Thailand Live Tuesday 22 Feb 2011

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Thailand Live Tuesday 22 February 2011

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 sothat 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 Monday 21 Feb 2011

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Commerce Ministry to propose to the cabinet two solutions to solve palm oil shortages

BANGKOK (NNT) -- The Ministry of Commerce will propose to the Cabinet and the Palm Oil Board two solutions in addition to the import of 120,000 tons of palm oil to be imported in an attempt to solve product shortages in Thailand.

Commerce Minister Pornthiva Nakasai said since the Board of Palm Oil has approved the import of palm oil from Malaysia, the private sector was unable to cope with the delivery cost. In addition to the price of raw palm oil sold in Malaysia at 39-40 baht per liter, the costs of bringing it into Thailand will later be added on top of the retail price. This, according to the Commerce Minister, will inevitably hike the price of import palm oil sold in Thailand.

Under the Ministry’s objective, the palm oil should not be sold above the ceiling price of 47 baht per liter or else it will be too expensive for consumption in the country. The private sector has been reluctant to proceed as costs are getting higher to import the product from Malaysia.

The first proposed solution by Commerce Minister Pornthiva, the palm oil should be imported freely by any agents whereas the export of such product from Thailand shall be prohibited in the next 3 months. Retailers can only sell the oil at no higher than the ceiling price.

In the second solution, since the Malaysian prices for both processed palm oil and the raw one are high, the government should cover the costs of importing the product into Thailand in order to maintain the price at 47 baht per liter. Without the government’s intervention, the price of oil could reach between 50-56 baht per liter.

The Commerce Minister will also propose a budget of 1 billion baht in compensation for the private sector coping with the cost of importation. However, a committee will be established to monitor its spending to make sure the efforts are being carried out in a transparent manner.

-- NNT 2011-02-22

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Poll Shows Low Confidence in Thailand's Development

A recent poll shows the public have a severe lack of confidence in the government's efforts in combating corruption and uniting the Thai society.

And although economic confidence scored the highest, the figure is still below the halfway mark.

The Bangkok Poll Center recently polled 1,427 individuals nationwide on the country's current economic and political climate.

The issue of development during the next six months was also addressed by the survey.

The results showed that the public's confidence in Thailand's overall development and growth scored only 3.47 out of the maximum 10 points, which dropped by 2.8 percent when compared to the poll results in June 2010, a month after the May 19 protest crackdown.

When looking at individual aspects, the public's confidence in the Thailand's economic development scored the highest at 4.01, followed by social and environmental confidence score at 3.47.

The public's faith in politics came in last with the score of only 2.94.

After calculating the statistics for the 12 different attributing factors that affected the country's political, social and economic growth, the public's confidence in the government's effort to tackle corruption scored a dismal 1.91 out of the maximum 10 points.

Meanwhile, the highest score of 4.69 reflected the public's confidence in Thailand's competitiveness in the ASEAN stage, while the score for unity and patriotism dropped by 0.38 points.

The poll showed that the public still have confidence in the country's economic growth and severely lacked confidence in the government's measures to fight corruption which is prevalent in Thailand's politics.

-- Tan Network 2011-02-22

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NEW!

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Thailand Successfully Produced The World's First Vaccine Against Dengue Fever

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Phuket police investigate Englishman’s ‘whiskey poisoning’

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AFP: Armed man arrested outside US embassy in Bangkok

- claimed to have microchip planted in his head

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ANALYSIS

Thailand agrees to observers on border

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Thai Court rules today on bail for jailed red shirt leaders

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Thai Cabinet to consider land-reform issues

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TELECOM

Shin execs to meet PM

By USANEE MONGKOLPORN

THE NATION

Shin Corp executives will meet with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva today to "create understanding" with the government on all cases affecting the corporation, a Shin source said yesterday.

While the source declined to elaborate, Shin is expected to touch on the concession amendments that allegedly brought financial damage to state telecom enterprises.

The source said the company asked to meet with the prime minister two months ago and the request had just been granted. Among those going to meet with Abhisit are Shin chairman Virach Aphimeteetamrong and executive chairman Somprasong Boonyachai.

The Council of State ruled in 2007 that some concession amendments of telecom operators ranging from Advanced Info Service to Total Access Communication (DTAC) and TrueMove did not comply with the Public-Private Joint Venture Act.

