Barkar Nash (Page 916)

A motorcycle taxi driver shot dead four people during a homicidal rampage police said was fuelled by jealousy, and then killed himself, in Bangkok’s Lak Si district on Monday night.

The shootings occurred in Soi Chaeng Wattana 6. The killer was identified by police as Somchai Kaewkomol, 54, Pol Capt Chairat Thamseeha, a Thung Song Hong duty officer, said.

According to eyewitnesses, about 7.30pm Somchai arrived on a motorcycle at Nicknack market in Soi Chaeng Wattana 6 and shot his estranged wife’s mother Sopha Jansoda, 59, a lottery vendor, in the head. She died later at Mongkutwattana Hospital.

Somchai then drove to Ban Suan Ratchathani condominium, about one kilometre from the market. He broke into room 225/213 on the 9th floor of Building 5 and shot dead Sopha’s elder sister, Thawee Sinma, 60, and  two boys – Thanakrit Kaewkret, 7, and Kritpas Kaewkret, 9.

All his victims were shot in the head.

Somchai then shot himself in the head and died in a shelter in front of the condominium.

Pol Capt Chairat said the two slain boys were the sons of his estranged wife Viraya Sinma, 39, by her former husband.

He said Somchai and Ms Viraya had lived together as a couple for about two years. About a month ago, Ms Viriya broke up with him after they frequently quarrelled, and she went to live with another man.

Jealousy and family problems were believed to be the motive for the killings, police said.

The government will increase its tourism offices overseas to promote Thailand among travellers from the US and the Middle East, according to a deputy spokeswoman.

An additional office will open in the US, and one will open in Saudi Arabia.

Rachada Dhnadirek said the government has updated its tourism strategy to meet demands in the international market as part of policies assigned by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has worked to attract long-haul travellers, especially in Europe, the US and the Middle East, and it expects related revenues to hit 1.62 trillion baht by the end of this year, she said.

During the first six months of this year, 2,933,660 travellers from European countries, 620,474 from the US and 231,206 from the Middle East visited Thailand, she said.

Citing TAT data on tourist spending in the first quarter of this year, she said long-haul travellers from Europe, the US and the Middle East spent the largest amounts of money and stayed the longest in Thailand when compared with other foreign visitors.

European travellers spend an average of 19.40 days and 71,718 baht per person per trip in Thailand, with Arab travellers at an average of 16.17 days and 99,172 baht per person per trip and US travellers an average of 15.26 days and 76,297 baht per person per trip.

With an increase in the number of international flights from April to October, the TAT has estimated that 7 million long-haul travellers will visit Thailand this year, bringing 60.6 billion baht to the tourism sector, she said.

She said that the TAT will open a new overseas office in Chicago, making it the third such office in the US, the others being in New York and Los Angeles.

Moreover, another office will be opened in the Saudi capital Riyadh to promote Thailand to Middle Eastern and Northern African tourists, she said.

The Senate on Monday approved the appointment of Passawat Kanoknart, a former vice president of the Supreme Court, as a new national anti-corruption commissioner.

The Senate voted 168 to 25 with 20 abstentions in favour of naming Mr Passawat as the latest member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

The law requires the appointment to be supported by at least half the senators, or 125 of them.

Passawat: Former Supreme Court VP

Mr Passawat is replacing Pol Gen Sataporn Laothong, who has completed his nine-year term as an NACC member.

Mr Passawat’s appointment came after the selection process failed to produce an anti-graft member for more than a year.

The selection committee previously considered the candidacy of Araya Preechametta, who later failed to win a majority of support to be nominated in the Senate for appointment.

The committee then put forth Mr Passawat as the new candidate.

PHUKET: Authorities are leading the effort to clean up an oil slick, which has washed up on the shore of Koh Racha Yai off the coast of Muang district.

Officials at the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre’s Region 3 were alerted to the oil slick on Patok and Siam beaches on Koh Racha Yai in tambon Rawai.

The navy has dispatched coastal patrol personnel to work on the clean-up operation.

Capt Krit Kluebmas, deputy director of the centre’s Phuket division, said help arrived at Koh Racha Yai at around 6.30am on Monday.

The team is racing against time as it fears the slick, which solidified during the night, might liquify again and cling to the sand if exposed to the heat of the sun, making it harder to remove.

Capt Krit said that before the team arrived on the island, the hotel operators and local residents had already cleared up some of the oil.

By yesterday evening, around 90% of the slick had been cleared from the beaches.

However, the division’s deputy director said he was unsure if more oil from the spill would wash ashore.

The centre, along with related agencies, including the natural resources and Phuket marine offices, planned to file a complaint with Chalong police once whoever was responsible for the slick has been identified.

The problem is likely to have been caused by a tanker carelessly releasing water it used for cleaning up its oil storage compartment, which then became tainted with oil, into the sea.

The damage to the marine environment around Koh Racha Yai, which has drawn many visitors to its dive sites and beaches, is immeasurable, he said.

A sea turtle has reportedly died after being covered in oil.

Theerapong Thaidaeng, deputy mayor of tambon Rawai municipality, said about a tonne of the slick was removed from the beaches yesterday, part of which was disposed of by dumping it in a sand pit.

Apiromrudee Mahawongsanant, a tourism operator on Koh Racha Yai, said some swimmers were upset after being caught in the oil.

“It’s the first time in 30 years of doing business here that I have come across a slick,” he said.

