Barkar Nash (Page 897)

Most outbound foreign travellers will be able to pass through automatic channels to quickly board planes at Suvarnabhumi airport, and relieve congestion, from next month.

Pol Maj Gen Choengron Rimphadee, commander of Immigration Division 2,  said automatic processing at Suvarnabhumi is currently available only for passengers with Thai, Hong Kong or Singaporean passports.

The Immigration Bureau was improving its computer programming and amending regulations so that other departing foreigners could also use automatic channels, starting on Dec 15, he said.

He expected this would increase processing of outbound travellers at Suvarnabhumi airport from about 5,000 per hour to 12,000.

Pol Maj Gen Choengron said Airports of Thailand planned to also install more automatic channels at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports. Immigration officers could then be reassigned to speed up processing of inbound travellers.

Pol Maj Gen Choengron Rimphadee

Legality of ‘loan bill’ now under review

The government is consulting the Council of State about the legality of a bill seeking to borrow 500 billion baht to finance the 10,000-baht digital money handout scheme.

Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Tuesday the bill has been sent to the council, the government’s legal advisory body.

“We will try to ensure the council finishes its consideration as soon as possible,” he said while acknowledging the scheme has its supporters and critics.

“Pheu Thai pledged the digital wallet policy during election campaigning. When people decided to vote for [it], and Pheu Thai became the government, [those who disagree] must accept and respect the choice and wishes of the voting public.

“Pheu Thai, as the ruling party, is acting in line with the people’s intentions. But we do not ignore those who hold different opinions. We always listen to them,” said Mr Phumtham, who is also a deputy Pheu Thai leader.

“I insist the digital wallet scheme is intended to stimulate the economy. It’s not just a free money giveaway. It is an election pledge, and the party must deliver on its promise.”

Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke also defended the policy on Tuesday, saying the government had consulted the Bank of Thailand and the National Economic and Social Development Council, among others, about it.

They agreed the loan bill would be the best source of funding if endorsed by parliament, the spokesman said. Previous governments have also enacted loan bills to finance schemes that required substantial sums of money, he said.

Mr Chai said that the government is trying to seek the best solution and is determined to push for the implementation of the scheme.

“Many people are looking forward to the handout,” the spokesman said, adding the scheme will spur micro-investment as many recipients will pool the money they receive with that of their family members to make a bigger investment.

Some coalition parties remain non-committal about the handout, saying they would wait for the Council of State’s verdict first.

Chartthaipattana Party leader Varawut Silpa-archa, who also serves as the social development and human resource minister, said the council’s edict should lay to rest any doubts.

“Some have supported the scheme while others have spoken out against it. I think I will wait to hear the council’s opinion first, and then parliament can proceed.”

“No one can force the hand of coalition parties,” said Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. “If the handout scheme benefits the public and is in line with the law, the coalition parties are duty-bound to support it.

“I believe the government will act in line with the law,” he said, speaking in his capacity as leader of the Bhumjaithai Party.

The digital currency will be offered to Thais aged 16 and older who earn less than 70,000 baht per month and have under 500,000 baht in bank deposits.

Based on these criteria, an estimated 50 million people will be eligible — down from the 56 million targeted originally.

The money can only be used for food and consumer goods. It cannot be used to buy online goods, cigarettes or liquor, cash vouchers and valuables like diamonds, gems or gold. It also cannot be used to pay off debts or cover water or electricity bills, fuel, natural gas or tuition fees. The money must be spent in the district where the recipient’s home is registered.

Jurin Laksanawisit has resigned as acting leader of the Democrat Party following a misprint in an essential financial document involving the party.

Acting Democrat spokesman Ramet Rattanachaweng said on Tuesday the Fund for Development of Political Parties, which keeps records of taxpayers donating small sums of their income tax to a political party, sent a document to the party mistakenly calling the acting Democrat leader Narapat Kaewthong instead of Mr Jurin. Mr Narapat is a deputy party leader.

Mr Ramet said the party’s legal team wrote back to the fund requesting a rectification. The fund obliged, and the mistake has since been corrected with Mr Narapat’s name dropped as acting leader.

The spokesman said the fund might have misunderstood that the party leadership in an acting capacity had automatically gone to Mr Narapat, the most senior deputy leader. However, this was not the case since the party meeting earlier voted to install Mr Jurin as acting leader shortly after he stepped down as leader.

On Tuesday, Mr Jurin quit as acting leader, prompting the party to convene a meeting to elect a new acting leader.

The Democrat Party has been left without a full-time leader due to internal strife over who should take over. The majority of party MPs are reportedly backing Mr Narapat to succeed Mr Jurin, although some factions oppose his rise to the top job and staged walk-outs during two previous meetings to elect Mr Jurin’s replacement, forcing the sessions to be adjourned.

Mr Narapat said on Tuesday that he was ready to be nominated for the party leaderhip.

Meanwhile, Mr Jurin declined to say if his resignation as acting leader had anything to do with the misprint.

However, in a message to the party executive board, he explained that he stepped down this time to pave the way for a third meeting to select a new party leader.

He said while he remained in the acting leader role, he had strictly complied with the party regulations.

Police investigating the shooting of a student and teacher in Bangkok’s Klong Toey believe the two suspected gunmen have fled the capital.

Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) commissioner Pol Lt Gen Thiti Saengsawang yesterday told the media that investigators have been questioning anyone linked with the incident near Sacred Heart Convent School, where two gunmen opened fire at a group of university students on Saturday.

