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Bangkok:- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he has assigned his deputy and foreign minister, Gen Tanasak Patimapragorn, to negotiate with the Japan to be lenient over its bans of chartered flights from Thailand.Following its inspections, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has flagged Thailand as a "significant safety concern", prompting Japan to ban chartered flights of three Thai airlines – Thai Airways International (THAI), Nok Air and Scoot.The three airlines have submitted permissions to fly chartered flights to bring Thai tourists to Japan during the long Songkran holidays.Japan also prohibited THAI, AirAsia X and Asia Atlantic from increasing flights or changing routes.Prayut said he has assigned Thanasak to talk to the Japanese government to relax the bans as it could affect Thai tourism industry severely but he is not sure of the outcome of the talk.Prayut blamed the previous government for ignoring the Civil Aviation Department’s request for upgrading its operations, for the ICAO’s negative designation.THAI President Jarumporn Chotikasathein said Japan’s ban on new flights will affect five chartered flights THAI has planned for the high-season during the Songkran holidays.Jaumporn said THAI’s plan to increase flights to other countries could also be affected by ICAO’s concerns on Thailand’s aviation safety.He said THAI and the Civil Aviation Department have sent representatives to talk to the ICAO to affirm THAI’s safety standards.Yutthachai Sunthornrattanawej, president of the Association of Domestic Travel, said the ban will affect about 1,100 tourists from Thailand a day during the peak season in April and May, which are school holidays.
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Bangkok:- Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy, who is notoriously known among online vendors as “whale the thief”, for having allegedly cheated several vendors out of their goods.Normally, victims are buyers who are deceive to wire their money to make purchases, not the other way round.But the boy, who uses his online name as Plawan Lava or lava whale, managed to fake money transfer certificates to convince the online vendors that he has already transferred them the money for their goods.The vendors often found out that the transfer receipts were fake after they have shipped the goods, Pol Lt Col Wichai Narong, deputy commander of Thonglor police station, said.Wichai said the boy was arrested Thursday afternoon at his apartment room in Bangkok’s Din Daeng district.His arrest was announced at a press conference at the Thonglor police station. At the press conference, police displayed 55 items of goods, including cameras, handbags and shoes, which the boy had duped online vendors to send to him.The arrest was made after Natthinee Anurak, 21, filed a complaint with the police station that the boy cheated her out of a Chanel pair of shoes worth Bt23,000.Natthinee said the boy sent her a photo of money transfer certificate. She found out later that he did not transfer the money at all.Wichai said the boy also allegedly used the goods he had obtained to lure other victims to transfer him money but he did not send the goods to them.Wichai said online users have warned their peers to beware of “Plawan” but several still fell victims to him.Wichai urged his victims to come to the police station to file complaints.
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Ubon Ratchathani:- A wife has filed a police complaint charging her husband for physical assault and citing her 13-year-old daughter’s video clip as evidence.The wife said in the latest incident on Wednesday’s night, her husband severely beat her after hearing that she had no money to give him for buying illicit drugs.Since the beating frequently happened between her mother and stepfather, the daughter said she wanted to help her mother.She told police that she had used her mobile phone to record a short video clip of the beating so that there would be proof of the temperamental and violent-prone stepfather.When police arrived at the scene, the husband refused to go to the police station and was subdued and handcuffed.In his initial statement, he said he was not drug abuser and that he did not beat his wife.Confronted by the stepdaughter’s clip, he changed his statement and admitted to using drugs and to the physical assault charges.The wife told police that she and her husband have been living together recently.When she allowed him to move into her family’s home, he was “nice”. She did not suspect that he was drug addict.About a month ago, he began to get drunk frequently and to refuse to get any job, she said.She said she suspected he took her money to buy methamphetamine, known as “yaa baa”.In the last few weeks, he beat her no less than 10 times. He also hit at her daughter sometimes because she “got in the way”, she said.Police have initiated legal proceedings against the husband and asked social workers to intervene and assist the mother and the daughter as victims of domestic violence.