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry had set up a panel with Cabinet approval to seek ways with the operators to compensate the state enterprises. The ministry also submitted to the Cabinet a proposal to appoint a separate committee to claim damages from Thaicom from its concession amendments.

TOT, which granted AIS's cellular concession, has demanded that AIS pay Bt74 billion in compensation for its concession amendments and deductions of the telecom excise tax from its concession fees. AIS has told TOT it will not pay anything, pending arbitration.

Shin's business includes AIS, Thaicom and Digital Phone Co.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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School mourns teachers' tragic deaths

By Ekkapong Praditpong,

Janjira Jarusupawatm

Wannapa Khaopa

The Nation

Nan

"I am sorry for all my dead colleagues and their relatives. The accident should not have happened. It is still so vivid in my mind," Sirinthorn Na Lampang, an injured schoolteacher said after surviving a deadly bus accident in Nan province early yesterday.

The accident killed 13 and injured 17 others, including Sirinthorn, after their tour bus plunged off the road into a 100-metre-deep chasm.

Eleven of the dead were teachers from Bandai Thepkanchana-upatham School in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district; another victim, a teacher, was from Bankhob Chiangklang School in Nan's Song Khwae district. The bus driver was also among the dead. As many as 16 of the injured are teachers at Bandai Thepkanchana-upatham School and another is a conductor of the bus.

The devastating loss forced Bandai Thepkanchana-upatham School to close temporarily yesterday because only a few of its 31 teaching staff were present at |the school after they were lucky enough not to join the other teachers who had taken the bus trip, said Noparat Uthong, director of Chiang Rai Educational Service Area Office 3.

However, the school would open today, he said, as teachers from nearby schools would take over the classes of the 448 students from kindergarten to Matthayom 6 (Grade 12).

Many of the older children are due to take the National Test tomorrow and on Thursday and final exams in early April.

When the accident report was received at 7.30am, police and rescue workers rushed to the curve on Doi Jee Valley in Nan's Song Khwae district, where the tour bus plunged off the hill.

Fifteen ambulances and 13 |rescue vehicles were needed to quickly transport the injured to Song Khwae and Nan hospitals.

Initial investigations concluded the bus driver wasn't familiar with the route and lost control.

"I want to tell the relatives how sorry I am," said Sirinthorn who suffered head, eye and cheek injuries.

She was admitted to Nan Hospital yesterday along with the 16 others injured.

Nan public health official Dr Pisit Sriprasert said seven of the most seriously injured underwent urgent surgery yesterday, and doctors and nurses from various hospitals in Nan joined forces to save them. Other less seriously injured casualties would have surgery today.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the dead were sent to Song Khwae Hospital for autopsies and embalming before the relatives took them back home for funerals in Chiang Rai.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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14 Dead, At Least 20 Injured As Bus Plunges Into Ravine In Nan

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EDITORIAL

Too many cooks are spoiling Thailand's broth

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115 Named for Airport Protest Charges

The team of investigators responsible for the case of the People's Alliance for Democracy's 2008 airport protests have decided to charge 115 suspects, while the head of the investigation team said he did not wish to take charge of the case from the very beginning.

Assistant national police chief and head of the investigation team probing the People's Alliance for Democracy's, or PAD, protests at Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi Airports in 2008, Police Lieutenant General Somyot Pumpanmuang, said before entering the meeting to finalize the case that a total of 115 PAD protesters will be charged for their involvement in the case.

Somyot stated that he only headed the case because Police General Patcharawat Wongsuwan, who was then the national police chief, assigned him to the task.

And when the PAD airport case is finalized, he will step down as the head of the investigation team.

The investigation report will be submitted to national police chief Police General Wichien Podposri, who will review the report and have the final say on filing charges against the demonstrators.

-- Tan Network 2011-02-22

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Police Asked to Dump Summons against Protest Leaders

The People's Alliance for Democracy group urges the national police chief to revoke the court summons for ten of its leaders, calling the move unlawful.

The People's Alliance for Democracy, or PAD, legal representative Aphima Sithprasert has submitted a letter to the national police chief Police General Wichian Podposri.

The letter asked for the court summons for ten key PAD leaders to be revoked.

