Barkar Nash (Page 51)

The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) will speed up its discussions with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) regarding dismantling some of the city’s overpasses, this paving the way for the Orange Line’s construction. The western section of the Bang Khun Non-Min Buri rail system is expected to open by 2030.

Vithaya Punmongkol, acting MRTA governor, said a Notice to Proceed (NTP) was issued to Bangkok Expressway and Metro (BEM), the Orange Line’s concessionaire, on July 31.

The BEM is working on procuring mechanical and electrical systems for the eastern section of the line, from Thailand Cultural Centre to Min Buri. Construction is estimated to last three years and six months and the section is due to open for service by late 2027 or early 2028.

For the western section, from Bang Khun Non to Thailand Cultural Centre, contractors of tunnels and underground stations have already entered public areas to set up work sites.

The current phase includes surveying infrastructure, utilities and communication systems to plan for relocations. That is expected to take four to nine months.

Land expropriation will proceed under the Royal Decree on Land Expropriation, with funding allocated for 2025. A budget for land ownership management and real estate survey for the western section is set at 14 billion baht.

The expropriation plan involves 380 land plots, 410 real estates and the demolition of around 400 buildings.

Civil construction for the western section will begin in the Pratunam area in February next year.

According to Mr Vithaya, the MRTA will soon discuss with the BMA regarding the dismantling of overpasses at three intersections, namely Pratunam, Ratchathewi and Sutthavas.

It will also seek advice and approval from the Fine Arts Department regarding construction in the Bangkok Old Town’s conservation areas.

The Orange Line western section is expected to open by the end of 2030.

The MRTA acting governor also provided an update about the Southern Purple Line project, which runs from Tao Poon to Rat Burana, a total of 23.63km.

Mr Vitthaya said the rail system construction was 42.18% completed and it is expected to be operational in 2028.

A study on train operations is due to be concluded and presented to the MRTA Board by next month before it is proposed to a Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) committee.

The concessionaire selection process is expected to begin early next year and the service should start in 2029.

For the Pink Line’s 3km extension project from Sri Rat to Muang Thong Thani, overall progress by the end of September was 71.09% complete.

Measures to take effect whenever fine-dust air pollution reaches hazardous levels

Nine districts in Bangkok will be designated as low-emission zones next year, with polluting trucks having six wheels or more to be banned from entering when fine dust particles reach hazardous levels.

The ban is among the measures announced on Tuesday by Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt to fight PM2.5 pollution, which tends to worsen in the cool season.

Trucks with six wheels or more that emit exhaust fumes above a certain level will be banned from the nine designated districts for three days when air pollution from fine dust particles in five districts reaches the red zone, defined as 75 microgrammes per cubic metre of air or more. Only vehicles proven to have clean engines based on a checklist of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will be exempted from the ban.

The ban order will be announced 24 hours in advance and will take effect for three days. Violators face fines up to 2,000 baht and/or up to one month in jail.

Starting next month, the BMA will allow all trucks to apply for the “green list” if the owners can prove that their vehicles and engines have been well maintained to meet City Hall guidelines. Once they are on the “green list”, they will be excluded from the ban.

Mr Chadchart acknowledged that the BMA has no authority to control traffic, but he said City Hall would use the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act to enforce the ban. The law permits provincial governors to crack down on the causes of pollution in their jurisdiction.

Mr Chadchart said 257 closed-circuit cameras installed all over Bangkok would aid officials in checking all trucks violating the ban. Officials would also be sent to visit sites suspected of emitting pollution into the air.

He encouraged office workers to work from home whenever five districts reach red-zone levels of pollution, for two consecutive days to keep cars off the roads.

The nine districts designated as low-emission zones are:

• Bang Rak
• Dusit
• Klong San
• Pathumwan
• Phaya Thai
• Phra Nakhon
• Pomprap Sattruphai
• Samphanthawong
• Sathon.

The districts are located within the boundary of the inner ring road that connects Ratchadaphisek with Charan Sanitwong roads.

Bangkok in recent years has been facing growing problems from fine-dust air pollution from November to the start of summer around March.

The capital ranked 50th for the world’s dirtiest air at 3pm on Tuesday with an IQAir index of 50 microgrammes per cubic metre, designated “moderate” or yellow. The worst air in the world was in Lahore in Pakistan, at 240.

A 42-year-old South Korean man deported and blacklisted in 2017 has been arrested in Pattaya for illegal entry and suspicion of involvement in drug trafficking. 

The man, identified by police only as “Hun”, was arrested at an apartment on Pattaya Sai 3 Road on Monday, Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said on Tuesday.

There was no visa or entry stamp in his passport. He admitted to sneaking into Thailand from Cambodia through Sa Kaeo province.

Pol Maj Gen Pathana said Mr Hun had been deported in 2017 on crystal meth and overstay offences, and blacklisted by immigration.

