Barkar Nash (Page 444)

Democrats rewarded for crossing the floor

The new cabinet’s line-up is expected to be submitted for royal endorsement this weekend. After the former opposition Democrat Party forged an alliance with the ruling Pheu Thai Party, the new cabinet will now have the support of 322 MPs in parliament.

Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said yesterday that Pheu Thai was verifying the eligibility and backgrounds of the candidates before submitting the approved list for royal endorsement.

“Pheu Thai is trying to ensure each cabinet minister is a good fit,” said Mr Phumtham, who became acting prime minister following Srettha Thavisin’s dismissal by the Constitutional Court.

“The cabinet line-up is almost finalised. After it is royally endorsed, it will get straight to work,” he said.

Mr Phumtham previously said the new cabinet list is expected to be drawn up by the end of the week.

Prommin Lertsuridej, the PM’s secretary-general, said yesterday that the government now has a sizeable majority, following the Democrats’ participation.

MPs supporting the coalition government include 141 from Pheu Thai, 70 from the Bhumjaithai Party, 36 from the United Thai Nation Party, 25 Democrats, 10 from the Charthaipattana Party, three from Chart Pattana, and 21 from a faction led by Capt Thamanat Prompow within the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).

The Democrat Party decided to cross the floor despite fierce opposition from veteran politicians and party loyalists, including former leaders Chuan Leekpai, Banyat Bantadtan and Jurin Laksanawisit, who voiced opposition to any political alliance with Pheu Thai.

Key Democrat executives said on Thursday night that the party would nominate their leader Chalermchai Sri-on as the natural resources and environment minister and secretary-general Det-it Khaothong as a deputy public health minister.

Meanwhile, observers say that the PPRP is split into two camps, one controlled by Gen Prawit Wongsuwon and the other by party secretary-general Capt Thamanat, the caretaker agriculture minister.

Capt Thamanat said he had severed ties with a figure he highly respected in the party, a reference to Gen Prawit. But he maintained that he and his group would remain in the party unless expelled.

In that case, they would be free to defect to another party with their MP status intact.

When Pheu Thai announced it was dumping the PPRP, it apparently referred to the Prawit faction. The ruling party was inclined to keep the Thamanat faction in cabinet or name individuals linked to the group as cabinet ministers.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra clarified Pheu Thai’s decision to align with the Democrats yesterday, saying the new government needs to maintain its majority in parliament after the PPRP was excluded from the coalition.

“We need a stable government. We need enough support in parliament to push for the passage of laws to address people’s problems. The Democrats’ backing will help us achieve that,” she said.

“The current executives of the Democrat Party are different from their predecessors. Things have changed. We now have to move forward.”

Asked if red-shirt supporters would be upset by the alliance, Ms Paetongtarn said: “I have empathy with the red shirts. But I promised to be a prime minister who serves all Thais.”

The conflict between the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties reached boiling point in 2010 when Abhisit Vejjajiva, the then-Democrat prime minister, ordered police to retake the site occupied by the Pheu Thai-backed red-shirt protesters at Ratchaprasong intersection. The ensuing clashes with the police resulted in 85 deaths, mostly protesters.

NACC says other evidence not given

CCTV footage from the Police General Hospital has not yet been given to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which is looking into whether former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra received special treatment while being hospitalised.

NACC secretary-general Niwatchai Kasemmongkol yesterday said the commission had collected a substantial amount of information.

He said that it would soon be concluded whether there was enough evidence to proceed with questioning.

Regarding the CCTV footage from the hospital’s 14th floor, Mr Niwatchai said the NACC has contacted the Department of Corrections and Police General Hospital and requested the footage, but nothing has been provided.

When asked if the delay was unusual, Mr Niwatchai said the NACC might need to check whether the footage exists. And if it does, whether it is usable.

He added that the NACC also requested Thaksin’s medical records and many related documents, but only some were received.

He said the law grants the NACC authority to investigate and the right to verify the reasons behind the refusal of the evidence.

Earlier on Thursday, Seri Ruam Thai Party leader Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temeeyaves announced the party’s withdrawal from the Pheu Thai-led coalition government and said he held many secrets about Thaksin, including his condition while he was being treated at the hospital.

Pol Gen Sereepisuth said he was waiting for the NACC’s invitation to testify.

Mr Niwatchai responded to the matter, saying officials must determine whether it was necessary to summon Pol Gen Sereepisuth for questioning.

Regarding the Human Rights Commission (NHRC) investigation results, which found that Thaksin received much better treatment than other prisoners, Mr Niwatchai said the NACC would treat such findings according to the constitution’s definition of supporting evidence.

