Barkar Nash (Page 894)

Police have arrested an Australian man wanted in his home country on drugs and weapons charges, who was staying in Phuket on a Thai student visa.

Pol Lt Gen Pakphumpipat Sajjapan, Immigration Bureau (IB) commissioner, said during a press briefing yesterday that Robert Wainwright had been sent to Phuket Immigration Office after his arrest in tambon Rawai of Muang district of Phuket.

Mr Wainwright was reportedly staying in Phuket with student status through a language school with his Australian girlfriend.

Pol Lt Gen Pakphumpipat said Mr Wainwright’s girlfriend handled his affairs to avoid suspicion.

Immigration police arrested Mr Wainwright and his girlfriend while leaving a villa in Phuket on Aug 10.

Pol Lt Gen Pakphumpipat said the Royal Thai Police had been informed of Mr Wainwright’s presence by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), which is targeting a drug-trafficking syndicate of which Mr Wainwright is suspected of being a member.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Provincial Police Region 5 and US Ambassador to Thailand Robert F Godec visited the Mekong River in Chiang Rai opposite the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Mr Godec and the US Consul General in Chiang Mai, Lisa A Buzenas, were accompanied by Pol Lt Gen Piya Tawichai to survey the Mekong River border areas between Thailand and Laos in Chiang Saen district.

The US officials and the local police discussed issues on the prevention and suppression of transborder cybercrimes and drug and human trafficking.

The ambassador said that Thailand and the US have worked together on security and law enforcement for decades, with many training programmes.

Mr Godec also stated that the US is ready to join forces with Thailand to tackle challenges in the Mekong River area, with a focus on transnational crimes such as human trafficking, money laundering and call-centre scams.

Dead bull one of three said to have been straying near farms in Loei

LOEI: Park authorities are asking the police to search for the shooter responsible for killing a wild bull elephant in the Phu Luang wildlife sanctuary in his northeastern province.

The carcass was found by a creek in the forest in tambon Sri Song Rak of Dan Sai district on Thursday morning. It is believed to be one of three wild elephants spotted roaming close to farmland in the past two months, according to Phu Luang officials.

Park rangers have tried in vain to push the elephants back into the forest. Nearby residents were warned to take care when venturing out to tap latex at night as the elephants were capable of causing harm when agitated.

A preliminary examination revealed the elephant, estimated to be about 30 years old, had been dead for 5–7 days.

Nares Sriburin, an officer with the wildlife sanctuary, said there were 6 or 7 bullet wounds in the elephant’s head. The shots look to have been fired from above the animal, believed to be the smallest of the three roaming elephants.

Callous boss suspended pending investigation by hotel and labour ministry

The Ministry of Labour is investigating a five-star hotel that allegedly fired one of its employees who had to take time off work to take care of her dying mother.

Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin ordered the investigation after the plight of the former employee caused an uproar on social media.

The woman, who worked at a luxury resort in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima, posted a screenshot of a conversation with her ex-supervisor, in which she requested extended leave as she had to take care of her terminally ill mother — a request her supervisor denied.

When her mother passed away, the employee asked her supervisor for some time off so she could return to her home province for the funeral.

In response, the supervisor replied, “Are you saying you are quitting the job? Once you’re done with your personal business, drop by and sign your resignation letter.”

The post was shared more than 60,000 times, with most of the comments blasting the supervisor’s callousness.

Mr Suchart said he had instructed the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare to look into the matter.

Under the Labour Protection Act, all employees — including those who are still on probation and daily labourers — are entitled to take three days off each year to attend to personal business.

An inspector from the labour protection and welfare office in Nakhon Ratchasima has been dispatched to the hotel on a fact-finding mission, said Niyom Songkaew, the department director.

Employees who feel they have been or are being mistreated by their employers can file a complaint at their local labour protection office, he said.

Yesterday, a group of hotel executives went to Buri Ram where the funeral of the former employee’s mother was being held at Wat Trai Phum Wanaram in Muang district.

They reassured the woman that her job was secure.

The hotel has suspended her boss, pending an investigation.

Rolls-Royce and other assets seized in raids on 29 sites linked to crypto fraud and money laundering

Police have arrested a Chinese woman for various crimes, including fraud and money laundering, following raids on 29 locations linked to her in Bangkok, Pathum Thani and Chon Buri.

Fengpei Cai was apprehended in her luxury apartment in the Lumpini area of Bangkok, Pol Lt Gen Worawat Watnakhonbancha, chief of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), said on Thursday.

She is expected to face charges of colluding in transnational crimes, fraud, putting false information into a computer system and money laundering.

Police also confiscated over 100 items from 29 locations linked to the suspect, including a 36-million baht Rolls-Royce, other luxury cars including Alphard and Mercedes-Benz, and documents for lease agreements worth 1.5 billion baht.

Ms Cai was a real estate agent in Thailand whose customers were mostly Chinese, according to Pol Maj Gen Sathit Prom-uthai, commander of CCIB Division 3.

He said the Chinese woman and other accomplices divided up tasks to lure victims. She had duped victims into investing in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes, he added.

In a separate case, police teams searched three locations in Bangkok, including a room at a luxury condominium project in the Asok-Rama IX area.

During their search, they arrested Moe Moe Aye, 24, a Myanmar national. She faces charges of colluding in fraud, inputting false information into a computer system, laundering money and related offences.

Seized from the room were 4.4 million baht in cash, 17 bank passbooks and 16 ATM cards. The raids on the two other premises found nothing illegal.

Police said the venues were linked to a phone scam gang in which a member posed as a police chief in Tak province to dupe victims into transferring money.

