Barkar Nash (Page 444)

The potent tranquilliser flualprazolam is being widely used in the four southernmost provinces of Thailand, officials say, after Regional Medical Sciences Centre 12 in Songkhla found traces of it in nimetazepam pills.

It’s the first time the substance has been found in Thailand.

Dr Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, said on Wednesday that Regional Medical Sciences Centre 12 had been assigned to analyse nimetazepam pills, or Erimin 5, listed as a Category 2 psychotropic substance.

The officials found flualprazolam in the nimetazepam pills. Flualprazolam is a tranquiliser in the benzodiazepine class that eases anxiety and is used to treat panic disorders and insomnia.

In 2013, reports showed that nimetazepam, nitrazepam, phenazepam, diazepam, clozapine and etizolam had been found in Erimin 5mg pills. In 2021, flualprazolam was first found in Malaysia and Singapore.

Nimetazepam 5mg, sold under the name Erimin 5, is banned in Thailand. However, reports said the drug has been widely used in the four southernmost provinces, especially in Narathiwat. The other three border provinces are Pattani, Yala and Songkhla.

Dr Supakit added that other substances may have been mixed with nimetazepam to avoid prosecution. He said flualprazolam is a synthetic benzodiazepine which has a similar chemical compound to the sedative alprazolam, a Category 2-listed psychotropic medication.

Because flualprazolam is not a prescribed medication, and the clinical research on it has yet to be revealed. Still, Dr Supakit said its chemical compound indicates that its effects will become apparent within 10-30 minutes and last 6-14 hours.

The potent tranquilliser flualprazolam is being widely used in the four southernmost provinces of Thailand, officials say, after Regional Medical Sciences Centre 12 in Songkhla found traces of it in nimetazepam pills.

It’s the first time the substance has been found in Thailand.

Dr Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, said on Wednesday that Regional Medical Sciences Centre 12 had been assigned to analyse nimetazepam pills, or Erimin 5, listed as a Category 2 psychotropic substance.

The officials found flualprazolam in the nimetazepam pills. Flualprazolam is a tranquiliser in the benzodiazepine class that eases anxiety and is used to treat panic disorders and insomnia.

In 2013, reports showed that nimetazepam, nitrazepam, phenazepam, diazepam, clozapine and etizolam had been found in Erimin 5mg pills. In 2021, flualprazolam was first found in Malaysia and Singapore.

Nimetazepam 5mg, sold under the name Erimin 5, is banned in Thailand. However, reports said the drug has been widely used in the four southernmost provinces, especially in Narathiwat. The other three border provinces are Pattani, Yala and Songkhla.

Dr Supakit added that other substances may have been mixed with nimetazepam to avoid prosecution. He said flualprazolam is a synthetic benzodiazepine which has a similar chemical compound to the sedative alprazolam, a Category 2-listed psychotropic medication.

Because flualprazolam is not a prescribed medication, and the clinical research on it has yet to be revealed. Still, Dr Supakit said its chemical compound indicates that its effects will become apparent within 10-30 minutes and last 6-14 hours.

Outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Wednesday he could neither confirm nor dismiss whether former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s formal application for a royal pardon has been filed.

He could only confirm the application has yet to reach him, Mr Wissanu said in his capacity as caretaker justice minister.

“The royal pardon application has not reached me yet. And I can’t say if it has been submitted because I really don’t know,” he said.

On Tuesday, Thaksin’s lawyer, Winyat Chartmontree, said documents required to support the royal pardon application were being prepared for Thaksin, who is facing eight years in prison in three cases. The cases are the Shin Corp shares case, the two- and three-digit lottery scheme case and the Exim Bank loan case.

Normally, such a royal pardon application is submitted by the inmate himself to the prison warden, who then forwards it to the Department of Corrections, Mr Wissanu said.

The department is then responsible for considering forwarding the application to the justice minister, who would ask the prime minister to submit the application for royal approval, he said.

Asked who is likely to get Thaksin’s royal pardon application request — Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the outgoing prime minister, or Srettha Thavisin, the newly elected prime minister — Mr Wissanu said if the application reaches him now, it will be forwarded to Gen Prayut, the caretaker prime minister.

