KhaoNiaw

Almost like she was actually doing her job.

In one of his media outings months ago, Chuwit warned Big Joke that if he wasn't careful he'd be brought down by the people he'd surrounded himself with.

You won't find many Thai women called พอล. That's most commonly the Thai transliteration for the English male name Paul. The Thai woman's name you're thinking of is พร.

Part of the corrupt game he was very much part of. I'm not a hater or you can't deny the benefits he brought at the beginning of his time. But it was implemented for a very specific purpose and the man had absolutely no interest in democracy, completely setting back the more open and critical media that was just beginning to emerge. Anyway not really the topic under discussion here.

Wasn't it legal because he made it legal?

Fairly well-known that people in his staff are connected to a major online gambling set-up, according to the crime editor of Manager. Whether this will be the end of it or whether the money will lead to Big Joke is what he's waiting to see. BJ maybe set this off with that raid some months ago on police officers in Chonburi who had milked an online gambling operation for 140 million baht. It could be retaliation for that. Also the politics involved in the appointment of the new police chief and an opportunity to finish off any chances he had even if he can't be directly connected.

That's what I understood but a foreign colleague who recently retired received the lump sum with about 20 years of contributions. He wasn't given a choice, or at least unaware that monthly pension might have been an option?

I believe he took it over when his father died so not just built it up himself. There was something on the news about how on some occasions he's put in bids for contracts literally at the minute, like 4.29 when bidding closes at 4.30. So he obviously knows just what to bid. If they follow the money, I'm sure you'll find plenty of unusually wealthy local and government officials. He's also known for not handling himself well on the drink. But it remains to be seen if he'll really face the music. The CCTV evidence hasn't been recovered yet, and I haven't heard news that any of those present are ready to present as witnesses, though the pressure on them now must be quite intense. Without clear evidence, surely the lawyers will argue that the now-deceased killer just took matters into his own hands. It would take big money but he could afford to drop a couple of hundred million baht if there's a way out. He probably wouldn't be able to go back to business as usual but with nominees and some muddying of the waters, he'd probably still be part of things.

From my own experience, I suspect that cancelling and resubmitting sends you to the back of the queue. (Though they could also be doing them completely at random). I once cancelled and resubmitted after about a week on pending and finally received an approval the day before the 7-day grace period was up, saving me a trip in person on the last day. My last report took about 10 days for approval from CW.

The murdered officer was specifically assigned to his position to clean up the sticker racket after the recent negative publicity and supposedly as clean as a police officer can be here. They were saying on the radio that there were 3 problems 1) he previously refused to meet Kamnan Nok to discuss the sticker issue, which has recently been affecting the Kamnan's overloaded trucks 2) at the dinner he wouldn't consider the relative's promotion and to top it off 3) the murdered officer beat him in some kind of drinking duel.

Following in the family (his father's) footsteps.

He was the one who had invited/ordered Sivakorn to attend the dinner. Supposedly he was coming under pressure from some fellow officers and had just removed himself from the officers Line group

Thailand has already signed contracts to buy more electricity than the country needs from dams in Laos that haven't even been constructed. https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/energy/opinion-thai-investment-in-laos-hydropower-reveals-dire-disconnect-in-the-mekong/

Sounds like it's just an affectionate way of calling you. You know (I hope) something of how she feels about you. You know her. None of the people telling you what is 'correct' or 'inappropriate' know anything about her. Does she have a cheeky sense of humour? Does she have younger family and relatives around? Is it something her friends have started? If it actually worries you, ask her. She'll probably tell you the reason and if she knows you don't like it, she'll probably stop.

Some news sources are saying that the gun used in the killing has been identified as belonging to a police officer. That would seem a bit strange though, when they're saying that it was probably the police officers who organized the evidence cleanup - not only destroying video from the CCTV but even going as far as scrubbing the scene of blood etc. Maybe someone has done the right thing with the murder weapon.

It's nothing new. This is a man who has legitimate business interests worth billions of baht so the illegal stuff may well be many times that. As we all know, promotions and positions in the police are bought and paid for. But police officers don't just do this themselves. It's suspected that Kamnan Nok has 'funded' the promotions of many of these police officers. They're all connected to the highway police. He runs a huge fleet of trucks and is also in the infrastructure construction business. He runs the 'sticker' game with the highway police and as the overloaded trucks (paid for and allowed to run by the stickers that identify them) cause the roads to deteriorate, he makes massive sums on the contracts to repair the damage. It's not new, been going on for decades, but he might actually have overestimated his influence in this case, as no-one wants it brought into the public eye, especially when there have been other recent revelations about the truck sticker game.

Interesting story. It was a monthly meeting where the police officers turn up for their money. 21 out of 30 people at the dinner were police officers, all highway police officers or connected to the highway police. Kamnok Nok is in the transport business and supposedly organizes, runs and collects for the transport 'sticker' business. His legitimate declared businesses bring in billions of baht. They know very well who he is. He probably paid for the positions for a lot of the officers. Buying a position themselves isn't the only way to go up the police ladder. Makes sense for someone in the business to 'invest' and then he owns those officers. Kamnan Nok is also fairly young and supposedly gets aggressive when he's drinking. Unidentified witnesses said he told the dead officer to leave or there would blood. The officer tried to apologize and stayed. The apology wasn't accepted. So let's see where it goes. Has Kamnan Nok come to the end of a promising career or will it blow over, especially now the gunman is dead.

Thais are actually catching up with the world and might have heard stories of foreigners trashing the place or bailing early. In Thailand, if you were trying to be a responsible owner who registered for the TM30 system etc. and you want to put a 1-year contract in front of someone who isn't working here, what would you ask?

Something I also found interesting. Will now have to go back and read this again, one of my favourites:

Submitted 22nd August. Received approval today. (Bangkok)

This is the guy who dropped off 2 million baht in a paper bag for judges at the Supreme Court.

You want to be teaching the ones that can. ????

The OP was asking about contributing under Section 40, which is a way for the self-employed or others outside formal employment to join. I'm not sure if he's aware that this doesn't provide health coverage, only daily payments intended to cover loss of income due to injury or sickness.

You would be entitled to a pension. They're go to anyone who has made the contributions. 20 years should put you between 4-5,000 baht a month or you could take it as a lump sum. I've known foreigners who've done both. I understand not wanting to take it though. You can log into the Social Security Office website to check your total contributions. For the OP, I found an article in Thai Rath explaining the qualifications that apply for Section 40. No. 7 says that you don't have Thai nationality but hold a Thai ID card beginning with 0, 6 or 7 (but not 00). If you're retired and over 65 it wouldn't be possible though. See No. 2 on the list, 15-65 years of age. https://www.thairath.co.th/lifestyle/life/2692205

I'm not trying to explain it. I don't get mine separately, just saying that it's all there in the online system, which is very well set up and works exactly as it should.