Thailand Live Tuesday 15 Dec 2015

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Govt Wont Publish Salaries on ID Cards
By Teeranai Charuvastra
Staff Reporter


Junta chairman and Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha (left) and his deputy, Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan (right), on April 17 visited an exhibition about national ID card registration at the Government House.

BANGKOK -- A proposal to force citizens to state their careers and salaries on their national ID cards will not go forward, the military government said today, days after it was proposed by junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878669-govt-wont-publish-salaries-on-id-cards/

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ROYAL FUNERAL
Country pays last respects to Supreme Patriarch over three days
Chuleeporn Aramnet,
Supinda Na Mahachai
The Nation



BANGKOK’S Wat Pathum Wanaram has created a song titled “Saeng Ploeng Sudthai” (The Final Flame), sung by Thanaporn “Parn” Waekprayoon, to honour His Holiness the late Supreme Patriarch, whose funeral and cremation begin today and run until Thursday.

The song - inspired by Buddha's teaching that what could be broken was "loka" and what remained was "dharma" - was produced by talents including Thitawaso Bhikkhu of Wat Pathum Wanaram, the lyric composer; Dechanat Thiraduriyangsarit and Ratchapong Somsri, music composers; and Jessada Sutharamorn who arranged the music. People can listen to the song via https://youtu.be/4mnztEUHSjg and download it from channels including iTunes, Kkbok, Line Music and Google Play.

Income will fund the temple's Pathumma Mahasikkhalai Project, said the temple's public relations official Phra Pakornwin Thitawaso.

The temple will gather dokmai chan funeral wooden flowers, and Wat Pathum Wanaram will organise "Kitanchalee Puja" (worship to express gratitude via music), narrating His Holiness' life story and works as well as stage performances and an exhibition tomorrow evening, he added.

At Wat Bovoranives Vihara, some 500 monks from around the country as well as many public members yesterday attended a charity event to honour His Holiness.

Samut Songkhram housewife Piangpen Cheunchoy, 58, said she and family members travelled from 8am to pay respects to His Holiness. When they saw the charity event was hosted, they paid respects to the late monk at a designated spot within the temple.

She said that on the cremation day tomorrow, she would lay dokmai chan at a nearby temple. "I respected His Holiness, as he was a Supreme Patriarch who lived simply, and I read and apply his teachings and in daily life," she added.

Meanwhile, national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda yesterday presided at a meeting at the Metropolitan Police Bureau to discuss security and traffic plans for the Supreme Patriarch's funeral until Thursday. Affirming the police's readiness to perform the task, he said 3,000 officers would be deployed in this operation.

Pol Colonel Phusit Wisetkhamin, deputy city police commander for traffic, said tomorrows funeral procession would start at 8am to carry His Holiness' body to the Royal Crematorium at Wat Thepsirintharawas. As a result, Phra Sumen, Lan Luang, Krungkasem and Luang roads will be closed from 5am. The procession will take around two hours and the roads will be reopened after the procession passes, he said. From 2pm to 10pm, the roads around Wat Thepsirintharawas will also be closed, he added.

Public members can lay dokmai chan for His Holiness tomorrow at various temples and designated locations in all provinces. Visit www.prd.go.th/main.php?filename=sangharaja for details.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Country-pays-last-respects-to-Supreme-Patriarch-ov-30274937.html


-- The Nation 2015-12-15

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Bus carrying police crashes in northern Argentina, at least 41 dead.

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - Ex-Nigeria security adviser and officer who withdrew $47m charged in $2.1 billion arms scandal.

PARIS (AP) - Prosecutor's office: French teacher who claimed attack by masked assailant invented story.

