South-East Asia (Page 2)

The government has issued a warning to foreigners who buy condominium units and rent them out as hotels that they are violating Thai law, deputy government spokesman Anukul Prueksanusak said on Friday.

The warning comes after the authorities learned about many cases of Chinese nationals renting out their condominium rooms to tourists via Airbnb.

The move stems from complaints by residents at some condominiums, mainly in the Sukhumvit area, about constant annoyance, including loud noise, cannabis smoking and damage to common property caused by short-term occupants and visitors.

According to their complaints, which were shared online, these short-term occupants were tourists who rented rooms via online platforms. The rooms were owned by Chinese nationals and rented out as Airbnb accommodations.

Keycards to access the condo and the room were provided in lock boxes with digital codes for the tourists, which jeopardised the safety of the residents, according to the complaints.

Some said their condominium juristic offices resolved the problems by prohibiting unit owners from installing public lockboxes within the property. However, the Chinese investors resolved this by installing lockboxes in public areas near the property, including on trees, light poles or street-side food carts.

Mr Anukul said that foreign investors’ acquisition of condominium units and their attempts to offer rooms for daily rentals via Airbnb without legal permits violated the Hotel Act 2004.

Violators will face a fine of up to 20,000 baht plus an additional 10,000 baht fine per day until such activities cease. Most condominium regulations also clearly prohibit daily rentals.

Mr Anukul said the Ministry of Interior also instructed the Department of Provincial Administration to closely monitor the situation and conduct inspection visits to suspicious condos. He said that all violators, whether they are Thai or foreign nationals, will face legal action.

Meanwhile, Aekvarunyoo Amrapala, spokesman for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), confirmed reports of Chinese investors buying condos in key tourist areas and renting them out daily, causing a disturbance to other residents.

The BMA inspected condos around Sathon, Charoen Rat, Chan and Sukhumvit 42 roads. One lockbox was found at the latter location, prompting the BMA to request the Phra Khanong district office to investigate further.

Mr Aekvarunyoo said condominium juristic offices are required to monitor and report any suspicious behaviour and strictly enforce regulations prohibiting daily rentals.

He said public awareness must be raised about the legal regulations and the negative impact of illegal rentals. The public is also encouraged to alert the authorities to any wrongdoing, he added.

Online rental platforms like Airbnb must also be regulated, he noted.

Opposition can be sued: Phumtham

Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai urged the opposition to engage in a constructive debate and refrain from involving former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who holds no position in the cabinet.

The no-confidence motion targets Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, fuelling speculation that the opposition may criticise Thaksin, the prime minister’s father, who remains politically active.

Ms Paetongtarn stands accused of lacking the leadership skills, knowledge and capability to govern effectively.

Mr Phumtham said on Friday that the debate should serve the public interest and be based on factual information rather than rhetoric that could lead to misunderstandings.

Asked how the government’s preparations are going, he said the prime minister and the cabinet are ready to face scrutiny but cautioned that the opposition should be mindful about criticising other individuals and ready to face any potential legal consequences of such action.

“Thaksin isn’t the prime minister, and the opposition has no authority to examine him. They can question the prime minister and cabinet ministers as permitted by the law,” he said.

Mr Phumtham said the debate should not be used as a political tool to undermine the government’s credibility, gain a political upper hand or woo voters ahead of the next election.

He dismissed the opposition’s remarks that the censure debate could lead to a House dissolution, saying it was too early to talk about such a scenario.

Earlier, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, the opposition and People’s Party (PP) leader, said that while the debate targets the prime minister, the content will inevitably touch upon many ministries and coalition parties and would include issues concerning Thaksin.

Thai Sang Thai Party (TST) leader Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan on Friday expressed concern over reports that the censure debate would be limited to just one day. Such a move suggests the government is trying to evade scrutiny out of fear, she said.

She called on the government to allocate sufficient time for a transparent and thorough debate.

Khunying Sudarat insisted the debate is framed by three key issues: poor governance, corruption, and policies that could cause long-term damage to the country.

“Ms Paetongtarn must address these concerns, and the outcome of the no-confidence vote will also reflect the public faith,” she said.

Deputy PM Phumtham says MPs could be sued if they go too far

Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai urged the opposition to engage in a constructive debate and refrain from involving former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who holds no position in the cabinet.

