Thailand Live Friday 28 January 2011

News, Bits and Tweets

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Related topic: Thailand Live Thursday 27 Jan 2011

PM urges motorcycle riders to wear helmets

BANGKOK (NNT) -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has encouraged motorcycle riders to wear helmets to protect themselves from injuries and fatalities in road accidents, targeting to reduce the number of fatalities caused by accident by half within 2020.

Speaking as he presided over an event to launch the campaign on Thursday, the Prime Minister admitted that road accidents had been causing heavy losses for people so far. He then asked all motorcycle riders to wear helmets to save themselves while the authorities should set examples.

Prime Minister Abhisit announced that the government would try to cut the fatality rate caused by accidents by half within 2020 or no more than 10 fatalities per 100,000 people. He promised that the government would also upgrade helmet standard at the same time.

The Prime Minister then requested the private sector, related entrepreneurs and educational institutions to help campaign employees and students to wear helmets when they ride motorcycles.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, Transport Minister Sopon Zarum and National Police Chief Police General Wichean Potephosree also accompanied the Prime Minister to the event.

They then launched a caravan of motorcycles campaigning people to wear helmets.

-- NNT 2011-01-28

Energy, Industry Ministries push forward ethanol use in buses

BANGKOK (NNT) -- The Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry have forged ahead with ethanol use in buses instead of diesel to cut diesel usage of 60,000 liters daily.

After signing a Memorandum of Understanding regarding demonstration project of ethanol use in buses with Industry Minister Chaiwuti Bannawat, Energy Minister MD Wannarat Channukul said the project was supported by a budget of 10 million THB from the energy conservation promotion fund.

MD Wannarat continued that his ministry and the Industry Ministry would spend one year to study pros and cons of the use of ethanol and limit of ethanol production technology for buses.

The Minister expected that 1,000 buses would be pushed forward to use ethanol instead of diesel after the project was completed. He anticipated that ethanol consumption would increase to 100,000 liters a day while diesel consumption would likely be saved by about 60,000 liter per day.

-- NNT 2011-01-28

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The legal team for detained Thais in Cambodia is confident of its defense strategy

BANGKOK (NNT) -- Legal advisor to the Thai Patriotic Network Nattaporn Towprayoon is confident there are enough evidence to ensure the return of the two remaining Thais, who are still detained in Cambodia, during the next trial scheduled for February 1st.

Having submitted a petition requesting the government to assist with paper works, Mr. Nattaporn will rely on information contained in these documents to defend Mr. Veera Somkwankid and Ms Ratree Pipattanapaiboon against the illegal entry charge in the Cambodian Court next month.

Mr Nattaporn and one of the released 7 detainees, Ms Narumon Jitwarattana, returned to Thailand last Saturday, along with a Foreign Ministry official tol travel to the location where Cambodian soldiers made the arrest to verify whether the area belonged to Thailand or not.

-- NNT 2011-01-28

Thai Policeman Gets 25 Years For Pai Murder

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CU scientists work on reproducing coral

By The Nation

In order to slowdown the deterioration of coral, marine scientists from Chulalongkorn University are taking part in a project to help the reproduction of coral, a seminar at CU's Faculty of Science was told yesterday.

Instead of depending on natural production, CU scientists extract cells to create coral larvae, look after them for a year or two before they are ready for the sea, Assoc Prof Suchana Chawanich said, adding that this technique was first achieved in Thailand by the CU faculty.

Coral bleaching has been extensive along the coastal areas on the side of the Andaman Sea since April, before it was reported in the Gulf of Thailand, in the Sattahip area in Chon Buri at around May, where 10 per cent of the overall coral population had deteriorated. By now, about 60 per cent of the coral in the Gulf has been affected.

The new reproduction technique might not create huge quantities of coral, though it has increased the survival rate of new corals and resulted in a greater diversity and variety in breeds.

"Genetic diversity is useful in increasing the resistance of corals to environmental changes and the technique is an appropriate alternative to slowing down coral bleaching," Suchana said.

Coral normally reproduce in a nonsexual manner the year round, though during an unspecified period each year, they conjugate.