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DAWEI SCHEME
Japan now full partner
ERICH PARPART
THE NATION


Somkid

Joins Thailand, Myanmar in huge Special Economic Zone that will go ahead 'full scale'

BANGKOK: -- THE multi-billion-dollar Dawei special economic zone (SEZ) and related projects will go ahead at full scale after Japan yesterday agreed to take a one-third equity stake in the associated special purpose vehicle (SPV) jointly set up by Myanmar and Thailand.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878684-japan-joins-thailand-myanmar-in-dawei-special-economic-zone/

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DEFAMATION
Mining firm seeking to sue schoolgirl, 15
Boonchu Sritraipop,
Kawintra Jaiseu
The Nation

Gold miner claims that a TV report she was involved in is libellous

LOEI: -- THE Community Resources Centre (CRC) is trying to help a 15-year-old schoolgirl out of legal trouble, after she participated in a TV citizen reporter scheme that stirred legal action from a mining firm.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878685-loei-mining-firm-seeking-to-sue-15-year-old-schoolgirl/

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COURT
Facebook 'sedition' suspect expresses remorse
THE NATION


Thanakorn

BANGKOK: -- A FACTORY worker in Samut Prakan who is accused of lese majeste and instigating sedition has expressed remorse in an audio clip he recorded himself while being brought to a military court.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878686-facebook-sedition-suspect-expresses-remorse/

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UPDATE:

POLITICS
No plan to start party: Suthep
The Nation


Suthep

BANGKOK: -- POLITICAL veteran Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday dismissed rumours that he was going to found a new political party with Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878600-suthep-denies-planning-to-set-up-political-party/#entry10193024

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UPDATE:

SOUTH CRISIS
Bomb found, disarmed outside Narathiwat bank
The Nation

NARATHIWAT: -- An explosive ordnance disposal team yesterday defused a pipe bomb planted on a motorbike parked in front of a bank in Narathiwat’s Muang district.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878609-bomb-found-disarmed-outside-narathiwat-bank/#entry10193026

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TRUEVISION
TrueVision facing fine over NBTC snub
Watchiranont Thongtep
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- "TrueVisions Group is the only provider of a cable/satellite TV network that still ignores this rule," Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878687-truevision-facing-fine-over-nbtc-snub/

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Unregistered rubber farmers demand title deeds, land in disputed forest
The Nation

TRANG: -- Some 300 residents from Tambon Namphud in Trang’s Muang district - mostly land occupiers without land-rights documents.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878688-unregistered-rubber-farmers-demand-title-deeds-land-in-disputed-forest/

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Five police moved after Army arrests 142 gamblers at dens in Korat
The Nation

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: -- Police in Nakhon Ratchasima province took 142 people to the provincial court yesterday to face charges of gambling.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878689-five-police-moved-after-army-arrests-142-gamblers-at-dens-in-korat/

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Two more men held for fatal gang attack in Kanchanaburi
The Nation



KANCHANABURI: -- POLICE arrested two more young men yesterday morning who allegedly joined four others in beating a 19-year-old man to death on the side of Saeng Chuto Road in Kanchanaburi’s Muang district on the night of December 6.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878690-two-more-men-held-for-fatal-gang-attack-in-kanchanaburi/

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UPDATE:

Don’t worry about details on ID cards, says Prayut
Wattana Khamchu,
Anapat Deechuay
The Nation


Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha shops for vegetables at a temporary market near Government House yesterday.

BANGKOK: -- PRIME Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha tried to play down public concern yesterday about his government’s plan to add details about people’s occupation and salary on national identification cards.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878669-govt-wont-publish-salaries-on-id-cards/?p=10193042#entry10193042

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Trafficking investigator ‘can testify via video link’
The Nation


Paween

Senior officer says Paween can give evidence from Australia during trial

BANGKOK: -- A SENIOR police investigator seeking political asylum in Australia can testify in next week's trial via a video-link if he wants, Prayuth Sattayarak, deputy head of the Attorney General's Human Trafficking Case Office, said yesterday.

However, if Pol Maj Gen Paween Pongsirin, who was in charge of human-trafficking suppression before fleeing to Australia, refuses to testify, it would not affect the trial, as police investigators had gathered evidence from many sites and were confident about their findings.

