Sailors held hostage for five years compensated upon release
Surachai Piraksa
The Nation
BURI RAM

BANGKOK: -- Two Thai sailors, who were recently released by Somali pirates after being held hostage for about five years, were yesterday each presented with Bt200,000 in cash and a Bt1 weight gold necklace by their former employer Prantalay Marketing PCL.

Other than paying their outstanding wages and compensating them for lost opportunity, the company has also promised to find them new jobs.

Tanakorn Kaewkamkong, 35, and Kosol Doungmakerd, 45, were also presented with a cashier's cheque of Bt2,000 each by Buri Ram Office of Social Development and Human Security.

Tanakorn said that his mental state has improved, but he is not sure if he will take up a job yet because he wants to be ordained as a Buddhist monk first.

"I certainly won't return to work on a fishing boat," he added. He also called on Thai workers stranded on an Indonesian island after being lured into hard labour on fishing trawlers and those facing a similar fate elsewhere, to hang in there and wait for the government's help. He also thanked the government and related agencies for bringing him and his colleague back home.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Sailors-held-hostage-for-five-years-compensated-up-30257196.html

-- The Nation 2015-04-01

"Tanakorn Kaewkamkong, 35, and Kosol Doungmakerd, 45, were also presented with a cashier's cheque of Bt2,000 each by Buri Ram Office of Social Development and Human Security."

Bt2,000 each by the Buriram Office of Social Development and Human Security was presented to them.. Thats a slap in the face for what theses two have been through. What an insult. Better to have taken the money and bought lao Khao for those in charge of this department. Their company Prantalay Marketing PCL. is doing the correct thing.

How was 200,000 baht enough to cover 5 years of lost wages? That puts them at something near 3,300 baht per month, which is far less than what I thought constituted a Thai minimum wage.

Better than a hand shake and boot