Thailand Live Friday 8 Oct 2010

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Thailand Live Friday 8 October 2010

News, Bits and Tweets

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Keep up to date with live updates from the news, hour by hour.

For breaking news,national, regional and international news updates on

a daily basis only, this thread is closed to commentary so that those

who wish to follow the news can find it here...

Commentary is still open for Thailand news in the relevant thread posted in News Clippings.

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Related topic: Thailand Live Thursday 7 October 2010

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Ayutthaya governor orders to recover all the rice submerged under the river

BANGKOK (NNT) -- The governor of Ayutthaya Province has demanded that the 30,000 sacks of rice sunken at the bottom of the Chaophya River be retrieved within 4 days, after the Pollution Control Department has found out that the rice has begun to decompose.

Divers from Siam Indica Company had recovered a sack of rice weighing 25 kilograms which was then tested by officers from the Pollution Control Department, who found that it had begun to decompose.

According to the Pollution Control Department, the 30,000 bags of rice, sunken into the river as a result of the mishap last week, should not be left at the bottom of the river more than seven days, as the decomposed rice will pollute the Chaophya River, the lifeline of those residing along its banks. Siam Indica, the company which owned the boat, was ordered to recover all the rice within four days.

-- NNT 2010-10-08

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7thThailand International Logistics Fair 2010

BANGKOK (NNT) -- The Ministry of Commerce is ready to promote Thailand as a Logistics hub of ASEAN by speeding up the development of the country’s logistic system.

Presiding over the opening of the ‘7thThailand International Logistics Fair 2010,’ Deputy Minister of Commerce Alongkorn Ponlaboot disclosed that Thailand's export revenues accounted for 70% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP); however, the costs of logistics also ate up 18.6% of the GDP.

In help lower logistic costs of Thai export companies, the Commerce Ministry would go all out to increase their potential through efficiency development, enabling them to operate leaner and reducing costly unloaded trips; both of which would drastically cut their transport costs and make them more competitive in the global market, according to the Deputy Minister.

Today's logistics business is worth up to 8 hundred billion baht. The Department of Commerce has set a goal to push it up another 20 percent, to 9 hundred billion baht a year.

-- NNT 2010-10-08

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Sugar price drops

BANGKOK (NNT) -- Sugar prices have dropped 25 Baht/Kilogram, after the office of the cane and sugar fund has recently sold more than 7 hundred thousand sacks of sugar from its stock.

According to the office of the Cane and Sugar Fund (OCSF), it has sold more than 7 hundred thousand sacks of sugar to wholesalers—the third time it has done so.

The sugar was bought back from 3 traders. As a result of the sales, sugar prices in general have dropped by between 1.50 and 2 Baht/Kilogram. It is now selling for about 25 Baht/Kilogram. The move has been seen as an effort to curb sugar price rise as well as a means to tackle the shortage problem that sent the prices soaring to 27 baht per kilogram a few months ago.

-- NNT 2010-10-08

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North on High Alert after Nonthaburi Blast

Provincial authorities in the northern region have stepped up security in light of the Nonthaburi apartment explosion and other incidents in Bangkok.

In Phitsanulok province, police have set up road checkpoints and ordered stringent patrols of important sites and risk areas, including fuel depots, in hope of deterring mayhem.

PTT Phitsanulok has increased its own security around oil depots, installing surveillance cameras and strictly checking incoming vehicles.

A similar situation is developing in Lampang province, home to several petroleum depots.

Regional manager of PTT Lampang, Chayut Panthamit, revealed that following the bombings in Bangkok, all PTT compounds were instructed to revamp security.

The nation's largest fuel supplier has raised its threat alert to Level Two, which includes increasing number of guards, surveillance, transport security and reducing oil depots' visibility.

In Chiang Mai, 11 men arrested for training and preparing to incite chaos were being questioned.

So far, investigators have found that the group have received training from abroad and believe the men were linked to other crimes in Bangkok and elsewhere.

Police are searching for more members of the group, believing there are a total of 39 men altogether.

The location of their detention has been kept secret.

