Huge haul of wooden planks was found in a kamnan's house in Phetchabun province

[stickylies]

Another Thai military petty bust.

it used to be their business all the rampant illegal logging.

the old "don't touch what was once ours"...

[Pimay1]

Decent sized house he is building. What does he do for a crust?

Kamnan. Local boy makes good.

They do seem to get by don't they...

Yes they do. A few months ago the road in front of this house was paved. The new local boy who was a dirt poor farmer before the last election was bragging to everyone of his accomplishment. I found out the road was supposed to be six meters wide but it is only five meters. One month after the road paving the local boy bought a new motorbike and remodeled his old house including three new rooms, a new roof and a concrete drive way. Of course I’m sure it had nothing to do with the road paving contract.

[bangrak]

Another Thai military petty bust (against a politically correct target of course).

Another petty snark at Thaksin -- if you do not love Suthep and the Junta you must love the man in Dubai.

Yawn. Maybe the cheerleaders should go downtown and cheer, oops, sorry that's illegal now....

You're a 'pin', not a 'Smartie', are you? Very well chosen avatar then, including the, erm, special 'green' colour, a lot less conspicuous than red nowadays, isn't it? I know something I would like to become 'illegal', in fact it could already be, and it would take all the organised red rif-raf abusing the forums away, and make it impossible for unauthorized people to quote, comment, publish a single word or picture from or about Thaksin or anyone from his whole clan (but the NCPO is using velvet gloves at the time). Would you agree with that?

[Baerboxer]

Another Thai military petty bust.

Still beats the zero busts by the previous regime.

[wandasloan]

The big boys are always going to be harder to pin down. But this action, as long as it is maintained, is serving a warning that they can expect to be targeted, and hopefully it might panic some of them into making a mistake.

Oh for heaven's sake, these arrests take place on a regular basis. Even the Democrats, who get good money from most of these guys, arrest a few every month. The reason you KNOW about this major, big-deal arrest of a dangerous woodcutter is because it's one of the subjects that is allowed to be reported. Two months ago, two years ago, two decades ago, this story was Page 47. Now it's front page because what else can you fill up your newscast with? Actual news? Not more than once.

Another Thai military petty bust.

Still beats the zero busts by the previous regime.

Wrong twice. It doesn't beat the most recent arrest by the previous regime, and the previous regime made many, many arrests. It was in the newspapers and everything. Go ahead, google Kampanart “Sia Tang” Chaiyamart.

Then look at this:

... So far this year, 1,930 illegal rosewood loggers have been arrested and 92,957 rosewood logs have been seized.

http://goo.gl/tkuZsE

244 of these arrests were in June. And 1,686 of those arrests were NOT in June. In fact 1,606 of those arrests including Sia Tang were indisputably by the previous regime.

After that, do what you think is the right thing about the propaganda you were trying to foist on people.

.

Edited July 3, 2014 by wandasloan

[Baerboxer]

The big boys are always going to be harder to pin down. But this action, as long as it is maintained, is serving a warning that they can expect to be targeted, and hopefully it might panic some of them into making a mistake.

Oh for heaven's sake, these arrests take place on a regular basis. Even the Democrats, who get good money from most of these guys, arrest a few every month. The reason you KNOW about this major, big-deal arrest of a dangerous woodcutter is because it's one of the subjects that is allowed to be reported. Two months ago, two years ago, two decades ago, this story was Page 47. Now it's front page because what else can you fill up your newscast with? Actual news? Not more than once.

Another Thai military petty bust.

Still beats the zero busts by the previous regime.

Wrong twice. It doesn't beat the most recent arrest by the previous regime, and the previous regime made many, many arrests. It was in the newspapers and everything. Go ahead, google Kampanart “Sia Tang” Chaiyamart.

Then look at this:

... So far this year, 1,930 illegal rosewood loggers have been arrested and 92,957 rosewood logs have been seized.

http://goo.gl/tkuZsE

244 of these arrests were in June. And 1,686 of those arrests were NOT in June. In fact 1,606 of those arrests including Sia Tang were indisputably by the previous regime.

After that, do what you think is the right thing about the propaganda you were trying to foist on people.

.

So you believe all the arrests to be politically motivated?

And whose watch did the Karen activist disappear on?

Crime and corruption knows few boundaries. And being democratically elected doesn't make your crime legal.

Now as you love to Google, how many of those arrests have translated into successful prosecutions so far?

Edited July 3, 2014 by Baerboxer

[ClutchClark]

Wood is a basic constrution material since mankind walked on the world , Thailand has a shortage of it .

So reduce the absurd high import tax on wood , enough wood available in Europe and Russia .

Aslong as there is a shortage in Thailand they will log illegally .

