Barkar Nash (Page 1,289)

The Revenue Department rejects claims that it is planning to impose a 1,000-baht departure tax on departing Thais and foreign residents.

Responding to fears raised on social media, the department says it is legally obliged by the constitution to seek the public’s opinion on executive decrees scrapped by past administrations.

Winit: ‘Survey was just a formality’

Winit Wisetsuwannaphum, the department’s deputy director-general, yesterday stressed the government has no plans to reinstate the 1,000-baht departure tax for Thais and the 500-baht tax for those leaving by land or sea, which was established by executive decree back in 1983.

Although the departure tax had already been scrapped in 1991, the constitution requires the department to assess the suitability of old executive decrees. The department conducted the survey on the tax on its website www.rd.go.th from May 3 to 17, he said. Some saw it and panicked, thinking it was coming back.

By the end of next year the department will also have conducted similar surveys on laws concerning inheritance tax and petroleum income tax, Mr Winit said.

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A former monk, arrested with two others for allegedly embezzling 180 million baht from Wat Pha Dhammakiri in Nakhon Ratchasima during his tenure there, denied the charge during police questioning.

According to Pol Maj Gen Montri Thetkhan, Crime Suppression Division commander, Khom Khongkeaw, formerly known as Phra Ajarn Khom Abhivaro, and his sister said the money was used for “other purposes” and did not intend to embezzle any of it, despite reports saying the funds were transferred to her account.

The two suspects, along with the third — identified as Wutthima, a former Phra Mor — are being held at the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), Pol Maj Gen Montri said.

The suspects are expected to face the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases by today.

Regarding the financial transaction, Pol Maj Gen Montri said progress was slow, as authorities from state agencies asked to assist the investigation were closed during the long holidays.

Pol Maj Gen Montri said more progress on the matter is expected this week, as investigators appointed by the Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Clergy are planning to check the temple’s treasury.

Mr Khom, who was a well-known meditation expert, was arrested mid-last week, along with two others, for allegedly embezzling 180 million baht from Wat Pha Dhammakiri, where he was based.

One donation to the temple was allegedly given to Mr Wutthima, a former temple abbot, who then passed it to Mr Khom’s sister.

She is said to have put some of the money into Mr Khom’s bank account while keeping some for herself.

The case is now being handled by the CSD, under the supervision of the Investigation Bureau after the CIG received a report from the National Office of Buddhism regarding the alleged embezzlement.

The suspects are accused of embezzlement and abuse of duty. Mr Khom’s sister is also charged with receiving stolen goods.

Mr Khom is also said to have had a sexual relationship with his followers. He was defrocked on Monday.

Meanwhile, Praiwan “Peary” Wannabut, a former monk who became a social media influencer, commented on Mr Khom’s arrest.

Mr Praiwan said that some well-known monks are unreliable as they can trick their followers for personal benefits.

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Major ceremonial events are to be held to commemorate the eighth cycle birthday of His Holinesss the Supreme Patriarch on June 26, the government has announced.

One cycle is equivalent to 12 years on the Thai calendar and royally sponsored state and religious events will mark His Holiness’s 96th birthday.

Born in Muang district of Ratchaburi on June 26, 1927, he was first ordained as a monk in 1948 with the Dhamma alias of Ambaro.

The senior monk was named abbot of Wat Ratchabophit in Bangkok in 2008 before being appointed the Supreme Patriarch by His Majesty the King in 2017.

PM’s Office Minister Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said the events will be broadcast live on national television on June 26.

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The Election Commission (EC) faced heavy criticism after officials at one advance voting station gave wrong details on constituencies and provinces of cast ballots on Sunday.

EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee said officials at the Nonthaburi advance voting station wrote incorrect details about the constituencies and provinces of voters on parcels of used ballots. The mistakes were found after about 100 people had cast their votes there.

After learning of the errors, election officials corrected them and there would not be any problem about vote counts for any constituencies and provinces on the election day on May 14, Mr Sawaeng said.

“I confirm that the used ballots will be sent to their respective constituencies… The incident was the fault of our officials. An investigation will determine if these were honest mistakes,” the EC secretary-general said.

He said that the mistakes would not recur on the election day next Sunday because voters would cast ballots at their respective polling stations, unlike at the advance station on this Sunday.

Social media users expressed their frustration over the mistakes. Many people demanded legal action against election commissioners, including their impeachment.