The letter also called for the charges against the PAD leaders for violating the Internal Security Act to be dropped.

Aphima claimed that the court summons are unlawful since the PAD has announced the details and intent of its protests to the public.

He believes the PAD's peaceful protests are lawful and in accordance with the public's constitutional rights.

The PAD lawyer said that the demonstration was aimed to check the government's budget allocation and management.

He accused the government of unlawfully using the Internal Security Act to restrict the public's constitutional rights.

He went on to say that the PAD protests were intended to expose how the government had failed to protect Thailand's sovereignty and the disputed territory is now allegedly under the control of Cambodia.

Aphima argued that the PAD demonstration has not had any negative impact on national security nor has it caused collateral damage to the public or the state.

Hence, the government's decision to impose the Internal Security Act should be deemed as unlawful along with the charges against the ten PAD leaders.

Nonetheless, the ten will report to investigators at the Metropolitan Police Bureau tomorrow to hear the charges against them.

-- Tan Network 2011-02-22

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Contingency plan to evacuate 23,000 Thai workers from Libya

BANGKOK -– Thailand’s Ministry of Labour on Monday said a contingency plan is now in place to evacuate 23,000 Thai workers from the North African country as clashes between security forces and protesters have claimed the lives of more than 200 people.

Ministry spokesperson Sutham Natheethong said officials from Thailand’s Employment Department will convene a meeting with all job placement agencies sending workers to Libya on Tuesday to brief them on the plan to evacuate Thai workers to safe areas before leaving the country.

Initially, they were asked to carry their passports and valuables to be ready to gather at the airport and the Thai embassy before evacuating by land to Tunisia, by sea to Malta and to other African countries. Thai officials have contacted the Italian and Egyptian authorities to prepare charter flights for evacuation by air. Such emergency evacuations can be conducted within one to two hours in dire straits, he said.

There are currently about 23,000 Thai workers in Libya in the construction sector with an estimated 2,000 Thai workers in Benghazi where the greatest violence was reported and about ten thousand others are staying in Tripoli, Libya’s coastal capital. The ministry spokesperson said there was no official confirmation from the Thai embassy in Libya about reports that a Thai national has been killed in the clash.

Many countries have already urged their citizens to avoid nonessential travel to Libya or recommended they leave on commercial flights.

The continuing clashes between protesters and security forces have led to at least 200 deaths, and spread overnight to Tripoli, where witnesses reported snipers firing on crowds trying to seize the capital's main square.

Protesters said they had taken control of two other cities. (MCOT online news, agencies)

-- TNA 2011-02-22

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Nano-tech textiles being sold might be fake, warns Ong-art

By Yossawadee Hongthong

The Nation

Prime Minister's Office Minister Ong-art Klampaiboon yesterday warned consumers about buying fake nano-technology textiles and is planning to have manufacturers to comply with labelling requirements in 30 days.

Ong-art, who supervises the Consumer Protection Board (CPB), told reporters yesterday that many manufacturers had become interested in producing nano-technology goods, especially things such as textiles that prevent bacteria and are water and stain proof. Therefore, such products are flooding the Thai market but at prices that are two to three times higher than normal textiles.

However, he said, the lack of law or standards to clearly control nano-technology products has prompted concerns about quality, and therefore Ong-art has instructed the CPB's Unsafe Product Verification and Alert Centre to check if these products are the real thing. He said initial scans showed that most of the products' fibres were at the micro-, not nano-metre level, and therefore put consumers at the risk of developing a rash or skin allergy.

Besides educating the public on how they can spot authentic nano-technology textiles, asking manufacturers to seek "Nano Q" labels from the Nanotechnology Association of Thailand and getting their products tested, the CPB will also list nano-technology products as those that comply with the 1979 Consumer Protection Act within 30 days. Manufacturers and importers who violate this regulation will face up to one year in jail and/or Bt100,000 in fines, while shops distributing products that are not labelled or carry faulty labels could be jailed for six months and fined Bt50,000. Also producers of commercials that mislead consumers into wrongly believing the quality of the products would be punished by three years in jail and a Bt6,000 fine. Complaints can be filed at the centre by calling (02) 141 3646-8 or e-mailing [email protected].

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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Human Rights NGOs to Thai government: Do not repeat history!

