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A trip by former army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong, and chief of the Thai defence forces, Gen Chalermpol Srisawat, to a Malaysian island on May 5-7 was about peace efforts in the deep South and had nothing to do with national politics, a source said yesterday.

The visit took place a week before the May 14 general election but did not have any political implications, and it had nothing to do with a so-called secret deal to form a coalition government, the source said. The source added the pair did not meet a former prime minister, believed to be Thaksin Shinawatra, as suggested by some reports circulating in social media.

“There’s an attempt to link the visit to politics. There are rumours about Gen Apirat, but he chooses to stay silent,” the source said. “That he keeps quiet doesn’t mean there are grounds to those rumours.”

Instead, the source said that Gen Apirat and Gen Chalermpol were part of a delegation to Langkawi island to meet key insurgent members to support peace initiatives in the southernmost provinces.

Govt promotes local ‘King the Land’ sets

The Culture Ministry aims to promote locations used in the shooting of King the Land, a new Korean television series, to attract Korean visitors and fans of the drama.

Culture Minister Itthiphol Kunplome said that the series had promoted the country’s beauty and helped to boost tourism.

“We wanted to praise King the Land as it helps represent and promote Thai cultures and our way of life to international audiences. We encourage those who are watching the series to visit Thailand and visit the locations where it was shot,” he said.

In addition to Seoul and many places in Bangkok, such as Wat Arun, the Loha Prasat or the Metal Castle located in Wat Ratchanadda, Wat Pak Nam Phasi Charoen, the Giang Swing, Ong Ang Canal, Khao San Road, Iconsiam, Siam Square, Asiatique the Riverfront, Siri Sala Private Thai Villa and Mandarin Oriental Bangkok Hotel, the series also featured various Thai restaurants, such as the Vertigo & Moon Bar at the Banyan Tree Hotel and the Ancient City in Samut Prakan.

King the Land, which debuted on Netflix in June, is directed by Im Hyun-wook and stars Im Yoon-ah, a former member of the girl group Girls’ Generation, and Lee Junho, a member of the South Korean boy band 2PM. The series ranked second on Netflix’s Global Top 10 list for non-English shows last month, with 17.5 million hours viewed or 4.7 million views, according to the streaming service.

Thapanee Kiatpaiboon, the Tourism Authority of Thailand deputy governor, said that the series has fans around the world who will want to see the shooting locations.

“We want to thank King the Land for filming in our country,” she said.

The TAT expects to welcome at least one million Korean tourists this year, she said, adding that so far, about 800,000 visitors from Korea have visited the country this year.

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday declared itself off-limits to the public until Thursday while it considers Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s iTV shareholding case.

On Tuesday, the Office of the Constitutional Court issued an announcement to restrict areas of the court to maintain safety and peace while it decides whether to proceed with the petition filed by the Election Commission (EC) under Section 82 of the constitution today from 9.30am.

The EC asked the court to review the MP status of Mr Pita to see whether he is eligible under Section 101 and Section 98.

The move to declare the court off-limits came after security-related agencies had warned the office to exercise caution to prevent any untoward incidents.

Under the announcement, the surrounding area of the Government Complex commemorating His Majesty the King’s 80th Birthday Anniversary is designated as an outer area for maintaining peace and safety.

Only individuals and vehicles permitted by officials tasked with maintaining peace and safety can enter those areas, the court said.

The specific areas, including the Rajaburi Direkriddhi and Ban Chao Praya Rattana Thibej buildings, have also been designated as controlled areas according to Constitutional Court regulations. The announcement took effect on Tuesday and will remain in force until Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police Bureau is preparing to deploy high-pressure water cannons and water trucks to stand by at the court for crowd control.

Pol Maj Gen Atthapon Anusit, chief of the Metropolitan Police Division 2, said specific locations for public gatherings had been arranged in the courtyard in front of the flag pole at the nearby Department of Special Investigation (DSI), located 50 metres from the court.

In related news, the Campaign Committee for People’s Constitution (CCPC) called on the court to dismiss Mr Pita’s case filed by the EC.

CCPC representative Kritsapon Sirikittikul expressed concern about the court’s impartiality, saying many people know iTV has not operated as a media firm since March 7, 2007.

