Women warned about serial rapist, robber luring victims via dating app
The Metropolitan Police Bureau has warned the public to be on high alert for a man with a 15-year criminal record of using a dating application to meet women and then rape and rob them.
According to the warning, the man, who was identified as Wattana Srikhaney, alias Tum Chonburi, has recently used the Omi app to find his female victims.
Posing as a “nice guy”, he offers to pick the woman up and take her on a date to a certain place. He then takes her to a different location and rapes her.
In one case, a woman was raped at the edge of a rice field and abandoned there completely naked.
Some of the victims, after being raped, were robbed of cash, gold necklaces, mobile phones and other valuables.
Police believe many other women had been victimised but had not dared to file a complaint with police, or were unsure of his real identity.
The man was on police record as having committed the following crimes:
• A rape in Phanat Nikhom district, Chon Buri, on Jan 29, 2009
• A theft in Phanat Nikhom district, Chon Buri, on Feb 19, 2009
• A rape in Phanat Nikhom district, Chon Buri, on Sept 11, 2011
• Charged with drug use in Khlong Luang district, Pathum Thani, on July 13, 2017
• Charged with drug use in Si Racha district, Chon Buri, on June 3, 2017
• A rape and a robbery in Chorakhe Noi area in Bangkok’s Lat Krabang district on April 27, 2023
• A rape in Ko Chan district, Chon Buri, on May 14, 2023
Police are hunting for the man.
Warning out for serial rapist, robber luring victims via dating app
The Metropolitan Police Bureau has warned the public to be on high alert for a man with a 15-year criminal record of using a dating application to meet women and then rape and rob them.
According to the warning, the man, who was identified as Wattana Srikhaney, alias Tum Chonburi, has recently used the Omi app to find his female victims.
Posing as a “nice guy”, he offers to pick the woman up and take her on a date to a certain place. He then takes her to a different location and rapes her.
In one case, a woman was raped at the edge of a rice field and abandoned there completely naked.
Some of the victims, after being raped, were robbed of cash, gold necklaces, mobile phones and other valuables.
Police believe many other women had been victimised but had not dared to file a complaint with police, or were unsure of his real identity.
The man was on police record as having committed the following crimes:
• A rape in Phanat Nikhom district, Chon Buri, on Jan 29, 2009
• A theft in Phanat Nikhom district, Chon Buri, on Feb 19, 2009
• A rape in Phanat Nikhom district, Chon Buri, on Sept 11, 2011
• Charged with drug use in Khlong Luang district, Pathum Thani, on July 13, 2017
• Charged with drug use in Si Racha district, Chon Buri, on June 3, 2017
• A rape and a robbery in Chorakhe Noi area in Bangkok’s Lat Krabang district on April 27, 2023
• A rape in Ko Chan district, Chon Buri, on May 14, 2023
Police are hunting for the man.
Taiwan celebrates linguistic diversity at annual music awards
“My friend asked me, why don’t you sing good songs in Chinese?”, Peng said upon receiving the prize in Taipei. “I don’t think there should be language restrictions on singing.”
Cheng, speaking in Mandarin, thanked the Taiwanese language for “teaching me how to bow my head and slow down”.
In the indigenous language category, the Paiwan singers Kasiwa and Matzka rapped and sang in their native tongue, with Kasiwa getting the prestigious jury award.
While Taiwan has only 23 million people, its music scene has an outsized influence in the Chinese-speaking world, in part due to creativity unhindered by censorship.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on her Facebook and Instagram pages that at the show the love of music had “eliminated language boundaries between different ethnic groups”.
“Here, no matter what language everyone uses – Taiwanese, Hakka, indigenous languages, Mandarin, English and Japanese – they can all sing freely, which also brings us together.”
Disco queen Ouyang Fei Fei, one of two special contribution award winners and as famous for her big hair as her big voice, broke through in Japan in the 1970s singing in Japanese.
“Singing and performing have always been my dream. If I can, I will continue to sing and never give up,” Ouyang, now 73, told the audience.
