Barkar Nash (Page 965)

A South Korean national has been arrested after 0.5 grammes of crystal methamphetamine was found in his room.

The discovery came after authorities received a tip-off about the man’s alleged involvement in drug smuggling to South Korea, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) said on Friday.

The Korea National Police earlier this month coordinated with the ONCB to investigate the 46-year-old man, identified as Chun Youn-bae, who had allegedly been smuggling crystal meth to South Korea in 2021-2022.

ONCB secretary-general Wichai Chaimongkhon said on Friday that the ONCB sought a warrant from Bangkok South Criminal Court on Thursday to search the suspect’s condominium in Soi Sukhumvit 21, where officials discovered 0.5 grammes of crystal meth, drug paraphernalia and plastic packaging bags hidden in his toilet.

Mr Wichai said the suspect faced charges, including possessing Type 1 narcotics without permission and overstaying his visa. He was taken to Lumpini police station for legal proceedings.

The suspect told police he had been in Thailand since 2006 for study purposes and had also run a tourist business for around five years, earning an income of around 50,000 baht.

The suspect claimed that he met a Thai woman on social media who offered to sell about 0.6 grammes of crystal meth per round that could be delivered by a motorcycle taxi driver or sent to the condo’s mailbox.

Despite the suspect refusing to provide further information about the Thai woman, Mr Wichai said that the ONCB had learnt the drug dealer’s identity and assumed Mr Chun may also have been a drug dealer, adding that the ONCB is gathering evidence to track down the remainder of the drug network members.

In a separate development, the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) arrested four members of a cross-border drug network along the Mekong River on Tuesday and confiscated 7 million meth pills.

Pol Maj Gen Thanarat Sonkla, commander of the Narcotics Suppression Division 2, said police acted on a tip-off to tighten border security in Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon.

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Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha won’t leave the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) and will continue as the party’s chief strategist, party leader Pirapan Salirathavi­bhaga said yesterday.

Gen Prayut will work to strengthen the UTN and take the lead in protecting the country’s three core institutions, which represent the core of the party’s ideology, said Mr Pirapan.

“Gen Prayut will continue to be with the party and work as the party’s chief strategist,” he said in a Facebook post.

And he will chair a meeting of all 36 successful election candidates on Monday at the party’s headquarters, said a source.

As a new party that had only four to five months to campaign for votes ahead of Sunday’s election, the UTN still proved strong enough to win 23 House seats in the constituency race and come third in the party-list contest with 4.67 million votes, said Mr Pirapan.

That support earned the party 13 list seats, bringing the total number of elected MPs to 36, which should be considered a success, he said, before thanking all those who had voted.

The party’s candidates came second in several constituencies, particularly in Bangkok, which reflected strong public support, he said.

“I’d like to ask all our supporters to keep faith in the party and be confident that we will move forward together for the sake of our beloved nation,” said Mr Pirapan.

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A senior Move Forward Party (MFP) executive has dismissed as untrue media reports that his party has been allocated so-called Grade A ministries, saying the issue has not been finalised.

Party secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon, in his capacity as coordinator of the talks on the formation of a new government, was responding to a report that MFP list-MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn would take the helm of the Interior Ministry, among other speculation.

“Such reports are untrue. When I heard about the reports, I felt shocked and stunned,” he said on Friday. “We are still in the process of thrashing out political platforms in the memorandum of understanding.”

So-called Grade A ministries are those with large budgets for procurement or activities such as construction, and have often been the sources of corruption in past governments.

Mr Chaithawat said the allocation of ministries had not yet finalised. Speculation about ministerial quotas would affect the negotiations among coalition partners and could cause misunderstandings, he said.

The media, he added, had gone too far in reporting speculation about who would be getting what ministries, as the issue had not been concluded.

The focus now is on finalising a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will map out guidelines for collaboration. Details are scheduled to be disclosed on Monday, the day all the coalition partners will sign it, said Mr Chaithawat.

There were media reports on Friday that Phicharn Chaowapatanawong, a Move Forward deputy leader  was coordinating with another small party to join the alliance, which now has eight parties.

Kritdithat Saengthayothin, a list-MP of the one-member New Party, has reportedly accepted the invitation to join the alliance, becoming the ninth party to join. This would give the MFP-led bloc 314 House seats.

The New Party on Friday posted on its Facebook page that its executives had resolved to join the alliance to form a new government unconditionally.

On Friday evening, Mr Phicharn said the Chartpattanakla Party, which has two seats, had also agreed to join the coalition, which would give the MFP-led bloc 316 seats.

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The Move Forward Party (MFP) said on Friday that its coalition partners need not support its controversial stance on amending the royal defamation law, as it seeks to win backing to form a government.

“If parties agree with us on 112, then we are ready to include it in the agreement, but it is not a condition for joining the government,” deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun said on a morning talk show, referring to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law.

The agreement she referred to is a memorandum of understanding that is now being drafted by the eight parties in the coalition and is scheduled to be signed on Monday.

Ms Sirikanya said that Move Forward would table a proposed amendment to Section 112 independently in parliament.

The lese-majeste law prescribes terms of three to 15 years in prison for offences against the monarchy. But opponents say it is used mainly to stifle dissent. About 240 people have been charged under the law since youth-led protests against the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha began in mid-2020.

Move Forward wants to amend the law to reduce prison terms, and to stipulate that only the Bureau of the Royal Household can lodge a complaint. Currently, anyone can file a complaint against anyone else and police are obliged to investigate it.

