Thailand Live Thursday 20 Sep 2012

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Thailand Live Thursday 20 September 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 Wednesday 19 Sep 2012

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BANGKOK FLOODS

PM pressures BMA for answers

JEERAPONG PRASERTPONKRANG,

JUTARAT THIPNUMPA

THE NATION

A birds-eye view of flooded rice fields in Ayutthaya yesterday. By Nation/Uthorn Sriphantha

Effectiveness of giant drainage tunnels questioned

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday turned up the heat on the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) over its failure to prevent the capital from downpour-induced flooding.

Full story:

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US envoy dismisses security concerns

The Nation

Chiang Mai

CHIANG MAI: -- US Ambassador Kristie Kenney said yesterday that she was not worried by Thai Muslims' protest against a controversial US film.

Full story:

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RICE

Govt stands by rice scheme despite doubts

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed in principle a second round of the government's rice price-pledging scheme for the upcoming harvest season that would require as much as Bt450 billion.

Full story:

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POLICE CHIEF'S ANTI-DEM RALLY

House committee asked to probe

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Democrat MP Satit Pitutecha yesterday submitted a letter to Somchai Losathaphonphiphit, chairman of the House committee on police affairs, requesting investigation into Metropolitan Police chief Pol Lt General Kamronwit Thoopkrajang for mobilising a police rally outside the Democrat Party's headquarters on Tuesday.

Full story:

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Update:

TRCT REPORT

UN rights chief urges govt to act

The Nation

Geneva

GENEVA: -- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday welcomed the release of the final report of a commission on the 2010 political violence as a positive step to advance accountability and reconciliation among different segments of Thai society.

Full story:

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Worawi aims kick at corruption claims

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Embattled Football Association of Thailand (FAT) president Worawi Makudi has responded to a flurry of allegations made against him by insisting he has not received due credit for the things he has done for Thai football.

Last week Worawi appeared before a parliamentary committee investigating allegations that the FAT set up a Thai Premier League company as a profitmaking arm. Under Thai law, sport associations are barred from making profits. If the FAT is found guilty, the association will be disbanded.

This is the latest of a series of allegations levelled against Worawi in his second term as the head of the organisation. After his plight became a hotlydebated issue among the public and online community, the FAT boss decided to call a press conference yesterday to try to clear his name.

Last year Worawi was accused of misusing money from football development grants by using it for projects on land he owns. But Fifa was eventually cleared him of any wrongdoing. Then, fresh doubts over the ownership of the plot prompted the Thai FA president to present the title deeds to the media in a bid to clear his name.

"There's an allegation that the land was mortgaged with a bank. That's why I want to show you the title deeds. If it had been mortgaged, I would not have been able to present the deeds to you today. I also want to make clear again that I have already donated the plot to the FAT. I don't know why certain people are flinging allegations at me," said Worawi.

Worawi also insisted that the FAT had done nothing wrong in setting up the Thai Premier League company.

"It damages us to suggest that the FAT could be disbanded, because we didn't do anything illegal. There are clear rules that regulate the income of the association. We need to seek income because we have 15 to 16 teams to take care of. We need money for development. I think there's nothing wrong with this. So, what's the point of make so much out of it," said Worawi, who also sits on Fifa's executive committee.

-- The Nation 2012-09-20

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Fugitive Dale Cregan Kills Two Unarmed Police Officers In Northwest England

Full story:

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TRCT REPORT

Chalerm, reds stand against TRCT report

The Nation

Thida

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung and prominent red-shirt leaders yesterday loudly opposed the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand's final report on the 2010 crackdown.

Full story:

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Update:

Sondhi loses libel appeal, but jail term reduced

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- People's Alliance for Democracy leader Sondhi Limthongkul yesterday had his guilty verdict for libel confirmed in an appellate review - although his jail term was cut by half to three months.

Full story:

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Defence minister's candidate to become new permanent secretary

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The candidate favoured by the defence minister has been appointed the new permanent secretary for defence in a royal command issued on Wednesday, on the sixth anniversary of the 2006 coup.

Assistant Army commander General Thanongsak Apirakyothin will become the new defence permanent secretary, in the royal command on the reshuffle of senior military officers, which was countersigned by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Thanongsak was favoured by Defence Minister ACM Sukampol Suwannathat in the recent conflict over the Defence Ministry's top seat of permanent officials. The outgoing permanent secretary, General Sathien Permthong-in, favoured General Chatree Thatti, who is his deputy.

In the latest military reshuffle, Chatree has been appointed an inspector-general, which is considered an inactive post. Sathien and Chatree had earlier filed a case with the Administrative Court against the defence minister for "unfair practice", following his lightning order to sideline them.

General Pinpart Sariwat, chief of the Secretariat Department who was also involved in the conflict, will become a special adviser attached to the Defence Ministry Permanent Secretary's Office.

The reshuffle of 811 high-ranking armed forces officers takes effect from October 1, at the start of the new fiscal year.

Many of those being promoted in the reshuffle are graduates of Classes 12 and 13 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School.

