The Nation
BANGKOK: -- Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri yesterday urged an international effort, including among the 10 Asean countries, to implement measures to curb noncommunicable chronic diseases - such as coronary vascular disease, cancer and diabetes.
He said these diseases cause immense losses - 41 million people will die from them in the next three years.
Noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCDs) were spreading and claimed 35 million lives in 2005, many from 3069 years of age and 80 per cent of them in developing and underdeveloped countries.
These diseases caused three quarters of the deaths in Thailand and cost the country around Bt140 billion each year, he said.
In 2009, there were 60,000 deaths from NCDs in Thailand - 29 per cent of them among people under 60 - and in that year Thailand spent Bt141.8 billion on medical bills and related expenses, about 1.6 per cent of national incomes.
Witthaya spoke yesterday at a seminar of health agencies and organisations from Asean nations, plus the US and Switzerland.
The seminar was linked to the World Economic Forum on East Asia, which Thailand hosted last week.
Southeast Asian countries would make up the Asean Community in 2015 under the theme "One Vision, One Identity, One Community"— meaning also one health. Witthaya urged them to formulate an action plan to control and prevent noncommunicable diseases for public wellbeing and extend it worldwide.
For the measures to succeed laws must be passed and taxes imposed on unhealthy products, like cigarettes and alcoholic drinks; standards for food and health products set; and products that promote health such as organic vegetables and gyms must be encouraged, he said.
Thailand has already set a strategy for healthy lifestyles from 20112020. This included healthy diets, exercising, cutting smoking and alcohol drinking, as well as screening for people at risk of disease, he said.
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Two Crocs Found in Sattahip Tourist Diving Area
Tourists, divers, navy men and sailors were shocked to discover two three meter long sea crocodiles near popular diving area in Sattahip Bay.
SATTAHIP – June 3, 2012 [PDN]; Rear Admiral Vinai Royal Thai Navy was notified by Captain Aphakorn Yukongkaew that they had found the two large crocodiles near a diving point on the north of Juang Island, Sattahip, Chonburi province.
The crocs were spotted two days ago. The officers photographed the two reptiles; one large and the other one smaller.
Rear Admiral Vinai Klomintr commanded Captain Aphakorn Yukongkaew to arrange team with diving equipment and weapons to chase away crocodiles around Koh Juang, Koh Samaesarn, Koh Jarn as soon as possible because the news had spread Thai and foreign divers about the crocs who possibly could be man eaters. The news about the crocs could damage the reputation of Sattahip, Chong Samaesarn area which every year attract many divers.
Full story: http://www.pattayada...st-diving-area/
-- Pattaya Daily News 2012-06-05
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Two killed as vans crash
The Nation
BANGKOK: -- Two transport vans collided on Rom Khlao Road in Bangkok's Min Buri district yesterday at 5.20am, resulting in two deaths - a van driver and his 12year-old son. Sixteen other people were injured.
The deceased driver's van was heading towards Lat Krabang, transporting people wishing to make merit in Kanchanaburi. Police found it collided with a second van heading towards Min Buri that was forced to swerve to avoid hitting a trailer truck that cut in front of it. The second van, whose driver was injured, flew across a road island into the path of the first.
Meanwhile in Kanchanaburi's Tha Moung district, a threebogie train with 100 Thai and foreign visitors crashed into the rear of a sixwheel truck transporting 50 cooking gas tanks yesterday at 10am near Wat Khao Din, on a crossroad with no barrier. The truck driver, 28, was injured.
The crash resulted in gas leaks, which prompted officials to release gas in damaged tanks and light a fire while five fire engines sprayed water to contain the flames.
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Danish Man Found Dead on Thai Beach
news Dennis Krog
KRABI: -- According to the Danish paper Ekstra Bladet, the body of a 46 year old Dane was found last week in the waters of Ton Sai beach in Krabi. An eccentric lifestyle makes foul play likely, and a close friend to the Dane dismisses any chance of suicide.
Allegedly the 46 the Dane, who has been identified as Johnny Henriksen has been supporting his Thai lifestyle smuggling rubies out of Greenland to Krabi, where he used the money originating from the smuggling to open a beach bar. In Krabi he also met and later got engaged to the ladyboy Kharn.
The story of Johnny smuggling rubies is supported by a source, who claims to be the childhood friend of Johnny Henriksen, and on the facebook of Johnny Henriksen he is also proudly showing of some rubies.
Problems in Paradise
Although newly engaged and apparently making money from rubies as well as owning a beach bar, life in Krabi was not without worries for Johnny Henriksen.
According to his childhood friend the Dane was beaten by other foreigners who wanted him to pay ‘protection money’ for his beach bar, which Johnny refused.
“He did not give in to pressure, which resulted in him being followed on his bike on the 12th of March. The chase resulted in an accident where Johnny broke his finger,” says the friend to Ekstra Bladet.
The life of Johnny Henriksen then ended as he was found on the beach on 30 May, but his friend is sure that there is no chance that the Dane committed suicide.
“He loved life way too much to do that,” says the friend.
Danish authorities have confirmed that a Danish citizen was found dead in Thailand on 30 May, and that they are ‘working’ on the case. Besides that they have no comments.
Original news source: http://ekstrabladet....icle1769955.ece
Source: http://www.scandasia...89&coun_code=dk
-- ScandAsia 2012-06-05
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Bangkok NGV Bus Crashes Into Street Sign Roof Top Gas Cylinders Fall Off
A Bangkok Mass Transit Authority air-conditioned NGV(Natural Gas Vehicle) bus collided with a height limit sign by the Asoke bridge, the impact dislodged seven CNG cylinders which hit the ground. Acrid gas smell spread into the area. Municipality officers rushed to the scene and sprayed water on the cylinders. A bike ride and bystanders were injured.
BANGKOK – June 4, 2012 [PDN]; Pol. Lt. Col. Seubphong Karuna, Makkasan police station was notified about a public air-conditioned bus whic had collided with a height limit sign at of Asoke/ Petchburi intersection in Ratchathevi district Bangkok.
