Sure A Not

A 29-year-old South Korean citizen who is believed to be the ringleader of a major drug trafficking network based in Thailand has been arrested in Bangkok’s Ekkamai neighbourhood, according to the police yesterday.

The man, identified only as Lee, was arrested at a condominium unit, where he was found to be in possession of 3.67 grammes of ketamine.

The suspect also tested positive for drugs, a police source said, adding he has been charged with possession of illegal drugs, as well as overstaying his visa.

Deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, Pol Lt Gen Panthana Nutchanart, said Lee’s arrest followed the arrest of another South Korean national at Suvarnabhumi airport, who was found with 0.5kg of ketamine.

During questioning, he told police that he was hired by Lee to transport the drugs to South Korea, where they would be distributed to youngsters.

Pol Lt Gen Panthana said Lee is believed to be the ringleader of a drug trafficking network known as the “Ekkamai Gang”. Twenty-seven of its members have been arrested by South Korean authorities.

Interpol also issued a red notice for Lee, he added.

Citing information from South Korean authorities, Pol Lt Gen Panthana said Lee’s drug network is believed to have caused more than 1.5 billion baht in damages and that Lee was one of the most-wanted criminals in South Korea.

He said the police are expanding their investigation into Lee’s drug suppliers, some of whom are believed to have smuggled the drug from neighbouring countries.

According to the police, Lee has been charged with possession of a narcotic drug and overstaying his visa.

He first entered Thailand on May 6, 2022, as a tourist and never extended his visa when it lapsed or left the country, according to Immigration Bureau records.

A collaborative concert featuring top musicians from Thailand and China is set to take place this Sunday at Prince Mahidol Hall, Mahidol University, in celebration of the Chinese New Year festival in 2024.

“Sound of Celebration: Collaboration Concert for Happy Chinese New Year 2024” is being organised through a partnership between the Chinese Embassy in Thailand and the College of Music at Mahidol University.

The event will feature a collaborative performance by the Jade Guzheng Ensemble from Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Mahidol Symphony Orchestra of the College of Music at Mahidol University.

The concert will be presided over by Culture Minister Sermsak Pongpanit, inaugurated by Chinese Ambassador Han Zhiqiang, and attended by Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, chair of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.

“This is not the first time that the College of Music at Mahidol University and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra have jointly organised celebratory events with musicians from China to strengthen cultural and musical friendships despite the recent challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Khunying Patama said.

“However, this occasion is considered the largest collaboration, featuring diverse forms of collaboration, especially with the Jade Guzheng Ensemble from China. It represents a significant cultural exchange through the use of similar musical instruments for a joint performance,” said Khunying Patama.

The Vocational Education Commission (VEC) has begun an investigation into accusations that a teacher at Roi Et Technical College gave every student in his class an F in a test and demanded money to change it.

A student claimed in a post on social media that the teacher failed everyone on Wednesday and demanded 400 baht to fix it. However, the price was later reduced to 200 baht, the post said.

The post said everyone ended up paying 200 baht each and uploaded pictures of transaction receipts.

It claimed that the teacher gave As and Bs to students who paid in previous tests.

Yotphon Wenukoset, VEC secretary-general, said a fact-finding panel was formed after it received information from the college about the allegation against the teacher yesterday.

Regarding administrative measures, the VEC has cancelled a course supervised by the accused and consulted with relevant officials, including a deputy director, department head and adviser at the college, to seek solutions, he said.

Students in the class were questioned over the matter, he said.

He said the VEC had instructed officials to finish the probe in seven days.

A 29-year-old South Korean citizen who is believed to be the ringleader of a major drug trafficking network based in Thailand has been arrested in Bangkok’s Ekkamai neighbourhood, according to the police on Thursday.

The man, identified only as Lee, was arrested at a condominium unit, where he was found to be in possession of 3.67 grammes of ketamine.

The suspect also tested positive for drugs, a police source said, adding he has been charged with possession of illegal drugs, as well as overstaying his visa.

Deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, Pol Lt Gen Panthana Nutchanart, said Lee’s arrest followed the arrest of another South Korean national at Suvarnabhumi airport, who was found with 0.5 kilogrammes of ketamine.

During questioning, he told police that he was hired by Lee to transport the drugs to South Korea, where they would be distributed to youngsters.

Pol Lt Gen Panthana said Lee is believed to be the ringleader of a drug trafficking network known as the “Ekkamai Gang”. Twenty-seven of its members have been arrested by South Korean authorities.

Interpol also issued a red notice for Lee, he added.

Citing information from South Korean authorities, Pol Lt Gen Panthana said Lee’s drug network is believed to have caused more than 1.5 billion baht in damages and that Lee was one of the most-wanted criminals in South Korea.

He said the police are expanding their investigation into Lee’s drug suppliers, some of whom are believed to have smuggled the drug from neighbouring countries.

According to the police, Lee has been charged with possession of a narcotic drug and overstaying his visa.

He first entered Thailand on May 6, 2022, as a tourist and never extended his visa when it lapsed or left the country, according to Immigration Bureau records.

Nakharin Mektrairat has been named the Constitutional Court president to succeed Worawit Kangsasitiam, who vacated the post on Sept 9 last year.

Nakharin: Ruled on Prayut’s tenure

Mr Nakharin was selected among nine judges with five votes. Jiraniti Hawanont and Panya Udchachon received two votes each.