-- Tan Network 2010-10-08

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NONTHABURI BLAST

Police on lookout for man, woman in Muslim headscarf

By The Nation

CRES says 4th body at blast site that of prime suspect Samai

A man with a woman in a Muslim headscarf - seen frequently with the tenant of a Nonthaburi apartment room where a powerful explosion occurred on Tuesday - are the latest target of interest in the search for people involved, the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) said yesterday.

"The two people helped carry large bags from a pickup truck to Room 202. We need to verify their identities and locate them," said CRES spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd at a press conference.

The fourth and last body found at the Samarn Metta Mansion belonged to Samai Wongsuwan, who rented Room 202 where the explosion happened, said police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri. Official confirmation of the body's identity is awaiting DNA-based verification.

When announcing the body was Samai's, police relied initially on his inked fingerprints on Chiang Mai police records, following indictments against him for possessing explosives and attempted murder. The prints matched three fingers on a left arm found at the scene.

A DNA test later proved the arm belonged to the body, meaning the fingers were Samai's - based on the police records carrying his fingerprints.

Police have also been told four or five people were seen visiting Samai or entering or exiting the room. Their investigation and interviews of witnesses covered the time when he rented the room around two weeks ago up to hours before the explosion, said deputy police chief Pol General Phanuphong Singhara na Ayutthaya.

"We know their addresses or locations and will soon meet them for interviews, [treating them] as innocent," he said. Phanuphong added that police also had details of vehicles used by visitors to the apartment. One had been linked to certain bomb-related incidents in the past.

Phanuphong said it could take police some time to identify the man and the Muslim-dressed woman and their roles in the incident.

The Department of Special Investigation is expected to make a request soon to take over the apartment bombing case from police, as the incident carried evidence and involved various activities indicating acts of terrorism. DSI director-general Tharit Phengdit repeated the DSI's warning of escalation of violence through underground operations until the year-end.

The DSI have arrested a former paramilitary ranger allegedly serving with a group of infamous "men in black" as the triggerman of an M79 grenade launcher. Aram Saeng-arun was arrested recently while in hiding in Ubon Ratchathani, and was scheduled to be flown to Bangkok last night.

The Interior Ministry yesterday instructed all 76 provincial governors to stay alert and not take leave at least until the end of October, especially those 48 transferred to new provinces.

Two dummy grenades were found 400 metres from the home of Deputy Prime Minister Trairong Suwankhiri in Soi Prachachuen 31 in Bang Sue district before noon yesterday. Prachachuen police doubted it was meant as a bomb threat against the Democrat Party executive because of the distance from his home.

The grenades are US-made vintage model MK-2, with the explosives removed and detonators inactive, used as dummies in Army combat training.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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HEALTH PLAN

State hospitals face massive slash in earnings

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CURRENCY

Thailand mulls new measures to ease baht hike

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BEST TOILET OF THE YEAR

Bangkok's top toilets lauded

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ASK THE EDITOR

Bangkok-Nonthaburi bomb - Wrong place? Or the right time?

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DSI brainstorms on white-collar crimes

By The Nation

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) yesterday hosted a brainstorming session on problems faced by investigators and how crimes related to the money and capital markets can be prevented. The seminar was held at Nonthaburi's Richmond Hotel.

Deputy DSI chief Pol Colonel Narat Sawettanant said the department was investigating 10 economic crimes, most of which involved stock-market speculation and company executives' corruption. Though the DSI can use spies from within suspect organisations, tap phones and access in-depth information in their investigation, the difficult part is proving illegal intentions, training personnel, and seeing through suspects who are often rich and experienced in market trading, Narat said.

Dusit Court Judge Kamon Supreeyasunthorn said such cases were related to civil, criminal, administrative and other special laws, but the agencies involved often differed over regulations. Therefore, they needed to find a way of getting law enforcers, courts and prosecutors to study the laws closely, because sometimes it is government policy that ends up helping investors. He also suggested that economic crimes be separated from other crimes so suspects can be prosecuted more efficiently.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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Effort to be doubled in third round of educational assessment

By Wannapa Khaopa

The Nation

The third round of assessment by the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA) will start next June and end in 2015, with more than 60,000 educational institutions being covered.