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Sing Buri: – Police have solved the murder of Pho Chai kamnan Charin King-in in In Buri district after uncovering the family conspiracy to put a contract on his life in order to gain inheritance.Following three-month long investigation, police identified six suspects, arrested five and charged them for the murder conspiracy.One suspect, the victim’s estranged wife is still at large living in Germany.Based on police report, witnesses said they saw a motorcycle trying to overtake the victim’s pick-up truck before the gunman riding on the pillion opened fire on the victim at a local road of In Buri district on the night of December 27.Police arrived at the scene and found Charin dead at the wheel. The victim had multiple gunshot wounds. The victim’s vehicle veered off before stopping at the roadside.Investigators got a first breakthrough in the case on March 8 after a villager reported spotting the motorcycle submerged at a pond in the middle of rice field in In Buri district.The motorcycle matched the description of the one used by gunman.Subsequent checks led to the naming of motorcycle driver and target identifier Assarawut Riaproy.Investigators could then name Krailop Boonkerd as gunman and Danai Pornpakdi as contract broker.The victim’s son-in-law Thiraput Raksook allegedly arranged through Danai to put out the contract on the victim’s life.Investigators believe Thiraput’s wife Chosita King-in was the mastermind of the conspiracy to kill her father in order to become the sole heiress to his estate.Before the killing, Charin was poised to make a will and testament designating his mistress to inherit the family’s estate.Investigators have uncovered evidence that Charin’s estranged wife had sent the money to her daughter Chosita to put out the life contract.Four of five suspects in police’s custody have admitted to involving the murder conspiracy.Chosita has denied all charges although she said she had advance knowledge of the contract being put out on her father’s life.
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Bangkok:- Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will hold Songkran celebrations at Sanam Luang between April 12 and April 15.“We will organize a variety of activities in collaboration with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Fine Arts Department, and various other relevant agencies,” Deputy Bangkok City Clerk Atthaporn Suwattanadecha says.Among the planned activities are the parade of Phra Buddha Sihing state, alms-giving rituals, cultural shows, Thai-dance classes and performances by famous artists.“We will also have a beauty contest for elderly women,” Atthaporn discloses.Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year. While it is often marked with merry water splashing, the festival also contains much cultural elements.Atthaporn says the BMA-sponsored Songkran activities will this year focus on the traditional themes of safety, no nakedness, no nudeness, no powder and no alcohol.“Police will conduct patrols around Sanam Luang during the festival,” he says.Songkran is one of Thailand’s most colorful festivals. Each year, millions of Thais as well as foreign tourists have celebrated Songkran with water throwing. While most of water splashing is done for fun, there are now growing concerns about sexual harassment with some revelers getting drunk and using powder touch as an excuse to sexually touch the body of others.Relevant authorities in various zones have thus seriously campaigned against alcohol, powder and inappropriate choices of clothes. When wet, some clothes are very revealing.BMA will ban alcohol, powder and revealing clothes in its Songkran zones.
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Pattaya, Chon Buri:- The Tourist Authority of Thailand Friday held a symposium to promote Pattaya as a wedding destination for Indian tourists.The event was held at the Napalai Hall of Dusit Thani Pattaya under the title of “Wedding Planner Fam Trip and Industry Symposium.The event was joined by 30 wedding planners from India who met and exchanged information with tourism business operators in Pattaya. The Indian wedding planners were welcomed by Pattaya Mayor Itthipol Khunpluem.Soraya Homchuen, director of the TAT Office in Mumbai, said the market of wedding tourists in India was growing fast. She said about 200 Indian couples travelled to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hua Hin, Bangkok and Pattaya to be wed last year.She noted that wedding couples from India are quality tourists.Soraya said Thailand has been voted the most popular wedding destination by Indians every year and the kingdom emerges as the top choice for Indians to visit for marriage.As a result, the TAT has coordinated with the Thai Airways International office in India to provide promotion prices of air fare from four major cities, including Mumbai, Calcutta, and Chennai, to Thailand.The Wedding Fam Trip has been held from Tuesday to Thursday, Suladda Sarutilawan, director of the TAT Office in Pattaya said.On each day, she led the 30 wedding planners to visit tourist destinations and hotels in Pattaya and other eastern provinces that have capacity for organizing weddings.She said Indian tourists love sea so the packages for the Indian couples will be held in three routes – Koh Chang-Pattaya-Bangkok, Rayong-Pattaya-Bangkok, and Hua Hin-Pattaya-Bangkok.
