Legal, civil action possible for convicted Move Forward MP ‘Ice Rayong’
PUBLISHED : 30 Jul 2023 at 13:36
The Election Commission (EC) may take criminal and civil action against a Move Forward Party MP for running in the May 14 election despite having been previously convicted and jailed for theft, according to its chairman.
EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said the candidacy of Rayong MP Nakhonchai Khunnarong was actually barred by Section 98 of the constitution which set criteria for those running for parliament. The criteria include a court order for imprisonment.
If a candidate runs in a general election while knowing he is unqualified, he can be also considered as committing an offence in violation of Section 151 of the MP election law and held responsible for the election cost in accordance with Section 420 of the Civil and Commercial Code, Mr Ittiporn said.
He said that the EC was aware of the MP’s announcement that he would resign next week.
“There is the issue of a criminal offence under Section 151 of the organic law on MP election and there can also be a civil lawsuit to demand compensation for the organisation of a by-election,” Mr Ittiporn said.
Nakhonchai, aka Ice Rayong, announced his resignation on Thursday last week after admitting he had been convicted in a theft case and served 18 months in jail more than two decades ago.
The case dated back to October 1999, he said, when he was partying with a group of friends. He said he found a woman’s wristwatch but was arrested by police along with a friend who confessed to stealing it.
At the police station, he said he unknowingly signed a confession. He was sentenced to three years in jail, but the sentence was cut in half due to his confession.
China says US military aid to Taiwan will not deter its will to unify the island
TAIPEI: China has accused the United States of turning Taiwan into an “ammunition depot” after the White House announced a US$345 million military aid package for the island. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement late on Saturday (Jul 29) opposing the military aid to Taiwan, which China claims asContinue Reading
Body of missing Senegalese tourist found
PUBLISHED : 30 Jul 2023 at 09:38
PHUKET: The body of the Senegalese tourist who went missing after going swimming in the sea off Freedom beach in tambon Karon of Muang district on Friday was recovered on Sunday morning.
Lt Jadet Vachirasorn, the Tambon Karon Municipality mayor, said the body of Cheikhonuna Ba, 22, was recovered by a team of lifeguards at about 6.50am at Freedom beach where he went missing after being washed ashore.
Police and volunteers from the Kusoltham Phuket Foundation examined the spot and sent the body to Vachira Phuket Hospital for an autopsy.
The search command centre, set up by the Tambon Karon Municipality, has been closed, said Lt Chadet.
Lifeguards operating at various beaches have been instructed to remain vigilant, particularly during a weather disturbance, for the safety of tourists, he added.
After the Senegalese tourist went missing on Friday, searchers from the Karon municipality and other agencies were deployed on Saturday. They expanded the search area to Patong beach to the north and Karon beach about two kilometres south of Freedom beach on the west coast of the tourist island, but to no avail.
Cambodia enters a new era
Hello Globe readers,
Today it’s the last weekly newsletter of July and we are already looking forward to seeing what August has in store for us.
In the meantime, let’s dive right into the latest features. The week began with the foreseen victory of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in Sunday’s general election. Just a couple of days later, Prime Minister Hun Sen, the country’s top leader for 38 years, announced he’d soon hand office to his eldest son, Hun Manet.
Over nearly four decades of Hun Sen’s leadership, both the country and the region have been fast-urbanising. But the rapid development of urban areas has often led to overlooked pockets of poverty within the city landscape. Recent studies show how a holistic approach to improving informal settlements could increase the countries’ GDP by as much as 10.5%.
Optimistic reports also come from the Asian Development Bank and economic experts who believe the region is fighting on amidst the rising cost of living and growing inflation. The region is also adapting its emergency response techniques to the escalation of global natural disasters, which especially affect the Asia and the Pacific region.
That’s all for today, may you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the features below.
Latest
Opinion
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The command center attacks in Russia and Ukraine
The Russian Defense Ministry has reported that on the evening of July 28, Russia attacked a Ukrainian command post in Dnipro (Dnepropetrovsk) with “precision weapons” after Ukraine launched an attack on a Russian command post in Taganrog in Russia’s Rostov oblast (province).
According to the Russians, the incoming missile was shot down but it crashed into buildings in the town, including an art museum. The weapon used by Ukraine was a converted S-200 air defense missile reconfigured against ground targets.
A day earlier, on the 28th, Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky visited Dnipro where he presented an award to Ukrainian Commander in Chief Valerii Zaluzhny and met with a number of Ukrainian commanders including Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi and the chief of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov.
