Former houseowner surrenders after killing new owner

The house where the former owner refused to move out and shot the new owner dead, in Pathum Thani's Thanyaburi district. (Photo: Police TV)
The house where the former owner refused to move out and shot the new owner dead, in Pathum Thani’s Thanyaburi district. (Photo: Police TV)

The dispossessed former owner of a house who shot dead the new owner at a housing estate in Pathum Thani on Tuesday afternoon surrendered to police later that night.

Decha Phayakkha, 66, gave himself up at 7.54pm, surrendering to local police and a special operations squad that had surrounded the house on Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok Road in tambon Bueng Namrak, Thanyaburi disrict.

Mr Decha was taken to Thanyaburi police station, where he was held in custody.

The suspect allegedly shot dead Kamolporn Donthong, 52, who bought the house from a bank through the Legal Execution Department, when she arrived shortly before 3pm to talk to him about moving out.

Mr Decha refused to move out and allegedly shot her dead while she was in the street outside the house. 

Police surrounded the house, where the shooter had holed-up. His daughter was called in to help persuade him to surrender, but he refused.

Around 4.30pm, Pol Col Jirawat Piampinset, chief of Thanyaburi police station, asked the man to lay down his weapon and surrender, but he did not respond. A special operations unit had already been deployed around the house.

About 5.30pm, Mr Decha fired shots from the house as special operations police moved closer. Shortly before 8pm, he agreed to surrender.

On Wednesday, his son and daughter and a lawyer arrived at Thanyaburi police station to visit him.

Pol Capt Sariphong Apiwan, deputy investigation chief at Thanyaburi, said the suspect had become very  stressed overnight, but calmed down when his children visited him.

Mr Decha was initially charged with murder, attempting to kill officers on duty and firearms offences.

He would be taken to Thanyaburi Provincial Court, where police would apply to detain him for the first 12-day period of the investigation, Pol Capt Sariphong said.

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Wrestlers’ protest: IOC says police action against Indian athletes very disturbing

Indian wrestlers along with their supporters gather to immerse their medals in the river Ganges as a mark of protest against Brij Bhushan Singh, the wrestling federation chief, over allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation, in Haridwar on May 30, 2023. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)Getty Images

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has condemned the way India’s top wrestlers are being treated during their ongoing protest.

It has also demanded an investigation into allegations that Indian wrestling chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh sexually harassed female athletes.

The wrestlers were temporarily detained by police on Sunday as they tried to march to the new parliament building.

They were demanding the resignation and arrest of the federation chief.

Mr Singh, who is also an influential MP from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has denied the allegations and accused the wrestlers of being “politically motivated”.

On Tuesday, he told reporters that the Delhi police was investigating and that they would arrest him if they found anything against him. “Let the investigation take place, it is in the hands of Delhi police,” he said.

Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia and two-time world champion medallist Vinesh Phogat, were among those who were detained and later released by the police on Sunday. The police also filed cases including of rioting against them.

Visuals of the athletes being dragged and carried off in buses went viral, sparking criticism from top athletes and opposition politicians.

In a statement on Tuesday night, the IOC “urged the safety and wellbeing of these athletes” and called for “a speedy conclusion” of the investigation.

It said it had been in close contact with United World Wrestling (UWW) – the international organisation governing amateur wrestling – over the situation.

The UWW also issued a statement on Tuesday saying that it was following “with great concern” the wrestlers’ protests “over allegations of abuse and harassment by the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)”.

“It expresses its disappointment over the lack of results of the investigations so far,” the statement said and added that the UWW would hold a meeting with the wrestlers to inquire about their safety and “reconfirm our support for a fair and just resolution of their concerns”.

The UWW also said that it might suspend the WFI if its upcoming elections were not held on time.

The wrestlers, who have been protesting for over a month now, had first protested in January but called it off after Mr Singh was stripped of his administrative powers by the sports ministry and the government promised to investigate their complaints.

However, they restarted their protests in April, calling for his arrest.