PHUKET: More than 1,000 drugs suspects were arrested in seven southern provinces during the “Sayob Andaman (Defeating Andaman) 7/66” operation by Provincial Police Division 8.

Pol Gen Sompong Chingduang, special adviser to the Royal Thai Police, held a press conference in Phuket yesterday to summarise the success of the recent operation, the seventh led by Provincial Police Region 8 commissioner Pol Lt Gen Surapong Thanomchit to suppress crimes involving narcotics and to destroy drug networks in popular tourist areas.

Provincial Police Region 8 covers the provinces of Chumphon, Ranong, Phangnga, Phuket, Krabi, Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Pol Maj Gen Peerayut Karajedee, deputy commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8, said officers raided 517 premises and arrested 1,040 suspects, 46 of whom had outstanding arrest warrants against them.

Police seized in total 99,985 ya ba or methamphetamine pills, 2.1 kilogrammes of crystal meth, 0.83 grammes of ketamine, and 8.32 grammes of heroin.

Police also seized assets, including nine cars, 16 motorcycles, 52 guns, and 359 other valuable items, worth 6,233,695 baht in total, he added.

Pol Gen Sompong said police will continue conducting drug raids regularly for the safety of people and tourists.

The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on Tuesday accepted for consideration a case lodged against the Election Commission (EC) for allegedly treating Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat unfairly and damaging his good reputation.

The court is to announce its decision on whether to hear the case at 9.30am on Aug 9.

Seven people named in the lawsuit are EC Chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong, all five election commissioners and EC secretary-general Sawang Boonmee, said Yongyut Saokaewsatit, a lawyer representing Mr Pita.

They stand accused of committing dereliction of duty, misconduct stated in Section 157 of the Criminal Code, which may result in the impeachment of all seven EC officials if proven guilty, Mr Yongyut said.

The case was filed with the court following the EC’s decision to forward an ineligibility case, linked with Mr Pita’s previous holding of 42,000 shares in iTV Plc, to the Constitutional Court.

“It has been the responsibility of these seven EC officials to carefully examine Mr Pita’s eligibility since before the May 14 general election,” he said.

The seven parties, however, apparently failed to perform this duty until a petition was lodged by political activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, who accused Mr Pita of being ineligible to contest the election because he held shares in a media company, said the lawyer.

Before contesting the election, Mr Pita had completed his full term after being elected as an MP in the 2019 election, and the EC had never questioned his eligibility before, said the lawyer.

However, shortly before last week’s parliamentary vote to select the country’s new prime minister, in which Mr Pita was the sole nominee, the EC rushed its investigation into his case and forwarded it to the court, the lawyer said.

“The move was apparently aimed at discrediting Mr Pita and damaging his good reputation,” he said.

These facts are part of the evidence to prove that the seven EC officials failed to perform their duty, he added.

In related news, Jakkrit Thongsri, a Bhumjaithai Party MP for Buri Ram, was found to have declared with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) his holding of 40,000 shares also in iTV.

The shares were declared at the end of his previous MP tenure, along with all other assets worth 84.42 million baht, according to information published by the NACC.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned the public not to purchase dengue test kits to identify the disease themselves because the kits are for expert use.

FDA deputy secretary-general Lertchai Lertwut said the FDA had approved dengue testing kits that are quite active in identifying patients.

However, the kits must be used only by doctors, he said.

This is because dengue diagnosis requires not only virus detection tools but also other diagnostic and clinical assessments from a doctor.

He said there are several methods to identify if a person is infected by the dengue virus, such as RT-PCR, antibody tests, Dengue Virus Antigen Detection (NS1), and dengue testing kits.

However, the FDA has not yet approved the dengue testing kits for consumers’ personal use, he said.

Mr Lertchai suggested consumers who suspected themselves of having symptoms of the dengue virus, such as a high fever (40°C), muscle, bone or joint pain, and a rash, among others, visit the doctor. The Public Health Ministry expects the number of dengue patients this year will rise.

According to the Department of Disease Control, 36,470 people were infected with dengue from January to July this year. Total fatalities were 33. Last week, 5,428 people fell ill because of the virus, a jump from about 3,000 the week before.