A male student was shot and rushed to King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, while a teacher, who was later identified as Sirada Sinprasert, was killed by a stray bullet at a nearby bank ATM.

Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thammasuthee, commander of the MPB’s Investigation Division, said he had received information that the two men, riding motorbikes whose licence plates had been reported stolen, changed clothes and left the capital in the aftermath of the incident.

“They also had the motorbikes painted a new colour,” he said.

Police are investigating whether the suspected gunmen were former or current students of the same educational institution.

Pol Col Wittawat Chinkham, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 5, has reportedly discovered which institution they attend, but police have no plans, as yet, to mount a search of the premises.

Meanwhile, Monthon Paksuwan, secretary-general of the Office of Private Education Commission (Opec), said Education Minister Pol Gen Permpoon Chidchob had instructed Opec and relevant agencies to disburse 507,000 baht in compensation to the female teacher’s family.

Following yesterday’s cabinet meeting, a government spokesman said Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had instructed Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to ramp up gun control efforts and prevent civilians from possessing firearms in a bid to avoid any negative impact on the tourism sector caused by gun violence.

Police investigators found no evidence of bribery in the case of the overloaded truck that caused a roadworks cover to collapse on Sukhumvit Road last week.

A police source said yesterday that an inquiry panel set up by the police inspector-general found no evidence that a windscreen sticker allowed the truck to operate without regard for load limits.

Suspicions of bribery were raised when people noticed the star-shaped sticker, with the letter B in the centre, on the windscreen of the truck involved in the accident.

This followed a previous police investigation into allegations that drivers of overloaded trucks displaying special bribe-paid stickers were not being pulled over.

The truck involved in the road collapse on Nov 8 belongs to Wuthipat Jantharinthrakorn and was driven by Sakmongkol Thasako.

Mr Wuthipat said the B on the truck’s sticker showed it was part of his fleet. His nickname was “Big”, and he was superstitious about such things.

The truck owner and driver both denied charges of operating an overloaded truck and recklessness, causing property damage and serious injury.

The lorry was loaded with soil, and its gross weight was 37.45 tonnes, exceeding the legal limit of 25 tonnes.

Power lines and cables are being laid underground in the area, and the covering over a construction hole in the road collapsed under the truck’s weight.

Two people were injured — a cab driver suffered a cut lip, while a deliveryman was thrown to the ground and hit his head.

A 15-year-old is suffering from a severe infection after a senior student forcibly injected a chemical into his penis at their school in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

The boy and his mother, Jutamad, accompanied by internet whistleblower Guntouch Pongpaiboonwet, visited a hospital in Nonthaburi for treatment on Tuesday.

The boy, nicknamed Aye, a Mathayom 4 (Grade 10) student in Nakhon Si Thammarat, said that on Aug 1, he had been forced into a toilet cubicle by a senior student who then used a syringe to inject the substance into his private organ.

Aye said that in subsequent days his penis became swollen and painful with the infection making it difficult for him to relieve himself.

The boy, who admitted being bullied at school, said he did not know his attacker and insisted the injection was done against his will.

Ms Jutamad said she took her son to a local hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat but was turned away because there was no specialist there. The boy was referred to another hospital for treatment after his condition did not improve.

Ms Jutamad said she then filed a complaint with police, but weeks later, they appear to have made little headway.

In the meantime, someone from the school visited the boy at home and offered a gift basket along with 1,000 baht in cash as compensation.

According to Mr Guntouch, the senior student recorded himself committing the crime and shared the clip with friends at school, causing the boy humiliation.

A doctor at the Nonthaburi hospital said some nerve tissue around the penis had been permanently damaged and complex treatment was neccessary to treat the boy.

Employers must still endorse paperwork

Migrant workers from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, previously allowed to remain and work in the country temporarily, have now been given an extension of stay while they apply for new visas and work permits, the Ministry of Interior revealed on Tuesday.

The ministry has issued two new related announcements granting special permission to these migrant workers to extend their stay and continue working legally in Thailand, which were published in the Royal Gazette on Monday, said Traisuree Taisaranakul, secretary to Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and ministry spokeswoman, on Tuesday.

Taking effect retrospectively from Oct 1, the first announcement concerns workers from these four nations who are already in Thailand and previously permitted under a cabinet resolution made on July 5 to continue living and working here until Sept 30, she said.

The new announcement allows this specific group of migrant workers to continue staying and working in Thailand until Jan 20, 2024, during which applications submitted by their employers seeking legal permission for them to be able to continue living and working in Thailand until Feb 13, 2025, are being processed, Ms Traisuree said.

Children of these migrant workers who are aged under 18 are automatically allowed to stay on, while those over 18 have another 60 days from the day they turn 18 to apply for permission to work legally in Thailand, she said.

The second ministerial announcement, which came into effect on Tuesday, concerns a different group of migrant workers who are from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia and who now live and work here under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the government and the government of these three countries, she said.

Under the new announcement, these so-called tri-nation MoU migrant workers whose four-year permission to live and work in the country is due to expire on Dec 31 are allowed to continue living here until April 30, 2024, she said.

Should they wish to continue working from Jan 1, 2024, to April 30, the same year, a work permit application must be submitted by their employer on their behalf, Ms Traisuree said.

As for those who want to stay on and continue working after April 30 next year, their employer will have to submit a new request for them once again, she said.