South-East Asia (Page 978)

Police are investigating a group of scammers posing as employees of the popular social media platform TikTok who conned a man into investing over 3.5 million baht in a bogus stock trading scheme.

The victim, identified only as Joke by the police, is known to be active on the social media platform. In a complaint filed with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau on Thursday, he said the gang tricked him into sending 3.7 million baht over the course of several days.

Accompanied by lawyer Ronnarong Kaewpet, Joke said the gang reached out to him on his mobile phone early last month. The gang said as he had more than 1,000 followers on his TikTok account, he was eligible to take part in revenue-making supplementary activities.

At first, he turned down the offer but changed his mind later. The gang then gave him a list of clips to like on the video-sharing platform.

Joke said he was paid 15 baht for every clip he followed and liked. The pay went up over the course of a few weeks.

The gang later invited him to invest in its stock trading scheme. The minimum investment was set at 5,990 baht, but Joke said his exceeded a million baht each time. He ended up investing 3.7 million baht over three days.

He was promised a return he never received. He also lost the principal.

CCIB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Worawat Watnakhonbancha said investigators were looking into the gang and warned people to be wary of investment offers online.

The CCIB receives about 700 complaints about cyber crimes daily, he added.

Pol Maj Gen Chusak Kanadnid, commander of the High-Tech Crime Division, said it would be difficult to go after money that has been wired to criminal gangs as it tends to be withdrawn from bank accounts quickly and laundered.

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The Pheu Thai Party has opposed the planned implementation of a project to build a 135km-long flood canal from the Pasak River in the Central Plains to the Gulf of Thailand.

Plodprasop Suraswadi, head of the party’s water management infrastructure reform, said the planned project should not be given the go-ahead because it will be costly to build at an estimated 100 billion baht.

The project has not been studied thoroughly, he said, adding that the current caretaker government should let the next administration decide its fate.

The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) on Monday said it would press ahead with the project, which would help drain floodwater faster across the Central Plains basin during the rainy season and mitigate water shortages in the dry season.

The canal links tambon Roeng Rang in Saraburi’s Sao Hai district with tambon Song Khlong in Chachoengsao’s Bang Pakong district. It will pass through 38 tambons and 11 districts in Saraburi, Ayutthaya, Nakhon Nayok, Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao.

RID said the canal would help boost the area’s drainage capacity to 600 cubic metres per second (m³/s), reducing flooding from runoff from the Pasak and Chao Phraya rivers and nearby canals.

According to Mr Plodprasop, the project has failed to include a study on a possible negative impact on areas along the route. To divert flood waters into the eastern part of the country with important economic zones, including Suvarnabhumi airport, and highly populated areas without a proper study poses serious concerns, he said.

“This project is a mistake from a design and planning point of view,” he said.

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Thanalop “Yok” Phalanchai, a 15-year-old activist who was released from a juvenile centre in Nakhon Pathom province on a royal defamation charge on May 18, can still continue her studies at school if she agrees to adhere to the rules, according to the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec).

Yok had passed the exam to enter Mathayom 4 (Grade 10) at Triam Udom Suksa Pattanakarn School, with the orientation day scheduled for April 2, Obec secretary-general Amporn Pinasa said on Thursday.

However, the teenager could not attend the orientation due to her detention at the juvenile centre since March 29.

That said, the school had reserved her seat and extended the deadline for her to present herself for studies until June 10, which was when student data must be submitted to the commission.

But Yok did not show up, resulting in her name not being found in the system, Mr Amporn said.

“While the school maintains that Yok can attend classes as usual, she needs to abide by school regulations,” said Mr Amporn. The young activist wears casual outfits to school and claims that is her right and her freedom.

“I hope people would understand that school regulations stem from a public hearing at school attended by teachers, students and parents. So, everyone accepts these rules before studying here,” he said.

“But Yok can choose to study via other channels, such as home-schooling if she disagrees.”

Concerning student uniforms, he said the Education Ministry has issued ministerial regulations as guidelines, but individual schools can have the autonomy to establish their own rules, including provisions for casual outfits once a week.