Move Forward’s eight-party coalition will have 313 votes in the 500-member House. But the 250-member Senate will also vote on the selection of the prime minister. The party will need a total of 376 votes to ensure the approval of its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat.

The majority of the senators, all of them appointed by Gen Prayut in 2019, do not support Mr Pita. But a few have come out publicly to say they will back him as the leader of the party with a big mandate from the public.

The Bhumjaithai Party, which holds 70 seats and is the largest opposition party, has said it would not support any premier who would amend the lese-majeste law.

Analysts say not forcing other parties to adopt its position on lese-majeste could help Move Forward draw in additional votes.

“They’ve decelerated significantly on this issue, which eases the pressure on government parties from supporting the coalition,” said political scientist Wanwichit Boonprong of Rangsit University.

Another divisive topic was the use of cannabis, which was championed by Bhumjaithai and legalised last year but without accompanying regulations in place, leading to a surge in recreational use that angered conservatives.

Move Forward said it would re-criminalise the substance before deploying a legal framework allowing for medical and regulated recreational use.

“We support medical marijuana, and recreational use must be regulated,” said Parit Wacharasindhu, an MP-elect with the party.

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The Criminal Court on Friday acquitted Pannika Wanich, a campaign assistant of the Move Forward Party, of a Computer Crime Act violation stemming from Facebook posts she made a decade ago.

Ms Pannika, now 35, made the posts between 2013 and 2014. One contained excerpts an old song predicting the fate of the Ayutthaya kingdom.

The posts subsequently came to the attention of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, where officials claimed they could arouse public concern and panic by offending the royal institution. Ministry officials filed a complaint with the police Technology Crime Suppression Division in 2021.

After examining the evidence, the court found that the defendant’s act had not violated Section 14 (2) of the Computer Crime Act as the plaintiff contended, as it was not tantamount to putting false information into a computer system that may cause damage or panic in society, said Krisadang Nutcharas, a lawyer with Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

The court noted that one of the posts mentioned the political situation at the time, and the other was a long prophecy that was published and widely known by members of the public, according to Mr Krisadang.

Ms Pannika, a former MP for the now-dissolved Future Forward Party and a core member of the Progressive Movement, told the media last year that she was surprised that public prosecutors had decided to indict her.

Ms Pannika and two other key figures from Future Forward — Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul — have been the targets of numerous legal complaints, including lese-majeste, levelled by opponents of the movement that is now poised to form a new government after finishing first in last Sunday’s election.

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A district chief was arrested at his office in Nakhon Sawan on Friday for allegedly demanding bribes from a cockfighting operator.

A team of police, led by Counter Corruption Division (CCD) commander Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankew, arrested 59-year-old Prasit Phattanasitthicheewin, chief of Mae Wong district office of this northern province, on Friday morning. The arrest was made on charges of demanding or receiving bribes and malfeasance in office.

Mr Prasit was accused of allegedly demanding a bribe from a local cockfighting operator, whose name was withheld, in exchange for an operation permit. The district chief had collected 3,000 baht a month from the operator despite the actual fees being 220 baht per cockfighting pen. Since the operator had six pens, the fees should be 1,320 baht. However, the district chief had demanded additional money, claiming that it was for care and facilitation, said Pol Maj Gen Jarookiat.

Due to concerns about his business being affected, the operator had paid 6,000 baht in advance for two months to the district chief. However, he later encountered financial difficulties and could not afford to pay the fees for one month. This prompted Mr Prasit to demand the outstanding payment as well as three months’ fees in advance, totalling 12,000 baht, while threatening to shut down the operator’s cockfighting facilities if the payments were not made.

Fearing the closure of his business, the operator decided to file a complaint with CCD police. The arresting team devised a plan to have the complainant give the demanded money to the district chief, who was then caught red-handed receiving the bribe at his office, said the CCD commander.

During questioning, he denied all charges and was subsequently handed over to CCD investigators.

The officers are gathering evidence and preparing a probe report, which will be forwarded to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for legal proceedings.

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Border security forces from Thailand, Cambodia and Laos have kicked off what is being billed as the first sporting event between them aimed at forging closer military ties.

The mini-games for the soldiers is taking place in Ubon Ratchathani and being organised by the Suranaree task force. It began on Thursday at Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University in Muang district. The troops will compete in men’s football, pétanque, volleyball and golf. Each country has sent 60 athletes to compete.

The opening ceremony was chaired by the task force’s chief, Maj Gen Weerayut Raksin, as well as Lt Gen Chea Sopheak, deputy chief of Cambodia’s 4th military region, and Wiangnakhon Bualaphan, deputy chief of Laos’ Champasak education and sports section.

Maj Gen Weerayut said the event was in line with army chief Gen Narongphan Jitkaewtae’s policy of using sport to strengthen relations between the three countries’ security forces along their shared borders.

Lt Gen Chea said sporting competitions are a great mechanism to achieve this goal, and Cambodia said it is ready to host the next competition, possibly in the form of a bicycle race.

Lt Gen Thol Sovan, deputy chief of Cambodia’s 3rd brigade support, said the Cambodian and Thai militaries enjoy good relations.

Soldiers along the border always coordinate with each other and make clear agreements to avoid further conflict, such as the unfortunate skirmish that occurred in 2011, Lt Gen Thol said.

Thailand introduced two teams on Thursday, one from the Suranaree task force and the 2nd Army Region, and another from provincial agencies and Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University.

Laos sent athletes from its Champasak military division, while Cambodia sent athletes from its 4th military region and 3rd support brigade.

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