Thai MP Chuwit's Video Nails Paddy, Gas Smugglers

[webfact]

HOUSE

Chuwit's video nails paddy, gas smugglers

Olarn Lertrattanadamrongkul,

Atapoom Ongkulna

The Nation

Rak Prathet Thai MP Chuwit Kamolvisit yesterday took the House floor to show four video clips depicting the smuggling of paddy, gas cylinders and workers from Cambodia to take advantage of the Thai government's subsidies.

"The pledging scheme for paddy at Bt15,000 per tonne is about to start today and the smuggling ring has already been hard at work to falsify Cambodian paddy as Thai-grown," he said.

Chuwit said the paddy smuggling took place at three border districts, Aranyaprathet, Ta Phraya and Khok Sung.

In the first clip, smugglers were seen using pulleys to lift paddy packaged in fertiliser bags across a small waterway to the Thai side. A group of workers then proceeded to repackage the paddy in gunnysacks.

Chuwit said Cambodian farmers stored their paddy in used fertiliser bags while Thais used gunnysacks.

In the second clip, smugglers carried paddy bags from a 20-wheel trailer parked at a remote area to the Thai side. Chuwit said he detected some 20 to 30 spots for paddy smuggling. The paddy price in Cambodia is around Bt7,000 per ton.

In the third clip, smugglers were seen dumping empty cooking gas cylinders into the waterway to have them floated to the Thai side. Chuwit explained the empty cylinders would be refilled at the subsidised price before being smuggled back into Cambodia.

In the fourth clip, a pick-up truck was seen transporting a number of Cambodian workers through a checkpoint with the banner "Ranger Volunteers 1302." Chuwit said the incident happened on the Sri Phen Road.

He alleged that smugglers used illicit drugs to bribe checkpoint officials. The drugs were concealed in a baby-powder box, he said.

He said he suspected powerful figures were backing the smuggling operations because border areas were off limits to villagers.

In his rebuttal, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung said the government would intensify anti-smuggling measures.

Chalerm conceded that paddy smuggling was a reality after he had sought and received confirmation from Deputy Interior Minister Thanis Thienthong who is also MP for Sa Kaew.

He said authorities in charge of the price intervention for paddy would work harder to prevent irregularities. In regard to the manning of border checkpoints, he said he would ask the prime minister to alert the Defence Ministry about the flaws.

Deputy Finance Minister Boonsong Teriyaphirom said he would check whether customs officials were involved in the smuggling.

Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul said he would convene an inter-agency meeting of officials in charge of Thai-Cambodian borders to map out smuggling suppression.

He said he and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen shared the same view on the fight against border smuggling.

-- The Nation 2011-10-07

[Phuket Stan]

Now that didn't take long to surface....here we go again....all those snouts around the trough

[pedro01]

How come it took Chuwit to expose this?

Why not the police, army or someone in the government?

Why can Chuwit video them but no-one arrest them?

[huanga]

How come it took Chuwit to expose this?

Why not the police, army or someone in the government?

Why can Chuwit video them but no-one arrest them?

Now I believe everyone knows who would be a more capable and qualified person to be the police chief of this country! Obviously, he already showed that he can do the detective work. We just got to get him the power to execute to put stop to these shady smuggling and gambling, etc.

Edited October 7, 2011 by huanga

[Derifo]

<br />How come it took Chuwit to expose this?<br /><br />Why not the police, army or someone in the government?<br /><br />Why can Chuwit video them but no-one arrest them?<br />

<br /><br /><br />

I don't think Chuwit made the tapes. The people who did couldn't trust anyone else with them.

[x5david]

How come it took Chuwit to expose this?

Why not the police, army or someone in the government?

Why can Chuwit video them but no-one arrest them?

Because payoffs are being made and obviously Chuwit is not part of the payoff scheme...

[ratcatcher]

How come it took Chuwit to expose this?

Why not the police, army or someone in the government?

Why can Chuwit video them but no-one arrest them?

Because payoffs are being made and obviously Chuwit is not part of the payoff scheme...

I think he's moved on to bigger things, like being the thorn in the governments side.

He doesn't need the money and as an opposition M.P. makes the government react every time he comes up with another exposure of corruption.

He may have been corrupt, but now seems to be on a crusade. Good for him.

[RogueExpat]

Chalerm conceded that paddy smuggling was a reality after he had sought and received confirmation from Deputy Interior Minister Thanis Thienthong who is also MP for Sa Kaew.

For those that know anything about SraKaew, you will know that the Thienthong (Snoh et al.) family have such a tight grip on everything that happens within the provincial borders that you can't even fart while crossing the road without them knowing about it...... and so on, and so on......

[timekeeper]

How come it took Chuwit to expose this?

Why not the police, army or someone in the government?

