SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Transport Minister S Iswaran was arrested on Tuesday (Jul 11) and subsequently released on bail, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said on Friday. The anti-graft agency had announced on Wednesday that Mr Iswaran was assisting with a case it uncovered, although it did not reveal the nature of theContinue Reading
Sacked for poor performance as gambling habit took hold, suspect preyed on other teachers and students
A former award-winning teacher has been arrested on charges of duping more than 100 teachers through a Facebook scam advertising bookings for accommodations that he did not have.
A team of Metropolitan Police Bureau investigators and police Cyber Task Force Unit 5 arrested Wiwat Wongsa, 36, at a house in Bangkok on Thursday, said Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thammasuthee, the MPB commander.
Mr Wiwat was a former Thai language teacher at a well-known school in Bangkok. He graduated from a famous university with first-class honours and won the Outstanding Thai Language Teacher Award in 2017.
However, in 2020 he was sacked from the school after his performance dropped and he did not show up for work for several days due to his addiction to online gambling, police said.
Without a job and money, he used his wits to turn to scamming, said investigators.
Mr Wiwat reportedly told police that he saw an opportunity when many teachers and students wanted to find accommodations when they travelled upcountry. He also posted a picture of himself in his civil servant uniform and used his high profile as an acclaimed teacher to establish credibility.
The most recent victims were a group of students and teachers who had booked accommodation in Nan for the 70th Student Arts and Crafts Competition from Feb 3-5.
The police said at least 100 teachers had been duped during the past year or so, causing damages of hundreds of thousands of baht.
In addition, investigators said, Mr Wiwat ran a sensual massage scam targeting LGBTQ customers. He had been on the run for years and changed his whereabouts every two weeks.
An undercover investigator posed as a customer and eventually tracked Mr Wiwat to a place in the Ram Intra area. Police arrested him on Thursday as he was preparing to move again.
Police said Mr Wiwat was wanted on four other arrest warrants for fraud in Nakhon Sawan and Samut Sakhon and in Bang Yi Rua and Wang Thonglang districts in Bangkok.
Mr Wiwat admitted all wrongdoings, also apologised to everyone and asked for a second chance as a volunteer teacher, police said.
EG.5.1 is known to spread quickly but has mild symptoms, say health officials
Thailand has detected five cases of a new coronavirus XBB subvariant called EG.5.1 which is known to spread quickly but has mild symptoms, according to the Department of Medical Sciences.
The department found one person infected with the EG.5.1 subvariant in April, three cases in May and another in June. The patients did not have severe symptoms, said Dr Supakit Sirilak, the department chief.
Dr Supakit explained that EG.5.1 or XBB.1.9.2.5.1 belongs to Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.9.2, ,which has a mutation in spike proteins S:F456L and S:Q52H that accelerates its speed of transmission by 45% more than XBB.1.16.
In Asia, he said, the new subvariant has been found in 11 countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Israel, Laos, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and India.
The Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) has reported 1,385 cases of EG.5.1 in Europe, 203 in Oceania, 35 in North America, four in Central America and one case in South America.
In Asia between June 4 and July 4, the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 was still the dominant strain, followed by XBB.1.9.1 and EG.5.1.
Currently, the World Health Organization has focused on eight Omicron subvariants, including two variants of interest which are XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16. Six variants classified as under monitoring are BA.2.75, CH.1.1, XBB, XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.2 and XBB.2.3.
IS A TECHNICAL RECESSION OUT OF THE PICTURE? Singapore’s economy grew 0.7 per cent year-on-year for the April to June period, according to advanced GDP estimates released by MTI on Friday. On-quarter, the economy recovered to positive territory at 0.3 per cent, from a 0.4 per cent contraction in theContinue Reading
Family says 27-year-old was forced to help co-accused who killed and dismembered German businessman
PATTAYA: The fourth suspect in the murder of a German businessman claims he was forced to help his co-accused and fears for his life if he is placed in the same prison as the alleged mastermind of the gruesome crime, his family says.
Shahrukh Karim Uddin, 27, a Pakistani with Thai nationality, insisted he did not kill Hans-Peter Mack, whose dismembered body was found in a freezer at a rented house in Pattaya.
During questioning at the Nong Prue police station in Chon Buri, the suspect showed sign of stress but cooperated fully with police. He denied all charges and said he would give his statement in court. His lawyer and relatives were present during the lengthy questioning overnight.
Pol Maj Wachirawit Wisutsereephan, investigation chief with the Nong Prue police, on Friday took the suspect to the Pattaya Provincial Court to seek court approval to detain him.
On seeing reporters, the 27-year-old suspect shouted out, “I’m afraid, I didn’t do it and I didn’t kill.”
Mr Uddin was arrested at a hotel in Kanchanaburi on Wednesday afternoon while preparing to flee across the border to Myanmar, said police.
Olaf Thorsten Brinkmann, 52, the alleged ringleader in the crime, was arrested earlier along with two German women: Petra Christl Grundgreif, 54; and Nicole Frevel, 52. All three denied any involvement.