Zelensky is closely tracked by Russian intelligence. Thus his arrival in Dnipro and meeting with Ukrainian generals and field commanders as well as Ukraine’s military intelligence chief could have tipped off the location of the command center in Dnipro.
The Ukrainian press has suggested that the target of the Russian attack was a nearby apartment complex. However, some observers think the apartment complex was collateral damage caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile that crashed.
There are some videos circulating and photos that show some of the damage and it appears likely that the Russians hit the command post. The full extent of the casualties is not known. Reports say that some people are buried under the debris. The local hospital has put out a call for blood donors, suggesting the number of casualties is quite high.
There is no information yet whether any Ukrainian commanders were actually in the building when it was hit or, if so, any of them were casualties from the strike.
Targets in Russia
The war outside of Ukraine’s borders is spreading as Ukraine goes after targets on Russian territory. This past week the Ukrainians launched another drone attack aimed at Moscow, which the Russians say they shot down (although it caused damage on the ground).
However, the Taganrog attack was the most significant from the Russian point of view as it was aimed at the military command structure and at a location where General Valery Gerasimov and other military leaders previously gathered. Whether the Ukrainians had special intelligence for the July 28th attack on the location of Russia’s top brass we do not know, nor do we know if any Russian commanders were hit in the attack by the Ukrainians.
Meanwhile the Ukrainian offensive is continuing and is proving costly to both sides, but with Ukraine suffering the higher level of losses. This offensive, planned mainly by US and British special operators, seeks to overwhelm Russian defenses by brute force. Ukraine has made some modest gains, although these are often rolled back by the Russians.
The Russians have noted that Ukraine is using its best trained and most experienced troops and are operating with a high level of professionalism. These forces were NATO-trained and appear to have high morale. However, attriting your army’s best forces, with little of strategic value to show for the effort, in the end could force the Ukrainian government into reevaluating the war effort.
There is also growing concern in Washington that the war may soon spill over outside of Ukraine, with Poland high on the list as a possible hot spot. Both the Poles and the Russians have been actively provocative, with the Wagner forces moving into Belarus and with Poland sending armor resources to the borders of Belarus and Ukraine.
NATO is in a very bad position to support a widened war in Europe. It lacks troops (the US is now calling up reservists for US deployments in Eastern Europe) and sufficient ammunition, and NATO is very thin on air defenses and armor.
The Russians are also on the cusp of a major mobilization, something that presages the possibility of a wider conflict. Do you mean //Nor have the Russians continued to mince words about the “Ukraine Special Military Opertion. They now come right out and refer to it as Russia’s war against NATO. Nor do the Russians any longer mince words about the “Ukraine special military operation,” which is now characterized as Russia’s war against NATO.
In short the conflict is inexorably morphing and could soon go out of control from the point of view of confining it mainly to a battle on Ukrainian territory. This is underlined by the volunteers fighting in Ukraine, many of whom are Poles, and the attachment of American and British specialists to Ukrainian battlegroups.
Europe is simply unprepared for a war that might be fought on its territory. Few steps are being taken to try and head off a bigger crisis.
Stephen Bryen is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and the Yorktown Institute. This article was originally published on Weapons and Strategy, his Substack. Asia Times is republishing it with permission.
Your Haji Lane guide: 15 timeless and trendy places to eat, shop, and play
You can order directly from the menu, but what would be the point? Let fate decide by drawing from a deck of tarot cards, each representing a signature potent drink like The High Priestess, King of Wands, or Knight of Cups. The enchantment spills over to their food menu, with dishes like Dark Wings, Evil Spam, and Witches’ Stew, and culminates during the weekends, where guests are entitled to free tarot card readings.
53 Haji Lane, Singapore 189246
PLAY
11. Meomi Cat Cafe
Pet cafes don’t always have a good rep, which is why Meomi Cat Cafe in Haji Lane has intentionally kept things intimate, hosting no more than ten furry divas at a time. And while you may be tempted to shower them with treats, the stars of the shows, like Hollywood celebrities, have their diets locked down.
Thai joint venture hails homegrown rail carriage
Kingdom unveils ‘Beyond Horizon’
PUBLISHED : 30 Jul 2023 at 07:02
King Mongkut Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), Sinogen-Pin Petch Joint Venture and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) have introduced a prototype of a luxury 25-seater rail carriage nicknamed “Beyond Horizon”, equipped with personal touch screens and facilities for those who travel with wheelchairs.
Somyot Kaitwanidvilai, dean of KMITL’s School of Engineering and the project manager of Beyond Horizon, said the project is part of the Transport Ministry’s innovative Thai First Policy.
