Barkar Nash (Page 897)

Questions Srettha’s legitimacy for PM

Political activist and whistle-blower Chuvit Kamolvisit alleged on Tuesday that the property developer Sansiri Plc nominated a housekeeper and a security guard to take out a 1-billion-baht loan from a subsidiary to purchase land in the Thong Lor area of Bangkok.

Mr Chuvit hosted a press conference to reveal the alleged shareholding fraud of Sansiri, which was operating under its former CEO, Srettha Thavisin, now the prime ministerial candidate of the Pheu Thai Party.

Mr Chuvit claimed Sansiri used these two nominees — a housekeeper and a security guard — to take out a 1-billion-baht loan from its subsidiary to pay a landowner 565 million baht. He said no one appears to know what the rest of money was spent on.

The housekeeper was later identified as Ms Pinit (surname not disclosed), who lives in Maha Sarakham province.

She was found to have held 99% of the shares in the subsidiary, but there was no recorded data of her making corporate tax payments.

Another nominee — a security guard identified as Mr Somsak (surname also withheld) — was found to have owned 1% of the company.

He was also listed as the board member of five firms, including a transport service company associated with another Sansiri project.

Mr Chuvit said after the subsidiary sold the plot to Sansiri, the company was abandoned.

In light of this, Mr Chuvit asked whether Mr Srettha was qualified to serve as the next prime minister — if his government was going to be overseen by nominees.

“I will ask the Stock Exchange of Thailand to check on the governance of Sansiri and ask the Senate for a review of Mr Srettha’s qualifications [to become PM],” he said.

Pheu Thai deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai said Mr Srettha’s qualifications would be reviewed according to the relevant regulations.

He also expressed confidence Pheu Thai could garner more than the 375 votes it needs for Mr Srettha to become prime minister and for the party to form a new government, adding it is in talks with the Palang Pracharath Party and United Thai Nation Party about serving as coalition allies.

Last week, Mr Srettha sued Mr Chuvit for 500 million baht for defamation over comments made about another land purchased earlier by Sansiri.

Mr Chuvit implied Sansiri had attempted to dodge paying taxes.

Paetongtarn ‘Ung Ing’ Shinawatra, head of the Pheu Thai Family, has flown to Dubai to take her father, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, to see an ophthalmologist.

Ms Paetongtarn made the announcement about helping her father via her Instagram account on Tuesday. She also posted an Instagram story with a background song Que Sera, Sera (Whatever will be, will be).

Her latest trip to Dubai, where Thaksin has been residing, came after the fugitive former premier said on Aug 5 that he was putting off his return from self-exile because he needed a medical checkup first.

Thaksin fled Thailand in 2008, shortly before the Supreme Court convicted him for helping his then-wife, Khunying Potjaman Na Pombejra, buy prime land in the Ratchadaphisek area at a discount while he was prime minister. Thaksin posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had originally planned to return to Thailand by Aug 10, but that now needed to be put back by a couple of weeks.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam on Tuesday defended the caretaker government’s appointment of high-ranking officials, saying they were needed to fill a potential vacuum left by the mandatory retirement of key officials.

His remarks came after the Pheu Thai Party last week warned the outgoing cabinet not to appoint senior officials, saying the matter should be left to a new government which it is trying to put together.

Mr Wissanu said the new appointments were to find replacements for those retiring at the end of next month, which is the last month on the fiscal calendar, and that they have nothing to do with the annual rotation of state officials. He said the annual reshuffle of senior C-10 officials is overseen by the permanent secretary of each ministry, noting that if the matter had to wait for a new government, the country’s administration would be put on hold.

He also said the cabinet on Tuesday approved proposed appointments, but they would not yet be forwarded for royal endorsement. These appointments would be thoroughly examined with the process likely to take about a month, he added.

Asked about media reports related to the appointment of a new secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Mr Wissanu said he was only making preparations.

The proposed appointment involves a transfer of a police officer to the Justice Ministry, so there are several steps to be taken, he said.

“Let’s see when we’ll get a new government. If we get it soon, the [reshuffle] issue will be left to the new government. But if the new government is set up later than Aug 22, it can’t wait,” he said.

According to media reports, assistant national police chief, Pol Lt Gen Panurat Lakboonto, will be named the new ONCB chief to succeed Wichai Chaimongkol, who retires next month.

Police have closed their investigation into the murder of a Colombian plastic surgeon on Koh Phangan despite the fact that most of the victim’s body, which was allegedly dismembered by his partner, remains unaccounted for.

Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn told reporters on Tuesday that after working hard to resolve the case for two weeks, their investigation into the killing and dismembering of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44, would be closed.

Arrieta was allegedly murdered by his boyfriend, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, a well-known YouTube chef and son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre and actress Silvia Bronchalo on Koh Phangan on Aug 1.