On Tuesday, the wrestlers had threatened to throw their medals into the Ganges – India’s holiest river. They said they had first considered returning their medals to the president and the prime minister but were disappointed that they had not spoken about the protests even once.

“These medals are our life and soul… We feel there’s no meaning to having these medals around our necks anymore,” they said in a statement.

But they were persuaded by Naresh Tikait, leader of influential farming group Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), to not throw their medals yet. Mr Tikait later told reporters he was giving the government five days to take action.

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Pet supplies e-retailer Perromart becomes insolvent, gets new owner amid dozens of complaints

SINGAPORE: Perromart, a popular pet supplies e-retailer, has been sold to a new operator after customers lodged nearly 200 complaints with Singapore’s consumer watchdog over the last five months.

Perromart’s previous sole owner, 25 Holdings, became insolvent and was placed under receivership in March, its new receiver and manager Farooq Mann told CNA on Monday (May 29).

This means it was unable to meet its debt payments on time. Companies can take several routes to rescue the business and avoid bankruptcy, including receivership – a court-appointed tool to help creditors recover funds they are owed.

Perromart – which branded itself as Singapore’s largest online pet store – first came under fire in January when customers turned to social media to air their grievances over delayed or unfulfilled orders.

At the time, its co-founder Roy Lim told CNA the company was unable to catch up on orders and support tickets due to supply chain disruptions and manpower issues stemming from the Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year holiday periods.

Mr Lim said these were “not excuses” and that Perromart would improve its processes and operational turnaround time, as well as “launch new services that include predictive delivery based on respective products”.

However, in March, Mr Mann was appointed receiver and manager of Perromart after it became insolvent.

It has since been sold to an operator in the same industry, but Mr Mann said he was not at liberty to disclose the buyer’s name at the moment.

“The incoming owner-operator of the business is confident that the new business will be able to provide excellent customer service to all existing and new customers,” added the managing partner of Mann & Associates PAC.

The new owner-operator intends to continue operating at Perromart’s new warehouse in Kallang. Perromart had announced in February that it was in the midst of moving there.

Mr Lim did not respond to further queries from CNA on the receivership.

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Elon Musk: Tesla boss on first China trip in over three years

Elon Musk gets in a Tesla car as he leaves a hotel in Beijing, China on 31 May.Reuters

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is in China, as he makes his first trip to the world’s second largest economy in over three years.

He arrived in Beijing on Tuesday and is also expected to visit Tesla’s huge manufacturing plant in Shanghai.

The multi-billionaire met China’s foreign minister Qin Gang within hours of arriving in the country.

Mr Musk has not yet publicly commented on the trip, which comes amid tensions between the US and China.

He also declined to make any comments about his plans for the trip when asked by reporters as he left a hotel in Beijing on Wednesday.

Later on Wednesday, Mr Musk met China’s industry minister Jin Zhuanglong and discussed the development of electric vehicles.

In a statement on Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry said that Mr Musk was willing to expand the car maker’s business in the country, which is Tesla’s biggest market after the US.

The ministry added that during the meeting Mr Musk had described the economies of the US and China as “conjoined twins”.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

Mr Musk has also been uncharacteristically quiet on Twitter, which he owns and where he has more than 141 million followers.

He is known for tweeting many times a day but as of midday on Wednesday had not posted anything since arriving in the country on Tuesday afternoon.

The social media platform is banned in China but it can be accessed through VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks.

Mr Musk is the latest high-profile US executive to make a trip to China. JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon is also in China this week, while Apple boss Tim Cook visited the country in March.

However, as tensions rise between Washington and Beijing Tesla finds itself in a difficult position, Dan Ives from investment firm Wedbush Securities said.

“Playing nice in the sandbox in Beijing is something Wall Street is laser focused on, to make sure there are no disruptions to Tesla’s expansion within China for the coming years,” Mr Ives added.

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk's private jet is seen at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China.

Reuters

In January 2019, Tesla started building its so-called gigafactory in Shanghai, which was the firm’s first manufacturing plant outside the US.

Later that year, it delivered its first Chinese-made cars, marking a major milestone for the American company.

