Thailand Live Friday 22 Oct 2010

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Thailand Live Friday 22 October 2010

News, Bits and Tweets

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

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Related topic: Thailand Live Thursday 21 October 2010

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Thai anti-government leader indicted for insulting monarchy

BANGKOK (AFP) -- The leader of an offshoot of Thailand's "Red Shirt" movement was indicted Thursday on charges of insulting the monarchy with a speech given two years ago, a court official said.

Surachai Danwattananusorn, who faces 15 years in prison if convicted by the Criminal Court, is accused of criticising the royal family when he addressed supporters of his "Red Siam" group on December 15, 2008 in a Bangkok park.

The 68-year-old denies the charges, which were made under Thailand's strict lese majeste rules.

Anti-government "Red Shirts", whose April and May rallies descended into violent clashes between troops and protesters that left over 90 people dead, distance themselves from Red Siam because of its radical leftwing politics.

Surachai, a former member of the now-defunct Communist Party of Thailand, surrendered to police in March 10, 2009.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, is revered as a demi-god by many Thais and any discussion of the royal family is an extremely sensitive topic in politically turbulent Thailand.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-10-22

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KTB: Thai baht will continue to appreciate

BANGKOK (NNT) -- Kasikorn Thai Bank (KTB) said that the Thai baht would continue to gain against the greenback; the currency would probably appreciate to 29.20 baht per US dollar by the end of this year.

Thiti Tantikulanan of Kasikorn Thai Bank's (KTB) revealed that the Bank of Thailand's decision to maintain the policy interest rate at 1.75 per cent could help reduce the pressure from foreign capital inflows. He also said the rate should remain unchanged during this period, as the baht may get stronger again.

Mr. Thiti added that the Bank should not be overly concerned with the interest rate, given the present inflation rate is not high; however, the baht could continue to strengthen thanks to the continuous foreign capital inflows into Asia.

-- NNT 2010-10-22

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LOP BURI

Air Force to rescue marooned village

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Twitter Helps Nakhon Ratchasima Doctor To Mobilize Flood Relief Supplies

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Democrats pondering legal action against Pheu Thai: Chuan

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Thai Constitution Court president 'get flak' from fellow judges

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Regulators urged to slow damage to Mekong basin

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HM provides flood relief

By The Nation

Supplies and kits delivered to four provinces on behalf of monarch; Speaker urges all lawmakers to donate minimum Bt1,000 each

His Majesty the King yesterday graciously had a large quantity of relief supplies and survival kits delivered to those affected in four hard-hit provinces.

This is in addition to the Bt10 million in cash he has already donated to the flood relief fund.

The Rajaprajanugroh Foundation handed over the supplies to 2,000 families each in Nakhon Sawan and Lop Buri, and to another 1,000 families in Prachin Buri. Another 500 kits have been provided to Maharat Hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima for delivery to patients and staff.

A total of Bt2,757,320 has been received by the foundation from the public, after the monarch's Bt10-million donation was reported on Tuesday. More donations are welcome.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva chaired a fund-raising event to mobilise flood relief funds last night. The programme, televised on Channel 9, featured Abhisit personally receiving phone calls. It is expected to receive quite a large amount in donations.

Parliament speaker Chai Chidchob called on each parliamentarian to donate a minimum of Bt1,000 to the flood relief fund. The Bt1,000 will be deducted from their payrolls later this month, and all House and Senate committees, and working panels will donate Bt1,000 and Bt500, respectively, from meeting allowances.

He expressed concern that victims living in inner areas were not receiving relief supplies, as delivery and collection points were located only in outer flooded areas.

Chai called on donors to deliver the supplies through village heads to make sure that the victims could directly receive them. "Donations should not be made as a public relations stunt or only to make donors look good," he said.

Donations are welcome at Parliament House today. For more details, please call 02-2410055 and 02-2441482. The donation period ends on October 28.