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Police complaint lodged against parents of driver in fatal crash

By The Nation

The parents of an under-age driver involved in a road accident that killed nine van passengers in late December were accused yesterday of allowing her to drive without a licence, which is illegal.

Law lecturers from Thammasat University lodged a police complaint on behalf of 13 victims from the crash - the nine killed and four injured passengers. They also named the unidentified owner of a white Honda sedan in the complaint.

Associate Professor Narong Jaiharn, who filed the notice, said the parents and the owner of the sedan were automatically liable under the 2003 Child Protection Act, as were those whose children were arrested for street racing.

He said the parents could also possibly be held responsible under the Criminal Code, as deaths and injuries resulted from their alleged negligence under the 2003 law.

However, he did not file criminal complaints against them.Assistant Professor Parinya Thewanaruemitrkul, an assistant dean of the university, said the complaint was intended to set a standard in Thai society to ensure greater road safety while punishing those responsible for incidents caused by young or wayward motorists.

He said the driver's family had not shown responsibility to all 13 victims. In the case of Pratchaya Khantha, who was killed, his family had yet to be contacted by the young driver's family, though they had been in contact with families of all the other victims.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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Senate suspends minimum committee number after resignations

By Nerisa Nerukhiew

The Nation

The Senate has agreed to an exception to the requirement for a minimum number of members on Senate committees after 67 appointed senators resigned down last week.

Chon Buri Senator Surachai Chaitrakulthong, a deputy chief whip, yesterday proposed suspending the regulation requiring that a committee must have nine to 15 members. He also proposed suspending the rule prohibiting a senator from joining more than two panels.

The regulation would be suspended until new senators have filled the vacated posts.

The terms of 74 appointed senators ended on Friday. But 67 members of that group stood down before that time so they could participate in the selection process for another term. That has left only seven appointed senators and 76 elected senators in the Upper House at present.

The senators voted 70-1 in favour of the exception, while two abstained.

Surachai also proposed suspending the requirement that the committee chairman appoints its members, as some of the senators who resigned had held chairman's posts. However, that proposal was dropped.

Ratchaburi Senator Kecha Saksomboon asked the meeting to consider appointing a new deputy Speaker, as appointed senator Tassana Boontong had resigned. But Speaker Prasobsook Boondech said the Senate whips should consider the issue first.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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Drug shipment intercepted

By The Nation

A batch of Ketamine worth Bt12 million was intercepted yesterday in a raid on a freighter off the Ranong coast.

Four Burmese and one Thai crew members of the KT009/032 ship were taken into custody and 2,592 bottles of the illegal sedative as well as the ship were seized.

Col Phornsak Phoolsawas, commander of the 25th Infantry Regiment, part of the team of military and narcotics agents, said this lot of Ketamine was proฌduced in India and was being brought into Thailand by sea. The carriers were trying to avoid inland operations by authorities against smuggling, he said.

Ketamine is in wide use among clubbers as a substiฌtute for ice, which is now very expensive due to the success by authorities in cutting supplies.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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Govt to declare its achievements

By The Nation

The government will formally declare its achievements to the Lower House of Parliament on Thursday.

Democrat MP and chief whip for the government Witthaya Kaewparadai said the meeting would begin at 10am. "We will have 14 hours for debating but we can discuss this if opposition parties want more time."

The meeting will be televised on NBT channel, Witthaya said.

The coalition administration headed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva took office on December 30, 2008.

Tomorrow, the House will consider many bills, including a bill on public rallies.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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MP's credit card scammed

By The Nation

Democrat's Samut Songkram MP Rangsima Rodrasamee claims Bt240,000 has gone missing from her bank account.

Rangsima said she checked with KrungThai Bank, Parliament branch, and learned that from February 17 to yesterday, her credit card had been used three times by someone overseas. The latest transaction was in a foreign fast food restaurant, but the country has not been identified.

Rangsima said she was last abroad two months ago, and she did not use her credit card during the trip.

She said the loss was a lesson for people who use others to make transactions for them, or who check movements of their accounts infrequently.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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BURNING ISSUE

Revamping Thailand's political system might be difficult

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Charter: court to mull ruling

By The Nation

The Constitution Court will consider tomorrow if it will rule on the charter amendment process.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob last week forwarded a petition to the court seeking clarification after opposition MPs and Senator Ruengkrai Leekitwattana called for a legal review, citing apparent omissions and irregularities.