Because you can not get the price point for imported lumber so low that it beats locally milled timber.

Not to mention the superior quality of the local hardwoods compared to what you would import.

Edited July 3, 2014 by ClutchClark

[metisdead]

Inflammatory posts have been removed.

[jaidam]

The big boys are always going to be harder to pin down. But this action, as long as it is maintained, is serving a warning that they can expect to be targeted, and hopefully it might panic some of them into making a mistake.

Oh for heaven's sake, these arrests take place on a regular basis. Even the Democrats, who get good money from most of these guys, arrest a few every month. The reason you KNOW about this major, big-deal arrest of a dangerous woodcutter is because it's one of the subjects that is allowed to be reported. Two months ago, two years ago, two decades ago, this story was Page 47. Now it's front page because what else can you fill up your newscast with? Actual news? Not more than once.

Another Thai military petty bust.

Still beats the zero busts by the previous regime.

Wrong twice. It doesn't beat the most recent arrest by the previous regime, and the previous regime made many, many arrests. It was in the newspapers and everything. Go ahead, google Kampanart “Sia Tang” Chaiyamart.

Then look at this:

... So far this year, 1,930 illegal rosewood loggers have been arrested and 92,957 rosewood logs have been seized.

http://goo.gl/tkuZsE

244 of these arrests were in June. And 1,686 of those arrests were NOT in June. In fact 1,606 of those arrests including Sia Tang were indisputably by the previous regime.

After that, do what you think is the right thing about the propaganda you were trying to foist on people.

.

You assert that the clan, while stockpiling their own teak mountain up in the Wongsawat's Chiang Mai compound, were actively targetting other wood poachers. There is a word for that, beginning with an "H".

[djjamie]

Another Thai military petty bust.

Small maybe, things are happening all over Thailand we are witnessing the beginning of something big. Big changes in Phuket at the moment, the task of sorting crime and corruption in Thailand is enormous. The coup leaders and their forces will be methodical and relentless. Enjoy the show.

There were so many small weapons caches that were confiscated in the past 40 days it added up to over 3000 weapons which is 10% of all weapons confiscated in Thailand in 14 years!

Small is better than none. Small + small + small = A lot.

With that mind set one could say "He only killed one person. That is a small amount compared to the guy that killed 20 people"

What this man did in the OP is a crime. Small or big.

So the poster above is essentially saying "Damn military arresting criminals again"

[wandasloan]

So you believe all the arrests to be politically motivated?

And whose watch did the Karen activist disappear on?

Crime and corruption knows few boundaries. And being democratically elected doesn't make your crime legal.

Now as you love to Google, how many of those arrests have translated into successful prosecutions so far?

So you refuse to discuss your fictive statement. Nevertheless, it is 100% false, in both aspects of number and significance.

So, since you refuse to address the issue, like all readers, I shall have to draw my own assumptions about why you wrote that doubly false statement, what ulterior motives you might have had and have now, what made you attempt to pass it off, why you utterly refuse to amend or strike it, And so on. People make errors, people lie, people get paid to propagandise, etc, etc. And since you won't tell them, every single one of your readers in his/her isolation will now have to guess at your motivation. Some of the readers could possibly give you the benefit of the doubt, who knows?

You assert that the clan, while stockpiling their own teak mountain up in the Wongsawat's Chiang Mai compound, were actively targetting other wood poachers. There is a word for that, beginning with an "H".

The only thing I assert, sir, is that Khun Baerboxer's statement is a bald-faced, easily proved falsity. I believe you are making an assertion here, but it has nothing to do with whether the post in question is completely, utterly false, which it is.

Do you then claim that Khun Baerboxer's provably untrue claims ARE true? Or, like him, are you simply unwilling to discuss a specific, short and easily understood post?

This post, right here, short and to the point and easily understandable....

Still beats the zero busts by the previous regime.

... is totally wrong, in both the aspects it claims. That is the unique, only, sole, one assertion I make.

.

Edited July 3, 2014 by wandasloan

[BSJ]

Decent sized house he is building. What does he do for a crust?

The only thing I couldn't really understand is where the 3700 planks will go in a concrete house. Even wood floors wouldn't take all that. Surely quality timber (as is implied by the story) would be used to build a traditional Thai-style wooden house?

Reinforcement! The bl00dy thing is as big as a palace and will need all the reinforcement it can get!

And, isn't the position of kamnan an honorary position? Must be racking in the dough by some other means.

[JRSoul]

Another Thai military petty bust.

Small, but hard to swallow, for some.

[djjamie]

The big boys are always going to be harder to pin down. But this action, as long as it is maintained, is serving a warning that they can expect to be targeted, and hopefully it might panic some of them into making a mistake.