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The Election Commission (EC) faced heavy criticism after officials at one advance voting station gave wrong details on constituencies and provinces of cast ballots on Sunday.

EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee said officials at the Nonthaburi advance voting station wrote incorrect details about the constituencies and provinces of voters on parcels of used ballots. The mistakes were found after about 100 people had cast their votes there.

After learning of the errors, election officials corrected them and there would not be any problem about vote counts for any constituencies and provinces on the election day on May 14, Mr Sawaeng said.

“I confirm that the used ballots will be sent to their respective constituencies… The incident was the fault of our officials. An investigation will determine if these were honest mistakes,” the EC secretary-general said.

He said that the mistakes would not recur on the election day next Sunday because voters would cast ballots at their respective polling stations, unlike at the advance station on this Sunday.

Social media users expressed their frustration over the mistakes. Many people demanded legal action against election commissioners, including their impeachment.

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An alleged member of a gang of gunmen for hire was arrested on Sunday morning in the southern province of Phatthalung in a police crackdown on suspected criminals in the lead-up to the May 14 election, Crime Suppression Sub-division 6 commander Pol Col Pongpanot Chukaew said.

Akradej Numark, alias Tia Carbine, 35, was arrested by Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police at a house in tambon Na Not of Muang district with a warrant issued by the Trang Provincial Court on charge of premeditated murder.

The arrest followed an incident on Feb 8 when a group of armed men shot Sukhawit Janthawong, 35, to death in front of his eight-year-old daughter at a house at Moo 5 village in tambon Laem Som in Trang’s Palian district.

A police investigation found the armed men were members of a gang of gunmen for hire called Carbine operating in Phatthalung and Trang provinces. In a family feud, the gang was hired to kill Sukhawit.

With evidence collected by police, the Trang Provincial Court approved warrants for the arrests of suspected gang members and the man who hired them. A CSD crackdown operation was launched on April 25. Several suspects had been arrested, with Mr Akradej being apprehended on Sunday.

Mr Akradej denied the charge. He was handed over to Ban Nong Euang police station in Trang province for legal proceedings.

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The Meteorological Department expected heat indices to reach dangerous levels in five areas of the country on Sunday.

The highest “real feel” apparent regional temperatures expected on Sunday were:

• 51.2°C in Phetchabun in the North;
• 46°C in Kosum Phisai district, Maha Sarakham province, in the Northeast;
• 52.7°C in Bangkok’s Bang Na area in the Central area;
• 53°C in Sattahip district, Chon Buri province, in the East; and
• 51.1°C in Phuket, in the South.

The heat index, also known as the apparent temperature, is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature.

Sunday’s soaring temperatures caused 14 people, including voters and officials manning polling stations, to faint at Ramkhamhaeng University in Hua Mak area of Bang Kapi district, a polling station for advance voting in Bangkok.

Pairat Kasetsin, the Bang Kapi district chief, said many voters reportedly felt unwell and fainted when they turned up at their polling stations for advance voting around noon or in the afternoon because of the heat. They were provided with first-aid treatment in an area nearby.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration sent water trucks to the venue. Water was sprayed into the air to reduce the heat. More electric fans were installed around the area.

Elsewhere, three people were also reported to have lost consciousness because of the heat at Chan Kasem Rajabhat University, another polling station for advance voting in Bangkok.

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KHON KAEN: A group of villagers from a village in Muang district of this northeastern province filed a petition with the provincial election committee on Sunday morning, accusing a Pheu Thai Party candidate of vote-buying.

The villagers from Ban Non Ruang village in tambon Ban Kho of Muang district were accompanied by Pongsak Songnok, the village headman, and a lawyer, when they submitted the petition to Vachara Seesarn, director of the office of the Khon Kaen election committee.

Photos and video clips of money being handed over to villagers who turned up for the speech by a Pheu Thai candidate at a rally in the village were reportedly handed over to Mr Vachara.

After the petition was officially accepted, investigators at the Khon Kaen election office immediately started questioning the petitioners in an investigation room. Outsiders and members of the media were not allowed.

Mr Pongsak, the village chief, said he accompanied the villagers to give them moral support. The election committee was now in an investigation process, he added.

The lawyer, who asked not to be named, said he was acting as a legal advisor to the villagers who witnessed the alleged fraud.

Mr Vachara, director of the provincial election committee, said the petition was now being examined and the petitioners had been kept as witnesses. The documents and evidence submitted would be examined and the witnesses would be further investigated to establish whether the accusation had grounds.

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