THAI POLICE have contacted their Malaysian counterparts, requesting permission to interrogate a Malaysian drug suspect to probe his possible link to Xaysana Keopimpha’s alleged drug network.

Kamarudin bin Awang was arrested in Malaysia’s Kelantan State on Monday, weeks after Thai police had nabbed Xaysana – a high-profile Laotian – at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

“We have already contacted Malaysian police,” Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) chief Pol Lt-General Sommai Kongwisaisuk said yesterday.

He described Kamarudin as a man who had allegedly facilitated drug flows from Thailand’s North to Malaysia for years.

“I’ve heard that at the time of his arrest, more than Bt30 million cash was found, hidden in PVC pipes,” he added.

Sommai said there were grounds to believe both Kamarudin and Xaysana might have been drug lords.

NSB deputy chief Pol Maj-General Pornchai Charoenwong said his agency was now busy listing assets linked to Xaysana.

“We expect to complete the list by February 10,” he said.

He added that relevant authorities would then discuss financial probes next week.

Xaysana – who had long portrayed himself as a rich and well-connected man from Laos – is reported to have owned hundreds of super-cars.

Akarakit “Benz Racing” Woraroj-charoendet, a famous motorcycle racer, became the first Thai celebrity to be |linked to Xaysana because of a Lamborghini Gallardo SuperLeggera that he flaunted.

Akarakit often posed for photos with the luxury car. He claimed he owned it but Nattapon Nakkam, who was arrested earlier this month for allegedly facilitating Xaysana’s drug trade in Thailand, has told police he bought the vehicle in Akarakit’s name.

Police have suggested the possibility that many prominent Thai figures assisted Xaysana with money laundering and asset concealment.

According to Sommai, at least three super-cars linked to Akarakit and Nattapon are now in police custody pending further investigation. Each of them is worth about Bt20 million.

Pol Maj-General Chatree Paisansilp, a deputy chief of the NSB, said Akarakit would be summoned for questioning again next week.

“He’s now a suspect,” Chatree said.

Last Friday, Akarakit turned himself in to the NSB, claiming he did not know Xaysana and had simply borrowed Bt6 million from Nattapon to buy the Lamborghini.

At this point, police do not think Akarakit has sufficient evidence to support his claim.

Nattawat Huangmanee – the owner of the Buono Auto Clinic where the Lamborghini was sold – told police yesterday that the super-car initially belonged to a financial institution.

He declined to answer a media question as to whether he knew Akarakit and Nattapon.

Sommai disclosed that the ongoing investigation had already expanded to about 20 luxury cars on the Lao side as well.

“We have already requested information on these vehicles from Laos, as we suspect that they might have been linked to Xaysana,” he said.

Thai authorities have firmly dismissed rumours that Laos had demanded the release of Xaysana.

Deputy national police Commissioner Pol General Rungroj Sangkram, meanwhile, said a fact-finding committee was trying to gather evidence on the allegation that Pol Captain Pattarapon Thuaythong, a deputy inspector at Suvarnabhumi Airport’s checkpoint, had special ties with Xaysana.

“We will announce the probe results to the public, too,” Rungroj said.

An informed source said that Pattarapon always greeted Xaysana at the airport and kept a car key for the Laotian.

“If he is found guilty, he will face both disciplinary and criminal action,” Rungroj said.

A TOYOTA pickup truck, allegedly driven by former teacher Jomsap Saenmuangkhot in a 2005 fatal hit-and-run incident, was the focus of evidence at witness hearing sessions in a retrial that began yesterday at Nakhon Phanom Court.

New evidence included a truck inspection report by Totoya Motor Co, which confirmed that the truck was not involved in the crash, said Mongkolkit Suksintharanon, vice chairman of the centre taking complaints regarding cases allegedly involving scapegoats.

The centre was recently established by the Anti-Corruption Network Foundation.

The plaintiff intends to call nine witnesses. In addition to Jomsap, they include Prapat Saenmuangkhot who allegedly bought her truck on the day of the crash and collected it the next day and Thaksin Saisida, whose barbed-wire fence was hit by Jomsap’s truck prior to the truck being sold.

