Thailand Live Tuesday 12 Jul 2011

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Thailand Live Tuesday 12 Jul 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 Monday 11 Jul 2011

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Today's Thailand weather and forecasts:

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NEXT GOVERNMENT

New Thai Prime Minister expected by mid-August

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SPY CHARGES

Pheu Thai win gives hope for Veera's imminent release

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POLICY RATE

Economists predict another rate hike July 13

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ID CARD

Children happy to get ID cards

By Peeradej Tanruangporn,

Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong

The Nation

Seven-year-olds served by mobile units at schools in Bangkok

Young students at the Wat Rajabopit School, in Bangkok's Phra Nakhon district, were abuzz with excitement yesterday morning as they formed queues to get national identification cards from mobile-service booths.

Aged from just seven to 14 years old, they never imagined they would get their ID cards so fast. Nor did they expect to apply for and receive them conveniently within their school's compound.

Until recently, Thais were obliged to carry national ID cards from the age of 15. A new law now requires that the cards be issued to Thais aged from seven years and up.

"When our teacher first told us about this, my friends did not believe that we would actually get one," said Napat Changkhanoon, 11, a Prathom 6 student.

His said his teacher informed the young students in advance because they had to produce copies of their parents' identification cards, household registration and birth certificates at the mobile-service booths.

"My parents asked me why we were getting cards," said Tunya Lertpattanasin, 11. "I told them it was the new law."

Another Prathom 6 student, Sasiprapa Ruengshamat, 12, said her parents thought it was a good idea for her to get the national ID card.

"But they have told me I must be careful not to lose it," she said.

Prathom 2 student Jintanan Poonsinorisuk, among the youngest, was frightened of losing the card that she clearly held in awe.

"I will give my card to my parents. I'll let them keep it for me," she said.

The school's general administrator, Prasert Junjinda, said carrying national ID cards created a new responsibility for kids, but they would bring them many benefits as well.

"It'll be more convenient for them to access many government services. Besides, if they get lost, anyone who finds them will know their home addresses," he said.

Prasert said he believed children with physical disabilities would benefit the most from having ID cards. Of the 323 cards being issued to eligible students at Rajabopit School, 39 will be for disabled children.

The head of the Provincial Administration Department's Bureau of Registration Administration, Chakree Chuenura, urged parents to call 1548 if they had any inquiries about national ID cards for their young children.

In Thailand, there are about 8 million children aged between seven and 14 years. Of these, 600,000 live in Bangkok.

Facing the heaviest demand for some time, the main computer system for issuing national ID cards failed in all 50 of the bureau's district offices in Bangkok for several hours yesterday.

"It stopped functioning at noon," said the director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Administration and Registration Division, Yossak Kongmak. "The system got up and running again around 4.20pm."

He said the main system was supervised by the Interior Ministry.

-- The Nation 2011-07-12

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AFP: Thai 'rhino horn dealer' arrested in South Africa

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BURNING ISSUE

Thaksin, red shirts cast shadow over Yingluck govt

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Huge sums lost in lottery scheme

By The Nation

Tens of millions of baht have been lost by hundreds of people - many of them state teachers in Loei province - through an alleged "pyramid scheme" that invested in government lottery tickets, Loei governor Phornsak Jiaranai said yesterday.

The case has been probed by officers from the police Economic Crimes

Division, he said, but had not involved the Department of Special Investigation as of yet.

Loei police said the operator of the scheme was in court custody but denied wrongdoing. Kalayanee Kaewwoharn said she was operating a loan scheme and merely lacked cash-flow. She pledged to return money to "all investors" after being freed from the provincial prison.

News reports have put the total damage at around Bt3 billion but police investigators estimated losses at tens of millions.

Phornsak said Kalayanee's assets could be ordered frozen after police determine what criminal charges she will face for her alleged offences and file them.

Police say Kalayanee obtained hundreds of lottery booklets through a limited quota and earned commissions of up to Bt7 per ticket. She promised to share the profit with victims if they invested more money to get more tickets each draw - every 15 days.

The victims are believed to have given money voluntarily - or lottery tickets which could later resell and possibly enjoy higher profits.

A victim said he and his wife lost Bt35 million to this scheme after Kalayanee halted her operation, and stopped providing tickets to him and fellow investors in the last two draws starting on June 16.

-- The Nation 2011-07-12

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Suspect remanded

By The Nation

A janitor high on drugs who allegedly killed a baby hostage by repeated stabbing during a stand-off with police was remanded yesterday by the Phra Khanong court.

