South-East Asia (Page 2)

Four of six teachers and two students accused of being involved in the prolonged sexual abuse of three female students in Mukdahan have been sentenced to life imprisonment, according to Thicha Nanakorn, an adviser to the Child, Youth and Family Foundation.

The foundation and other local partners in 2020 began helping the victims pursue criminal and civil charges against eight teachers and students, until the provincial court agreed on July 1, 2020 to hear the case, she posted on Facebook yesterday.

She cited a ruling handed down on Friday by the Mukdahan provincial court. The student victims were all under 15 years of age at the time the sexual abuse began, she said.

Two teachers were given the benefit of the doubt as there was insufficient evidence to prove their involvement.

The convicted six parties were also ordered to jointly pay financial compensation of around 3 million baht, plus interest of 7.5% per year, to the victims, said Ms Thicha.

Ms Thicha said she planned to seek talks with Education Minister Pol Gen Permpoon Chidchob about how to prevent similar sexual assaults from happening again.

In the Mukdahan case, she said, repeated abuse of the students occurred from May 16, 2019 until March 4, 2020 at the house of one of the convicted teachers.

Thailand has called for stronger action from its partners in developed nations to raise $100 billion for a lost and damage fund by 2025, saying it is crucial for developing states to meet their climate goals.

Speaking as a representative of the government during the COP28 meeting in Dubai yesterday, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Pol Gen Phatcharavat Wongsuwan, said Thailand has committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 and meeting its Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emission target by 2065.

The country is moving towards phasing down fossil fuels in line with its 2050 Carbon Neutrality goal, he said. “The climate finance goal of US$100 billion by 2025 is crucial for developing states to achieve their climate targets as promised,” he said.

“No country is spared from the adverse effects of climate change,” he added. “I am gratified the fund has been established and will be materialised further at COP28.”

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, developed nations transferred $89.6 billion to the fund in 2021.

The fund, with a goal of raising $100 billion by 2025, will be used by developing nations to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The fund has been a long-standing demand by developing nations coping with the costs of extreme weather events. At COP28, the UAE committed $100 million to the fund, and Germany $100 million, according to a report by The Guardian. The US, meanwhile, has pledged $17.5 million and Japan $10 million, the report said.

Bangchak Hospital in Samut Prakan yesterday admitted one of its pharmacists gave a toddler trichloroacetic acid, a medicine used to treat warts, instead of a sleeping aid.

The boy, aged one year and four months, had fallen and hit his head on a bathroom floor. His mother brought him to the hospital for treatment on Friday.

There, a doctor ordered a sleeping aid for the boy before a CT scan. His aunt went to the hospital’s pharmacy department and was given two oral syringes — one for sleeping and the other filled with water. She later gave them to a nurse who told the mother to feed her child both liquids.

The mother said she only fed him the content of half a syringe before he began to cry. The nurse insisted the toddler must finish the contents of both syringes. While attempting to dispense the second liquid, a drop spilt on the mother’s arm and the spot began to burn.

She demanded to know what liquid was given to her child. She asked for help on the Be One Facebook page and members helped her file a complaint with the hospital.

Dr Wanchat Chinsuwatey, Bangchak Hospital director, yesterday said a hospital official gave the wrong medication to the toddler.

He said the official and the nurse have been suspended pending questioning. The official may be fired if the action is considered a violation of proper conduct. The hospital will cover the medical expenses of the toddler, who is now under the care of Ramathibodi Hospital.

A new Facebook post yesterday said the toddler has improved and swelling around his neck has subsided. However, his skin shows burn traces and he is still hooked to a ventilator. The toddler’s family wants to talk to the official who gave the wrong medicine and demand an apology.

Nightspots told to provide sobering-up zones

The National Alcohol Beverage Policy Committee has ordered pubs and restaurants opening until 4am from Dec 15 to open sobering-up areas and prevent drunk customers from driving.