Oh for heaven's sake, these arrests take place on a regular basis. Even the Democrats, who get good money from most of these guys, arrest a few every month. The reason you KNOW about this major, big-deal arrest of a dangerous woodcutter is because it's one of the subjects that is allowed to be reported. Two months ago, two years ago, two decades ago, this story was Page 47. Now it's front page because what else can you fill up your newscast with? Actual news? Not more than once.

Another Thai military petty bust.

Still beats the zero busts by the previous regime.

Wrong twice. It doesn't beat the most recent arrest by the previous regime, and the previous regime made many, many arrests. It was in the newspapers and everything. Go ahead, google Kampanart “Sia Tang” Chaiyamart.

Then look at this:

... So far this year, 1,930 illegal rosewood loggers have been arrested and 92,957 rosewood logs have been seized.

http://goo.gl/tkuZsE

244 of these arrests were in June. And 1,686 of those arrests were NOT in June. In fact 1,606 of those arrests including Sia Tang were indisputably by the previous regime.

After that, do what you think is the right thing about the propaganda you were trying to foist on people.

.

That is a lot of arrests in 6 months and well done on the Junta and the PTP.

Nipon Chotibal, who is the acting director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said that arrests will increase under the Junta as well. This is to be expected though as previously arrests could not be made without seeking a court order. The NCPO's new forest protection policy has made changes in the act to facilitate quicker arrests and to ensure the culprits are not tipped off before hand.

And the big winner in this will be the World Heratige listed Rosewood forests in Thailand.

​Well done on the Junta for seeing the seriousness of this crime and taking measures to aggressively tackle the problem.

Edited July 3, 2014 by djjamie

[thaipod]

Maybe they should check out other Kamnans/village heads around the country . I have suspicions of one that has a small furniture factory near our Teak plantation which a lot has disappeared.

[Robby nz]

Decent sized house he is building. What does he do for a crust?

The only thing I couldn't really understand is where the 3700 planks will go in a concrete house. Even wood floors wouldn't take all that. Surely quality timber (as is implied by the story) would be used to build a traditional Thai-style wooden house?

Reinforcement! The bl00dy thing is as big as a palace and will need all the reinforcement it can get!

And, isn't the position of kamnan an honorary position? Must be racking in the dough by some other means.

Pretty sure without going back and reading the various reports in different places that it was said that he owned a sawmill.

As for Kamnan or village heads. It would seem that in some places they can be elected by the people and it is a paid position but not well paid.

Remember some time back someone who lives in a village posted that a woman in their village had spent over 200,000 to get elected to the job that only paid 5,000 month.

In others they are appointed by the provincial governor who are appointed by the government of the day.

During the protests there were a group of village heads led by the president of the village heads association (title from memory) who went to BKK and kicked the protesters out of the interior ministry.

The leader of this group was reported as saying that were there because the ministry being closed prevented him from helping village heads who had been dismissed by governors in at least 2 northern provinces for openly supporting the protesters.

Anyone who is real keen can go back and look for a link, I'm not about to.

Being a village head gives access to corruption and there is a village fund (1 million per village?) that I understand they control, and of course face, big fish in a small puddle.

[Bangmod]

Open Kamnan Style

[The Deerhunter]

Another Thai military petty bust.

No this is a petty bust... http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Bail-hopes-rise-for-woman-in-forest-case-30222716.html

In note the arrest date was December 2013. Does that mean the rouge spectacle apologists can't blame the general?

[The Deerhunter]

Decent sized house he is building. What does he do for a crust?

Kamnan. Local boy makes good.

They do seem to get by don't they...

It helps to have contacts and network with people in high places. (Till the rules change.)

[BillyBobThai]

One hopes that the good general starts making an example of a few of these folk. Years ago I heard that when plowing with a mule, if he refused to move, you take a two inch diameter limb and hit him between the eyes. When working with a mule, the first thing, was to get his attention.

[TPI]

Wood is a basic constrution material since mankind walked on the world , Thailand has a shortage of it .

So reduce the absurd high import tax on wood , enough wood available in Europe and Russia .

Aslong as there is a shortage in Thailand they will log illegally .

While it is illegal to log teak in Thailand, at least to export it (without an export permit....monopoly!) there is any quantity of rubber wood available as well as young teak! Why on earth would Thailand want to import construction timber? F18 marine ply wouldn't find a buyer here with the vast amounts of cheap wood from China available!!

[khaowong1]

You know, wouldn't you have to wonder, when you see a house as big and obviously as expensive as this one is, where did he get his money to build it? I'm hoping they don't do something stupid like burning this wood. Find some kind of community project to use it for.

[NeilSA1]

Another Thai military petty bust.