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Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan:- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha Friday promised parking areas for the Hua Hin market and downtown area so that tourists can stop by and shop in the popular seaside resort town.Prayut made the promise during a Cabinet retreat at the Army Rehabilitation and Recreation Center Suanson Pradipat in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan.Deputy Government Spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Prayut had received a complaint from vendors in Hua Hin downtown that tourists could not park their cars in the area, causing their income to sharply drop.In the past, tourists could park their cars on roadsides to shop but now they face fines by traffic police for doing so, the complaint stated.Sansern said Prayut raised the complaint during the Cabinet meeting Friday and the prime minister ordered the Prachuap Khiri Khan governor to coordinate with the Hua Hin municipality to find car parks that would not affect the traffic rules.Prayut received the complaints from local vendors when he inspected the Chatchai Market and the main Hua Hin Beach before attending the Cabinet meeting.Another complaint he received was from local fishermen who complained about the rule that requires their small fishing boats of 30-ton capacity to be installed with a GPS device if the boats have a roof chamber.The fishermen claimed that most of their small fishing boats have roof chambers so that they could stay away from the blazing sun while fishing in the sea.Prayut promised to look into the complaint by seeking opinions from other agencies concerned.
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Chiang Mai:- A Spanish tourist was fatally injured when he fell from a popular waterfall in Chiang Mai Thursday, police said.Pol Capt Natthawat Khuenkaew, an officer on duty of Chang Phuek police station in Chiang Mai, said rescuers could not reach Carlos Gabriel, 28, in time to save him .Natthawat said Gabriel slipped and fell from the third platform of the Monthathan Waterfall in Doi Inthanon National Park while he was stepping on the edge to take photos of the falling water. Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.Natthawat said he and rescuers rushed to the scene with ropes and rock climbing gears as well as a rescue stretcher.The waterfall is about one kilometer deep in a forest and is part of a high cliff. The part of the cliff is made of sharp and complicated layers of rock, making it hard for rescuers to climb to the spot where Gabriel was trapped.Natthawat said when rescuers reached him, Gabriel had already died of severe injuries. The rescuers took more than an hour to bring his body down.His girlfriend told police that the two visited the waterfall and climbed to the third platform. Then, Gabriel stepped to the edge to try to have a good view of the waterfall and take its photos.However, the rock was slippery so he fell down and was washed downstream until he was trapped on the second platform of the waterfall. The girlfriend then called for help from park officials.His body was sent for an autopsy at the Maharaj Chiang Mai Hospital.
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Pattaya, Chon Buri: The Pattaya City has kicked off a new campaign to promote tourism to the seaside resort city.Pattaya Mayor Itthipol Khunpluem said the new tourism campaign theme, which is called Pattaya City Definitely More, is aimed at introducing new tourism aspects of the seaside city to reach new target groups.The mayor said the new tourism campaign theme will focus on four characters of the Pattaya City.The four characters are used to develop tour packages based on the four sub-themes, called More Nature, More Colors, More Life, and More Business.Itthipol explained that the More nature campaign would highlight natural tourist-destination sites while the More Colors campaign would highlight the colors of the Pattaya City during the day and night time.He said the More Life campaign is aimed at introducing comprehensive hotels, spa and health services in Pattaya while the More Business campaign is aimed at introducing Pattaya as a hub of new businesses.New tourism packages, which will be developed on the new campaigns, will be announced by the middle of this year.Itthipol said the Pattaya City expects the new packages will bring more quality tourists to the city and will lead to increase in spending by tourists by three to five per cent.He said the new campaigns should create about Bt95 billion revenue for Pattaya, which would be the same level with that in 2013.Itthipol added that Pattaya still aims at retaining the ratio of foreign to Thai tourists at 70:30.He hopes that the new campaigns packages will help turn Pattaya a dream destination for tourists around the world.