Appointed under the 2007 constitution, Mr Nakharin has been a Constitutional Court judge since November 2015. His nine-year term will end in November but could be extended.

Before being appointed a Constitutional Court judge, he was a lecturer at Thammasat University’s political science faculty, serving part of that as faculty dean from February 2004 to January 2010. He also took part in the charter writing process during 2006-2007 and 2014-2015.

The 66-year-old is a political science graduate from Thammasat University with a master’s degree in history from Chulalongkorn University and a doctorate in international studies from Japan’s Waseda University.

He was one of the three minority judges who ruled that former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s eight-year tenure ended on Aug 24, 2022.

He was among the majority of judges who accepted a petition involving former Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s MP status, resulting in Mr Pita being suspended from his MP duties.

The selection of the new president comes ahead of three key cases to be ruled this month.

On Jan 17, the court is scheduled to issue a ruling in a case against Bhumjaithai Party secretary-general Saksayam Chidchob, who stands accused of concealing assets and using a nominee to hide ownership of a company which won government construction projects.

On Jan 24, the court is set to rule on the fate of Mr Pita, now the advisory chairman of the main opposition party, who is accused of violating a media share-holding rule concerning his running in last year’s general election.

On Jan 31, the court will rule whether the MFP’s policy on Section 112 of the Criminal Code, better known as the lese majeste law, was an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.

On Wednesday, the court issued an announcement to ensure public order for those three dates, saying only the individuals directly involved in the cases or authorised individuals are allowed in the courtroom to hear the rulings.

A collaborative concert featuring top musicians from Thailand and China is set to take place this Sunday at Prince Mahidol Hall, Mahidol University, in celebration of the Chinese New Year festival in 2024.

“Sound of Celebration: Collaboration Concert for Happy Chinese New Year 2024” is being organised through a partnership between the Chinese Embassy in Thailand and the College of Music at Mahidol University.

The event will feature a collaborative performance by the Jade Guzheng Ensemble from Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Mahidol Symphony Orchestra of the College of Music at Mahidol University.

The concert will be presided over by Culture Minister Sermsak Pongpanit, inaugurated by Chinese Ambassador Han Zhiqiang, and attended by Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, chair of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.

“This is not the first time that the College of Music at Mahidol University and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra have jointly organised celebratory events with musicians from China to strengthen cultural and musical friendships despite the recent challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Khunying Patama said.

“However, this occasion is considered the largest collaboration, featuring diverse forms of collaboration, especially with the Jade Guzheng Ensemble from China. It represents a significant cultural exchange through the use of similar musical instruments for a joint performance,” said Khunying Patama.

Close to 300 children were reported missing last year, a 17% increase on the previous year and the highest number recorded in the past five years, according to the Mirror Foundation, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to helping find missing people.

Ekaluk Loomchomkae, head of the foundation’s missing persons information centre, said that 296 children were reported missing and that up to 58%, or 172, ran away from home due to various factors, including rows over game addiction and other family problems.

Another 19% of cases were associated with intellectual disabilities, while five children were abducted by sexual predators, said Mr Ekaluk.

Children aged between 11 to 15 years old proved to be the most vulnerable, given the fact that up to 138 individuals reported missing in 2023 were in this age range. Children in this age group also had a high tendency to run away from their families to stay with friends or with someone they met online.

And because they are too young to defend themselves, these runaways often ended up being sexually abused or used as child labour, he said.

The report also highlighted 62 cases of missing children under the age of 10 and another 96 involving teens aged 16-18.

One of last year’s child abduction cases was revealed by the Metropolitan Police Bureau. An eight-year-old boy was abducted by a man who offered him sweets to go with him and then forced him to work as a beggar on the streets. The boy was later rescued, and his abductor was arrested. The man was found to have had a previous conviction for the same offence.

The Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) yesterday said a 43-year-old deputy school director in the northern province of Tak is facing the sack after an investigation found there were grounds to claims he molested a number of female students and sent inappropriate messages.

The deputy, whose name was withheld, had been transferred to Obec’s headquarters pending the preliminary fact-finding investigation that began on Jan 5.

On Sunday, the school’s director, whose name was also withheld, was also transferred to Obec’s office to ensure the investigation would be free and fair.

According to a source, the director had allegedly suppressed and ignored complaints made by students against the deputy.

News about the investigation came after a post calling for legal help for the victims was posted on the Red Skull Facebook on Jan 5.

It said the victims were Matthayom 2 to Matthayom 6 students at the Rat Prachanukhro 55 School in the border province.

The post claimed that the deputy director had been harassing girls for years.

The girls were called to the deputy director’s house to work on a project but would instead be sexually assaulted, it said.

Some of the victims said the deputy director had also sent them pictures of his genitalia, it said.

At least 15 students have had to leave the school since last year due to the allegations, it added.

On Wednesday, copies of explicit messages allegedly sent by the deputy director were posted on the Red Skull Facebook page.

Most of the students at the school were Hmong or Karen people who left their homes in remote villages to study, it said.

Kesthip Supawanich, Obec deputy secretary-general, said a serious disciplinary probe will conclude when possible. The teacher is expected to face the sack, she said.

Other personnel who contributed to the wrongdoing, either by concealing crimes or neglecting children, will face punishment, she said.

“The safety of the students is of the utmost importance,” the Obec spokesperson said.