A Justice Ministry official who led the fact-checking team for Jomsap’s retrial also gave evidence, as well as an expert from King Mongkut University of Technology Thonburi who testified about the licence plate on Jomsap’s truck.

Sriprai Thongpol, an expert from Toyota Motor Co Ltd, is scheduled to testify about the results of a probe of the truck’s front section, Land Transport Department official Decha Nuchanart will give evidence about the truck’s licence plate, and two eyewitnesses, Thassanee Hanpayak and Thongres Wongsricha, who claim a man was driving the pickup truck with a licence plate “Bor Khor 56” are also scheduled to appear in court.

While the prosecutor objected to old evidence, including the truck that had been inspected in 2005, the plaintiff argued that the recent inspection by Jomsap’s camp was done using new technology that would clarify what had happened over a decade ago.

Jomsap’s pickup truck was brought to the court building yesterday for the judge’s inspection, although he declined citing lack of expertise.

In her bid for a retrial, Jomsap testified that she wanted to prove she wasn’t involved in the fatal crash. She said her truck had a scratch on the left side after ramming into a barbed-wire fence and the truck was not repainted to conceal any crime.

Prapat said he picked up the truck the next morning and he did not notice any damage. He said he had not done any repairs to the truck since the 2005 purchase, except for a headlight change in January.

The sessions today and tomorrow will present the prosecution witnesses.

Jomsap was sentenced to three years and two months in jail for the death of Lua Phorbumrung in the hit-and-run incident. She served 18 months before being released by royal pardon in 2015.

Sap Wapi, who has confessed to driving the pickup truck involved in the incident, showed up at the courtroom for 10 minutes in the afternoon. He left in a car belonging to the Department of Special Investigation.

Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Pol Colonel Dusadee Arayawuth said earlier yesterday that Sap’s removal from the witness list was to avoid confusion, as the focus would be on the truck.

Dusadee said that Sap was not involved in the retrial case so it was pointless to prove whether or not he was the real driver who killed Lua.

Dusadee said that if Jomsap was exonerated, the next step would be for police to find the real driver in the 2005 crash before its statute of limitation expired.

As Jomsap showed up at the court yesterday morning, many supporters waited outside to give her encouragement, including People’s Network Against Corruption president Somkid Homnet who offered her flowers.

Somkid said his group also petitioned the Education Ministry to reinstate Jomsap as a public schoolteacher during the retrial and also urged the National Legislative Assembly to set up a standing committee to inspect the whole Thai justice procedure, especially the police, prosecutors and attorneys and courts.

The government has strongly dismissed the perception that it is in a financially troubled situation, explaining that it was revamping the country’s budgetary system. It assured people that the existing reserves were appropriate, as the country did not need to borrow, which in turn would lead to an interest burden. The reserves have been spent stimulating the economy and, more importantly, for implementing national reforms, the government said.

What actually are the treasury reserves? According to the Treasury Reserve Act of 1948, it refers to all money earned by the government through taxes, fees, fines, loans and other forms of revenue. The Kasikorn Thai Research Centre defines it as “cash or its substitutes available for government use for implementing state work”. This refers to revenue that is a surplus from the money allocated for government spending at a certain period of time.

Banyong Pongpanit, a banker who once worked for a “Super Board” set up by the post-coup government, likened the treasury reserves to current accounts, which for him “mainly involves cash management and does not reveal much about the government’s financial status”.

During the country’s crippling financial crisis in 1997, some experts said the treasury reserves were like the change you have in your pocket. “The more a country has it, the more credibility that country gains,” the experts concluded. This is comparable to when we have money left in our pocket. We are regarded as credible when we want to borrow, as our creditor is assured that we can repay the debt. But if we do not have money left in our pocket, we will have less credibility, as people are unsure if we can pay back in the future.

This is also the case for treasury reserves, which are money that is to be used in times of emergency.

Looking back at recent fiscal years, we find that this year’s treasury reserves in the first quarter (October to December) are worryingly low. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, the treasury reserves stood at Bt386.4 billion, compared to Bt179.3 billion in 2015, Bt324.7 billion in 2014, Bt259.1 billion in 2013, Bt264.6 billion in 2012 and Bt313.4 billion in 2011.

There is nothing wrong with spending money in the treasury reserves. Money is saved for the purpose of being spent. However, there must be sufficient reasons and good causes for the spending. The government explained that the money was spent with the goal of stimulating the economy by encouraging public spending and investment.

The question is whether the goal has been achieved. If the economy is really stimulated, the money spent by the government must have been returned in the form of taxes and other revenues to the state. If that is the case, the treasury reserve will increase as a result. However, if the reserve was spent on something that is not beneficial to the country or fails to achieve the goal of stimulating the economy, the outcome will be opposite to what is desired. More and more money from the reserve will be drawn and it will be depleted some day.

The disappointing investments from local and foreign businesses are indicative of the government spending.

The reserve must be spent on appropriate projects in order to avoid wasting the taxpayer’s money.

This issue may not seem relevant to many people as these people are too busy making ends meet in the face of a weak economy. Their main goal is to survive the hardship they experience on a daily basis. And the hope of getting help from the government seems to be diminishing more and more.

The Mekong runs through six countries in the region and it is not right that one or two be allowed to make a short-sighted decision on what to do with the river. It still remains unclear about who will really benefit from what Prayut is talking about.

China uses the Mekong more than other countries in the basin, and the river also runs through several parts of Laos. Therefore, it is not really up to Thailand to make decisions about the river.

It is widely known that China opened the waterway in the Mekong River to countries downstream more than two decades ago. Thailand’s Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong ports have been kept busy with vessels from China. Thailand, of course, does ship to China via the Mekong, but China uses the waterway more. China has been clearing the Golden Triangle stretch for more than 10 years, making navigation safe and convenient from Simao port in Yunnan province to Thailand. Vessels below 50 tonnes can now travel down the Mekong without any hindrance as all rocks and islands in the river have been moved.

However, this is not enough for China to achieve its goal of allowing bigger vessels to travel down the river to at least Luang Prabang in Laos. In order to do that, China will have to clear more stretches of the river from Laos’ Huay Xay to Luang Prabang. The river has banks in both Thailand and Laos in some parts.

There are many rapids and dangerous areas in this portion of the river, and many boats have reportedly perished in this area.

Though navigation in the river needs to be safe, clearing this portion for convenient and safe navigation would be a huge challenge.

Local residents and conservationists are urging the government to review its decision, as blasting rocks and islands to clear the waterway would affect livelihoods and the environment.

Countries in the upper Mekong, namely China, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, sat down to discuss the matter and ended up with a Development Plan for International Navigation on the Lancang-Mekong River (2015-2025).

The Mekong, half of which runs through the mainland, is called Langcang in China. Made known to the public a year ago, the plan, regulated by a Joint Committee on Coordination of Commercial Navigation (JCCCN) comprising representatives from the four countries, includes the clearing of the Mekong River for navigation.

There is already an international regulating body, known as the Mekong River Commission (MRC) that was formed under the 1995 Mekong Agreement, except it only covers the lower portion of the river, which runs through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

“However, if rocks are blasted in the river in MRC member countries – Thailand and Laos in this case, it should be subject to notifications,” Pham Tuan Phan, CEO of the MRC Secretariat, said.

“Notification” is the procedure by which MRC countries inform each other when they utilise the river and the water. Phan said the MRC had made a substantial effort in developing a so-called Navigation Master Plan. The development has carefully considered agreements on Mekong, including the Plan for International Navigation on the Lancang-Mekong, to avoid conflicts in technical standards and requirements, he said.

“The MRC aims to keep all stakeholders and its member countries informed. We also hope to get informed about activities under the JCCCN,” Phan said in an e-mail reply to The Nation.

The JCCCN needs to do more not just with the MRC but also with others stakeholders such as civic groups and local residents in the basin. Riparian governments should be more open to public opinion about whether the project will have economic benefits and less impact on the environment.

“We are in the process of gathering evidence,” Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) chief Pol Lt-General Sommai Kongwisaisuk said yesterday. “Each of these vehicles is worth more than Bt20 million.”

Police have already taken custody of a Lamborghini Gallardo SuperLeggera, which the famous motorcycle racer Akarakit “Benz Racing” Worarojcharoendet claimed belonged to him.

Pol Maj-General Chatree Paisansilp, a deputy chief of the NSB, said Akarakit’s information contradicted the statement of Nattapon Nakkam, who was arrested earlier this month for allegedly facilitating a drug-trafficking ring connected to high-profile Lao man Xaysana Keopimpha.

“Nattapon has told police that the car belongs to him. He has just used Akarakit’s name to buy it,” Chatree said.

Police suspect that Xaysana, a Lao man who reportedly owns many luxury vehicles, ran a large-scale drugs trafficking network but sought to portray himself as a rich and well-connected man.

Akarakit has so far claimed he borrowed Bt6 million from Nattapon to pay for the vehicle.

The motorcycle racer is not the only prominent figure that has been pulled into the Xaysana scandal after Pai Leeke – the high-profile son of a former politician – also had to report to the NSB yesterday in connection with the same Lamborghini.

Pai, who is also known as “Pai One Point”, told police that he did not know Nattapon or Akarakit personally.

“It’s just that a friend asked me to help to find the type of car they were looking for. I am an expert in the supercar field,” Pai said.

He said he met Nattapon on the day the car was purchased for Bt14 million through a payment plan, with the down payment being between Bt5 million and Bt6 million.

“I didn’t see Akarakit,” Pai said.

Chatree said police would probably summon Akarakit for questioning again this month because he had not yet provided clear evidence regarding his finances.

As the investigation expanded, Sommai said yesterday that Xaysana’s network could also have exported illicit drugs to various countries including Malaysia, Australia, Britain and the United States.

However, Sommai declined to comment on whether the network had played a role in the violence in Thailand’s deep South.

“Security agencies will take care of that matter,” he said.

Police have said Xaysana has extensive connections in Thailand and at least two immigration policemen are facing investigations for allegedly having links to him.

One of the officers, Pol Captain Pattarapon Thuaythong, a deputy inspector at Suvarnabhumi Airport, has been accused of treating |Xaysana as a VIP whenever he |had arrived at the airport.

“He kept car keys for Xaysana and allowed his cars to park at the airport,” a source said.

Pattarapon told his supervisor that he had provided services to Xaysana at the airport because his friend had described the Lao man as a VIP, according to the source.

“He claims he didn’t know Xaysana was an alleged drug kingpin,” he said.

The other immigration police officer in trouble is Pol Lieutenant Walaisak Intarak, based in Loei province, who has appeared in a photo alongside Xaysana.

A source said Xaysana’s passport showed he had travelled in and out of Thailand more than 70 times during the past four years.

“Most of the time, he left Thailand via a checkpoint in Loei,” the source said.

Both Walaisak and Pattarapon have been transferred out of their posts pending the results of the investigations.

SUPERCAR CONFUSION

Who really owns the Lamborghini Gallardo SuperLeggera?

lAlleged Lao drug lord Xaysana Keopimpha.

lDrug suspect Nattapon Nakkam, who claimed to be the real owner but said he used another person’s name on the supercar registration.

lMotorcycle racer Akarakit “Benz Racing” Worarojcharoendet, who claimed to be the owner but said he borrowed Bt6 million from Nattapon for the downpayment.

lPai “Pai One Point” Leeke, the son of a former politician, who claimed he did not know Nattapon and Akarakit personally, but said he took Nattapon to buy the supercar from Buono Auto Clinic in Bangkok’s Rama III area.

lThe owner of the Buono Auto Clinic has not yet testified to police.

lLamphun resident Thanyarat Weeradech, who owns a Volkswagen with the licence plate “Kor Jor 51 Bangkok”, according to the Land Transport Department. The same licence plate number is on the Lamborghini Gallardo.