Barkar Nash (Page 1,012)

ENVIRONMENT: Seven people were arrested in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park in Prachuap Khiri Khan after they were found mining for gemstones at Tham Mung Korn, a violation of the National Parks Act.

Park chief Pongsathorn Promkhuntod said their arrest followed the detection of rock-cutting activities within the park’s boundaries by the park’s SMART Patrol system.

All of the suspects denied the allegations against them, saying they were only collecting small stones to help feed their families, as evidenced by the absence of rock-cutting equipment at the location. A small gemstone can go for 20,000-50,000 baht.

Gemstones mined in the Khao Sam Roi Yot mountain range are highly sought after, especially in Taiwan.

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The National Security Council (NSC) said security agencies are investigating a group of activists calling for a public referendum on the establishment of an independent, Muslim “Pattani State” in the South.

Speaking after a meeting of security agencies responsible for monitoring the situation in the South on Monday,  NSC secretary-general Supoj Malaniyom said the Internal Security Operation Command (Isoc) Region 4 Forward Office and Provincial Police Region 9 are looking into the group’s activities and monitoring their social media activities.

“They will look at whether or not the group is linked to separatist movements, which is a violation of the constitution and other related laws,” Gen Supoj said.

“An investigation is currently underway but it will take some time [to conclude],” he said, adding Isoc will be leading the probe.

Asked whether there is evidence suggesting some political parties are involved in the group’s activities, he said authorities are looking into the matter and will take the appropriate action based on the evidence.  

Regarding the call for a public referendum about the establishment of an independent Muslim state, Gen Supoj said that such calls are not allowed under the constitution.

Lt Gen Santi Sakultanak, commander of the 4th Army, also blasted the referendum proposal, calling it unconstitutional and a threat to Thailand’s territorial integrity and national security.

Their reactions followed the establishment of Pelajar Bangsa (“National Students”), a youth group representing students from Thailand’s three southernmost provinces, during a seminar at Prince of Songkla University’s Pattani campus last week.

Sources said the group is the latest incarnation of the Federation of Patani Students and Youth (PerMas), which was disbanded in November 2021.

The seminar was titled “Self-Determination and Patani Peace”.

Speakers at the seminar included Worawit Baru, deputy leader of the Prachachat Party and MP-elect for Pattani, and Hakim Pongtigor, deputy secretary-general of the FAIR Party.

The two parties are part of the prospective coalition led by the Move Forward Party, which is seeking to form the next government.

At the seminar, participants were given a ballot paper, on which they were asked to vote for a referendum on an independent Pattani state.

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Move Forward Party (MFP) MP-elect Rangsiman Rome on Monday urged the Inspector General’s Office to make a further probe into a senior police officer who had an arrest warrant for a senator withdrawn.

Mr Rangsiman on Monday visited police inspector-general Pol Gen Wissanu Prasartthong-osod to follow up on the intervention into an investigation of Senator Upakit Pachirirangkun, who is accused of money laundering and assisting a transnational criminal organisation.

He also submitted evidence and gave testimony regarding the order given by Pol Lt Col Manaphong Wongphiwat, a police inspector at Phaya Thai police station, to withdraw a warrant he had sought himself for the arrest of the senator.

Mr Rangsiman saw the sudden withdrawal as an attempt to intervene in the case and urged the Inspector General’s Office to carry out a further investigation into the circumstances of the matter.

Mr Rangsiman said despite an earlier accusation, Sen Upakit had failed to face any consequences despite his links with Myanmar national Tun Min Latt, who was arrested for drug trafficking last year.

He said the indictment hearing set for July 26 is too late and suggested prosecutors accuse him as soon as possible.

Pol Gen Wissanu said the office had invited Pol Lt Col Manaphong in for questioning and would include Mr Rangsiman’s submission in the investigation process.

On March 17, Sen Upakit, 61, held a press conference to counter allegations made by Mr Rangsiman on his relationship with Tun Min Latt, saying he had no information to back up his claim.