Building a viable Taiwan-Japan security relationshipÂ
Taiwan and Japan are seeking a closer security relationship. Many of the building blocks of such are manifest: people-to-people relations, political continuity, and geo-strategic concerns. However, the absence of formal diplomatic relations impedes closer military cooperation.
The lack of military preparedness exhibited by Taiwan and Japan renders the US role as imperative.
Despite the fact that Taiwan was a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945, the relationship between the two countries has always been amicable. Japanese rule in Taiwan was characterized by the building of harbors, dams, railroads, and other infrastructure projects.
Japanese feel comfortable visiting Taiwan, where they are warmly received. Asked what their favorite country is, many Taiwanese would respond “Japan.” Both are democratic countries that share an antipathy for communism.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) has a few members with strong anti-Japanese feelings due to memories of World War II and the disputed sovereignty of the Diaoyutai or Senkaku Islands. However, even during the KMT administration of Ma Ying-jeou from 2008 to 2016, the Taiwan-Japan relationship was stable.
Nevertheless, Japan was glad to see the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) come to power in the election of 2016. The same was true after the 2020 election. Japan has always found the DPP easier to deal with than the KMT.
Strong friendship
In January 2024, there will be a presidential, vice-presidential, and legislative election in Taiwan. According to Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, no matter if the DPP maintains power or the KMT gains power, the relationship with Japan will likely remain cooperative.
Throughout Japan there are Taiwan-Japan friendship clubs. In 2021, the Kobe Declaration evidenced the bonhomie by Japan for Taiwan. The declaration called for a Japan-Taiwan Relations Act, modeled on the American Taiwan Relations Act, and drew cross-party support including from the Communist Party of Japan.
Moreover, much of Taiwanese culture has been influenced by Japan, including daily life, basic government organization, the national voting system, and the recently adopted Japanese jury system known as the “citizen judge law.”
In Japan, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has a comfortable majority in the powerful House of Representatives. Of the 465 seats in the House, the LDP has 260 and its junior coalition partner Komeito (Clean Government Party) has 32.
Given the relative weakness of Japanese opposition parties, the LDP seems to have no immediate challengers. The current factional balance of the LDP favors promoting relations with Taiwan. However, Komeito (which is the political arm of the Buddhist Soka Gakkai) promotes peace and is friendly with mainland China.
Perceived China threat
Geo-strategically, if China were to take control, it would turn Taiwan, the keystone of the First Island Chain, into a huge naval base. The Chinese navy could easily send its ships into the Western Pacific, threatening the status quo and Okinawa prefecture.
Japan’s southernmost island, Yonaguni, is only 146 kilometers from Hualien, Taiwan. Okinawa, which China lays claim to, is uncomfortably close to Taiwan. Moreover, Okinawa is the site of important US military bases and the majority of US troops stationed in Japan.
Tokyo and Taipei have a mutual interest in maintaining the status quo of the Taiwan Strait. To Taiwan, the strait is a buffer zone between Taiwan proper and mainland China. To Japan, the strait is a vital trade artery through which Middle Eastern oil is transported to Japan. Chinese control of the Taiwan Strait would threaten access to the South China Sea and to the Bashi Channel.
In the wake of growing Chinese military assertiveness, Japan and Taiwan seek a closer security relationship.
The late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was instrumental in raising Japanese popular consciousness about the growing danger of China. At the same time, Taiwan has experienced growing Chinese infiltration of society, more bellicose Chinese statements, and a clear intent by Communist Party of China and Secretary General Xi Jinping to incorporate Taiwan into China, what he calls the “great rejuvenation of China.”
Taiwan toughens military
Taiwan has undertaken a number of military reforms. The conscription law has been extended to one year of mandatory service for men, effective in January 2024. Such extended training will focus on cultivating relevant military skills and give those who are conscripted the sense that their time is not wasted.
The 2023 military budget has been increased to the equivalent of US$19 billion, a rise of almost 15%. New weapons systems have been purchased such as 66 F-16Vs, 108 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks, and 400 Harpoon missiles.
There is a suggestion that the US and Taiwan might start co-production of weapons systems. Under the current Tsai Ing-wen administration, Taiwan has launched an enhanced industrial defense base including a new jet trainer, mine sweepers, naval corvettes, and the multipurpose naval vessel the Yushan.