The NGV cylinders secured on the roof fell to the ground and caused, a smelly, gas leakage.
The police coordinated with the officers of the Public Disaster Relief Center to assist at the accident.
At the scene they found the public air conditioned bus number 40 plying the Lamsalee-Saitai route.
Full story: http://www.pattayada...nders-fall-off/
-- Pattaya Daily News 2012-06-06
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BKK Call 'Center Scam' Gang Drove British Soldier To Commit Suicide
Bangkok police arrested a 'call center' scam gang operating from a rented house on Sukhumvit road. The gangs modus operandi: entice the victims to reveal their personal information and transfer their money to the scammers' bank account. One of the victims an ex-British soldier lost his saving and killed himself.
BANGKOK – June 6, 2012 [PDN]; Pol. Maj. Gen. Pisit Pisutsak, Deputy Commissioner, Pol. Col. Piyawat Boonyeunanon, Superintendent and Pol. Col. Naphunvuth Thonglor police station arrested ten foreigners members of an international ‘ call center’ gang operating from a rented house at 138/9 Soi Sukhumvit 39, Bangkok.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Pisit said that the police had been informed by the British embassy that a group of foreigners had cheated money from a retired British soldier who later committed suicide in desperation over his lost life savings.
The ‘call center’ gang of foreigners had entered into Thailand as tourists. At the Sukhumvit Soi 39 house their day-to-day work was split into three groups: the first group made random phone calls to the victims; the second group persuaded the victims to invest money into the scam and the third group was responsible for the transfer of money into their bank account.
Full story: http://www.pattayada...commit-suicide/
-- Pattaya Daily News 2012-06-08
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Makkasan Melee: Taxi mob beat down camera-wielding commuter
One man learned the hard way to beware of illegal taxis at Makkasan Station. Photos: Coconuts Bangkok
BANGKOK: -- A Thai man was severely beaten up by taxi drivers at Bangkok’s Makkasan Airport Link station when he took photos of a driver who refused to take him to his destination, according to a post on web forum Pantip.com and TV reports.
The man arrived at Makkasan Station and tried to hop in one of the seven taxis waiting out on the street – when the taxi refused to take him he snapped two photos from his mobile phone.
The driver then attacked him with the help of two fellow cabbies. The victim fought back, but his shoulder was dislocated from the beating.
A motorcycle patrol officer stopped and broke up the fight even though it was not in his jurisdiction. Police from Din Daeng station later came and filed a report for assault with the main taxi driver, but no charges were brought against the other two drivers who assisted in the beating.
Full story and video: http://www.coconutsb...lding-commuter/
-- COCONUTSBangkok 2012-06-08
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Breaking news: Woman gunned down at Phuket market
Neighbors gather outside the home in Thung Thong,
Phuket, where Sumittra Namfak, 55, was shot in the
head this afternoon. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo
Phuket Police question relatives who were inside the
house at the time of the shooting. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo
PHUKET: -- Police are looking for two men wanted for the shooting of a 55-year-old woman in the head at an afternoon market in Phuket today.
Witnesses told the Phuket Gazette that the two men were seen parking a bronze-silver pickup in front of the home of Sumittra Namfak in Soi Rakchart, near the See Kor Market in Thung Thong.
The men followed Ms Sumittra, who works at her home as a seamstress, to the market before one of the men pulled out a gun and shot her in the head at about 3pm.
The men fled the scene while shocked onlookers rendered assistance and called for an ambulance.
Ms Sumittra was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town.
Police have yet to announce any possible motive for the shooting.
Ms Sumittra’s neighbors told the Gazette that she has a foreign “boyfriend”, who is currently abroad.
UPDATE 19:00:
Police this afternoon arrested three men in a pickup matching the description given by witnesses. The men were stopped at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint, the sole checkpoint for all vehicles heading off-island. The men have been taken to Thung Thong Police Station for questioning.
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Police hunt for chemical attacker
The Nation
BANGKOK: -- Acting on widely circulated postings in the social media about a serial chemical attacker in Bangkok, police are now dispatching teams of detectives to roam Bangkok streets to sift for clues, while security camera footage is being scrutinised.
While the online postings referred to five incidents, police have identified only four of them, including the most detailed account, by a woman identified as Tao claiming to have been the victim of a double attack on the night of May 11. More cases have since turned up in media reports with victims showing up with records of treatments for wounds caused by chemical burns.
Apart from Tao’s case, acting Bangkok police chief Pol MajGeneral Khamronwit Thoopkrajang gave details at a police press conference of three other cases. An incident at around 7.30pm in Bang Sue police's jurisdiction and another two incidents both on June 4 in Phaholyothin and Sutthisarn police's jurisdictions. The three police stations and Lumpini police, which received a complaint from Tao, are working together to solve the case, he added.
The officer said a single attacker was likely, and that none of the victims had personal or business conflicts with anyone.
Bang Sue police later identified a fifth case, which was reported by a victim on May 31 but not acted upon until media coverage of the matter caught the public's attention. A senior officer, Pol LtColonel Wasuthep Khongklom, said the liquid used was not an acidic substance, but possibly an alkalinebased chemical mixture, which can be equally dangerous but whose ingredients would be easier to acquire than acidic chemicals.
Police are also seeking details from doctors who treated patients in the cases to find out the type of substance used in the attacks.
A second victim to give a detailed account to police yesterday was attacked on May 31 in front of Big C Mall near Saphan Khwai intersection while she was about to use a pedestrian flyover. She later stopped by at a shop and asked for water to wash away liquid that landed on her neck and arm. She later said that although the wounds were healing she had been mentally affected by the attack.
Lumpini police later said that all footage captured by cameras in the area before May 11, when Tao was attacked, had been deleted and footage taken from privately owned cameras was unhelpful.
A police psychiatrist, Pol LtColonel Dr Anchulee Theerawongphaisal, said the attacker, while likely of normal intelligence, was mentally twisted and possibly had bad or traumatic experiences with women. She called on women not to stroll alone on Bangkok streets and to pay more attention to their surroundings.
