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By Tanakorn Panyadee Pattaya — The contractor responsible for the unfinished roadwork on Thepprasit Road barricaded holes in the unsurfaced pavement following Pattaya’s unofficial mayor-elect Poramase “Beer” Ngampiches’s personal inspection yesterday, May 30th. The contractor, Promkarn Rayong 1993 Company Limited, said today, May 31st, that they barricaded the holes in the street and covered the ones in the pavement with a metal sheet as a temporary remedy. Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe They would expedite the work as quickly as possible as instructed by Poramase. Full story: https://thepattayanews.com/2022/05/31/contractor-barricades-holes-in-pavement-and-road-following-personal-inspection-by-pattayas-unofficial-mayor-elect/ -- © Copyright The Pattaya News 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

Sea turtle rescued on Kata Beach in Phuket By Goong Nang(GN) Phuket - A sea turtle has been rescued on Kata Beach after being washed ashore yesterday (May 30th). Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261348-sea-turtle-rescued-on-kata-beach-in-phuket/

By Goong Nang(GN) Phuket - A sea turtle has been rescued on Kata Beach after being washed ashore yesterday (May 30th). The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Phuket Office was notified by a hotel staffer of the distressed sea turtle near Kata Beach in the Mueang Phuket district. Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe The DMCR arrived at the beach to find an Olive Ridley Turtle. The turtle was 44 centimeters long, 46 centimeters wide and weighed 6.7 kilograms. Full story: https://thephuketexpress.com/2022/05/31/sea-turtle-rescued-on-kata-beach-in-phuket/ -- © Copyright The Phuket Express 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

In total, 24 foreign drug suspects arrested in Phuket in one month By Goong Nang(GN) Phuket – Phuket has increased measurements to prevent drugs transferring through every channel on the island. In total, 24 foreign drug suspects have been arrested in one month according to relevant authorities. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261347-in-total-24-foreign-drug-suspects-arrested-in-phuket-in-one-month/

By Goong Nang(GN) Phuket – Phuket has increased measurements to prevent drugs transferring through every channel on the island. In total, 24 foreign drug suspects have been arrested in one month according to relevant authorities. A meeting to announce the arrests was held at the Phuket Provincial Hall and was led by Phuket Vice-governor Mr. Arnuparp Rodkwan Yodrabam. Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe Vice Governor Arnuparp stated at the meeting, “We have increased measurements to prevent drug transfers through every channel (By land, airplanes and sea) into Phuket in order to cut down drug networks in Phuket.” Full story: https://thephuketexpress.com/2022/05/31/in-total-24-foreign-drug-suspects-arrested-in-phuket-in-one-month/ -- © Copyright The Phuket Express 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

Face masks back on as cabinet votes down end of mandate in June. Nightlife trade slams reopening by Joseph O' Connor Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, a spokesman for Prime Minister Prayut Chan ocha, on Monday, confirmed to the media that face masks are still mandatory in Thailand after a cabinet decision on Monday to reject a proposal to scrap the outdoor face mask mandate in June. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261346-face-masks-back-on-as-cabinet-votes-down-end-of-mandate-in-june-nightlife-trade-slams-reopening/

Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, a spokesman for Prime Minister Prayut Chan ocha, on Monday, confirmed to the media that face masks are still mandatory in Thailand after a cabinet decision on Monday to reject a proposal to scrap the outdoor face mask mandate in June. The move comes as nightlife operators in Bangkok have been quite vocal about the reopening from June 1st including the need to close at midnight and to have nightlife workers wear face masks even in the city’s famous massage parlours. by Joseph O' Connor Nightlife business owner says his customers are not happy with seeing masseuses with face masks on while other operators slam the nervousness of the government and the restrictions on trade which they want to see liberalised even further than things were in 2020 to give their businesses a badly needed shot in the arm after two years of losses and debt. This comes as the economic recovery is showing signs of slowing again in 2022 while the foreign tourism industry is making a slower than expected comeback. The Thai cabinet, on Monday, blocked a proposal to remove the face mask mandate in respect of outdoor environments. The decision comes amid growing criticism from the country’s nightlife sector over the public health measures being imposed on businesses, at this time, including the need for staff to wear face masks and a midnight closing time. Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe Thailand’s economic recovery, this year, is also beginning to stall with exports falling from March to April and the government’s budgetary position tightening as stimulus efforts and financial supports dry up. Many now fear that the reticence of the government may already be impeding a badly needed full foreign tourism recovery which is taking longer than expected to gain traction. Full story: https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/05/31/face-masks-back-on-after-cabinet-decision/ -- © Copyright Thai Examiner 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

