News from Thailand – November 5, 2014
The sea gypsies, who are being busted on Phuket by a bunch of businessmen, can breathe easy for the time being. They don't have to leave the land on which their ancestors lived more than a century ago.
This has been convincingly proven by a panel of the DPI (the Thai FBI) and the Central Institute of Forensic Science based on archaeological and forensic evidence.
The Ministry of Justice has now asked the Department of Land to revoke the land deeds for 11 rai because they were obtained illegally. According to Chatchawal Suksomjit of Justice, the businessmen have not been able to demonstrate how they obtained those deeds in 1955. The ownership of 10 rai is still under investigation.
So far, the businessmen have applied for eviction notices against 101 sea gypsies. The court had already approved it for nine Gypsies, but they had appealed. The panel's findings provide an important support for the procedures that still need to be conducted. The Gypsy community consists of 1.042 individuals living in 210 huts. Most earn their living from fishing (photo above).
– An Airbus 330-300 from Thai Airways International slipped off the runway at Khon Kaen airport on Monday evening and ended up in the grass. The airport then closed, forcing a Nok Air flight en route to be diverted to Udon Thani. Passengers waiting for the aircraft were taken by bus to Udon Thani. Since then, eight flights have landed there and departed with connecting shuttle bus transfers between the two airports.
None of the 246 passengers and crew were injured in the skid. The passengers have been accommodated in a hotel or have had their money refunded. The airport is expected to reopen today.
– King Bhumibol, who previously underwent gallbladder surgery, suffers from inflammation of the colon. The Royal Household Bureau makes this known in its eighth medical communiqué. The frost also has a fever, but fortunately it is going down. Doctors hope to fight the infection with antibiotics.
– Three residential areas in Hua Hin were hit by floods yesterday: Pong Naret, Royal Home and Country Hill. In lower places the water reached a height of 80 to 100 cm. The message does not mention where the water came from.
– The motto of the junta 'Returning Happiness to the People' is being dragged in again. The Ministry of the Interior has asked all provinces to stop asking citizens for a copy of ID and house registration documents in routine cases.
– The police have arrested three men in Ratchaburi, who are suspected of murdering an illegal lottery ticket seller at the end of October. One of the three has stated that he killed the man out of jealousy because he suspected him of having a relationship with his girlfriend.
– The embassy of Myanmar has never responded so clearly to the police investigation into the double murder on Koh Tao. She wants the police to reopen their investigation now that the two suspects have said their confessions were obtained through torture.
"The boys told the National Human Rights Commission, the lawyers, our embassy team and their parents that they were beaten by the police," lawyer Aung Myo Thant said in an interview with the Democratic voice of burma.
The police have so far refused to address the NHRC to defend themselves against the torture allegation.
British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were murdered on the beach of Koh Tao on the night of September 14-15. Hannah was also raped. Two weeks later, police arrested two young Myanmar migrant workers who worked at the AC bar where the British had been the night before their deaths.
– The Swedish co-founder of the website The Pirate Bay was arrested in Nong Khai on Monday. Fredrik Lennart Neij (36) was arrested when he wanted to enter Thailand from Laos with his Laotian wife. An international arrest warrant has been issued against him. Neij was wanted because he fled on bail in 2009. A Swedish court found all four founders guilty of copyright infringement.
– The municipality of Bangkok yesterday started to clean up the Bo Bae market. Vendors between the Saphan Khao and Kasatsuek intersection are only allowed to trade if they have a permit and only at certain times. The aim is to create more space on the footpaths.
The operation yesterday by soldiers, cops and municipal inspectors started with 350 stalls and ended with 200 stalls. Of those 200, 140 are registered with the municipality. Some 650 vendors for whom there is no room during the day are allowed to set up their stalls nearby in the evening.
– The 24-year-old student Akkradet Iamsuwan may contemplate his sin behind bars for two and a half years. The Criminal Court handed out that sentence yesterday for lèse-majesté. The student had posted a message on the internet that is considered insulting to the monarchy. Akkradet was arrested in June. Four requests for bail were rejected.
The student and his lawyer do not appeal; they gamble on amnesty by the king. Akkradet is the fourth Thai to be convicted this year under the draconian criminal law article on lèse majesté and the even stricter Computer Crimes Act.
– The intention of the Ministry of the Interior to arm defense volunteers in southern Thailand – the army supplies 2.700 guns – is met with reservations from the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc). [Case of working at cross purposes?] The volunteers must be trained and guided properly, otherwise there will only be more violence, says Isoc spokesman Banphot Poolpian.
BiZa's proposal dates back to June and has been approved by the NCPO (junta), which has also given the army permission to supply the weapons.
– 50 years in prison it was and 50 years it remains, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday in the appeal of a man convicted of repeated rape of one of his employees, threats with a weapon and blackmail. Nor did the Court show any compassion for his accomplice wife who has been grumbling for 10 years.
Unlike her husband, the woman was previously released on bail, but she did not show up for the hearing yesterday. The court has ordered the police to arrest her so that she can serve her sentence. The 25-year-old victim was employed by the couple's company, International Detective Thailand.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
When I arrive in BKK from the Netherlands, I always fly on to KKC. Is a very short runway and thought he drove through. Have you (almost) experienced this yourself? Had to turn back at the end of the runway to take the exit to the taxiway. But slipped on the taxiway? Seems strong in this dry spell, or was the pilot watching the golfers trying to hit the ball out of the ruff?
During the 180 degree turn at the head of the runway - there is no separate taxiway - the Thai Airways Airbus steered next to the runway with its nose wheel and left landing gear. It appears that the pilots tried to return to the asphalt with extra engine power, causing the nose wheel to dig deeply into the ground. See for more details and photos http://avherald.com/h?article=47ccaba9&opt=0
The fact that this is a Thai Airways aircraft is clearly visible in the photo, the airline has not had the logos removed from the aircraft this time. (lol)
If anyone is to blame then the managers of this airport. The necessary space for the turning circle has simply not been available for years. No wonder that a pilot finally arrives and puts the box next to the runway. Turning back, so turning around at the end of the runway at take-off and landing, is completely normal here due to the lack of a taxiway.
The runway length is cleverly proportioned; necessary safety reserve is missing. This is clearly noticeable by the enormous brake pressure that arises when landing. There is plenty of room to increase the turning circle.
A line has been drawn on the tarmac for the pilot to follow.
That pilot just slept.
Investments in the airport of Khon Kaen are still unprofitable.
For years there were only 3 or 4 flights of the Thai in a day.
You can't afford an airport like that.
The length of the runway of this airport is definitely not very good with its 3050 meters. According to the manufacturer, the minimum runway length required for an Airbus A330-300 at the maximum take-off/landing weight is 2100 metres.