An investigation of her transaction history revealed that Moe Moe Aye had withdrawn about 15 million baht for the gang and 87 million baht had passed through her accounts since the beginning of this year.

A Rolls-Royce worth 36 million baht and a Lexus are among the vehicles seized by police in raids on Thursday. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

United Thai Nation wants ‘details of coalition participation’ settled before vote for PM next week

The former party of outgoing prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, United Thai Nation (UTN), has said it will join the Pheu Thai-led coalition and will conclude “details of coalition participation” before the vote for prime minister.

The party had only one condition and that was that Section 112 of the Criminal Code (the lese-majeste law) would not be amended, UTN spokesman Akaradet Wongpitakrote said on Thursday. Pheu Thai accepted the condition, he added.

He denied that UTN was demanding the energy minister’s position from Pheu Thai. From now until Tuesday, when the prime ministerial vote is scheduled to be held, there would be negotiations on the “details of coalition participation”, Mr Akaradet said.

“Our 36 votes are ready to support the prime ministerial candidate of the Pheu Thai Party. We want the quick formation of the government. We want to create reconciliation,” he added.

Should Pheu Thai formally confirm the addition of UTN, it would represent a major about-face after pledges by its key figures that it would not team up with any “uncles” — a reference to Gen Prayut, who led the 2014 coup against a Pheu Thai administration, and his longtime brother-in-arms Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, leader of the 40-member Palang Pracharath Party.

It has been speculated that Pheu Thai will also seek the support of Palang Pracharath to give the coalition a healthy majority in excess of 300 seats in the 500-seat House of Representatives.

In any case, Pheu Thai has said that it will not make any cabinet offers before the vote, despite new allies including the 71-seat Bhumjaithai Party insisting that they need assurances about what to expect. Rumours have circulated that the allies have tentatively agreed that each party will receive one cabinet seat for every nine House seats it holds.

UTN was formed specifically as a vehicle for Gen Prayut to continue in office. He never joined the party but served as its adviser and one of two prime ministerial candidates, in addition to party leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga.

UTN won just 23 constituency seats in the May 14 election, but the prime minister’s personal popularity among conservative voters helped the party win 4.7 million list votes — third behind Move Forward (14.4 million) and Pheu Thai (10.9 million). As a result, it received 13 list seats for a total of 36.

However, it soon became clear that Gen Prayut was unlikely to emerge as a favourite to be nominated for the premiership, and he announced that he would quit politics as soon as a new government is formed.

Pheu Thai deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai, meanwhile, said on Thursday that his party was continuing to discuss coalition participation with other parties including UTN.

So far, he said, the negotiations had not touched on allocation of ministries. At this stage, allies agreed that they would join forces to solve crises and resolve conflicts and their cooperation would be good, Mr Phumtham said.

He expressed confidence that the Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate, expected to be property billionaire Srettha Thavisin, would win a majority vote in the combined sitting of the House and the Senate.

The structure of the Pheu Thai coalition would be announced by Monday next week, Mr Phumtham added.

Tuesday’s sitting will be the third attempt at choosing a prime minister. Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat failed to secure a majority vote on July 13, and parliament rejected a bid to renominate him on July 19.

Giant Khru Kai Kaeo image installed at hotel makes many people fearful, critics say

Two civic groups have stepped up calls for the relocation of Khru Kai Kaeo, a deity represented by a gargoyle-like sculpture, from a shrine in the compound of a hotel near the Ratchada-Lat Phrao intersection in Bangkok.

The Artists Council for the Promotion of Buddhism of Thailand plan to submit a letter today to executives of The Bazaar Hotel Bangkok, saying the statue is causing fear among some people.

The giant statue has been the talk of the town since photos went viral online after it got stuck beneath an overpass while being transported to the hotel, which is popular with Chinese tourists and expatriates.

Installing the strange statue for people to worship or seek blessings went against Buddhist teachings, the artists’ group says.

The Rassadorn Thai Haeng Chart group, meanwhile, has submitted a letter to Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt, asking him to order the relocation of the statue from the area near the Lat Phrao MRT station in Huai Khwang district.

People living in nearby communities were gripped with fear by the presence of the statue, the group said.

Others have flocked to the sculpture to ask for blessings, leaving behind items including flowers and wallets. Some worshipers have gone as far as soliciting kittens or puppies online to use for sacrifices, according to social media accounts that have been critical of the craze.

Spokesman Phonphakhun Setthayabodee said the group was shocked by reports that some people would consider using pets as sacrifices to the half-human, half mythical bird sculpture. Killing animals to worship a deity went against civilised culture, peace and order, he said.

On Wednesday, Watchdog Thailand (WDT) warned against using pets as sacrifices to Khru Kai Kaeo.

Traisuree Taisaranakul, a deputy government spokesperson, also joined the chorus of concern on Thursday.

“Concerning any trends on social media, people should consider the history and the beautiful Thai culture of not encroaching on other lives,” Ms Traisuree said in a statement. “If you believe in something, believe with mindfulness and do not become obsessed and fall prey to people with bad intentions.”

A relative of the sculptor who created the Khru Kai Kaeo statue has insisted that making animal sacrifices as a misinterpretation of the correct protocol.

The statue has a menacing appearance resembling a gargoyle from Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris but is claimed to have originated in Cambodia.

According to some believers, Khru Kai Kaeo, also known as Khru Ba Kai Kaeo, was the revered teacher of Jayavarman VII, a former king of the Khmer Empire.

But Tongthong Chandransu, a history scholar, said he has never heard of this alleged teacher.