Barkar Nash (Page 1,099)

Lese majeste law safe if I’m prime minister, he says

Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate Srettha Thavisin declared on Tuesday he would not seek to abolish or amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese majeste law, if the parliament approves his nomination as prime minister.

“If the Pheu Thai Party nominates me during the next round of parliamentary voting to select the prime minister, there will certainly be no amending of Section 112,” he said.

“Pheu Thai has made it clear that the law will not be amended or abolished. If we want to see the country move forward and a new government successfully set up, the Section 112 issue must be set aside. 

“Today, the issues of the economy and the people’s livelihoods are most important. What we have to do first is to make sure the people have enough to eat and that the economy improves,” he said.

Mr Srettha said this after some senators expressed doubts about his position on Section 112. The senators alleged Mr Srettha had said Section 112 should be amended during an interview in the lead-up to the May 14 general election. They said they would not support Mr Srettha if he were nominated for prime minister unless he clearly and satisfactorily explained his stand on the issue.

Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha has tentatively set Aug 4 for parliament to again meet in  joint session to vote on the nomination of a prime minister.

Linthiporn Warinvacharoj, a Pheu Thai list MP and acting party spokeswoman, said Mr Srettha had addressed the matter in an interview on July 20, after the Move Forward Party’s prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat failed to get parliamentary approval, mainly because of his party’s firm stand on amending Section 112.

The interview video had been posted on social media, she said.
 
“In the interview, Mr Srettha said clearly the issue must be handled properly during the next parliamentary  vote for prime minister. He admitted Section 112 is the main stumbling block. He said if Pheu Thai is given a chance to nominate a candidate for the position, the party must not touch Section 112 or it would not get support from the Senate and many other political parties,” Ms Linthiporn said.

Sources said the Pheu Thai Party would issue a statement reiterating its standpoint of not amending or abolishing Section 112.

A source close of Mr Srettha said the property tycoon never had it in mind to amend or do away with Section 112. During the election campaign, when pressed for an answer Mr Srettha had opted for a neutral stance, saying the lese majeste law could be amended if the parliament or society saw it as necessary and this could be done through the normal parliamentary process, he said.

Water in affected area still not fit for consumption, say health officials

NARATHIWAT: A school was among the dozens of buildings heavily damaged by Saturday’s huge fireworks explosion in Sungai Kolok and has been closed for two weeks for repairs.

Soraya Asae, the director of Ban Muno School, said the powerful blast damaged five school buildings and seven houses for teachers. The ceilings of the classrooms collapsed and windows were shattered. Structural damage was also found in the teachers’ housing. The total damage was estimated at 3 million baht, she said.

The school is located about 300 metres from the warehouse where at least a tonne of illegally stored fireworks blew up during a welding mishap on Saturday afternoon, killing 12 people, injuring 121 and damaging 292 buildings in the village of Muno near the Malaysian border.

Ms Soraya said the school would be closed for two weeks, with classes suspended starting from Thursday. Debris, scrap metal, broken glass and other materials scattered around the site will be removed and the damaged buildings and equipment will undergo repairs.

She said the incident happened so suddenly and unexpectedly, there was no time for the school to properly cope with it.

The school director expressed her thanks to Supot Maneeratanachot, director of the Area 2 primary education office, for giving bags of survival gear and some money to the teachers and students as a morale booster.

She said the school had opened a bank account to take donations to be used for the repairs.

Dr Chaiwat Pattanapisalsak, director of the Narathiwat public health office, said teams from the office were visiting residents affected by the explosion.

Dozens of people left homeless by the blast have been staying at a temporary shelter set up on the sports field of the Muno Subdistrict Administrative Organisation.

Health officials have found that the air quality within a 500-metre radius of the explosion site was still good, but the water was not suitable for use or consumption, said Dr Chaiwat.

Police have summoned the owner of the warehouse for questioning, but it remained unclear when he would come in, as he was reportedly on holiday with his family.

Thaksin Shinawatra will return on a private jet, landing at Don Mueang airport, according to a senior member of the Chartthaipattana Party and close friend who recently visited the former prime minister.

Chartthaipattana secretary-general Praphat Phothasuthon made his prediction after returning from meeting Thaksin in Hong Kong, where the political fugitive celebrated his 74th birthday last week.

Mr Praphat, who is also 74, said he and Thaksin were old friends and he always went to see him on his birthday, wherever he was.

Mr Praphat quoted Thaksin as saying that he would return to Thailand on a private jet that would land at Don Mueang airport. He would then be taken to a court and was willing to go to jail if so required, according to Mr Praphat, who is also caretaker deputy agriculture minister. He did not say when Thaksin would return.

The Chartthaipattana secretary-general denied that he and Thaksin discussed any special political agreement during their meeting in Hong Kong. Mr Praphat pointed out that Chartthaipattana and Pheu Thai had enjoyed close ties for a long time.