The senator has filed a defamation suit against Mr Rangsiman seeking one billion baht in compensation.

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About 100 people in yellow shirts gathered outside parliament on Monday and submitted a letter asking senators not to vote in support of any political party with anti-monarchist policies.

They were led by Prayoon Chitphet and came from many different provinces. They arrived in front the parliament building about 8am. They said they were gathering to show their allegiance to HM the King, and to give moral support to senators. They said the rally was apolitical and would be non-violent.

Mr Prayoon and a few core representatives were allowed to submit their letter to senators Akanit Muensawat and Taweesak Wattanapornmongkol.

In the letter, they asked senators not to vote for any political party with a policy of abolishing the monarchy. Mr Prayoon said people who loved the monarchy were ready to turn out by the millions should there be any move in that direction.

Gen Akanit told the group’s representatives he, as chairman of the senate committee on local administrative affairs, could speak on behalf of all senators in saying they would adhere firmly to their support for the nation, religion and the monarchy. He told them that senators were mature enough to make the right decisions.

Questioned later by reporters about how he thought senators would vote in the selection of the new prime minister, Gen Akanit said it was too soon to say as the Election Commission had yet to officially announce the results of the general election.

Gen Akanit said he had not been approached by a representative of the Move Forward Party to vote for Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister. He personally knew core members of every party and was open to all opinions, the senator said.

People in yellow shirts gather in front of parliament to submit a letter asking senators not to vote for any political party with anti-monarchist policies. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

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The Move Forward Party (MFP) is considering legal action against people involved in alleged attempts to revive defunct media company iTV so they can use it to prevent party leader Pita Limjaroenrat becoming prime minister.

MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said on Monday that a video taken taken during the iTV online shareholders’ meeting in April contradicted the official minutes, providing crucial information about attempts to revive delisted iTV and portray it as an active media organisation.

Mr Pita inherited 42,000 shares in iTV from his father, but says they have all been transferred to relatives’  names and do not affect his eligibility to serve as an MP or prime minister. His political opponents disagree. If they can show iTV is an active media organisation, Mr Pita could be banned.

The video showed Mr Phanuwat Kwanyuen, a shareholder, raising the question, “Does iTV perform media tasks?’’ and Kim Siritaweechai, chairman of ITV who chaired the online meeting, answering clearly that “As of now the firm does not do anything. It has to wait for a legal case to end.”

However, the official minutes of the April 26 general meeting state that, “Currently, iTV still operates in accordance with the company’s objectives, and submitted financial statements and corporate income tax as normal”.

On May 10, political activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana submitted the minutes as a main item of evidence in petitioning  the Election Commission to investigate Mr Pita over the shares, Mr Chaithawat said.  iTV was founded in the 1990s and went off air in 2007.

The MFP secretary general said that before Mr Ruangkrai petitioned the commission, Nick Saengsirinavin, a failed Bangkok election candidate of the Bhumjaithai Party, made a relevant post on his Facebook on April 24 , two days before the iTV general meeting.

Mr Nick said, “A politician who holds iTV shares is preparing to attend the annual shareholders’ meeting and he must surrender to the EC. One party leader holds 42,000 shares.”

Mr Phanuwat, a shareholder who had received shares transferred from Mr Nick and served as the manager of a clinic run by Mr Nick’s family, had subsequently ask his question at the iTV shareholders’ meeting.

“That question was raised with the purpose of getting an answer from the iTV executive that the firm still operated as a media organisation, wasn’t it?’’ the MFP secretary-general said.

Mr Chaithawat asked Mr Kim, who signed the official minutes contradicted by the video clip, and Mr Jitchart Musikabutr, a company representatives who examined and editted the minutes, to clarify the matter.

Mr Jitchart served as chief legal officer and secretary of Intouch Holdings Plc, the major shareholder of iTV, said Mr Chaithawat.

“This raises a question whether Intouch Holdings is aware of changes in the official minutes that contradict the facts at the meeting,’’ he asked.

