News from Thailand – October 31, 2014
The results of the DNA test on the son of a village chief on the holiday island of Koh Tao are expected today. The investigation should put an end to the persistent rumors on social media that it was not the two detained migrant workers from Myanmar that he killed the two British.
The rumors are based on the CCTV footage distributed at the beginning of the police investigation, which the police stated at the time showed an 'Asian-looking' man. Some think they recognize the son in it.
However, according to Somyot Pumpunmuang, head of the national police force, this is impossible because the son was not on Koh Tao on the night of the murder. This would appear from camera images, handed over by the lawyer of the village chief. Those images show that he was in his apartment in Bangkok the next morning.
The village chief also owns the AC bar, where the British spent the evening before their death. They would have gotten into a fight, which could be the reason for the murders.
Somyot warns that the Computers Crimes Act will be kicked out as social media rumors continue. That law has extremely high penalties for posting and sharing false information. Somyot confirms what Prime Minister Prayut stated a day earlier. The British observers who scrutinize the police investigation are satisfied with it.
A lawyer from the Lawyers Council of Thailand, who is assisting the suspects, says it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify where the suspects were on the night of the murder as forensic evidence fades with time. He points out that his clients were not made aware of their rights when they were arrested and that they were also denied a lawyer.
– Six organizations have petitioned the government to suspend field trials of genetically engineered (GM) crops until a biosecurity law is enacted. They delivered the petition to Government House yesterday. At the same time, opponents in ten provinces submitted a similar request to provincial governments.
Kingkorn Narintarakul Na Ayutthaya, deputy director of Biothai, says her group is not opposed to laboratory testing, but field testing should be avoided to avoid spreading the GM seeds into the environment.
This happened before in 2004 with tests on papaya. No one has been held responsible for this, she says, but countries in the European Union have banned the import of papaya as a result. The Supreme Administrative Court recently acquitted the Department of Agriculture of negligence. According to the court, the service would have done everything to prevent contamination.
– The toll rate on the Don Muang toll road between Din Daeng and the National Memorial Monument will increase by 22 baht from December 15. The Ministry of Transport gave the green light for this yesterday.
The 15 baht consists of an increase of 10 baht for the Din Daeng-Don Muang road section and 5 baht for the other road section. This means that the rate on the first road section will increase from 60 to 70 baht for a passenger car, and 25 to 30 baht on the second road section.
– The taxi drivers who demand a rate increase of 20 instead of 13 percent do not get their way. Minister Prajin Juntong (Transport) was clear about this yesterday. The increase of 13 percent will be divided into two steps: first 8 percent and after six months 5 percent, but only if the services of the sector improve.
– The Nonthaburi police arrested a gang of motorcycle thieves and seized ten stolen motorcycles. The suspects, 15 people aged 13 to 32, have confessed. They say they sold the motorcycles for 5.000 to 8.000 baht each.
– For the second time, the indictment against the owner of the All IVF clinic in Bangkok has been postponed. The man is accused of performing illegal IVF treatments on commercial surrogate mothers. According to the police, who had asked the court for the extension, she needs another month to question witnesses.
– The training program of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) is becoming less physically demanding to make room for training in combating aircraft hijacking and hostage-taking. An additional advantage is that injuries to participants are prevented. The program will also be expanded with lessons on cyber warfare and other forms of security threats in the digital age.
This year, 34 Air Force men are participating in the 22-week program. Thirty of them already took part last year, but only half completed the training. Participation is voluntary. The training was initiated in 1981 after the hijacking of a Garuda aircraft at Don Mueang airport. In cooperation with their Indonesian counterparts, the RTAF commandos then rescued all passengers.
On the photo homepage an image of the strength training.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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