Commentary: Was the writing on the wall for horse racing in Singapore?

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HINTS OF THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Moore is one of those who should know about Singapore racing. Long before becoming one of international racing’s most successful trainers – with a record of more than 1,700 race wins to his name – Moore had arrived in Singapore in 1970 as a 20-year-old amateur jockey, looking for opportunities to make his mark on the world.

In those days, racing was held at the Bukit Timah Racecourse, where there were gallops on the grass through the trees and a sense that racing was part of the very fabric of Singapore. “You could really sense that history and the excitement, even in the 1970s, at every racing meeting with the huge crowds and the noise,” Moore recalled. “I loved coming back over the years.”

It’s little wonder Moore would go on to claim one of the city’s top races, the Group One Singapore Airlines International Cup, three times (2013 to 2015). But he said that the first hint of the beginning of the end for Singapore racing came in 2015, when the decision was made to cease staging that particular race. As a result, the country lost a little of its lustre on the global scene.

Racing in Singapore has noticeably scaled down over the past decade. According to the Singapore Turf Club, crowds averaged around 2,600 per race in 2022, a significant drop from the 11,000 who attended each meeting in 2010. Revenue from horse wagering, including overseas races, declined from S$1.8 billion (US$1.3 billion) in 2010 to S$1.1 billion (US$800,000) in 2022.

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New Corrections Dept rule ‘not for Thaksin’

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Department says rule allowing some sentences to be served outside prison has very limited application

A guard looks through a gate at the Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)
A guard looks through a gate at the Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)

The Department of Corrections has clarified that a new regulation it issued is not intended to pave the way for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to serve his sentence outside of a prison if he returns to Thailand.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, the government’s legal expert, also said on Thursday that the regulation does not empower the director-general of the Department of Corrections to move any convicts out of prisons to be detained elsewhere as rumoured.

Thaksin, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Dubai since 2008, has said repeatedly that he is determined to return to Thailand, possibly as soon as next month, and enter the legal process. He has been sentenced in absentia to a total of 12 years in jail in four corruption cases by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

The new regulation published in the Royal Gazette outlines procedures for certain prisoners who have served their time and are about to be released. It would allow for them to be further detained if the courts consider they are likely to repeat the crimes, said Sithi Sutheewong, the deputy director-general of the Department of Corrections.

The regulation was issued under Section 5 of the Detention Procedures Code, which is based on Sections 40, 41 and 42 of the Criminal Code.

Mr Sitthi said the regulation might have caused some people to misunderstand that it was specially designed to empower the director-general of the department to allow some prisoners to serve their time elsewhere.

He called for the public not to believe in rumours and distorted information and to get correct information from the Department of Corrections’ public relations page.

He said the department now has 57 people — 51 men and six women — being detained to whom the rule might apply. They are mostly homeless people with a history of having repeatedly committed petty theft.

According to official figures from the DoC from December 2022, a total of 261,919 people were imprisoned in its facilities. The actual capacity of the system is 232,165, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

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WhatsApp Channels launch in Singapore: Join CNA’s channel to get breaking news, our pick of must-reads

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HOW TO ACCESS WHATSAPP CHANNELS

To access Channels, update your WhatsApp mobile app to the latest version and the channels will be on a new tab on WhatsApp called Updates. There, you’ll find Status and channels you choose to follow, separate from your chats with family, friends, and communities.

Alternatively, you can click on CNA’s WhatsApp channel invite link, then click “Download” to update your WhatsApp to the latest version. You’ll then be able to join CNA’s WhatsApp channel. 

For now, only selected organisations and individuals are allowed to create a channel, but regular users will be able to do the same in the coming months.

Channel administrators can decide who can follow their channel and whether they want it to be discoverable via an in-app directory that will be launched in the future. They will also be able to block screenshots and forwarding of messages from their channel if they want. 

Channel administrators will not be able to see their followers’ phone number and vice versa. 

According to WhatsApp, Channels are not end-to-end encrypted by default and a Channel’s history will be stored on servers for up to 30 days.