Those issues coincided with Mr Pita’s comments earlier about attempts to revive the defunct media company as a means to attack him politically.

The party was considering taking legal action against those those involved, Mr Chaithawat said in response to reporters’ questions on Monday. 

iTV submitted its financial statement to the Department of Business Development on May 10, four days before the election and the same day Mr Ruangkrai petitioned the EC, said Mr Chaithawat. In its financial statement, iTV was defined as a TV organisation.

In its 2018-2019 financial statement, iTV was defined as a holding company but in two following financial statements it was defined as a TV organisation.

The change in the financial statements also contradicted another answer given by Mr Kim during the shareholders’ meeting on April 26 when one shareholder asked whether iTV would give dividends to shareholders.

Mr Kim said in the clip that the outcome of the legal case was the most crucial point of the company. If the results were not known, it was hard to proceed with anything. Previously, the firm had hired financial consultants to study options but had not yet found a suitable outcome. It had to await for the court case to end before considering a suitable option for shareholders.

Mr Chaithawat said Mr Kin’s remarks made during the meeting showed that the executive chairman did not know that iTV operated as a television organisation and had income from advertising.

The MFP secretary-general asked why iTV’s financial statement submitted to the department on May 10 claimed income was from its television media.

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Investigators will present their case reports against accused serial killer Sararat “Aem Cyanide” Rangsiwuthaporn to prosecutors on Friday, deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn said on Monday.

Pol Gen Surachate was speaking at the Correctional Institution for Women in Bang Khen area of Bangkok, where Ms Sararat is beng detained.

The deputy police chief filed additional charges against Ms Sararat during his visit. She was earlier charged with premeditated murder and forgery in the case of Siriporn “Koy” Khanwong, one of her 15 alleged poisoning victims.

Pol Gen Surachate said Ms Sararat faced similar charges in all cases – including premeditated murder, poisoning, forgery and theft.

He said the police reports on the 15 cases were complete. He had consulted prosecutors before wrapping them up.

All charges against Ms Sararat were supported with strong evidence, he said. If found guilty she could face the death penalty, but the court could reduce this to life if she confessed. For now, she was still regarded as innocent.

The deputy national police chief said investigation reports on the cases against her former husband, Pol Lt Col Withoon Rangsiwuthaporn, and her lawyer, Thanicha Aeksuwannawat, would also be forwarded to the prosecutors on Friday.

Pol Lt Col Withoon, former deputy superintendent of Suan Phueng police station in Ratchaburi province, was charged with receiving stolen property and forging and using official documents. Ms Thannicha was charged with assisting her client destroy or conceal evidence of a crime.

Pol Gen Surachate was full of praise for all police investigators handling the cases, saying they had worked hard and carefully.

The 15 cases spread over seven provinces – Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon, Kanchanaburi, Phetchaburi, Ratchaburi, Udon Thani and Mukdahan.

Ms Sararat was arrested on April 25 following a complaint filed by the mother and elder sister of Siriporn “Koy” Khanwong, 32, of Kanchanaburi, one of her 15 alleged victims.

Most victims were linked to the suspect through private savings schemes and car financing deals. All the deceased were found to have been with Ms Sararat shortly before they died.

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Defunct media company iTV is back in the spotlight after a video recording of discussions during the annual shareholders’ meeting contradicted the official minutes.

The video was recorded by an iTV shareholder and parts of it shown by TV Channel 3 late on Sunday night. The shareholders’ meeting was shown on both online and onsite platforms.

It drew an immediate and strong public reaction.

Controversy swirls around reported attempts to revive iTV to block Move Forward Party (MFP)  leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s bid to become prime minister, and relates to his alleged holding of shares in a media company.

MFP MP-elect Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn said he would step up his request that the delisted broadcaster clarify the matter.

“The minutes of the iTV shareholders’ annual meeting in 2023 do not match the video recording of the meeting shown by (Channel 3’s) Khao Sam Miti television programme,’’ he said.

