Barkar Nash – Page 969

Drink-driving list MP-elect gets suspended jail term

On: May 17, 2023

MFP candidate has lost seat she won in Sunday’s election

Nateepat Kulsetasit (MFP photo)

The Min Buri Court has sentenced Nateepat Kulsetasit, a Move Forward Party list MP-elect, to two months in jail, suspended for two years, and fined her 4,000 baht for drink-driving.

She was charged by prosecutors with driving while drunk early Tuesday morning in violation of the Land Traffic Act of 1979 and Automobile Act of 1979.

The court late on Tuesday found her guilty as charged and sentenced her to two months in prison and a 4,000 baht fine. The prison term was suspended for two years.

She was also required to report to probation officials every four months for one year and perform public services for a total of 12 hours. Her driver’s licence was suspended for six months.

Early on Tuesday, Ms Nateepat, 46, was stopped at a police checkpoint on Prasert Manukit Road in Lat Phrao district of Bangkok. An alcohol breath test showed 66 milligrammes of alcohol per 100ml of blood, above the threshold of 50mg.

Ms Nateepat subsequently resigned as an MP candidate on the party list, on which she was No.27 and would have taken a seat in the House of Representatives.

She apologised to the public and regretted her actions because she had disappointed people and would not be able to perform the duties of an MP and to vote for the same-sex marriage legislation that she had pushed for.

On Wednesday, Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, sent a letter to the Election Commission (EC). He asked the EC, as the political party registrar, to order the MFP to comply with the Political Party Act in Ms Nateepat’s case.

Section 22 of the Political Party Act requires the executive committees of all parties to oversee their members’ conduct. In this case, the MFP’s executive committee must report the offence committed by Ms Nateepat to the political party registrar within seven days of the offence.

Since Ms Nateepat had violated items 25 (2) and (6) of the MFP’s regulation, the party executive committee was duty-bound to take punitive action against her, he said.

If the MFP failed to do this, the political party registrar would be duty-bound to recommend the EC board remove the entire MFP executive committee, Mr Srisuwan said in the letter.

MFP turns attention to Senate

By: Barkar Nash

On: May 16, 2023

In: South-East Asia

Ready for talks, with coalition plans in tow

The Move Forward Party (MFP) is trying to convince senators to back its leader Pita Limjaroenrat to become prime minister as it bids to gather support from other parties to form a coalition government.

The party has been critical of the coup-appointed Senate and sought to “switch off “or remove its power in joining MPs to select a prime minister as stipulated by the constitution.

But it has now made an about-face and has to seek the Senate’s backing.

When a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate is convened to elect a prime minister, under the 2017 constitution, at least 376 votes would be needed for his endorsement.

This means Mr Pita would need more votes from other parties or senators.

MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said the party is ready to meet senators for talks to allay any concerns they may have.

“Senators’ concerns may be unfounded. If we can talk, they should be eased,” Mr Chaithawat said.

“I am confident there are some senators who are mature enough and wouldn’t want to see a political impasse,” he said.

Some senators previously expressed concern about the MFP’s desire to revise or scrap Section 112 of the charter, the lese majeste law.

Asked who would become the House Speaker, Mr Chaithawat said the role should be filled by a member of the MFP as it won the most House seats.

Asked whether it has approached the Chartthaipattana Party to join a coalition, Mr Chaithawat said Mr Pita on Monday announced a plan to form a coalition government comprising five former opposition parties and one new party, with a combined 310 MPs and himself as prime minister.

The six parties are the MFP, Pheu Thai, Thai Sang Thai, Prachachart, Seri Ruam Thai and the Fair Party.

A source said Mr Chaithawat will today meet key figures from these parties to discuss the formation of a coalition government.

On Facebook, Srettha Thavisin, a Pheu Thai candidate for prime minister, yesterday called on other parties, particularly the Bhumjaithai Party and the Democrats, to support Mr Pita for prime minister without the need for the support of senators.

Mr Srettha noted that he hoped all parties would respect the public mandate by voting for Mr Pita.

“I, for one, support Mr Pita of the Move Forward Party to take the position with grace,” he wrote.