There are more than 10 coral breeds successfully undergoing reproduction assisted by CU marine scientists after a project with cooperation from the Navy and under a patronage of HRH Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, began in 2006. The survival rate of young corals through humanassisted reproduction after a sixmonth postbirth period is now 50 per cent compared to 0.01 in the nature, said Suchana.

-- The Nation 2011-01-28

Cambodia must remove flag: PM Abhisit

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CAT hands True 3G windfall

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Proof of the egg is not in the size

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A step forward in the battle for transparency; Bank of Thailand

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Thai Work permit key to 14year slave ordeal of Ukrainian man: DSI

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Helmets go cheap in Nakhon Pathom

By The Nation

Nakhon Pathom police yesterday launched a novel campaign to ensure motorcyclists and their passengers wear crash helmets.

Under the scheme, people caught without protective headgear are told they must pay fines of between Bt200 and Bt500 - or pay just Bt100 to buy a helmet.

The highquality helmets, which would normally cost much more than Bt100, come in various colours and patterns and are emblazoned with the Nakhon Pathom Provincial Police logo. Within hours of the launch, police had already sold 500.

Some motorcyclists were arrested at police checkpoints and paid for helmets only to come back and buy more. One motorcyclist asked to buy 10.

"This campaign is designed to counter the nohelmet problem," Nakhon Pathom police chief Maj General Pasin Noksakul said. A common cause of road casualties was victims' failure to wear protective gear, he said.

Muang Nakhon Pathom police superintendent Colonel Wattana Pimat said he expected all motorcyclists and passengers in his area to be wearing helmets within six months.

The campaign follows a government declaration of 2011 as "The Year of CrashHelmet Wearing Awareness".

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who heads the Road Safety Centre, said 40 per cent of roadaccident victims were motorcyclists.

"Every day, about 24 motorcyclists or their passengers are killed on roads," he said.

More than 100,000 people are injured in road accidents every year. As many as 3,000 of them are left with permanent disabilities.

"The common cause is failure to wear a crash helmet," Suthep said.

The deputy PM said road accidents cost the country about Bt200billion in economic losses each year, equivalent to 2.8 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

As well as the government campaign, 2011 also saw the United Nations launch a "Decade of Action for Road Safety".

-- The Nation 2011-01-28

Pattani drive-by shooting kills army ranger

By The Nation

A team of civil defence volunteers yesterday sustained injuries after being hit by a bomb in Yala while on a duty to escort teachers from insurgent attacks.

The homemade bomb was tied to a power pole and detonated by mobile phone signals, hitting a pickup truck occupied by the five victims. All of them are in safe conditions after being sent to a hospital.

The team was returning to their outpost from a morning patrol to escort teachers and students going to schools in Muang district.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Saba Yoi municipality in Songkhla province, Chollada Niwaswutthikij, expressed concern about psychological impact on residents over the killings of nine villagers in a roadside bomb earlier this week. She said a project to bring Muslim and Buddhist residents together was needed to prevent possible religious conflicts developed from the killings.

She also defended frequent hunting of wild boars by residents, saying that the hunting could control population of wild boars, which were in high numbers of Yaha and Bannang Sata districts, which fed on vegetable planations of Muslim owners. She said the killings had now minimised the number of Buddhist villagers going in and out of the two districts.

Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senniam, speaking on behalf of the ministry in a House session in defence against an impromptu query by the opposition Pheu Thai Party, said all budgets were spent and all projects carried in a transparent manner. Thaworn also called on Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan, who submitted the query, to accompany him to the South in a trip scheduled today.

The relatives of the nine dead victims, killed in the roadside bomb which cut in half a truck they were travelling in, were yesterday each given Bt100,000 in standard government consolation fees. The handover of the money was held in a ceremony at the Yala city hall yesterday.

-- The Nation 2011-01-28

Govt compensation for airport noise not good enough: lecturer

By Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation

The government should be more sincere in compensating residents affected by noise pollution from Suvarnabhumi International Airport, according to a researcher who has studied the problem in depth.

