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The government need to issue emergency travel documents for most of the Thais awaiting repatriation in Myanmar as they do not have passports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said yesterday.

This is because their passports were confiscated by their employers, the ministry added.

The revelation was made by Ruj Thammamomgkol, the MFA Consular Department director-general, at a press conference on plans to rescue the 164 Thais.

All were duped into working for illegal call-centre gangs or were duped by human traffickers into working in Laukkaing in Myanmar’s Shan state.

He said the Consular Department had received a report from the Royal Thai Embassy in Yangon that previously there were 162 Thais, but another two were recently helped by the pro-junta Kokang ethnic group.

The total number awaiting repatriation was now 164, and Myanmar authorities had arranged shelter for them in a local military camp.

He said another 60 Thais, not 74 as previously reported, were still awaiting rescue. Regarding the repatriation, the evacuation route is up to the Myanmar authorities as they will need to evaluate people’s safety due to clashes between Myanmar troops and ethnic rebel groups, he added.

“Laukkaing is a significant city in terms of Myanmar’s economy. It is located five kilometres from China and serves as the prime cross-border trade link with China,” Mr Ruj said.

“This city is very prosperous and has lots of high buildings. Along with prosperity, there are entertainment venues and scammers. As such, there are various nationals … lured to work there. After the Chinese started suppressing such illegal activities, Myanmar authorities rescued the Thais,” he added.

“We were informed that among the 164 Thais, the majority of them do not have a passport as theirs were confiscated by their employers. Therefore, we need to issue them emergency travel documents,” he added.

For an evacuation route through China, it is necessary for them to have a Chinese visa, Mr Ruj said, adding that Myanmar is still evaluating safety for reaching the Chinese border.

“I have contacted one of the Thais in the camp, and she said that they are safe and are being treated well. I told them that the Thai government will evacuate them as soon as possible because the situation needs to be evaluated daily,” he added.

The first coalition party dinner on Wednesday was cordial, with no haggling for political favours between parties in the government, according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.

In fact, the get-together of coalition party leaders, hosted by the ruling Pheu Thai Party, went well, and it was agreed that one should be held every month, according to Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, quoting Mr Srettha.

It was their first coalition dinner since the formation of the government two months ago, and Bhumjaithai will host the next one, Mr Phumtham, who attended the event, said.

Mr Srettha said the casual dinner provided an intimate, close-knit setting for coalition members to exchange ideas and convey friendly suggestions about work.

The prime minister, with a business background in real estate, said he was new to politics and was looking to coalition party leaders with more political experience for advice.

The dinner was attended by United Thai Nation (UTN) Party leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga; Bhumjaithai’s (BJT) Anutin Charnvirakul; the Palang Pracharath Party’s (PPRP) Pol Gen Phatcharavat Wongsuwan, who was filling in for party leader and elder brother, Gen Prawit Wongsuwon; and Chartthaipattana’s Varawut Silpa-archa. Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn “Ung Ing” Shinawatra was also in attendance.

Mr Srettha said he was humbled by the party leaders’ long experience in politics and has taken their advice onboard.

“The talks were friendly, set in a relaxing atmosphere,” he said, adding the party had gone on until 10pm. “I thought we should do it more often.”

Mr Srettha said the talks they held over dinner did not touch on heavy issues or involve any haggling or bargaining for political favours.

Mr Phumtham, meanwhile, said during the dinner, coalition parties agreed to coordinate more closely.

He denied being embroiled in a conflict with Industry Minister Pimphattra Wichaikul from the UTN over the sugar prices freeze.

Mr Phumtham is also the commerce minister who ordered a peg on sugar prices by declaring it a controlled commodity.

The move was thought to have irked the Industry Ministry, which fears it could complicate the balance in the domestic sugar supply.

Internal strife was speculated to have prompted the parties to meet over dinner to patch things up. However, the government insisted its unity remained solid.

The Labour Ministry is urging Social Security Fund (SSF) members to register to vote in the first-ever election of Social Security Board members, as today is the last day to do so.

Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the registration period had been extended from Oct 31 for 10 more days to let members decide on selecting their desired candidates.

He hoped that the extension of the deadline would benefit both employers and employees by encouraging them to vote.

According to the Social Security Office (SSO) secretary-general, Boonsong Thapchaiyuth, the SSO had set the election date for Dec 24 to seek SSF members and employers to select seven representatives each to serve on the board.