According to Pol Gen Surachate, who led the investigation into the killing, the suspect arrived in Thailand on July 31, the day before Arrieta. They planned to meet on Koh Phangan on Aug 2, so Arrieta booked a hotel room for them to stay in, but Mr Sancho also had a booking at a different hotel, where he later carried out the murder.

After allegedly killing his partner, police said Mr Sancho cut the body up into 17 parts. Some of the parts he stuffed into a duffel bag which he threw into the sea, while the rest he put in a trash bag that he dumped at the tambon Koh Phangan Municipal Solid Waste Management Centre. These remains were discovered by local trash pickers on Aug 3.

Pol Gen Surachate said police believe the murder was premeditated, as evidence showed Mr Sancho had bought a long knife, plastic bags, cleaning solutions and rubber gloves on Aug 1. Police also found bloodstains, human tissue, grease marks and hairs while searching the hotel room.

Mr Sancho has acknowledged the premeditated murder charge against him, as well as the charges for concealing and/or removing body parts to cover up a death or cause of death, said the police.

Pol Gen Surachate said the Royal Thai Police will ask the Colombian embassy to reach Arrieta’s family so they can claim what’s left of his remains.

MFP leader says his suspension was unfair

Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat yesterday questioned the motives of the Election Commission (EC) for investigating his shareholding in the defunct broadcaster iTV now that an inquiry panel has recommended it drop the case.

Mr Pita raised questions about the EC over the case following reports on Monday that the EC’s inquiry panel recommended the election watchdog drop the charge that he violated Section 151 of the Election Act for allegedly holding shares in a media firm while filing candidacy in the May 14 election.

“The probe panel has provided an important reason that iTV is not operating nor earns income from its media business. This shows that I am not at fault,” Mr Pita said on Facebook.

“I want to reaffirm suspicion that my TV shareholding case is politically motivated. I had held the shares in question while performing my MP duty for four years, but complaints were made when I was a prime ministerial candidate.

“The case was submitted to the Constitutional Court a few days before my nomination as prime minister was made in parliament. There were many pieces of abnormal evidence that there were attempts to revive iTV firm, which had ceased broadcasting for over 10 years to be ‘media shares’.”

As the committee found he was not guilty, Mr Pita said he wanted to ask the EC whether the panel had made a resolution before the EC submitted its petition to the Constitutional Court. The panel gathered evidence, questioned witnesses, and concluded that iTV was not operating as a media firm. However, the EC still submitted its petition to the court, ignoring facts and guidelines that the court had laid earlier about earnings and sources of income to decide which firms were operating as media organisations, said Mr Pita.

He also asked the EC whether it was fair to ask the court to suspend him as an MP pending a court ruling. Intouch Holdings, the major iTV shareholder, and iTV had financial documents that the defunct media firm had stopped broadcasting and had no income from its media operations, said Mr Pita. He cited previous media shareholdings of about 60 MPs in 2020 whom the court had not ordered suspended.

“But in my case, I was suspended from MP duty. I want society to consider whether the suspension of my duties was fair or not,” Mr Pita said.

Pheu Thai’s candidate for premier faces roadblock

Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate, Srettha Thavisin, faces a more challenging road ahead after the Move Forward Party (MFP) announced yesterday it would not vote for a Pheu Thai prime minister candidate.

MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon told a press conference that the party MPs decided not to back the Pheu Thai candidate because the party did not want to support an inter-bloc government.

He said the coalition being formed by Pheu Thai went against the people’s mandate as it comprised several parties in the outgoing government, while the outcome of the May 14 election indicated people wanted change.

By voting for a Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate, the MFP would not be removing the Senate from the prime minister selection process. Instead, the party would be playing into the Senate’s hands.

“If political parties had intended to make the Senate irrelevant in the first place, they would have voted for the MFP-led government [and the party’s candidate],” said Mr Chaithawat.

He said the party also doubted whether a Pheu Thai-led government, which would be similar to the outgoing one, would be able to push for a progressive agenda to bring changes for the people.

Mr Chaithawat said the party’s decision had nothing to do with Mr Srettha’s qualifications but was based on the party’s political stance and pledged that it would not work with the “uncle parties” — a reference to parties linked to military leaders involved in the 2014 coup.

Following the MFP’s decision, the Pheu Thai-led coalition must find support from the military-appointed senators to secure 376 votes for Mr Srettha.

The alliance is said to have mustered 315 votes, including those from the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party, which have not been formally invited to join the coalition.

At best, the coalition is believed to have 339 votes from the 500-seat House, so it needs another 37 votes from the Senate. However, a group of senators prefer PPRP leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwon to Mr Srettha, who stands accused by former politician Chuvit Kamolvisit of land tax avoidance.

Before the MFP’s announcement, Pheu Thai deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai expressed confidence that Mr Srettha would be elected at the first attempt. Mr Phumtham said the party received positive feedback from the Senate but declined to say if Pheu Thai could secure as many as 100 votes from the Upper House. He accepted for consideration the Senate’s call for Mr Srettha to outline his vision before the vote.