However, he said, as soon as the new cabinet takes office, the royal pardon application will be forwarded to Mr Srettha.

In another development, political activist Srisuwan Janya petitioned the Ombudsman to probe state officials allegedly giving Thaksin preferential treatment.

“Since Thaksin returned on Aug 22 to Thailand from years of self-imposed exile abroad, he has been offered special treatment as if he were an important person while in reality, he is a fugitive,” said Mr Srisuwan.

He has asked the Office of the Ombudsman to probe all state officials involved in allegedly providing privileges to Thaksin, including officials at the Royal Thai Police, Department of Corrections and Police General Hospital. “From the moment he arrived at Don Mueang airport up until now, Thaksin is being treated as if he were a god,” said Mr Srisuwan.

Watanyoo Thipayamonta, deputy secretary-general of the office, said the petition will be examined to ensure fairness to all sides.

Two mysterious objects washed ashore in Phuket and Phangnga on Wednesday, drawing wide attention from locals and tourists and sparking speculation as to their origins.

Jadet Wicharasorb, mayor of tambon Karon in Phuket, said he was alerted to an unidentified object on Karon beach by a lifeguard on patrol.

The object, apparently made from fibreglass, weighed at least 100 kilogrammes with cables attached to it and contained what looked like a serial number. It was also covered with small seashells.

“It had cables and some foreign language written on it. It could be a part of an ocean marker. It will be removed from the beach and kept for further inspection,” Mr Jadet said.

A lifeguard said he thought he had found part of an aircraft at first.

Others speculated it could be space junk, such as debris from a rocket related to India’s recent moon mission.

In Phangnga, another object resembling part of an airplane or spacecraft was found on Wednesday by locals on Bang Niang beach in Koh Khor Khao in Takua Pa district.

The mysterious unidentified object was found on Karon beach in Phuket. (Photo: Achadthaya Chuenniran)

The new Omicron sub-variant HK.3 has been detected in Thailand for the first time, according to the Department of Medical Sciences (DMS).

Two members of the same family were confirmed to have contacted the new Covid-19 strain, the DMS said but added it could not confirm whether its speed of transmission and severity will be worse than its predecessors.

Department chief, Dr Supakit Sirilak, said the new variant had infected a 65-year-old man and an 11-year-old girl from the same family in Bangkok. They developed mild symptoms and have already recovered, he said.

However, he said it is too early to say if the newly confirmed sub-variant from the Omicron strain will be worse than other sub-variants.

His comments were seen as an attempt to play down fears stemming from a report saying the strain’s transmission capacity was 66% faster than current ones and that it might achieve 96% transmission capacity compared with the XBB.1.16 variant found in Thailand.

“There might be some discrepancy in terms of calculation caused by such a limited amount of data. We have found only two confirmed cases. It is too soon to reach such a conclusion. We should wait and see for a couple of weeks for a clearer situation,” he said.

Dr Supakit said the department was monitoring Covid-19 sub-variants in the country under a process of whole genome sequencing. This identified sub-variants based on the virus’s spike protein mutating in different locations.

Omicron’s XBB.1.16 makes up 39.66% of Covid infections in Thailand, followed by XBB.2.3 with 16.39% and XBB.1.9.1 with 14.66%.

He said it is possible that EG.5 will become the dominant variant due to its transmission capacity. However, there was no sign of it being more severe.

Pol Gen Sereepisuth Teemeeyaves denies feeling let down after missing out on a cabinet post in the new government, but was openly critical of the qualifications of the likely picks.

The Seri Ruam Thai Party leader made the remarks after confirming he has quit as Seri Ram Thai’s lone list MP. His resignation takes effect on Sept 1.

“My mission to support Pheu Thai was over and done on Aug 22 when I voted for Srettha Thavisin to be prime minister. I tendered my resignation letter the next day,” he said.

Pol Gen Sereepisuth, who remains Seri Ruam Thai’s leader, said it was he who helped pave the way for Pheu Thai to join its former political rival, Gen Prawit Wongsuwon — leader of the former ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) — to form a new government.

Pol Gen Sereepisuth added that he and Pheu Thai never discussed offering him a cabinet seat in exchange for his support.

