Thailand Live Thursday 9 Jun 2011

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Thailand Live Thursday 9 June 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 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 Wednesday 8 June 2011

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Today's Thailand weather and forecasts:

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AFP: Thai PM Abhisit slams rivals' Thaksin 'whitewash'

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JULY GENERAL ELECTION

EC votes to remove 'No' vote billboards

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ANALYSIS

Democrats and PAD - an alliance gone sour

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JULY 3 GENERAL ELECTION

Thai poll worries World Bank

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E COLI

Cook food well to avoid E coli: BMA

By The Nation

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has urged the public to make sure food is well cooked to avoid an outbreak of E. coli bacteria, which kills one in 20 people it infects.

Bangkok Deputy Governor Malinee Sukavejworakit said the city was under close scrutiny for the bug, paying special attention to hospitals and diarrhoea patients who had travelled to and from Germany and Europe.

The bacteria can be ingested through contaminated food, she said. Patients experience stomachaches, watery and bloody stool, kidney failure, shock and unconsciousness.

She said the bacteria could be killed at temperatures of 70 degrees Celsius and above, so people should eat well-cooked food.

-- The Nation 2011-06-09

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ENVIRONMENT

Chao Phraya, Pasak declared controlled zones

By THE NATION

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ASEAN TV

NBC, MCOT enhancing Asean TV programming

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Amnesty talk puts reconciliation further out of reach: Thai Talk

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EDITORIAL

Chao Phraya barge accident highlights need for safety rules

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Yingluck mulls defamation suit against Kaewsun and Tul

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Villagers up in arms against garbage facility

By The Nation

About 400 residents of Chiang Mai's San Kamphaeng district blocked one lane of the Don Chan-Nam Phu Ron Road yesterday morning in protest against a garbage recycling facility.

They threatened to burn it down if the garbage wasn't removed within 24 hours.

As Supachai Recycle's garbage facility had allegedly been operating for three years without permission from the Chae Chang Tambon Administration Organisation, affected residents in Chae Chang, On Tai and Bukkhalo subdistricts decided to take action over the bad smells and water pollution.

They blocked the road to demand that the district chief order removal of the garbage in 24 hours and file lawsuits against the company for violating residents' rights.

One leader of the group, Sombat Doung-in, said the facility affected about 7,000 residents and caused polluted water to pour into farming water sources, possibly contaminating underground water.

Sombat said villagers had filed complaints but the Chae Chang TAO merely fined it for the smell and public prosecutors fined it four times for light offences.

The district's environment committee president, Manoch Pheungjayaem, said the owner had promised on June 4 to close the factory within six months after a contract with local organisations in Lamphun expired. The company would also install a wastewater-treatment system.

Newly assigned district chief Bampen Binthaisong yesterday told the protesters he needed seven days to study the problem and come up with measures.

-- The Nation 2011-06-09

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Date set for charges on tollway crash girl

By The Nation

The public prosecutor will decide on June 23 the charges it will press against a 17-year-old girl involved in a fatal Bangkok tollway crash that killed nine people in December, a source at the Juvenile and Family Court said yesterday.

The public prosecutor had not yet received a case report from Vibhavadi Police over an additional charge of using a phone while driving, the source said.

The girl has already been charged with reckless driving causing deaths and injuries following the crash on December 27 last year.

The charge of using a phone while behind the wheel could result in an instant fine if the suspect confessed, otherwise the police will ask the prosecutor to file it as an additional charge.

The case investigation has made much progress hence the prosecutor can announce the charges on June 23, the source said.

-- The Nation 2011-06-09

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Flood Maps of disaster-risk areas released

By The Nation

After years of preparation, the so-called "disaster-risk maps" have been released by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), to serve as a national reference indicating areas at risk of natural disasters.

An initial set of the maps, at 1:10,000 scale, features 17 provinces at greatest risk in the South and the North, covering 31 districts and 68 tambon. All locations have a history of mud/landslides and repeated flash floods.

The maps indicate areas where mud/landslides and flash floods have been reported as well as nearby areas at possible risk. Future sets of the maps will cover all areas with a record of disasters, covering 6,450 villages in 323 districts in another 51 provinces.