Meanwhile, the Labour Ministry is set to launch short-term post-flooding employment for labourers to work on restoration and repair works. Each worker will paid Bt150 to Bt180 for a contract lasting 30 to 45 days.

The work will be awarded initially to jobless people or farmers whose farmlands have been damaged by flooding.

There are around 72,000 labour and factory workers registered as flood-affected with the Welfare and Labour Protection Department.

-- The Nation 2010-10-22

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Interior official to put his name forward for top post

By The Nation

An inspectorgeneral from the Interior Ministry will next week submit a petition to the Office of Civil Service Commission, saying that he should be nominated for the post of permanent secretary because he was more qualified for the job.

Wongsak Sawasdiphanich said yesterday that he topped the seniority list and should therefore be given the top post at the ministry, though Community Development Department directorgeneral Wichian Chawalit is the only nominee at present.

"I don't expect any positive outcomes for myself, but want to do everything by the book. This is to me is like a monkey play that's getting very boring as outoffavour characters are being replaced by new ones. They are ignoring principles and trying to install individuals of their own choice. This will only bring bureaucracy down further," he added.

-- The Nation 2010-10-22

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Young student paddles relief to victims in Lop Buri

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DSI charges three over bid rigging

By The Nation

The Department of Special Investigation indicted three people yesterday for allegedly rigging bids related to a school milk project between Chiang Mai administrative bodies and local schools.

The roles and affiliations of the suspects, Sophon Jaijan, Insom Narata and Natthaphoom Khankham, have not been defined, while the organisations cited in the indictment are several Tambon Administration Organisations and tambon municipalities in Chom Thong, Omkoi, Hot and Doi Tao districts.

The men's action in the school milk project violated an antibid rigging law and resulted in the schools paying Bt7,321,121 more than the actual rates.

Meanwhile, a session in the House saw Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga defending Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's handling of corruption cases in an interpellation raised by an opposition MP.

Pheu Thai MP Prasit Chaiwirattana asked why Abhisit did little to probe GT200 explosives detection device or the airship scandal, but had taken drastic action against a rotten canned fish corruption scandal. Pirapan responded that the GT200 and airship matters had taken place long before this government came into power, but Abhisit was still scrutinising the cases, while the minister responsible for the canned fish story had initiated his own resignation.

Separately, the Senate has called for strict checking of emergency funds being spent following corruption that is being investigated by the Office of Public Sector AntiCorruption Commission.

-- The Nation 2010-10-22

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Disaster Measures

Finance Ministry The disaster relief measures announced by Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij:

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'I've never seen anything like it'

By Chularat Saengpassa

Jeerawan Prasomsap

The Nation

Irrigation boss stunned by aerial views of flood-hit areas as concern grows that it will take weeks for crisis to pass

Flooding will likely drag on for nearly one month in several riverside provinces of the Chao Phraya Basin, according to Royal Irrigation Department director general Chalit Damrongsak.

Locals in nowflooded Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, and Sing Buri will thus have to brace for the worse.

"Runoff water in the tune of 400 million cubic metres is flowing down the Chao Phraya River," Chalit pointed out yesterday.

In Lop Buri, floodwater was already more than one metre deep in many areas. A number of villages were also marooned.

In Ayutthaya, many parts of the province were submerged as well causing much inconvenience to affected people.

In Sing Buri, flood hit about 2,300 houses. "We have now erected tents along the curb of roads on higher grounds to shelter the flood victims," provincial governor Pichet Paiboonsiri said.

Chalit believed Bangkok was not completely safe either, even though the 2.5metrehigh embankment had already gone up along the Chao Phraya River's stretch in the capital.

"Factors like storm surge, high tide, and rainfall count," he said.

According to Meteorological Department, rainstorm and heavy downpours will hit several areas of Bangkok between October 24 and October 27.

Sanya Cheenimit, who heads Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Department of Drainage and Sewerage, said sea level was also expected to rise next Tuesday.

