South-East Asia (Page 1,554)

Total membership of 100 proposed, with as many as three referenda needed

The new constitution drafting assembly will comprise 77 provincial representatives and 23 others who are experts and representatives from various groups, says the head of a sub-committee on rewriting the constitution.

The government panel is currently gathering public opinions on its proposal for rewriting the constitution.

The 23 members of the assembly will include five public law experts, four experts in political science and public administration, and four members with a background in politics or charter drafting, said Nikon Jamnong.

The rest will represent various groups, with two representing children’s and youth organisations; two from women’s groups; two from organisations working on elderly rights and welfare; two to advocate for the rights of the disabled, and two promoting gender diversity, he said.

After holding multiple hearings, the sub-committee on Monday submit its conclusion to the main constitution amendment committee. Opinions were drawn from students, professional and civic groups and parliamentarians.

As for the number of referenda that will be held, three was the most common choice proposed in hearings, said Mr Nikorn.

The first referendum would seek to determine whether a majority of the public supports the charter-amending proposal, while the other two would follow later, he said.

“What is also important — and what needs to be discussed at Monday’s meeting of the main committee is how to keep the costs of organising all these public referenda as low as possible,” he added.

The three referenda would cost approximately 9.6 billion baht, said Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, a list-MP of the United Thai Nation Party, citing a previous estimate by the Election Commission.

He suggested the government schedule each referendum to coincide with a local election where possible, to help reduce costs.

Parit Wacharasindhu, a spokesman for the opposition Move Forward Party, affirmed its stance that all members of the drafting assembly must come from an election, not via selection by parliament.

He suggested a quota of experts and interest group representatives could be elected at the same time using three ballot papers: one for choosing the provincial representative, another for picking a representative in the expert group and the final one for electing people from other groups.

Move Forward has proposed that the government also ask the public in the first referendum whether or not they want all members of the drafting assembly to come from an election.

MRTA reports new high in Pink Line ridership

The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) will extend the service hours of its four main lines by an extra two hours on New Year’s Eve.

The MRTA said trains on the Blue, Purple, Yellow and Pink lines would run until 2am on Jan 1 to encourage people to use public transport.

The train services normally end at midnight.

Park-and-ride facilities along the lines will also be extended until 3am, except for Kamphaeng Phet which will be open for 24 hours free of charge over New Year.

In a related development, the MRTA said the number of passengers on the Pink Line reached a new high of 107,203 on Dec 22, breaking the record of 99,882 set the day before.

Rides on the Pink Line are currently free of charge during trial runs from 6am to 10pm. Service hours will be extended to midnight starting from Monday.

Starting on Jan 3, the 34.5-kilometre line that connects the Government Complex on Chaeng Watthana Road to Min Buri, will start charging passengers. Fares will range from 15 to 45 baht depending on the distance travelled.

Taiwanese executive accused of hiring two Thai ex-navy men to kill relatives over business conflict

Police have opposed bail for a Taiwanese businessman and two Thai suspects – a retired navy officer and a former navy Seal — arrested in connection in foiled murder plot linked to a business conflict.

Crime Suppression Division (CSD) officers on Saturday took Feng-Hao Chang, 68, to the Criminal Court along with Rear Adm Prakaipruek Srifa, 64, and Tewarat Mangkorn, 66, to seek court approval to detain them pending a further investigation.

Under the law, criminal suspects can be detained for a maximum of seven 12-day periods, or 84 days in total, before police must press charges or release them.

The suspects were arrested separately in Bangkok on Friday on warrants issued by the Criminal Court on charges of hiring others to commit murder.

The trio had been accused of colluding in a plot to kill Mr Chang’s wife, his son and a lawyer over alleged business conflicts in the family electronic equipment exporting firm worth over one billion baht, said police.

Rear Adm Prakaipruek was an adviser to Mr Chang’s company, 

The CSD investigators opposed bail, citing the seriousness of the crime and the severe penalties. The officers feared the suspects, if released, might interfere with evidence.

While being transported to the court, the suspects appeared exhausted following intense questioning overnight.

During questioning, only Mr Chang gave useful statements to the case while the Thai duo denied any involvement, according to police sources.

The arrests were made during raids on Friday at eight locations in Chon Buri and Bangkok.

Tewarat Mangkorn, 66, a former navy Seal, is taken to the Criminal Court on Saturday. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

Mr Chang’s son James, 29, filed a complaint with CSD police in November that he was being monitored continuously and was worried about his safety.

He told the officers that he had had a dispute with his father, whom he suspected of embezzling from the electronic equipment firm controlled by the family.

Mr Chang and his son have filed a number of lawsuits against each other since 2022, resulting in at least 20 cases demanding the removal of each other from the firm’s board of directors.

CSD investigators subsequently arrested three gunmen, who reportedly confessed that Tewarat had hired them to kill James Chang, his mother and his lawyer.

According to reports, Rear Adm Prakaipruek had asked Tewarat to hire hitmen for 1.5 million baht to carry out the murders.

Tewarat, a former navy captain, was an expert in weapons and explosives. He was stripped of his rank after being jailed for killing a police officer in Mae Sot, Tak in 2006. He was released recently after serving his term.