Among the key appointments are:

- Assistant Air Force commander ACM Prajin Jantong, who will become the new Air Force commander-in-chief,

- General Phadetkarn Chansawek, commander of the National Defence Institute, who will become the armed forces' chief-of-staff,

- General Worapong Sa-nganet, the armed forces' chief-of-staff who will become deputy supreme commander,

- Lt-General Udomdet Seetabut, the First Army commander who will become the Army chief-of-staff,

- Navy specialist Admiral Narong Pipattanasai, who will become deputy chief of the Navy, and

- ACM Permkiat Lawanaman, the Air Force chief-of-staff who will become deputy Air Force chief.

Among the high-ranking military personnel promoted to the rank of a general are 18 women officers.

-- The Nation 2012-09-20

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Protesters rally for release of lese majeste prisoners

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Twenty opponents of the lese majeste law held a 112-minute vigil outside the Criminal Court yesterday to condemn the postponement of lese majeste detainee Somyos Prueksakasemsuk's sentencing. The verdict has been postponed to December 19.

The protesters wore black eye masks reading "release political prisoners", while one placard read "justice delayed is justice denied".

Somyos has been detained for 17 months now and his bail request denied 11 times.

Inside the court yesterday, another lese majeste and Computer Crimes Act detainee, 41-year-old Surapak Phuchaisaeng, became the first such prisoner to be prosecuted and tried under the Yingluck Shinawatra administration.

Surapak, whose trial was in its second day yesterday, is accused of being behind a Facebook page with a name that is deemed defamatory to the King. "I shall rule through…" is part of the title of the account, which cannot be revealed in its entirety by The Nation for fear of violating the lese majeste law.

Surapak, who was arrested on September 2 last year, told The Nation that it is "disgusting" that he has to wear shackles and prisoners' garb even though no concrete evidence has been produced linking him to the Facebook page, which is still active even though he is in prison. His bail request has been denied about half a dozen times now.

"Think about it. This is Thailand! The justice process never protects the people, only the elite," Surapak said as prosecution witness Pol Major Niti Inthurak, an officer at the Computer Crimes unit, told the court that it was not the police force's job to trace the suspect's IP address.

Surapak, who hails from Nong Khai province and is a computer programmer, said he had lost lots of job opportunities while in prison, adding that prosecutors would never be able to prove that he was linked to the Facebook account.

He is scheduled to testify in court tomorrow.

-- The Nation 2012-09-20

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E-Sarn University permit revoked

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Education Minister Suchart Tadathamrongvej has revoked the permit for E-sarn University over the selling of diplomas.

The private university in Khon Kaen will close on October 31. However, rector Assadang Sawaengnam plans to file a lawsuit with the Administrative Court, seeking a temporary injunction.

Kamjorn Tatiyakavi, deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Higher Education Commission, said the university would be held responsible for seeing that its students are transferred to other universities. E-Sarn University has enrolment of 8,565, with about 2,000 undergraduate students.

-- The Nation 2012-09-20

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Govt pins hopes on machines, barriers to beat the floods

CHULARAT SAENGPASSA

PONGPHON SARNSAMAK

The Nation

Water-flow push machines and flood barriers will play a key role in the government's flood-prevention plan this year.

BANGKOK: -- After spending a massive amount of money on these items, the government is now fully confident the country, especially the economic zones, will be safe from serious inundation. Yet several water experts and civic groups in the northern region have their doubts.

Full story:

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GPO to sell impotence pill

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- An anti-impotence drug manufactured by the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation will go on sale at nine GPO shops in Bangkok from October 1 at a price of Bt25 per 50-milligram tablet.

Full story:

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Firms to map Bangkok quake

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has hired Panya Consultants and Phisut Technology to map out the earthquake-risk zones of the city, Deputy Governor Wallop Suwandee announced yesterday.

Although Bangkok isn't on a fault line, soft soil makes the high-rise structures vulnerable to faraway quakes, Wallop said, citing a recent Myanmar quake that caused high-rises in the Silom and Asoke areas to sway.

The study is to be completed by next August and could make way for new regulations for quake-proof construction.

-- The Nation 2012-09-20

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More sought psychiatric care

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Three million patients sought psychiatric care in 2010, with the case numbers on the rise, especially for depression, Deputy Public Health Minister Surawit Khonsomboon said yesterday.

By 2016, the government's mental-health promotion plan aims for 70 per cent of Thais to have good mental health, Surawit said. The plan also calls for 70 per cent of Thai children to have up-to-standard emotional and intelligence-quotient levels, a lowering of the suicide rate to under 6.5 per 100,000 people, and 80 per cent of psychiatric patients to be treated.

Surawit also announced the donation of 47 rai (7.5 hectares) of land from Boon Chartpanich in Phitsanulok's Wang Thong district. Plans are to build the 200-bed Phitsanulok Psychiatric Hospital at a cost of Bt360 million. Construction will begin in 2014.