Mr Wiroj said on his Facebook on Sunday night, “ A main issue was a question raised by one shareholder ‘Does iTV perform media tasks?’, and Kim Siritaweechai, chairman of ITV who chaired the meeting online, answered clearly that ‘As of now the firm does not do anything. It has to wait for the legal case to end’.”  

“But the minutes of the annual shareholders’ meeting, signed by Mr Kim, state that ‘Currently, (iTV) still operates in accordance with the company’s objectives, and submitted financial statements and corporate income tax as normal’,” Mr Wiroj said.

Mr Wiroj cast doubt on the accuracy of the official minutes of the iTV shareholders’ meeting.

“iTV must clarify to society why the minutes of its annual shareholders’ meeting did not match the answer given by the chairman during the meeting. 

“Who ordered the minutes to be written like this? Who is the mastermind,” the MP-elect asked.

Society must raise questions whether this amounts to falsifying the minutes of the shareholders’ meeting to politically persecute another person, so they face a criminal charge, and how other committee members will be held accountable for such action, Mr Wiroj wrote.

“iTV must urgently clear up lingering doubts. It cannot remain quiet. Doing so could be a violation of Section 216 of the Public Limited Company Act. This offence carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison and/or fine up to one million baht,’’ he said.

MFP deputy spokesman Karoonpon Tiensuwan tweeted on Monday, thanking well-intentioned people for exposing “old power cliques’’ and their efforts to use all means to remain in power and serve the interests of themselves and those around them.

“It’s time for the truth, to hunt down and dig up all information and reveal those who pull the strings,’’  Mr Karoonpon said.

On Monday, Mr Kim, president and executive director of Intouch Holdings Plc, ordered iTV committee members to launch a fact-finding investigation into the minutes of the shareholders’ meeting.

Last week, Mr Pita said he had already transferred the 42,000 shares in iTV he inherited from his father to relatives, to pre-empt any attempt to revive the company and use it as political ammunition.

The leader of the election-winning MPF was confident there was nothing to disqualify him from serving as an MP or becoming prime minister at the head of a coalition government.

In a Facebook post on June 6, Mr Pita said he had recently transferred the iTV shares held in the estate of his late father who died in 2006, to his relatives to ensure he could be the next prime minister amid attempts to block him from taking office.

He said that in its 2018-19 financial statement, iTV was defined as a holding company, but in the two following financial statements, it was labelled a TV organisation.

iTV stopped broadcasting in 2007 and its licence was taken over by Thai PBS. It was delisted from the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2014. It has not had any income from media activity for several years, other than small sums from a subsidiary that rented out broadcasting equipment. Its business registration remained active only because litigation over its concession fees was not yet concluded.

Mr Pita noted, however, that at an iTV shareholders’ meeting on April 26, one shareholder asked if it was a media organisation. “Was the question politically motivated?” the Move Forward leader wrote on Facebook.

The constitution prohibits a shareholder of a media organisation from running in a general election. Mr Pita’s 42,000 iTV shares recently led to complaints challenging his eligibility to be an MP at the 2019 general election, to approve his party’s candidates and to lead the next government.

The largest current shareholder of iTV is Intouch Holdings Plc. The major shareholder of Intouch is Gulf Energy Development Plc. Gulf CEO Sarath Ratanavadi is the country’s fourth richest person with a net worth of US$11.1 billion, according to the reputable Forbes Magazine.

Nareuwat Noppakhun, the head of the accounting department at Intouch, prepared and submitted the financial statements of iTV to the Department of Business Development between 2015 and 2022, Isara News Agency reported.

On June 9, the Election Commission  threw out all complaints related to media share ownership against the MFP leader, but would instead investigate whether Mr Pita applied to be a list-MP candidate despite knowing he might not have been eligible to run for a House seat. That would be a violation of Section 42(3) and Section 151 of the organic law on the election of MPs.