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CRIME
Bangkok's 'acid' attacker arrested and charged
The Nation
Rachan
BANGKOK: -- A suspected serial chemical attacker has admitted sprinkling a mixture of bathroom cleaners on other people on 30 occasions in Bangkok over the past two months, acting city police chief Pol Maj Gen Kamronwit Thoopkrachang told a press conference Monday.
Affirming the attacks were the work of a single individual, he said Yanhee International Hospital would treat free of charge the chemical burns of all victims until their condition returned to normal.
The tricycleriding scavenger Rachan Theerakitnukul, 50, incoherently said that he was high on drugs and wanted to take a revenge on those who looked down on him for parking his vehicle in others' way and extorting foreigners.
Five victims were present at the conference and identified Rachan as their attacker. Rachan also apologised to them.
Kamronwit said Rachan confessed to 30 attacks at locations including Lumpini, Pratunam (eight times), Saphan Kwai (10 times), Sutthisan, Phaholyothin, Victory Monument (four times), Lat Phrao (five times) and Bang Sue. He said he had taken drugs on each occasion. His victims recognised Rachan’s tricycle, which had two large headlights.
Kamronwit said Rachan, who was arrested in Bang Sue for taking yaba in 2004 and had no history of mental health problems, confessed he had attacked his victims this because he was angry for being scolded and looked down upon.
Police have so far identified six of his victim: British woman, four Thai women and one Thai man.
Police charged Rachan with assault and causing harms to their physical and mental health.
Rachan was arrested on Sunday at Soi Inthamara 59 while the search of his rented room also yielded drugtaking paraphernalia.
Rachan reportedly told police that, when he sorted through garbage and found toilet cleaner bottles, he would put the leftover liquid in a small bottle to sprinkle at others to vent his anger.
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Thailand to upgrade from squat to sit-down toilets
BANGKOK: -- Thailand's health ministry has introduced a new programme to replace squat toilets with the sit-down version at all public facilities, officials said Tuesday.Deputy Public Health Minsiter Surawit Khonsomboon said the new loo policy was necessary to prepare for the country’s increasingly aged population.
The number of people over 60 years old will reach 14 per cent of the population in 2015, compared with 10 per cent in 2005, according to the United Nations Population Fund.
"We will start by replacing squat loos this month at government buildings, public schools and other public places such as national parks," Public Health Ministry spokeswoman Suchada Salaboon said.
All houses and buildings in Thailand must include toilets, according to an Interior Ministry order dating back decades. Squat toilets are popular, particularly in the rural areas, because they are cheaper that sit-down, flush toilets.
"Now we need to upgrade our toilets a bit," Suchada said.
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Police entrance exam cancelled over scandal
PRASIT TANGPRASERT,
KWANHATHAI MALAKAN
THE NATION
SI SA KET: -- Provincial Police Region 3 chief Pol Lt-General Panu Kerdlarppol said yesterday that officials were possibly behind the leakage of police entrance examination papers after a scam was recently uncovered in which civilians wishing to get into a police constabulary school in Si Sa Ket were caught cheating.
This week applicants in Nakhon Ratchasima were found with a vibrating device that was used to indicate answers to multiple-choice questions. This led to the arrest of six people who were allegedly given Bt10.5 million in cash from 30 applicants.
Police spokesman Piya Uthayo said yesterday that the police had decided to cancel entrance exams across the country because officials had found convincing evidence of cheating. It has not been decided when the new test will be held, he said, adding that four panels had been set up to further investigate the case and find ways to prevent cheating in the future.
Panu said suspects implicated Lampang provincial administrative organisation president-hopeful Dachai Uchukosonkan in their testimony, which led to his arrest. Police are also on the hunt for a key accomplice. It is believed that other people were also involved because those sending signals to the vibrating devices would have had to be within a 300-metre radius. Also, police suspect that the gang knew the answers because an insider leaked the exam paper, he said.
However, National Police Chief General Priewpan Damapong yesterday insisted that the exam papers had not been leaked, but that a member of the gang was inside the exam room and had signalled the correct answers to people outside who then passed it on to other applicants.
He said a large network, based in the vicinity of Bangkok's Ramkhamhaeng University, was behind this case and that some police officials might be involved. Priewpan added that this gang had made a lot of money from this scam and that police would gather evidence to punish wrongdoers.
A source from the police investigation team said the network covered the entire nation and might have had something to do with such cases in other provinces, after five suspects testified that the network had been operating for a long time and had leaked exam papers at other state agencies. An investigation found that the ringleader bought a master copy of examination papers at Bt3 million per set for a few hours before copies were printed hours before the examination.
Although exam papers were divided into eight separate sets to prevent cheating, the gang set different codes to identify which set they were sending answers for, the source said.
This was more plausible instead of having someone take the test and send signals to an outsider to re-send the answers to other applicants.
Investigators also found a list of names of civil servants who had paid to pass tests and been given work in state agencies, the source added.
Pol Maj-General Jakthip Holasutsakul, deputy chief of the Provincial Police Region 3, said that in the Nakhon Ratchasima case, the 30 applicants had been trained on the vibration signal one day before the exam.
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Lady Gaga in hot water over Bangkok concert
File photo
Bangkok, June 15, 2012 (AFP) - First she made a joke about buying a fake rolex. Now Thailand's culture ministry has filed a complaint to police against Lady Gaga for misuse of the Thai flag during her show last month.
The ministry said the part of Lady Gaga's performance when she wore a traditional headdress and sat on a motorcycle in a skimpy outfit with a Thai flag trailing behind was "inappropriate and hurt Thai people's sentiment".
"We are not asking police to prosecute her but it's our normal procedure to file complaints to concerned agencies when we receive them," a senior ministry official, who declined to be named, said by telephone.
The ministry noted that the Thai national flag consisted of three colours -- red for the nation, blue for the revered monarchy and white for religion.
Gaga caused a stir soon after her arrival in Thailand last month by tweeting that "I wanna get lost in a lady market and buy fake Rolex," remarks that some Thais complained cast the kingdom in a negative light.