Illicit Surrogacy Services Handled by DSI BANGKOK (TNA) – The Department of Health Service Support and the Department of Special Investigation signed an agreement to jointly handle illegal transnational surrogacy services and two cases of the crime have been accepted as special cases. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261345-illicit-surrogacy-services-handled-by-dsi/

BANGKOK (TNA) – The Department of Health Service Support and the Department of Special Investigation signed an agreement to jointly handle illegal transnational surrogacy services and two cases of the crime have been accepted as special cases. Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong, director-general of the Department of Health Service Support, signed the agreement with Dr Triyarith Temahivong, director-general of the Department of Special Investigation. It was aimed at protecting the children who were born through illegal surrogacy services. Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe In the future, a relevant law will be amended to allow foreigners to seek surrogacy to end illicit surrogacy services. The present law requires either spouse who seeks surrogacy to be Thai. Highly capable and experienced Thai doctors make Thailand an attractive source of the services. Full story: https://tna.mcot.net/english-news-951915 -- © Copyright Thai News Agency 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

UPDATE: Former British Hua Hin Resident Sentenced For Murder By Editor Yesterday (31st May) the Kanchanaburi Provincial Court sentenced former Hua Hin resident Shane Kenneth Looker to 8 years imprisonment for murdering a 31 year old Thai woman, Laxami “Look” Manochat, in 2014. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261344-former-british-hua-hin-resident-sentenced-for-murder/

Former British Hua Hin Resident Sentenced For Murder By Editor Yesterday (31st May) the Kanchanaburi Provincial Court sentenced former Hua Hin resident Shane Kenneth Looker to 8 years imprisonment for murdering a 31 year old Thai woman, Laxami “Look” Manochat, in 2014. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261344-former-british-hua-hin-resident-sentenced-for-murder/

By Editor Yesterday (31st May) the Kanchanaburi Provincial Court sentenced former Hua Hin resident Shane Kenneth Looker to 8 years imprisonment for murdering a 31 year old Thai woman, Laxami “Look” Manochat, in 2014. The court ordered Looker to pay a total of 12.5 million baht to Look’s family. The court initially sentenced the 51 year old British man from Stoke-on-Trent to 16 years imprisonment but cut the sentence in half because he confessed to the crime. Initially he had said he “categorically had absolutely nothing to do with this woman’s murder.” Looker was not present in court but listened to his sentence via video call from Kanchanaburi prison. Look’s mother and daughter were present at the court to hear the sentence, along with representatives from the British embassy. Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe The court heard that several witnesses had seen Looker and Look together on the night she was last seen in Bangkok and clear CCTV footage allowed police to quickly identify the murderer. In addition, DNA traces of were found in samples taken from Look’s fingernails. The pair were seen walking through a hotel together on Sukhumvit Soi 5 on November 1st 2014, after Looker picked her from a bar in the Nana area of Bangkok. Look was not seen again after that night. Police later discovered the body cut into pieces, still wearing black stilettos, a black dress and underwear. It is not clear how Look’s body ended up in Kanchanaburi. Police believe the murder took place on the night of November 1st, before Looker left Bangkok for Hua Hin where he owned a property. It is believed he spent weeks lying low in Hua Hin before crossing over into Malaysia by train. He then flew to Ibiza in Spain where he owned another holiday home. Kanchanaburi Provincial Court approved an arrest warrant on January 28th 2015, on charges of “murdering and hiding, moving or destroying a body in order to conceal the death or cause of death.” Looker was arrested in Spain in June 2017 and remanded in custody. After years of appeals, he was extradited from Spain and sent back to Thailand in July last year. Police met him at Suvarnabhumi Airport, handcuffed him and detained him. Thai authorities had reportedly offered assurances under EU law that he wouldn’t face the death penalty if found guilty. Source: https://royalcoastreview.com/2022/05/former-british-hua-hin-resident-sentenced-for-murder/ -- © Copyright Royal Coast Review 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