Why can Chuwit video them but no-one arrest them?

Because payoffs are being made and obviously Chuwit is not part of the payoff scheme...

I think he's moved on to bigger things, like being the thorn in the governments side.

He doesn't need the money and as an opposition M.P. makes the government react every time he comes up with another exposure of corruption.

He may have been corrupt, but now seems to be on a crusade. Good for him.

the police, government officials and various hi-so's tried to assassinate him

he went to the media to protect himself and spilled the beans to them

now he has a platform from which to take revenge

its payback time!

i hope he lives long enough to enjoy it...........

[ralphlsasser]

He's doing some dangerous things. Good for him to expose corruption. But, why isn't the ones that is responsible to this job exposing them instead? Why does he have to do it on his own? Even though, he probably didn't do the actual recording, but the ones whos job it is certainly did not do it.

[geriatrickid]

I don't like Chuwit, but the man is effective. He is a one man opposition party, whilst the Democrats chase their tails and regurgitate the same old accusations and speeches. If the Democrats did what this man was doing, they'd regain some political ground.

[OzMick]

"He said he and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen shared the same view on the fight against border smuggling."

I don't doubt this statement for a moment - but I have strong suspicion of what that view may be.

[jonclark]

Good luck to the Cambodians, if I had the means, inclination and the resources [rice paddy] I'd do exactly the same thing. I'm sure many a Cambodian farmer or miller will be raising a glass to the generousity of the Thai taxpayer - Cheers.

[jonclark]

I don't like Chuwit, but the man is effective. He is a one man opposition party, whilst the Democrats chase their tails and regurgitate the same old accusations and speeches. If the Democrats did what this man was doing, they'd regain some political ground.

For once i completely agree with you GK

[gl555]

If I could vote, I would have voted for him.

[ParadiseLost]

It's really sad that he doesn't have to scratch the surface very hard to expose blatant daylight robbery going on right under the noses of the authorities.

Gambling, prostitution, drugs, smuggling, all overseen by government and police cronies in elevated positions: sounds very much like the TV show Boardwalk Empire (Atlantic City, USA in the late 1920s), but the Thai version is spoilt by the cast who are cheesy wannabes.

[TheWalkingMan]

These piggies don't miss a beat. If the smell of money is there... feeding time begins.

[ratcatcher]

I don't like Chuwit, but the man is effective. He is a one man opposition party, whilst the Democrats chase their tails and regurgitate the same old accusations and speeches. If the Democrats did what this man was doing, they'd regain some political ground.

For once i completely agree with you GK

Ditto. Not a peep from the Dems regarding anything Chuwit says?

Conflict of interests?

[scorecard]

I don't like Chuwit, but the man is effective. He is a one man opposition party, whilst the Democrats chase their tails and regurgitate the same old accusations and speeches. If the Democrats did what this man was doing, they'd regain some political ground.

For once i completely agree with you GK

There is also the view of 'why didn't the pt and their red champions of democracy and justice do the same thing when they were the opposition'?

[Buchholz]

He's doing some dangerous things. Good for him to expose corruption. But, why isn't the ones that is responsible to this job exposing them instead? Why does he have to do it on his own? Even though, he probably didn't do the actual recording, but the ones whos job it is certainly did not do it.

He's enlisting the entire country to help him with his efforts. It's likely how this issue was developed.

Link to photo of huge billboard translated below

Send Your Complaints to Chuwit

Send your complaints regarding any type of vice, cheating, and corruption to Chuwit at P.O. Box 11, Din Daeng, Bangkok 10470

http://www.chuvitonline.com/

.

Edited October 7, 2011 by Buchholz

[webfact]

Chuvit releases clips of Cambodian rice being smuggled into Thailand

BANGKOK (NNT) – Rak Thailand Party leader Chuvit Kamolvisit has unveiled video clips showing a large amount of rice being sneaked into Thailand from Cambodia ahead of the rice pledging scheme while urging the Government to probe into the matter.

During a parliamentary session, Mr Chuvit presented four different footages as evidence of illegal activities taking place along the Thai-Cambodian border in Khlong Hat, Aranyaprathet and Khok Sung districts of Sa Kaeo province. Two of the clips portrayed the smuggling of rice, packed in fertilizer bags, across the river from the neighboring country into Thailand.

The Rak Thailand Party leader explained that the attempt was aimed to take advantage of the Thai government’s rice mortgage scheme, which would offer farmers up to 15,000 THB for each ton of rice, as opposed to the selling price in Cambodia of only 7,000 THB a ton. He thus called on the Government to investigate the issue, which he said could incur damages worth up to 40 billion THB on the country, and to prevent all kinds of identity fraud in the rice pledging program.