About 50,000 people attended her concert in Bangkok, which was part of a tour that sparked protests from religious hardliners in Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea.
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Aussie woman jailed for false sexual assault report in Phuket
Phuket Gazette
Police are charging an Australian woman for filing a false report of being raped. Photo: Golf Thairath
PHUKET: -- Phuket Provincial Court today sentenced a 21-year-old Australian woman to 15 days in jail for falsely reporting that she was raped in Patong on Sunday.
In her report to Patong Police, 21-year-old Stevie Rochelle Bamford claimed she was attacked by three men while taking a tuk-tuk back to her hotel at about 2am.
However, CCTV footage taken at the end of Soi Bangla shows the woman leaving the area on a motorbike taxi at about 3am on Sunday.
“The Australian confessed to the police last night that she had lied about being raped,” said Patong Police Superintendent Sermphan Sirikong.
While the motive behind the false report remains unclear, it appears to involve a dispute between Ms Bamford and her boyfriend.
“She and her boyfriend had an argument that night,” Col Sermphan said.
The motorbike driver who took Ms Bamford to her room was questioned by Patong Police.
He explained that he escorted her to her room so she could get money to pay him. While she got the money, he noticed that broken items were scattered around the room.
Col Sermphan expressed his concern that this “false report” had already damaged Phuket’s tourism image.
As the time this story was posted online, Ms Bamford was still at Phuket Court, where she was receiving assistance from the Australian honorary consul to Phuket Larry Cunningham.
It is not known whether or not she requested bail, but Phuket Immigration Police were already preparing documents to arrange for her deportation from Thailand.
Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle16190.html
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Canadian sisters found dead in Thai resort
Bangkok, June 16, 2012 (AFP) - The bodies of two Canadian sisters have been found in a hotel room on the popular tourist resort island of Phi Phi, Thai police told AFP Saturday, without revealing the suspected cause of death.
The sisters, aged 26 and 20, were found dead on Friday afternoon by hotel staff on the Andaman sea island, 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of Bangkok.
"Their bodies were found a little after midday (Friday). They were sisters," Lieutenant Pongpan Waiyawat, of the island's police force told AFP.
"We have to wait for the post-mortem to determine the cause of death but based on initial investigations there's no sign of violence in their room."
Thailand is a tourist magnet but its image as the "Land of Smiles" has been tested in recent years by deadly political unrest, devastating floods and more recently a bungled bomb plot involving Iranian suspects.
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Sex clip 'blackmail' arrest
The Nation
BANGKOK: -- An assistant manager of a supermarket in Bangkok was arrested yesterday for publishing a video clip of sex with a 17-year-old Thai student in Norway, whom he befriended via Camfrog and had intimate relationship with when she visited Thailand.
Police arrested Patipat Mongkolkanchanasiri, 23, for publishing the sex clip via the Internet. They allege he did this to try to extort Bt100,000 from the victim. He was also charged with libel, committing a lewd act with a minor under 18, extortion and assault.
Patipat allegedly lured the girl to visit him in Thailand and took her to his home in Kanchanaburi where they had sex and he secretly recorded the clip. After the teen returned to Norway, he allegedly demanded money from her on various occasions, and received Bt100,000, which went toward football gambling debts. When the teen couldn't pay any more, he allegedly released the clip and wrote insulting messages about her on the website, so she alerted police.
But the suspect said he didn't extort any money. He claimed the girl sent him cash because she felt pity that he owed Bt25,000 for football bets. He said he posted the clip because he was angry that she saw another guy and wanted to scare her to come back to him.
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Let them eat tablets
Trying to stop the rot in Thailand's schools by giving out tablet computers
SINCE the new government of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra took office last July, Thailand has been treated to a soap-opera about the supply of tablet computers to all children starting school. Ms Yingluck’s “one tablet per child” pledge during the campaign was probably her single most vote-catching policy, yet fulfilling it has turned into a national ordeal.
A few weeks ago a deal was at last signed with Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development, a Chinese firm, for the provision of 400,000 tablets. On June 7th a beaming Ms Yingluck gave the first batch to a group of smartly dressed pupils.
Some argue that the focus on the tablets has distracted attention from a deeper malaise affecting Thai education. Although the proportion of children attending school has grown over the past decade, the quality of their education has deteriorated.
The chief problem is that children’s educational attainments are falling, even as more money is being lavished on the schools. Thailand now spends about 20% of the national budget on education, more than it devotes to any other sector. The budget has doubled over a decade. Yet results are getting worse, both in absolute terms and relative to other countries in South-East Asia.
Thailand’s own ombudsman reported earlier this year that, despite the extra cash, the national standardised examination results show that students’ scores in the core subjects of English, maths and science have been largely falling. The most recent Global Competitiveness Report from the World Economic Forum ranked Thailand a dismal 83rd in terms of its “health and primary education”, one of four basic indicators. This is below others in the region such as Vietnam and Indonesia; only impoverished Cambodia performs worse. [more...]
Full story: http://www.economist.com/node/21556940
-- The Economist 2012-06-19
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BTS Proudly Achieves Tokyo-Grade Passenger Discomfort
Bangkok’s 13-year old train system celebrates milestone of Japanese level of overcrowding
BANGKOK: -- The Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited (BTSC), operator of the Bangkok Skytrain, proudly announced yesterday that the elevated train system has finally achieved a level of passenger density and discomfort that meets or exceeds Japanese standards.
“As of now, our valued customers can ride the BTS knowing that they are packed in as tightly and miserably as commuters in some of the world’s most advanced cities like Tokyo and Osaka,” said Keeree Kanjanapas, CEO of the BTSC, citing just-released numbers that estimate the average cubic-meter/passenger average of BTS trains to be .19 during peak usage, on par with the .157 average of Tokyo’s most crowded subway lines during weekday rush hours.
“This is a great achievement for Thailand and the Thai people,” he added.
Bangkok’s BTS trains are now ranked #11 in the world in total average passenger density, and a stunning #4 for peak use density, trailing behind only Tokyo, Seoul, and Beijing, and ahead of developed places like Singapore and New York.
