Nithinon Srithaniyanan, 25, was arrested at the Thai-Laotian Friendship Bridge checkpoint in Nong Khai’s Muang district at 9am.

Customs officials searched Nithinon and found the tubes containing semen after they have spotted the man crossing the border several times carrying a large bag.

The man admitted that he had carried frozen semen tubes to a clinic in Laos 12 times and to a hospital and a clinic in Cambodia 13 times since last year. Each time he was paid Bt5,000.

Following the arrest, he was interrogated by Nimit Saeng-amphai, customs chief at the checkpoint, and Dr Chatchawal Ritthiti, deputy chief public health officer for Nong Khai.

The man produced doctors’ certificates saying the semen tubes belonged to Chinese and Vietnamese men but the authorities still arrested him for violating the technology-assisted fertilisation act that bans the export of human sperm, eggs and foetuses.

Nimit said customs officials had been monitoring Nithinon after he was spotted carrying a large bag while crossing the border at the Aranyaprathet checkpoint to Cambodia and the Nong Khai checkpoint to Laos.

The arrest was made on a tips-off that Nithinon would cross the border again yesterday morning.

Nithinon said he had hired by a half Thai-Japanese man, identified only as “Yu”.

Nimit said the selling of sperm and eggs or foetus was immoral and it was the first time that such an arrest was made.

Chatchawal said a lab test would later be performed on the seized tubes.

From an initial observation, it was believed that the semen would be used for in vitro fertilisation at a clinic, Chatchawal said. He said Thai doctors might cross the border to perform the fertilisation procedure.

The two bills are required by the new charter, which says they must be enacted and promulgated within four months after the charter has been promulgated. The charter received the royal endorsement on April 6, prompting it to be in effect since.

Below are the essences of the national strategy bill, which would last 20 years.

Key Points in the Creation of a National Strategy Act

The Act has been written as dictated by the Article 65 of the 2017 Constitution.

-The National Strategy Committee must develop and put in place a national strategy, which is a common goal for future governments and government agencies to pursue for at least 20 years.

-The national strategy must consist of at least three components, which are the vision for national development, the specific long-term goal and the success indicators, and strategies.

-The national strategy must be reviewed every five years by the National Strategy Committee, and should be revised corresponding to the changing circumstances.

-All agencies must have annual budgets allocated specially for pursuit of the national strategy and the model schemes it entails.

-The national strategy is a royal command. It binds all government agencies and officials legally.

-Agencies or individuals when fail to serve the national strategy will be held accountable by the National Anti-Corruption Commission. An ultimate penalty is dismissal off the office.

-During the five-year transitional period, the junta-appointed Senate will be responsible in ensuring the government, which is obliged to report the progress to the Senate every quarter, follows the strategy. If the government fails to comply, the Senate must take the case to the Constitutional Court. If the government is ruled as illegally failing to serve its duty, the Senate could report it to the NACC, which must conclude the case in 60 days.

Composition of the National Strategy Committee

The committee is to be composed of 17 permanent members, including the chair people, as following.

Chairperson: Prime Minister

1st Vice Chair: President of the House of Representatives

2nd Vice Chair: President of the Senate

3rd Vice Chair: Deputy Prime Minister or Designated Minister

Ex officio members:

Permanent Secretary of Defence Ministry

Supreme Commander

Army Chief

Navy Chief

Air Force Chief

Police Chief

Secretary General of the National Security Council

President of the National Economic and Social Development Board

President of the National Farmers Council

President of the Thai Chamber

President of the Federation of Thai Industries

President of the Tourism Council

President of the Thai Bankers Association

The Cabinet reserves the authority to appoint the maximum of 14 extra members who are specialists from various areas to help develop the strategy. The 14 additional members serve the term of five years.

Provisional Timetable

-The Cabinet must appoint the additional non-permanent members of upto 14 people within 30 days after the Act comes into effect.

-The National Strategy Committee must set up all the necessary committees to work on strategies of different areas within 30 days.

-All the committees must complete national strategies in all areas within 120 days after taking office.

-The strategy must be submitted to the Cabinet after opinion gathering process.

-The Cabinet must forward it to the National Legislative Assembly in 30 days.

-The NLA must pass it within 30 days before resubmits it to the PM for seeking further royal endorsement.

The national reforms bill, meanwhile, would involve also the set-up of the national reform committee to implement national reform plans, which largely follow the national strategy.

He said that it is not justifiable to say that the plaque belongs to only certain groups including the heirs of members of the People’s Party, known in Thai as Khana Ratsadorn, or the party itself.

The Democrat Party was established 10 years later than the Siamese Revolution, therefore it could not be said that Khana Ratsadorn is a predecessor of the party, which should be responsible for the missing plaque.

“This way of thinking, of finding who actually owns the plaque, Khana Ratsadorn, their heirs, or our party, could be misleading and only causes frustration in the public,” said Abhisit.

He urged people not to politicise the issue.

The disappearance of the plaque ignited a big dispute in Thailand between pro-democracy citizens and the state authority and royalists. The plaque was fixed on the grounds of the Royal Plaza in 1936 on the spot where People’s Party leader Phraya Phahonphonphayuhasena stood to announce the end of absolute monarchy, paving the way for a constitutional monarchy.