Prayut announced that Thailand is ‘financially secure,’ but opposition blame the PM for mishandling national budget By Erich Parpart Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha said in parliament on Tuesday that the country is financially secure despite rising debt. He noted then that the first strategy for the 2023 fiscal budget year is to pursue “national stability.” Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261343-prayut-announced-that-thailand-is-‘financially-secure’-but-opposition-blame-the-pm-for-mishandling-national-budget/

By Erich Parpart Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha said in parliament on Tuesday that the country is financially secure despite rising debt. He noted then that the first strategy for the 2023 fiscal budget year is to pursue “national stability.” However, opposition leader Chonlanan Srikaew, called him a “narcissist” who failed to recognise his inability to properly manage the country’s economy, fiscal budget, and claims Prayut is using part of the national budget to hold coalition parties ransom. Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe “The overall financial system is stable, but the business and household sectors are increasingly fragile where some groups are facing problems from rising living and production costs,” Prayut said while reading out his speech to parliamentarians. “Especially groups that are still facing a shortage of income and high debt burdens.” Full story: https://www.thaienquirer.com/40555/prayut-announced-that-thailand-is-financially-secure-but-opposition-blame-the-pm-for-mishandling-national-budget/ -- © Copyright Thai Enquirer 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

Thai Opposition not sure there are enough votes to scupper 2023 budget bill Opposition chief whip Suthin Klangsaeng Opposition chief whip Suthin Klangsaeng admitted yesterday (Tuesday) that he is not certain that opposition parties will be able to scupper the 2023 fiscal budget bill, deemed to be incorrectly proportioned by the Opposition and government critics, while government parties are confident that it will sail through its first reading in the Lower House. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261342-thai-opposition-not-sure-there-are-enough-votes-to-scupper-2023-budget-bill/

Opposition chief whip Suthin Klangsaeng Opposition chief whip Suthin Klangsaeng admitted yesterday (Tuesday) that he is not certain that opposition parties will be able to scupper the 2023 fiscal budget bill, deemed to be incorrectly proportioned by the Opposition and government critics, while government parties are confident that it will sail through its first reading in the Lower House. Suthin said that opposition parties are against the bill, but they need support from other MPs to derail the bill and “I am not sure whether they have the guts to raise their hands to support us.” Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha took to the floor this morning, the first day of the three-day debate, to present the budget bill to MPs. He was followed by opposition and Pheu Thai party leader Chonlanan Srikaew, who began the debate. Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-opposition-not-sure-there-are-enough-votes-to-scupper-2023-budget-bill/ -- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

Opposition attacks budget bill prepared by ‘incompetent, visionless government’ Pheu Thai party leader Chonlanan Srikaew The opposition wasted no time yesterday (Tuesday), the first day of the three-day debate in the Lower House, in attacking the annual budget bill, which they describe as incorrectly proportioned and prepared by “incompetent, visionless” government. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261341-opposition-attacks-budget-bill-prepared-by-‘incompetent-visionless-government’/

Pheu Thai party leader Chonlanan Srikaew The opposition wasted no time yesterday (Tuesday), the first day of the three-day debate in the Lower House, in attacking the annual budget bill, which they describe as incorrectly proportioned and prepared by “incompetent, visionless” government. Taking to the floor to grill the government over the 3.18 trillion baht budget bill for the 2023 fiscal year, after its presentation by the prime minister, Chonlanan said that the opposition cannot accept the bill because there is no guarantee that it will address all the pressing problems confronted by the country caused by the government’s incompetence. Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe He said that the budget bill had been prepared without taking into consideration the changing situation and alleged that there are indications of corruption and nepotism, citing, for instance, the budgets for both the Department of Highways and the Department of Rural Roads, which have increased substantially to over 130 billion baht, but were partially concealed in the budget as a logistics development plan. Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/opposition-attacks-budget-bill-prepared-by-incompetent-visionless-government/ -- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

Chadchart officially becomes Bangkok’s new Governor Chadchart Sittipunt officially became the next Bangkok Governor yesterday (Tuesday) at 3pm, after the Election Commission (EC) finally certified the results of the Bangkok gubernatorial election, which the independent candidate won by a landslide on May 22. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261340-chadchart-officially-becomes-bangkok’s-new-governor/