He noted that many parties, particularly Bhumjaithai and the Democrats, previously announced their opposition to the 2017 constitution’s empowering of senators to take part in the vote for prime minister.

“Now it’s time for you to confirm your stance by voting for Mr Pita to be the 30th prime minister in a true democracy, without having to rely on votes from the 250 senators,” he added.

Responding to Mr Pita’s calls for other parties’ support, former House speaker Chuan Leekpai said: “Don’t expect others to think the same way. Each party can think for itself.”

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said a new coalition government could be formed on the basis of mutual respect and courteous negotiations.

“Any wish can come true when generosity is offered in exchange,” he added.

“The formation of the new government is now the burden of the Move Forward Party, which won the highest number of House seats,” he said.

The senators are entitled to their own points of view, but their positions should be negotiable, he said.

He said the Election Commission would verify the election results within two months, after which the House will be called into session and the parliament president appointed.

We Watch calls for speedy vote count

By: Barkar Nash

On: May 16, 2023

In: South-East Asia

Group wants official numbers out fast

The We Watch group has called on the Election Commission (EC) to hurry up with the vote count and officially announce the poll results soon so the new government can be formed and get to work quickly.

The group of young poll monitors announced yesterday the EC should not dawdle but make the official poll results known much earlier than the deadline.

The law permits the EC to release the official poll results within 60 days of the election.

Pongsak Chan-on, the We Watch director, said the 60-day window could delay the formation of the new government and hold back the country’s affairs.

It would be best if the EC were able to wrap up its work and get the results out within seven days of the polls, he said.

As of yesterday afternoon, 99% of the 39 million votes cast nationwide had been counted, according to the EC’s official website https://www.ectreport.com/overview

The We Watch group said it had sent members to keep an eye on many polling stations across all 77 provinces on Sunday.

Krit Saengsurin, We Watch’s information officer, said the group did not end up encountering any “critical” problems with the election.

However, Mr Krit said the group had found shortcomings such as a lack of facilities for disabled voters at polling stations in provinces including Chumphon, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani and Bangkok.

We Watch added there were few facilities for wheelchair-bound voters and a lack of machines to help those who are blind or deaf in handling their ballots.

On the whole, the group said it was also unfair that the law omits the voting rights of monks, people with mental conditions and inmates.

In addition, the allocation of different campaign numbers for the two ballots — one for selecting constituency candidates and the other for parties — was also confusing, according to We Watch.

Also, the names of people were mixed up in the house registrations, and some voters’ names have remained registered at their old houses despite the data transfer having been completed.

The group has vowed to keep on monitoring the work of the EC until the new government is officially up and running.

Fighting Thailand’s ‘scamdemic’

By: Barkar Nash

On: May 16, 2023

In: South-East Asia

Two Thai cell towers facing a development across the Moei River in Myanmar, south of Myawaddy and Mae Sot in 2022. It is believed the complex consists mainly of dormitory buildings whose residents include suspected scammers.

The April 8 arrest in Bangkok of a Chinese woman with Thai citizenship alleged to be the leader of a criminal syndicate involved in fraud, surrogacy and human trafficking is just one recent example of an increasingly sophisticated crime wave inside Thailand.

In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, a deputy national police chief, said a police probe revealed a significant threat from organised crime activities involving Chinese gangs.

Many of these gangs, however, are preying on Thais from outside the country. In 2021, scam calls in Thailand increased by 270%.

Police think the 50,000 complaints they receive represent less than half the number of people actually scammed. The number of scammers at work in our region is now believed to be in the tens of thousands.

Many — if not most — of the scammers, however, are not inside the kingdom. Instead, they’re operating in high-tech scam centres in lawless areas and supposed “special economic zones” just across the border in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, from where they tap into the country’s outstanding telecommunications infrastructure to find their “customers”.

The industrial-scale scamming — and how it was supercharged by the Covid-19 pandemic — was exposed in Dominic Faulder’s “Scamdemic” article in Nikkei Asia, which has gone on to win three international journalism awards.

Faulder describes how one Thai scammer was lured to Poipet in Cambodia on the promise of a lucrative job. He ended up with a Chinese overlord but decided to risk his life in a bid to escape his clutches after one scam victim blew his brains out on camera after pleading for the return of his money.