A high-level source from the NACC said the agency would need to summon officials from the Bangkok Remand Prison and the Police General Hospital to inquire about the matter, including the duties performed by the correctional officers and the medical treatment provided by the doctors.

A report showed during the treatment of Thaksin at the hospital, over 100 correctional officers and executives from the Department of Corrections were involved. They will need to testify before the NACC.

Paralympic taekwondo star Khwansuda “Khwan” Phuangkitcha won Thailand’s first medal — a bronze — at the Paris 2024 Paralympics on Thursday by defeating Iran’s Maryam Abdollahpour Deroei in the women’s 47-kilogramme (K44) category, which features athletes with limitations in one arm or leg.

The tightly fought bout was neck-and-neck, ending in a 4-4 tie. The two fighters then advanced to the golden round, where no points were scored.

World No.3 Khwansuda, aged 23, eventually won the bronze through superior points and outstanding fighting techniques, marking Thailand’s first medal at the 17th Summer Paralympic Games. “I wish I could have done better. I want to thank everyone for all their encouragement,” the Prachuap Khiri Khan native said tearfully in an interview after the match. “I will come back in the next four years to win the gold medal.”

In the quarterfinals, Khwansuda defeated Nurcihan Ekinci of Turkey 8-4 before losing 3-5 to Uzbekistan’s Ziyodakhon Isakova, setting her up for the bronze.

Fifteen police officers have been transferred pending investigation after four officers from a special operations unit in Ayutthaya were accused of extorting money from two women after soliciting them for sex.

Ekkapop Laungprasert, founder of the Sai Mai Tong Rot Facebook page and adviser to the interior minister, took a 27-year-old woman to file a case with Pol Col Ekkarat Aunjaroen, deputy commander of Ayutthaya Provincial Police, against four police officers for extorting money on Thursday.

According to the victim, she was contacted by a man requesting a sexual service for 1,500 baht on Monday.

After they slept together, the man asked for a refund, but she refused. The man then identified himself as a police officer and threatened to arrest her for prostitution.

The man took her, along with another woman who at the same time was providing his friend with a sexual service, to the special operations unit at the Ayutthaya Provincial Police building.

There, four officers, including the man and his friend, coerced the two women into returning the money plus an additional 20,000 baht for the police to dismiss the case.

The women negotiated them down to 5,000 baht and paid 4,000 baht in cash and the rest through an online transfer.

However, the four men demanded the women send them monthly payments and have sex with other police officers for free.

The women refused to do so and have been threatened with prostitution charges several times, one of the victims said.

The Facebook page cooperated with the Ayutthaya Provincial Police, resulting in the transfer of the 15 officers from the agency’s special operations unit, which the four men belong to, to its headquarters until the investigation is concluded.

The Thailand Consumers Council (TCC) and 119 consumers have filed a class action lawsuit against Thai Samsung Electronics Co after the company refused to pay compensation for defective devices.

Sophon Nurat, a division head of the TCC, said the lawsuit was filed with Bangkok’s Southern Civil Court yesterday.

He said users had complained about mysterious vertical green or pink lines on phone screens in various Samsung Galaxy models. They also reported phone overheating. In some cases, the problems occurred after users installed a One UI software update, he said.

Consumers had tried to inquire with the company’s service centre about the problems, and they were informed the warranties may have expired, he said.

The centre said their phones might have been dropped on the floor or the lifespan of the device expired, and the customers may have to pay 7,000-15,000 baht for repairs, Mr Sophon said.

He said the consumers had written to the company, but it had failed to elaborate or cooperate.

“The consumers feel they are being treated unfairly. They cannot use their phones properly and have to shoulder the repair costs,” he said.

“The company’s failure to fix the problems or compensate is deemed to violate consumers’ rights.”

Alcohol suppliers were out on bail before court decided to add charges of attempted murder

Two brothers who supplied methyl alcohol to a moonshine maker in Min Buri have been apprehended in Ayutthaya in a case linked to the poisoning deaths of six people.

It was the brothers’ second arrest within a week.

Surasak and Surachai Insaam, aged 46 and 44, were arrested in tambon Bo Ta Lo in Wang Noi district on Thursday night.

It took 50 officers a half-day to locate the siblings in a forest, said Pol Maj Gen Kiatikul Sonthinen, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 3.

The pair were previously nabbed at a house in Saphan Sung district of Bangkok on Monday after a 49-year-old moonshine (ya dong) maker known as “Je Poo”, told police she had bought supplies from them to make herbal liquor.