Chadchart Sittipunt officially became the next Bangkok Governor yesterday (Tuesday) at 3pm, after the Election Commission (EC) finally certified the results of the Bangkok gubernatorial election, which the independent candidate won by a landslide on May 22. The announcement came after a delay, due to a complaint filed with the EC by political activist Srisuwan Janya. He had questioned whether Chadchart, a 56-year-old former transport minister, had a hidden agenda when he used a vinyl fabric in the making of his campaign posters and whether the fabric has been recycled into bags and aprons. Srisuwan also accused Chadchart of “insulting the bureaucratic system”. Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe The delay in the certification of Chadchart’s win drew much ire on social media, pushing the Thai hashtag asking what is wrong with the EC to a top trending hashtag since yesterday. The hashtag itself has attracted over 165,000 tweets so far. Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/chadchart-officially-becomes-bangkoks-new-governor/ -- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

Car bomb builder sentenced to 46 years in prison by Yala court A car bomb maker was sentenced to a total of 46 years in prison yesterday (Tuesday) by the Yala provincial court after he was found guilty of involvement, with eight others, in stealing a van and turning it into a car bomb. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261339-car-bomb-builder-sentenced-to-46-years-in-prison-by-yala-court/

A car bomb maker was sentenced to a total of 46 years in prison yesterday (Tuesday) by the Yala provincial court after he was found guilty of involvement, with eight others, in stealing a van and turning it into a car bomb. The defendant and eight other people, who are still at large, stole a van belonging to the Kerry delivery service in Muang district of Thailand’s southern province of Yala on March 12th last year. Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe The van was later found behind the Raman district police office, in Raman district. There are many other households in the area. Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/car-bomb-builder-sentenced-to-46-years-in-prison-by-yala-court/ -- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

to continue: Thailand Live Wednesday 1 June 2022 https://aseannow.com/topic/1261338-thailand-live-wednesday-1-june-2022/

Is there light at the end of the tunnel for Thailand? ANALYSIS | by ASEAN NOW We all know that government departments like to announce predictions, however last week’s announcement that the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has decided to readjust its figures for an estimate for foreign arrivals this year could be achievable. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1261337-is-there-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-for-thailand/

ANALYSIS | by ASEAN NOW We all know that government departments like to announce predictions, however last week’s announcement that the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has decided to readjust its figures for an estimate for foreign arrivals this year could be achievable. The official number of tourists visiting Thailand had reached 1,016,103 people from January to May 2022. TAT said that June bookings had already reached one million by mid-May, attributed to the end of compulsory RT-PCR testing announced on May 1. Having originally hoped that Thailand would have one million travellers per month from October to December this year, these latest results have been encouraging. TAT is now hopeful that the overall number of international tourists this year could surpass at least eight million. Who knows but it would be good for the battered hospitality industry for sure? Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe Where are they coming from? By mid-May the country had seen 1.1 million tourists. The most travellers, 86,420 came from India. This was followed by the UK (85,926), Germany (71,173), the US (61,788) and surprisingly Russia (59,591). Currently, the number of Thailand Pass registrations stood at 2.75 million. Pattaya is busier Living in Pattaya it is plain to see many Indian tourists wandering around town and even the buses are starting to return as well. That said it would seem that many of these tourists are staying in 2–3-star hotels and maybe on limited budgets, so not sure if the town’s nightlife establishments will benefit. Busy Weekends With many Thais still reluctant to wade through paperwork to travel overseas, the domestic travel market has increased especially at weekends when Thais leave Bangkok for some r&r. The number of domestic Thai tourists taking at least one trip had also increased to as high as 71,210,525 people during January-May, accountable for a 69 percent increase, stimulating income for the tourism industry. The government expected that domestic tourists will be encouraged to travel within the country by at least 160 million people (trips) by 2022, generating an income of at least 656 billion baht. Back in 2012 China had been taking the top spot as far as providing tourists to Thailand, ahead of Malaysia in second place. By 2019 over eleven million Chinese visitors arrived in the country, which amounted to 27.6 % of the total visitors. Then Covid struck and all predictions went out of the window. Therefore, estimating eight million total visitors in 2022 may not seem a lot, but it is a significant improvement on the past couple of years. The TAT thinks the Land of the Smiles will bounce back, meanwhile, it is down to domestic tourism to help take up some of the slack. -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-06-01 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information