Barkar Nash (Page 940)

Questions remain over whether fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra will keep his promise to return to Thailand on Aug 10 after massage parlour tycoon-turned-whistleblower Chuvit Kamolvisit claimed the homecoming plan was cancelled.

On Friday, Mr Chuvit posted on Facebook, claiming that: “The game has changed. Thaksin stepped back and cancelled the plan to return to Thailand. The situation has changed. Signs of danger are beyond expectations.”

His remarks prompted a reaction from Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s youngest daughter and one of the Pheu Thai Party’s three prime minister candidates.

“Nonsense,” she commented on Facebook page of news presenter Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda, which posted Mr Chuvit’s remarks. She stood by the Aug 10 date.

Mr Chuvit later said he had received information that Thaksin had delayed his return because the political situation in the country remained volatile.

He also said he believed a new prime minister still cannot be elected by a joint sitting of MPs and senators in the vote scheduled for Friday.

He added that Thakin would return once a deal has been struck in Bangkok. He gave no further details. In response to Ms Paetongtarn, Mr Chuvit said: “I understand that Ms Paetongtarn wants her father to return to Thailand, though she might not know all the conditions [for his return].”

However, a source who recently met Thaksin abroad said Thaksin’s homecoming plan remains unchanged. “He will return to Thailand as planned and there are no other factors that will make him cancel the plan,” the source said.

Jatuporn Prompan, former chairman of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), said he did not believe Thaksin would return that day, as he has previously announced such homecoming plans 20 times but has not come back yet.

He said Thaksin’s latest homecoming plan was announced after the Move Forward Party stepped aside and let Pheu Thai take charge of forming a government. It is making slow progress.

“Don’t believe him until he appears at Don Mueang airport on Aug 10. Thaksin actually wants to return to Thailand without having to spend a single day in jail, which cannot happen,” Mr Jatuporn said.

On Wednesday, Thaksin’s 74th birthday, Ms Paetongtarn announced her father was due to arrive at Don Mueang airport on Aug 10.

It is the first time that Thaksin — who has spent 17 years saying he will come home — has set a date for his return.

Earlier, he said he would return before his birthday, only for his daughter to say it would be pushed back slightly due to political uncertainties.

CHON BURI: Plankton bloom is turning the sea off Ta Waen Beach on Koh Lan green; however marine experts say the phenomenon will only last a day or two.

The Facebook page “We Love Pattaya” yesterday posted pictures of unusually green seawater at Ta Waen Beach on Koh Lan which, although not harmful, is not recommended for swimming.

Sorasak Thongbongpetch, secretary of the Koh Lan community, said the bright green colour is the result of fresh water caused by storm run-off causing plankton to bloom.

The phenomenon usually takes place at the beginning of the rainy season, and lasts only a few days before returning the sea to its normal colour, Mr Sorasak said.

“Only Ta Waen and Ta Yai Beaches are affected by the plankton bloom. Koh Lan’s other beaches are reported to be fine.

“Tourists should remain calm and continue their trip,” he added.

Thanet Mannoi, director of the Marine and Coastal Resources Office Region 2, said the plankton had received a large amount of food and reproduced much more quickly than usual.

Once the oxygen in the seawater is used up, plankton dies equally rapidly, making the seawater turn green.

Mr Thanet said the office had sent researchers to collect samples to assess whether the bloom is harmful to humans.

“The plankton bloom causes the seawater to stink, resulting from the mass death of plankton. Some people can be allergic to that so it is not recommended to swim in the green seawater at the moment,” he said.

When asked if the phenomenon is related to the El Nino climatic changes, Mr Thanet said there is no indication that might be a cause.

Koh Lan is a popular destination in Chon Buri which can be reached via a ferry or speedboat from Pattaya.

A British mansion where King Prajadhipok once lived in the late 1930s following his abdication from the Thai throne has gone on the market for a sum of £5.5 million (or about 240 million baht).

Vane Court, a 27 ha property that dates back to 1419, is located near the village of Biddenden in Kent, 70 kilometres southeast of London, according to the listing posted by the upmarket real estate agent Savills.

“While for those looking for a house with history, Vane Court’s prior use as a royal residence has truly left a mark on the home,” says Will Peppitt, head of southeastern sales at Savills. “One can now sleep in what was once the King of Siam’s bedroom or spend sunny afternoons beside the King’s Pond.”

Savills says the 604-year-old mediaeval manor has been “thoughtfully restored” and features six bedrooms and four bathrooms. The timber-framed abode’s original entrance hall has been preserved on the ground floor, complete with an oak staircase and a south-facing drawing room with its own fireplace and wood burner.

The grounds contain formal gardens, a separate sunken rose garden, a tennis court and a large heated swimming pool. The aptly named King’s Pond has its own bridge.

“With transport links back into London conveniently nearby, we think that Vane Court will appeal to those looking for the perfect slice of country living in the garden of England,” said Mr Peppitt.

Tranquillity and peace were interrupted by the advent of World War II, and when Vane Court was requisitioned for war purposes, the royal couple moved to a rented house at Virginia Water in Surrey, where King Prajadhipok died of heart failure at age 47.

The Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) has pushed Chiang Rai and Suphan Buri to be listed as part of the Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN) this year, and the results are expected to be released in October.

Gp Capt Athikun Kongmee, Dasta’s director, said the Thai UCCN Experts Committee has nominated Chiang Rai for the City of Design category and Suphan Buri for the City of Music category in the 2023 UCCN Call for Applications.

Both cities were nominated based on their unique identities and the proficiency of their inhabitants in creativity in each category as well as their potential to become global creative cities as defined by Unesco, he said.

Dasta had also planned to nominate Nan for the City of Crafts and Folk Art categories this year but the idea was shelved by the Thai UCCN Experts Committee, he added.

Regarding preparations for Suphan Buri and Chiang Rai in the next five years, Gp Capt Athikun said Dasta is planning to promote Suphan Buri as a “City of Musical Creativity” because the city has a strong music tradition embedded in the lives of its people.

Suphan Buri has produced artists such as Yuenyong Opakul, also known as Aed Carabao, a popular band, and Kwanjit Sriprachan, who specialises in pleng puen bahn (folk music).

Dasta will also promote Chiang Rai as a City of Design and highlight its unique Lanna-inspired arts that display intelligence and culture, Gp Capt Athikun said.

UCCN is part of the Unesco network, aiming to promote cooperation among creative cities for sustainable urban development.

Of the nearly 300 cities in the network, five are in Thailand: Bangkok (City of Design), Phuket, Phetchaburi (Cities of Gastronomy), Chiang Mai and Sukhothai (Cities of Craft and Folk Art).

Unesco will announce the results of Thailand’s bid in October during the UCCN Annual Conferences in Istanbul, Gp Capt Athikun said.

Police have arrested a Vietnamese national in Bangkok suspected of illegally collecting hundreds of thousands of baht per month from swindled customers.

Pol Maj Gen Theeradej Thamsuthee, commander of the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s investigation division, said Nguyen Van Viet, 40, was arrested on Friday at his warehouse in Lat Krabang district over alleged public fraud and inputting false information into a computer system.

He was arrested after the Criminal Court issued a warrant on July 14, Pol Maj Gen Theeradej said.

Police seized 468 returned parcels and about 5,000 products, including appliances and knives, from the suspect’s warehouse, he added.

Mr Nguyen was arrested because he was the owner of a storage warehouse for a “random parcel sending” fraud, earning hundreds of thousands of baht a month, Pol Maj Gen Theeradej said.

He said the fraud was linked to the suspect’s online Facebook shops, which sold substandard products that were not approved by local authorities, and counterfeit goods.

According to police, victims would order products from the suspect and later found the goods sent did not match those advertised online, resulting in the products being returned.

The suspect would then send the same products in parcels to people who unknowingly accepted and paid for them using the cash on delivery method, police said.

Mr Nguyen denied the allegations. He said he started using the warehouse last year using funds from a Vietnamese businessman.

More than 130 people injured, extensive damage to shops and houses in border town

At least nine people were killed and more than 130 seriously injured when fireworks exploded at a godown in Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat on Saturday afternoon.

The incident took place at around 3pm at the godown of the Weerawat Panit shop in the Muno market in the district near the Malaysian border. The explosion caused extensive damage to the godown, the market and as many as 150 houses in the area, according to reports from the scene.

The explosion initially claimed four lives and injured 90 others, but as the full extent of the damage became known, the number of dead and injured began to rise.

Local media reported that an unknown number of people were trapped inside their houses and rescue workers were trying to help get them out.

Anirut Bua-on, the chief of Sungai Kolok district, coordinated with all tambons to send fire trucks and rescue teams to the scene.

The force of the blast badly damaged the Muno market, a hub for cross-border product trade in Sungai Kolok district.

Narathiwat governor Sanan Phong-aksorn later said nine people were killed, with 113 reported to be badly injured. Subsequent reports raised the number of injured to at least 130.

The cause of the explosion was being investigated.

The incident occurred just days after an explosion at a fireworks factory in Doi Saket district of Chiang Mai, where eight people were injured.

The provincial governor subsequently ordered inspections at all fireworks factories in the northern province to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.

Rescue workers and local residents survey damage following a fireworks explosion at a godown in Sungai Kolok (Photo: Radio Thailand Sungai Kolok Facebook)

PHUKET: A search was continuing on Saturday for a 22-year-old Senegalese man who went missing after going swimming at Freedom beach on Friday.

Forty-five searchers from Karon municipality and other agencies were taking part in the operation on Saturday. They also expanded the search area to Patong beach to the north and Karon beach about two kilometres south of Freedom beach on the west coast of the tourist island.

The tourist, identified as Cheikhonuna Ba, 22, was last seen swimming at Freedom beach at around 11am on Friday, said a spokesman at the Royal Thai Navy Third Army operation centre.

Navy officers were dispatched to join lifeguards to search for the man on Friday, when strong wind and waves obstructed the operation.