South-East Asia (Page 366)

Torsak vows to clear up ‘police misconduct’

Calls for tougher punishments for serious crimes committed “intentionally” by juvenile delinquents are gaining momentum as more parliamentarians expressed their support for such a move on Thursday.

The calls come in the wake of the brutal slaying of a middle-aged woman, allegedly at the hands of five teenagers aged 13 to 16, in Sa Kaeo’s Aranyaprathet district.

The suspects were caught on a security camera attacking the victim in Aranyaprathet, and they later admitted to killing Buaphan Tansu, 47, and disposing of her body in a lake on Jan 11. They are now being detained in connection with her murder.

Chaichana Detdacho, a Democrat Party MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat and chairman of the House committee on police affairs, said it was time to look into calls for tougher penalties for juvenile delinquents who commit serious crimes, especially after the Siam Paragon shooting rampage by a 14-year-old boy in Bangkok on Oct 3 last year that resulted in three deaths and four people injured.

For the murder case in Aranyaprathet, a copy of the Line chat history obtained from the youths who confessed to killing the woman apparently showed they had a penchant for violence and acted more like a juvenile crime syndicate than regular teenagers, Mr Chaichana said.

“What will happen next if this legal loophole in juvenile criminal law is left unchanged? Will more young people be exploited as drug mules?” he asked. “I think young people themselves will, in a way, face a greater risk of being hurt or killed by criminals their own age.”

Senator Wallop Tungkananurak, speaking in his capacity as chairman of the Senate committee on social development, children, youths, women, the elderly, disabled and underprivileged, said additions are needed for juvenile criminal law.

They should specify, for example, a longer detention period for a young delinquent who has committed a serious crime and who would seem likely to repeat the offence if not detained for a long enough period, Sen Wallop said.

The core principle of the Child Protection Act is that every child who has committed a non-violent crime is entitled to the chance of being exempt from prosecution and having a criminal record for the rest of their life, said Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, a Move Forward Party MP for Bangkok.

“This case [the Aranyaprathet murder], however, seems different. As such, the public prosecutor may exercise his right to petition the judges to rule on the case as if these young suspects were adults,” he said.

Such a request from the prosecutor could result in the court handing down a tougher punishment, especially now more evidence has emerged showing these same suspects have been involved in other cases, the MP said.

“Their misconduct apparently wasn’t an unintentional mistake but a habit. And that’s possible because there was always someone to help get them off the hook time and again,” he said.

As for the allegation that a number of police officers at the Aranyaprathet district police station had tortured Buaphan’s husband Panya Khongsaengkham, 54, into falsely confessing to have killed his wife, Mr Nattacha said he urged the national police chief to conduct a probe into this alleged misconduct.

The House panel is closely monitoring the police’s handling of a related probe into the allegation that its officers engaged in torturing a suspect, said Mr Chaichana, adding that one of the five juveniles is the son of a police official at the Aranyaprathet police station.

Arrested shortly after his wife’s body was found on Jan 12, Mr Panya allegedly confessed to the crime — before footage from a security camera showed it was the five youths who were responsible.

Deputy police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, who was in Aranyaprathet yesterday, said Mr Panya admitted to making the false confession while under duress.

Mr Panya said he was ordered to strip and told he could not leave the station until he had signed a written confession, according to Pol Gen Surachate.

Mr Panya will today be taken to the same room where the abuse reportedly occurred as the parallel probe continues, said Pol Gen Surachate.

The probe will also look into whether the station chief was aware of any officer misconduct, he added.

If he was and had opted to turn a blind eye, he will be punished for dereliction of duty, Pol Gen Surachate added.

“If the police are all this bad, maybe the country no longer needs a police force. I insist I will clear this up and prove this allegation of misconduct,” said national police chief Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol.

Dubai Ports (DP) World, a multinational logistics company, has expressed interest in investing in Thailand’s 1-trillion-baht Land Bridge megaproject, according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.

Mr Srettha said he met with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chair and chief executive officer of DP World, during a “Thailand Land Bridge: Connecting Asean with the World” on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday.

DP World has shown a clear intention to invest in the Land Bridge project, he said, adding company representatives will visit Thailand to discuss the matter and survey its locations.

Transport Minister Suriya Jungrung­reangkit will accompany them during the survey, the premier said.

Based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, DP World provides logistics services in over 69 countries. The company is also a shareholder of Laem Chabang International Terminal Co Ltd, a joint venture which operates container terminals at Laem Chabang Port in Chon Buri province, the country’s busiest international port.

The 1-trillion-baht megaproject aims to develop a logistics network connecting Ranong with Chumphon.

The project comprises deep-water ports in both provinces, a motorway cutting across the land to connect the two provinces and a railway system.

In Davos, Mr Srettha also met Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo for talks on opening direct flights from Belgium’s Brussels Airport to Thailand. Both leaders also discussed upgrading the Thai passport to make it easier for Thais to apply for travel visas to Europe and the prospects of a free trade agreement with the EU.

Mr Srettha later posted on X that he also met Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, during the WEF.