However, Pol Gen Sereepisuth did not hold back in his criticism of Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon, tipped to be the next deputy prime minister and minister for natural resources and the environment. Pol Gen Sereepisuth said it baffled him that someone with no experience in ministerial work could be included in the cabinet. Pol Gen Patcharawat is the chief adviser of the PPRP and Gen Prawit’s younger brother.

New govt to tackle energy bills promptly

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin pledged to reduce energy prices once his administration starts work.

“The cabinet will cut energy prices soon after it gets down to work. People will not have long to wait after our first meeting,” Mr Srettha said.

The caretaker cabinet of outgoing prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had its last meeting on Tuesday and Mr Srettha’s new cabinet still has to be formally announced and sworn into office before his Majesty the King.

The swearing-in of the ministers in the presence of His Majesty the King is required by the constitution. After they are sworn in, the government will have to declare a policy statement in parliament before it can start work.

Mr Srettha was speaking after a meeting with outgoing energy minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow and the economic team of the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) in parliament yesterday.

Mr Supattanapong, a UTN list MP — which has 36 House seats and is part of the new coalition government — said they discussed what the Energy Ministry will do and how the new energy minister will address the issues related to energy prices.

The household electricity tariff is currently 4.7 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit), and that rate is set to end today.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has been subsidising the cost since September 2021. The subsidy is estimated to have caused an accumulated loss of 135 billion baht for the state enterprise.

According to Egat, 60% of its power generation is fuelled by gas, 15% by coal and 15% by renewables.

The rest is imported from Laos or Malaysia. Prices of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal dropped recently.

Responding to criticism that some of his picks are not fit for cabinet posts, Mr Srettha said feedback is welcome.

“The government has a lot of work to do and many goals to achieve. [Cabinet ministers] will be assessed by how well they perform and everyone must get to work straight away,” Mr Srettha said.

Pichit Chuenban, a former lawyer of ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, faces howls of disapproval as he is tipped to become a cabinet minister despite having served jail time for contempt of court for attempted bribery when he represented Thaksin in a controversial land case in 2008.

On June 25, 2008, the Supreme Court sentenced Mr Pichit and two of his colleagues to six months each in jail after they tried to bribe Supreme Court officials by handing them a paper bag containing two million baht in cash a fortnight earlier.

Mr Pichit is tipped to serve as the PM’s Office Minister under the Pheu Thai-led coalition government, according to sources. All three represented Thaksin and his ex-wife, Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, in the Ratchadaphisek land case, for which Thaksin was sentenced to two years in prison in 2008.

Thaksin, who has long been considered Pheu Thai’s de-facto leader, returned to Thailand last week after living in self-imposed exile for over 15 years.

Mr Srettha also brushed aside criticism that deputy Pheu Thai leader Sutin Klungsang, who is tipped to serve as defence minister, is a civilian and not suited for the role.

He said Mr Sutin is an experienced politician and should work with the military well.

Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former election commissioner, said Mr Pichit is not qualified to hold a cabinet post, citing Section 160 (7) of the constitution.

He said the section bars a convict sentenced to jail from serving as a cabinet minister — regardless of whether the convict was found guilty of criminal charges or not.

Mr Somchai said Mr Srettha should take this opportunity to carefully select a cabinet to win public confidence in the government’s efforts to address the country’s problems.

President Xi Jinping has invited newly elected Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to visit China, according to the Chinese ambassador to Thailand.

Han Zhiqiang and Minister Wu Zhiwu on Tuesday paid Mr Srettha a courtesy call to congratulate him on the occasion of becoming the 30th prime minister of Thailand.

The ambassador said Thailand is a key strategic partner and that China would support the policies of the Pheu Thai-led government to strengthen bilateral ties.

He also urged Mr Srettha to discuss economic development plans with Mr Xi in China at the latter’s invitation.

Mr Srettha said Thailand sees closer bilateral ties with China as important in all areas, including the economy, society and culture.

Both sides also discussed guidelines for easing measures and rules for Chinese people applying for Thai visas to spur tourism and investment in both countries ahead of the peak season at the end of this year, Mr Srettha said.