“Thais have always admired the capabilities of Japan and Korea,” said Kanjanapas. “Now they can experience the same kind of awkward, forced day-to-day violation of their personal space.”
Since its opening in 1999, the elevated train network has conveniently served the downtown Bangkok area known for severe traffic congestion, yet low passenger numbers prevented the company from achieving a quarterly profit until its 10th anniversary in 2009.
However, worsening traffic conditions plus the link to the MRTA subway in 2004 saw passenger numbers rise, and the recent addition of extensions to the eastern and southern ends of the BTS line has finally filled the trains to beyond capacity, to the BTSC’s delight.
“Our trains are so packed between four to eight p.m. on weekdays that many passengers have to wait for three or four trains to pass before being able to board,” said Surapong Laoha-Unya, BTSC’s COO.
Surapong also noted that the trains were often impossibly full on weekends as well. He credited the impressive progress of the BTS to the crucial co-operation of the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority and the national government, whose “reliable incompetence and political infighting have assured that Bangkok has yet to develop any kind of traffic-management plan.”
“From the powerful elite landowners who won’t allow boulevards to be built through their neighborhoods, to the TRT and offspring parties that withheld funding from the Democrat-led BMA, to the corrupt city police who stifle traffic reform, and of course, to the people of Bangkok for double-parking their cars everywhere, the creation of a street-level nightmare that’s worse than the BTS has been a real team effort,” he added.
The BTSC is optimistically projecting 20% growth in passenger volume this year with no increase in rolling stock or train frequencies. Both have been maxed out under the chaotic conditions created when the company awarded a maintenance contract for the new lines to a Chinese company instead of Siemens, which still maintains the original lines.
To celebrate the important milestone, the BTS will launch a PR campaign this month under the slogan “BTS: Your Ticket To First-World Urban Hell.” The campaign, co-sponsored by Xylitol breath mints and Rexona deodorant, will feature celebrities telling their favorite stories about being crammed uncomfortably against sweaty strangers while being assaulted by loud advertising on cabin TV screens.
-- notthenation 2012-06-19
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South African woman nabbed with 2kg of 'ice' worth Bt6 million
BANGKOK, June 20 - A South African woman was detained at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi International Airport with two kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, also known as 'ice,' worth Bt6 million (US$200,000).
Adelina Ntshebleng was arrested as the airport's narcotics suppression police had been alerted to possible drug smuggling from Benin to Cambodia via Thailand’s main airport.
Police found the ‘ice" as they searched the suspect's baggage.
Ms Adelina confessed that she was hired by a Cambodian dealer to smuggle crystal meth into his country and was to be paid Bt200,000 (US$6,670) once the work was done.
Thai police initially charged her with possessing drugs for sale and smuggling illicit drugs into the kingdom. (MCOT online news)
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3 Britons arrested in call centre scam
BANGKOK, June 20 - Three British nationals were arrested for alleged involvement in a transnational call centre scam, Thailand’s Immigration Bureau chief said on Tuesday.
Police Lt-Gen Wiboon Bangthamai, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said the three suspects were arrested with telephones, internet connection devices, computers and documents about the victims.
The detainees were identified as Richard Ian Cook, Stovell Matthew Niel and Carroll Matthew Peter.
Gen Wiboon said the arrest came as police searched a room in Sukhumvit Soi 26 in the Thai capital after finding that a broker company was set up to lure victims from abroad to transfer money for investment.
According to the commissioner, the calls were made via internet-based telephone from Thailand to European countries such as England, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and Austria to convince the victims to transfer their money to a bank account opened in Switzerland.
Gen Wiboon revealed the investment fund started at two million baht or around 50,000 euros per person and the money was then transferred from Switzerland to the bank accounts in Malaysia and then finally forwarded to Thailand. One fourth of the money was disbursed to persons opening the accounts, another 25 per cent for call centre staff, and the rest for the head of the gang who lives in Malaysia.
The suspects however denied all charges.
They were initially charged with overstaying their visas and will be declared persona non grata.
Police are now conducting further investigations to find if there are more accomplices. (MCOT online news)
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Off-duty cop accused of Phuket street killing gets bail
Phuket Gazette
Phun Pol Soi 11, where the shooting occurred, is renowned as a Phuket Town 'red light' district. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo
Dechaporn (left) and his brother Pol Cpl Rachaporn Semaksorn, as pictured on their ID cards. Cpl Rachaporn faces charges over shooting dead Eakkasit Sangangam on Phun Pol Soi 11 in Phuket Town on May 5.
PHUKET: -- The off-duty cop who shot a man dead in Phuket Town on May 5 has been granted bail.
Though some details about the case have come to light, the exact cause of the argument that led Cpl Rachaporn Semaksorn to shoot Eakkasit Sangangam in the head ,on Phun Pol Soi 11 in Phuket Town, is still unclear.
“The shooting wasn’t over a woman; it was caused by a heated argument over something else,” Deputy Superintendent Jumroon Plaiduang told the Phuket Gazette.
“They both [Cpl Rachaporn and his brother Dechaporn] saw Mr Eakkasit sitting on his parked motorbike. They attempted to stare him down, and then the three of them got into an argument.
“They all are still young and impetuous, so when they get angry they cannot control themselves,” said Lt Col Jumroon.
Col Jumroon confirmed to the Gazette that the police were collecting evidence and conducting a forensic inspection of the gunshot residue. Once finished, the case will be sent to the prosecutor.
The Gazette contacted the Phuket Provincial Court and was informed that the brothers had been released on bail, but the court officer declined to give any further information.
Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle16222.html
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Coast man savagely bashed in Phuket
Mackenzie Ravn
PHUKET: -- A CHAMPION Gold Coast kickboxer has suffered life-threatening injuries on the Thai tourist island of Phuket, the victim of what his family believe was a savage bashing.
Daniel Ketley suffered a fractured skull, haemorrhaging and compression on the brain, a shattered eye socket, a broken jaw, four lost teeth, a fractured vertebra, nerve damage to his neck, shoulder and arm, and a fracture in his skull in the incident on June 8.