“I took the chance to present Thailand’s potential and the possibility of Microsoft opening a data centre in Thailand,” Mr Srettha said. “I already discussed the matter with Satya Nadella, the current chairman and CEO [of Microsoft] in San Francisco.”

Thailand and Malaysia are considering connecting Sungai Kolok station in the south to the neighbouring country’s eastern coast line to promote trade and tourism.

Pichet Kunadhamraks, director-general of the Department of Rail Transport, yesterday said that both the Thai and Malaysian railway agencies were looking to link the southern Thai railway line at Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat province with Malaysia’s eastern line at Rantau Panjang in Kelantan state.

Malaysia’s eastern tracks connect with the western section to the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor Baru, a city in the south opposite Singapore.

Mr Pichet on Wednesday held talks with Mohd Shahriman Shafein, the Malaysian rail department chief, as a follow-up to promises made by Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisn and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim to step up ties in transportation and other areas.

The talks were held during the Thailand and Malaysia Railway Joint Working Committee (RJWC) at the Transport Ministry office in Bangkok.

A Thai official said the connection between Sungai Kolok and Rantau Panjang would encourage more trade, border crossings, tourism and investment between the two countries.

Currently, Thailand and Malaysia have one rail connection at Padang Besar, a town in Sadao district in Songkhla province.

In addition to the plan for a second connection, the two parties also discussed the possibility of hosting a high-speed railway project to further connect the two countries.

The topic is expected to be discussed during the next round of RJWC meetings in August in Malaysia.

Skilled construction workers among those not deterred by war risks

ROHTAK, India – Thousands of men queued in the northern state of Harayana this week during a recruitment drive to send workers to Israel, where the offensive in Gaza, now in its fourth month, has caused a shortage of labour.

Indian masons, painters, electricians, plumbers and some farmers said they were looking for jobs in Israel, with some willing to risk going into a conflict zone because they could make five times more money in a year than they would at home.

“There is unemployment here and its because of it that people want to leave,” said Lekharam, a mason who was among the workers gathered at a recruitment camp in Rohtak, 66 kilometres from the capital, New Delhi.

“If it’s in our destiny to die, then we can die either here or there. My hope is that we will go and do good work and spend some time and come back.”

Officials at the Israeli embassy in New Delhi and in the Indian foreign ministry did not respond to questions about the recruitment.

India, now the world’s most populous nation with a population of 1.4 billion, has an urban unemployment rate of 6.6%, government data shows, but more than 17% of workers younger than 29 are unemployed and others work as casual labour.

Unemployment and underemployment are a key concern for authorities, despite world-beating economic growth of 7.3%.

This month an Israeli financial newspaper said the country planned to bring in about 70,000 foreign workers from China, India and elsewhere to boost its construction sector, which has come to a standstill since the Oct 7 attack by Hamas militants.

Thailand has long been a major contributor of workers to Israel, especially in the agriculture sector. About 8,000 of the 30,000 Thai workers in the country have returned home since the war began, though some are reportedly considering going back.

India’s National Skills Development Corporation canvassed in recent weeks for workers to live and work in Israel.

Recruiters at the camp refused to comment on the drive.

Vivek Sharma, a 28-year-old mason, said he was aware of the risks in Israel from the conflict but was willing to take the risk if he could earn more.

“Yes, I am aware of the conflict, but I can earn a lot of money in a short time,” said Sharma, who estimates he could end up earning more than a million Indian rupees ($12,000) by working in Israel for a year.

“It could take me at least five years to earn the same amount of money in India.”

Government data shows about 13 million Indian nationals work overseas as labourers, professionals, and experts.

Israel and India signed an agreement last year to allow more than 40,000 Indians to work in the Jewish state in the nursing and construction sectors.

Government also distances itself from embassy’s high-profile drive calling for release of hostages

A pro-Palestine group has called on parliament to pressure the Israeli embassy into ending a high-profile local campaign calling for the release of hostages taken by Hamas in Gaza, saying it risks undermining Thailand’s neutrality.

The campaign involves 100 tuk-tuks featuring the faces of over 130 people currently held hostage by Hamas and messages demanding their release. The vehicles are being deployed across the capital for about three weeks.

In a petition submitted to Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign-Thailand (PSCT) questioned why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs allowed the campaign to go ahead in the first place.

Foreign Affairs Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said on Tuesday that the Israeli embassy did not discuss the campaign with the ministry.

Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Parnpree said Thailand disagrees with the campaign as it could have ramifications for the remaining Thai hostages being held by Hamas.

While in Davos, the minister was expected to meet Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, to discuss the release of the hostages. Qatar has been instrumental in bringing many parties together to secure the release of a number of Israeli, Thai and other hostages.

Somchai Wirunphol, the PSCT chairman, said the tuk-tuk campaign by Orna Sagiv, the Israeli ambassador, was an attempt to pressure the Thai government to side with Israel in the conflict, which undermines Thailand’s political neutrality.

He said the campaign contradicted an agreement made during a session of the United Nations General Assembly that a ceasefire and delivery of humanitarian aid for Gaza civilians must take place before negotiations on the hostages can begin.