Prawet police had argued that Thaweechai Nathongbor's release would be detrimental to their investigation and more witnesses still needed to be interviewed.

-- The Nation 2011-07-12

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Couple shot dead, police hit by bombs

By THE NATION

Yala

It was a bloody day in the deep South yesterday with an imam and his wife gunned down at dawn in Narathiwat and 10 people injured in bomb blasts - several of them seriously.

At least three attackers armed with M16 machine guns and an assault rifle opened fire on Mama Samoh, the head of imams in Ra Ngae district, and his wife, when they headed to their rubber plantation.

Both bodies were riddled with bullets before the attackers fled the scene.

Police said Mama had been shot in front of his house once before, in 2009, but had fought back and survived.

In nearby Yala, 10 people were injured in several bomb blasts in the morning. Two faced the risk of having a leg amputated.

The first explosion in Raman district occurred at 7am at a rubber plantation where Sunthorn Maneesang, 41, was tapping rubber latex.

After he was taken to hospital, a group of police arrived at the scene at about 9am and accidentally stepped on two booby traps. Nine policemen were injured - three seriously.

Airlifted to Songklanagarind Hospital in Songkhla were Pol Second Lieutenant Somporn Suksaard, Pol Corporal Suriya Saiyanet and Pol Sergeant Somkuan Janyakorn.

Raman district chief Boonthai Kansiri said four booby traps had been planted in the plantation and nearby areas.

"Three exploded, causing injuries. Doctors suggested it may be necessary to amputate the legs of at least two victims," he said. Police managed to safely dispose of just one bomb.

Another blast in Yala town in the morning mangled a pickup, leaving a metre-deep hole in a local road, but no one was injured.

-- The Nation 2011-07-12

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BMA 'in order'

By The Nation

Spending Bt151 million on public relations was not high, as it was just 0.79 per cent of the city's Bt19 billion budget, a Bangkok Metropolitan Administration spokesman said yesterday.

Jate Sopitpongsatorn hit back at claims by the Thailand Information Centre for Civil Rights and Investigative Journalism (TCIJ) the BMA spent too much on projects and public relations.

In respect to claims some companies got a lot of work from the city, he said bidding procedures for PR companies to get jobs was explainable, transparent and according to civil service rules.

He said the Office of Auditor-General also checked BMA budgeting so it was impossible to favour one firm over others. Some 29 projects cited by TCIJ related to 20 separated topics and the city had to keep the public informed about its work.

-- The Nation 2011-07-12

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New Thai government's pay policy worries manufacturers

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GPO accused of buying shoddy lenses

By The Nation

Low quality intraocular lenses, beds bought from India

The Network for People's Medical Protection yesterday accused the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) of procuring poor-quality intraocular lenses and patient beds for distribution around the country.

"We would like to urge the new public health minister to investigate the GPO executives," Dr Thapanawong Tang-uraiwan said in his capacity as the network's media-relations chief.

He spoke up against the GPO at the same time the Pheu Thai Party was working on its Cabinet line-up.

The GPO is a state enterprise under the supervision of the Public Health Ministry.

Intraocular lenses are implanted in a patient's eye after a disorder such as cataracts clouds the natural lens.

Thapanawong said the GPO had bought the lenses from India at less than Bt200 apiece. "Normally, lenses widely used for patients cost between Bt6,000 and Bt20,000 each."

According to Thapanawong, because of their low quality, the artificial lenses provided by the GPO were not in demand and piles of them were in GPO warehouses.

"The GPO tried to get rid of this stock by donating the intraocular lenses to Laos, but the donation offer has been turned down," Thapanawong said.

He claimed the GPO was now trying to sell the low-quality lenses to the Ban Phaeo Hospital or use them in charity projects. GPO managing director Dr Witit Artavatkun was previously head of Banphaeo Hospital.

According to Thapanawong, the GPO has purchased poor-quality patient beds from China for distribution to hospitals too. Many hospitals have unwittingly bought them and found the beds had problems such as bent frames and loose screws. When they contacted the GPO for after-sale services, they were told the Chinese suppliers had gone out of business.

"Soon, other hospitals heard about the problems and have refused to buy patient beds from the GPO. Now, the GPO warehouses are full of poor-quality patient beds that the organisation hopes to sell to the National Health Security Office," Thapanawong said. He added that the NHSO was set to make the purchase and hand them out as charity projects.

Thapanawong urged the new government and the Election Commission to investigate the Cabinet resolution that extended the term of Witit. "Such an extension has never been made before in the history of the GPO," he said.