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Bangkok:- Due to a court injunction that came out Thursday evening, Fast and Furious 7 will not hit big screens for Thai movie goers next week.The Civil Court has suspended the screening of the action movie in response to a complaint filed by Sahamongkol Film International Co. Ltd. The complaint surrounds the fact that famous Thai martial arts actor, Tatchakorn Yeerum or Tony Jaa, has taken a role in the film without the firm’s consent. Tatchakorn is accused of breaching the contract that he has signed with firm and is valid till till 2023.The firm has now demanded Bt1.6billion in compensation from Tatchakorn, Universal Pictures and United International Pictures (Fareast) that are involved in Fast and Furious production/distribution.The court injunction will apply to cinemas in Thailand only.In fact, cinemas in Thailand were preparing to launch the latest sequel of Fast and Furious to the public on April 1.Suwat Apaiyasak, the lawyer who represents Sahamongkol Film International, says the court injunction will be in effect until the court rules otherwise.Asked about impacts on cinemas, filmmakers and film distributors, Suwat says his firm will welcome negotiations.“If negotiations prove satisfactory, we are ready to withdraw our complaint,” he says.Tatchakorn has been catapulted to fame via Sahamongkol Film International’s Ong Bak movies. Despite Sahamongkol’s threat of lawsuit since a few years ago, Tatchakorn went ahead with the filming of Fast and Furious 7.It is his Hollywood debut. The latest sequel of the famous Fast and Furious also features top stars like Vin Diesel.
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Bangkok: –Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives has earmarked 116 billion baht for loaning to 818,000 small-scale farmers.The small-scale farmers can access the concessionary loans to refinance their existing debts, to cope with natural calamities and to cushion impacts from lowering commodity price and other economic woes.BAAC president Luck Wajanawat said the bank board approved the loans in line with the government’s policy to provide financial assistance for farmers.Under the scheme, each small-scale farmer can apply for loan up to 500,000 baht between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016.The loans will cover three categories:• To relieve liabilities for 28,000 farmers and borrowers who are unable to service debts due to death, physical disabilities and unemployment caused by illnesses. The loans are expected to amount to 4 billion baht.• To refinance existing loans for 340,000 farmers who have difficulty for debt servicing caused by changing circumstances. The loans are projected at 48 billion baht. The repayment instalment will be rescheduled for 10 to 15 years.• To extend the repayment schedule for 450,000 farmers. The loans will amount to 64 billion baht. The accumulated fine for late payment would be forfeited. The new schedule for repayment would be based on the farmer’s financial capability.In addition to concessionary loans, BAAC will allow farmers to borrow 100,000 baht each for planting substitute crop or to change career due to the price drop for the existing crop.Farmers with good repayment records will be entitled to borrow 50,000 emergency cash at 7 per cent minimum retail rate.To refinance non-bank loans, farmers can borrow 100,000 baht each at 1 per cent monthly interest rate.
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Ayutthaya: –A locomotive last night collided into the back of three-carriage express train parked to await signal for entering Ban Pha Chi Junction Station in the central province, police said.Dozens of passengers have been injured and four are in serious condition. Some 150 uninjured passengers have been sent to a Buddhist temple to wait for the arrangements to complete their trip.Police Lieutenant Yanchote Daokrachai, a duty officer of Ban Pha Chi police station, said he was alerted to the train collision which happened about 200 meters from the train station.The Bangkok-Nong Khai express train had stopped at the Mab Phra Chan-Phra Kaew station which is the train parking area to and from the train junction station.The locomotive for Bangkok-Den Chai train rear-ended the park train causing one of the three carriages to derail.Passengers in the derailed carriage sustained injuries. The derailment happened to the sleeper carriage.Three passengers were admitted for treatments of serious injuries at nearby hospitals. The driver of the locomotive sustained serious injuries and was also hospitalised.Police suspect that the train traffic control at Ayutthaya train station might have erred in allowing the locomotive to pass through before the express train reached and parked at the junction station.Phornsuthi Thongsad, spokesman of the State Railway of Thailand, said rail transportation to and from Bangkok and the North and the Northeast would be suspended until the completion of removing the collision wreckage.The junction station serves to clear all trains to and from the capital bounded for the North and the Northeast.The collision happened a day after the SRT celebrations for its 118th Anniversary.