... and you can't even spell 'pretty'

[Baerboxer]

So you believe all the arrests to be politically motivated?

And whose watch did the Karen activist disappear on?

Crime and corruption knows few boundaries. And being democratically elected doesn't make your crime legal.

Now as you love to Google, how many of those arrests have translated into successful prosecutions so far?

So you refuse to discuss your fictive statement. Nevertheless, it is 100% false, in both aspects of number and significance.

So, since you refuse to address the issue, like all readers, I shall have to draw my own assumptions about why you wrote that doubly false statement, what ulterior motives you might have had and have now, what made you attempt to pass it off, why you utterly refuse to amend or strike it, And so on. People make errors, people lie, people get paid to propagandise, etc, etc. And since you won't tell them, every single one of your readers in his/her isolation will now have to guess at your motivation. Some of the readers could possibly give you the benefit of the doubt, who knows?

You assert that the clan, while stockpiling their own teak mountain up in the Wongsawat's Chiang Mai compound, were actively targetting other wood poachers. There is a word for that, beginning with an "H".

The only thing I assert, sir, is that Khun Baerboxer's statement is a bald-faced, easily proved falsity. I believe you are making an assertion here, but it has nothing to do with whether the post in question is completely, utterly false, which it is.

Do you then claim that Khun Baerboxer's provably untrue claims ARE true? Or, like him, are you simply unwilling to discuss a specific, short and easily understood post?

This post, right here, short and to the point and easily understandable....

Still beats the zero busts by the previous regime.

... is totally wrong, in both the aspects it claims. That is the unique, only, sole, one assertion I make.

.

Calm down and read the post that I was initially responding too. That puts the response into context. Your somewhat loosing the plot diatribe and attempt to ask questions in a way that facilitates the answer you want, whilst ignoring the contexts, doesn't achieve anything.

The post I was responding too implied that people were now being targets for criminal investigation purely because of their political affiliations. My response was to suggest the previous administration may have acted similarly. The posts were short and may have been to abstract for you.

If you showed us, that of all the arrests made during the time PTP were in office, that were associated with illegal logging, wood possession etc were of a broad spectrum of the political supporters I would be the first to apologize and somewhat astounded, congratulate them on their campaign against this illegal trade.

However, if it turns out all those arrested during their administration happened to be their political opponents or neutrals, then I might, draw a different conclusion.

Perhaps you can share this information with us, together with the details of successful prosecutions.

[JetsetBkk]

In Thailand you hardly see a very tall and old tree. Thais dont care at all about the nature and just cut down trees for no reason.

Once I took my GF to several cities in Malaysia, and she was impressed why there are so many 100 year old trees as wide as a bus, and none to see in Thailand ever.

"cut down trees for no reason"

Do you realise how much a single plank of good hardwood is worth?

[German Viking]

The big boys are always going to be harder to pin down. But this action, as long as it is maintained, is serving a warning that they can expect to be targeted, and hopefully it might panic some of them into making a mistake.

Oh for heaven's sake, these arrests take place on a regular basis. Even the Democrats, who get good money from most of these guys, arrest a few every month. The reason you KNOW about this major, big-deal arrest of a dangerous woodcutter is because it's one of the subjects that is allowed to be reported. Two months ago, two years ago, two decades ago, this story was Page 47. Now it's front page because what else can you fill up your newscast with? Actual news? Not more than once.

Another Thai military petty bust.

Still beats the zero busts by the previous regime.

Wrong twice. It doesn't beat the most recent arrest by the previous regime, and the previous regime made many, many arrests. It was in the newspapers and everything. Go ahead, google Kampanart “Sia Tang” Chaiyamart.

Then look at this:

... So far this year, 1,930 illegal rosewood loggers have been arrested and 92,957 rosewood logs have been seized.

http://goo.gl/tkuZsE

244 of these arrests were in June. And 1,686 of those arrests were NOT in June. In fact 1,606 of those arrests including Sia Tang were indisputably by the previous regime.

After that, do what you think is the right thing about the propaganda you were trying to foist on people.

.

The point is not the amount of arrests, before the Junta took over.

The question is: where are the logs now, they are legally sold by the government!?

Where is the money now!??

I guess missing in some black holes mostly.

[harrry]

Franky I could not care whether the raids are politically based. They result in arrests of people robbing the world of needed forrests. It would be nice if they could double the raids and get people on both sides but even half of the problem solved is better than none.

[metisdead]

A post containing off topic nonsense has been removed. Other posts containing off topic anti coup/anti junta comments have been removed.

[EyesWideOpen]

What is up with political figures and wood ? Are they wheeling and dealing

in stolen logs, or do they just like a lot of hardwood for their mansions ??