Testifying via video conference could be implemented as Thailand and Australia have mutual cooperation on criminal cases, he said.

Paween, who quit the police last month, told Australian media last week that he feared for his life because influential figures in the military and police implicated in the illicit trade wanted him dead.

"There are some bad police and bad military who do this kind of thing," Paween told the ABC's "7.30 Report". "Unfortunately, those bad police and military are the ones that have power."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said instead of remaining in Australia and seeking asylum, Paween should return home and file complaints against those whom he accused of threatening his life and receiving a pay-off from traffickers.

Prayut has promised that he would have Paween's allegations investigated and those found guilty would be arrested.

"I don't understand why he [Paween] has to flee and seek political asylum in Australia. He should come home to file lawsuits against the alleged persons."

Prayut told reporters that police are investigating Paween's claims.

"Tell me now, who threatened you. It is no matter how big they are, I will have them punished," Prayut said.

National Police Commissioner Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda had earlier reacted angrily to Paween's claim, saying he had ordered a legal team to look into the claim about influential figures to determine their identity.

Chakthip said yesterday he had ordered a fact-finding team to be set up to check Paween's claim and whether police investigators in the human-trafficking suppression squad had received threats like those alleged by Paween. The results are expected this week.

Meanwhile, deputy police spokesman Pol Maj Gen Piyapan Pingmuang said Paween never complained or filed complaints to say that he was threatened.

So, it seemed to be unreasonable for him to complain in public like this. "He was a high-ranking police officer, not an ordinary person who can easily be threatened. In principle, Paween should file complaints with police so an inquiry can be done, and he could enter the witness protection programme," he said.

Meanwhile, Prayuth, from the case office, said that witnesses in the human-trafficking cases would testify for the first time on December 24 and 25 and again on January 7 and 8, then throughout next year.

Testimony will be heard eight times a month, so the trial against trafficking rings was expected to finish next year.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Trafficking-investigator-can-testify-via-video-lin-30274938.html


-- The Nation 2015-12-15

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Rice industry at a turning point, minister says
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- THE RICE industry must negotiate several risk factors that are pressuring farmers to speed up the development of rice breeds to strengthen the sector in the face of intense competition, especially from other Asian countries, the government says.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878693-rice-industry-at-a-turning-point-thai-minister-says/

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BURNING ISSUE
Chasing after minor issues does junta more harm than good
KASAMAKORN CHANWANPEN

BANGKOK: -- NORMALLY, people visiting a park or “liking” and sharing cynical infographics on social media do not make headlines. But headlines pop up in big letters when military men try and stop people from doing these things. And as a junta that has struggled, perhaps, to justify its seizure of power, headlines that draw flak

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878694-chasing-after-minor-issues-does-ncpo-more-harm-than-good/

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Legal expert weighs benefits of judiciary handling political crises
JEERAPONG PRASERTPONKRUNG
KHANITTHA THEPKAJORN,
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- DEPUTY PM Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday that there were both pros and cons to getting the judiciary to deal with crises, adding that giving the job to certain organisations was also, in principle, a good idea. The previously discarded charter draft had put forward the idea of setting up a National Strategic Reform and Reconciliation Committee (NSRRC) to handle the task.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878695-thai-legal-expert-weighs-benefits-of-judiciary-handling-political-crises/

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Reform body to present action plans next week
Wasamon Audjarint
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- THE National Reform Steering Assembly is now working on the last phase of its “1-1-18” timetable. The final phase, expected to run from last Wednesday till June 15 next year, sees the Assembly proposing all reform action plans to the Cabinet and drafting related bills to be tabled with the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), NRSA president Tinnapan Nakata said during a press briefing at Parliament House yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878696-thai-reform-body-to-present-action-plans-next-week/

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EDITORIAL
Planned ID card changes are utterly impractical
The Nation

Distracted yet again from crucial issues, the government has nothing to gain, while citizens have much to lose