She sold her moonshine to operators of 18 stalls in six districts of the capital. So far, six people have died, and 43 were left sick after drinking the liquor.

The brothers were detained at the Min Buri Criminal Court for unauthorised liquor sales and were granted bail on Tuesday.

The same court issued a second arrest warrant on Wednesday on charges of attempted murder and food adulteration endangering people’s health, which led to Friday’s arrests.

After their capture, both denied all the charges. They claimed the drink was made by diluting ethanol that contained 95% alcohol by volume with water, with the end product containing 35% alcohol and being safe to drink.

Je Poo told investigators that the siblings, who are her husband’s cousins, had contracted her a year ago to sell their moonshine. She bought the alcohol for 900 baht per 25 litres.

She said she started to receive complaints from some customers this month. When she tested her drinks, she said, she had diarrhoea for three days.

In addition to the six people who died, 43 others became seriously ill after consuming the deadly moonshine in the capital’s eastern suburbs from Aug 22-30, caretaker Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin said on Friday.

The Ministry of Justice will pay up to 100,000 baht in compensation to the families of the deceased. The sum includes 20,000 baht for funeral expenses, 40,000 baht for supporting their parents, and another 40,000 baht for other damages, said Pawin Norkaew, an officer with the ministry’s Rights and Liberties Protection Department.

For the sick, the ministry will pay hospital expenses up to 40,000 baht per person, physical and mental rehabilitation expenses up to 20,000 baht, and loss of income up to 14,000 baht.

Fake ID cards, land title deeds and educational certificates among items seized in Phitsanulok

Two sisters were arrested in Phitsanulok this week during a police crackdown on a network involved in document forgery, according to a senior investigator.

Kanokwan Nonwisit, 25, and her sister Amornrat, 27, were apprehended in Muang district as part of an operation that targeted 30 locations across the country, said Pol Col Anek Taosuphap, deputy commander of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD).

Among the items seized from the pair were a laptop computer, a PC, a printer, a customer list, 35 fake educational certificates, two fake ID cards and four fake land title deeds.

The arrests were part of a response by the police Central Investigation Bureau to increasing complaints about people using fake official documents when contacting state agencies.

An initial investigation found advertisements for fake document services on several social media platforms. Customers were charged between 60,000 and 90,000 baht, depending on the complexity of the documents.

Pol Col Anek said customers were seeking fake documents to apply for jobs, open beauty clinics or use them in scams.

After gathering evidence, investigators identified the two suspects and obtained court warrants for their arrest on charges of document forgery for hire, he said.

The crackdown also targeted those using the forged documents, leading to the search at 30 locations across the country, said Pol Col Anek.

Police show fake land title deeds seized from the two sisters who were arrested in Phitsanulok. (Photo supplied)

A former senior prosecutor said he helped Red Bull heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya in the 2012 hit-and-run case as a compassionate gesture because the driver was a friend of his niece.

Chainarong Saengthong-aram, one of eight defendants accused of mishandling the high-profile hit-and-run case which killed a policeman, is alleged to have purposefully underreported the speed of Vorayuth’s Ferrari at the time of the accident from the 177kph it is estimated to have been travelling at to under the legal limit of 80kph.

The case is scheduled for trial in the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on Sept 10 at 9.30am.

In response to the summons, Mr Chainarong said he was glad to have the opportunity to prove his innocence as various committees, including the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and the attorney general, have treated him unfairly, he added.

He said he would present evidence showing that a video clip used against him by the NACC and the attorney general had been edited.

“I will file a counter-suit, totalling seven cases, against the attorney general, including misconduct and malicious prosecution, to subject me to criminal penalties,” Mr Chainarong said.

When asked if he handled Mr Vorayuth’s case with integrity, he said: “The accused has the right, according to the Criminal Procedure Code, Section 134, to present facts in his favour.

Mr Chainarong said he helped Mr Vorayuth because the young man was a friend of his niece.

Mr Chainarong said that before getting involved, he checked Section 797 of the Civil and Commercial Code to see if he had the legal right to intervene in the case and found that he could do so as a person, not as a prosecutor.

“At that time, I was a prosecutor in the jurisdiction of the Criminal Court, Criminal Division 6, but [Vorayuth’s] case occurred in the precinct of Thonglor Police Station, which is under the Bangkok South Criminal Court’s jurisdiction.”

“I am a prosecutor but also a human being. How is it wrong to help friends or relatives when the case is not within my jurisdictive responsibility?” he said.

When asked whether he received anything in return for his actions, he said: “Just a generous courtesy for being a helpful friend.”

“I did not receive any money. You can check my financial records,” he continued.