-- The Nation 2012-09-20

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Drug seizures up in 2011

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Office of the Narcotics Control Board last year netted 73 million yaba pills and seized drug suspects' assets worth Bt1.6 billion, the board's secretary-general Pol General Adul Saengsingkaew announced yesterday.

Yaba seizures rose from 45 million pills in 2010, while last year's crystal-meth haul was 1,446 kilograms compared with 1,058kg the year before. Assets seizures rose from 1,984 cases worth Bt1.019 billion in 2010 to 4,686 cases worth Bt1.654 billion in 2011.

-- The Nation 2012-09-20

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THAI TALK

Is a missed target still a target, politically speaking?

Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom admits this year's export growth won't hit the original goal of 15 per cent. But he insists his ministry won't revise the figure. The reason: "We could become the target of political attacks," he said.

Full story:

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Tourism, ICT ministries team up on free Wi-Fi

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Information and Communications Technology Ministry has joined with the Tourism and Sports Ministry to develop free Wi-Fi service in 1,615 tourist destinations nationwide this year as part of the ICT Free Wi-Fi for Tourism project.

The ICT Ministry assigned TOT and CAT Telecom to install the service in 253 spots in Bangkok, 446 in the Central region, 201 in the East, 323 in the South, 67 in the Northeast, and 325 in the North.

The move is aimed at supporting the tourism industry, which is expected to generate revenue of Bt2 trillion in| 2015.

It is also part of the ICT Ministry's existing free-Wi-Fi project to serve the government's policy of ensuring equal access to telecom service nationwide.

-- The Nation 2012-09-20

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RT @RichardBarrow: Today is National Youth Day in Thailand (วันเยาวชนแห่งชาติ). Commemorates the birth dates of Kings Rama V & Rama VIII

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Sa Kaeo still deeply flooded, water flowing into Prachin Buri River, inundating Kabin Buri district of Prachin Buri /MCOT

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Eleven provinces declared 'flood-disaster' zones to date

BANGKOK, 19 September 2012 (NNT) – A total of 11 provinces across the country have been declared flood-disaster zones.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Director-General Wiboon Sanguanpong said on Tuesday that, to date, the 11 provinces declared as flood-disaster zones include Lampang, Uttaradit, Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, Chainat, Suphan Buri, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya, Chaiyaphum and Prachinburi.

Mr. Wiboon said that, currently, 142,537 members of 57,729 households in 43 districts have fallen victim to the latest flood.

At the same time, 40 districts in 4 provinces including Buriram, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Surat Thani, remain drought-disaster zones where 307,140 households have been affected by the shortage of rain.

Mr. Wiboon added that the total amount of water stored at major reservoirs across the country now stands at 47.31 billion cubic meters, or 67 percent of the total capacity, which are around 11.89 billion cubic meters less than the records of last year.

-- NNT 2012-09-20

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RT @RichardBarrow: 20 September: Thailand Flood Map - No areas marked in red which is good news http://thai.vi/OGLMMn

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Thai stock index opens on Thursday at 1,282.16, down 3.30 points /MCOT

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Phuket Airport officials unveil how they caught their woman

Phuket Gazette

Col Wannee Songchaisanguan (left) with Capt Suppachai Punkaew (right) question Ms Dujdao, also known as Ms Natthakarn. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: -- Following the arrest of a woman wanted by authorities in Bangkok for human trafficking charges, Phuket Airport Immigration officers revealed how they caught the suspect before she could fly out of the country.

Full story:

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RT @tulsathit: Thaksin's son Panthongtae has condemned coup & "double standard" and in the process drawn furious attacks on his FB page.

RT @tulsathit: Sorry for my mistake. Attacks on Panthongtae were on another FB page that posted details of his comment.

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Thailand’s auto production grew 37.31% in August

BANGKOK, 20 September 2012 (NNT) – Official data from automakers showed that Thai auto production expanded while the domestic auto sales growth shrank in August.

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI)’s auto industry club spokesperson Surapong Paisitpattanapong revealed on Wednesday that domestic car sales in August totaled 129,509 units, up 63.9 percent on-year but down 1.62 percent from July.

Mr. Surapong said that the year-on-year increase was a result of the rise in domestic demand which was larger than that from overseas, coupled with the automakers’ need to deliver their products to consumers, who made the purchase under the state-initiated “First Car” project.

In terms of production, a total of 210,333 vehicles came out of the assembly line in August, up 37.31 percent from the same time of last year but down 1.13 percent from the preceding month.

During the months of January and August 2012, Thailand has produced 1,477,888 vehicles, which are 33.02 percent higher than the same period of 2011, according to the FTI’s auto industry club.

Mr. Surapong expressed confidence that the 2012 auto production will exceed the 2-million mark, while suggesting that, if nothing goes wrong, the country’s annual production will stand at around 3 million, which can pave way for Thailand to become one of the world’s largest auto-producing nations.

-- NNT 2012-09-20

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RT @tulsathit: Police to probe a case in which a woman became a "sleeping beauty" after collagen injection by an illegal cosmetic doctor.- @Rawangpai