When he was arrested on Monday police found drug paraphernalia in his room, but he said it belonged to a Thai woman who had stayed with him. Mr Hun tested negative for drug use. 

Pol Maj Gen Panthana said  Mr Hun had been in Pattaya for two weeks. Police suspected he was sourcing drugs for smuggling back to South Korea. Some arrested smugglers had accused the suspect of supplying the drugs.

Police initially charged Mr Hun with illegal entry and he was held in custody. The investigation was continuing.

One injured as pickup strikes a vehicle at a light and then crashes into a store entrance

KANCHANABURI – Three people were killed and one was seriously injured when their speeding pickup truck lost control after it hit another vehicle and crashed into a roadside store on Tuesday morning.

The incident occurred at 3.36am at the Chuk Dueon intersection in Muang district.

A camera in the area captured the incident. It showed vehicles stopped at a red light and beginning to move when the light turned green. Suddenly, two speeding pickup trucks appear, racing each other.

The leading vehicle, a white Isuzu D-Max, hit a vehicle stopped at the intersection, veered out of its lane and crashed into a fitness equipment store across the road. The second pickup drove away.

Rescuers from the Pitakkarn Foundation had to use a truck to pull the Isuzu out, as it ended up on its side and embedded in the entrance of the store. Two men and a woman were found dead at the scene, according to the rescuers. A teenager was seriously injured and was rushed to a hospital.

Two of the dead people were identified as Watanyu Romkaew, 30, and Punyawee Janpien, 38. The others were not identified, and it was not known who was driving.

The driver of the vehicle that was struck at the intersection, identified as Nueng, said he saw the Isuzu coming at high speed, trying to get into his lane, and hitting the front of his vehicle. It then lost control, leading to the crash, he said.

The damage to the front of the fitness equipment store shows the impact made by the crashed truck. (Photo: Piyarach Chongcharoen)

A former Russian mercenary who allegedy threatened to shoot his compatriot rivals was arrested after 100 rounds of ammunition were found in his condominium room in Bangkok.

Immigration police detained a man they named only as “Milo”, a Russian national, 25, at his room at a condominium in Makkasan area of Ratchathewi district on Monday, Pol Maj Gen Phanthana Nuchanart, the Immigration Bureau deputy chief, told reporters on Tuesday.

He said police also seized from him a firearm magazine and 110 rounds of ammunition in a range of calibres.

The suspect’s full name was not given out by police, but his name was later reported to be Milo Yanovich.

His arrest followed a complaint by a man who declined to be named that a Russian living in a condominium in Ratchathewi district sent him a message and photos of weapons, threatening to kill him and others one by one, Pol Maj Gen Phanthana said.

Immigration police found out where the Russian man lived. They obtained a Criminal Court search warrant, went through his room and found the ammunition and gun magazine in a box near the wardrobe.

During questioning, Mr Yanovich allegedly said he was previously a Russian mercenary soldier. He claimed the seized magazine and ammunition did not belong to him but to a Thai friend. However, he could not remember the name of his Thai friend.

Mr Yanovich was held for illegal possession of weapons and handed over to Din Daeng police for legal action.

A former Russian mercenary who allegedy threatened to shoot his compatriot rivals was arrested after 100 rounds of ammunition were found in his condominium room in Bangkok.

Immigration police detained a man they named only as “Milo”, a Russian national, 25, at his room at a condominium in Makkasan area of Ratchathewi district on Monday, Pol Maj Gen Phanthana Nuchanart, the Immigration Bureau deputy chief, told reporters on Tuesday.

He said police also seized from him a firearm magazine and 110 rounds of ammunition in a range of calibres.

The suspect’s full name was not given out by police, but his name was later reported to be Milo Yanovich.

His arrest followed a complaint by a man who declined to be named that a Russian living in a condominium in Ratchathewi district sent him a message and photos of weapons, threatening to kill him and others one by one, Pol Maj Gen Phanthana said.

Immigration police found out where the Russian man lived. They obtained a Criminal Court search warrant, went through his room and found the ammunition and gun magazine in a box near the wardrobe.

During questioning, Mr Yanovich allegedly said he was previously a Russian mercenary soldier. He claimed the seized magazine and ammunition did not belong to him but to a Thai friend. However, he could not remember the name of his Thai friend.

Mr Yanovich was held for illegal possession of weapons and handed over to Din Daeng police for legal action.

NAKHON RATCHASIMA – Grape and fruit juice vendors are reporting plunging sales amid consumer concerns over the contamination found in imported Shine Muscat grapes.

At Therdthai market in Muang district on Tuesday, fruit juice vendor Chananrat Wisetrat, 39, said she frequently bought fruit there to make the fresh juice she sold. Grape juice was normally a popular choice of her customers.