The Taiwanese military has created a new reserve command and increased the time required and frequency of reserve training. However, a lot of dissension exists within the Ministry of National Defense concerning doctrine. Should the MND go with traditional warfare which emphasizes expensive, large weapons systems like F-16s and tanks or adopt more of asymmetrical model of warfare?
Japan has entered a new strategic age where the guiding Yoshida Doctrine, which emphasized economic growth over security concerns, has been replaced by three updated security documents by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Jeffrey W Hornung of the RAND Corporation has pointed out that Japan’s National Security Strategy (NSS), National Defense Strategy (NDS), and Defense Build Up (DBU) collectively seek to increase the Japanese defense budget by 60% over five years, abandoning an informal budget cap of 1% of GDP, and acquire counterstrike missiles as long-range precision-guided munitions designed to deter an adversary’s attack.
Other key changes include the creation of a permanent joint operational headquarters, the transfer of authority over the Japan Coast Guard to the Ministry of Defense during any conflict, the establishment of robust cyber defense, and a new commitment to intelligence capabilities. The NSS also is concerned with economic security, energy security, and food security.
Despite the above, Taiwan and Japan need to overcome major obstacles to develop a viable security relationship:
- In the absence of formal diplomatic relations, which makes interaction difficult, look for alternative channels to interact.
- Increase weapons interoperability.
- While there has been some improvement in intelligence sharing, still more needs to be done.
- Homogenize military doctrines.
- Create joint training between the Taiwanese and Japanese militaries.
- Improve Taiwanese counterintelligence against Chinese espionage to create greater Japanese confidence in Taiwan as a reliable partner.
- Reduce Japanese dependence on China as an export market.
- Clarify Japanese policy vis-à-vis both Taiwan and China.
These hurdles cast the US in a central role to encourage Taiwan and Japan to cooperate in their mutual interest.
Both Tokyo and Taipei are walking a tightrope in their relations with Beijing, which compels them to take into consideration the reactions and responses of China and the US. Mutual geo-strategic sensitivities and shared democratic beliefs will enhance the continued development of Taiwan-Japan relations.
Nevertheless, the Taiwan-Japan security relationship is in a nascent stage. To develop a viable security relationship fully, many obstacles must be negotiated. Finally, the role of the US is crucial.
Ideal House speaker is neutral, experienced law graduate: poll
Most people think the House speaker must be able to work with all parties with neutrality, according to the result of an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.
More than a quarter of respondents believed the speaker should be an experienced MP who graduated in law.
The poll was conducted on June 27-29 by telephone interviews with 1,310 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education, occupations and incomes throughout the country to compile their opinions on the selection of the House speaker, head of the legislative branch, to be held on July 4.
Asked about the qualities they wanted to see in the person holding the post of House speaker, with respondents allowed to choose more than one answer, the replies varied as follows:
• 76.72% – must be able to work with all political parties with neutrality
• 28.63% – should have served many times as an MP
• 26.34% – should be a law graduate
• 24.89% – must be acceptable to MPs
• 16.41% – must be from a party in the government
• 15.95% – must not necessaily be from the same party as the prime minister
• 15.65% – must not necessaily be from the party with the most MPs
• 14.05% – can be from either the government or opposition bloc
• 13.36% – must be from the party with the most MPs
• 10.92% – must not necessarily be a law graduate
• 7.10% – must be from the same party as the prime minister
• 6.56% – any MP can take the position
• 2.90% – must be able to push through draft legislation proposed by his or her party
• 0.46% – must be from a party in the opposition bloc
Asked how MPs should vote to select the House speaker, 52.44% said they should follow a decision reached internally by their own party prior to the selection process; 47.10% said MPs should be allowed to vote freely; and 0.46% had no answer or were not interested.
House speaker should work with all parties with neutrality: Nida Poll
A majority of people are of the opinion that the House speaker must be a person who can work with all political parties with neutrality, according to the result of an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.
