News from Thailand – October 25, 2014

The former husband of the woman who allegedly killed two Japanese husbands has confessed to killing number 2, Japanese teacher Yoshinori Shimato.

[Or should I write that he is taking the blame to spare the woman a life sentence?] Previously, he only confessed to dismembering the body and dumping the body parts, packed in six bags, into a canal.

The man has also stated that his ex witnessed the murder and gave some useful tips, but declined to go into details. According to a source, the man would have suffocated the Japanese with a pillow.

Police have found the knives and other items used in the murder at the home of the former couple's daughter in Bang Phli (Samut Prakan). The clothes that the man was wearing when he killed the Japanese were also found there.

See further: The woman who killed two Japanese

– The peace talks with the southern resistance to be resumed will be led by Aksara Kerdpol, chairman of the army advisory panel and former army chief of staff.

Malaysia, which is facilitating the talks, is reportedly unhappy with its nomination and prefers a non-military member, former National Security Council delegation leader and secretary-general Thawil Pliensri. But Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon denies Malaysia's objections.

Peace talks with resistance group Barisan Nasional Revolusi stalled after Ramadan last year. It is the intention that this time more resistance groups will take place at the conference table.

– A family of four was attacked by a group of men in Bacho (Narathiwat) on Thursday evening when they drove home in a pickup truck. The two daughters were seriously injured.

Also in Narathiwat, a special task force intercepted an M16 rifle and ammunition at a checkpoint in Bangpo. A man had hidden it under the seat of his motorcycle.

October 25 marks 10 years since seven people were killed in a demonstration outside Tak Bai police station and 78, mostly young Muslims, suffocated in an army vehicle as they were taken to an army base in Pattani. The authorities take into account that violence will flare up that day. Additional security measures have been taken in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces and four districts in Songkhla.

– A drug lord in Chiang Rai has managed to use 68 plots with a total area of ​​1.000 rai in a forest reserve in Wiang Pa Pao for the smuggling of drugs across the border with Myanmar. The man, charged with drug trafficking and money laundering, is on the run. The 'baron' would have taken over the land from villagers who had already used it illegally. He had bought it out with money he had earned from his drug business.

The authorities became suspicious because the land has no official property value and cannot be used as collateral for a bank loan. This fact led to the conclusion that the country served as a smuggling route.

According to the deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Justice, villagers in the area are suspected of being interested in becoming drug runners.

– I don't know if it's good or bad news, but children with one parent who has Thai nationality are now allowed to enlist in the army, but they are not allowed to enroll in a military training program of the Ministry of Defense. The relaxation aims to be able to recruit specialists in particular, because there is a great need for this.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

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