Surveillance camera video showed Mr Uddin sitting in the bed of a pickup truck next to a freezer containing the dismembered body of Mack, 62. The suspect was also seen in CCTV video with Mr Brinkmann as they bought some gear at a fishing supplies shop in Chon Buri.
An officer escorts suspect Shahrukh Karim Uddin from the Nong Prue police station for an appearance in Pattaya Provincial Court on Friday. (Photo: Chaiyot Pupattanapong)
Police seized a speedboat belonging to Mr Brinkmann from a house on Phra Tamnak Soi 5 in Pattaya on Wednesday night.
Investigators believe he and Mr Uddin were planning to go to sea and dump Mack’s body overboard to destroy evidence. However, the dismembered body of the victim was found at a rented house in tambon Nong Prue on Monday night — six days after the German property broker went missing.
Shahriyar Karim Uddin, 30, the suspect’s elder brother, said his brother was gripped with fear and wanted to seek justice. The suspect claimed he had been forced by Mr Brinkmann to help him.
His family was worried about Mr Uddin’s safety if he is sent to the same prison as Mr Brinkmann. They fear he might be silenced, said the brother.
The family plans to petition deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn to seek justice for Mr Uddin, said his brother.
Mrs Patt, 56, the suspect’s mother, said she was confident that her son was not involved in the murder. She believes the mastermind had plotted to make her son a scapegoat.
A source familiar with the investigation said Mr Uddin had told police that Ms Grundgreif had asked him to open a pool villa to hold a party for a VIP guest on July 4. On that day, Mr Brinkmann and Ms Grundgreif and Mack arrived and went inside. Mr Uddin said he had been told to wait outside.
After waiting for more than three hours, Mr Uddin decided to go inside the villa. On opening the door, he found Mack lying unconscious on sofa. He then asked the two Germans what they were doing. Mr Brinkmann pushed him against the wall and used a gun to threaten him.
The German man allegedly threatened to abduct his younger sister and his wife and traffic them to Cambodia if he did not cooperate. Mr Uddin also alleged that Mr Brinkmann had threatened to kill his parents in Phuket if he betrayed the gang.
Police are still compiling witness testimony and forensic evidence to prosecute the prime suspect.
Olaf Thorsten Brinkmann, 52, the alleged mastermind of the murder, is arrested at a pub in Bangkok on Tuesday night. (Photo supplied/Chaiyot Pupattanapong)
Petra Grundgreif, one of the three German suspects in the killing of Hans-Peter Mack, arrives at the Nong Prue police station on Tuesday. (Photo: Chaiyot Pupattanapong)
Mr Jeremy Pereira, a senior associate at Withers KhattarWong, said that the bail of S$100,000 “could be considered low especially when one takes into account (Mr Ong’s) high net worth”.
The amount “may not be indicative of the scale of the investigations, but likely that they don’t consider him that much of a flight risk”, he said.
Mr Ong and his wife, Singaporean businesswoman Christina Ong, were ranked 24th richest in Singapore last year and estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of US$1.75 billion (S$2.3 billion).
But Mr Wee, who focuses on white collar offences, said that the personal assets of a suspect who is being offered bail are not an important consideration.
“Having assets within the country is a positive thing for the person who’s being investigated … it suggests less of a flight risk,” he said.
“And I would also say that it may not be fair to set bail at a higher amount just because someone has more assets, because then the person’s not being treated equally.”
As for the matter of Mr Ong’s nationality, “the fact that a person is not a Singaporean does not in itself make that person a higher flight risk”, said Mr Shashi Nathan, partner at Withers KhattarWong.
He added that having business operations in multiple countries does not in itself increase or decrease flight risk.
“An assessment would have to be made to calibrate the amount of bail sufficient, not only to allow the person to be released from custody, but also to travel out of jurisdictions if necessary,” said Mr Nathan.
HPL owns and operates hotels under the brands of Four Seasons, COMO Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Six Senses, Marriott International, Hard Rock Hotels and Concorde, as well as shopping malls.
The businesses span the globe, with operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives, Indonesia, Seychelles, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vanuatu, Bhutan, Tanzania, South Africa, Italy and Sri Lanka.
Mr Pereira said that the bail amount is usually higher for foreigners with no roots in Singapore, but as Mr Ong has roots here, such as property and businesses, these would have been taken into consideration.
“If he has assets overseas and can essentially live comfortably without having to ever return to Singapore, this would also be a factor which would have been taken into account,” he added.
Parliament confirmed Friday it would vote again for a new prime minister next week, after military-appointed lawmakers foiled liberal frontrunner Pita Limjaroenrat’s bid for the top job.
Mr Pita’s Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats in May elections, buoyed by young people eager for progressive reforms after nine years of army-backed rule in the kingdom.
But the Harvard-educated millionaire’s campaign to lead the next government was knocked back Thursday by the legislature’s senators, who consider his pledge to reform strict royal defamation laws a red line.