The no-confidence motion targets Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, fuelling speculation that the opposition may criticise Thaksin, the prime minister’s father, who remains politically active.

Ms Paetongtarn stands accused of lacking the leadership skills, knowledge and capability to govern effectively.

Mr Phumtham said on Friday that the debate should serve the public interest and be based on factual information rather than rhetoric that could lead to misunderstandings.

Asked how the government’s preparations are going, he said the prime minister and the cabinet are ready to face scrutiny but cautioned that the opposition should be mindful about criticising other individuals and ready to face any potential legal consequences of such action.

“Thaksin isn’t the prime minister, and the opposition has no authority to examine him. They can question the prime minister and cabinet ministers as permitted by the law,” he said.

Mr Phumtham said the debate should not be used as a political tool to undermine the government’s credibility, gain a political upper hand or woo voters ahead of the next election.

He dismissed the opposition’s remarks that the censure debate could lead to a House dissolution, saying it was too early to talk about such a scenario.

Earlier, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, the opposition and People’s Party (PP) leader, said that while the debate targets the prime minister, the content will inevitably touch upon many ministries and coalition parties and would include issues concerning Thaksin.

Thai Sang Thai Party (TST) leader Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan on Friday expressed concern over reports that the censure debate would be limited to just one day. Such a move suggests the government is trying to evade scrutiny out of fear, she said.

She called on the government to allocate sufficient time for a transparent and thorough debate.

Khunying Sudarat insisted the debate is framed by three key issues: poor governance, corruption, and policies that could cause long-term damage to the country.

“Ms Paetongtarn must address these concerns, and the outcome of the no-confidence vote will also reflect the public faith,” she said.

The Election Commission (EC) has completed an investigation into 109 cases related to cheating or block voting in the Senate election, and sent three cases to the Supreme Court, according to EC secretary-general Sawang Boonmee.

Mr Sawang yesterday gave an interview regarding the legal proceedings in the cases involved in the Senate election last year, saying that the EC has categorised cases involving vote-buying and electoral fraud, based on their complexity.

The cases include offering bribes, vote rigging, pre-arranged vote lists, block voting, abnormally high scores, and zero scores for some candidates. To tackle the issues, the EC appointed an advisory and coordination subcommittee to increase the efficiency of investigations. The members of the subcommittee are from three key agencies: the Royal Thai Police (RTP), the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo). Ten officials from other government agencies will join the subcommittee.

The EC also appointed an additional investigation and inquiry committee, consisting of four high-ranking officials from the EC and the other three from the RTP to investigate and inquire into the objections to the selection of senators in all areas. He said so far the EC received a total of 577 abnormal Senate election cases.

The EC has concluded investigations into 109 cases, with three cases already submitted to the Supreme Court. The 2017 Organic Act on the Election Commission grants the EC authority to initiate probes whenever there is reasonable suspicion or evidence of wrongdoing in elections and by political parties.

The Entertainment Complex Bill is in the process of gathering feedback from several agencies after the Council of State (CoS) recently completed its amendment process.

Suksit Srijomkwan, the prime minister’s deputy secretary-general for political affairs, said that the bill will be presented to the cabinet on March 11.

The Entertainment Complex Bill passed cabinet approval on Jan 13.

The bill included the specification that only 10% of an entertainment venue is to be a casino, while the remaining areas will be allocated for other services such as a hotel, a shopping mall, a sports club, a theme park and a theatre.

The government wants to promote entertainment complexes as tourist destinations with the aim of boosting the economy.

The bill also states that for Thai people who want to go to casinos and gamble, they must have at least 50 million baht of savings in their bank account for at least six months.

The bill is undergoing an online public hearing on the CoS website until today.

Previously, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said that the government is open to all suggestions, as casino development is still a new thing for the state. The idea for Thais to have a set amount of money in their bank account is one of the ideas, and this will not have an impact on investors’ decisions, she said.

She insisted that a casino is only a small part of an entertainment complex, as other parts will be for other businesses. Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said the government will also have mechanisms to prevent investors using casinos for money laundering and to take care of social impacts from the project.

“The government does not only focus solely on economic benefits. We have been talking about risks and social impacts all along. We believe that entertainment complexes will be an important turning point for the Thai economy,” he said.