police. The time that is lost as a result is at the expense of investigation and assistance. Thanks to the direct connection, patrols can come to the rescue more quickly. The police hope to be able to arrive within 5 minutes, half faster than the current average waiting time of 10 minutes.
The instructions on the panel are in three languages: Thai, English (hopefully flawless) and Chinese. All you have to do is press the emergency button. An electronic signal is then sent to the nearest police station. Abuse is punishable. In the event of a power failure, a backup system provides power for two to three days.
The pillar was developed in collaboration with a lecturer from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology in Lad Krabang and funded by a private company.
– Every year, about 1.200 to 1.500 cars are totaled in collisions. The license plates of those cars often end up in the illegal circuit; they are used in the registration of stolen and land smuggled vehicles. The Land Transport Department (LTD) now wants to make short work of it. That can't be very difficult, because the only thing that needs to be done is to remove the license plate from the LTD's database.
In the current state of affairs, the license plate goes to the insurance company that pays for the damage. The wrecks are often bought by dealers who resell them to garages or car thieves. The license plate is then used to register a car with the same model and color. Unsuspecting buyers of stolen or smuggled cars can get into big trouble as a result; moreover, the government loses revenue.
The provincial LTD offices have been instructed by the head office to monitor the registration of damaged cars more strictly. Those cars must undergo an inspection and the owner must provide various documents such as repair receipts, a copy of the police report, photos of the repair process, and so on. If it later turns out that stolen parts were used for the repair or the car is not the original car, the license plate will be withdrawn and a report will be made.
– Would General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who was elected interim prime minister by the emergency parliament, nervously bite his nails today? Maybe, because at half past ten he takes it royal command to confirm his appointment. 'I am ready to get tired', said Prayuth yesterday, who clearly does not underestimate his new cap.
Prayuth will start forming his cabinet this week. He is expected to ask the king to confirm the cabinet at the end of this week.
According to a source, Prayuth will also become defense minister, which means that he will combine four functions until the end of September when he retires as army chief: prime minister, minister, army chief and NCPO head. But observers also take into account that Prayuth will stay on as army chief and appoint deputy army chief Udomdet Sitabutr as acting army chief.
– Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council [and allegedly the architect of the military coup that ousted Thaksin], will not receive the army summit on his birthday tomorrow this year. It is tradition for the commanders of the forces to wish him a Happy Birthday [and eat a piece of birthday cake?]. Prem does not want to disturb NCPO members, a source said. Prem will be 94 years old tomorrow.
– You would almost think it is a deliberate provocation, because yesterday in Bangkok protesters for a responsible energy policy marched from the Victory Monument to Chatuchak, although martial law prohibits gatherings of more than five people. But they thought they could circumvent that rule by walking in groups of five.
But the party didn't go well. Police handcuffed seven, including Veera Somkomenkid, coordinator of the Thai Patriots Network, who has been imprisoned in Cambodia since February 2011 for 'espionage' and was recently pardoned by the Cambodian monarch. The seven are held in custody for a week.
Last week, a march of eleven people came to an end. They wanted to walk from Songkhla to Bangkok to draw attention to energy policy. They too were arrested. The plea for energy policy reform has been taken up by an artist couple and two others. The army has ordered them to stop walking at 17 p.m. every day and to erect prohibited podiums.
– Three agents of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI, the Thai FBI) will be prosecuted for extorting market vendors at the Rongklua border market. In 2012, they pocketed 400.000 baht. The three have been reported to the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC).
That committee is not sitting still, because the PACC board has decided to investigate a similar case in Pattaya. There, the head of the DSI (region 2) allegedly extorted foreigners.
Between June 18 and August 6, the PACC received 534 complaints about various cases of corruption. Of these, 130 have been processed and 29 have been completed. Most complaints concerned illegal use of forest land and abuse of power by officials.
– The National Anti-Corruption Commission, the better-known sister of the PACC, has received 978 complaints about corruption in local governments. The complaints relate to tenders, where the bottom price is set too high; fraud in hiring and vote buying. The complaints came up yesterday at a meeting of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation. The foundation believes that local administrators should put their households in order in order to restore the confidence of the population.
– The editor-in-chief of the magazine Cycling Plus Thailand passed away from lymph node cancer yesterday at the age of 44. Ittirit Prakhamthong strived for a low carbon footprint and inspired many to get on a bike. Before joining Post International Media, he was a media campaigner for Greenpeace. In June 2013 he started the cycling magazine.
– The villagers of Ban Bang in Ayutthaya think the NCPO's proposed relocation of a waste processing company plus landfill is not a good idea. The NCPO wants to move the company from Baan Pom to Mahaphram. Unfortunately, the message doesn't mention why the Bang Banners are against it, but I can guess: NIMBY. [If you don't know what that means, look it up. I'm not a nanny.]
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
More news in:
Motorcycle rally leads to massive traffic chaos
It runs out of steam with thefts
Hi Dick,
I read your summary of the news every day and appreciate it very much.
Your comments are also usually to-the-point and/or humorous.
But “wan dii, wan maai dii” today you are very wrong: “That can't be very difficult, because all that has to be done is to remove the license plate from the LTD's database.”.
Of course that is not the only thing that needs to be done (and you will also indicate that in the remainder of the message). Those people here aren't retarded, are they? But you insinuate that!
Hi Dick,
Sorry, on second thought, I overdid my criticism. It's not all that bad!
@RicharddJ Okay. By the way, don't worry. I can take a beating or as my mother would say: smooth back. The suggestion that the solution lies in removing the license plate number from the database was taken from BP. He writes: 'When the regulation is enforced, the license plate numbers of badly damaged vehicles will be canceled and erased from the department's database system.' What remains possible, of course, is screwing a false license plate onto the car, because they can be counterfeited. Or they are taken from the wrecks. Well, no system is foolproof.
Don't think it's such a stupid idea. Retrieve the number of the record from the database and if it is requested and it is not there: FALSE. How simple can it be, or am I being too simplistic?
“The plea for energy policy reform has been taken up by an artist couple and two others. The army has ordered them to stop walking every day at 17 p.m. and to erect prohibited podiums.” Talk about abuse of power. Is there also a reason why they have to stop every day at 17.00 pm? I guess this isn't required for their health anyway lol. What a stupid move by the military this is. All nice words then become clear air. This shows that there is a dictatorship that wants people to function like puppets in a puppet theater. As a Dutchman, this goes against all my principles. But this is the Thailand of today unfortunately.
Japan urged Thailand to ensure a 'smooth and early' transition to a democratic system through a parliamentary election after the appointment of interim prime minister.
Received today via the BPNews App, apparently Japan is the only country in the world that has something to say. will General PCO still care about this with his 20 year vision and restructuring plan for Thailand? In the meantime, many are being removed from their positions and, even worse, arrested. Other countries and the international business community are cautiously expressing their concerns about the state of affairs. But hey, it's business as usual, let the kinks pour in.
Hypocrisy trumps…………..
e
I haven't seen it on the news here yet, but yesterday another fatal stabbing on Samui. Also this time too crazy for words, very sad. Source: http://www.samuitimes.com