Trump chickens out again.

[webfact]

Activists Planning Prawit Visit Detained In Dawn Raid

By Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

 

  

Ekachai Hongkangwan, in red in background right, being taken away by police Monday morning in Bangkok. Photo: Ekachai Hongkangwan / Facebook

 

BANGKOK — Two pro-democracy activists were briefly detained without charge by police Monday morning, apparently to bar them from disturbing a holiday event at the home of the junta’s scandal-tainted second-in-command.

 

Ekachai Hongkangwan said two vehicles and a dozen plainclothes officers came at dawn to his home in Bangkok’s Lat Phrao district and put him and fellow activist Chokchai Paiboonratchata into their vehicles a day after he announced they would crash a Songkran greeting ceremony at the home of Prawit Wongsuwan.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2018/04/16/activists-planning-prawit-visit-detained-in-dawn-raid/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2018-04-16

[stephen tracy]

Looks like the police were right on time! Pardon the pun.

[yellowboat]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

junta’s scandal-tainted second-in-command

Tainted; contaminate or pollute (something).

He is far more than tainted.  He is a role model for a whole new way of corruption.  It is not mine.  It belongs to a dead friend.  I wonder if anyone really cares what these less than honorable people think. 

[candide]

53 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Tainted; contaminate or pollute (something).

He is far more than tainted.  He is a role model for a whole new way of corruption.  It is not mine.  It belongs to a dead friend.  I wonder if anyone really cares what these less than honorable people think. 

Right, he has pushed the standards up to an unequalled level, which is a real performance in Thailand. Respect.

[greenchair]

The watch thing is done. 

It's time to move on. 

[holy cow cm]

1 hour ago, greenchair said:

The watch thing is done. 

It's time to move on. 

Not ever close to going to a new topic away from this one. Justice can wait

[webfact]

Activists detained before making mocking visit to Prawit’s house

By THE NATION

 

 

TWO PRO-DEMOCRACY activists were apprehended by police without an arrest warrant, with one alleging physical abuse, as they planned to “bless” Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who opened his residence yesterday to receive well-wishers for the Songkran Festival.
 

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha splashed water around cheerfully as he led military and senior officers to bless the 72-year-old key junta figure who had just returned from an overseas trip last week after a health check-up. 

 

Activists Ekachai Hongkangwan and Chokchai Paiboonratchata also intended to join the festivities but were stopped by police officers from Lat Phrao Police Station.

 

Chokchai felt a sudden hearing loss after one police officer pressed his head against a police van seat, as they whisked him away from Ekachai’s house in Lat Phrao Soi 109. According to Ekachai’s Facebook post, their plan was to light 36 incense sticks, deliver a watch garland and play the Thai fiddle for Prawit at his residence in Lat Phrao Soi 71 yesterday.

 

All the deeds were intended to mock Prawit over his luxury-watch scandal. His possession of an estimated Bt30-million worth of luxury watches might have pointed to unusual wealth and an intent to conceal assets but the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) declared that it had found “no irregularity” in the case.

 

 

The NACC, whose board was appointed by junta-picked legislators, last month cleared Prawit’s name and concluded that all 22 watches seen to be worn by Prawit were “borrowed” from a friend.

 

The 36 incense sticks were intended to mock the government’s superstitious beliefs. In February, the same number of incense sticks were found burnt in front of the PM’s office. Government House officers were ordered to find the “wrongdoers”, who they suspected had performed rituals to bring bad luck to the government.

 

The fiddle playing, meanwhile, was to harp on the Thai idiom, “playing a fiddle to a buffalo”, which means to speak or advise unwise people who will never understand.

 

Ekachai has made several attempts in the past to hand watches to Prawit as a symbolic protest since the scandal was exposed last December. Yesterday proved no exception and he failed to reach Prawit. Ekachai and Chokchai were stopped by officers as early as 5.45am.

 

While police officers said that they had to stop Chokchai as he tried to run away, creating a scene, the two activists denied the account. “They [officers] said that ‘a boss’ had ordered them to stop our activity,” Ekachai said. 

 

“When I was at the police station, they tried to make me sign a testimony saying that I instigated the public to join me. I refused to sign it as I was worried about it being used for sedition charges,” he continued, referring to the Criminal Code’s Article 116, a law frequently used by the junta against dissidents.

 

Chokchai added that he was also abused and physically assaulted by the police officers. “I was surrounded by around 10 officers when I waited for Ekachai at a bus stop near his house,” Chokchai said. “They pressed me against the floor, covered my head and brought me to the van. They also took away my mobile phone, which I use to access my Facebook account, and erased all photos in it before returning it to me,” he said.