Written under the 2015 Social Security Act, the board acts as a moderator between the government and SSF to manage the fund since it is one of the biggest in the country, with at least 2.3 trillion baht of funding.

By law, the board consists of related ministries — such as labour, finance, interior, and public health — the Budget Bureau, and employers and employees. Previously elected by labour unions but presently made up of appointees of the now-defunct National Council for Peace and Order, this election is for SSF members and employers to select seven representatives apiece to serve on the board.

Of more than 24 million fund members under the regulation laid out in Sections 33, 39, and 40 of the Social Security Act, more than 12 million were eligible in this election, as were 440,000 employers nationwide.

With this number, this election is ranked second in the list of elections with the highest number of eligible voters following general elections for members of parliament, said Mr Boonsong.

Expats and those who complete their fund submission less than three months before the election date are barred from the election, as are those who have registered as Social Security members for less than six consecutive months.

Prospective candidates can register on the SSO website until today. They can register with either the Bangkok SSO offices or the provincial SSO offices until 4.30pm, said Mr Boonsong.

The chairman of the Bang Pla tambon administrative organisation (TAO) in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district and his secretary were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly demanding and taking a 2.3-million-baht bribe from a local firm

Anti-Corruption Division (ACD) police made the arrests after receiving a complaint from the firm in tambon Bang Pla that the bribe had been demanded by two high-level TAO officials in exchange for a land excavation and landfill permit.

Normally, the fee for a landfill permit is only 500 baht.

The firm had asked for the amount to be reduced to 2.3 million baht, which was agreed upon.

Armed with a video clip of the TAO officials demanding the money, the firm later filed a complaint with the ACD police.

After an investigation, the ACD sought arrest warrants from the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, Region 1.

At about 11am on Wednesday, Chanin Ruenroeng, 61, the Bang Pla TAO chairman, and his personal secretary, who was only identified as Pornmanee, 44, were arrested at their office.

They were charged with illegally demanding and taking a bribe.

In a search of their office, police found 2,271,427 baht in cash and a 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol with 11 rounds of ammunition.

Mr Chanin denied the charges.

Longer drinking hours will increase accident risks, say protesters at health ministry

More than 50 activists, some dressed in bloodied Halloween-type costumes representing injuries caused by alcohol-related road accidents, protested at the Ministry of Public Health headquarters in Nonthaburi yesterday.

The representatives of the Alcohol Related Harm Prevention Network were expressing their opposition to the government’s decision to extend the opening hours of night entertainment venues in Bangkok and other cities from 2am until 4am next month.

Teerapat Kahawong, a coordinator of the network, said its members are disappointed with the change, which will start in the pilot provinces of Bangkok, Chon Buri, Phuket and Chiang Mai on Dec 15.

The government said the move aims to help stimulate the economy and tourism.

Mr Teerapat said the ministry must protect people’s health, and drinking alcoholic beverages runs counter to that.

As such, any related policy should be created in response to the Alcohol Beverage Control Act BE 2551 (2008) and drafted with the participation of various stakeholders, he added.

The groups oppose the new policy because it also creates a higher risk of road accidents involving drunk drivers, Mr Teerapat noted.

“To solve an economic problem, the government should not create a new problem or a new burden for medical staff,” he said.

“The government would face huge expenditure in covering the medical treatment of those impacted by such alcohol-led accidents. It should ensure it has well-rounded information before making any decision.”

The groups also demanded the ministry set up public hearings before going ahead with the policy.

Senior officials at the ministry led by Dr Cherdchai Tontisirin, assistant to the public health minister, showed up to listen to the network’s concerns.

Dr Cherdchai said the ministry would take their concerns into consideration as safeguarding people’s health is the ministry’s top priority.

Supreme Court division for politicians to rule on contested transfer of former national security chief

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions has postponed until Nov 29 the reading of its decision on an abuse of power case against fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The case filed by the Office of the Attorney General centres on the abrupt transfer of Thawil Pliansri, the then secretary-general of the National Security Council, to be an adviser to the prime minister when Yingluck was prime minister in 2011.

The move amounted to abuse of power in violation of Section 157 of the Criminal Code and of the Anti-Corruption Act, the suit alleges.

The court completed its examination of six prosecution and four defence witnesses early this year and was scheduled to deliver its ruling on Thursday at 1.30pm.

Winyat Chartmontree and Norawich Laelaeng, Yingluck’s lawyers, appeared at the Criminal Court to hear the ruling, only to be told that it had been postponed to Nov 29 at 1.30pm.