While Thai police maintain the 21-year-old crashed his motorcycle into a pole near Soi Saiyuan in Naiham, his family, friends and doctors all believe Mr Ketley was bashed, an episode in an explosion of violence against tourists on Phuket.
Mr Ketley is still bedridden and in need of daily medical assistance as he recovers from his injuries in his family's Phuket home.
While his memory of the incident is vague, Mr Ketley recalls seeing a petrol station and thinks he may have been assaulted while stopping for fuel.
Ambulance officers transported him to hospital where he was fitted with a plate in his right cheek and jaw.
Mr Ketley's father Steve said initially he did not question whether his son had been in an accident but had grown suspicious over the past few weeks.
"Everyone said he was in a motorcycle accident, but the first thing he said to me when he woke up was 'I didn't crash'," he told the Bulletin.
Full story: http://www.goldcoast...coast-news.html
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Australian stabbed in heart in Thai bag-snatch tragedyPHUKET: -- An Australian woman has been stabbed to death in a suspected bag-snatch gone wrong on the popular holiday island of Phuket in Thailand.The woman was walking with a friend near their hotel complex in Kata Noi Bay, on Phuket's west coast, about 10.30pm last night when they were attacked by two men who approached them on a motorbike.
The men attempted to steal the handbags of the women and lashed out with a knife when they couldn't grab them.
Ms Yone, a supervisor at the five-star Katathani Phuket Beach Resort where the women were staying, said this morning that one of the women was stabbed in the heart and died soon after.
The other woman suffered a slash wound to her arm and was taken to hospital in Phuket.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Thai police had launched an investigation into the woman’s death.
‘‘We are aware of the death of an Australian woman in Thailand and are providing consular assistance to her family and to the other woman involved in the incident,’’ she said.
‘‘It would not be appropriate to discuss the case further while a police investigation is in progress.’’
It is believed the woman was aged 60 and an experienced traveller who had spent a lot of time in south-east Asia.
The two women were part of a group of 10 travel agents from Perth who arrived in Thailand on Monday.
"They were attacked by the men on the street," Ms Yone said.
"One woman had a cut on her arm and she went to the hospital. She is already back from the hospital.
Full story: http://www.smh.com.a...0621-20p5f.html
-- SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 2012-06-21
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Phuket fears as news of another stabbing emerges
Stabbed through the heart .... Michelle Smith was on a travel agents' tour of Phuket. Photo: FacebookPHUKET: -- A British tourist was stabbed in the back on the holiday island of Phuket on the same night that an Australian travel agent was killed in a botched bag snatch.
Mohamad Zubair Edwa, 37, said he was riding home from a bar in Chalong on the south of the island on Wednesday night when he was confronted by three men on a motorbike who blocked the road in front of him.
One of the men dismounted and, as Mr Edwa attempted to ride around the man, he was stabbed in the side, causing a deep wound and extensive bleeding.
"As I was riding [away], I touched my back, and there was blood all over my hand. A lady saw me, she called an ambulance. She said 'I think you should go to hospital'," Mr Edwa, from Cambridge, told Thailand tourism news website Phuket Wan.
The attack at 3.30am came just five hours after Perth travel agent Michelle Smith was fatally stabbed in the heart during a botched bag snatch less than 10 kilometres away.
It is unclear whether the two attacks are linked, however the two cases are remarkably similar in that the victims were both confronted by men on motorbikes who stabbed them.
Mrs Smith, from Butler in Perth's northern suburbs, was walking home from dinner with another Australian travel agent at 10.30pm on the same night when they became suspicious of two men who passed them several times on a motorcycle.
The women were walking single-file along the narrow street close to the five-star Katathani Phuket Beach Resort where they were staying when the men attacked Mrs Smith, who was walking behind, and attempted to grab her handbag.
Mrs Smith is believed to have held on to her bag and the men stabbed her in the chest, piercing her heart. As they tried to escape they also slashed the other woman's arm.
At first the shocked women continued walking, unaware of the severity of their injuries, before Mrs Smith collapsed. She died on the street.
The Age has also been contacted by another tourist who said she was robbed on the same stretch of road outside the Katathani Phuket Beach Resort by men on motorbikes in November last year.
"Luckily there was no knife," she said.
Mr Edwa was treated at the Phuket International Hospital for a stab wound to his side.
He told Phuket Wan he was riding from a bar near Chalong Circle to his Rawai apartment in southern Phuket about 3.30am after arriving on the island the previous day.
"Three men on a moped, they pulled up alongside me as I was riding and said 'Do you want a smoke,' obviously talking about drugs. I accelerated, driving faster," he said.
"Somehow they overtook me and they blocked the road in front of me. Two stayed on the motorbike, one got off. I saw him on the road and went to go past him.
"Probably about 300 metres from the roundabout, he hit me with something metallic.
"I like Phuket it's very nice. But not this."
Source: http://www.brisbanet...0622-20roe.html
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Indonesian flight delayed because of foul-smelling durian
Jakarta - An Indonesian flight was delayed when the passengers demanded to get off the plane after the strong smell of durian filled the cabin, reports said Friday.
Passengers on a Lion Air flight from the capital Jakarta to Medan demanded the crew open the doors and let them off because of the stench, the detikcom online news site reported.
"We were already sat on the plane but we wanted to get off because it smelled too bad," said Abdullah Saleh, a passenger who later switched to a different flight. Ten passengers cancelled their flights.
Durian is banned from aeroplanes and hotel rooms in Indonesia because of its distinctive smell, which is offensive to some people and has been described as reminiscent of rotting vegetables or body odour.
All the passengers got off the plane until the crew removed the offending fruit from the cabin. The flight was delayed by about one hour.
Durian is dubbed the "king of fruits" and is grown throughout South-East Asia.