The Pheu Thai Party is trying to form the new government in the wake of the May 14 general election. It came second with 141 House votes. The Move Forward Party won 151 House seats but failed to win parliament approval when it nominated its leader Pita Limjaroenrat for prime minister of July 13.

Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra is one of Pheu Thai’s three candidates for prime minister. She recently said Thaksin would return at Don Mueang airport on Aug 10.

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

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

In the first case, the court found him guilty of abuse of power in his then-wife Khunying Potjaman’s purchase of state-owned land in Ratchadapisek area for less than the market value. In October 2008, he was sentenced to two years in prison. The 10-year statute of limitations on the court ruling expired in October 2018.

In the second case, Thaksin was sentenced to two years in prison after he was found guilty of malfeasance in a case concerning a two- and three-digit lottery.

In the third case, Thaksin was given three years in prison for abusing his position by authorising loans totaling 4 billion baht to Myanmar by the Export-Import Bank of Thailand. The loans were used to buy equipment from a telecom firm owned by his family.

In the fourth case, the former prime minister was sentenced to five years in prison when the court found him guilty of using nominees to hold shares in Shin Corp. The law prohibits any political office holder from owning shares in a telecommunications company.

The statute of limitations for the court decisions in the second, third and fourth cases has not expired.

Chartthaipattana Party secretary-general Praphat Phothasuton. (File photo)

A police lieutenant colonel has been dismissed from the force after allegedly demanding 100,000 baht and sex from a woman motorist in exchange for dropping a charge of trespassing, after her car broke down one night in Saraburi province.

The woman also recounted a horrifying experience of a strange man coming to her aid on the dark road and then attempting to molest her, and her escape that led to the charge of unlawful entry. 

The woman, whose name was withheld, sought help from social media advocate Kanthat Pongpaiboonvej, alias Kan Chompalang, who took her to file an initial complaint in Saraburi and then with deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn.

The woman said the harrowing events occurred in October last year in Saraburi province.

She was driving home at night when her car developed a problem and the battery went flat, stranding her alongside the road.

A man came to her rescue and towed her car to a house in an isolated street. He told her he would get a gallon container to buy petrol. As her mobile phone’s battery had also run out, she asked to borrow a charger. He told her to get it from inside a room. When she entered the room he immediately locked the door and tried to sexually molest her.

She evaded his clutches by asking to use the bathroom and then fled from there, climbing over a fence into the neighbouring property. The owner of that house then accused her of trespassing at night.

She was taken to a police station to face the trespassing charge. While there she filed a charge of sexual molestation against the owner of the first house, who had initially come to her rescue.

The woman said that after learning what had happened, the owner of the second house applied to withdraw the unlawful entry charge, but police said it was a criminal offence and the charge could not be dropped.

A police lieutenant colonel later approached her and said he could help. He allegedly demanded 100,000 baht in exchange for not taking the case to prosecutors. She did not have that much money and negotiated it down to 10,000 baht. The police officer then demanded to have sex with her, she said. 

Mr Kanthat later took her to file an initial complaint with Sao Hai police station in Saraburi province against the accused officer.

Pol Maj Gen Wichit Boonchinnawutthikul, chief of Saraburi police, who also questioned the victim, said on Tuesday that the accused lieutenant colonel was a police inspector assigned to administrative work at Muang police station before being moved to assist at Sao Hai police station.

The accused officer was earlier the subject of an internal fact-finding inquiry for alleged fraud. The probe panel found him guilty and had recommended he be dismissed from the force. A decision was pending when the woman filed her complaint.

Pol Maj Gen Wichit promised justice for the woman and said no officer who caused damage to the police force would be protected .

Khaosod Online reported that Pol Maj Gen Wichit signed an order dismissing the accused officer after Pol Gen Surachate asked him to handle the case carefully and ensure justice for all sides.

Japanese man denies any conflict with late wife, Chiang Mai police awaiting autopsy report

CHIANG MAI: Police have yet to verify whether a Japanese woman committed suicide as her husband said after she was found dead in their hotel room on Monday.

The Japanese husband of Ami Hosoe, 25, told police that she suffered from depression and had tried to strangle herself with the cord of a hairdryer in their hotel room on Sunday night.

At the time, he said, he was able to save his wife and then hid the hairdryer, according to Pol Maj Gen Thawatchai Pongwiwatanachai, commander of Chiang Mai police.

The Japanese man denied having had any dispute with his wife, Pol Maj Gen Thawatchai said on Tuesday.

The couple briefly left their hotel room for a convenience store at 3.45am on Monday, the husband reportedly told police.

When they returned to their room, he went to bed. When he woke up on Monday morning, he said, he found his wife dead in the bathroom.