“However, since the reports of chemical contamination in Shine Muscat grapes, customers now rarely order grape juice,” she said.

Ms Chananrat said she now bought only a small amount of Shine Muscat grapes, for those customers who continued to drink grape juice.

The Thai Pesticides Alert Network and the Foundation for Consumers announced on Oct 24 that green Shine Muscat grapes imported from China were found to be heavily contaminated with dangerous chemicals including chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate insecticide banned for use in Thailand.

Ms Chananrat said although some academics said the level of residue in the grapes was not dangerous, consumers remained concerned. She  wanted the government to state clearly whether it was safe to eat Shine Muscat grapes, or not.

Thaworn Prommee, a 58-year-old grape vendor at the market, said grape vendors there were in deep trouble as a result of the health scare. 

She had previously always sold out the 250 crates of Shine Muscat grapes she normally received in less than a week. Now her employer was deeply stressed, with about 200 crates remaining unsold in his warehouse, Ms Thaworn said.

“Today I haven’t sold even one bunch of Shine Muscat grapes. Although an academic assured consumers that they are safe to eat, people remain worried,” she said.

Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin said on Tuesday that people should listen to the Food and Drug Administration when it came to Shine Muscat grapes and other parties should be careful when they issue  statements on the matter, because they could ruin product sales.

Last week the FDA said that only one sample of Shine Muscat grapes was found contaminated with the banned pesticide chlorpyrifos and they were safe to eat after giving them a good wash. 

A frantic search at a garbage dump finally unearthed a diamond ring worth more than 400,000 baht that the owner had accidentally thrown out with the rubbish.

A Bangkok woman who gave her name as Ning, 36, posted a video online of her experience as a warning to others. It already had more than 2 million views on TikTok on Tuesday.

She told local media she worked at a construction site and stayed at a residence in Muang district of Nakhon Phanom province.

In the morning of Oct 23, she took off the ring, wrapped it in toilet tissue, put it aside and washed her hands. She forgot to put it back on, leaving it behind, and the tissue paper later ended up in a rubbish bin outside the house.

When she realised what she had done she desperately tracked down the rubbish truck that makes regular collections in the area. She was horrified to learn the garbage had already been dumped at the provincial landfill in tambon Pho Tak.

She hired about 20 people to help her with the desperate search. About 30 hours later, Ning herself found the ring among the piles of rubbish.

Ning said it was a miracle she found it at all because the landfill spread over 70 rai. Although the ring had cost over 400,000 baht, the monetary value was not most the important aspect of the loss. It had immense sentimental value, she said. It was her wedding ring.

Workers search for the lost ring  among the 70-rai of landfill ruibbish in Nakhon Pathom. (Photo: Patanapong Sripiachai)

Local official claims innocence, says only drove a truck

A local official accused over the mass deaths at the Tak Bai rally has returned to work now the statute of limitations in the case has expired, and not one of the defendants stood trial.

Wissanu Loetsongkram returned to work as district assistant chief at the Tha Uthen district office in Nakhon Phanom province on Monday, the Public Relations Office reported on Tuesday.

He was the first of those accused in connection with the horrific deaths of 85 demonstrators on Oct 25, 2004, to re-appear in public after the case expired.

The 20-year statue of limitations in the case ran out at 11.59pm on Friday and the Provincial Court in Narathiwat province on Monday declared the end of the case.

Mr Wissanu was one of eight people in the second group of defendants. State prosecutors decided in September to arraign them in the Pattani Provincial Court. The court later issued arrest warrants for all defendants in the case, but none of them appeared in court or were even found.

State prosecutors said Mr Wissanu drove one of the trucks that took  arrested protesters from the rally site in front of Tak Bai police station to  the Ingkayutthaboriharn army fort in Nong Chik district of Pattani province, about 150 kilometres away, in October 2004.

The arrested men were tied up and stacked horizontally in the back of the trucks, and 78 demonstrators died of suffocation during the long, slow drive.

Mr Wissanu refused to opine the case, saying he was only a truck driver, according to the Public Relations Office. Spring News said he was a soldier in the 5th Infantry Division in 2004, but his rank at the time of the tragedy was not known.

He reported to Tha Uthen district chief Preecha Sa-ingthong after returning to work. He had been on sick leave since Oct 15, according to a report by the Nakhon Phanom Press Club on Monday.

Tha Uthen borders Khammouane province in Laos, with the Mekong River dividing to two countries.

The other former suspects in the second group of defendants, all now also legally free, are:

• Maj Gen Chaloemchai Wirunpetch, then 5th Infantry Division commander
• Lt Col Prasert Mattamin
• Sub Lt Nutthawut Luamsai
• Lt JG Wissanukorn Chaisarn
• Piti Yarnkaew
• CPO3 Ratchadet Sisuwan
• Lt Ritthirong Promrit.