DMR director-general Adisak Thongkhaimuk said a network of 16,387 volunteers was establishing DMR surveillance and alert operations, checking out risks and sounding alerts in case of emergency.

The DMR will visit several locations in Nakhon Ratchasima and Krabi, two of the seven southern provinces on the maps, on June 27-28, to promote the maps and conduct further surveys.

In Surat Thani, also on the maps, heavy rain has caused flash floods in several districts where floodwaters reached a two-metre peak. About 1,000 rai of farmland has been inundated and would be seriously damaged if the water did not recede in the next few days.

-- The Nation 2011-06-09

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Gold shop offers huge reward for tip-off on robber

By The Nation

A Phuket gold shop yesterday promised to pay a huge reward to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of a robber who made off with gold ornaments weighing 261 baht.

The Thong Thanes 2 store said it would pay whoever provided the tip-off Bt200,000 plus 30 per cent of the value of the retrieved gold.

After four days of fruitless police investigation, owner Janthana Thanessombat yesterday announced the reward to motivate people to help catch the robber.

She urged the public and gold shops to look out for the gold ornaments, which carry a double-curved Thai design, and alert police.

-- The Nation 2011-06-09

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DSI ex-chief's daughter runs for Pheu Thai in Bangkok

By THE NATION

Anutama Amornvivat, a new MP candidate running under the Pheu Thai Party's banner in Constituency 7 of Bangkok, said she may be a new face - but she still wanted to help the country develop.

She may be a new face to the public but is more familiar on the political scene. Anutama, 34, is the daughter of Police General Sombat Amorn-vivat, who is former director-general of the Department of Special Inves-tigation. She is the niece of Sompong Amornvivat, a former deputy leader of the defunct People Power Party, and cousin of former Pheu Thai MP Chulaphan Amornvivat.

She has a bachelor's degree in political science from Chulalongkorn University, a master's in International Business from Boston University and a master's in International Economic Policy from Columbia University in the United States.

She had worked with the Department of Export Promotion before becoming a lecturer in Economics at Chulalongkorn University. She said that she aspired to become a politician to help people on a greater scale than teaching at university could achieve.

Anutama said that she had consulted with her parents about her decision to enter politics and that they agreed with her. "After I talked with them at home, I went to apply as an election candidate by myself," she said.

Anutama did not consider her newness in politics as a weakness, saying rather it would arouse interest among people. "Many successful politicians contested their first election when they were younger than me. So I don't think being a new face has much [negative] impact."

If elected, she would push for an education policy - probably because of her background in education. Also she would campaign on the party's policy platforms of improving the quality of life, reducing the cost of living and boosting income. She said if she loses, she will go back to teaching because she was proud of her work training the young to be good adults. Even if she becomes an MP, she plans to continue with teaching.

-- The Nation 2011-06-09

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Forests cleared for rubber and palm oil: DNP

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

The county's national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and forest reserves are being heavily encroached upon by illegal plantations, with more than 10,000 rai destroyed over the past eight months, the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (DNP) revealed yesterday.

About 1,707 rai had become rubber plantations and 219 rai were now oil palm plantations, said Atthaphon Charoenchansa, chief of the DNP Prevention and Suppression Division.

"National parks and forest reserves have been encroached on by investors and local villagers. The damage to forest areas is worth more than Bt950 million," he said.

Tub Lan National Park in the Northeast saw the most destruction, with 1,250 rai cleared to make way for rubber plantations. Next came Bundarik-Yoddom Wildlife Sanctuary, where 122 rai were cleared.

Meanwhile, 81 rai of forest in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani and Songkhla had been cleared for oil palm plantations.

"Increasing forest encroachment by illegal rubber plantations has been caused by rising rubber prices over the past few years," Atthaphon said.

"The problem of forest encroachment by rubber plantations could be compared to shrimp farming in mangrove forests, which creates a lot of damage for national parks and preserved forests," he added.

Atthaphon said investors had hired local villagers to cut down trees in national parks and forest reserves. After that, they forced them to plant rubber trees.

The investors tapped the rubber themselves and sometimes sold these illegal plantations to other investors.