If the court decides not to consider the request, then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva can go ahead and submit the changes, which have already been approved by Parliament, for royal endorsement.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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ISA is helping keep the peace, say police

By Kwanhatai Malakarn

The Nation

Police operating units have come out in support of the Internal Security Act (ISA), claiming its imposition is helping to prevent unwanted incidents, police spokesman Piya Uthayo said yesterday.

The use of the law does not affect people's business or daily life, Piya said, and would be lifted once political rallies are no longer seen as a threat to the country's security.

The ISA had been declared in seven districts of Bangkok from February 9 to 23, but the Centre for Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO) - the agency in charge - plans to propose extending it for another 15 days.

CAPO spokesman Police Maj-General Prawut Thawornsiri said after the meeting the ISA facilitates law enforcement and officers' work in keeping peace and order.

CAPO will propose reducing the ISA-affected areas when necessary - but Cabinet has yet to decide on which areas, he said, adding that other laws would be applied to control situations outside the ISA zones.

Prawut said the 10 leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy summoned for violating the ISA would report to the Metropolitan Police Bureau at 10am today. Their supporters would not be allowed to enter the compound.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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Security concerns after woman gets onstage with PM Abhisit

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Woman killed by Yala bomb

By The Nation

Another car bomb thought to have been set off by insurgents killed a woman and injured 12 others in a busy area in Yala's Muang district yesterday. The bomb also caused considerable damage to property.

The home-made device was hidden near a food shop and set off as a police pickup truck drove past at around 4.30pm.

The blast, detonated remotely via unspecified communication signals, killed a woman bystander instantly, while police in the passing vehicle were injured. A police cruiser caught on fire along with motorcycles parked nearby.

Meanwhile, the chief of police in the deep South said there were links between the people behind two major car bombs in the past two weeks in Yala and Narathiwat.

"The way the vehicles used in both attacks were stolen and later installed with explosives, with the use of fake licence plates and similar windshield registration papers, plus evidence police obtained, indicates links between those behind both car bomb attacks," Pol Lt General Phaithoon Choochaiya said.

Police in both provinces and Pattani were probing the bombs and other terror attacks while continuing to try to prevent further attacks.

In a speech yesterday to welcome 124 new senior officers transferred to the deep South, the general called on police and civil defence volunteers "not to act in violation of law". But he did not elaborate on what that meant.

In Narathiwat, insurgents shot dead two people in two separate incidents. At 7.50am, a man was shot dead in Tak Bai district by two assailants on a motorcycle. Grocery store owner Withoon Seedam was hit with one round from an M-16 assault rifle. He was pronounced dead later at a hospital.

At 9am, Abu Bakree was shot by two men on a motorcycle in while walking in Joh I Rong district. The gunmen fired four shots at him from a handgun before fleeing. Police said both murders were related to the insurgency.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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Upgrade for Culture Centre

By The Nation

The Culture Ministry is going ahead with its Bt681 million plan to upgrade the National Culture Centre into an international cultural facility.

"Of the budget, Bt424.7 million will be used to establish the Contemporary Art Centre," ministry permanent secretary Somchai Sianglai said yesterday.

Construction of the centre is ongoing. Somchai said a panel would oversee construction of the new buildings, while a second panel would supervise the running of activities around the National Cultural Centre as the work was done.

He also said the ministry disagreed with the idea of revoking the Building Control law, which bans any building over 12 metres high near the National Cultural Centre.

The comment was made after MCOT and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration came up with a plan to build a 32-storey building in a plot near the Cultural Centre.

"We have already voiced our concern that the high building may ruin the landscape of the centre," Somchai said.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22

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Crude oil at 2.5 year high

Violent crackdown on anti-government protesters in Libya sent benchmark Brent crude to 2.5-year highs at above USD105 a barrel on fears that oil supplies to Western countries could be disrupted, while U.S. prices rallied by more than USD 4.

London Brent futures rose USD1.73 at USD104.25 a barrel after breaking above last week's peak of USD104.52, the highest since September 2008.

U.S. light sweet crude oil futures rose by USD 4 to hit USD 90.20 a barrel.

-- The Nation 2011-02-22