Justice Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said Wednesday that the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) would continue pursuing cases against Phra Dhammachayo, who is wanted for money laundering and accepting stolen assets.

He said several legal cases against the temple, its supporters and people close to the fugitive monk also would not be affected by the lifting of the order issued under Article 44 of the interim charter.

Legal cases against people who had allegedly violated the order while it was in effect would remain despite the lifting of the order, the justice minister added.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) announced the order would be lifted in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday.

The DSI yesterday withdrew its personnel from the controlled area, the agency’s deputy director general Korrawat Panprapakorn said. He said military personnel would remain stationed outside the temple to maintain security.

Lt Col Seksan Komsakorn of Patong Police notified Phuket Gazette reporters that three main checkpoints for the Patong area have been set up – at Patong Hill, on Soi Bangla, and on the road out of Patong and into Karon.

“We have organized police patrols for day and night shifts to accommodate tourists during this festival. Be warned, sexual harassment will be strictly prosecuted,” he added.

Water gun vendors, however, complained to local media that it feels less crowded now than it has been in previous years.

“I sold [lots of] guns every year, but it seems there are fewer customers this time. We’re hoping that more people will come out in the evening. Until then, we are making good money by selling cold water to tourists,” one vendor told the Gazette.

Vendors are selling the water guns at a 100-800 baht, depending on size and functionality.

Police were told that Pasit “Shogun” Arinchayapit, whose whereabouts are unknown, told her potential clients that she could bring them to meet palace figures and somebody from the Palace to preside over the opening ceremony of her company.

“I assign the Technology Crime Suppression Division police to gather information to check whether this is true and has enough weight for us to charge her with a lese majeste lawsuit,” he said.

Pasit Arinchalapit’s mother and four other relatives, all of whom were unidentified, were apprehended at a department store in the southern province of Ranong on Wednesday.

Pasit, who is nicknamed “Shogun”, is wanted for allegedly running a scam luring people to pay about Bt10,000 to her company; Wealth Ever for a bogus trip to Japan during the Songkran holiday. The price of the nonexistent tour is considerably lower than that of other companies.

However, when customers showed up at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday, they were told by airlines that chartered flights had not been booked for the trip. No one from the company came to the airport, leaving thousands of tourists stranded.

The Tourism Ministry and police have provided assistance to the victims.

Pasit’s firm is reportedly registered as selling dietary supplements. Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanawarangkul said she could face legal action for operating a tourism business without a permit, which carries penalties of two years in jail, a fine of not more than Bt50,000 or both.

Captain Chonlathai Rattanaruang, commander of the Chiang Rai-based Navy patrol unit on the Mekong River, said the two unidentified men were caught driving the truck on to a boat at 3.30am 400 metres away from the Chiang Saen District Office.

As officers inspected the truck, the two men reportedly confessed to trying to export the truck to Laos without legal papers. They were arrested and the truck impounded as police investigated whether the truck was stolen.

Traffic jams occurred at various sections including at an intersection leading into Khao Yai in Tambon Nong Nam Daeng in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district.

Authorities have imposed strict traffic regulations, including a requirement for all passengers in public transport vans and buses as well as those in the front seats of cars and trucks to wear seat belts, to boost road safety during the Songkran holiday, which is notorious for road carnage.