As of press time, Sanya pointed out that the water level in Chao Phaya River was already climbing up in Bangkok.

"The level in front of the Royal Thai Navy headquarters is between 1.64 metres and 1.71 metres above sea level," he said, "We are closely monitoring the situation".

According to him, 27 communities in Bangkok are floodprone and they are home to about 1,273 families.

Chalit said Bangkok's adjacent provinces like Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi were also having a flood risk.

Disaster Mitigation and Prevention Department has already warned people in Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Angthong, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Bangkok tostart moving their belongings to higher ground.

All these six provinces are in the Chao Phraya Basin.

Currently, floods have ravaged through 21 provinces in the country. Among the worsthit is Nakhon Ratchasima.

"I have never seen such a huge amount of floodwater in Nakhon Ratchasima before," Chalit admitted, referring to what he saw during a recent helicopter inspection flight.

He said the annual rainfall in the province in fact was not higher than the previous year. "But with continued downpours concentrated in a span of just one week, this is a real big flood".

Chalit believed it would take up to one month before the floodwater level in Nakhon Ratchasima subsided.

-- The Nation 2010-10-22

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Aid packages planned for flood victims

By Wichit Chaitron,

Nalin Viboonchart,

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation

The government and the private sector have jointly drawn up assistance packages to aid people seriously affected by flooding.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij has asked commercial banks to cut money-transfer fees as part of efforts to lessen the impact of the floods on the people.

Korn said he had asked Krung Thai Bank to consult other commercial banks to consider a cut in money-transfer fees in areas affected by floods.

According to the agreement between the banks and the Bank of Thailand, transfer fees will be cut from next year.

"They should start it now, at least in affected areas. As relatives of flood victims are sending money to support them, banks should not impose an additional burden on the victims," Korn said.

He also assigned the state Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand, Government Savings Bank, Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, Government Housing Bank, Small Business Credit Guarantee Corp, Export-Import Bank of Thailand and Krung Thai Bank to provide soft loans to flood victims.

Korn also gave assurance that farmers would get compensation for losses of their production both under the government income guarantee scheme and natural disaster relief programme.

"The government will compensate banks if they have to provide loans at interest rates lower than the market rate," he vowed.

Korn added that provincial governors could also ask for an emergency budget and they could skip the normal procedure of procurement to speed up spending to help flood victims.

He said it was too early to estimate the impact on the economy from the floods in the Central region and the Northeast.

Meanwhile, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) has forecast that the severe flooding in 21 provinces will curb this year's economic growth by 0.1 percentage point, while an appreciating baht would bring it down by 0.5-0.7 percentage point from the earlier growth projection of 7-7.5 per cent.

The overall damage from the flooding is expected to range between Bt8 billion and Bt10 billion, with Bt7.7 billion worth of damage already sustained by the farming, industrial, service and tourism sectors. The government will need to spend another Bt10 billion to cover losses.

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives' latest survey revealed yesterday that 211,946 households were affected by the flooding; 2.48 million rai (nearly 400,000 hectares) of farming area is damaged; 26,150 livestock animals and 476,458 poultry are lost; and 7,471 rai of fish farms have sunk. The survey covered 35 provinces and the total value of damages has been estimated at Bt21.26 billion.

-- The Nation 2010-10-22

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A message from Chaiyaphum

By The Nation

The following story is sent by a blogger in the Northeast who calls himself Tai-baan. It's posted on www.oknation.net/blog/thaibaan

On Tuesday, the bypass roads in Korat were covered by a constant current of overwhelming water. The traffic tailed back about 5 kilometres and I could see flooding in front of the Constitution Court of Nakhon Ratchasima. Some villagers took nets and other equipment to catch fish in the flood water. Small vehicles had trouble navigating the road, while big ones like trucks could only proceed at a snail's pace.