However, Covid lockdowns across the country, including in the financial, manufacturing and shipping hub of Shanghai, made it increasingly difficult for manufacturers to operate.

Last year, Mr Musk said the coronavirus lockdown of Shanghai was “very, very difficult” for Tesla, which reportedly halted most of its production at its gigafactory for several weeks.

Operations have since resumed at the plant, which produced its millionth car in August, according to Mr Musk. This accounted for a third of Tesla’s global production.

Last month, the company said it planned to build a new factory in China to make its large-scale “Megapack” batteries.

China has also become the largest market for Tesla’s Model Y mass-market electric vehicle, according to market research firm JATO.

More than 94,000 Model Y vehicles were sold in China in the first three months of this year, putting it ahead of the US and Europe, JATO data shows.

In recent years, Tesla’s lead in electric vehicle market has been challenged by increased competition from car making giants, including Ford and General Motors, as well as newer entrants into the market like China’s BYD and Nio.

Mr Musk – who bought Twitter last year for $44bn (£35.5bn) – has been under pressure to find someone else to lead the company and refocus his attention on his other businesses, including Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX.

Earlier this month, he named Linda Yaccarino, the former head of advertising at NBCUniversal as the platform’s new chief executive.

Ms Yaccarino will face the challenge of running a business that has struggled to be profitable, while facing intense scrutiny over how it handles misinformation and hate speech.

Twitter is now worth around a third of what Mr Musk paid for it, according investment firm Fidelity, which helped to finance his takeover of the company.

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Wissanu: Comprehensive complaint may result in annulled election

Pita Limjaroenrat, left, leader of the election winning Move Forward Party, with Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew during their meeting with potential coalition allies at the Prachachart Party headquarters in Bangkok on Tuesday evening. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
Pita Limjaroenrat, left, leader of the election winning Move Forward Party, with Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew during their meeting with potential coalition allies at the Prachachart Party headquarters in Bangkok on Tuesday evening. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

The details listed in complaints will determine if Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat is disqualified from being prime minister and whether the May general election should be annulled, according to caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam.

Mr Wissanu, the current cabinet’s legal guru, said at Government House on Wednesday that details in complaints against Mr Pita’s shareholding in iTV Plc were a key factor.

If a complaint targets Mr Pita’s elegibility to be an MP he could still be prime minister, because the prime minister is not required to be an MP, he said.

If a complaint targets Mr Pita’s prime ministerial qualifications, he could still be an MP, Mr Wissanu said.

“If a complaint targets both, the court will rule on both,” he said.

A complaint could also also question Mr Pita’s approval of Move Forward Party memberships, Mr Wissanu said.

“In that case, there would have to be a new nationwide general election,” he said.

Mr Wissanu said he was not giving any recommendation on how a complaint should be written.

“It is up to the complainant. The [constitutional] court will rule on the particular issue in a complaint,” he said.

The constitution prohibits a shareholder of a media organisation from running in a general election and Mr Pita’s qualifications were challenged because of his inherited shareholding in iTV Plc, which was long ago  merged into Thai PBS.

Complaints filed with the Election Commission target his MP status, his approval of Move Forward candidates in the May 14 election and the whole cabinet that he would form.

“But you should not have such a distant imagination. Consider it step by step. The Election Commission has not taken any action. Do not jump into a negative scenario,” Mr Wissanu said.

Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam

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Uyghur student not missing in Hong Kong – Amnesty

Uyghur student Abuduwaili AbudurehemanAmnesty International

Rights group Amnesty International has corrected its report alleging an Uyghur student went missing from Hong Kong airport, saying he is “accounted for”.

“Abuduwaili Abudureheman… told us he did not travel to Hong Kong, contrary to previous information received,” the group’s correction read.

Mr Abuduwaili is safe in Seoul, his base for the last seven years, his university colleagues say.

The Hong Kong government is calling on Amnesty to “apologise”.

“We will continue to strive to offer support to people who reach out to us when they believe they or their loved ones are at risk,” Amnesty said in a correction added to its original report.

