Barkar Nash (Page 1,019)

PHUKET: A Kazakh man suspected of shooting and injuring a Russian man in a gun attack in Thalang district on Wednesday has been arrested, police said.

The suspect, who was identified as Artur Legay, was detained by immigration police at Phuket International Airport on Thursday morning.

According to the initial questioning, the man from Kazakhstan had checked in and stayed at a hotel in tambon Choeng Thale. Further investigation is currently underway.

At around 11.45am on Wednesday, the Phuket 191 emergency response centre received a report that a foreign man who was sitting in a car was seriously injured in a gun attack in front of a café in the business area of Laguna Phuket, about one kilometre from Choeng Thale police station.

Local police and rescuers rushed to the spot.

According to witnesses and security camera footage from the area, when the car arrived in front of the café, a man, whose face was covered, who had earlier arrived on a Honda PCX motorcycle, approached the car. He then fired four shots with a handgun at the man sitting inside through the windscreen. After the shooting, the attacker fled on the motorcycle.

The man in the car, later identified as Dmitry Aleynikov, a 44-year-old Russian national, sustained gunshot wounds to the chest, right armpit and left arm. Rescuers extracted the unconscious and bleeding man from the vehicle and rushed him to Thalang Hospital.

A police investigation led to the arrest of the suspected attacker.

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The Department of Rural Roads (DRR) announced the completion of the Na Klang-Ao Jik road linking Phuket and Phangnga, which will support local tourism and cross-provincial transport.

DRR director-general Apirat Chaiwongnoi said on Wednesday the department had invested about 282.8 million baht in the 4.2km road, which is part of a city expansion plan in Phangnga’s Thai Muang district.

The concrete road has four driving lanes, each 3.5 metres wide, with a 2.5-metre wide hard shoulder on both sides. The road has a drainage system, lamp posts and traffic signs, while its footpaths are designed to be 3.5 metres wide.

The Na Klang-Ao Jik, or 1042 rural road, is a new route connecting Phangnga to Phuket, Mr Apirat said. No details were available on how much traffic it is likely to take.

It’s expected to be used by tourists who fly to Phuket to visit Phangnga’s tourist destinations, such as Na Tai Beach and Khao Pilai Beach.

He said that completing the Na Klang-Ao Jik road will benefit the local economy, cross-province transport, and tourism.

According to the Phangnga Tourism Association, more visitors travelled to Phangnga last year, up 41.65% from the year.

The total number of tourists last year was 546,475, and the tourism industry generated about 2.7 billion baht for the province.

During the first four months of this year, Chumphon welcomed 499,047 visitors, up 60.68% from the same period last year, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

The tourism industry generated about 1.2 billion baht, up about 20% from the same period of last year to the southern province from Jan-April.

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Thailand is among 13 countries newly added to Canada’s electronic travel authorisation (eTA) programme by its Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, the country announced on Wednesday.

Travellers who have either held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or who currently hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa can now apply for an eTA instead of a visa when travelling to Canada by air, according to the website canada.ca.

Effective from Tuesday, eligible travellers from Thailand and the following countries can now benefit from the programme: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Costa Rica, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

“By making travel to Canada more accessible, we are enhancing opportunities for collaboration, trade and investment, thus invigorating our economy,” said Kevin Lamoureux, Canada’s MP for Winnipeg North.

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The Shinawatra family wants fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to postpone his return from exile to Thailand, according to a source.

Shortly before the May 14 general election, Thaksin, who fled the country to avoid facing jail time, tweeted that he wanted to return home before July 26, his 74th birthday, to care for his grandchildren.

His planned return was discussed on Wednesday at a family get-together attended by Khunying Potjaman Na Pombejra, Thaksin’s ex-wife, Thaksin’s daughters, Pintongta and her husband, and Paetongtarn.

The get-together at a Bangkok hotel took place after Ms Paetongtarn, one of the Pheu Thai Party’s prime ministerial candidates, told the press at Pheu Thai Party headquarters that her father wants to return home next month and is ready to face justice.

According to the source, Thaksin cannot wait to return but the family is not sure about the timing and wants him to postpone his plan until the formation of the coalition government.

The source said the family also thinks it is too soon for Ms Paetongtarn to try and serve as prime minister and that it would be better for her to wait five years. At 37, the clan feels she is too young to handle the political situation and there are other suitable candidates such as Srettha Thavisin and Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, the source said.

“She is young and doesn’t have much experience. She entered politics because she wants to strengthen Pheu Thai. It’s better for her to take it step by step. She also told her father she has yet to gain more experience, and he gets it,” said the source.

Early on Wednesday, Ms Paetongtarn told the media that Thaksin plans to return to Thailand in July but he is likely to look at several factors before deciding on an exact date.

She said Thaksin has made no coordination through her, but he is believed to be liaising with certain government agencies.

Ms Paetongtarn said Thaksin would face justice regardless of what government is in power.

“The last time we talked, [his plan] was still July. His return is quite important. So, circumstances and timing will be taken into consideration,” she said.

Thaksin was overthrown by a military coup on Sept 19, 2006, while he was overseas. He has since lived in self-imposed exile, except for a brief visit to Thailand in 2008.

He has spent 17 years saying he will come back. There are 18 records of him talking about his return.