"In some cases we found that state officials had helped investors and local villagers to encroach on forest areas in national parks," he said.

Meanwhile, a study by a researcher at Prince of Songkla University found that 122,587 rai or 28.26 per cent of Khao Pu - Khao Ya National Park in the South were now rubber plantations.

Plantations have also been seen in the Khlong U-Tapao watershed in the South. Encroachment on first- and second-tier watersheds is believed to affect biodiversity, he said.

Rubber trees are less able to absorb water and this can lead to lower natural water levels and landslides.

"We found that some illegal rubber plantations in national parks have encroached on the territory of the Sakai people, an indigenous people who live peacefully in forest reserve areas," Assistant Professor Somboon Chareonjiratrakul, who conducted a study on the subject, said.

He suggested that the Forestry Department and DNP should have a policy to recover forest areas that were heavy encroached upon by illegal rubber plantations. The department should set up a national forest database to monitor forest areas in real time.

The government should provide knowledge about rubber plantations so they plant rubber in the right way. Farmers should know about the positive and negative impacts of improper rubber tapping, he said.

As the price of raw rubber is increasing, farmers should save money from selling rubber to maintain their plantations, he said.

Moreover, the government should release accurate information about the change in size of forest areas between 1998 to 2009, as a recent study found that only 23 per cent of forest areas remained. The Forestry Department reported that the number of forest areas had increased from 86 million rai in 1998 to 107 rai in 2009, which was opposed to the real situation, he said.

-- The Nation 2011-06-09

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Prayuth willing to meet Yingluck after vote

By THE NATION

Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday said he was willing to meet with Pheu Thai candidate Yingluck Shinawatra at an appropriate time, preferably after the July 3 vote.

"I thank Khun Yingluck for trying to meet and seek my advice but our meeting should take place at the right time," he said.

Prayuth said he was ready to talk to all sides as he was concerned about the political situation after election day, hinting at the tight race to form the next government. The Army chief was responding to reports that Yingluck, Pheu Thai's No 1 party-list candidate, was seeking to meet him to talk about the current political situation.

If Pheu Thai wins a majority in the general election on July 3, she will be Thailand's first female prime minister.

Army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd had earlier said it was the wrong time for Yingluck to seek a meeting with Prayuth.

Thailand is in the middle of an election campaign and General Prayuth is a government officer so he would certainly be criticised for not being neutral if he was seen meeting with Yingluck, Sansern said.

-- The Nation 2011-06-09

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BURNING ISSUE

Chart Thai Pattana quietly makes inroads

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FTI propose Bt226 as minimum daily wage

By The Nation

The Labour Ministry yesterday welcomed the Federation of Thai Industries' higher proposal for a daily minimum wage of Bt226, describing it as a sign of employers' cooperation to get the much-awaited hike approved.

The FTI proposal was Bt31.21 higher than the Bt226.67 proposed recently by the ministry, permanent secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong said. The precise figure would be submitted for consideration at a meeting of the Wage Tripartite Committee on June 16.

Members of the committee held a preliminary meeting yesterday to discuss figures and reportedly encourage each other to reach a middle ground over the rates.

Chalee Loisoong, a labour representative, said a daily wage of Bt226.67 was not enough, but it was better than nothing. He said, based on the 4-per-cent inflation, Bt441 per day would be just enough. However, he said, employers could make up for this by providing cheap incentives and better welfare to make up for the workers' lost income.

Thawee Techatheerawat, another labour representative, said Bt226.67 was acceptable, because increasing it to Bt300 would prompt foreign companies to leave Thailand for countries where labour is cheaper. Instead, he said, businesses should offer incentives like free or low-cost transport and cheap meals. He also called on the government to strictly control the price of necessities such as cooking oil and rice.

-- The Nation 2011-06-09

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INTERVIEW

Political reform, not reconciliation, should be the goal: political scientist

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The Expat Who Started "Monk For A Month" In Thailand Now Does 'Muslim For A Month'

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The Netherlands is considering to add a law which will make any filtering, slowing down, or blocking of the Internet illegal /BNONews

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Two shopkeepers killed, five officials wounded in Narathiwat attacks

NARATHIWAT: -- Two shop owners were shot dead, a local government official, a security volunteer and three police officers were wounded Wednesday in two locations in Cho Ai Rong district of restive Narathiwat, according to local authorities.