He told police that his wife was lying face down in a bathtub, with a phone charging cable around her neck. He reportedly moved the body and left it face up on the hotel room floor before calling hotel staff.

Police were checking the woman’s medical records to determine if she suffered from depression. They are also waiting for an autopsy report from Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, said Pol Maj Gen Thawatchai.

The couple had a business in Bangkok and were in Chiang Mai for a vacation. They checked into the Parc Borough hotel on Mahidol Road in Muang district on Saturday.

Pol Maj Gen Thawatchai said security video showed that no one else entered the couple’s room before the report of the death.

They has been scheduled to check out at noon on Monday, he added.

The damage to the navy frigate HTMS Naresuan on July 26 occurred when the ship’s left gunwale hit a corner of the quay at Map Ta Phut industrial port in Muang district, Rayong province, the Royal Thai Navy spoksman said on Tuesday.

Adm Pokkrong Monthatphalin said it happened as the ship was leaving the quay.

The crash damaged one tube of the triple torpedo launcher and several life rafts, and left scratches on the portside of the vessel’s hull.

The operations centre of the First Naval Area had launched an inquiry to establish whether the crash was an accident or caused by human error. A technical support unit would make initial repairs and assess the full extent of the damage, Adm Pokkrong said.

The incident occurred while the frigate was taking part in Naval Security Port and Ship Map Ta Phut Exercise 2023, held from July 25-27 at the Map Ta Phut industrial port.

HTMS Naresuan is the most capable of the navy’s frigates with a maximum speed of 32 knots from its 44,250-horsepower diesel engines. The vessel is 120.5 metres in length and 13.7 metres wide. It was built  in China and first commissioned nearly 30 years ago.

Earlier reports said the accident occurred on July 26 while HTMS Naresuan was docking and sources estimated the damage at 100 million baht, but gave fewer details.

The damaged torpedo launcher, left, and life saving equipment on HTMS Naresuan after the accident at Map Ta Phut industrial port in Rayong province on July 26. (Photo supplied)

SURAT THANI: Koh Tao, in the Gulf of Thailand northwest of Koh Samui, reported a record number of tourist arrivals in one day on July 28, provincial governor Wichuwat Jinto said.

The tourist association of Koh Tao, a tambon in Koh Phangan district, reported that 3,106 tourists arrived on the island by boats on July 28, the start of the six-day government holiday that ends on Aug 2. This was a  one-day record, he said.

The governor said about 90% of the tourists were foreigners who were likely to travel to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party at Hat Rin beach on Aug 3.

On nearby Koh Samui, the number of tourists passing through the island’s airport reached 141,454 in the month of July. In August, the number was expected to go up by 30,000 to 171,834, based on hotel reservations. In addition to air travellers, more were expected to arrive by ferry or speed boat.

Ratchaporn Poonsawat, president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, said there were now not enough flights to take all the tourists who made advance room reservations, resulting in cancellations.

Mr Ratchaporn said the association is asking airlines to increase the number of flights to about 50 a day during the high season, when about 5 billion baht is expected to be injected into the island’s  economy. 

The Pheu Thai Party should focus on mustering enough support for its bid to form a new government rather than bringing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra back home, said Assoc Prof Phichai Ratanatilaka Na Bhuket, an academic with the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida).

Drumming up as much support as possible for Srettha Thavisin, who is expected to be nominated for a new prime ministerial vote on Friday, should be Pheu Thai’s priority, Assoc Prof Phichai said.

However, if Pheu Thai’s candidate can’t secure enough votes, the party should return the right to lead the bloc to the Move Forward Party (MFP), he said.

The so-called old powers — political parties in the caretaker government and their allies — are pressuring Pheu Thai into ditching the MFP after earlier seeming reluctant to engage in talks with parties outside their alliance, he said.

The change of tack follows a statement made by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter, that her father planned to return to Thailand on Aug 10, said Assoc Prof Phichai.

Rumours have also swirled that Pheu Thai and its red-shirt supporters have united with their opponents, yellow-shirt supporters of the caretaker government, in a new deal reached to prevent the MFP from succeeding in taking office after the party won the May 14 election with the highest number of House seats, said Assoc Prof Phichai.

A secret deal reportedly reached as part of the bid to help Thaksin return to Thailand has abruptly been aborted, dashing the hopes of those who expected to see Thaksin return as he had vowed to, Assoc Prof Phichai said.

Jatuporn Prompan, former chairman of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), said he did not believe Thaksin would return on Aug 10 because if he did, he would be put in jail instead of enjoying the privilege of winning a royal pardon on the day he arrives.

Mr Jatuporn said the instant pardon hope — where Thaksin is allowed to go home — was “highly unlikely” to become a reality.

“If he doesn’t show up at 10.30am on Aug 10 as claimed, let me find another excuse for him. Maybe he is sick this time,” said Mr Jatuporn.