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Bangkok:- The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority will provide free bus rides for those who want to visit and pray at nine temples around the Ratanakosin Island in Bangkok.The free bus rides for visiting the nine temples will be available from April 2 to 5 as part of the activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the BMTA’s public relations team announced.The PR team said in a press statement that the government urged private firms and government agencies to carry out activities in honor of HRH Princess Sirindhorn so the BMTA decided to hold the free bus ride activities.The BMTA will provide 20 buses for the services each day. The bus will shuttle between Morchit 2 to Wat Saket. The first bus will leave the Morchit 2 terminal at 8 am and the last bus at 6 pm.The buses will carry wording of “Free bus for visiting temples around Ratanakosin Island” in Thai at the front of the buses.The buses will run past nine popular Buddhist temples, which are Benjamabophit Temple, Sam Phraya Temple, Bowornniwes Temple, Chana Songkram Temple, Wat Pho, the Temple of Emerald Buddha, Wat Suthat and Wat Saket.Moreover, the BMTA will also dispatch special inspectors to be stationed at all the nine temples to provide advice to the bus passengers how to catch the special buses. Some inspectors will also be stationed at the Morchit 2 terminal to answer questions of passengers.Interested people can call the BMTA’s Call Center at 1348 from 5 am to 10 pm every day to find out more about the special services.
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Ayutthaya:- A 24-year-old Thai man was arrested for having allegedly snatching bags from foreign tourists riding bike to see ancient site of the ancient town of Ayutthaya.Kwan Kerdsin, a resident of Mueang Ayutthaya district, admitted to police that he preyed on foreign tourists who rode bicycles and left their bags in the front basket of their bike.Kwan admitted that he had snatched bags from tourists four times during the past month. He rode his motorcycle to catch up with his preys and snatched their bags and sped off.Kwan’s arrest was announced by Ayutthaya police chief Pol Maj Gen Sermkid Sitthichaikarn.Police displayed two digital cameras, a selfie stick, a mobile phone, a power bank, and a bag that Kwan had allegedly snatched from his victims. His black and yellow Honda Zoomer X was also displayed as an evidence.Kwan said he rode the motorcycle to hunt for his preys at tourist sites in the province. He eyed foreign tourists who left their bags in bicycle’s basket or carrying it over their shoulder.He said he sold the stolen items and used the money to buy methamphetamine.After the press conference, Sermkid and other police officers took Kwan to reenact the alleged crime on Naresuan Road where there are several restaurants and guesthouses.The re-enactment drew attention of a lot foreign tourists and local people.During the re-enactment, Kwan demonstrated how he rode his motorcycle to look at the valuables of a tourist in a bicycle’s basket. He road past the bike and made a u-turn and came back to snatch the bag.
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Bangkok:- Silom Road will become a powder-free and alcohol-free zone during the upcoming Songkran celebration, according to a plan drawn up by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.Millions of people in Thailand will celebrate the Songkran between April 13 and 15.Revelers usually mark the festive holidays with water throwing. Some will also enjoy alcoholic drinks and add powder to their bucket of water. With the powder, many get excuse to get close and touch the body of others during the festival. Although not all powder touches constitute sexual harassment, some do.To ensure proper order and prevent such kinds of harassment, powder has become a no-no in many Songkran zones.And this year, the Silom Road will be also off-limits to powder users and sellers.“We will immediately arrest powder sellers on Silom Road during the Songkran,” says Wanlop Suwandee, chief advisor to Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra.He says relevant officials will also arrest alcohol sellers as well.Silom area, which is a central business district of Bangkok, has ranked among the most popular spots to celebrate the Songkran Festival. During the festival, the road is closed to traffic and revelers fill up the spot. Stalls selling various types of fares including food also line along the road.“We will prepare some 200 stalls this year,” Wanlop says, “These stalls will open from 1pm to 9pm during the festival”.