“It’s not an uncommon story,” Faulder told the Bangkok Post‘s Deeper Dive podcast.

“There’s quite a lot of reports of suicides related to scams, people who just lose everything.”

The scammers have often been scammed themselves. “People see these advertisements on social media that promise jobs that are relatively high-paying…they go through an agent who takes them to the border, Myanmar, Laos, but mostly still in Cambodia, and they’re smuggled across. Then they lose their passports, so they get stuck. They are basically defenceless.”

By numerous accounts, a mammoth scam centre has sprung up in the Myanmar border town of Shwe Kokko Myaing, a partnership between expat Chinese investors and the Karen Border Guard Force working under the Myanmar military.

The ability of the town nicknamed “Scam City” to access Thailand’s excellent telecommunications infrastructure is apparently aided by a string of cell towers just across the Moei River in Tak province.

“They’re in the cornfields, and they’re basically facing Shwe Kokko,” Faulder said.

“We’re not pointing fingers at anybody — any operator will tell you immediately that they can’t be responsible for what their systems are being used for. Systems are used for criminal activities all the time. The question is whether those towers should be where they are.

“The telephone system is clearly being used for scamming. Everybody knows that, and the police are right up against it.”

Humans have scammed one another since the days of the wandering snake-oil salesman, and some online cons are updated versions of traditional ruses. A new breed, however, uses the latest technology to fool their victims.

“People are called and told they are suspected of being involved in drug smuggling and are about to be arrested. Then they’re asked if they would like to speak to the police officer in charge of their case, and they say yes please, and a policeman comes on the screen.

“He’s got a copy of your ID card, reads out the number, looks at you and compares you to the picture.”

Behind the policeman on-screen, the noise and bustle of a police station is in full swing. But the station is actually a film set built in a casino just across the Thai border in Cambodia. The officer in this particular scam did, in fact, serve with the Royal Thai Police, but he’s gone rogue.

“They’re former policemen, so they know the game. They have the uniforms, the jargon, everything. I was informed that a particular casino in Poipet has two police stations, a DSI office, and I think a public prosecutor’s office.”

Now comes the hook.

Surachate: Chinese gangs pose threat

“The “policeman” goes soft on them and says ‘Maybe you’re innocent, let’s check your accounts and see what the movements are like.'”

That “checking” involves sending money to the so-called police account.

“I don’t know why they do this, but somehow they’re taken in, they’re so in awe of being in the presence of a police investigation that they do it, they empty their accounts. They’re told that in 20 minutes the money will be back…and of course, that’s the last they ever see of it.”

In this case, the entire police station is a set with paid actors. But widely-available AI-based apps now enable scammers to take the image and voice of a real person — a senior police officer, a celebrity, an expert or anyone else — and put other people’s words into their mouths to make the scam frighteningly realistic.

With the use of this “deep fake” technology expanding exponentially and the worldwide volume of online fraud far beyond the ability of authorities — some of them corrupted by the gangsters in charge — to control, Faulder says the only defence against the scamdemic is “cybervaccination”.

“It’s a massive public education campaign. Warn people that this is going on, make them vigilant…and if someone offers you something too good to be true, it is too good to be true.

“They’re trying to con you.”

Scan the QR code to watch Dave Kendall’s full interview with Dominic Faulder on the first episode of the new ‘Bangkok Post’ podcast, ‘Deeper Dive’. Or search for ‘Deeper Dive Thailand’ wherever you get your podcasts.

Prayut tight-lipped about future

By: Barkar Nash

On: May 16, 2023

In: South-East Asia

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is keeping mum about his political future after the defeat of his party in Sunday’s election. Chanat Katanyu

Outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday remained silent about his political future in the wake of Sunday’s general election after chairing a caretaker cabinet meeting.

Reporters asked if he would quit politics, and he smiled, saying: “No comment.”

Gen Prayut was also tight-lipped when reporters asked if he would remain in the fight and stay with the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party.

He likewise declined to comment on the possibility of former opposition party Pheu Thai joining hands with parties in his outgoing government and isolating the Move Forward Party, which won the most House seats.