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Probe into official’s attempt to release smuggled oil truck

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Deputy director-general says joint investigation underway with Anti-Corruption Division

Crime activist Atchariya Ruangratanapong arrives at the Anti-Corruption Division in Bangkok on Thursday to file his complaint about oil smuggling. (Photo supplied)
Crime activist Atchariya Ruangratanapong arrives at the Anti-Corruption Division in Bangkok on Thursday to file his complaint about oil smuggling. (Photo supplied)

The Excise Department is investigating an allegation that one of its high-level officials tried to persuade police to let go of a truck carrying 15,000 litres of smuggled oil.

Kriangkrai Pattanaporn, deputy director-general of the department, said on Thursday that a probe committee was formed on Wednesday to look into the arrest of a 47-year-old man who drove the truck in Muang district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province.

He said an initial investigation found that the truck was transporting 15,000 litres of smuggled oil, and the truck driver was indentified only as Sombat.

Mr Kriangkrai responded to reports of anti-corruption police and excise officials having intercepted the truck on Phetkasem Highway in tambon Koh Lak, Prachuap Khiri Khan, as it was en route to the Central Plains on Saturday evening.

Following the arrest, a high-level official of the Excise Department allegedly contacted the police at scene in an attempt to secure the release of the truck and its driver. However, the police rejected the request.

Mr Kriangkrai said that his department and police of the Anti-Corruption Division are jointly conducting the investigation.

“If evidence implicates a high-level executive, the department will verify it and take disciplinary action without any leniency,” the deputy director-general said.

On Thursday, crime activist Atchariya Ruangratanapong arrived at the Anti-Corruption Division, urging the agency to expand the investigation into the case.

Mr Atchariya alleged that a deputy director-general was involved in an oil-smuggling network and that the seized truck was transporting smuggled diesel from the southern border province of Songkhla to Pathum Thani province in the Central Plains.

Excise officials in Prachuap Khiri Khan were instructed to release the truck and the driver, but they were unable to do so because the highway police had already taken custody of the vehicle, according to Mr Atchariya said.

After the arrest, highway police requested that local excise officials only inspect the oil on the truck, said the activist.

He added that oil smuggling from the South occurs almost every night and raised questions regarding the whereabouts of the impounded truck.

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Kazakh man nabbed for shooting Russian

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Police and rescuers examine a car in which a Russian man was shot and injured by an armed man in tambon Choeng Thale, Thalang district, Phuket province, on Wednesday. (Photo supplied)
Police and rescuers examine a car in which a Russian man was shot and injured by an armed man in tambon Choeng Thale, Thalang district, Phuket province, on Wednesday. (Photo supplied)

PHUKET: A Kazakh man suspected of shooting and injuring a Russian man in a gun attack in Thalang district on Wednesday has been arrested, police said.

The suspect, who was identified as Artur Legay, was detained by immigration police at Phuket International Airport on Thursday morning.

According to the initial questioning, the man from Kazakhstan had checked in and stayed at a hotel in tambon Choeng Thale. Further investigation is currently underway.

At around 11.45am on Wednesday, the Phuket 191 emergency response centre received a report that a foreign man who was sitting in a car was seriously injured in a gun attack in front of a café in the business area of Laguna Phuket, about one kilometre from Choeng Thale police station.

Local police and rescuers rushed to the spot.

According to witnesses and security camera footage from the area, when the car arrived in front of the café, a man, whose face was covered, who had earlier arrived on a Honda PCX motorcycle, approached the car. He then fired four shots with a handgun at the man sitting inside through the windscreen. After the shooting, the attacker fled on the motorcycle.

The man in the car, later identified as Dmitry Aleynikov, a 44-year-old Russian national, sustained gunshot wounds to the chest, right armpit and left arm. Rescuers extracted the unconscious and bleeding man from the vehicle and rushed him to Thalang Hospital.

A police investigation led to the arrest of the suspected attacker.

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Singapore launches sustainability standard for data centres in tropical settings

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SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on Thursday (Jun 8) introduced a sustainability standard for data centres operating in tropical climates.  It comes after a working group established guidelines to enable the operation of data centres at higher temperatures while optimising their energy efficiency.  The new standard aims toContinue Reading

Phuket hits last lap in bid for Expo 2028

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Chiruit: Making final pitch on June 21
Chiruit: Making final pitch on June 21

Many Thais are crossing their fingers in the hope that Phuket is selected to host the Specialised Expo 2028, as the final presentation and vote draws near.