Grocery owner Sompong Sae-oui, 54, was killed by two presumed insurgents before noon when they stopped their motorcycle at the shop and feigned buying goods. One of the men, armed with an 11mm pistol, fired three times at Mr Sompong, who died at the scene.

Then the intruders left a booby trap, a 10kg homemade bomb in a metal box which they placed under a shelf in the dead man’s shop.

When police and other personnel came to the scene to investigate, accomplices hidden nearby detonated the bomb using a mobile phone signal.

Five officials, including Pol Capt Sirichat Arunklao of Cho Ai Rong Police Station, Pol Sgt Vajira Ruengkaew, Pol Cpl Sopian Sama-oung, local government official Prasertsit Ratchabasi and defence volunteer Sayutee Saah were wounded.

The second incident also occurred at a grocery in Cho Ai Rong district. Owner Narong Banjongkhachatarn, 72, sat outside his shop when two attackers parked their motorcycle, pretending to be customers and shot Mr Narong, who died at the scene.

Soon after, five police officers came to the shop to investigate the shooting. As their truck passed a DTAC mobile phone repeater station in Cho Ai Rong district, a remote-controlled bomb hidden in a motorcycle was triggered. When the bomb went off, the police vehicle had already passed by, so no one was wounded.

The police believed that the incidents may be the work of persons intending expel ethnic Thai Buddhists from the areas because only one household of Thai Buddhists is located in each of the two locations.

The violence has intensified to an almost daily basis in Thailand's insurgency-plagued southern border region of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, following a series of bomb and gun attacks, since the insurgency erupted in 2004. So far, the violence claimed more than 4,300 lives. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-06-09

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1 million methamphetamine pills worth Bt300 million seized in Sukhothai; 10,000 pills found on Chiang Rai bus /MCOT

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Pheu Thai candidate-Army spokesman spat

By The Nation

Pheu Thai candidate Pairoj Issaraseripong on Thursday lashed out at Army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd for spreading a false allegation that he wielded his gun to obstruct the work of Army task force 315 in Bangkok's Nong Chok district.

Pairoj said he had just filed a police complaint accusing Sansern of smear in retaliation to the Army-initiated complaint lodged on Wednesday charging him for obstruction of justice.

In his defence, he said he encountered the task force, in charge of drug suppression, distributing some leaflets at his campaign trials. He had approached the officers on the task force asking to take a look at the leaflets, he said.

Since the officers refused his request, he suggested them to give advance notification to the Election Commission before doing their job which overlapped with his campaigning, he said.

He said his conversation with the officers was amicable, denying that he was armed.

On Wednesday, Sansern said the incident happened on May 23 while the task force was soliciting information related to the suppression of illicit drugs.

He said the officers reported to their superior officers that Pairoj and his supporters made threatening remarks. Pairoj scolded the officers and one of his supporters lifted his shirt to show a concealed gun, he said.

After reviewing the report of the incident, the First Army gave the greenlight on Tuesday for the officers to lodge the police complaint against Pairoj, he said.

-- The Nation 2011-06-09

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Thai stock index opens on Thursday at 1,009.95, down 4.63 points /MCOT

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Airport Link Passengers Increase after Route Extension

The Airport Rail Link has seen the number of passengers doubling on its Express Line after the route extension.

State Railway of Thailand Electric Train Company acting Chief Executive Officer Pakorn Tangjetsakao said the Airport Rail Link is enjoying a 100-percent increase in number of passengers on its Express Line after the route extension on June 1.

He said the number of daily commuters has reached 1,274 after the extension of the route between Phaya Thai station and Suvarnabhumi Airport and the route between Makkasan station and Suvarnabhumi Airport.

He expects the number will continue to climb.

Pakorn said there is a total of four trains in service for the Express Line, with three operating on a regular basis and one being kept as spare in case of emergency.

-- Tan Network 2011-06-09

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One million Yaba pills worth Bt300 million seized in Sukhothai

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