Gen Prayut said his government remained on duty and was doing its best pending the formation of the new government. He thanked people for their moral support for him and his government over the past few years. He also thanked all voters who exercised their rights at Sunday’s polls and congratulated all political parties that received votes.

“Although the UTN is newly formed, the party has received satisfactory feedback,” he said.

“The UTN will still be devoted to the three pillars of Thai society — nation, religions and monarchy — including people no matter their position,” he added.

Gen Prayut said he was happy with the process of forming a new government.

“I would like all Thai people to cooperate and promote unity,” he said. “This is done for stability in the nation so that we can have no conflict and we can jointly develop the nation.”

The UTN Party, which nominated Gen Prayut as its prime ministerial candidate, finished fifth in Sunday’s election with 36 House seats, compared to the Move Forward Party’s 152 and Pheu Thai’s 141, according to the latest figures.

Thirteen ministers were reported absent from yesterday’s cabinet meeting.

MFP candidate Nateepat resigns

By: Barkar Nash

On: May 16, 2023

In: South-East Asia

Nateepat: Caught drink-driving

Move Forward Party list MP-elect Nateepat Kulsetasit has resigned as an MP candidate of the party after police arrested her for drink-driving early yesterday morning.

Ms Nateepat told reporters she apologised to the public because she had disappointed people and would no longer be able to vote for the same-sex marriage legislation she had been pushing for.

She said she met some friends around 11pm on Monday and had three or four drinks. She denied resisting a police request to take a breathalyser.

Ms Nateepat, 46, was stopped at a checkpoint on Prasert Manukit Road in Lat Phrao district of Bangkok. A breath test showed she was over the legal limit.

Move Forward unofficially won 152 House seats including 39 list seats in Sunday’s election.

Polish man arrested over grisly murder

By: Barkar Nash

On: May 16, 2023

In: South-East Asia

A Polish man, who police alleged murdered and dismembered his Ukrainian girlfriend, was detained yesterday at the Bangkok South Criminal Court after more than an hour of interrogation.

Pol Col Arthit Rojpaitoon, Wat Phaya Krai Police Station superintendent, said Jan Jerzy Lagoda-Filippow, 25, was arrested in Sa Kaeo province’s Aranyaprathet district on Monday night.

He was transferred to Wat Phaya Krai Police Station in Bangkok at 4am yesterday.

The suspect was arrested after allegedly murdering and dismembering the body of Alona Savchenko, 25, with a handsaw at a high-rise condominium in Bang Kholaem district after arriving as a tourist on April 29.

Condominium staff later found her remains. Mr Lagoda-Filippow was later arrested following a tip-off from a taxi driver.

Pheu Thai denies Bhumjaithai deal talk

By: Barkar Nash

On: May 16, 2023

In: South-East Asia

Sutin: Respect people’s mandate

The Pheu Thai Party has dismissed media speculation that it plans to enter talks with Bhumjaithai, the third biggest party, to try and form a coalition government together.

Deputy Pheu Thai leader Sutin Klungsang insisted there was no substance to such speculation, adding that the party made this very clear in a post-election statement.

“If we had such a plan and acted on it, there’s no way people could accept it,” he said.

Pheu Thai would like to work with a party people accepted as having the mandate to lead the next government, said Mr Sutin referring to the Move Forward Party (MFP), which emerged from Sunday’s election as the biggest party. MFP has approached Pheu Thai to be a potential coalition partner.

Mr Sutin said he believed the new government would take shape within the next 30 days and become fully functional in about two months.

He also downplayed a remark made by Senator Wanchai Sornsiri that the biggest party might eventually end up on the opposition benches if it fails to gather enough support from other parties to form a government.

Anutin: Caption

Admitting such a scenario is technically possible for a coalition supporting the biggest party to fall short, but in a democracy, both the MPs and senators should respect the people’s mandate in electing a prime minister for parliament, Mr Sutin said. “We should learn from the previous election,” he added.

In the 2019 election, Pheu Thai won the most MP seats only to see the Palang Pracharath Party, the second-biggest party, success- fully cobble together enough support from MPs from various parties to establish a coalition government with Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha returning as prime minister. However, Mr Sutin pointed out that it would be “another story” if the biggest party tried to put together a government but still could not garner sufficient backing from other parties.