A Thai delegation will get to make their final pitch to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) on June 21.

They will make the case for why Phuket deserves to host the expo and find out when voting will be held to pick the winner, Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, president of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), said on Wednesday.

The theme proposed by Thailand for the March 21 to June 20, 2028 expo is “Future of Life: Living in Harmony, Sharing Prosperity”, which will require a budget of around 4.18 billion baht, he said.

The event is expected to draw about 7 million visitors from 106 countries, he said. It is likely to help generate up to 50 billion baht in economic value, he added.

Moreover, the expo will serve as a core part of Thailand’s plan to promote its health and medical tourism, with the resort island being upgraded to a key health and medical tourism city of global standing, Mr Chiruit said.

Phuket is seen as one of four cities running neck-and-neck in the final round of the race to be selected to host the 2028 expo, he said, adding the other cities that have made it this far are the Serbian capital of Belgrade, Spain’s Barcelona and Minnesota in the United States.

“The final presentation isn’t something we are worried about, but rather the vote,” he said.

More than 120 member nations of the BIE will cast their votes, he said.

“Keep your fingers crossed and we will see if Phuket can win the selection or not.”

The BIE’s selection committee previously visited Phuket to inspect its readiness to be selected, he said.

If Thailand emerges from the vote triumphant, it will become the first country in Southeast Asia to host the expo thus far.

Pattanachai Singhavara, director of the TCEB’s southern region office, said a night reception will be organised in Paris on June 16 for the BIE member countries and for Thailand to convince them that Phuket is ready to become the host of the expo.

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New road linking Phuket, Phangnga now complete

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The Na Klang-Ao Jik road connecting Phuket and Phangnga is completed and ready for traffic. The 282.8-million-baht road is designed to boost tourism and interprovincial transport. Photo By DEPARTMENT OF RURAL ROADS
The Na Klang-Ao Jik road connecting Phuket and Phangnga is completed and ready for traffic. The 282.8-million-baht road is designed to boost tourism and interprovincial transport. Photo By DEPARTMENT OF RURAL ROADS

The Department of Rural Roads (DRR) announced the completion of the Na Klang-Ao Jik road linking Phuket and Phangnga, which will support local tourism and cross-provincial transport.

DRR director-general Apirat Chaiwongnoi said on Wednesday the department had invested about 282.8 million baht in the 4.2km road, which is part of a city expansion plan in Phangnga’s Thai Muang district.

The concrete road has four driving lanes, each 3.5 metres wide, with a 2.5-metre wide hard shoulder on both sides. The road has a drainage system, lamp posts and traffic signs, while its footpaths are designed to be 3.5 metres wide.

The Na Klang-Ao Jik, or 1042 rural road, is a new route connecting Phangnga to Phuket, Mr Apirat said. No details were available on how much traffic it is likely to take.

It’s expected to be used by tourists who fly to Phuket to visit Phangnga’s tourist destinations, such as Na Tai Beach and Khao Pilai Beach.

He said that completing the Na Klang-Ao Jik road will benefit the local economy, cross-province transport, and tourism.

According to the Phangnga Tourism Association, more visitors travelled to Phangnga last year, up 41.65% from the year.

The total number of tourists last year was 546,475, and the tourism industry generated about 2.7 billion baht for the province.

During the first four months of this year, Chumphon welcomed 499,047 visitors, up 60.68% from the same period last year, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

The tourism industry generated about 1.2 billion baht, up about 20% from the same period of last year to the southern province from Jan-April.

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Canada loosens visa rule

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Thailand is among 13 countries newly added to Canada’s electronic travel authorisation (eTA) programme by its Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, the country announced on Wednesday.

Travellers who have either held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or who currently hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa can now apply for an eTA instead of a visa when travelling to Canada by air, according to the website canada.ca.

Effective from Tuesday, eligible travellers from Thailand and the following countries can now benefit from the programme: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Costa Rica, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

“By making travel to Canada more accessible, we are enhancing opportunities for collaboration, trade and investment, thus invigorating our economy,” said Kevin Lamoureux, Canada’s MP for Winnipeg North.

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