Amnesty had claimed on Friday that Mr Abuduwaili had boarded a flight from Seoul to Hong Kong on 10 May, before losing contact with family and friends.

His last correspondence, Amnesty said, was a text message to a friend claiming “he was being interrogated by Chinese police after arriving at Hong Kong airport”. The Hong Kong government refuted the allegations at the time.

On Monday, the dean at Seoul’s Kookmin University’s College of Physical Education – where Mr Abuduwaili is studying for a doctorate – contradicted Amnesty’s report in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.

Cho Wook-yeon said he had been in constant contact with Mr Abuduwaili, who had recently confirmed with Mr Cho that he was in Seoul.

“Abudureheman has not left Hong Kong and is staying in Korea safely,” he said, adding that he was “surprised” to see reports of the disappearance.

A director at the college repeated this account when contacted by the BBC.

The BBC contacted Mr Abuduwaili for a response, but the student has yet to reply.

Amnesty referred the BBC to its corrected statement when asked about the university staff’s statements. The rights organisation has yet to respond to follow-up questions on how it verified the initial claims about Mr Abuduwaili and his latest statement to Amnesty.

In response to Amnesty’s correction, the Hong Kong government said the organisation had “maliciously smeared” and “slandered” Hong Kong and China, and called for a “sincere apology (made) responsibly”.

Beijing has been accused of committing crimes against humanity and possible genocide against the Uyghur population and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups in China’s north-western Xinjiang region, which are allegations the government strenuously denies.

There are about 12 million Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and the region is cloaked in a pervasive network of surveillance, including police, checkpoints, and cameras that scan everything from number plates to individual faces.

A landmark UN report released in 2022 accused China of “serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang that “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity”.

It also urged China to release “all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty”.

Beijing called the UN report a “farce” arranged by Western powers.

The US, UK and international human rights monitors have accused Beijing of detaining about one million Uyghurs in so-called “re-education camps”, separating children from their families and breaking their cultural traditions.

Additional reporting by Joel Guinto.

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Shell Livewire Malaysia 2023 seeks entrepreneurs to enroll

Five winners from each state will recieve US$2,166
Five national winners will get an additional US$6,500

Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia is returning this year and accepting applications from all entrepreneurs in Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular Malaysia.
The programme takes entrepreneurs through workshops to develop their business ideas, test their business models, and prepare them for…Continue Reading

Lamphun had highest voter turnout in general election

A voter at a polling station in Huai Khwang district, Bangkok, to cast an early ballot on May 7. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)
A voter at a polling station in Huai Khwang district, Bangkok, to cast an early ballot on May 7. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)

Lamphun province in the North had the highest voter turnout, 86.25%, at the May 14 general election, with the nationwide figure 75.71%, the Election Commission said on Tuesday.

Countrywide, there were 52,195,920 eligible voters in the election, and 39,514,973 (75.71%) cast their ballots.

The commission said 37,190,071 (94.12%) of the ballots cast in the constituency system were valid; 1,457,899 ( 3.69%) were invalid; and 866,885 (2.19%) opted for “no vote”.

Provinces ranked 1-10 in terms of voter turnout:

 1. Lamphun 86.25% (287,556 from 333,392 eligible voters)
 2. Phetchaburi 84.52% (328,578 from 388,760)
 3. Phatthalung 84.46% (352,577 from 417,460)
 4. Nakhon Pathom 83.52% (617,774 from 739,715)
 5. Chachoengsao (477,004 from 875,796) and Ratchaburi (565,364 from 682,471), both 82.84%
 6. Nakhon Nayok 82.69% (173,608 from 209,959)
 7. Saraburi 82.58% (420,663 from 509,408)
 8. Krabi 82.53% (294,873 from 357,264)
 9.  Ayutthaya 82.30% (546,348 from 663,820)
10. Songkhla 82.01% (899,221 from 1,096,442)

Elsewhere, Bangkok’s voter turnout was 74.26%, Chiang Mai 81.98%, Nakhon Ratchasima 76.29% and Phuket 75.05%.

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