News from Thailand – October 27, 2014
The director of the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) was dismissed by the board yesterday. The resignation will take effect in thirty days; the man receives six months' salary.
The director is held responsible for the shortage of Efavirenz, a drug to suppress the HIV virus, Clopidogrel, a drug against blood clots, and drugs for patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
About twenty activists demonstrated yesterday in front of the GPO office on Rama VI road. They demand an investigation into the dismissed director for corruption and mismanagement. They are also asking for a quick solution to the medicine shortage. Previously, patients were given Efavirenz for a period of three months, now only for a week and some hospitals say that patients have to buy the drug themselves.
– When recruiting students, universities must provide information about job opportunities after graduation. In this way, supply and demand can be better matched. The newly appointed Secretary of State for Education, Krissanapong Kirtikara, who has higher education in his portfolio, points out that too many students are entering studies where the number of students already exceeds demand. At the same time, vocational training programs are producing too few students, although the demand for professionals is high.
Krissanapong says that of the two million university students, 200.000 cannot find a job after graduation. An adviser to the minister cites teacher training as an example. It throws out 10.000 graduates every year, while education can only absorb 2.000 teachers a year. According to him, 200.000 graduates are now looking for a job.
Krissanapong calls the disparity harsh, because students have to cough up 100.000 baht in study costs every year. Students deserve better, he says. The universities are not blameless: 'They receive a budget of several billion baht from our taxes, so they have to take more responsibility towards the public. At the very least, they should provide more information about study options and unemployment figures so that students can make an informed choice when choosing their field of study.'
The Secretary of State calls on the Office of the Vocational Education Commission, which oversees vocational education, to provide job guarantees so that more students are attracted. Particularly at the middle level, there is a great demand for labour. Parents should also encourage their children to follow vocational training.
– An innocent mistake, not an intentional contempt. This is how a spokesman for the NCPO (junta) describes an incident on the grounds of the provincial court in Phuket, which has become known through a video clip on YouTube. It shows how a group of naval officers are reprimanded by a man, presumably a judge, for carrying weapons.
The Navy men had come to court because the commander of the Third Navy Fleet had been called as a witness in a land-squatting case in Sirinat National Park. They were waiting for him outside the courthouse. According to the spokesman, the officers are obliged to carry a weapon at all times.
– The 162 villages in the South that were classified as 'red-zone villages' are now called 'security promotion villages'. The name change was announced by the spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command [but also attributed in the message to an unnamed source in the Fourth Army Corps]. The newspaper perhaps adds unnecessarily that the change does not guarantee that residents will be safer from now on.
Besides red villages, there are also yellow villages: about two thousand. They have also been renamed. They are now called 'villages with accelerated development'. Green villages, which are free from violence, are no longer green, but 'development promotion villages'.
– Yesterday morning a bomb exploded on a road in Sai Buri (Pattani), intended for a passing pickup truck with four rangers. The bomb punched a hole 2 meters in diameter in the road, but missed the target.
– The British man (68) in Phuket, whose body was found on October 23, has not died of Ebola. The authorities had taken that possibility into account because he had arrived from Nigeria on 7 October. The 25 people who have been in contact with the man will be quarantined until November 14, because the authorities absolutely do not want to take any risks.
– A bridal couple was unable to get married because the groom was arrested by the police while he was busy in a house in Sai Mai (Bangkok) khan make to prepare, gifts that he would give to the bride.
The man was wanted for attempted murder in 2011 and could have escaped the police all this time because he had changed his name. Relatives tried to persuade the police to release him on bail so that the wedding could go ahead, but the police considered that too link due to the risk of flight. Because drugs were found in the groom's car, the man now has two accusations hanging on his pants.
– The monthly payment of 50.000 baht to former members of parliament Pheu Thai has been discontinued by order of the NCPO (junta). Those benefits totaled 100.000 baht per month and went only to the MPs elected from the national list, not to the district candidates. The payments were intended to support the MPs in political activities, but they have been banned by the NCPO.
Correction
– I have to set something straight, but that is only relevant to the people who read my post “Another 'confession' in Japanese murder case” from yesterday. I wrote that Somchai's brother (the man who confessed to pushing the Japanese Tanaka down the stairs XNUMX years ago) denied that Somchai was present at the time of the fall.
I should have written that the brother's denial was forced by Pornchanok, the wife at the time, because he certainly knew that Somchai was present in the building at the time of the fall. Pornchanok said at the time that the fall was an accident, a statement that has been taken over by the police. The brother has since admitted that the fall was not an accident.
All this means that he made a false statement at the time, but the police - the newspaper reports today - will not prosecute him for this.
Of course, the question remains whether Somchai's confessions for the death of Tanaka and the death of Shimato, the dismembered Japanese, are truthful. He would like to spare his ex-wife a long stay in prison, because then she can only be prosecuted as a witness to the murders. But I don't think he'll ever admit that.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
Dick, I just came across a stray little 'd' soullessly lost. Maybe you can give the poor rascal a home? “The resignation will take effect in thirty days; ”
I assume the authorities mean that the officers did not mean to commit contempt? Although you could also interpret the piece as if the alleged judge was in contempt by reprimanding these officers who “must carry a weapon at all times”. It seems very difficult to take a shower, and also not very nice in bed with such a weapon. I don't think a weapon belongs in court. If people really want/need to carry a weapon, I can give them a tip: a nail clipper, which apparently is also a weapon according to security guards at airports... If they want something bigger than just a ceremonial sword, a little less threatening. than a ranged weapon such as firearms.
@ Rob V I once had to hand in nail scissors at the scan. I was able to pick it up again on arrival, but that was too much trouble for me. Thanks for pointing out the missing d. I am amazed every time how often you can read over your own mistakes.