It should ensure real development costs are taken into consideration for future megaprojects. "I hope that the cost of development will be calculated in future projects," said Karin Klinkajorn, an assistant professor of urban planning at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology. Karin has conducted research for years on the impact of the airport's noise on surrounding residents.

"People who sacrificed [for the sake of development of mega projects] should be able to lead a normal life and this case should be made an example [of failure]."

For years, some 1,200 families have continued to protest, demanding fair compensation. On Thursday, 500 of them entered the airport to unfold banners and placards demanding justice.

On the following day, AOT approved Bt4 billion in payments for residents affected by the noise. About 200 residents who had gathered at the airport's departure lunge since Thursday cheered to welcome the agreement, but said they would go ahead with seven other demands.

Karin said he was not hopeful that local residents would be justly compensated anytime soon. He accused the Airport Organisation of Thailand (AOT) and the government of not being sincere in addressing the issue and unnecessarily dragging things out.

"They don't want a good example to be set," charged Karin, referring to the AOT's and the Transport Ministry's failure to offer fair compensation in a timely fashion.

The researcher said the sums offered to many affected residents were offered in exchange for residents agreeing not to take legal cases against the AOT. But it wasn't enough for people to relocate elsewhere.

And the idea of installing noisedeflecting sheets on many homes was not feasible in the long term as it would work only if those homes became totally airconditioned, which would cause power bills to spike. "How can they live like goldfish in a tank?" he asked.

Karin accused the authorities of playing divideandrule against affected villagers and trying to lobby some protest leaders in order to weaken their unity.

He felt the proposed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) - to try to gauge noise impacts on every home in the area - was too costly and dubious.

Karin, who called himself a friend of the affected residents, said the problem was by no means unique. As in many other cases involving megaprojects, people affected ended up having to fight long and bitter struggles for just compensation.

He said the airport was planned for four to five decades and the authorities should have come up with a plan much earlier.

Even now, he said there was no legal position on having homes in the area and people were left to judge for themselves if the area was suitable live in or not, possibly causing more problems in the future.

-- The Nation 2011-01-28

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit slams 'crybaby' PAD

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Doctor jailed for reckless death

By The Nation

A Bangkok cosmetic surgeon was yesterday sentenced to one year in jail and fined Bt10,000 for recklessness causing the death of Natural History Museum director Jarujin Nabhitabhata during an operation to remove a mole beneath his left eyelid in September 2008.

Since Dr Prasong Lomthong has no prior record, Ratchadapisek Criminal suspended the jail term for two years.

The court found Prasong guilty of arranging for Jarujin to take painkillers that led to bleeding in his spleen and kidneys, heart arrest and death.

Jarujin's wife Jirapa said she was satisfied with the verdict and would not appeal. She said she wanted it known that the doctor's recklessness caused her husband's death and said she had already filed a civil suit against the doctor for Bt10 million compensation.

-- The Nation 2011-01-28

Businessman guilty of forest destruction

By The Nation

Ratchaburi Provincial Court yesterday sentenced businessman Kitti "Sia Kiew" Chamnanwad to eight years in prison for encroaching on nearly 2,000 rai of forest and private land in Suan Phung district.

The sentence was reduced to five years and four months because of his guilty plea.

The court found Kitti guilty of breaking forestry, land and criminal laws including encroaching on forest and state land and deforesting more than 25 rai of forest.

The court also ordered Kitti and subordinates to demolish structures built on the encroached land. Following the verdict, Kitti's relatives filed a request for his release on bail.

-- The Nation 2011-01-28

Heads I win,Tails you lose; Thai charter amendment

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Man jailed over grisly foetus affair

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People's Alliance ups its war rhetoric

By PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK

THE NATION

The nationalist People's Alliance for Democracy yesterday ratcheted up its rhetoric against Cambodia and the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration even though it told its supporters that it has no intention of leading Thailand to war with Cambodia.

A man got on stage and insisted to the moderate turnout of some 3,000 in the early evening that "the PAD is not inciting [the government] to declare war with its neighbour".