And the vote came just a day after Thailand’s top election body recommended the Constitutional Court suspend Pita as an MP — providing more fuel for senators already poised to vote against him.
Parliament will hold its second ballot for a new prime minister on July 19, deputy house speaker Pichet Chuamuangphan told AFP on Friday.
But it remained unclear whether Mr Pita would be renominated or if he would face any additional candidates.
“We still have to talk about it first,” said Mr Pichet, a member of MFP’s coalition partner Pheu Thai. “For now, it’s gathering opinions and feedback from the people.”
Mr Pita has insisted that he remains a candidate to lead the next government and was “not giving up” despite taking only 324 votes overall — well short of the 375 needed.
Just 13 senators voted for him, with many voicing their opposition to MFP’s pledge to soften the royal defamation laws.
– Senate hurdle –
All 250 senators were appointed under the junta-drafted constitution, which political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said was a reliable impediment to MFP’s reformist platform.
“It is a way for the authority and the regime to stay in power in the long term and to prevent a pro-democracy government that can stand against them,” he told AFP.
Mr Thitinan said he expected Pheu Thai — a party that held office before a 2014 military coup but is now in an uneasy alliance with MFP — to field prime-ministerial candidates of their own.
If a Pheu Thai candidate won with the backing of conservative lawmakers, they may yet form a government that excludes Pita’s party altogether, he added.
“The conservative forces see Pita and MFP as a threat to be put down,” he said. “I would not be surprised, along these lines, that they would do the same thing to prevent MFP from even being in the government.”
Pheu Thai secretary-general Prasert Jantararuangtong said the party would meet with the MFP on Friday evening to discuss strategy for the next ballot.
“We need to discuss what we do next,” Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew said.
Speaking to reporters, he referenced the parties’ coalition agreement supporting Pita for PM, and said: “I am still backing that statement.”
– ‘Abuse of power’ –
Mr Pita rode a wave of support that saw voters emphatically reject almost a decade of army-backed rule under Prayut Chan-o-cha, who took power in the 2014 coup.
But the MFP’s reformist agenda has drawn strident objections from conservative supporters of the country’s establishment, particularly its plans to shake up the outsized economic role of powerful business monopolies.
On Wednesday, the electoral commission recommended Mr Pita’s suspension from parliament over allegations he broke campaign rules — a move the MFP branded as an “abuse of power”.
The recommendation followed a probe into Mr Pita’s ownership of shares in a media company, which MPs are prohibited from under Thai law.
The station has not broadcast since 2007, and Pita has said the shares were inherited from his father.
The MFP was the only party that campaigned on tackling the thorny issue of the royal defamation laws, but that too landed it in trouble.
The Constitutional Court has agreed to hear a case alleging that the promise amounts to attempting to “overthrow” the constitutional monarchy.
The party has two weeks to present its defence.
SINGAPORE: Race promoter Singapore GP on Friday (Jul 14) said it was going ahead with preparations for its Formula One event in September, amid an anti-corruption probe involving its chairman Ong Beng Seng. “Singapore GP continues with the planning and preparations for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix slated for 15Continue Reading
“Whether it is in engagement with leaders, political leaders, exposure to other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) youths, or getting training and development opportunities available in our national SkillsFuture framework, we’d like to equip them with knowledge, with skill sets, and with understanding,” she said.
Youths have a longer runway ahead of them, she noted.
“They’re able to think about challenges that are two, three decades out that require solutions that really require long-term thinking and implementation,” she said.
“So we thought that they will be a really important stakeholder in this journey of climate action.”
Among these young stakeholders picked to join Ms Fu at the UN is Ms Farah Sanwari, a youth leader behind several sustainability projects like Repair Kopitiam that promotes fixing broken appliances instead of throwing them away.
“I noticed that there were gaps in how we address sustainability issues in Singapore, particularly in consumption back when I was still a student,” she told CNA.
800kg male believed to have been shot to death
NAKHON RATCHASIMA: The carcass of a male gaur, believed to have been shot to death, was found on Thursday near a village in Wang Nam Khieo district.
Local residents found the carcass in the bush near Khlong Sai at Moo 8 village in tambon Wang Nam Khieo, about 300 metres from Khao Yai National Park and 2km from the Khao Phaeng Ma forest, said Annop Buanual, chief of the Khao Phaeng Ma Non-hunting Area.
The dead gaur was a male, about 12 years of age, and weighed about 800 kilogrammes, he said.
Pol Col Rungroj Tang-amnat, the Wang Nam Khieo police chief, said the animal had been dead for at least four days. Seven bullets were found embedded in the body.
The protected animal might have been shot and wounded elsewhere, probably by villagers seeking to scare it away from intruding into their farms, before it was found dead near the village, he said.
An investigation is under way. Those found to have shot the gaur to death would be liable to a jail term of up to 10 years and/or a fine of up to 1 million baht under the Wildlife Protection Act, he added.