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Bangkok:- The Bangkok Council Wednesday urged the Bangkok Mass Transit Co or BTS to install public toilet rooms on its skytrain stations.Bangkok Council President Kriensak Lohachala, a former BMA city clerk, conveyed the message from the council to the BTS when he and a group of Bangkok councilors visited the BTS head office.The visiting councilors were received by BTS President Arnat Arpapirom. The group was shown the BTS control room and observed the operation of the communication signal system of the trains.After having observed the operation, Kriengsak told Arnat that the council would like the BTS to provide free drinking water at all stations. The council also suggested that the BTS install public toilet rooms and toilet facilities for the disabled at all stations as well.The Bangkok Council also proposed that the BTS should give special discount to government officials and BMA employees.On weekday, Bangkok commuters make more than 710,000 trips on the skytrain system per day but the mass transport system provides no toilet rooms.Those who have emergency case or have to answer the call of the nature will have to inform station officials at the ticket selling booth to seek permission to use staff toilet rooms on the case-by-case basis.Most Thais are too shy to inform strangers that they need to answer the call of the nature so the issues has been widely discussed among online social networkers.A Google search using two Thai keywords – toilet rooms and BTS – resulted in over 600,000 results.Several online articles have been posted advising BTS commuters what to do in case of emergencies.For example, the cosmenet.in.th website has compiled a list of nearby facilities that BTS commuters can use toilet rooms.
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Bangkok:- CentralWorld has issued a statement to explain that one of male models in the Central World Naked Summer 2015 fashion show was not completely naked.The event held at 7:15pm Tuesday became a talk of town and caused uproar among Thai online users.During the highlight of the show, a farang male model turned his back to the audience and suddenly removed his swim trunk to take a shower. A popular Thai actress, Praiya Soandokmai, was standing next to him.Praiya watched the model doing it with her mouth agape. She then laughed before the model helped himself to a towel with his back always turned to the audience. The two walked down the stage together after the model put the towel on.Many Facebook users harshly criticized CentralWorld that the show was too much and too explicated. They said the model could have taken the shower without removing the trunk.But on Wednesday, CentralWorld issued a statement that the model was not completely naked. Instead, he was wearing a G-string underwear that prompted him to look as if he were wearing nothing when he was looked at from behind.The company said it was sorry for causing misunderstanding to the public that the model had committed an indecent act on the fashion stage.CentralWorld added the event organizer did not intend to cause the indecent perception and failed to take into account that children might be watching the show.Meanwhile, Pathumwan police chief Pol Col Jarut Sarutyaporn said no one has filed complaints with police related to the fashion show so no action has been made so far.
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Bangkok: – The gunman suspect has been arrested and charged for involving in the contract killing of a senior monk in Udon Thani, national police chief General Somyos Pumpanmuang said.Following his arrest in Kalasin, suspect Panja Chareesaen admitted to killing Phra Bandit Supanthito, the abbot of Wat Pa To Si Siad, Mueang Udon Thani on March 1.Panja said he was paid 50,000 baht by contract broker Police Senior Sergeant Major ChanchaiSoisangwan.He said he used his modified shotgun to fire M-16 bullets to kill the monk who was completing the morning’s round of alms and walking back to his temple through a remote area.He also said Chanchai drove him to the scene and pointed out the victim and that he did not know his victim was the monk until arriving at the scene.He said he was just waiting for the police to arrest him as he could not sleep, saying he had bad dreams about the monk.Somyos said based on Panja’s statement, police will issue the warrants to arrest two additional suspects, including Chanchai.Presently, Chanchai has been discharged from the police service. And he is believed to have fled to Laos.Another suspect is a well-known businessman, whose initial is B.Investigators suspect that B put out the contract on the monk’s life because of jealousy. B’s mistress, who is a widowed dentist, has been spending most of her time at the temple practicing meditation.Prior to the arrest of Panja, the national police chief intervened to transfer two senior police officers, Maj General Boonlue Kobangyang and Maj General Chatyat Saithin, out of Udon Thani.The two have been known to be close to B and Chanchai used to serve as the driver for Boonlue.