The poll was conducted on June 27-29 by telephone interviews with 1,310 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education, occupations and incomes throughout the country to compile their opinions on the selection of the House speaker, head of the legislative branch, to be held on July 4.
Asked about the qualities they wanted to see in the person holding the post of House speaker, with a respondent allowed to choose more than one answer, the replies varied:
• 76.72% – must be able to work with all political parties with neutrality
• 28.63% – should have served many times as an MP
• 26.34% – should be a law graduate
• 24.89% – must be acceptable to MPs
• 16.41% – must be from a party in the government only
• 15.95% – not necessary to be from the same party as the prime minister
• 15.65% – not necessary to be from the party with most MPs
• 14.05% – can be from either the government or opposition bloc
• 13.36% – must be from the party with most MPs only
• 10.92% – not necessary to be a law graduate
• 7.10% – must be from the same party as the prime minister
• 6.56% – any MP can take the position
• 2.90% – must be able to push through a draft legislation proposed by his or her party
• 0.46% – must be from a party in the opposition bloc only
Asked how MPs should vote to select the House speaker, 52.44% said they should follow a decision reached internally by their own party prior to the selection process; 47.10% said MPs should be allowed to vote freely; and 0.46% had no answer or were not interested.
Army eyes withdrawing security troops from far South by 2027
The security authorities have outlined a plan for the progressive reduction of military presence and lifting of the emergency in the far South in four years. Fourth Region Army commander Lt Gen Santi Sakuntanak said on Saturday a gradual withdrawal of troops is already underway in the region.
For 19 years since the insurgent violence flared up in 2004, various forms of unrest have wreaked havoc on people’s lives, the economy and communities in the southern border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, as well as parts of Songkhla.
The onset of the violence came in January 2004 when militants overran the 4th Development Battalion at the Kromluang Narathiwat Ratchanakarin military camp in Narathiwat’s Cho Airong district, taking off with a large cache of firearms.
The theft preceded a wave of attacks and snowballed into a separatist movement seeking autonomy. State authorities have resorted to various strategies to quell the violence, albeit without success.
Lt Gen Santi said that in the early years of unrest from 2004 to 2010, the military’s main mission was to contain security woes and fight insurgent attacks by deploying extra troops mobilised from the First, Second and Third Army regions to assist the Fourth Army region stationed in the far South.
At the same time, the army sent its peacekeeping personnel whose duty was partly to monitor the insurgents’ movements in 217 villages where they were active. The personnel were also briefed to work to the win trust of residents, which was helpful to the peace restoration effort.
Since 2011, Lt Gen Santi said a 1,700-strong combined force made up of non-military officials and police were assigned to safety protection duties in 37 districts of the far South. An additional 7,000 defence volunteers were also dispatched to maintain peace across tambons.
With more police and defence officials moving in, the soldiers were gradually being withdrawn and returned to their army regions.
Karen Allen on one last hurrah as Marion Ravenwood in Indiana Jones: Dial Of Destiny
Indiana Jones. Karen Allen always knew he’d come walking back through her door.
Since 1981’s Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Allen has been only a sporadic presence in the subsequent sequels. But the glow of the freckled, big-eyed actor who so memorably played Marion Ravenwood has only grown stronger over time.
Indiana Jones may be one of the movies’ most iconic characters, but he’s always needed a good foil. It was Kate Capshaw and Ke Huy Quan in Temple Of Doom and Sean Connery in The Last Crusade.
Yet, none could top, or out-drink, Allen’s Marion, a wisecracking, naturalistic beauty and swashbuckling heir to screwball legends like Katharine Hepburn and Irene Dunne.
Allen’s place in the latest and last Indiana Jones, the just-released Dial Of Destiny, has long been a mystery. Now that the movie is in theatres – spoiler alert – we can finally let the cat out of the bag. Allen returns. And while her role isn’t large – tragedy has driven Marion and Indiana apart – it’s extremely poignant in how she figures into Harrison Ford’s swan song as Indiana Jones.
“Secrets,” Allen chuckled in a recent interview, “are not my specialty.”