Witit dismissed Thapanawong's allegation about the intraocular lenses.

"We conducted quality tests before ordering the product," Witit insisted. "Many private companies have imported similar lenses. It's just that the GPO has managed to do so at a lower price."

-- The Nation 2011-07-12

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Probes into land encroachment

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Forestry officials will look into alleged land encroachment in Wang Nam Kiew in Nakhon Ratchasima next month after reports that hotels and resorts had claimed land from forest reserves for tourist facilities.

They will also look into the problem of rubber trees being planted in reserves in four districts in Phitsanulok.

About 20 big houses and resorts were located in sloped areas in Phu Luang National Forest in apparent violation of the Forest Reserve Act, the Forestry Department chief Suwit Rattanamanee said.

"These 20 houses belong to rich people and we are now investigating, by using satellite images, to study whether these houses are located in forest reserve areas or not," he said at a press conference yesterday.

Wang Nam Kiew in Nakhon Ratchasima province is known as the "Switzerland of Isaan", a place where tourists can breathe fresh air and stay in a tranquil country atmosphere.

Suwit said a preliminary look at satellite images found that the homes were located in hilly areas. The department plans to spend two weeks checking the satellite images and surveying the area next month.

Suwit said the department would also conduct another inquiry into encroachment in four districts in Phitsanulok - Wang Thong, Chart Trakan, Nakhon Thai and Wat Bot - after finding forest reserves were being encroached on by rubber plantations with trees planted by local villagers hired by "capitalists" from the South.

Large areas of forest reserve encroachment were found in upper areas near Kwai Noi Dam close to a royal project.

Chiang Rai had the most land encroachment for rubber in the North, followed by Nan and Phitsanulok. And Nong Khai had the most encroachment in the Northeast, followed by Loei.

Officials had found 56 suspected cases of illegal encroachment last month involving more than 6,000 rai of forest reserves. About a third of this involved planted rubber.

The problem of rubber trees being planted in forest reserves has increased drastically in the past few years since the price of rubber soared.

Suwit said his agency had faced difficulty in arresting wrongdoers who encroach on forest areas due to "influence" in local areas and a lack of cooperation from relevant agencies to check on documents which link wealthy people to the forest encroachment.

-- The Nation 2011-07-12

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Excess use of 'emergency' contraceptive pills, Thai academics reveal

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I did meet Thaksin in Brunei but we didn't talk politics: Banharn

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Norway presents ancient Buddhist scripture

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New teachers' course

By The nation

The "new breed" teachers' course, which guarantees employment after completion, kicked off yesterday at 24 universities and colleges to help alleviate the instructor shortage.

The Higher Education Commission said the five-year scheme could provide scholarships, but graduates are required to work primarily as government teachers or optionally in private schools. Those taking the course without a scholarship are not bound to work as teachers.

The programme can accommodate 6,200 students, including 1,000 seniors at institutions aimed at producing teachers.

The universities offer classes in scientific and vocational subjects that are in demand at many schools lacking instructors with expertise in them.

-- The Nation 2011-07-12

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Pathumwan technical school student shot dead and another injured at their condominium in Nonthaburi possibly by rival school students /TAN_Network

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Panel backs wage-hike plan

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British pop Star James Blunt Live in Bangkok

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Today marks last Cabinet meeting of Abhisit's administration; Yingluck's Cabinet most likely to start work in Sept /TAN_Network

Yingluck welcomes Japanese and Singaporean ambassadors at Pheu Thai Party /TAN_Network

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Viktor Bout, whose alleged international arms dealings inspired Hollywood, loses attempt to have US trial dismissed /via@CBSNews

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Thai stock index opens on Tuesday at 1,063.72, down 13.52 points /MCOT

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Yom River overflows banks, floods riverside homes in Phichit; residents move belongings to higher ground; 1,000 rai of paddy crops damaged by flood /MCOT

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Polling station committees blamed for ballot discrepancy

BANGKOK, 12 July 2011 (NNT) – The Election Commission (EC) has attributed the discrepancy between the number of ballots in the constituency and party-list systems to operational errors of election committees at polling stations.

EC Secretary-General Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn said the unequal number of ballots in the two systems was actually a normal incident. He explained that the discrepancy of ballots in the two categories possibly happened during the figure recording process by an election committee assigned to each polling centre.

Mr Suthiphon reported that a thorough investigation found the difference of ballots in the two systems was only at 167, not 83,000 as earlier reported; however, he confirmed that the error did not have any impact on elected MP candidates.