“School is meant to be a place where we cultivate children to grow up to become good people who can coexist within society under a common set of rules, much like a country governed by a constitution,” said Mr Amporn.

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The Election Commission (EC) is expected to endorse MPs-elect on June 21 and has set up a fact-finding panel to investigate a leaked document showing 71 constituency MPs-elect had their poll results withheld.

The EC will meet on June 19 to consider endorsing MPs-elect in both the party-list and constituency systems, as it has completed the examination of all 400 constituencies to determine which ones had complaints filed against candidates, a source at the poll agency said on Thursday.

Once certified, the MPs will receive official documents at the EC office, the source added.

Following the May 14 election, the House of Representatives will consist of 500 elected members, with 400 from constituencies and the remaining from party lists.

The EC has 60 days after an election to certify at least 95% or 475 of all 500 winning election candidates.

On Wednesday, EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boomnee ordered the formation of a fact-finding panel in response to a leaked document circulating on social media. 

The three-page document, reportedly genuine, indicated that 71 constituency MPs-elect from eight parties across 37 provinces were being withheld, while 329 MPs-elect had no complaints. The affected MPs-elect were 21 from the Bhumjaithai Party, 20 from the Pheu Thai Party, 14 from the Palang Pracharath Party, seven from the Move Forward Party (MFP), three each from the Democrat and the United Thai Nation (UTN) parties, two from the Thai Sang Thai Party and one from the Pheu Thai Ruam Palang Party.

After the document was leaked, no commissioners came out to explain what happened.

On Friday, EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracon will chair the commission’s annual general assembly and an academic seminar on the direction of Thai politics after the general election.

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BURI RAM: Donors have contributed a total of 5.9 million baht in cash and essential items to support a four-year-old girl who lives alone with her blind grandmother in a dilapidated shack filled with holes in Huai Rat district.

Patcharini Esatee, a teacher at the state-run Ban Makham Than Tawan School in Tambon Ta Sao, took to Facebook on Wednesday to say that the bank account designated for receiving donations has already been closed, with a total amount of 5.9 million baht. She expressed her gratitude for the kindness shown.

The 34-year-old teacher recounted her first encounter with the girl’s grandmother, Sao Jindasri, during a meeting at the school with students’ guardians last Friday. The 68-year-old woman arrived with the aid of a cane together with her granddaughter Sutheemon, aka Toei.

When they met, Ms Sao tearfully asked the teacher if she could advance a 180-baht premium for her granddaughter’s accident insurance, which had been arranged by the school. The grandmother said she would repay the teacher upon receiving her monthly elderly allowance.

Ms Patcharini told Ms Sao that she would pay the premium on behalf of the grandmother. The teacher was initially unaware that the elderly woman was mostly blind until after several minutes of the conversation.

The teacher then asked her how she managed to send the young girl to school. Ms Sao explained that she had to slowly follow Toei’s verbal guidance, using her cane as a guide. The teacher offered to pick up Toei and provide transportation to and from school in her private car.

Later that day, the teacher asked to visit their home.

Upon arrival, she witnessed the four-year-old doing dishes and carrying out other chores to help her grandmother.

Ms Patcharini sought permission to record their daily life and share the video to raise funds for them.

The grandmother, unable to view the amount in the bank account herself, was informed of the sum by a bank employee. She expressed her gratitude for the generous assistance and made the decision to close the account on Tuesday when the donated amount reached 1 million baht.

Concerned officials then drafted an agreement stipulating that 4 million baht of the donations would be allocated for the girl’s education, while the remaining funds would be reserved for the grandmother’s well-being and home repairs.

The poorly constructed house is situated about one kilometre from the school, where Toei is a kindergartener.

Ms Sao and Toei have to rely solely on the monthly elderly allowance of 600 baht and the monthly disability allowance of 800 baht. Her son works in another province and does not provide regular financial support.

Ms Sao said she has raised her granddaughter, who never complains and has been taught to take care of herself. She added that her right eye is completely blind, and her left eye can barely see anything since 2021.

The grandmother shared that Toei takes care of household chores such as dishwashing, laundry and cooking rice.

A committee of their community would help manage their finances, according to reports.

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