Barkar Nash (Page 219)

Social activist Srisuwan Janya on Tuesday filed a petition with the Administrative Court accusing four high-level officials of abuse of power in providing special privileges for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Named in the petition are the director-general of the Department of Corrections, the commander of  Bangkok Remand Prison, the director of the Medical Correctional Institution and the director of Police General Hospital.

Mr Srisuwan, as leader of the Patriotic People Organisation, accused the four officials of abuse of power in giving Thaksin the privilege of receiving treatment in a luxury facility at Police General Hospital in violation of laws and regulations.

The persistent petitioner said Thaksin returned to the country to serve a prison term 17 years after being sentenced. However, upon his return, the four officials had misused their power and moved Thaksin out of the Bangkok Remand Prison to get medical treatment at the Police General Hospital, where he has now stayed for nearly 120 days.

Thursday will mark 120 days since Thaksin was transferred to the hospital. By law, the minister of justice must personally approve any stay exceeding 120 days by an inmate receiving medical treatment outside a prison hospital.

Section 55 of the Corrections Act of 2017 stipulated clearly that in order for an inmate to be moved out of a prison for medical treatment they must have a serious mental health problem or have been infected by a communicable disease, accordng to Mr Srisuwan.

In Thaksin’s case, the statements issued by the Department of Corrections and by doctors did not match these conditions. Only a court could decide whether or not the admission of Thaksin to the Police General Hospital was legal, Mr Srisuwan said.

A regulation issued by the Department of Corrections on Dec 7 was clear evidence of collaboration to enable Thaksin to not stay in prison for even a single day. Prison overcrowding was cited as a reason for the department to issue this regulation, even though 99% of the prisoners were drug convicts and not entitled to benefit from the regulation, he said.

The regulation was obviously aimed at moving Thaksin from the hospital to serve his sentence in his own residence, according to Mr Srisuwan.

Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong has defended the regulation, saying it was in line with international practices.

Mr Srisuwan said the Patriotic People Organisation had, in its petition, asked the Administrative Court to investigate and order the revocation of the Corrections Department’s order moving Thaksin from prison to the Police General Hospital.

The Administrative Court was also asked to hold an emergency hearing and issue an injunction against the Corrections Department’s regulation issued on Dec 7, he added.

During the Senate meeting on Tuesday, senator Jate Sirataranond, a doctor, directed a question to MrTawee, the director-general of the Department of Corrections, the permanent secretary for justice, the director of the Police General Hospital and the Royal Police Office about the legality of the regulation allowing convicts to be detained outside prisons.

He said Thaksin stood to benefit most from the regulation.

Thailand has 21 million workers in the informal labour sector, accounting for 52.3% of the country’s overall workforce of 40.1 million. The majority, particularly in the agricultural sector, earn much lower incomes than those in the formal sector, according to National Statistical Office (NSO) director Piyanut Wuthison.

Ms Piyanut said her office has conducted an annual survey on workers in the informal sector, generally referred to those who lack fixed work hours and wages and may have difficulties in accessing legal protection. 

According to this year’s survey, 21 million workers (52.3%) are in the informal sector, while 19.1 million (47.7%) operate in the formal sector.

About half of the informal workers are between 40 and 59 years of age.

The overall workforce includes 5.1 million workers over 60, with 4.4 million situated in the informal sector.

Most informal workers possess primary level education.

More than half of informal workers, 55.4%, are in the agricultural sector, earning nearly two times lower than their counterparts in the formal sector.

About 28% of informal workers have problems over wages, employment continuity and overwork.

It may be concluded that workers in the informal sector need access to the social security system for a better quality of life and livelihood, Ms Piyanut said.

A 20-year-old man suspected of shooting dead a vocational student and a female teacher near separate schools in Klong Toey district on Nov 11 was arrested while camping in the northern province of Chiang Mai on Tuesday morning, according to a source.

Anawin Kaewkeb, the suspected gunman, was caught while hiding at Hmong Doi Pui Tribal Village in tambon Suthep of Muang district, Chiang Mai, and detectives were bringing him in for interrogation at the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB).