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BEC fined for bare breasts on show
WATCHIRANONT THONGTEP,
PAKAMARD JAICHALARD
THE NATION
NBTC decides on top penalty because producers guilty of not censoring show
BANGKOK: -- Channel 3 operator Bangkok Entertainment Company (BEC) has been fined Bt500,000 by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) for allowing a female contestant to paint on canvas with her bare breasts on the Sunday episode of its prime-time show "Thailand's Got Talent".
Perapong Manakij, chairman of NBTC's subcommittee on programming and content, said yesterday that the TV station had failed to cut inappropriate content in its prime-time programme, so a high fine had to be levied in line with Article 37 of the 2008 Broadcasting Act.
The resolution was approved in a special NBTC meeting at which executives from the channel and the show's producers Work Point Entertainment explained their action. Perapong added that executives from both agencies had admitted to making mistakes in terms of censoring the show.
If the mistake is repeated, Perapong said, NBTC had the power to order MCOT, which grants the broadcasting concession contract, to force BEC and ThaiTV3 to remove the show or terminate its contract with BEC.
Pravit Maleenont, senior executive vice president and executive director for television business at BEC, said that he was sincerely sorry for this mistake and promised it would not be repeated. The company was implementing all measures needed to prevent such problems in the future, he added.
Culture Minister Sukumol Kunplome yesterday called on the show's producers and the television station to take responsibility for allowing the contestant to go bare breasted on television, while police are investigating whether the incident falls under the frame of lewd acts.
Police spokesman Piya Utayo said Metropolitan Police that if it is deemed a lewd act, the police would punish those who had supported the contestant to behave in this way.
Sukumol said the matter needed urgent action because inappropriate images had been shown to the public on a television programme that had been given the "thor" rating for general viewing and was broadcast during prime time. She insisted that all parties work together to improve the content of the show, adding that the producers and Channel 3 should apologise for broadcasting inappropriate content.
Rather than focusing on the life of Duangjai Jansaunoi, the 23-year old contestant, she said society should look at the channel's censoring procedure, because it was obviously not being respected. She said she hoped this would not happen again as it affected the country's image.
Declining to comment about allegations that the nude model had been hired to bare her breasts on television to boost the show's ratings, Sukumol said it was unclear and society should allow all sides to explain themselves.
Narathip Phumsab, member of the Moral Promotion Centre's board, said this was a major concern and it should not just be blamed on the media - organisers and everybody involved should take responsibility.
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Chalerm vows to get rid of mafia in tourism businesses
The Nation
BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung Friday has vowed to get rid of the mafia groups in the tourism business within three months.
Chalerm spoke of the threat posed by mafia gangs in tourist destination towns following a meeting with tourist police, senior officials from the Tourism and Sports Ministry and governors of tourist-destination provinces at the Royal Thai Police headquarters. Attending the one-hour meeting were the governors of Phuket, Ayutthaya, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Sukhothai, Tak and Kanchanaburi. Representatives from the Land Transport Department and the Harbour Department also attended the meeting.
Chalerm said he held the meeting because he has been assigned by the prime minister to step up security for both Thai and foreign tourists.
He said the government wants to increase revenue from tourism to Bt2 trillion within five years.
The deputy prime minister said from now on he would ensure that all government agencies concerned would integrate their efforts to step up security for tourists.
He said the government would solve problems specific to each tourist destination province and would deal with the organised gangs that have been preying on tourists.
For example, Phuket faces problems with unlicensed taxis and local mafia overcharging tourists for beach seats and jet skis, Chalerm said.
He said local officials would have to crack down on these gangs or he would visit the provinces himself to deal with the problem.
"Within 90 days, the people and tourists will see that the situation has improved," Chalerm said.
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Phuket car crashes into overpass, 1 dead
Phuket Gazette – Sunday, June 24, 2012 8:14:03 PM
Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers had to use
'jaws of life' metal cutting equipment to remove the body of the
late Mr Somkid from the wreckage. Photo by Thavit Bilabdullar.
The Phuket-registered Toyota Vios after the accident in Thalang
District today. Photo by Thavit Bilabdullar.
PHUKET: -- A Phuket man was killed instantly this morning when his car slammed full force into a pedestrian overpass on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang District.
Thalang Police were informed of the latest tragedy on Phuket’s deadliest road at 2:20am.
Duty officer Somchai Nuboon, police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers raced to the scene, on Thepkrasattri northbound in front of the Muang Thalang School in Thepkrasattri subdistrict.
There they found the twisted wreckage of a white Toyota Vios against a concrete support pillar.
The driver, 34-year-old Somkid Saeleo, died instantly of massive head trauma and other injuries, including multiple compound fractures to his left leg.
A friend of Mr Somkid told police at the scene that the deceased was an employee of Pakco International Company, a water treatment firm with offices near Phuket International Airport.
He had attended a friend’s wedding in Baan Lipon earlier that evening, leaving at about 10pm for an unspecified destination Phuket Town.
The accident occurred as he was returning to his home in Thalang about four hours later.
Based on the damage to the vehicle, police presume the late Mr Somkid fell asleep at the wheel while driving at very high speed.
It was the second major accident at the pedestrian footbridge this year, following a high-speed crash of a pickup truck there in April.
In that case the driver was far more fortunate, crawling from the wreckage with only minor injuries.
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BREAKING NEWS: Aussie killers confess in Phuket
Phuket Gazette
Deputy National Police Chief Pansiri Prapawat told some 50 media personnel that the pair confessed to the crime, but said they had no intention of killing Mrs Smith. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo
PHUKET: -- The two men arrested for the brutal stabbing murder of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith were presented to the media during a re-enactment of the crime outside the Katathani Hotel in Phuket this morning.
During a press conference at the resort after the re-enactment, Deputy National Police Chief Pansiri Prapawat told some 50 media personnel that the pair confessed to the crime, but said they had no intention of killing Mrs Smith.
Mrs Smith, a 60-year-old mother of three from the city of Perth, Western Australia, was in Phuket on a “familiarization tour” of the island when she was attacked about 100 meters from the resort.
With a punctured heart and lung, she collapsed and died in the arms of her friend and compatriot Tammee Lee Lynn, who suffered a lacerated right arm in the attack.