It seeks to incorporate more homegrown hardware into the mass-transit network, using 40% of Thai-made materials throughout the production line. The aim is to prepare locally-made rail coaches for a spurt of upcoming nationwide network development.
In 20 years, Thailand will need at least 2,425 rail carriages to cater for railway network development. Each carriage could cost 50 million baht, or up to 100 billion baht in total.
During 2015–2018, rail carriages accounted for 80% of SRT’s import costs. This presents an opportunity for Thailand to become a manufacturer in its own right, using technology localisation to improve the country’s railway system, Mr Somyot said.
He said the Beyond Horizon project has received 32 million baht in funding, 25 million baht of which came from the Programme Management Unit for Competitiveness, while the rest came from the Sinogen-Pin Petch Joint Venture.
“The design of the passenger coach was inspired by airlines’ business class and high-speed railways’ first class,” he said.
Each carriage consists of 25 seats, eight of them in the super luxury class and the rest luxury class.
All seats are provided with private screens for on-board entertainment and food orders, Mr Somyot said.
The passenger train’s lavatory is built in a vacuum system like the ones on commercial planes, while the train doors’ universal design is easy for people with disabilities.
Mr Somyot added the ticket price of Beyond Horizon will be similar to the price of the SRT’s sleeper train’s tickets.
Maethus Lertsethtakarn, executive of the Joint Venture Sinogen-Pin Petch company, said Thailand’s neighbours — Myanmar, Vietnam and Malaysia — are able to manufacture their own carriages for domestic use.
However, Thailand still orders production materials from abroad, costing the country over 6 billion baht, he said.
“The research team has developed every element of the train which gives us thorough insight into maintenance and upgrades,” he said.
“The budget for imports will be cut and our technical know-how will be available for entrepreneurs.”
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha praised the project, saying it will help reduce costs by about 50% when compared to importing carriages.
KMITL hails homegrown rail carriage
Kingdom unveils ‘Beyond Horizon’
PUBLISHED : 30 Jul 2023 at 07:02
King Mongkut Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), Sinogen-Pin Petch Joint Venture and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) have introduced a prototype of a luxury 25-seater rail carriage nicknamed “Beyond Horizon”, equipped with personal touch screens and facilities for those who travel with wheelchairs.
Somyot Kaitwanidvilai, dean of KMITL’s School of Engineering and the project manager of Beyond Horizon, said the project is part of the Transport Ministry’s innovative Thai First Policy.
It seeks to incorporate more homegrown hardware into the mass-transit network, using 40% of Thai-made materials throughout the production line. The aim is to prepare locally-made rail coaches for a spurt of upcoming nationwide network development.
In 20 years, Thailand will need at least 2,425 rail carriages to cater for railway network development. Each carriage could cost 50 million baht, or up to 100 billion baht in total.
During 2015–2018, rail carriages accounted for 80% of SRT’s import costs. This presents an opportunity for Thailand to become a manufacturer in its own right, using technology localisation to improve the country’s railway system, Mr Somyot said.
He said the Beyond Horizon project has received 32 million baht in funding, 25 million baht of which came from the Programme Management Unit for Competitiveness, while the rest came from the Sinogen-Pin Petch Joint Venture.
“The design of the passenger coach was inspired by airlines’ business class and high-speed railways’ first class,” he said.
Each carriage consists of 25 seats, eight of them in the super luxury class and the rest luxury class.
All seats are provided with private screens for on-board entertainment and food orders, Mr Somyot said.
The passenger train’s lavatory is built in a vacuum system like the ones on commercial planes, while the train doors’ universal design is easy for people with disabilities.
Mr Somyot added the ticket price of Beyond Horizon will be similar to the price of the SRT’s sleeper train’s tickets.
Maethus Lertsethtakarn, executive of the Joint Venture Sinogen-Pin Petch company, said Thailand’s neighbours — Myanmar, Vietnam and Malaysia — are able to manufacture their own carriages for domestic use.
However, Thailand still orders production materials from abroad, costing the country over 6 billion baht, he said.
“The research team has developed every element of the train which gives us thorough insight into maintenance and upgrades,” he said.
“The budget for imports will be cut and our technical know-how will be available for entrepreneurs.”
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha praised the project, saying it will help reduce costs by about 50% when compared to importing carriages.
Gears of power grind on
The Pheu Thai Party is mulling whether to play the loyalty card — where it will invite parties to form the new government only after they have voted for one of its candidates as prime minister, according to a source.
The business of forming a new government is growing more complicated by the day and Pheu Thai is left in the unenviable position of choosing to either abandon a friend or find some new ones to work with.