It will focus on the results produced by the educational system and provide more flexible key performance indicators (KPIs) to suit educational institutions with different strong points.

ONESQA director Professor Channarong Pornrungroj yesterday said the number of institutions to be assessed was double the number covered in the second round.

He estimates that the assessment budget will be doubled as well. The agency spent about Bt400 million per year in the second round of assessment.

"We've reduced the number of KPIs to make the assessment easy to understand and follow. Our fixed KPIs in the second round disadvantaged many educational institutions with strong points that differed from what the KPIs measured. So we've decided to make the assessment more flexible," Channarong said.

"We will open an opportunity for those institutions to present their strong points or uniqueness for assessment as KPIs.

"We adhere to the 'simply together is better' principle."

The first group to be assessed will be 5,000 schools in basic education, 70 institutions in vocational education and 330 faculties at the highereducation level.

During the third round, almost 59,000 schools in basic education, 807 vocational institutions and 260 institutions in higher education have to be assessed.

"Under this amicable assessment, we'll also change our assessors' work attitude because we want them to be friendlier with those being assessed, but this doesn't mean they will be lacking in terms of quality of assessment. With the more friendly approach of assessors, assessees won't get too worked up about the assessment. They won't feel like they are being attacked," he said.

"Our 2,500 assessors will be trained in amicable assessment and how to give assessed educational institutions more effective advice. We want them to make those being assessed understand that the assessment aims to encourage them to improve their quality, and is not reproaching them."

Channarong said ONESQA would report assessment results yearly to the government and the Budget Bureau so that they could use them when considering policy and allocating budgets to tackle the weak points of schools with poor results, and to support the strong points of those with outstanding performance.

"We have also initiated a chainofquality system - outstanding educational institutions will be encouraged to apply as mentors of others with poor quality, to help them enhance their quality. One mentor institution will have to help nine others. If their quality increases concretely, the mentor institutions will receive a special honour from ONESQA," he said.

Moreover, with concerns over the quality of faculties and learning centres established outside the main campuses of universities, ONESQA will not accredit the universities in question if their outside facilities do not meet the necessary standards, he said.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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Workers rally for hike to minimum wages

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Ministry to give computers to 7,200 schools

By The Nation

The Education Ministry, in a bid to provide students easy access to information technology, will soon be granting computers to around 7,200 schools.

The ministry will give the Basic Education Commission Bt4 billion next year to spend on providing computers and hispeed Internet to those schools. Most of the schools are of both primary and secondary levels upcountry.

The government aims to provide at least one computer for every 10 students - a ratio it considers reasonable and thrifty, especially since having too many computers would put an additional burden on schools with limited budget to cover maintenance and electricity bills.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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'Cash for Thai university degrees' racket to be exposed : activist

Khon Kaen - A criminal action is set to be taken against a private university in Khon Kaen province for "selling" bechalor's degrees to hundreds of buyers each for Bt100,000, an activist representing teachers in both private and government schools said yesterday.

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Govt urged to ensure migrant workers are treated fairly

By The Nation

The country needs to improve the management of foreign workers but take care to not increase the numbers, the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) said yesterday.

"There are enough or perhaps too many alien workers already," Dr Yongyut Chalaemwong said recently in his capacity as the TDRI director for labourdevelopment research.

According to TDRI, there are about 2 million alien workers in Thailand.

Yongyut said the government should not register more alien workers because the registration would just attract new migrants while the ones already in the country would go underground.

He believes that about half of the alien workers in Thailand lived and worked here illegally. Many had changed employers without seeking new work permits, while others simply failed to renew their permits.

"Both the workers and the employers have violated the law in such cases," he said.

His statements are based on a survey of more than 600 alien workers in Thailand.

Yongyut said this practice was detrimental to the country, left lawabiding employers at a disadvantage and made many Thai workers lose opportunities to illegal migrant workers who are willing to work for lower wages.