Mr Norawich said the postponement was made after one member of the panel of judges was unable to appear for the ruling.

The alleged abuse of power took place on Sept 30, 2011 when Yingluck signed a prime minister’s order for Mr Thawil to be transferred to an advisory post. On the same day, the cabinet passed a resolution to appoint Pol Gen Wichian Potphosri, the then national police chief, to replace Mr Thawil at the NSC.

Mr Thawil filed a petition with the Supreme Administrative Court, arguing the transfer order was illegitimate. The court ordered the revocation of the prime minister’s order.

The Constitutional Court subsequently ruled that Yingluck had illegally interfered in the transfer of government officials.

On July 1, 2020, the National Anti-Corruption Commission ruled there were grounds to find Yingluck had been dishonest in performing her duties and recommended the attorney general file a lawsuit against her in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

A warrant for Yingluck’s arrest was issued when she failed to appear before the court for the first hearing of the case in November 2022 without giving a reason.

Yingluck cried foul over the warrant, saying she had been the victim of relentless persecution in the Thawil case.

Yingluck, 56, has been on the run since August 2017, when she failed to appear in court for the reading of its ruling on dereliction of duty in a rice-pledging programme that ran up at least 500 billion baht in losses, some of it from corruption. She was subsequently sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

Her elder brother Thaksin returned to the country on Aug 22 after more than 15 years of self-exile abroad. He was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison in three cases — later reduced to one year under a royal pardon — for abuse of authority and conflict of interest while serving as premier prior to 2006.

Thaksin, 74, spent only 12 hours in prison before being transferred to Police General Hospital, where he has had two operations and continues to be treated for a variety of ailments.

Thawil Pliansri arrives at the Constitutional Court on May 5, 2014 to hear testimony from then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra about his transfer. (Bangkok Post file photo)

An earthquake of 4.7 magnitude struck Pai district in Mae Hong Son on Thursday afternoon. No damage was reported, the northern office of the Thai Meteorological Department announced.

The quake occurred at 2.30pm, with the epicentre in tambon Wiang Nua in Pai, two kilometres underground.

The tremors were also felt in Muang and Samoeng districts of neighbouring Chiang Mai.

In Chiang Mai, tourists and local residents said the quake shook the city for about five seconds, causing some high buildings and houses to shake a little.

Officials from the disaster prevention and mitigation office in Chiang Mai were deployed to examine whether the quake had caused any damage. So far there had been no reports of damage.

Eight more Thai personnel who were killed by Hamas ‘ systems make it home.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday that 25 Thai workers have been taken prisoner since the start of the Hamas rude against Israel on October7.

According to the government, the recently reported hostage-taking occurred on the first day of conflicts and had only recently been verified by Israeli authorities.

Thirty Thai employees had been killed as of November 8 along with 19 different hurt workers, four of whom were still in the hospital.

On Thursday evening, the carcasses of eight additional workers who perished in the Hamas raids returned to Thailand. Although there would be seven, according to authorities, Kraisorn Thumyoma’s bones were likewise repatriated.

To honor Thai workers who died in the Hamas invasion on Israel, Jewish ambassador Orna Sagiv issues a wai. ( Image: Ministry of Labor )

Following a ceremony at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, the plane carrying the bodies departed at 3.30 p.m. on Wednesday ( Israel time ).

At the meeting, Thailand was represented by Pannabha Chandraramya, the embassy to Israel, and Sakdinart Sonthisakdiyothin, an examiner with the Social Security Office.

Rafael Harpaz, a foreign government deputy lasting secretary, Shoshi Reshel Mor, the director of the international trade division, and representatives from the diplomatic affairs department all spoke on behalf of Israel.

Mr. Harpaz laid a flower and offered his sympathies. He expressed his sincere condolences for the eight Thais ‘ incidents, claiming that they had traveled great distances to work hard in the Jewish agricultural industry for their families back home.

He expressed hope for the quick and secure release of those held prisoner and said Israel fully respected the rights of the dying.

According to Foreign Affairs Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, the majority of the Thai staff held prisoner by Hamas were being held in comparatively safe locations, making them among the first of about 250 victims to be released.

When the body of the eight Thai employees arrive house on Thursday evening, Aree Krainara, the labor minister’s secretary, pays respects to them as a Buddhist monk conducts the religious ceremony. ( Photo: Ministry of Labor ) &nbsp