However, all options entail risks, prompting Pheu Thai to seek the least damaging way out politically, the source said.
The expert said so-called pro-democracy supporters would pressure Pheu Thai if it ditched the Move Forward Party (MFP) and the six other parties bound by the memorandum of understanding they signed to establish the next coalition government together.
The supporters have already hit the streets of Bangkok to protest against the majority of senators who either voted against or abstained from voting for MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat in his bid to become prime minister.
Only 13 senators backed him, which is a far cry from the support of at least 54 votes he needed to win the nomination.
On the second round of voting, his renomination was put on hold pending a Constitutional Court decision whether to consider a petition on the legality of Mr Pita’s premiership bid being re-submitted. The court’s decision is expected in two weeks.
Outside parliament, efforts to form a government have hit a snag with Pheu Thai finding itself right in the eye of the storm.
The MFP passed it the chance to form the government after its own efforts failed.
Pheu Thai is fully aware the Senate is likely to shun MFP again in any third round of voting.
Pressure on Pheu Thai
The Pheu Thai Party, now the lead party assembling a government, can either stick with the seven other MoU-bound parties and keep the prospect of building a coalition line-up in limbo, or invite some parties from the opposing camp, currently commanding 188 MP seats, to join the new government and drop the MFP.
The parties from the so-called conservative camp have made it clear in talks with Pheu Thai that they will not be part of a government with MFM as long as it pursues an amendment to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law.
But parting company with the MFP and tearing up the MoU exposes the Pheu Thai Party to the risk of igniting street protests by pro-demoracy groups who also include its own supporters.
The pressure would also intensify on Pheu Thai if it picked either or both the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party as coalition partners.
Pheu Thai would draw heavy flak for reneging its word during the May 14 general elections that it would not work with the so-called “uncle” parties, referring to those led by military bosses which it links to the 2014 military coup.
The “uncles” refer to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, a UTN former chief adviser and its prime ministerial candidate, and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, also the PPRP leader.
Avoid the knife’s edge
The party reckons one way to avoid the knife’s edge is to be seen not to be abandoning any party.
According to the source, Pheu Thai may move to nominate Srettha Thavisin, one of its three prime ministerial candidates, at the next round of voting for a prime minister possibly after the long weekend later this week.
Pheu Thai will be watching which other parties vote for Mr Srettha. Those that do will be extended an invitation to be included in the coalition government.
If that’s the plan, parties which vote against or abstain from voting for Mr Srettha will end up in the opposition, the source said. “There’s no ditching of parties to offend anyone. If all parties vote for [Mr Srettha], they would all be in the coalition line-up,” the source said.
However, if after entering the coalition government any parties find it too crowded, they are free to leave, the source added.
If any MoU-bound parties left on their own accord, the Pheu Thai Party would save itself from criticism that it betrayed friends or trampled on pro-democracy interests.
The source added that if Mr Srettha’s nomination failed to win enough votes in parliament, Pheu Thai still has two other candidates — Paetongtarn “Ung Ing” Shinawatra and Chaikasem Nitisiri.
Ms Paetongtarn is head of the Pheu Thai Family, a position said to be on par with that of party leader.
Volatile situation
The source, however, admitted the situation surrounding the government’s formation remains fluid.
The issue could be settled in the next round of prime ministerial voting, says Stithorn Thananithichot, director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy at King Prajadhipok’s Institute.
He warned that if the Pheu Thai Party slips at the chance of securing a prime ministerial nomination, it would be in danger of seeing the third largest party, Bhumjaithai, claiming the right to lead the government formation.
With 71 House seats, it is the largest party in the bloc of 188 MPs. Leaving the Pheu Thai Party in control of the new government would entrust it with immense bargaining powers over cabinet seat allocations and even the House’s dissolution.
“It would be in the best interest of the [188-MP parties] to hang on to such powers,” he said.
If Mr Srettha’s bid for premiership proved futile, Ms Paetontarn would be next in line to be nominated.
But if the party was hesitant to put Ms Paetongtarn to the vote, the country might have to contend with a minority government of 188-MP coalition parties.
In the next round of voting, the eight Mou-bound parties might still work together. If a prime ministerial candidate from among their ranks fails to make the cut, it would be proof that their MoU commitment is as good as dead.
He ruled out any chance of the MFP backtracking on its Section 112 amendment policy in exchange for the Senate’s vote for Mr Pita as prime minister.
Mr Stithorn said the Senate does not want the MFP in government. It favours the 188-MP parties hooking up with Pheu Thai.
“The Pheu Thai Party, to its detriment, has been rather hasty in pushing the government formation process along,” he said.