Regarding the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) that deployed its observers in the 3 July general election, the secretary-general told the press that the ANFREL lauded the overall election arrangement to be transparent, free and fair.

Mr Suthiphon also noted that most people, including ANFREL, misunderstood that the law allowed the EC to print extra ballots by not more than 7% of the number of eligible voters.This had drawn a wide criticism when the EC printed out extra 12%. He clarified that the law does not specify the number of ballots that must be printed but leaves the matter to the discretion of the EC.

-- NNT 2011-07-12

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PAD Threatens to Sue Election Commission

The People's Alliance for Democracy has submitted a complaint to the Election Commission, demanding that the official election result be suspended for alleged election fraud.

The core leader of People's Alliance for Democracy or PAD, Major General Chamlong Srimuan, along with PAD spokesperson Panthep Puapongpan, sent a letter to the Election Commission or EC, demanding the EC not endorse the statusg of MPs-elect.

The group claims the general election was illegitimate as nearly 2 million voters did not cast ballots.

In addition, at least five parties violated the election law by promising to give money to voters after the election.

They also claimed that politicians banned from political activities intervened in the campaigning.

They also pointed out that the total number of constituency ballots was not equal to the party-list system.

Chamlong threatened that if the EC endorses the recent MPs-elect, he will file a lawsuit to the Criminal Court and the Supreme Court on the election affairs.

Meanwhile, Democrat Deputy Spokesman Boonyod Suktinthai, told the EC that Pheu Thai Party Deputy Spokesman, Wim Roongwattanajinda violated the election law when he e-mailed to the mass media to offer interests during campaigning.

With this charge, the Pheu Thai Party could be dissolved.

Boonyod also claimed that some Pheu Thai MPs-elect such as Nattawut Saikuea, Jutuporn Phrompan, Korkaew Pikoonthong, and Pichit Cheunban should be disqualified as they are involved in charges of instigating chaos last year.

-- Tan Network 2011-07-12

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Attack on Pheu Thai Campaign Director in Uttaradit Province

The home of a member of the Pheu Thai Party in Uttaradit Province was attacked by unidentified gunmen earlier this week.

Somchai Tratwong said his house, pick-up truck, and a sedan were sprayed with a hail of bullets two days ago in Muang District.

Somchai served as Pheu Thai Party's campaign director in Uttaradit Province.

While nobody was injured in the attack, Somchai's bedroom was hit with five bullets.

Eight spent AK-47 rifle cartridges were found on a road nearby along with one live round.

Somchai said he and his wife were woken up by the bursts of gunshots that lasted for about a full minute at 3 A.M.

He said they were both worried about their nine-year-old son sleeping in the next room. Fortunately, nobody was harmed.

He believes the attack was politically motivated, as during the poll campaign, he filed a complaint with police to press charges against a rival political party.

Police said although the victim believes the attack was politically motivated, police will still look into a personal conflicts.

Somchai denied having personal conflicts with anyone, and that he is not involved in any competitive business.

Police believe there were two men involved in the attack.

Local Pheu Thai MP candidate Kanok Limtrakul said he is confident the attack was politically motivated.

-- Tan Network 2011-07-12

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Tobacco Monopoly Proposes New Tax Method

The Thai Tobacco Monopoly is proposing that the new government reform its excise tax on cigarettes in order to ensure fair competition and prevent smuggling of bootleg cigarettes, which costs the government more than 2.5 billion baht a year.

The company plans to reduce illegal cigarettes by 10 percent.

Thai Tobacco Monopoly or TTM Chairman Amnuay Preemanawong said he is prepared to propose to the new government a new excise tax for cigarettes following its previous proposal to impose costs, insurance and freight, or a CIF tax on retail sales, which has not been passed.

He admitted that the previously proposed method could cause an increase in bootleg cigarettes and smuggling, which would have both negative and positive impacts on the tobacco retail market.

Amnuay pointed out that the positive outcome is that the competition will be evened out between domestic and imported cigarettes.

However, this would mean that TTM-manufactured brands such as Krongthip would face tough competition against imported cigarettes.

Despite previous attempts to crackdown on illegal cigarettes, which cost the government four to five billion baht per year, Amnuay noted that the government continues to lose about 2.5 billion baht per year to illegal and fake cigarettes.

The TTM is coordinating with the army and the police, donating equipment and lighting for inspections at border passes in smuggling-prone provinces such as Ubon Ratchathani, Nakhon Phanom, Nongkai, Si Sa Ket, and Surin, among others.

-- Tan Network 2011-07-12