"This has also allowed some people to take advantage of illegal workers," he pointed out.

According to the survey, up to 17 per cent of the employers have not paid their workers at all while more than 20 per cent paid less than what they had initially promised. Some 20 per cent of the employers told workers their wages were being lowered without providing any reasons.

"In some cases, employers colluded with agents in extracting exorbitant fees from the alien workers too. Therefore, filling a document can cost these workers hundreds instead of just a couple of dozen baht," Yongyut said.

He said the authorities should not allow such unfair treatment and illegal activities to continue.

"The government should efficiently use available legal mechanisms to manage migrant workers in the country," Yongyuth concluded.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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Warrants sought for yellow shirts over Bangkok airport sieges

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DEMOCRAT DISSOLUTION CASE

Ex-DSI denies bias, trickery in probe

By Piyanuch Tamnukasetchai

The Nation

Tawee Sodsong, a former director general of the Department of Special Investigation, yesterday denied that he worked with bias on the TPI Polene and Democrat Party election-fraud scandals.

Tawee, now a deputy permanent secretary at the Justice Ministry, said in a seven-page letter that he did not trick the Special Case Committee into agreeing to assign the case to the DSI, as accused by current DSI chief Tharit Pengdit in testimony to the Constitution Court in the Bt29 million party dissolution case.

The Democrat Party was not identified by name in the report to the committee for confidentiality reasons, rather than intentionally omitted to fool the committee, he said.

The seven-page letter was submitted to the minister and permanent secretary at the ministry as well as to the political party registrar, he said.

The decision to accept the case was appropriate because of the alleged violation of the Securities and Exchange Act and tax evasion, which are within the department's purview.

The complaint also mentioned the Democrat Party as violating the laws, which made this case too complicated for any other agency to handle.

Tawee said he had never known Pol Corp Tatchapol Phromchan, who filed the complaint to the DSI about TPI's suspected Bt258-million donation to the Democrat Party.

Tawee said he had the authority to specifically assign Pol Colonel Suchart Wong-anantachai, then his deputy for foreign affairs, to the case. And Suchart, who worked with the other 15 investigators, was picked because he was capable and suitable for the case.

Tawee said he would proceed with his legal action against Tharit for saying he and Suchart used the anti-government red shirts' office and the Pheu Thai Party to plot the frame-up of the Democrat Party.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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RECONCILIATION

Decentralised govt, fair sharing of resources the answer to reform: experts

By The Nation

Academics yesterday suggested a greater decentralisation of power and fairer allocation of resources as part of the efforts to reform the country and solve social conflicts.

Dr Prawase Wasi, who leads the government-appointed National Reform Assembly, said injustice, social inequality and the lack of love for the country were to blame for the current crisis. He also blamed the problems on the unfair and centralised structure of state power.

"The easiest solution would be to distribute more power to rural communities and encourage them to manage their areas," Prawase said, adding that there should also be more public participation in the efforts to solve the problems.

He was speaking at the "Reforming Thailand: Seriously?" seminar organised by the Society of Chulalongkorn University's Political Economics Alumni at Bangkok's Tawana Hotel. Other panel speakers included academics such as Pasuk Pongpaijit, Narong Phetprasart, and Sompob Manarangsan from Chulalongkorn's Faculty of Economics, and Anan Kanchanaphan from Chiang Mai University.

Pasuk said ministries should hand over work and final decision on the local level over to provincial administrative organisations.

"With decentralisation of central and local governments, there will be no need for rural residents to come to Bangkok to air their grievances. They can do so locally," she said.

Anan also voiced support for the idea of decentralising power, adding that rural areas should be given access to local revenue.

He said that to solve social conflicts, people with differing viewpoints should be allowed to exchange their ideas and arguments publicly in a bid to settle differences.

Sompob said that without an efficient mechanism to fairly allocate economic, political, social and cultural benefits, he saw little chance of national reconciliation.

Narong said that for reform efforts to succeed there must be a fair distribution of power and resources. He said space should also be provided to different groups to express their views and must respect views that are different from theirs.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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Anti-graft body alleges bid-rigging under Newin

By The Nation

State officials colluded in bid rigging on an Agriculture Ministry project overseen by then deputy minister Newin Chidchob, the anti-graft agency said yesterday.

Klanarong Chantik, a member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), said that after a marathon seven-hour meeting, the agency reached the conclusion that a bid-fixing offence was clearly committed, with involvement by public officials.

The meeting first considered whether the auction to buy equipment for the ministry's central laboratory to test agricultural products was fixed, and if so, whether it involved only the bidders from the private sector, or also bureaucrats.

Without the government's involvement, the conspiracy would be regarded as a straightforward criminal case to be dealt with by police.

Although an NACC committee had questioned 180 witnesses, some points needed further interrogation, which should be completed "within a short period of time", Klanarong said.

Newin, now the de facto leader of the coalition Bhum Jai Thai Party, is among the 54 suspects in the central-lab scandal.

Newin yesterday also had a police complaint filed against him with the Crime Suppression Division for making a "false accusation" against fugitive ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

In the complaint, lawyer Picha Wichitsilp said Thaksin's reputation was tarnished by Newin's remark on Monday that there was only one individual capable of hiring a team of hit men for Bt20 million to assassinate him.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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Weapons found near former headquarters of Pheu Thai party

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PM Abhisit back in Bangkok after ASEM summit in Brussels, audience with Princess Bajrakitiyabha at UN meeting on Enhancing Lives of Female Inmates;

No interview, abruptly returns home /via @MCOTEnglishnews

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Pheu Thai candidate registered for by-election

Worawut Wichaidit on Friday's morning registered his candidacy to contest the Surat Thani by-election, expected to be a two-horse race with former deputy prime minister and Democrat Suthep Thaugsuban.

A team of Pheu Thai MPs, led by party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and party leader Yongyuth Wichaidit, turned out in full force to cheer Worawut during his candidacy registration.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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CRES has no mandate to bring about Veera's reconciliation: spokesman

By The Nation

The Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation has no mandate for fence mending plan as suggested by red-shirt leader Veera Musigapong, CRES spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on Friday.

Sansern was reacting to a petition submitted by Veera to CRES director and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan.

"Following a review, the CRES and the government are not in a position to involve in reconciliatin due to lack of mandate," the spokesman said, explaining why the petition was dropped.

In his petition, Veera suggested for the CRES to take three steps in expediting the reconciliation process.

The three steps were:

1. Reconciliation should involve all sides and be implemented in a speedy manner.

2. The red shirts should be advised by the authorities on how to carry on their activism instead of allowing them to run their movement without any guidance.

3. The authorities should separate those prone for violence from those advocating peace. The red shirts under detention but not linked to violence should be granted bail.

The CRES deemed it beyond its mandate to interfere with the judicial process related to bail review.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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Last Day of Applications for Surathani By-Election

In the last day of applications for candidates in Surathani's Constituency 1 by-election today, both candidates for two major political parties applied. Former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who is also the secretary general of the Democrat Party, got Number 2 in the application process. Meanwhile, Pheu Thai candidate Worawut Vichaidit also applied and was assigned Number 1.

-- Tan Network 2010-10-08

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Multi-coloured shirts seek to impeach three Pheu Thai MPs

The multi-coloured shirts, led by Tul Sithisomwong, on Friday filed a motion supported by 20,800 voters seeking to launch the impeachment proceedings against three Pheu Thai MPs linked to the red shirts.

The three MPs targetted for impeachment are Jatuporn Promphan, Karun Hosakul and Apinan Wiriyachai.

The motion was lodged at the National Anti Corruption Commission following a signature campaign to back up the demand for the removal of the three MPs from office.

-- The Nation 2010-10-08

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Thai stock index opens on Friday at 973.46, up 2.56 points /via @MCOTEnglishnews

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Child Porn sold on Sukhumvit - The Evidence

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Thai Woman trashes husband's member

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Malaysia's national carmaker Proton is recalling almost 16,000 cars for possible malfunctions that include sudden deployment of driver's side air bag /via @MCOTEnglishnews