The Criminal Court has sentenced Mongkutwattana Hospital director, Maj Gen Dr Rianthong Nanna, to five years in prison and fined him 100,000 baht for defaming Sira Jenjaka, a former Palang Pracharath Party MP for Bangkok.

The court later suspended the term for two years on account of his past contributions to society. Maj Gen Dr Rianthong was also ordered by the court to delete all messages and defamatory content regarding the former MP from his Facebook posts and publish an apology in newspapers, with the apology costs to be wholly covered by the hospital director.

On May 7, 2021, Maj Gen Dr Rianthong posted a message on his Facebook account accusing Mr Sira, who at the time represented Laksi district office, of obstructing the work of a field hospital he had set up for Covid-19 patients.

It was the third of four such cases filed by the former MP against Maj Gen Dr Riangthong.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday inspected Suvarnabhumi Airport’s Satellite Airport Terminal 1 ahead of its soft launch next month.

Accompanied by several cabinet ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda, Gen Prayut also took a ride on the Automated People Mover (APM) train that links the new terminal with the main passenger terminal.

Gen Prayut said the visit was a follow-up on construction projects under Phase 2 of the Suvarnabhumi Airport development plan, which includes the SAT-1 terminal.

The terminal is set for a soft opening late next month, he said.

According to Gen Prayut, the new facility can accommodate up to about 15 million passengers per year, bringing Suvarnabhumi Airport’s annual passenger handling capacity to 60 million.

The prime minister said his delegation was also briefed on the progress of the construction of a third runway, adding it was 73% complete.

The new runway is expected to be ready for use in July next year.

Gen Prayut said that with the new runway, Suvarnabhumi Airport can handle 94 flights per hour, an increase from the current 68.

“The SAT-1 terminal, the third runway and other projects under development are part of the foundation work to revive the economy and tourism sector,” the premier said. “They will also accommodate the projected growth in the country’s aviation industry and increase its competitiveness.”

According to deputy government spokeswoman Traisulee Taisaranakul, the SAT-1 terminal has 28 contact gates, eight of which are designed to accommodate Code F aircraft (the double-decker A380 superjumbo jets) and 20 others for Code E aircraft (Boeing B747s).

She said the four-storey facility has a total floor area of 216,000 square metres, with two underground floors housing the APM train system and other related operations systems.

The APM system, with a maximum speed of 80kph, can accommodate 210 passengers per train, equaling about 6,000 passengers per hour, she said, adding it takes about three minutes to make each trip, including the wait time.

Police have arrested a 29-year-old man on suspicion of drugging and sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl after a viral post on Facebook indicated that he had abducted the girl, police said on Monday.

Weerayut Saenchai was nabbed by officers from the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (IDMB) at Wang Lang Market in Bangkok Noi district of Bangkok on Sunday.

Pol Maj Gen Teeradet Thammasuthee, the IDMB commander, said on Monday at a press conference that Weerayut had started dating his ex-girlfriend, 30, in 2019, who had a daughter, then 8, from her previous relationship.

Mr Weerayut’s abuse of the girl started when she was around 11 years old. In 2022, he broke up with his girlfriend and moved in with her daughter to live as a couple.

Pol Maj Gen Teeradet said the girl had been told to use drugs and sexually exploited by Mr Weerayut. Also, he tried to convince the girl to leave school and her mother for good.

After the arrest, Mr Weerayut confessed that he had forced the girl to take drugs and sleep with him.

Pol Maj Gen Teeradet said that the suspect had had a criminal history of drug use, theft, child abduction and sexual exploitation.

“I would like to apologise to the family of the girl that I have abused. I will not repeat the offence. If police can find other victims to identify me, I will turn myself in to face more charges,” said Weerayut.

The IDMB chief added that his team are always available via phone or Facebook chat to deal with reports of child abuse.

“We have our officers on hand 24 hours a day who will rush to review your reports,” said Pol Maj Gen Teeradet.

A spokesperson for the Cambodian government, Phay Siphan, called Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra’s attendance at outgoing prime minister Hun Sen’s birthday in Phnom Penh on Saturday a strictly private matter, before insisting it won’t have any impact on Thai-Cambodia relations.

“Prime Minister Hun Sen had already explained this to [Prime Minister] Prayut Chan-o-cha and other senior Thai officials,” Phay Siphan said on Sunday.

“He asked them for understanding about his friendship between the Prime Minister and Thaksin as well as with Yingluck. They had declared themselves ‘god siblings’ already and nothing to do with politics,” he added, as quoted by the Phnom Penh Post.

The surprise appearance by the former Thai prime ministers in Cambodia on Saturday sparked a lot of debate in the country.

Both Thaksin and Yingluck were seen at Hun Sen’s 72nd birthday celebration, which was held at his private residence in Takhmao, Kandal province, just outside the Cambodian capital. Also present at the party were members of Hun Sen’s extended family, including his son and heir as prime minister, Hun Manet.

Pictures of the gathering were revealed by Fresh News after Hun Sen himself shared the photos on his Telegram channel.

Hun Sen told Fresh News that Thaksin and Yingluck stayed overnight at his home and had breakfast together the next morning before departing Cambodia.

This familial gathering offered a glimpse into their close relationship.

The bond between Hun Sen and Thaksin can be traced back to 1992 when they began to regard each other as “god brothers”. Their relationship has remained strong, even after Thaksin and Yingluck were both deposed in coups.