Santi Promphat, deputy minister of public health, yesterday said the committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, met on Friday to extend the opening hours for entertainment venues in Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Bangkok and Surat Thani (only on Koh Samui), under a government policy to spur the economy.

The policy change also applies to hotels nationwide.

Nighttime entertainment venues must strictly comply with rules and regulations, particularly the Entertainment Place Act and Section 29 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, which prevent establishments from selling alcoholic beverages to people under 20 years old.

Mr Santi said operators of these venues must provide breathalyser tests to customers who will drink and drive. These businesses must also provide areas for drivers with blood alcohol levels above the legal limit of 50 milligrammes per decilitre to sober up.

Customers must wait in the area until they can drive, he said.

If customers refuse to wait, pub operators must contact the friends and relatives of customers so they can be driven home or provide transport for the customers, he said. Customers mut pay for this service.

Various agencies will compile the information and carry out an impact assessment on the extension of operating hours, he said.

Motorists should not drive while intoxicated during the New Year’s festival. Businesses must comply with the law and prohibit the sale of alcoholic drinks to people under 20 years old, he said, adding alcohol sales are allowed from 11am–2pm and again from 5pm–midnight.

Mr Santi also urged family members to keep an eye on their children to prevent them from driving while drunk. Checkpoints will be beefed up to check motorists.

He said that during the “seven dangerous days” last year, road accidents occurred 2,440 times, with 317 dead and 2,437 injured. Drunk driving was the second biggest cause of road accidents, accounting for 25.49%, he said.

‘madam dear’ misses out on bid

Acting leader of the Democrat Party, Chalermchai Sri-on, was yesterday elected its new leader amid speculation the party, the country’s oldest, was at risk of crumbling.

Mr Chalermchai was chosen unopposed after former party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva withdrew his candidacy and announced his resignation as a party member to “allow those entrusted with leading the party to work with peace of mind”.

Watanya “Madam Dear” Bunnag, chairwoman of the political innovation committee, was unable to contest the post because she failed to win enough support from the meeting to waive a regulation requiring a candidate to have been with the party for five years. She defected from the Palang Pracharath Party last year.

Sathit Pitutecha, a former deputy leader, also quit his party membership, saying the party had abandoned its ideology and could be eventually abandoned by voters too.

The meeting, chaired by Mr Chalermchai, was the third attempt to fill the leadership void after two previous attempts failed due to a lack of quorum.

After the meeting convened, former leader Chuan Leekpai nominated Mr Abhisit as a party leader candidate and expressed confidence he could get the party on a democratic path and restore its former glory. Mr Abhisit, however, said that without unity the party could not move forward and asked for a recess so he could hold talks with Mr Chalermchai.

Before ordering a 10-minute recess, Mr Chalermchai gave his assurance that he strictly adhered to democratic principles and would not let the party become a “spare part.”

After emerging from the talks, Mr Abhisit withdrew from the race and announced his resignation. “I have no association with any party. My political allegiance is always blue [the party’s colour]. And to give those entrusted with leading the party peace of a mind, I decided to quit,” he said. Mr Abhisit bade farewell, left the meeting and refused to comment when approached by reporters.

The leadership contest resumed in which acting deputy leader Dech-it Khaothong nominated Mr Chalermchai as the party leader candidate. He was supported by 219 votes.

Khayan Wipromchai, a former MP for Lamphun, nominated Ms Watanya as a contender and asked the meeting to waive the regulation requiring a candidate to be with the party for five years. Mr Chuan also spoke in support of the proposed waiver.

But Ms Watanya had only 139 votes, lower than the required 195 votes. She said she had yet to decide if she would stay on with the party and would not accept just any party post.

Mr Chalermchai ran unopposed and promised to restore party unity and uphold its principles. He received 88.5% support and became the 9th Democrat leader.

In an interview, Mr Sathit said the Democrat Party had abandoned its ideology when some of the MPs voted for Srettha Thavisin as the prime minister. He said some members were prone to cronyism instead of upholding ideological principles and the party did not try to adapt to changes. Some members were also considering quitting.