While activists wanted the authority to conduct an investigation to find the missing plaque and prosecute those who had replaced it, police and government officials argued that they did not own it, and the plaque had no historic value to necessitate an investigation or prosecution.

The land dispute on the island first began in December 2015, when the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) responded to a complaint alleging the land’s ownership by Thai actor Puri Hiranpruk.

In July last year, the Land Department concluded the case by revoking land documents by Six Mountain Company Ltd, claiming that the NorSor3Kor on the 24 rai of land held by them was illegitimate.

“However, we’ve now received another complaint that plants and trees are being grown on the same land. This is why we came to check the area this time,” said Panumet Dam-orn, head of the ‘Forest Preservation Center Phuket 1 Thalang’.

“We found that about 5 rai of forest land has been cleared and 123 coconut trees have been grown there. Nearby, there are some remnants of some kind of construction that was demolished. A cemented walkway from the beach leading up to the hill was also present,” he added.

The other 19 rai of the disputed land remains untouched natural forest.

“We cannot currently take any action since the area is yet to officially become public land and the owner of the trees during this period can appeal to the administrative court regarding the department’s decision,” Panumet told the Phuket Gazette.

The officers proceeded to simply take pictures of the encroachment for submission to the Royal Forestry Department Director General, and they now await his decision.

There are suspicions that people close to the late monk may have removed his body, but the motive remains unknown.

Meanwhile, disciples continued to visit the temple to pay respect to the highly respected monk, with many expressing hope that his body would be retrieved before the scheduled cremation tomorrow.

A relative of the monk, Ratchanok Chuakhaopim, 41, who had been helping with funeral rites every night since the monk’s passing on January 27, said she was puzzled by what happened because nothing had seemed out of the ordinary at the temple in the past three months.

Although the motive remained unclear, she said she was confident that the disappearance was an “inside job”. She added that she believed the culprits, who could have learned that no one stayed overnight to guard the body, might have removed the body more than a month ago as the pillows in the coffin were covered with frozen dews.

The 79-year-old former abbot’s body was found to be missing on Wednesday when temple staff performed a rite in preparation for a royal-sponsored cremation on Saturday. Staff members opened the coffin and found pillows covered with a monk’s robe in place of Phra Khru Sopon’s body. Staff then alerted police.

The former Phang Khon district chief monk, who was better known as Luang Por Mahayon, passed away from natural causes on January 27 and his body was stored in the refrigerated coffin for Abhidhamma prayer pending the cremation.

No one was known to have opened the coffin since his passing. People could peek into the container, but it would have been impossible to discern that the robe-covered pillows were not the monk’s body.

Angsuna Chanchuapaopan found the lost wallet along with a bank account book at the Sam Sen Post Office after a man sitting next to her got up and left before she could tell him he had forgotten his wallet.

She brought the wallet to police to help locate him, deputy inspector Pol Captian Suthat Kaewsomsri said.

Police traced the wallet’s owner, who was identified as Chonlathit Preechadech, from the bank account book and the man came to collect the wallet at 11.40am and thanked Angsuna.

Education Council secretary-general Kamol Rodklai said Deputy Prime Minister Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong would preside at a press conference at Impact Arena in Muang Thong Thani at which the plan for 2017-2036 will be formally unveiled.

The Cabinet approved the scheme on March 14.

Kamol said its intent is to ensure that all Thais receive an education and to encourage “good-quality life-long learning” in line with the government’s advocacy of a self-sufficiency economy.

Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin will outline the plan for school reform and a strategy to achieve an “innovation-driven economy” under the Thailand 4.0 policy, Kamol said, with the event

“We will allow street stalls, as long as they comply with our regulations on zoning, stall designs, green packaging and hygienic standards,” Second Lieutenant Pornchanok Amphan, a spokeswoman for the Defence Ministry, said at a press conference yesterday.

She said the decision had been made by the country’s fifth reform steering committee.

For example, she said, stalls in the China Town, or Yaowarat, area should be in the style of Chinese pavilions, while stalls on Khao San Road should be designed as Thai pavilions.

Food vendors in the two streets will also be required to receive training to ensure they conduct their businesses appropriately, she said.

Since it came to power, the National Council for Peace and Order has pursued a policy to ban street stalls, describing their presence as a violation of pedestrians’ rights. If authorities get rid of all street stalls in Bangkok, more than 10,000 businesses would be affected.

However, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) denied reports that all street food in Bangkok would be wiped out.

Wanlop Suwandee, chief adviser to the Bangkok governor, said that the earlier report that the BMA would remove all street-food vendors was incorrect.

Wanlop said that the BMA did not intend to get rid of all street food and the statement was just a misunderstanding.

“We just intend to regulate the footpaths in Yaowarat and Khao San Road. We don’t at all intend to clear all street stalls,” Wanlop said. He added that the BMA would today hold a press conference to clarify the matter at Bangkok City Hall.

The Nation reported this week that Yaowarat and Khao San Road would be the next targets for the pavement management operation and that street vendors would be cleared from the area.

Street vendors have always been a debated topic in Thai society. While many believe the stalls make cheap food and products easily available, others find street stalls an inconvenience and even a threat to their safety.

“When street stalls crowded the footpaths between Pratunam area and CentralWorld in the past, I had to walk on the street and risked my life,” a Bangkok resident said.