Gen Pansiri confirmed the stabber as Surasak Suwannachote, a native of Nakhon Sri Thammarat province.
The police were told he worked at a cockfighting gambling den somewhere on the island, even though such activity is illegal in the province. He had no prior criminal convictions.
His accomplice Surin Thatthong, the driver of the motorbike used in the attack, is no stranger to prison life. He had four prior theft convictions and has served time in Phuket Provincial Prison. The native of Samut Sakhon moved to the island about five years ago.
Little information was given about how investigators tracked down the two men, nor was there any mention as to whether the 300,000 baht in money on offer for information in the case will be rewarded.
The last time a major reward was offered in a murder case on the island, during the July 2010 manhunt for American Ronald Fanelli, the 50,000 baht reward money was divided up among the police investigators who worked on the successful investigation.
Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle16270.html
-- Phuket Gazette 2012-06-26
Two Thai men confess to killing Aussie Michelle Smith for '300 Baht'
TWO men accused of killing Perth travel agent Michelle Smith in Phuket have confessed, saying they attacked her to get $10 to pay for drinks, Thai police say.
Thai police said the men admitted attempting to rob Mrs Smith of $10 to pay for a drinks bill at a nearby bar.
The pair, who were captured on CCTV as they rode the getaway motorcycle after slashing Mrs Smith and friend Tammee Lynn, were arrested in Samutsakhon province, near Bangkok.
Police said they have recovered the sheath of the knife, but not the murder weapon.
source: AAP 2012-06-26
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Vietnam hands death sentence to Thai drug trafficker
HANOI, June 27, 2012 (AFP) - A court in Vietnam on Tuesday sentenced a Thai design student to death for trafficking three kilos (6.6 pounds) of synthetic drugs into Vietnam, media reports said.Preeyanooch Phuttharaksa, 23, from Bangkok, told the court in southern Ho Chi Minh City she had smuggled methamphetamine to Vietnam from Benin last October, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said.
She was arrested after the drugs were found in a false bottom in her suitcase.
Preeyanooch said she had been paid 50,000 baht ($1,570) to transport the drugs, the report said.
Communist Vietnam's anti-drug laws are among the world's harshest. There are currently more than 400 prisoners on death row in Vietnam, mostly for cases involving drugs or murder, but executions have declined in recent years.
Five prisoners were executed last year, one for drugs-related offences, according to statistics compiled by AFP.
Since July 2011, when Vietnam changed from execution by firing squad to lethal injection, no prisoners have been put to death.
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket-bound tour bus crashes, 11 injured
Phuket Gazette
The location of the crash of the Phuket-bound bus in Prachuap Khiri Khan province last night.
PHUKET: -- A tour bus bound for Phang Nga and Phuket crashed in Prachuap Khiri Khan province late last night, injuring 11 people.
The state-run MCOT news agency reported that the coach was carrying 35 passengers when it crashed into the median strip drainage gully on the Petchkasem Highway in Thong Mongkol subdistrict, Bangsaphan District last night.
The exact time of the accident was not reported. The bus is known to have set off from Bangkok with stops in Phang Nga and then Phuket.
According to initial reports, the accident occurred when the bus tried to overtake a 10-wheel truck and was hit on the left when that truck changed lanes to overtake another truck in front of it.
The bus came to rest tilted to one side against the side of the ditch.
Rescue workers rushed the injured to the nearby Bangsaphan Hospital.
Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle16280.html
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Bangkok police test X-ray van in Ratchada, catch nobody
By Coconuts Bangkok
Source: krobkruakao.com
BANGKOK: -- Bangkok police recently tested out X-ray vans that can scan cars for weapons or drugs in the entertainment zones of Ratchada Road.
The vehicles can scan cars within five feet – either while driving by or while parked and letting cars pass. The rays scatter back to a detector in the van and a full picture of the interior of a scanned car is shown, just like a medical X-ray.
Police in the van then radio checkpoint teams to make arrests if they see illegal contraband. Unfortunately, police found that the X-rays on four test vans stopped functioning well after two or three hours of use because of the heat, Channel 3 reported.
Deputy Commissioner General of Royal Thai Police Pol. Gen. Ekworrapong Chiwwareaprecha said that police want to use technology and optimize vehicle searches to combat a rising wave of crime and violence. Police plan to use the X-ray trucks at borders and in Bangkok entertainment zones, he said. He told Channel 7 that they hadn’t made any arrests yet on the first night [more...]
Full story: http://www.coconutsb...a-catch-nobody/
-- COCONUTSBangkok 2012-06-27
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Two Britons nabbed for ATM thefts in Chon Buri
CHON BURI, June 29 - Two British men were arrested for alleged botched automatic teller machine (ATM) thefts in Si Racha district in the seaside province of Chon Buri, according to local police.
Alexander Milbourn, 25, and Shaun Edward Tracy, 34, were detained at their room in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district as they are suspected in the attempted theft of an ATM at the Bank of Ayudhya’s Laem Chabang branch at late night of June 21, Pol Lt-Gen Panya Mamen, chief of Provincial Police Region 2 announced on Friday.
The two Britons said that they and a third man, identified only as Richard, also a suspect but who has so far evaded arrest, attempted the three ATM thefts in Si Racha district, at Bangkok Bank's Bo Win branch on June 14, Bank of Ayudhya’s Laem Chabang branch on June 21 and Bank of Ayudhya’s Bo Win branch on June 28.
The suspects explained that they fastened a tow sling around the ATM attached to the vehicle's bumper and then drove the car at high speed in order to pull the machine out of the bank's wall.
The men said that they had run out of money and were unemployed, so they decided to take money from the ATMs.
However, they failed to get cash from any machine in the three attempts.
Police seized a tow sling, a white sedan used for the June 21st ATM theft, a grey vehicle used for the June 28th ATM theft and a pickup truck found hidden in Bang Lamung district.
Initially, the pair was taken to Laem Chabang police station for further investigation and legal processing, while police are speeding up the search for the third man, who remains at large. (MCOT online news)