Meanwhile, Bhumjaithai issued a statement yesterday pledging to preserve the party’s onus by letting the biggest party have a free hand to build a coalition government.

The statement also denied media reports that party leader Anutin Charnvirakul had given an interview to reporters regarding the government’s formation.

Abhisit return rumours swirl

By: Barkar Nash

On: May 16, 2023

In: South-East Asia

Former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is suited to the job of salvaging a Democrat Party crushed in Sunday’s general election, according to deputy party leader Sathit Pitutecha.

Mr Sathit said yesterday that Mr Abhisit has what it takes to return and reverse the party’s fortunes after it suffered one of its most crushing election losses, prompting Jurin Laksanawisit to step down as leader and accept responsibility for the defeat on Sunday evening.

The Democrats grabbed just 22 MP seats from the constituencies and three more from the list system, according to an Election Commission (EC) update on the vote count yesterday afternoon.

Mr Jurin, who vowed to resign if the party won less than 25 seats, had already announced he was quitting before the party hit that target late into Sunday evening.

Yesterday, Mr Sathit said a plan to welcome Mr Abhisit back to replace Mr Jurin is already being openly discussed among party members.

He also called on politicians who defected before the polls to return and help restore the party to its former glory.

The Democrats, Mr Sathit added, have arrived at a point where the party must start anew to gain wider support from the people, as Sunday’s unofficial election results were highly indicative of the direction that voters want to see the country moving towards.

Democrat members must sit down and figure out a way to recover, said Mr Sathit, who is also deputy public health minister.

The party must also buckle down and learn from its poll defeat, he said.

Mr Sathit said the party’s plan to move forward must be reworked around the need to tap into swing voters and those who do not regularly follow the news. That will be worked into the party’s strategy from now on, he said.

However, Mr Sathit noted it has been particularly challenging to reach out to groups who prefer to receive only one-sided information.

He said that the party must try to get the public to pay attention to what it offers amid a sea of information out there.

“After losing the war, we shall retreat, nurse our wounded soldiers back to health and retrieve the weapons. We will gradually find our feet again,” he said.

Mr Sathit insisted new members that span generations are needed to drive the party machine back into office.

The job should not be given wholly to the younger members, although those with outstanding ability should play prominent roles in charting the new course.

Senators slow to warm to Pita’s PM bid

By: Barkar Nash

On: May 16, 2023

In: South-East Asia

Senators have expressed mixed opinions on whether to support Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the Move Forward Party, which won the most House seats in Sunday’s election, to become the next prime minister.

Senator Peeraksak Porjit said that it is up to parties to gather enough support to nominate a prime ministerial candidate for a vote in parliament.

“Senators will also consider who they will nominate and whether the candidate is suitable,” Mr Peerasak said, adding that senators should not abstain from voting.

Asked to comment on Mr Pita’s suitability, Mr Peerasak said that first, the parties with the most seats must drum up support for their choices before senators examine the qualifications of each candidate and the policy platforms that saw them voted into parliament.

“In principle, senators should respect the decision of the majority of MPs,” he said.

Senator Jetn Sirathranont echoed the sentiment.

“The poll result shows that people would want [senators] to vote for candidates either from the MFP or Pheu Thai.

“The political party that wins the most seats has the right to gather support and form a government first. If it fails, the party that wins the second-largest number of seats will be given a chance,” he said.

Senator Wallop Tangkananurak also said he shares that belief and is ready to support a candidate nominated by a party that can gather the support of more than 250 MPs.

However, he said he was baffled by an about-face by the MFP, which had earlier tried to “switch off” or remove the Senate’s power to join MPs in selecting a prime minister in parliament.

“But they [the MFP] are now calling on senators not to abstain from voting and instead support its prime ministerial candidate?” Mr Wallop said.

However, Jadet Insawang insisted that he would not vote for Mr Pita if he was nominated.

“Mr Pita has been attempting to scrap Section 112 [the lese majeste law], and that is unacceptable,” the senator said.

Meanwhile, Senator Seree Suwanpanont said he wanted the MFP to clarify its aim as to whether it would scrap the law entirely, as “There are several parties that disagree with the move to revise Section 112”.

Barkar Nash (Page 969)