In his view, Bhumjaithai might be tempted to stand by and watch the MFP and Pheu Thai fall out over the issue.
“The two parties are nearing the point of a messy break-up. Once there, the Pheu Thai Party will have no choice but to team up with the Bhumjaithai Party,” he said.
Next PM vote critical
Virot Ali, a political scientist at Thammasat University, said the Constitutional Court may throw out the petition on the validity of Mr Pita’s mooted prime ministerial renomination as some legal experts believe it is parliament’s privilege to decide.
The next round would be critical for the survival of the MoU that binds the parties. The MFP would be under heavy pressure as it must choose whether to put its Section 112 amendment policy on the back burner or see itself ejected from the coalition line-up and the Bhumjaithai Party brought in in its place.
It would also be interesting to look at the reaction of pro-democracy supporters who would be annoyed if either or both of the “uncles” parties were welcomed into a Pheu Thai Party-led coalition fold.
If the MFP was to be pulled from the Pheu Thai Party-led coalition line-up, the void would be filled by several of the 188-MP parties and the coup-appointed Senate inclined to vote for a prime ministerial candidate from Pheu Thai.
Mr Virot suggested the MFP must make a concession over Section 112 by focusing on problems with legal enforcement rather than trying to amend the law.
If the law was side-stepped, Bhumjaithai might agree to take part in the Pheu Thai Party-led coalition with the MFP and the other MoU-bound parties as part of it.
Such a line-up would ensure sufficient numbers for a prime ministerial candidate of the bloc to pass without a co-election by the Senate.
The next prime minister vote might be deferred till next month or September, he said.
A source among the MoU-bound parties agreed the new prime minister might be named no later than the second week of next month.
The Pheu Thai Party stands to lose its credibility if it abandons the MFP although it might risk it in order to secure a safe and secure return for former Thaksin Shinawatra from self-imposed exile abroad.
Thaksin, a well-respected figure in the Pheu Thai Party, has vowed to return on Aug 10 and face jail time.
A source in Chartthaipattana Party, one of the 188-MP parties, said the ball is in Pheu Thai’s court.
“The Pheu Thai Party must make up its mind and tell us outright if it plans to include the MFP as a coalition ally,” the source said.
Day 1 of long holiday weekend sees 2,000 injured, 22 killed on the nation’s roads
PUBLISHED : 30 Jul 2023 at 05:51
The total number of people injured in road accidents on the first day of the long holiday reached almost 2,000 with 22 fatalities, according to the Royal Thai Police (RTP).
Pol Gen Roy Ingkapairote, deputy national police chief and commander of the RTP’s Traffic Police Operation Centre, said on Saturday his officers have been told remain on the lookout for traffic offences due to the high volume of journeys from towns and cities to the provinces during the July 28 to Aug 2 long holiday weekend.
With 1,871 injuries and 22 fatalities on Friday alone, Pol Gen Roy said the main cause of accidents had been speeding, followed by drowsiness, changing lanes and dangerous overtaking.
He advised drivers to check their vehicles and study the route before leaving home to avoid road accidents.
Police also reported that 157 drivers had been arrested for drunk driving on Friday.
Pol Lt Gen Nithithorn Chintakanon, commander of the RTP’s national police chief office, said the legal alcohol limit is 50 milligrammes per decilitre (mg/dL).
Anyone found to be over the limit when breathalysed will face a charge of drunk driving.
Also, drivers below the age of 20 who do not hold a valid driver’s licence when caught over the breath/alcohol limit of 20 mg/dL will be sentenced.
Pol Lt Gen Nithithorn said first-time offenders will face up to a year of jail time or 5,000-10,000 baht in fines.
Those who repeat the offence within two years of their first conviction will likely have to pay 50-100,000 baht in fines and contest the sentence in a new court appearance.
Meanwhile, the state-run Transport Co said that over 58,000 passengers had left Bangkok to take city-dwellers back to their hometowns on Friday aboard over l,000 cross-provincial buses.
Transport Co president Sanyalux Panwattanalikit said 3,964 journeys back to the capital have been laid on for Wednesday to cater for 50,735 passengers on 7,975 rides making 109,624 trips in total for both legs.
No passengers will be left stranded at bus or coach stops on their way back to the city, he said.
He said people would begin to travel back to the city on Aug 2-3 and the Transport Co has prepared its vans and buses to provide about 3,500 rides per day for an average of 35,000 passengers a day.
He said the Transport Co had sought help from the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority and Taxi Association to offer connections at the capital’s five main bus terminals due to the high number of people travelling.