Thailand Live Tuesday 3 Jul 2012

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Thailand Live Tuesday 3 July 2012

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 2 Jul 2012

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POLITICS

Poor vote record by PM in May

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is one of the MPs who voted in less than 10 per cent of matters in parliamentary meetings in May, according to the Thailand Political Database website.

Full story:

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TRAFFIC

HM the King calls for new rules on motorcades

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Under a new set of guidelines based on a personal request by His Majesty the King, closures of Bangkok streets and inter-province roads for royal motorcades will be brief and imposed only in relevant areas, a senior police officer said yesterday.

Traffic will be allowed on converse [opposing] direction roads without islands, and closures will be imposed only when the royal motorcades are near, said Pol Maj General Anant Srihiran. Pedestrian flyovers will still be closed temporarily on roads at the time royal motorcades are passing, except when there are requests from individual motorcades, he added.

His Majesty the King has publicly remarked, particularly in a 2001 statement, that he was concerned about traffic congestion in Bangkok, especially during royal motorcades.

According to Anant, junior policemen at Bangkok-based police precincts had often been over-anxious about following the new guidelines and ordered blanket closures in long periods during royal travels in the city.

A key condition in the new guidelines focuses on allowing traffic on the converse [or opposite] direction on roads without islands. The new guidelines will be followed up by monthly evaluations from all relevant agencies, including the police’s own Office of Royal Court Security Police and the military’s Royal Aide-De-Camp Department.

A total of 25,000 booklets of the guidelines have been published for distribution to police stations starting from mid- to late-July, telling area traffic policemen what to do. Pictorial explanations show how closures should be imposed on different types of roads or at specific areas, including various types intersections, that would minimally affect local traffic during royal motorcades, he said.

-- The Nation 2012-07-03

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THAI-CHINESE TIES

Nasa project to be raised with Beijing: Surapong

The Nation

Surapong

BANGKOK: -- Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul said yesterday he would brief his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi on the Nasa weather-research project proposed in conjunction with U-tapao airbase when they meet on Thursday.

Full story:

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ANALYSIS

Sweet words from the Army's wary men in the middle

Avudh Panananda

The Nation

Gen Prayuth

BANGKOK: -- Military leaders appear to be on the horns of a dilemma over whether they should stay out of politics, while standing at the centre of the political landscape with opposing camps vying for their support.

Full story:

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MEKONG MASSACRE

Thai criminal linked to killing of Chinese crews on Mekong

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A much-wanted Thai criminal was involved in the robbery of two Chinese ships and slaying of 13 crew members on the Mekong River last October, a senior police officer has alleged.

Nine members of the Thai military have been implicated in the killings, along with Naw Kham, the leader of a notorious Burmese drug gang, extradited from Laos to Beijing two months ago.

The Thai suspect is Olarn Somphongphan, who has also been sought for his alleged role in the fatal shooting of a high-profile politician a few years ago, deputy national police chief Pol General Pansiri Praphawat said yesterday.

Olarn coordinated the ship attack and had history of taking part in drug deals, Pansiri said.

Olarn was allegedly part of a gun-for-hire racket which killed former deputy interior minister Santi Chaiwirattana a few years ago, he said. Olarn had been in hiding in Myanmar, protected by an armed Wa force, after he was acquitted of assassinating Santi.

In regard to the ship robbery and killings, which led to China implementing armed patrols on the Mekong, Pansiri said police had interviewed 109 witnesses and acquired arrest warrants for the nine military suspects.

-- The Nation 2012-07-03

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PUBLIC HEALTH

Rural doctors plead for funds

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A group of 200 physician-members of the Rural Doctor Society and Patient Network yesterday gathered at the Public Health Ministry to demand it release more than Bt3 billion to purchase life-saving medical equipment.

Full story:

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SKY TRAIN

DSI to probe BTS extension amid doubts, legal threats

Piyanuch Thamnukasetchai

Thanatpong Krongsai

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Department of Special Investigation yesterday designated a questionable extension of the BTS Skytrain concession as "a special case with indefinite timeframe over jurisdictional authority".

Full story:

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Phuket Police chief calls for integrated, island-wide CCTV

Phuket Gazette

Maj Gen Chonasit did not elaborate on whether his plan to connect all CCTV in Phuket to a single server included use of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization CCTV control room in Rassada (pictured). Photo: Phuket OrBorJor

Full story:

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Thailand plans atmospheric studies, without Nasa

Jutharat Thipnampa

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Surassawadee said yesterday he would seek Bt200 million from Cabinet to fund studies of the atmosphere to improve weather forecasting and water management.