Rear Adm Prakaipruek and Tewarat were former classmates at the Royal Thai Naval Academy.

Taiwanese executive accused of hiring two Thai ex-navy men to kill relatives over business conflict

The Criminal Court has denied bail for a Taiwanese businessman and two Thai suspects — a retired navy officer and a former navy Seal — arrested in connection with a foiled murder plot linked to a business conflict.

The three men were taken to the Bangkok Remand Prison following their appearance in court on Saturday.

Crime Suppression Division (CSD) officers took Feng-Hao Chang, 68, to the court along with Rear Adm Prakaipruek Srifa, 64, and Tewarat Mangkorn, 66, to seek approval to detain them pending a further investigation.

Under the law, criminal suspects can be detained for a maximum of seven 12-day periods, or 84 days in total, before police must press charges or release them.

The suspects were arrested separately in Bangkok on Friday on warrants issued by the Criminal Court on charges of hiring others to commit murder.

The trio had been accused of colluding in a plot to kill Mr Chang’s wife, his son and a lawyer over alleged business conflicts in an electronic equipment exporting company worth over one billion baht, said police.

Rear Adm Prakaipruek was an adviser to Mr Chang’s company, 

The CSD investigators opposed bail, citing the seriousness of the crime and the severe penalties. The officers feared the suspects, if released, might interfere with evidence.

While being transported to the court, the suspects appeared exhausted following intense questioning overnight.

During questioning, only Mr Chang gave useful statements to the case while the Thai duo denied any involvement, according to police sources.

The arrests were made during raids on Friday at eight locations in Chon Buri and Bangkok.

Tewarat Mangkorn, 66, a former navy Seal, is taken to the Criminal Court on Saturday. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

Mr Chang’s son James, 29, filed a complaint with CSD police in November that he was being monitored continuously and was worried about his safety.

He told the officers that he had had a dispute with his father, whom he suspected of embezzling from the electronic equipment firm controlled by the family.

Mr Chang and his son have filed a number of lawsuits against each other since 2022, resulting in at least 20 cases demanding the removal of each other from the firm’s board of directors.

CSD investigators subsequently arrested three gunmen, who reportedly confessed that Tewarat had hired them to kill James Chang, his mother and his lawyer.

According to reports, Rear Adm Prakaipruek had asked Tewarat to hire hitmen for 1.5 million baht to carry out the murders.

Tewarat, a former navy captain, was an expert in weapons and explosives. He was stripped of his rank after being jailed for killing a police officer in Mae Sot, Tak in 2006. He was released recently after serving his term.

Rear Adm Prakaipruek and Tewarat were former classmates at the Royal Thai Naval Academy.

The investigation is being extended to find out whether there were others involved in the murder plot, said Pol Col Wiwat Jitsophakul, chief of CSD sub-division 2.

So far, there are only the three suspects, he said, as the hitmen arrested earlier were now being treated as witnesses.

Though the suspects have denied the charges, investigators were confident in the evidence they had gathered, he added.

Phetchaburi pair promised high returns from investing in state electricity enterprise

A husband and wife have been arrested for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 73 people of nearly 54 million baht.

Nattasilp Chaiwisit, 48, and his spouse Nattawanon, 41, were wanted on a warrant issued in April last year accusing them of defrauding the public, entering fraudulent information into a computer system and engaging in fraudulent monetary borrowing.

According to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), the duo in 2017 began luring victims into a Facebook group called Aom Ngen Baan Nam Whan, proposing a high-yield investment opportunity in what they claimed was a state enterprise related to electricity.

Members initially received “dividends” until August 2017, when the payments began to slow and the couple, who administrated the page, became non-responsive. Once the payments stopped completely, 73 members of the group banded together to file a report with investigators, indicating they were owed 53.86 million baht in total.

The pair were finally arrested on Friday in Cha-am district of Phetchaburi province, where they were engaged in an online mobile phone sales business. Police said they were able to contact them through their store to set up a sting and bring them to justice.

PHETCHABURI: More than 60 teenagers, most of them tested positive for drugs, were detained during a police raid on a popular resort in Ban Lat district early Saturday.

A combined team of police from several units raided the resort, where a drug-fuelled party was taking place. Over 60 party-goers were present at the event.  Seized from the scene were numerous sachets containing illicit drugs and a fake gun.

All teenagers underwent urine tests, and most of them tested positive for illicit drug use, said the police team.

All were handed over to police investigators at Ban Lat station for legal action. The police then contacted their parents.

The raid, led by Pol Col Pongsiri Kengnok, investigation chief at the Phetchaburi provincial office, and Pol Col Apirak Permchai, chief of Ban Lat police, was part of a crackdown operation on illicit drugs during the lead-up to the New Year holiday.

More than 60 teenagers are detained following the raid on a resort in Phetchaburi’s Ban Lat district where a drug party is held. (Photo supplied/Chaiwat Satyaem)

Officers show sachets of illicit drugs seized from a drug-fuelled party in Phetchaburi province on Saturday. (Photo supplied/Chaiwat Satyaem)