He said the party decided to abandon the MFP and form a new coalition, possibly with the PPRP and UTN on board, because the country required a government to tackle problems, adding it was ready to be held accountable if this was a flawed decision.

Mr Phumtham said the allocation of cabinet seats would be discussed following the prime minister vote after some parties mentioned the distribution of positions.

Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday the negotiations over the allocation of cabinet seats should take place before the prime minister vote, and he plans to discuss it with Pheu Thai this week. When asked about the targeted cabinet seats, Mr Anutin said he should keep the matter for the discussion with the Pheu Thai Party. He added that he could not say how many seats each party should get because the number of prospective partners was not finalised.

Meanwhile, Phai Lik, a PPRP MP for Kamphaeng Phet, confirmed yesterday the party’s 40 MPs would vote unconditionally for the Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate and that he had secured seven more votes from the Senate.

The government has defended new requirements for the receipt of the elderly allowance, which replaces universal welfare payments. It said the universal welfare payments were too great a burden on state coffers.

Cabinet secretary-general Natjaree Ananthasilp said that the risk of the new rules restricting access to assistance was raised at a cabinet meeting yesterday following vocal criticism.

Social Development and Human Security (SDHS) Minister Juti Krairiksh told the meeting that if the old criteria were not revised, the government would have to shoulder costs of up to 100 billion baht a year from 2025, not to mention other expenses incurred by Thailand’s increasingly ageing society.

The new regulation was signed by Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda and published in the Royal Gazette on Friday. The changes went into effect on Saturday.

The old regulations saw local administration organisations pay universal monthly allowances of 600-1,000 baht to all elderly people, with 600 baht for people aged 60-69, 700 baht for people aged 70-79, 800 baht for people aged 80-89, and 1,000 baht for people aged 90 years and older.

The new regulation states that from Saturday, only elderly people with no income or insufficient income to cover their cost of living are entitled to the monthly allowance from the state.

However, a provisional clause in the new regulations states that eligibility for payment does not apply to people who registered for the allowance with local bodies before Aug 12, 2023, meaning those currently receiving the allowance are not affected.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said after the meeting that the new criteria are in line with the recommendation of the national committee on the elderly.

He stressed the need for prudent budget spending at present but said if the incoming government has sufficient financial resources, it can make its own spending plans.

“The number of senior citizens is increasing. Some have enough money to live on, but others don’t. So, we have to consider how much money is at our disposal,” Gen Prayut said.

Mr Juti said the next government will ensure that it has its own committee go over payments for the elderly in detail before sticking with the new measures.

“Currently, there are about 4 million poor senior citizens. With limited budget funds, the government has to help the poor first,” he said, adding that the Social Development and Human Security Ministry now receives an annual budget allocation of 8 billion baht.

“If the new government plans to offer a monthly allowance of 3,000 baht, it has to collect more taxes to fund the policy,” Mr Juti said.

The 3,000-baht figure was taken from promises made by the Move Forward Party at campaign events, he said.

Spanish chef in custody on Koh Phangan admits to killing after relationship turned sour

Most body parts of the Colombian surgeon who was slain on the tourist island of Koh Phangan early this month are still missing, according to deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn.

Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, a Spanish chef, is in custody in connection with the slaying of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44, with whom he had been in a relationship before it apparently went sour.

Mr Sancho, 29, has admitted to killing Arrieta, cutting his body into 17 pieces. He disposed of some parts at sea and others at a rubbish dump on the island famed for its full moon parties.

Of the 17 body parts, nine were still unaccounted for, Pol Gen Surachate told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday at the Koh Phangan police station.

Mr Sancho, the son of a famous Spanish actor, arrived in Thailand on July 31 and his friend arrived the following day. They had booked their own hotel rooms and made arrangements to meet on Koh Phangan on Aug 2.

On that day, Mr Sancho brought the victim to his room and killed the latter there, say police.

The crime was premeditated because the Spaniard had bought a 20-centimetre-long chopping knife, large garbage bags, liquid detergent and rubber gloves on Aug 1, Pol Gen Surachate said.

In the suspect’s room, police found traces of heavy-duty cleaning in the bathroom, sink and refrigerator. Police also found bloodstains, tissue, fat and hair in the drains. Investigators believe the remains belonged to the victim.

After the body was dismembered, some parts were put in a big sports bag that was dumped in the sea. Others were put in a sack and left at a dump on the island, where local residents found them on Aug 3.

Pol Gen Surachate said the nine missing body parts included the right arm, left leg and torso of the victim and police were still looking for them.

Mr Sancho initially denied any involvement in the crime but later admitted it following intense questioning by police.

Other media reports say Mr Sancho told investigators he was trying to end his affair with Arrieta, but the latter threatened to reveal intimate photos online if he did so. Fearing the impact on his family in Spain, the chef reportedly decided to take action.

Deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn, right, holds a briefing on the Koh Phangan murder case at the local police station on the tourist island in Surat Thani on Tuesday. (Photo: Koh Phangan police station)