Nevertheless, a poster attached to the gate on Makkhawan Bridge showed a picture of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen being likened to a "criminal" as well as a monitor lizard, a symbol that Thais regard as an insult.

T-shirts carrying patriotic messages like "Retake Preah Vihear Temple" in Thai, referring to the contested Khmer site that is claimed by Cambodia, can be picked up from vendors at the protest venue.

Yellow bandannas with the message "protect our land" accompanied by a picture of Preah Vihear Temple are also available.

And for those who can't read Thai, there's a yellow plastic placard that reads in English, "Stop MoU 43! Cambodians Get Out", alluding to the controversial MoU dealing with the disputed border signed by both governments in 2000.

Shortly before 6pm and not long after the male speaker onstage promised that the PAD is not calling for war, his female colleague read a PAD leadership statement of the day, urging the Thai government to repeal the MoU unilaterally and "use military might to pressure [Cambodia] into

drafting a new MoU".

"Yeah! That's the way to go!" shouted one yellow-shirt supporter in the front row as many others waved their hand-clappers and cheered in approval.

"That's the way!" he shouted again.

-- The Nation 2011-01-28

Asean FTA may cause exodus of Thai doctors

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'Patriots' granted bail

By Kesinee Taengkhiao

The Nation

The Criminal Court yesterday granted temporary release to two yellow-shirt leaders, who were arrested last Tuesday in connection with the seizure of two Bangkok airports in 2008.

Chaiwat Sinsuwong and Somboon Thongburan, leaders of the Thai Patriots Network, were released on a bail of Bt600,000 and Bt200,000 respectively.

In the bail request submitted by their lawyer Sakchai Khemthong, the defendants said they had no plans to avoid arrest or jump bail because Chaiwat, a former industry minister, and Somboon, a former MP and senator, would not want to damage good reputation.

They also argued that they were old - Chaiwat is 60 and Somboon 53 - and had health problems such as high-blood pressure and heart disease, which made it necessary for them to meet their doctors regularly.

The two men - wanted for their role in the seizure of Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports in 2008 -were arrested last Tuesday as they were leading a group of yellow-shirt protesters to submit a petition asking for His Majesty to help end the border conflict with Cambodia.

They did not seek bail when police requested court permission for their detention at the Bangkok Remand Prison on Wednesday last week.

The Thai Patriots Network, which is part of the People's Alliance for Democracy, is rallying outside Government House regarding border conflicts with Cambodia.

-- The Nation 2011-01-28

Thai crew rescued as Singapore tanker sinks

SINGAPORE, January 27, 2011 (AFP) - All 14 Thai crew members of a Singapore-registered asphalt tanker were rescued after the vessel sank Thursday off Indonesia's Pulau Bintan island, Singaporean maritime officials said.

The "AB9" tanker, which was on its way from Singapore to Sumbawa in Indonesia, was listing off Bintan's east coast for almost two hours before it sank, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement.

The MPA said the entire crew on board the vessel was rescued by the Indonesian navy.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-01-28

North to see lower temperature, rain, fog; South sees strong waves until Jan 31 /TAN_Network

Insurgents detonated bomb in Pattani, injuring monk while on alms round and 2 soldiers providing security /TAN_Network

PM leaves for Switzerland at midnight last night to attend World Economic Forum in Davos /TAN_Network

Thai stock index opens on Friday at 979.79, down 6.92 points /MCOT

PM may meet PAD after returning from Davos

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will possibly intervene to end the protest by the People's Alliance for Democracy, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Friday, hinting the meeting might take place after PM returned from Davos, Switzerland.

Abhisit, departed Thursday's night for the World Economic Forum, is scheduled to return to Bangkok Monday's morning.

Suthep said he believed Abhisit would want to talk to the PAD himself.

-- The Nation 2011-01-28

AFP: Four Shot Dead In Thai South

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PAD calls on govt to evict Cambodian settlement, remove Cambodian flag on disputed territory; time to negotiate with PM has ended /TAN_Network

FLASH: SL consortium (Samart-Loxley) won TOT's 3G bidding at Bt16.29 billion /via@Neaw_NBC: /RT @tossaporn_ /via@tukky_nt