Meanwhile, another clip demonstrated the transportation of empty gas tanks from Cambodia for a refill in Thailand, where gas prices are cheaper due to the Thai government’s subsidization policy.

Illegal labor smuggling was also shown on the last video footage and was claimed by Mr Chuvit to have been conducted through a restricted area within a local army base. Army officials as well as capitalists are suspected to be involved.

-- NNT 2011-10-07

[Soutpeel]

"Army officials as well as capitalists are suspected to be involved"

"Capitalist"..... a rather PC and interesting word to describe people who are involved in human trafficking......

So by this logic we can call the Southern Plantation owners in the US during the past as "capitalist's" as well.....

[webfact]

Three army officers prosecuted for smuggling offences

The Nation

The Army has prosecuted three captains of Burapa Task Force for involvement in smuggling of paddy rice across Thai-Cambodian border, its spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Friday.

The revelation came one day after Rak Prathet Thai MP Chuwit Kamolvisit took the House floor to show four video clips depicting the smuggling of paddy, gas cylinders and workers from Cambodia to take advantage of the Thai government’s subsidies.

Chuwit said the paddy smuggling took place in three border districts: Aranyaprathet, Ta Phraya and Khok Sung. Burapa Task Force is assigned to oversee Thai-Cambodia border.

The spokesman told reporters that the case is now in the court and the three colonels had been investigated. Disciplinary measures being taken against them included salary reductions and secondment out of the area.

In Chuwit's first clip, smugglers were seen using pulleys to lift paddy packaged in fertiliser bags across a small waterway to the Thai side. A group of workers then proceeded to repackage the paddy in gunnysacks.

In the second clip, smugglers carried paddy bags from a 20-wheel trailer parked in a remote area to the Thai side. Chuwit said he detected some 20 to 30 spots for paddy smuggling. The paddy price in Cambodia is around Bt7,000 per ton.

In the third clip, smugglers were seen dumping empty cooking gas cylinders into the waterway to have them floated to the Thai side. Chuwit explained the empty cylinders would be refilled at the subsidised price before being smuggled back into Cambodia.

In the fourth clip, a pick-up truck was seen transporting a number of Cambodian workers through a checkpoint with the banner "Ranger Volunteers 1302". Chuwit said the incident happened on the Sri Phen Road.

He alleged that smugglers used illicit drugs to bribe checkpoint officials. The drugs were concealed in a baby-powder boxes, he said.

-- The Nation 2011-10-07

[Soutpeel]

The spokesman told reporters that the case is now in the court and the three colonels had been investigated. Disciplinary measures being taken against them included salary reductions and secondment out of the area.

Wouldnt jail be more approriate ?, or at the very least dishourable discharge and loose their pensions.......

[Richard4849]

At least he's moved on from casinos. That was getting a little boring.

[Heng]

I foresee some time of Paris tunnel type automobile accident, but instead of paparrazi on motorcycles it'll probably be two 10 wheeled trucks in an 'accidental' head on collision with his car in between.

[ratcatcher]

The spokesman told reporters that the case is now in the court and the three colonels had been investigated. Disciplinary measures being taken against them included salary reductions and secondment out of the area.

Wouldnt jail be more approriate ?, or at the very least dishourable discharge and loose their pensions.......

Unbelievable, but not really when you consider where we are. "Salary reductions and secondment out of the area (relocation to inactive posts)

Court martial and jail time as Soutpel said.

What an absolute travesty. How can you respect this lot? They've just been found committing a crime red handed.

[Arkady]

The report I read had the Deputy Finance Minister saying he was going to check to see if any customs officers were involved in smuggling. LOL.

[plumeria]

How come it took Chuwit to expose this?

Why not the police, army or someone in the government?

Why can Chuwit video them but no-one arrest them?

Because payoffs are being made and obviously Chuwit is not part of the payoff scheme...

I think he's moved on to bigger things, like being the thorn in the governments side.

He doesn't need the money and as an opposition M.P. makes the government react every time he comes up with another exposure of corruption.

He may have been corrupt, but now seems to be on a crusade. Good for him.

Right!

I didn't like Chuwit much in the past but now I have to give him some applause for having the courage to speak the truth.

Glad to see this threat hasn't been LOCKED because it's easier to do that than vigilantly moderate.

Chuwit has made some mistakes in the past but he appears to be trying to make up for that and balance out his karma.

Hope Chuwit has some Grade A Kevlar and changes his route to and from work every day.

He's the hope that things can change in Thailand and it can get better.

[kimamey]

The spokesman told reporters that the case is now in the court and the three colonels had been investigated. Disciplinary measures being taken against them included salary reductions and secondment out of the area.

Wouldnt jail be more approriate ?, or at the very least dishourable discharge and loose their pensions.......

Agreed but I doubt it will happen.