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Bangkok: – The Commerce Ministry has adjusted the economic report, conceding to the contraction of exports for two consecutive months due to the slowing down of the world economy.The growth of exports has contracted 4.8 per cent for January and February.Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikalya said major exporting countries, including Thailand, see lowering demands in key markets.India’s exports have dropped 13 per cent, followed by Indonesia (11.9 per cent), Singapore (8.5 per cent), Australia (8.4 per cent) and the United States (5.1 per cent), Chatchai said.In January, the country’s exports declined by 3.46 per cent and last month saw the drop of more than 6 per cent.The downward trend in Thai exports has been attributed to the slow recovery of world economies, the lowering commodity price and the drop in oil price.The ministry is expected to revise downward the projection for the April exports because the major economies are still experiencing demand weakness.The country’s earnings from exports amount to US$17.2 billion in January and US$17.5 billion in February.The lower-than-expected recovery of the world economy is attributed to the country’s weak exports for this year.In another development, the Commerce Ministry has instructed the Internal Trade Department to continue the “Blue Flag” campaign designed to cushion the impacts of rising prices for consumer’s products.The campaign is a market intervention scheme for participating stores and the department’s mobile sale units to sell essential goods at discounted prices.This has triggered complaints from independent retail vendors, saying the campaign has undercut prices and undermined their livelihood.Responding to the complaints, the campaign has been adjusted to focus on remote areas and to relocate “Blue Flag” booths away from retail vendors.
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Kanchanaburi:- Had it happened in Singapore, the one who did it would have been caned. But Thai police remain in the dark as to who vandalized the Eastern Oriental Princess train from Singapore.The mysterious letters of T.G.B.M and T.G.B.M. 2015 were spray-painted on the outside wall of a carriage of the Singapore-Kanchanaburi train No 951 late Monday night or early Tuesday.The Eastern Oriental Princess with 22 carriages and two engines, which belongs to Singapore, ran from Singapore through Malaysia and ended its journey in Kanchanaburi.According to Prasop Phusamsai, the chief of the Kanchanaburi railway station, the train was parked at the station at 11:05 pm Monday night.Prasop said a station official checked the train at 3 am Tuesday and found that the fourth carriage from the front engine had been spray-painted with the letters. The first TGBM word was pained in red with yellow and blue decorations. The second word of TGBM 2015 was painted in white. Prasop said the carriage was a sleeping coach.Prasop said no one knew what the TGBM stood for.“This damaged the property. Since the train belongs to a foreign firm, it damaged Thailand’s reputation, especially Kanchanaburi’s image.The station chief said he had filed a complaint with the Mueang Kanchanaburi police station on Tuesday.Prasop said there was a security camera at the main platform but the carriage was in the dark area and was far from the camera so the vandal was not captured on the camera.He said the vandalism happened for the first time at the station.When the train returned to Singapore at 8 am Tuesday, officials used green adhesive tape to cover the graffiti, he added.
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Phuket:- Three Chinese tourists were killed when a bus transporting them and 15 others from the Kata beach to the Phuket International Airport plunged down a hillside at noon Wednesday.Police officers of the Chalong police station said the accident happened at 12:10 pm at the Kata Hills on Patuk Road in Phuket’s Mueang district.The 15 other Chinese tourists, who suffered cuts and bruises, were rushed to the Wachira Hospital.The three killed tourists were identified as Hu Huijie, 31, Li Meiling, 29, and Zhou Bo, 31. Their bodies were sent to the Wachira Hospital as well.Police arrested the bus driver, Khachornwit Srisongkram, 35 and charged him with reckless driving, causing deaths and injuries.The driver told police that he was taking 18 Chinese tourists from a hotel on the Kata beach to the airport as the tourists were scheduled to fly back home. A tour guide accompanied the tourists.The driver said when the bus approached the curved downhill road, he lost control of it. The bus then crashed through a rail guard and plunged down the hill and hit a power pole on the roadside before crashing into a big tree below.The three tourists, who were killed, were hurled through the glass windows.When police and rescuers reached the scenes, some survivors helped themselves out of the bus and many were lying inside.At 2 pm, Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong and Phuket chief public health officer Khachornsak Kaewcharas rushed to the hospital to check the treatments of the survivors.Several tourists, who were slightly injured, were discharged and returned to their hotel after treatment and the rest, who were badly injured, remained admitted.
