News from Thailand – April 9, 2013

Residents of Tao Poon make hostile gestures during the police raid.

Five residents of Tao Poon, where the police raided an illegal casino on Sunday, are demanding compensation for the damage to the roofs of their homes.

The police had to climb over several roofs to reach the casino and, according to them, the necessary damage was done. One homeowner says his air-conditioning compressor was destroyed when a cop stepped on it. The device came loose and fell on another house.

But the residents of the neighborhood are not unpunished either, because during the police action some pelted officers with projectiles and they stopped a back-up unit of the riot police. Because it arrived too late, the management and customers of the casino managed to escape.

The duped residents have already talked to the police, but they did not agree on a deal. The police are having the damage assessed and talking to the residents again today.

The residents who obstructed the work of the police are identified on the basis of camera images. They will be prosecuted. Police are collecting evidence against the owner of the casino, which had been raided and closed down earlier in 2011, and are speaking to witnesses. The evidence will go to the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), which will attempt to seize the owner's property. The land on which the casino stands has already been seized by the Amlo.

– Who does not know: Mor Chit northern bus terminal? The Ministry of Transport wants to move the bus station. That is inevitable, says Wutthichat Kalayanamit, president of the government bus company Transport Co, because Mor Chit has grown out of its shell as both the number of buses and the number of passengers has increased.

The land on which the bus terminal stands, totaling 73 rai, is owned by the State Railway of Thailand and leased by the Transport Co. The ministry is considering preserving a narrow strip of land for short-haul services [I assume this refers to minivans]. The SRT has already indicated that it wants to use the area for the construction of a station and the development of a transport hub.

Minister Chadchat Sittipunt (Transport) says that the relocation of Mor Chit will have to be done carefully to prevent the number of passengers from declining. Minibuses are already a formidable competitor for distances less than 300 km, as they are faster and only slightly more expensive than buses.

An initial ministry study recommends a 100 rai plot at Future Park shopping center in Rangsit, but a final choice has not yet been made. The bus station should be located near a station so that commuters can transfer easily. Another option is to have buses on short routes depart from Mor Chit and buses on long routes from Bang Sue station.

– The condition of the 3-year-old toddler who is in a coma after being left in a warm school van for 5 hours is deteriorating. The two teachers of the Samut Prakan Kindergarten tearfully embraced the mother yesterday and acknowledged that they had been negligent. The head of the kindergarten has agreed to reimburse all medical costs.

– Bad luck for the residents of Sakon Nakhon who want to rage with water with Songkran, but the reservoir Nam Un remains locked. It stands at just 20 percent full, which is the lowest level in 40 years. The water must remain available for agriculture and domestic use. Many canals and other water sources in the province do not contain a drop of water.

Political news

– Opposition party Democrats continues its fight against the amendment of four articles of the constitution in the so-called vetting phase. Three committees are studying the proposals, which have been approved in the first term, but still have to pass parliament in two terms.

Although the Democrats left the meeting room at the end of the first day last week and were conspicuous by their absence on the second day (in protest against the choice of the chairman), they are going hard in the three committees. Boycotting the committees, the party said, would open the way for the government to ram the proposals through.

According to Democratic MP Warong Dejkitvikrom, there is a good chance that his party members in those committees will push for changes to any proposal and those changes will then have to be discussed by parliament and put to a vote.

MP and committee member Nipit Intarasombat promises that Democratic committee members will do their utmost to prevent the proposals from being passed. For example, he believes that the population should retain the right to submit a complaint to the Constitutional Court. In the future, such a complaint should pass the Attorney General.

A thorny issue is the 5-year ban for party board members if a party member commits electoral fraud. The Democrats want to maintain it, the proposers of the amendments want to scrap that punitive measure. They do agree, however, that it is not reasonable to dissolve the party in such a case.

Starting tomorrow, the vetting committees will meet every Wednesday and Thursday. 15 days have been allocated. The Democrats tried to make it 60 days, but that attempt failed.

Another person is going to the Constitutional Court. Former senator Ruangkrai Leekijwanich today asks the Court to revoke the political rights of eleven board members and the leader of the Democratic party. Somchai responds to an action by Senator Somchai Sawaengkarn, who last week tried to have the parliamentary debate on the constitutional amendment halted by the Court. But that kite did not fly.

Economic news

– Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF), Thailand's largest food producer, will this year six biomass plants, three co-generation [?] build power stations and a biodiesel power station, which are fired by waste from chicken, pig and shrimp processing. Since 2004, CPF has set itself the goal of reducing its fossil fuel consumption by 20 percent annually.

The opening of the co-generation power stations is scheduled for mid-June. They store heat for general use and generate electricity from natural gas. The power stations will be located at a chicken factory in Saraburi, Mini Buri and Nong Chok. They save 50.000 megajoules of electricity and reduce CO2 emissions by 30.000 tons per year.

The biomass plants will be located in Samut Sakhon, Nakhon Ratchasima, Songkhla and Rayong. A anaerobic baffles reactor converts waste water from the six shrimp and chicken factories into biomass. These plants drain 5,6 million of water annually, enough to be converted into biogas for use in the power boilers. Savings: 465.000 LPG and 1,2 million bunker oil per year. Before the plants come into operation, a done with converting wastewater and minimizing unpleasant odors.

The third biodiesel unit will open soon in Nong Chok. Here, 50.000 liters of used oil per month are converted into 47.500 liters of B100 biodiesel. The other two are in Saraburi and Nakhon Ratchasima. There, 200.000 liters of used cooking oil are converted monthly into 1,7 million liters of biodiesel through a process that transesterification is called. The B100 biodiesel is an excellent fuel for shuttle busses and forklift trucks.

– The big Thai banks are eager to spread their wings to Asia, lured by the booming economy and the arrival of the Asean Economic Community.

Kasikornbank (KBank) will open a second branch in Chengdu next month with a third planned for the next 3 to 5 years. Goal is one track record so that the bank can apply for a banking license from the Chinese government.

KBank's first branch in China opened in Shenzhen in 2008 in partnership with the China Minsheng Banking Corporation. The focus is on small and medium-sized enterprises. The collaboration offers KBank's customers the opportunity to use the services of the Chinese partner and vice versa. Other services include deposits, investments, risk management, exchange and international trade.

Siam Commercial Bank has applied for a representative office license. Approval and the opening of the office are expected this year. The bank focuses on Thai clients who want to invest in China and Chinese who want to invest in Thailand.

Bangkok Bank, Thailand's largest bank, is the only bank to do so local banking license has. The bank has branches in Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen and Shenzhen.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post