I left for Chaiyaphum in the evening and on the way I heard a radio report that people from Chaiyaphum were travelling to Korat to help deliver some food rations. I was overwhelmed by the news. But then when I was entering Chaiyaphum, I was also sad because the province was hit by the flood too.

They started working but I doubt if they have enough water pumps.

As for my area, the paddy fields have all been destroyed by the floods. I managed to escape from flooding in Korat and Chaiyaphum but I couldn't stop worrying about the hundreds of affected households in Chaiyaphum. They were attacked by sudden flows and assistance has not reached them.

-- The Nation 2010-10-22

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Police Watch for Crime in Flooded Areas

The national police chief has urged all units to be extra vigilant and keep an eye out for a possible rise in crime, particularly in flood ravaged areas.

National police chief Police General Wichien Podposri paid a visit to Pak Thong Chai district in Nakhon Ratchasima, where severe flooding has submerged hundreds of homes for many days now.

Wichien said he has instructed nearby provincial police stations which have not been seriously affected by the flooding to provide urgent help and send medical teams to the flooded areas.

And with reports of looting and theft on the rise in flooded areas, the police chief has ordered all patrols to be extra watchful against a rise in criminal activities.

He also advised flood victims to act as eyes and ears for each other during this time of crisis.

-- The Nation 2010-10-22

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Getting around in Thailand during flood

Travel info

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Bangkok Police Arrest Major Motorcycle Theft Gang

The police have arrested a motorcycle theft gang, which have stolen more than a hundred motorcycles this year, while also committing a murder last week.

The police arrested Eakalak Chue klang, Narongsak Suksri and Supipat Tongprasong, who are together known as the “Toom Tam Gang”.

Three pistols, ammunition, a car, five motorcycles and tools used to commit the thefts were also confiscated.

The suspects were on the police watch list for ex convicts and believed to have been committing crimes once again.

Eakalak was on the run from the police, but was eventually apprehended in Sing Buri province with the help of the local law enforcement authority.

He has also confessed to the fatal shooting of a victim last week.

Meanwhile, Narongsak was arrested at his home in Bangkok on the same day.

The gang has admitted to have stolen more than a hundred motorcycles in Bangkok and metropolitan area since the beginning of this year.

The stolen motorcycles were modified at their hideout before being sold for up to 12,000 baht each.

They have been charged with grand theft and murder.

-- Tan Network 2010-10-22

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Police Arrests City Office Burglar Disguised as Maid

Police have arrested a female burglar disguised as a maid, who has committed thefts in many Bangkok offices.

Twenty six year old Manatchaya Silapote was arrested by Bangkok police for robbing an office at the 12th floor of a shopping mall on September 14.

At that time, she had stolen cash, cellphones and many credit cards, which she used to buy high priced cellphones to re sell.

Investigators said Manatchaya dressed up like a maid and robbed many offices around Bangkok.

Each time, she would use the nearest BTS skytrain or MRT subway station to flee the scene.

The suspect admitted to having committed 37 robberies since 2006, and has stolen assets worth more than 800,000 baht.

It was also discovered that the suspect has been arrested many times before.

Last year, she was sentenced to over 2 years imprisonment for a similar crime.

-- Tan Network 2010-10-22

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Water level in Chao Phraya River quite high; Pathum Thani reinforces makeshift dyke; Lop Buri flood still critical /via @MCOTEnglishnews

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The Upsides Of The Natural Disaster In Thailand

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Thai stock index opens on Friday at 989.08, up 0.28 points /MCOT

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Water level in Chao Phraya River continues to rise

BANGKOK, Oct 22 -- The flood situation in many provinces is still worrisome as the water level continues high, with no sign of receding particularly the Chao Phraya River as it runs through Bangkok, and flooding has claimed 15 lives since Oct 10.

According to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 15 deaths occurred from Oct 10 through Oct 20 while one person is still missing. Floods directly affected more than 800,000 people while provinces are particularly hard hit include Nakhon Ratchasima, Parchinburi, Lopburi, Nakhon Sawan, Chaiyaphum, Ayutthaya.