Kim Siritaweechai, chairman of ITV, left, answers a shareholder’s question about whether whether the company still performs as a media outlet, at the annual shareholders’ meeting on April 26. Mr Kim was heard in the video saying it did not. (Capture from Channel 3 Khao Sam Miti programme)

Channel 3’s Khao Sam Miti news programme posts a clip of iTV shareholders’ meeting on its Facebook page late on Sunday night.

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The inaugural Hong Kong Laureate forum will be held in November, with more than 20 Shaw Prize scientists set to exchange research and ideas with about 200 young scientists from 30 countries, including Thailand.

The forum, to be held from Nov 13–18, will serve as a world-class scientific exchange and networking event to nurture science leaders, according to the Hong Kong Laureate Forum (HKLF), which is organising it.

The forum was originally meant to be held in 2021, but postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Timothy Tong, chair of the HKLF, said the forum aims to foster exchanges among cross-generational, cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary scientists to promote science in Hong Kong and beyond.

“The HKLF has held a number of activities to create platforms for the local scientific research community to share with youngsters and participating Shaw Laureates, with thousands of young future scientists connected with the network,” he said.

More than 20 Shaw Prize winners from the fields of astronomy, life science and medicine and mathematics will gather in Hong Kong to share their knowledge with young scientists, he said.

The Shaw Prize is an annual award presented by the Shaw Prize Foundation. Established in 2002 in Hong Kong, it honours scientists for their academic and research contributions.

Previous recipients have come from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, Japan and Israel.

Among the 200 young scientists expected to attend the forum is a Thai scientist in the biomedical engineering field.

The HKLF has been supported by the Lee Shau Kee Foundation since its launch in 2019, while the Shaw Prize Foundation, which organises the annual event, is also a main partner.

Sun Dong, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, said the government backs the work of the HKLF and the hosting of the forum to showcase tech development in Hong Kong.

Colin Lam, director of the Lee Shau Kee Foundation, said businessman Lee Shau Kee had set up the organisation to give back to society and support the work of the HKLF.

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The volume of usable water in Khon Kaen’s Ubolratana Dam has dropped by 11% due to the insufficient number of wastewater treatment plants that could process runoff discharged by the agriculture and industrial sectors in the region, according to the Office of National Water Resources (ONWR).

Surasri Kidtimonton, ONWR secretary-general, said officials are still working on the inundation and drought mitigation plan for the Chi River basin area, which covers about 12.85 million rai of land in Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Yasothon, Roi Et and Udon Thani.

From May 1 to Oct 31, the dam will release water downstream to help maintain water supplies for five Provincial Waterworks Authority offices that cover 45 villages. The release will also support 10 industrial sites along the Pong River.

Mr Surasri said the Ubolratana Dam, the largest irrigation reservoir in the Northeast, currently holds about 789 million cubic metres (m³) of water — or 32% of its total capacity of 2.43 billion m³ — of which only 207 million m³ is usable water. This is about 11% lower than last year’s 220 million m³, he said.

The ONWR said many areas in the central Chi River basin regularly face water-related problems, such as floods during the rainy season, water shortages in the dry season and water quality issues.

“The ONWR have learned that the area’s low water reserves are mainly caused by the insufficient number of water treatment plants to process discharges from farms and factories, as well as runoffs from the North,” he said.

A check on the Chi River basin showed the water volume of Chulabhorn Dam in Chaiyaphum remains at 61.5 million m³, only 39% of which is usable, while the Lam Pao Dam in Kalasin remains at 768 million m³, 87% of which is usable.

Those areas regularly face inundation, intermittent rain and water-related environmental issues each year, particularly drought that has affected about 7.47 million rai of land.

Overall, the area’s dams and reservoirs can hold about 2.47 billion m³ of water, but the region requires at least 3.37 billion m³ of water consumption to support daily activities including farming, industry and tourism, according to the ONWR’s latest estimate cited by Mr Surasri.

He also said the Thai Meteorological Department estimated the amount of rainfall may be lower than average this year due to El Nino.

State agencies will come up with a new water management plan for next year, he added.

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