During the Nov 11 shooting, Mr Anawin was a pillion rider who dismounted his motorcycle to shoot Thanasorn Hongsawat, a 19-year-old first-year student of the Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok Uthenthawai Campus. A stray bullet also killed Sirada Sinprasert, a 45-year-old computer teacher at Sacred Heart Convent School, who was withdrawing money from a sidewalk ATM at the time.

The arrest of Mr Anawin followed the apprehension of 12 other suspects in the same case during multiple raids in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan on Monday.

The drive-by shooting was initially perceived as a payback stemming from a feud between students from rival vocational schools, with the teacher as collateral damage.

A deeper investigation by the MPB found out that the shooter and his partner, who drove the motorcycle used in the shooting, were part of a crime syndicate comprising at least 84 members.

On Nov 13, people lay flowers near an ATM machine where a teacher was killed by a stray bullet on Nov 11 in Klong Toey district, Bangkok. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has rolled out a number of measures to boost public safety in the capital during the New Year festival.

Deputy Bangkok governor Tavida Kamolvej said on Monday the BMA has come up with a disaster prevention plan and assigned all district offices to help take care of New Year revellers during the festival.

The BMA instructed its City Law Office to work with business operators in all districts who are planning to organise outdoor and indoor activities during the New Year period.

A public service centre will also be set up to help take care of festive revellers, she said.

Traffic management will also be supervised by the City Law Office with assistance from district officials, Ms Tavida said.

The BMA’s Medical Service Department will closely work with hospitals to ensure emergency response systems are ready to respond to any accidents during the festival, she said.

The Health Department, meanwhile, will work with relevant agencies to inspect sites where fireworks and other pyrotechnic equipment are stored, as well as entertainment venues where such equipment will be used, to ensure the safety of all patrons, she said.

Bangkok’s Fire and Rescue Department will put fire fighters on standby at 37 locations across the capital during the New Year period, Ms Tavida said.

The Office of the Permanent Secretary for the BMA’s Administration and Registration Division will set up a centre to monitor the capital from Dec 29-Jan 4, she added.

Most revellers are expected to congregate around CentralWorld, IconSiam, Asiatique, Siam Square and Samyan Mitrtown for the New Year countdown.

As such, the BMA has instructed their event organisers to submit their plans to ensure safety during the festivities for consideration.

Separately, national police chief Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol took part in a ceremony to launch a new project aimed at raising public awareness of road safety rules at the Royal Thai Police headquarters on Monday.

Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul also attended Monday’s launch ceremony.

Adoption proposals hindered by rules

Legal requirements, including the “double majority” rule, make it extremely challenging for a charter rewrite proposal to be adopted, according to Senator Kamnoon Sidhisamarn.

He said that in a charter rewrite process three referendum rounds must be held, with each round requiring the “double majority” rule — where more than 50% of eligible voters must participate and a majority of those who cast votes must approve it — to be met.

The senator said this requirement is in addition to another legal requirement that the charter amendment must be approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

He voiced disagreement with a proposal that the referendum law be revised to drop the “double majority” rule, saying no referendum has been held under this law which was enacted in 2021.

“It would be wrong to assume that the charter rewrite proposal would be rejected and the referendum law should be revised,” he said.

Mr Kamnoon was speaking as Senate whips met to discuss the charter rewrite referendum questionnaire prepared by a referendum sub-panel.

The panel, headed by Nikorn Chamnong, recently sent the referendum questionnaire to be answered by MPs and senators as part of the public input gathering process.

The questionnaire is said to contain five questions, including whether they agree with rewriting a new charter and whether a referendum should be organised before a charter amendment is underway.

Mr Kamnoon said the senators are free to speak their minds and their answers would not be legally binding. The senators are expected to return their answers to Mr Nikorn’s panel by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Senate Speaker Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said on Monday the Senate’s opinions are only part of the public input to be considered by the government’s charter referendum study panel. The main referendum-design committee led by Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai is expected to wrap up the study by the end of the month before the referendum findings are submitted for consideration by the cabinet.

Opinions about how many referendum rounds are required are split, although the Constitutional Court ruled that while parliament has the power to draw up a new charter, the public must first decide whether they actually want a new one.

Sitthichote Intharawiset, a senior Supreme Court judge, has been named the latest election commissioner, replacing Chatchai Janprasri, who retired in June.

The Senate on Monday voted 175 to 16 with eight abstentions to install him as the Election Commission’s (EC’s) newest member.