Full story:

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93-year-old American woman drowns in Bangkok condominium's pool

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A 93-year-old American woman drowned in a swimming pool in what appeared to be a suicide, police said.

The woman was identified as Irene M Kenwood, who had to use a wheelchair.

She was found drowned in the swimming pool of Setthiwan Residence Condo on Soi Sukhumvit 13 at 3:45 pm Sunday.

A security camera's feed showed that the woman pushed her wheelchair in front of her room for a few rounds before speeding toward the swimming pool and plunging down the water.

She was staying on the third floor of the condominium.

Wanpha Jinda, 23, said she has been taking care of the woman and she took a break to have lunch and came back to find that she has drowned.

-- The Nation 2012-07-03

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Slow justice for families of expressway crash victims

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- An initial meeting to discuss remedial measures for families of nine people killed on the Don Muang expressway in late 2010 was held at the Juvenile and Family Court yesterday - 18 months after the notorious crash.

A second meeting is due to be held on Friday.

Public prosecutor Yuwadee Yiangyooksakol said the meeting separated the victims' families from representatives of the 18-year-old defendant. Talks were held in small groups for each family. There were likely to be two to three sessions this month, before the court summons the defendant to conclude remedial measures for the victims.

Thongpoon Panthong, mother of deceased van driver, said the family was asked about what they wanted for remedial measures, as the court tried to heal their loss and minimise impacts. She said she felt disappointed that the case hadn't been dealt with yet and wanted the trial to begin soon to determine who was at fault.

The teenage girl was accused of driving at high speed and talking on a cell-phone when her Honda Civic hit the back of the van, causing the accident that killed nine people.

-- The Nation 2012-07-03

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Smoke-bound South gets 60,000 facemasks

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri yesterday said 60,000 facemasks had been sent to Satun, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat to help protect vulnerable people from smoke inhalation following forest fires on Indonesia's Sumatra Island that have shrouded the five southern provinces in smoke.

Full story:

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Money van shot up in Chiang Dao forest

Ekkapong Praditpong

The Nation

CHIANG MAI: -- A group of robbers yesterday opened fire at a Krung Thai Bank van with an automatic rifle in an isolated and wooded area in Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district, to try to steal Bt50 million it was carrying, but the driver sped away and alerted police.

Full story:

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Hospital boss faces drugs charge

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Department of Special Investigation will charge the director of Siriwej Lamphun Hospital with ordering 1.6 million pseudoephedrine pills in the name of the hospital allegedly for resale to an illicit drug-making operation.

Tharit Pengdit, director-general of the DSI, said Assoc Professor Chote Nisung procured the controlled medicine 37 times from Asian Pharmaceutical but the cold pills had never been used for treating patients at his hospital.

The DSI believes Chote diverted the substance, which is a main precursor of methamphetamine, to elements of a yaba supply chain.

-- The Nation 2012-07-03

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BURNING ISSUE

Battle over Charter set for court

Avudh Panananda

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Constitution Court's inquiry into charter change is expected to dominate this week's headlines, although the verdict, scheduled for later this month, will unlikely yield a world-shaking decision.

Full story:

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SPECIAL REPORT

Parties now at core of ideological battle

Kornchanok Raksaseri,

Pravit Rojanaphruk,

Somroutai Sapsomboon

The Nation

Pheu Thai leader Yongyuth Wichaidit, far left, and party secretary-general Sunee Luangwichit join Democrat Korn Chatikavanij, second right, at Nation Multimedia Group

Demonising opponents has replaced political debate; protests seen growing shorter, more violent

Full story:

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Call to air charter testimony

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- An MP from the ruling Pheu Thai Party yesterday called for live broadcasts of Constitution Court witness hearings in a case in which the Cabinet, two coalition parties and certain government politicians are accused of attempting to overthrow the country's democratic political system by proposing a constitutional amendment to allow the writing of a new charter.

Speaking at a press conference at the Parliament building, Vicharn Meenchainan, a Pheu Thai MP for Bangkok, asked the court to have its witness hearings, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, broadcast live on television.

"This case is of great interested to the people," Vicharn said.

He dismissed an allegation by amendment opponents that writing a new charter would allow the creation of a new political system and the dissolution of independent agencies that are part of the current Constitution's checks-and-balances system.

It is very rare for a Thai court to have its hearings broadcast on national TV, although closed-circuit TV broadcasts of verdict readings within a court's compound are not uncommon.

The Pheu Thai and Chart Thai Pattana parties, the two largest coalition partners, are among the defendants in the case, brought separately by five groups, including political activists and opposition politicians.

The Constitution Court will not hand down a verdict in the case this week, its the court's chief spokesman Pimon Thammapitakpong said yesterday.