The authorities report that the focus is now on the six provinces that lie on the lower area along Chao Phraya River- Chainat, Singburi, Angthong, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Bangkok which are bracing for northern run-off estimated to sweep down the Chao Phraya River at a flow rates as high as 3,300 cubic metres per second.

Local residents are warned to be on alert, particularly during the October 24-26 high tide.

Pathum Thani authorities have reinforces makeshift dykes in preparedness for higher water level of Chao Phraya River.

The Interior Ministry called a meeting of the governors of Auytthaya, Lopburi, Saraburi, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, and Bangkok at Nonthaburi provincial hall at 9.30am Friday to discuss response measures to the flood.

Many provinces have advised the public to closely monitor the flooding situation following the continuing flow of floodwaters in major rivers in the north and northeast.

Department of Drainage and Sewerage director Sanya Cheenimitr reported that the water level in the Chao Phraya River at the Pakklongtalad flower market Thursday evening was 1.48 metres above median sea level and the northern run-off released from the Chao Phraya Dam at Chainat and the Rama VI Dam at Ayutthaya was recorded flowing at around 3,835 cubic metres per second.

He said the department would closely coperate with the Roya Irrigation Department not to release water from the dams to Bangkok over 3,000-3,500 cubic metres per second during the highest tide from Oct 24-26.

The water level and the amount of the northern run-off was at the level projected by the department. No communities along the river have been affected by flooding so far. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2010-10-22

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9 Teenagers Arrested for Murder in Buriram

Nine teenagers have been arrested for shooting a third year high school student dead in Buriram.

Buriram Police arrested 18 year old Thepthat Prawonganupharp and eight other gang members, all between 15 and 19 years of age, after they shot 15 year old Chaisiri Kruealun, the son of an owner of a tour bus business in Buriram.

The gang used pen guns to attack and kill the boy on Wednesday night.

Thepthat and other suspects were taken to re enact the crime at Vienna Intersection in the municipal area, with some thirty officers ensuring their security from an upset crowd of witnesses.

All admitted to having a quarrel with the victim before sorting it out by killing him.

-- Tan Network 2010-10-22

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Customs Seizes Bt1.5m Smuggled Oil in Samut Prakarn

Customs officials raided a towboat docked at the Chao Phraya river bank in Samut Prakarn province, and confiscated over a million baht's worth of smuggled fuel.

Last night, customs officials seized 60,000 liters of smuggled second grade diesel from a towboat that was 24 meters long and 5.7 meters wide, which was moored at a secluded clearing on the bank of Chao Phraya River between Rong Lek and Pla O wharfs in Phra Samut Chedi district, Samut Prakarn province.

The oil is worth up to 1.5 million baht in the market.

No customs or tax documents were found on the boat, while suspects had fled before the raid.

-- Tan Network 2010-10-22

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Royal Irrigation Department warns Surin to monitor water level in Moon River; Floods in 10 provinces have damaged 589 temples /MCOT

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Flood situation in Lop Buri critical. Pathum Thani reinforced dykes as water level of Chao Phraya river rising to high level /THE NATION

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Flood update: 19 dead - over 99 hospitals & Medical centers affected. /via @ThaiKhuFah /via @veen_NT

Flood update: 10 districts in Suphanburi face floods. The Governor estimates Bt25 million loss initially. /via @veen_NT

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Without monarchy, things will never be the same: Prayuth

Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday called on his fellow citizens to stop involving the monarchy in the political conflict.

"Everyone is obligated, in an act of loyalty, to root out certain individuals from offending the country's revered institution because without the monarchy, we may live but things will never be the same," he said.

Prayuth reminded Thais about the benevolence of Their Majesties the King and the Queen.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a merit-making ceremony to mark the 100th Memorial for King Chulalongkorn.

-- The Nation 2010-10-22