Barkar Nash (Page 1,017)

Complaints about iTV shares thrown out but poll body finds another angle to explore

The Election Commission has thrown out three complaints related to media share ownership against Move Forward Party (MFP) leader and prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat — but he is far from in the clear.

The commission now plans to 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, an EC source said.

The six commissioners decided unanimously on Friday not to accept the complaints alleging a breach of the media shareholding rules, as they were lodged after the qualifications of election candidates had been examined.

However, because the petitions contain certain facts regarding Mr Pita’s qualifications that could be looked into further, the EC will seek to determine if he sought to run even while knowing he might get disqualified.

It is not known how long the investigation will take.

Friday’s decision brings to an end weeks of speculation about whether holding a small number of shares in iTV Plc — a TV broadcaster that had not carried on any media activity for more than a decade — would disqualify Mr Pita.

Move Forward finished first in last month’s election with 151 seats, 10 more than the Pheu Thai Party. They and six other parties have combined to form a 313-member coalition that is hoping to become the next government.

Mr Pita is his party’s sole choice for prime minister. If he is disqualified as an MP, he could still be nominated for the premiership as a prime minister does not have to be an MP.

His supporters have urged the Election Commission to dismiss the complaints against him and speed up the process of endorsing MPs-elect so that the coalition can get down to work.

The poll body has 60 days from Election Day, or until July 13, to certify at least 95% of all MPs-elect to make the vote results official. It has said it expects to complete its task more quickly than it did in 2019, when the process took 45 days.

The EC on Thursday ordered recounts to be held at 47 polling stations in 16 provinces, but has said they would not materially affect the results. However, it is still looking into numerous complaints involving some 20 winning candidates as well.

Hundreds of visits to state hospitals made over several years to obtain medicines

Police on Friday arrested a 58-year-old man on suspicion of healthcare fraud that caused more than 1.2 million baht in damages to the National Health Security Office (NHSO).

The suspect, identified only as Sukho, was apprehended at a hospital in Ratchathewi district of Bangkok after Crime Suppression Division (CSD) investigators received a tip-off that he was about to make a hospital visit.

He was accused by the NHSO, which operates the universal health coverage scheme, of committing healthcare fraud for several years by seeking services that were not medically necessary.

The fraud was first detected in February 2020 when the NHSO reviewed the records of a patient who sought emergency treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) every few days at different state-run hospitals.

An investigation found that from 2010 to 2016, the same patient made 675 requests for emergency treatment for COPD and other illnesses at various hospitals in different provinces.

He was prescribed oral and inhaled medications to alleviate symptoms on most visits.

According to the NHSO, inhaled medication for COPD can be used 200 times per bottle or for 60 days, so the patient’s frequent visits were irregular.

Considering the market prices of inhaled medications, between 350 and 400 baht per bottle, the office suspected the person was committing fraud and reselling the medication.

The financial damage from the fraud committed from 2010 to 2016 was estimated at over 1.2 million baht.

Interest in astronomy sparked by contest staged by international body, says researcher

Two Thai names are among 20 pairs selected by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for exoplanets and their host stars, according to the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Narit).

“Kaewkosin-Phailinsiam” was selected for the red dwarf star GJ 3470 and its bluish-green planet GJ 3470b, Narit researcher Supachai Awiphan said after results of the NameExoWorlds 2022 contest sponsored by the IAU were released this week.

The celestial objects are 95.9 light years from the solar system and located in the constellation of Cancer. The names, proposed by Hassadin Pattanakorn and Chalermwut Samana, were voted on by Thais in an online poll before being submitted.

Kaewkosin refers to the crystals of the Hindu deity Indra in the Thai language, alluding to the ancient belief that the stars were gemstones.

Phailinsiam is the Thai term for the blue “Siamese Sapphire”, alluding to the detection of a phenomenon known as “Rayleigh scattering” in the planet’s atmosphere, suggestive of blue skies.

Mr Supachai said the selection of “Kaewkosin-Phailinsiam” has delighted Thai astronomy circles because Thai astronomers were the first to observe the distant bodies through telescopes at the National Observatory on Doi Inthanon mountain in Chiang Mai province.

He said the study in Thailand of planets outside the solar system has made significant progress since then. Thai astronomers have demonstrated their potential in international astronomy research through a number of discoveries over the past decade, he added.

Mr Supachai said two pairs of Thai names were selected earlier for exoplanets and host stars by the IAU as part of its NameExoWorlds project: Chalawan-Tapaokaew-Tapathong for the 47 UMa planetary system and Chaophraya-Maeping for WASP-50.

The NameExoWorlds 2022 contest was held to mark the 10th anniversary of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO).

The contest attracted 603 entries from 91 countries in which some 8,800 individuals worked in teams, putting forward outreach initiatives that stimulated the direct participation of almost 12 million people worldwide.

Many of the 20 pairs of names selected for exoplanets and their host stars pay homage to fauna and flora with cultural significance and celebrated folktales, mythologies and lore from around the world, including words in Cherokee, Taino, Zoque, Chinese and Korean.

Acting division chief says higher-ranking officers and officials from other agencies might also be involved

Forty highway police officers have been transferred for alleged involvement in the overloaded truck bribe-sticker scandal, as an anti-graft panel widens its investigation.

Those transferred include one deputy superintendent, 17 deputy inspectors and 22 non-commissioned officers. Of the total, 12 will face criminal action for taking bribes, said Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, commander of the Counter Corruption Division (CCD).

They will be sent to work at the Highway Police Division operations centre pending further action, said Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat, who has also been acting as head of the division since the transfer of its leader to an inactive post.

He said he believed more police and officials with higher ranks hight be involved, but they might be from other agencies. A working panel of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will extend the investigation, he added.

The scandal, said to have been prevalent for 20 years or more, was first brought to light by Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, a Move Forward party list MP-elect. The outspoken politician said overloaded trucks with special stickers were not being detained, nor were their drivers ever arrested.

After the initial reports, Pol Maj Gen Ekkaraj Limsangkat, commander of the Highway Police Division, was transferred to an inactive post at the Central Investigation Bureau on May 30.

Apichart Prairungruang (left), head of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand, meets with Move Forward MP-elect Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn (right) to discuss the truck sticker-bribery scandal at the party’s headquarters on June 1. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard)

A senior official of the Ministry of Transport admitted on Friday that there were loopholes in the system for regulating overloaded trucks.

The human factor — specifically, the use of discretion in determining which trucks to detain and which ones to let go — needed to be addressed, said Pisak Jitviriyavasin, the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary.

He said the ministry would focus on IT solutions to reduce human discretion and graft as much as possible. Longer-term, a body camera system should be adopted, he said after chairing a meeting of a ministry fact-finding panel on the bribery scandal.

He has instructed the Department of Highways and the Department of Rural Rods to consider the use of body cameras by officers and plans to raise the issue for discussion at the next meeting on June 20.

The Department of Highways operates 97 permanent checkpoints for weighing vehicles and the Department of Rural Roads has five.

The ministry would take disciplinary action against officials found involved in taking bribes from operators of overloaded trucks, Mr Pisak added.

Jirapong Theppitak, deputy director-general of the Department of Highways, said the department had set up two working panels. One will look into alleged wrongdoing involving officials and the other will inspect weighing stations in a bid to improve efficiency.

The Land Transport Federation of Thailand would be invited to give information to the department about alleged bribe-taking involving department officials, he added.

A sticker indicating a bribe has been paid is seen on the windscreen of an overloaded truck. (Twitter: @Wirojlak)