Yesterday was the last day the court accepted submissions of additional documents from the two sides, and of written testimony from witnesses. However, the spokesman said, it was likely the court would extend the deadline for witnesses who failed to complete their necessary paperwork by yesterday.

The spokesman yesterday confirmed that Anand Panyarachun, chairman of the drafting committee of the 1997 constitution, was withdrawn as a witness by one of the petitioners, Senator Somjet Boonthanom. Pimon added, however, that the court has the authority to summon the former premier to act as a witness.

Most of the 15 others listed as witnesses by complainants were members of the drafting assemblies for the last two constitutions - 1997 and the current charter. Opposition and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva is also on the list.

The defendants have named four witnesses including Pheu Thai leader Yongyuth Wichaidit, Pheu Thai secretary-general Jarupong Ruangsuwan, former constitution drafting assembly member Bokin Palakula, and House of Representatives secretary-general Pitoon Pumhirun, according to the court's spokesman.

Yongyuth, who is also deputy premier and interior minister, yesterday insisted that the government-sponsored charter-amendment bills were not aimed at changing the country's democratic regime with the King as head of state. He said it was unlikely for the entire Constitution to be changed by a drafting assembly to be formed after the amendment is completed.

Democrat Party lawyer Rames Ratanachaweng yesterday submitted to the court Abhisit's 17-page testimony as a witness for one of the complainants, Democrat MP Wirut Kalayasiri. Additional documents were also submitted to support Wirut's case.

Rames said written testimonies were submitted yesterday for Wirut's other witnesses, who include former constitution drafters Chirmsak Pinthong and Watchara Hongprapat.

Regarding a planned protest by the red shirts at the Constitution Court on Thursday and Friday, the Democrat lawyer yesterday called on the prime minister to ensure that the law is applied to everyone fairly, including the government's supporters. He called on all the parties involved to respect any verdict by the court.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is a member of Pheu Thai but holds no executive post in the party, yesterday called on the Constitution Court to "make the judgement fairly and base their decision on facts".

When asked to comment on moves by the government's red-shirt supporters to pressure the court, Yingluck said they have the right to hold public rallies under the law.

-- The Nation 2012-07-03

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Inter-provincial bus heading to Surat Thani's Ko Pha Ngan,hits electrical pole in Surat Thani, overturns; six dead, including foreign tourists; many injured /MCOT

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RT @191Thailand: Thai Rath reporting that out of 10 dead in bus crash, 2 were foreign tourists. Bus was on the BKK-Koh Phang Nga route.

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RT @191Thailand: Night bus crashed into an electricity pole in Surat Thani at about 5:30am this morning. 10 dead & 10 seriously injured.

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RT @191Thailand: At 5:25am a BKK-Pha Ngan bus crashed in Surat Thani killing 10, including 2 foreigners. 17 injured, 10 of them seriously

RT @191Thailand: The BKK-Koh Pha Ngan tour bus left Bangkok at 7:30pm last night. There were 24 passengers & 3 bus staff.

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RT @ReutersIndia: FLASH: Earthquake shakes buildings in Tokyo - witnesses

RT @BreakingNews: Magnitude 5.4 quake centered just outside Tokyo Bay at depth of 100km. No tsunami - @HirokoTabuchi

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Post Today reporting that 6 of the dead are foreign tourists (1 male & 5 female). The rest are Thai including the driver

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RT @191Thailand: Latest news on 10 dead in bus crash: 5 foreign tourists (1 male & 4 female), 4 Thai tourists (4 male) & the driver.

RT @191Thailand: Spring News reporting that it was a bus owned by The Transport Co., Ltd. Police think the drive fell asleep at the wheel

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Thai stock index opens on Tuesday at 1,194.41, up 5.67 points /MCOT

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RT @191Thailand: An American & a Thai woman jumped to their deaths this morning from the 6th floor of the Sky Hotel in Bangkok (Khao Sod)

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Armored personnel carrier hit by bomb in Yala's Lam Mai sub-district, wounding 5 soldiers, 3 seriously /MCOT

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Phuket Town 'Blue Flag Fair' to start Thursday

Phuket Gazette

A vendor is all smiles at the Blue Flag Fair in Phuket Town in March. The event was so successful the Department of Internal Trade is holding another one, this time at Saphan Hin. Photo: Gazette file

A sign promoting the DIT Blue Flag Fair at Saphan Hin Park in Phuket Town starting on Thursday.

PHUKET: -- The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) office in Phuket Town will hold a “Blue Flag Fair” with cheap food and consumer goods at Saphan Hin on July 5-7.

Full story: