The development follows the latest DNA cross-checks with the state elephant DNA bank.

The department inisisted the checks were conducted based on scientific procedures amid arguement raised by elephant owners.

The taskforce, known as “Phaya Suea” (“Tiger King”), inspected the animal show, Hua Hin Tique, in Prachuap Khiri Khan and found irregularities in the identification documents of two domesticated male elephants, TG and Koh Phaya Petch.

The taskforce confiscated the two elephants and confined them at the zoo pending a further investigation.

In September, a further check of the elephants’ ID documents found that they were re-registered in Kanchanaburi’s Sai Yok district on June 30 without authorities being formed. Corrections had also been made to the elephants’ markings in the documents, according to the taskforce.

Phaya Suea went back to the animal show in early December and learned the elephants had been relocated to the Royal Kraal in Ayutthaya province without informing it. The Prachuap Khiri Khan provincial livestock office was informed instead.

The taskforce met with the kraal’s owners to negotiate a settlement for the problem, and it decided to organise as fresh round of DNA checks and verification using the elephant DNA gene bank.

Chaiwat Limlikhit-aksorn, Phaya Suea’s chief, said that based on the fresh round of DNA checks, conducted between September and December, it was confirmed that TG was the same elephant taken from the animal show to the kraal.

To check whether it was the offspring of domesticated elephants, the taskforce cross-checked its DNA with that of its “mother’, Namwan, and DNA collected from the elephant DNA bank.

Chaiwat said the result of the cross-check with the gene bank showed the animals were not related, leading the taskforce to suspect that there were irregularities in TG and the female elephant’s origins.

When it checked TG’s DNA with the DNA of his “father”, Nga Thong, it also showed that they were not related.

For the other male elephant Koh Phaya Petch, Chaiwat said the DNA checks confirmed that it was the elephant relocated from the animal show to the kraal.

However, he said the DNA cross-check with the gene back showed it was a different Koh Phaya Petch, prompting the team to suspect irregularities in the documenting of the elephant’s origins and its registration. It suspected that there were two elephants registered under the same name and papers.

Chaiwat said when Koh Phaya Petch’s DNA was compared with his “father”, Wang, it was found they were not related although the animal was a genetic match with its documented mother, Pooky.

“We have learned of some irregularities in the DNA results and agreed to proceed further with legal proceedings,” Chaiwat said.

He said the taskforce would examine all related documents and interview witnesses in connection with the DNA gene bank. It would also extend its check into the ID documents of Namwan and Pooky.

TG, Koh Phaya Petch and Namwan will be seized pending further investigations and legal proceedings, he said.

“We have been working without any bias, but followed up what was exposed last year,” he said.

The taskforce has expanded it investigation into irregular elephant registrations and the verification of domesticated elephants in response to the possible smuggling of illegal wild elephants out of the country’s prime pristine forests.

Early this year, it uncovered a graveyard for dead animals in a temple near another elephant show venue, leading to fresh suspicions wild elephants were registered under the names of dead elephants.

His only son Varawut, a former MP for the Chart Thai Pattana Party, has confirmed he will contest the next election.

“I’m waiting for the school [the election] to open and I will become a voice of the people and contribute to the country,” Varawut said in an interview yesterday on Facebook Live with Suthichai Yoon, a digital journalist at Nation Multimedia Group.

Varawut said it was his responsibility to take care of the people of Suphan Buri, the home province and political stronghold of Silpa-archa.

“As my dad’s heir, I’m determined to devote my work for Suphan Buri people like my dad did. I won’t let people say that the legacy was built by the dad but ruined by the son,” he said.

However, he ruled out him becoming party leader. He said the leader should be a person with charisma and potential. The current party leader is Theera Wongsamut.

When asked if he feared failing in politics given his father’s many achievements during his political career, Varawut said he would fight till he died on the political battlefield and never surrender.

He said the legacy his father gave was courage.

Banharn died from asthma on April 23, 2016 at the age of 83. His party faced an uncertain future following his passing.

For decades, Banharn contributed massively to Saphan Buri, a central province, including during the heyday of his career |that led to his premiership in 1995.

Varawut said his father, well known for having run his political party and government as a “long joo” or “big boss” in a Chinese family business, could not be cloned.

To perform and achieve like him, you would need to employ 10 people to do what he did on his own, Varawut said, adding that Banharn did not expect any one individual to carry on his legacy.

In regard to the junta’s attempt to bring about reconciliation in the country, Varawut said he did not want the nation to rush to having a general election if it resulted in another coup.

“We, politicians, want the country to return to democracy at the soonest but it’s useless if a rushed one [election] means going back to square one,” |he said.

First, it was the appointment of new Pattaya mayor Pol Maj-General Anan Charoenchasri.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in his capacity as head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), invoked his absolute power under the interim charter’s Article 44 to appoint Anan.

The order, with immediate effect, was published in the Royal Gazette on February 16.

The term of the previous mayor, Ittipol Khunpluem, expired last June and a permanent secretary of the city had been serving as acting mayor, because NCPO orders prohibited a new election being held.

Anan told reporters that his main missions were to ensure there were no water and power shortages while also ensuring the city’s roads were in good condition and its civil servants were “happy”.

Anan is a former deputy chief of the Police Investigation Division 2, where he oversaw the eight eastern provinces. He previously served as Pattaya’s interim second deputy mayor in a council appointed by the Interior Ministry in 2016.

The government sent Pracha Terat, the Interior Ministry’s chief inspector general, to help Anan by appointing him chief adviser to the mayor.

The second news piece, which was bigger than the first one, was a report in the UK’s Mirror newspaper calling Pattaya “the sex capital of the world” and “sin city”.

Published on the same day Pattaya got its new mayor, the so-called “gutter press” claimed Pattaya was home to as many as 27,000 prostitutes, or one in five of the destination’s entire female population.

“Good guys go to heaven, bad guys go to Pattaya” read the popular slogan on T-shirts flogged to tourists, the article said.

Certainly, the article upset Thai authorities especially Prayut.

“You are Thai media. Will you believe [the UK media]? Police did arrest [the prostitutes]. I will ask police to crack down [on the sex trade] and see who will get into trouble,” the premier said angrily when reporters asked him how the government planned to tackle the sex trade issue after a Cabinet meeting last Tuesday.

“I don’t promote the sex trade. We follow the laws,” he said.

“Instead of pushing pressure on us [the government], you should help to explain for the country. I don’t understand why you have such an idea.”

The public may wonder why the premier got angry but Pattaya’s reputation as a sex industry hub should not surprise anyone.

Pattaya’s standing as a tourist destination is derived in part to its sex industry and nightlife, and this notoriety has influenced the city’s evolution in many ways.

Prostitution in Thailand is technically illegal but tolerated in most cities, including Pattaya. The city’s vast numbers of bars, massage parlours, saunas and hourly hotels serve foreign tourists and locals.

“So Pattaya is the sex capital of the world … Tell us something we don’t know” was a general theme among Thais responding to the UK article via online forum Thaivisa. In response to the matter, it seems Thais generally shrugged their shoulders and said “so what?”

While many accept that the image of the resort city is hardly angelic, they also said that it is not the only place in Thailand where you can buy sex. Or for that matter, not the only place in the world.

Following Anan’s appointment and the controversial article, Prayut might convince the public that he is serious about cracking down on illegal actions, including the sex trade, and cleaning up the city’s bad image.

Thai authorities showed much enthusiasm in countering the UK article.

Pongpanu Svettarundra, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, spent last Friday night walking from South Pattaya Beach to the city’s famous Walking Street nightlife precinct with concerned officials.

After the tour, he said Pattaya now had a healthy tourism industry.

“Pattaya’s reputation and image has improved … Everything is now in order. The city has not only entertainment or nightlife businesses but also sport competition events and more modern transportation,” he said.

The tourism industry in Pattaya generated up to Bt100 billion revenue a year, he said.

Pattaya and tourist police on Wednesday launched a publicity campaign to improve the resort’s image.

Despite admitting the sex trade exists in the city, high-ranking police from Chon Buri and Pattaya denied it is the world’s sex capital. They said recent conflicts among foreign businessmen could result in information being distorted to destroy Pattaya’s reputation.

Sadly, the attention authorities are paying to the issue will soon fade away. And although many people realise the problem as stated by the UK tabloid exists, authorities will pretend it does not and will turn a blind eye to it.

Wong said that previously bilateral ties were very good, and nationals did not need a visa when travelling to each other’s country. But relations between the countries would never be the same after the North Korean’s death, he added.

Kim, a half-brother of President Kim Jong-un, is believed to have been killed by North Korean agents using VX, a lethal nerve-agent poison.

In a Facebook Live interview by The Nation’s digital journalist Suthichai Yoon yesterday, Wong said Malaysian authorities should hand over Kim’s body to his next of kin, and not the Pyongyang government, regardless of Kim being a half-brother of the president and a national of that country.

City police chief Lt-General Sanit Mahathaworn said police objected to bail for the five dismissed officers from Bovornmongkol Police Station – Captain Supat Prajonghat, 28, Captain Nitithorn Polboon, 39, Sgt-Major Parinya Jithan, 50, Staff Sergeant Phunat Netsawang, 33, and Lance Corporal Reungyos Sanboonrua, 27.

He said bail was opposed because of the possible long jail sentences facing the officers, their state official status and the risk of them tempering with evidence and threatening witnesses.

Another accused police officer, Lieutenant Weerapol Khamdee, 42, has yet to be detained.

Besides the charge of possessing illicit drugs, Sanit said the six officers would face two more criminal charges relating to officials wrongfully demanding or accepting any benefits for exercising or not exercising their duties, and officials wrongfully exercising or not exercising their duties to the injury of any person.

Yochai Saekow and Supakit Cheunchomchit – the two drug suspects arrested in a Bangkok sting operation that resulted in the seizure of 1,400 “yaba” pills and 100 grams of crystal meth or “ice” and who alleged that Supat was their supplier – were also brought to court yesterday where they were held under a detention order.

Supat was arrested at the Bovornmongkol precinct last Thursday.

Police allegedly found 13,000 yaba pills, 100 grams of “ice” and ketamine in a backpack in his office.

In response, Sanit ordered all Bangkok police stations to search their lockers and cabinets in search of illegal items, a police source said.

This case led to Friday’s transfer of superintendent Pol Colonel Wiradol Tabtimdee and inspector Pol Lt-Colonel Suparap Phetcharat to inactive posts for 30 days to ensure effective inquiries into their subordinates.

In Ban Mai Samrong School in Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, students from Grade 1 to 9 are taught farming skills and assume responsibility at a young age.

“A programme in raising chickens for eggs and other food production now includes having students participate in trading goods they produce at the school to the villagers,” says teacher Chaochavan Chanla as he helps boys and girls set up stalls to offer eggs, vegetables and fruits in the schoolyard.

“This is part of an integrated programme by the Ministry of Education and local food giant CPF to honour HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Sufficiency Economy teachings,” he says.

The market provides first-hand experience for children to develop a service-oriented mind and allows them to cultivate customer relations, which is often absent in today’s industries, teachers here note.

They apply honesty and courtesy, paying keen attention to the needs of their buyers – vital human touches that city youngsters lose by being too preoccupied with smartphones.

“When children start to develop cognitive skills, they will be more successful in later life, having the abilities to relate to other people around them. They will be much better adjusted,” Chaochavan says.

He notices how quickly one of the boys responds when a housewife finds they have run out of eggs.

“I shall get a tray for you this afternoon when you come by,” the boy tells the woman, who is pleased the eggs will be promptly reserved and ready for delivery soon.

“There’s no need for apps, Internet or Thailand 4.0 policy. Also no need for drone delivery,” says another teacher.

The school has 193 students. They run a pen with 200 chickens that lay eggs daily.

Students consume the eggs three times a week as part of their school lunch to boost protein intake, which prevents stunted growth and poor mental development.

“The remaining eggs are sold to the community. The children learn that healthy fresh eggs fetch higher prices. The eggs you buy at supermarkets are often pre-frozen and can be a month old,” says Chaochavan, who is from Loei province.

“This is the third year of the project and the children have learned a lot. They now realise it is very important to work diligently to care for the hens. A sick bird will produce sickly eggs, usually shown by a pale coloured shell as opposed to a tanned, shiny look.

“The pen has to be stocked with food and water. Water is most important. Hens can survive without food for a while but not water.

“In the first year, a quarter of the hens died from changes in temperature. Violent climate swings are the biggest killer.

“Another killer is loud noise, which creates stress that kills chickens easily, so the pen needs to be placed in a quiet area.

“Children also learn not to enter the pen if they are sick or have open wounds. Human infections can be lethal to hens.”

Modern technology is used in farming but not the digital approach of “disruption” where eating other people’s lunch is seen to be a good thing and undercutting the competition is allowed.

Depriving people of jobs is also not part of the make-up in this programme where the late King’s sufficiency economy stresses the need to have a moral compass in life.

For the past six months, the school has earned about Bt120,000 from the sale of eggs.

After paying for animal feed and other expenses, the net profit is about Bt50,000. The kids learn to put money in a bank account to be later used as cash flow and capital for investments,” says Chaochavan

Introducing students to commerce allows them to develop an appreciation for business and the deployment of money while saving for retirement.

This is all in line with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s move to get farmers not to become overly dependent on state handouts and enable them to stand on their own feet.

The school is among the best-performing more than 70 learning institutions participating in the programme set up in 2015 to celebrate the Princess’s 60th birthday. It is also seen as a deterrent for urban migration as provincial youth can obtain income by working in the countryside.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday mentioned a plan to set up an executive committee to conduct environmental assessments at the strategic level in the future.

Prayut did not explicitly reference SEAs but the inference was clear that such assessments would be introduced in the near future.

He said such studies would enable policymakers to better plan strategy for natural resources, both at the agricultural and industrial levels, while Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) would be conducted at the project level.

However, the public knows relatively little about the process compared to the frequently referenced EIA process, leading to questions on how SEAs differ from other assessments.

Independent researcher Somnuek Jongmeewasin, an expert on city planning, said the main purpose of SEAs was to study the potential of each area and the most appropriate development.

“The SEA is an in-depth study to evaluate natural resources, environment, society and the economy of an area, which will give us an understanding of the area and its potential for development in the future. With a proper SEA study, we can draft the right strategic plans, which suit the environment and the local people’s demands the most,” Somnuek said.

He gave the example of a Krabi coal-fired power plant, arguing that if the government had conducted an SEA, such a controversial project would not have been initiated in the first place.

Resources in the area would have been closely studied, as well as the local people’s traditional fisheries and income from tourism, he added.

Projects with many impacts such as a coal-fired power plant would not have been chosen for such a site, he said.

However, Somnuek said Thailand did not have SEA procedures written into the law and such studies were voluntary and lacking official regulation.

“Academics and NGOs have tried to push forward a new Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality bill, which involves the principle of SEAs, but so far our effort have failed,” Somnuek said.

Natural Resources and Environment Ministry permanent secretary Wijarn Simachaya said the ministry had a first meeting on Tuesday to consider the inclusion of SEAs in official procedures before drafting national strategic plans.

“We are drafting our principles of SEAs based on the lessons from other countries. Currently, we already have SEA guidelines for the Office for the Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, but we will make them better and more up to date,” Wijarn said.

“In the first stage, SEAs will still not be included in the law, but will be governed by regulations of the Office of the Prime Minister.”

Foundation for Ecological Recovery director Srisuwan Kuankachorn said that even though SEAs were very good tools to optimise development plans for an area, the process itself could be a problem if it is biased.

“We have lessons from many cases where EIA studies have become a problem because the project owner hires a consultant company to conduct an EIA study to the company’s benefit. They will do anything to make the EIA study receive approval,” Srisuwan said.

“One of the clearest examples is the Krabi coal-fired power plant EHIA [Environmental and Health Impact Assessment] study, as it did not include many essential issues such as the rich biodiversity of the project area or the impact on tourism in the province.”

He said similar problems could occur with SEA studies, so authorities had to make sure that neutral parties conducted the studies and did not benefit from development projects.

Somnuek also said that the ethics of the SEA researchers were very important, adding that proper SEA studies could lead to appropriate strategic plans for the country, enabling Thailand to achieve sustainable development goals.