Mr Sitthichote, also chairman of the Supreme Court’s election cases section, succeeds Mr Chatchai, who also became a commissioner through a Supreme Court nomination. He retired as a judge at the age of 70 on June 30, which automatically saw him lose his EC post. The law stipulates that one election commissioner seat is reserved for a Supreme Court member. If a position is vacant, the Supreme Court will nominate a replacement.

In the latest round of nominations, Mr Sitthichote’s name was put forward alongside Deputy Supreme Court President Sitthisak Wanachakij for the Supreme Court to decide who would be proposed to the Senate.

Both judges met the qualifications needed to be an election commissioner. The Supreme Court finally elected Mr Sitthichote by a vote of 139 out of 176 judges who attended the election session. Mr Sitthisak received 26 votes.

The Metropolitan Police Division (MPD) 4 has established an investigation panel into the death of a doctorate student who fatally fell from an apartment building in the Chokchai Si area.

Ekkaphob Luangprasert, an adviser to the Interior Minister, on Monday accompanied the student’s father, who was identified only as Somchai, to track the case investigation process with Chokchai Police Station superintendent Pol Col Sretthaphan Srisakorn.

Mr Somchai’s daughter, a 27-year-old doctorate student identified only as Arphaporn, fell to her death from her balcony on the sixth floor of the apartment on Sunday. She was frightened by a drunk man who banged on the door of her room at 4am, prompting her to climb out of a window to escape before falling to her death.

The suspect told investigators that an apartment cleaner had wrongfully told him about the owner of a motorcycle parked in a parking space reserved for him that night.

According to Pol Col Sretthaphan, the suspect is now being accused of resident invasion at night, frightening others, and making a commotion.

In addition to the panel established by MPD 4, the police will review CCTV footage and speak with more witnesses.

Pol Col Sretthaphan added that additional investigation is needed to determine if the apartment manager’s alleged attempt to assist the suspect leaving the scene at the time was a criminal act.

The family of the dead woman is expected to receive more than 100,000 baht in compensation as per the law, said Pol Col Sretthaphan.

Meanwhile, the apartment cleaner claimed that the suspect was one of the apartment residents, not the husband of the apartment manager, as had been previously reported.

Regarding the incident, she said the suspect is usually not a violent person.

She said that he felt sad about the incident. The manager had told the suspect to move out of the apartment due to his “dangerous personality”. She said neither the apartment manager nor her helped the suspect flee the scene.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet is scheduled to visit Thailand to attend the joint Thai-Cambodian cabinet meeting in February to discuss bilateral cooperation, especially cross-border trade between the two countries.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Monday told media about the Cambodian leader’s planned visit after the two discussed it during their time at the Asean-Japan special summit in Japan from Dec 14-19.

Mr Srettha said he and Hun Manet mulled over the potential of Sa Kaeo, one of the Thai provinces bordering Cambodia, to build industrial estates and border trade businesses there.

Afterwards, Hun Manet agreed to visit Bangkok to discuss the economy, border trade and freight transport between the two countries.

Mr Srettha affirmed that Thailand stands ready to serve as the region’s freight transport hub. If Cambodia has plans to build estate industries, it will benefit the region already served by Thailand’s deep-sea ports and airports, he said.

In the next 10 years, Asean looks set to grow into one of the world’s most substantial economic blocs, so strengthening diplomatic ties with Cambodia will rally businesses, Mr Srettha said.

“I get along well with Mr Hun Manet as he also studied in the US. As we know each other, we can talk about anything easily,” said Mr Srettha.

In late September, Thailand and Cambodia pledged to work together to lift bilateral trade to US$15 billion (551 billion baht) by 2025 as the two countries agreed to deepen ties, according to the government.

The pledge was made between Mr Srettha and Hun Manet during the Thai PM’s first official visit to Cambodia as part of his introductory tour of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries to strengthen leader-to-leader relations.

It was noted that Mr Srettha and Hun Manet assumed their respective offices on the same day — Aug 22.

During their meeting, both prime ministers clarified that they would upgrade their strategic partnership while Mr Srettha invited Hun Manet to visit Thailand. They agreed both countries should promote further investment cooperation and develop cross-border areas.