Allen, 71, was a magnetic presence in some memorable 1970s and 1980s films, including 1978’s Animal House (the performance that caught Steven Spielberg’s eye), 1984’s Starman and 1988’s Scrooged.
But while she’s steadily worked ever since, the era’s male-dominated Hollywood often seemed to squander her talent. Allen has lived for decades in the Berkshires, where she opened a textiles and clothing boutique and has frequently performed at Tanglewood.
Allen also returned to Marion in 2008’s Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. But as much as Dial Of Destiny signifies the end of Ford’s run as Indy, it’s also Allen’s goodbye to her most beloved character. This time, Indiana’s sidekick went to Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the Fleabag creator and star. Allen, praising Waller-Bridge as a strong woman, approves.
“If it wasn’t going to be me,” said Allen, “I’m glad it was her.” More about her role below:
Did Steven Spielberg or Dial Of Destiny director James Mangold reach out to you about returning as Marion?
There was a period of time when Steven was going to direct the film. It was my understanding – although I never read any of those scripts – that it was being developed very much as a still-ongoing Marion-and-Indy story.
When Steven decided to step down and James took over and brought in new writers, I knew it was going into a different direction. Having not even known what it was before, it was even more mysterious after they took it over. So I really didn’t know anything for a long period of time until they had a script.
And I have to confess, I was a bit disappointed that she wasn’t more woven throughout the story and didn’t have more of an ongoing trajectory. However, the way in which she does come back into the story was very satisfying. I just thought, “okay, I’m just going to embrace this”. I certainly would have been wildly disappointed had Marion just sort of vanished into the ether.
Did you always think Marion and Indiana were destined for each other? You don’t exactly get a sense of permanence between them in Raiders.
It’s funny. When I first started working on it, I just decided that Indy was the love of her life. I just decided to make a deep commitment to that and to play through Raiders Of The Lost Ark with the feeling they’re soulmates. When we end up married in Crystal Skull, I wept when I read that script.
Indiana Jones could be a boys world but you were such a spirited force of nature.
Well, Steven and George had this experience as young boys with these Saturday afternoon matinee serial films. They were just a little bit older than I am, so I kind of missed that. I don’t have a reference point for that. So I don’t think that I necessarily understood the genre of film we were making. I thought we were making Casablanca. I really, truly did.
So, I sort of defined my character in that sort of genre – which I think weirdly enough works quite well for the film. I never imagined Marion as a damsel in distress in any sort of way. I was always pushing back against that, and in the end, Steven was supportive of that.
Do you ever wish you had gotten the chance to star in more Hollywood films?
I make movies all the time, although I have tended in the last 10 or 15 years to focus more on indie films. In truth, the kinds of roles I’m really hungry to play, particularly for someone my age, they’re written more in the indie world.
People kind of think, “where have you been?”. There were times I was raising my son but I often do at least two films a year. They’re very satisfying, probably more satisfying than the sort of roles I would be offered. A lot of times I turned down things. There’s a lot of thankless roles for women in bigger budget films.
What has Marion meant to you?
She’s sort of at the core of my growth as an actor and certainly my relationship to the world. As I move through the world, I’ve become very identified with that character. There was maybe a brief period of time where I found it annoying.
But that passed and now it’s just this character that I love. I can’t imagine anything more satisfying to have had the chance in life to create a character that has some meaning for people.
What was it like to shoot your scenes with Harrison Ford in Dial Of Destiny?
It was fantastic. We shot it all in one day or maybe two days. To just imagine these two people that have been wrenched apart through grief and loss and then she’s coming back with this hope that they can move forward. When we played the scene, that was very, very affecting. We were both very affected by it and a little teary. And the crew was a little teary.
How has it been keeping your role in the film secret?
It’s been excruciating. (Laughs) I never have to do anything like this again. People have come up to me and they’ve been so upset because they didn’t see my name on IMDb. People would be so mad I’d have to stand there and just be like, “what do I say?”.
Do I say, “yeah, isn’t that a drag?” or “You never never know – wink, wink”. I’ve had to say I just can’t answer any questions about Indiana Jones – which I feel like is sort of saying that I’m in the film. It’s a lose-lose situation. (Laughs)
Does playing Marion one last time cap anything for you?
More so for Harrison than for me. He’s such a fully developed character and has done all five of these. With Marion, I’ve kind of come and gone. But she will always be a character that moves through life with me.
I don’t know if I really have a sense of it being over. There always was a sense that one more would be done, even if it took 20 years. Now, they’ve been very clear that this is the last one. So it is a letting-go.
New Suvarnabhumi airport terminal on track for September opening
The Airports of Thailand (AoT) will open the new SAT-1 satellite passenger terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport in September.
AoT president Kerati Kijmanawat said the terminal will handle an additional 15 million passengers per year to boost the airport’s total passenger handling capacity to 60 million per year.
The 216,000m² terminal has 28 contact gates and a children’s play area, and is currently waiting for the installation of chairs with USB power sockets.
The airport reported a 230.8% jump in passenger traffic with 31.6 million passengers — 23.46 million international and 8.14 million domestic — from October to May when compared to the same period in the previous year.
The daily average for this year’s tally is about 140,000–150,000, the airport said.
Mr Kerati said the AoT also plans to tackle overcrowding at the airport’s passport control area by installing Auto Channel machines for inbound passengers from Singapore and Hong Kong next year.
In the future, the service will be extended for outbound passengers with e-passports from 90 countries, he said.
Suvarnabhumi Airport will be able to serve up to 8,800 departing passengers per hour, from the current 6,200, and process 13,300 incoming passengers per hour, up from 11,000 at the moment, he said.
The AoT will introduce an Automated Biometric Identification System with facial recognition technology to identify passengers at check-in counters in the middle of next year, he added.
Help was given to blind ex-embassy worker: ministry
The Foreign Affairs Ministry has countered a former embassy worker’s claim she was made blind during her employment and left without adequate assistance.
Kanchana Patarachoke, the ministry’s spokeswoman, responded on Saturday to claims by Rattanaporn Saeng-on, 45, employed as service staff by the Thai embassy in Paris from 2009–2012.
She was rescued by police from a busy traffic intersection on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road trying to get herself hit by a car on Friday.
Ms Rattanaporn said she lost the will to live after she was denied sufficient compensation after permanently losing her eyesight while working with the embassy.
Ms Kanchana said Ms Rattanaporn developed glaucoma, which is a hereditary illness, well before she joined the embassy as temporary staff. Many of her family members have also suffered from the condition.
In 2012, she resigned from the embassy job for health reasons.
In 2018, Ms Rattanaporn contacted the ministry and sought assistance for her illness. The ministry asked the Comptroller General’s Department (CGD) if it was possible to grant her request and the department approved a special financial package worth 196,549 baht.
However, she submitted a request for further financial assistance of 1 million baht which the ministry conveyed to the CGD.
In 2021, Ms Rattanaporn petitioned the ombudsman seeking action against the CGD for failing to offer her the extra assistance.
Last year, the ombudsman dropped the petition, citing a lack of documentary evidence. However, the agency advised the CGD to explore a way to ease Ms Rattanaporn’s grievances.
In March, the CGD announced it was unable to offer any additional assistance as Ms Rattanaporn was no longer employed by the state and had already received compensation. Ms Rattanaporn was also notified.
On Friday, after being rescued from the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road intersection, Ms Rattanaporn said she was desperate for compensation.
She said she worked as temporary staff under a Thai ambassador in Phnom Pehn in 2007, who was later reposted to Paris.
Before she followed the ambassador to work in Paris, she underwent a check-up which gave her a clean bill of health, except for slight short-sightedness and astigmatism. After a year in Paris, she found herself unable to cope with the cold weather which is believed to have contributed to her worsening eye condition.
She informed the ambassador about her illness, who arranged for her to see a local doctor. Due to the language barrier, she was not receiving proper treatment which lead to her permanent blindness, according to Ms Rattanaporn.
She also claimed the ambassador had her sign a document referring her for medical treatment back in Thailand. However, she later realised that what she signed was in fact a resignation letter. “The financial aid I got is nowhere close to what I’ve lost, which is my eyesight,” she said.