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Krabi:- Tourists to the beautiful Phi Phi Islands may soon have to pay admission fees.The fee collection is proposed as a means to limit the number of tourists to the tropical paradises, as overcrowding starts to threaten local environment.The Phi Phi Islands are parts of the Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in Krabi province.The park’s chief Chaiyatat Boonphuphantanti says he is going to propose many measures including admission-fee collection to protect marine resources.He will have meetings with the several officials of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation on Wednesday and Thursday.“On the fee collection, I will propose that a private firm is appointed the collector,” Chaiyatat says.He speaks up after Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine-science expert and a member of the National Reform Council, has expressed concerns about the growing tourism’s adverse impacts on marine resources.Thon has seriously called for proper control measures to ensure that tourism activities do not thrive at the expense of the environment.While Chaiyatat fast pays heed to Thon’s concerns, he is apparently reluctant to welcome an idea of closing down the Phi Phi Islands and letting the places rehabilitate naturally.“The closure will cause big impacts on the entire tourism sector here from hotels to restaurants and more,” he points out, “Tour operators have usually prepared trip arrangements for their customers no less than six months in advance too”.So far, Chaiyatat says if academic researches clearly show the Phi Phi Islands must be closed to tourists, his park will oblige.“But to do that, we need to look at clear-cut information first,” he says.
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Bangkok:- The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will next month ponder a method for collecting wasted water treatment fees to help the city administration shoulder high cost of water treatment, a BMA source said.The source said the BMA’s Drainage and Sewerage Department will submit a proposal to the BMA governor on April 15 on the collecting of the fee.The governor will be asked to choose one of three methods for collecting wasted-water treatment fees so that the proposal will be submitted to the interior minister for endorsement before a directive will be enacted.In the first method, the BMA will have to buy a database of tap water users in Bangkok from the Metropolitan Water Authority so that they will be charged accordingly for wasted water treatment fee.In the second method, the BMA will contract the MWA to collect the fees for the city administration when the MWA collects tap water fee.However, according to the source, the MWA has already rejected the proposal, saying the MWA act does not allow it to collect wasted water treatment fee.The MWA instead offers to print tap water receipts for the BMA to collect the wasted water fee on its own but the BMA will be charged Bt6 per receipt or it will be charged about Bt1.8 million each month for the receipts.In the third method, the BMA may use flat rates of wasted water treatment fees like the garbage collection fees, the source said.The source said each Bangkok resident is using tap water about 120 to 130 liters each day. The BMA believes there are about 10 million city residents so they generate about 130,000 cubic meters of wasted water each day while factories and rains contribute to about 300,000 cubic meters of wasted water each day. The BMA is spending about Bt1 million a day for the water treatment.
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Bangkok:- The Culture Ministry has threatened to take legal action against models at the on-going 36th Bangkok International Motor show for having exposed themselves too much.Culture Minister Veera Rojpojanarat said he had received a lot of complaints that many models in the motor show fair had dressed improperly.Veera said complaints were especially raised against a brand for showing body painting on some models that was considered to be too much exposed.The minister said he has seen the photos of body-painted models and he thought they were revealing too much and their act was not appropriate for the Thai culture.“I’ll have the Culture Watch Office coordinate with that brand and the organizer to make sure that the models get dressed properly,” Veera said.Yupha Thaweewatanakijboworn, director of the Culture Watch Office, said she had assigned her officials to coordinate with the Royal Thai Police to take legal actions against the models who revealed themselves “too much”.Yupha said the act of models might be deemed indecent act that violated Article 388 of the Criminal Code.She said the article prohibited any person from carrying out an embarrassing act by exposing himself or herself or doing any other indecent activity in public place. Such a violation would be subject to a fine of Bt5,000, she added.Her office will gather pictures of too-much revealing models at the motor show for using as evidence for taking action, she added.“They have clearly violated the law,” Yupha said. She also warned social networkers not to share the models’ photos as they could be deemed violating the computer crime act too.
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British tourist found dead on Phuket beach
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