 

 

Chokchai added that he had his head forcibly pressed during the 30-minute ride and one officer also sat on his back. “I was treated brutally. My ear also appeared to have a problem after being pressed down for so long,” he said.

 

At 11am, the two were released from Hua Mark Police Station without being charged. Chokchai later went to hospital to have his ear checked. He insisted on filing charges alleging abuse by the officers.

 

Activist Nutta Mahattana said while the two merely intended to peacefully exercise their freedom to express their views over Prawit’s scandal, what the police had done was wrong. “The police surrendered themselves as a tool of the junta. This is no different from mafia culture,” she said. “We’ve been under this kind of regime for four years already.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30343271

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-04-17

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

who had just returned from an overseas trip last week after a health check-up. 

quite the assessment of thailand's healthcare system, have to go overseas for a check-up

[krobert6]

18 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

quite the assessment of thailand's healthcare system, have to go overseas for a check-up

Must be on a good salary to have a checkup in another country - or is it part of the salary package for all senior officers

[greenchair]

8 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

Not ever close to going to a new topic away from this one. Justice can wait

There are much more serious issues that they could protest about to get public support for their cause. 

In general the public and media have lost interest on this issue. 

The corruption of stealing from the poor, involves almost every province in the country. billions of baht were stolen. Only 1 permanent secretary and 1 deputy have been asked to step down. It's pathetic. Then there's the 188 million baht that was stolen from the education of poor girls. 1 sole woman has been arrested, when it would be impossible for her to do this without very high up approval. Then there's the hiring of Prayut nephew to a high position in the army that he was not qualified for, and indeed the hiring of family members on high salaries throughout the governmental system. Then there's the giving of multimillion baht government construction projects to Prayut nephew and his newly established construction firm that has suddenly become a very wealthy enterprise. 

Then there's the issue of section 44 and the harsh computer crime act. And what about the hiring of a high up democrat protester to the position of bangkok governer.

The watches have been explained. Nobody is willing to dispute the explanation. That issue is done. 

[sammieuk1]

Out smarted by old father time again.

[holy cow cm]

2 hours ago, greenchair said:

There are much more serious issues that they could protest about to get public support for their cause. 

In general the public and media have lost interest on this issue. 

The corruption of stealing from the poor, involves almost every province in the country. billions of baht were stolen. Only 1 permanent secretary and 1 deputy have been asked to step down. It's pathetic. Then there's the 188 million baht that was stolen from the education of poor girls. 1 sole woman has been arrested, when it would be impossible for her to do this without very high up approval. Then there's the hiring of Prayut nephew to a high position in the army that he was not qualified for, and indeed the hiring of family members on high salaries throughout the governmental system. Then there's the giving of multimillion baht government construction projects to Prayut nephew and his newly established construction firm that has suddenly become a very wealthy enterprise. 

Then there's the issue of section 44 and the harsh computer crime act. And what about the hiring of a high up democrat protester to the position of bangkok governer.

The watches have been explained. Nobody is willing to dispute the explanation. That issue is done. 

The watches have not been looked into further to the real point. There is still a serial number and paper registration every watch gets. I would surmise that all of most are linked to him. If not looking more into it then the Thai brain is dead. 

[Eric Loh]

3 hours ago, greenchair said:

There are much more serious issues that they could protest about to get public support for their cause. 

In general the public and media have lost interest on this issue. 

The corruption of stealing from the poor, involves almost every province in the country. billions of baht were stolen. Only 1 permanent secretary and 1 deputy have been asked to step down. It's pathetic. Then there's the 188 million baht that was stolen from the education of poor girls. 1 sole woman has been arrested, when it would be impossible for her to do this without very high up approval. Then there's the hiring of Prayut nephew to a high position in the army that he was not qualified for, and indeed the hiring of family members on high salaries throughout the governmental system. Then there's the giving of multimillion baht government construction projects to Prayut nephew and his newly established construction firm that has suddenly become a very wealthy enterprise. 

Then there's the issue of section 44 and the harsh computer crime act. And what about the hiring of a high up democrat protester to the position of bangkok governer.

The watches have been explained. Nobody is willing to dispute the explanation. That issue is done. 

Nice try.

[Srikcir]

Take notice Chumpol Krootkaew, founder of the Moderate Party or “Klang Party”, as to what happens to "liquid democracy."

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1034047-new-moderate-party-to-push-tech-agenda/?utm_source=newsletter-20180417-0651&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

It just slips through the junta's fingers.

A new social media platform will not change this.

[chama]

21 hours ago, greenchair said:

The watch thing is done. 

It's time to move on. 

Well time being his specialty your probably right. And the Toad has surely left a long list of issues that one could focus on and shake with anger and disbelief that a person of this caliber could be involved in leading a country with his boss being fully aware of his indiscretions.