BANGKOK: -- In August, when Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha first floated the idea of adding citizens' occupations and income to the data displayed on national identity cards, it went largely unnoticed. Yet when he repeated the proposal that's now become a plan during his latest televised address on Saturday morning, it met with strong criticism from citizens and rights watchdogs.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878697-planned-id-card-changes-are-utterly-impractical-thai-editorial/

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STREET WISE
Post-Paris, plastic-bag use is the low-hanging fruit for Thais
Achara Deboonme

Thailand produces 7,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day

BANGKOK: -- Last September, 15 major retailers joined hands to launch the no-plastic bag campaign, urging consumers to bring their own when shopping on the 15th of each month. Those who do so receive discounts at some shopping centres. The retailers now plan to increase the number of no-bag shopping days.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878698-post-paris-plastic-bag-use-is-the-low-hanging-fruit-for-thais/

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Driver oblivious as body of man dragged 200 meters under Pattaya Baht Bus



PATTAYA: -- In the early hours of Monday, a Thai man was killed after he was dragged under a Baht Bus for 200 meters and its driver claimed he knew nothing and denied any knowledge of him running over the victim.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878699-driver-oblivious-as-body-of-man-dragged-200-meters-under-pattaya-baht-bus/

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Four Theives Arrested Over Weekend
by CityNews



CityNews – Police arrested four suspects related to two theft cases on December 13, after reports of bag snatching around the city and an apartment that was broken into.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878700-four-theives-arrested-over-weekend-in-chiang-mai/

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Thai Union Group Calls Labor Abuse in Seafood Industry 'Unacceptable'
BY JACOB MASLOW

BANGKOK: -- Thai Union Group Plc, the largest maker of canned tuna, stated on Monday that the claims of abuse in the seafood industry are simply “unacceptable.”

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878701-thai-union-group-calls-labor-abuse-in-seafood-industry-unacceptable/

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Police probe mysterious murder of a South Korean

BANGKOK: -- The national deputy police chief, Pol Gen Chalermkiat Srivorakhan, visited the crime scene in Chaiyaphum’s Bumnetnarong district where the body of a Korean national was found in bushes by a rural roadside.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878702-thai-police-probe-mysterious-murder-of-a-south-korean/

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Three policemen killed at Pluak Daeng police station



RAYONG: -- Two policemen were shot dead and a third was fatally shot at Pluak Daeng district police station in Rayong province Monday afternoon.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878703-three-policemen-killed-at-pluak-daeng-police-station-in-rayong/

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Body with land title found in pond
Phuket Gazette


Local villagers told police that Mr Chalermpon often swam to Phuket when he needed to get to the main island. Photo: Wina Sarot

PHUKET: -- A Phuket man carrying a bag with a land title deed and personal items was found dead in a coastal pond on Koh Maphrao.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878704-body-with-land-title-found-in-pond-on-koh-maphrao/

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5-meter-long python found at Phuket resort
Phuket Gazette


The snake was taken back to the rescue center before being released in the Nakkerd Hills. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: -- Rescue workers caught a 5-meter-long python at a Phuket resort yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878705-5-meter-long-python-found-at-phuket-resort/

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EU opens economic talks with Turkey to revive membership bid



BRUSSELS: -- As part of the EU’s move to seek Turkish help in tackling the continent’s migration crisis, Brussels has opened further talks on Ankara’s long-standing bid to join the 28-member bloc.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878706-eu-opens-economic-talks-with-turkey-to-revive-membership-bid/

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Hungary, Poland oppose EU border force plan



BRUSSELS: -- An EU plan to create a new border force that could intervene in a country without the permission of the government is already under fire.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878707-hungary-poland-oppose-eu-border-force-plan/

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Sweden 'on way to becoming cashless society'



"Cash will cease to play any real role in the society. It might still exist in theory but would not play any financial role"

STOCKHOLM: -- Cash is falling out of favour in Sweden, according to a research study at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/878708-sweden-on-way-to-becoming-cashless-society/