The first time he was known to talk about coming home was on March 30, 2009 when he addressed red-shirt protesters in front of Government House via a video conference. “As soon as a first shot is fired at people, I’ll lead you to Bangkok,” he said.

Three years later he made a phone-in to greet red-shirt supporters at their gathering in Surin and told them: “If I go home, I’ll have to come back cool. And I’ll let you know later how to come back cool.”

The rest of Thaksin’s homecoming nods were recorded from 2021 to this May.

On May 1, he tweeted about the birth of his newest grandchild and said that all seven were born after he left the country.

On May 9, he tweeted that he wanted to return home before July 26. “I am determined to return home by July before my (74th) birthday to care for my grandchildren.”

During his absence, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions sentenced him to 12 years imprisonment in four cases.

These range from abuse of power related to the ownership of state-owned land, malfeasance concerning the two- and three-digit lottery, abusing his position by authorising bank loans to buy equipment from a telecoms firm owned by his family, and using nominees to hold shares in that company, Shin Corp.

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The Highway Police Division (HPD) will set up a committee to look into a recent attempt by a senior official at the Excise Department to lobby the HPD to avoid taking legal action against a tanker carrying illegal oil.

Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, commander of the Anti-Corruption Division (ACD), also acting as HPD commander, said the HPD police last Saturday stopped and seized an oil tanker for inspection on Phetkasem Road in Prachuap Khiri Khan and found the oil it transported was illegal.

Following the seizure, the unnamed senior Excise Department official called the HPD team and asked for a favour to let the tanker driver go and release the tanker, which the team refused to do, said Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat.

The Excise Department official then tried contacting Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat’s team asking for help to agree to a negotiation, he said.

Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat said as soon as he learnt about the caller’s intention, he immediately refused to meet that person.

“Now is time for everyone at the HPD to join hands in shaking off our bad reputation and build a new one to regain public trust,” he said.

He was referring to an ongoing investigation into the “sticker bribery” scandal of highway lorries disclosed by Move Forward Party (MFP) MP-elect Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, who cited information supplied by Land Transport Federation of Thailand chairman Apichart Prairungruang.

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The head of an army training centre is facing an investigation following the death of a conscript the morning after he was reportedly punished for smuggling an e-cigarette into the centre, army chief Gen Narongpan Jittkaewtae said on Wednesday.

A committee will look into the death at the 27th Cavalry Squadron in Muang district of Saraburi. Those involved in his training will be punished if they are found to be at fault, the army chief said.

He was responding to media reports about the death of Pvt Wanyawut Lampapa which some suggest resulted from arduous military punishment exercises. News reports cited a popular Facebook page called Big Krian (big troll) which quoted the result of an autopsy on the 21-year-old soldier. The result indicated the cause of death was a ruptured spleen.

The autopsy result contradicted a statement by the military camp where the training centre is located, which insisted the soldier died from a pre-existing chronic disease, said a post on its Facebook page on Tuesday.

The young man’s mother has taken his body back home to Chamni district of Buri Ram for a funeral and she had no problems with the cause as given, said the post. She said she was well aware that her son was physically weak and tired easily when doing exercise.

She had talked to his trainers and other parties about how he died, said the post. His mother, however, insisted her son didn’t have any chronic disease. The soldier arrived at the centre on May 16 and died on Sunday.

“We have to accept the truth no matter what. And if it really is our men’s fault, they will face disciplinary action,” said Gen Narongpan. “As for the family of the dead soldier, we will see what we can do to compensate them.”

The centre at the 27th Cavalry Squadron is one of 299 army training centres nationwide. The army chief insisted the army has an accountability policy on conscription and soldier training which can still win the trust of parents.

Army Region 1 later issued a letter expressing deep regret for the loss of Pvt Wanyawut.

It said an initial probe found he had not been assaulted leading to his death.

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The Thai Frontline Physician Confederation (TFPC) voiced disappointment on Wednesday at the Public Health Ministry’s response to demands that it tackle problems faced by medical professionals including doctors.

The union said while the ministry acknowledged problems ranging from excessive workloads to personnel shortages and underpaid staff, it stopped short of saying how it would address the issues.

The union said it had tried to bring the problems to the attention of ministry executives, only to be told they were not in a position to offer higher pay or positions to doctors.

It hoped the new public health minister would look into the problems and solve them so medical professionals could do their jobs with less pressure.

Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, public health deputy permanent secretary, said on Wednesday the ministry has been working to fix problems facing medical professionals. He said the ministry’s plan focused on four areas: payment, welfare, career paths and workload. The ministry had to work with agencies to push these areas ahead.

Issues such as the shortage of doctors and doctor training would be discussed with the Medical Council of Thailand, while the Civil Service Commission and the ministry will discuss recruitment and retirement issues, including a special employment scheme. On workload, he said the ministry would talk with the National Health Security Office, which is responsible for the universal healthcare coverage scheme.

Expanded medical and health services under the UHC scheme have resulted in more patients, putting an extra workload on doctors and other medical personnel. The Public Health Ministry is the main service provider of the UHC, and it cannot deny people services, said Dr Taweesin. On Tuesday, public health permanent secretary Dr Opas Karnkawinpong admitted medical personnel shortages have led to staff being overworked at some hospitals.

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