Rapeerorn Nasaarn will be accompanied by the medics and is due to arrive in Bangkok today, her mother Bangorn said. She will be taken to Rajavithi Hospital for further treatment.

Rapeeporn fell ill during her trip in Seoul and her family in Thailand called for help from government authorities. Donations poured in to help cover her medical expenses, which are said to be more than Bt1 million.

Bangorn said she was told that her daughter had regained consciousness but could not speak because of breathing tubes.

She did not know for sure what the total medical bill would be, saying Thai Embassy in South Korea would advance the sum.

The letter signed by deputy chief Pol Maj-General Jirapat Phumjit confirms that officers will be lenient in enforcing new government restrictions on vehicle use from April 11-17.

But police will enforce other planned safety measures, including the arrest or fining of drivers and front-seat passengers who fail to wear seatbelts, and will issue warnings to rear-seat passengers not wearing seatbelt. Police will overlook passengers riding in the extended cab space of two-door pickups and allow up to six passengers in the cargo bed as long as they’re not sitting atop the side panels or on the tailgate.

Operators of public transport vehicles including vans, taxis and inter-province buses will be arrested and fined if any passengers are found not wearing seatbelts, the letter said.

Region 4’s forward command said there were 12 attacks in Pattani, seven in Yala, nine in Narathiwat and three in Songkhla.

Pattani was hardest hit, the actions causing electrical blackouts in several parts of the province. Officials said four insurgents riding two motorcycles planted a bomb in front of Ban Pareh School in Mueang district and detonated it soon after, while a second, unexploded bomb was found later.

Militants also detonated three bombs and set tyres aflame in front of a college in Nong Chik district and burned tyres and used explosives to damage utility poles in various locations in Yaran and Yarang districts.

In Yala, three power poles were damaged with homemade bombs, in the village of Joh Bantang and in Bannang Sata district. A power transformer in front of the Bannang Sata tambon office was torched and tyres and a power pole were set alight in three villages in Thanto district.

In Pattani, forward command said, there were two bomb attacks in Sungai Kolo district, three in Tak Bai, two in Ru Soh and one each in Waeng and Bacho districts.

In Songkhla the assailants torched tyres in front of a rubber plant in Chana district and burned down utility poles in two Saba Yoi district villages.

Besides ensuring each van’s brake system worked properly, all seats had belts, tyres were in proper condition, and the vehicles equipped with safety items like hammer and fire-extinguisher, he and officials also checked on drivers’ sobriety.

Surachai said all transport vans were supposed to install the GPS system, which involved swiping a card, to monitor if any driver was speeding. If any driver were found to have used another driver’s card, the card owner would be held responsible for any violation of law by the borrower, he warned.

Phichit also launched a campaign on March 13, valid until April 24, to provide free-of-charge inspections for personal vehicles. He instructed cargo trucks and those transporting hazardous items to avoid using the roads from April 11-17.

Earlier on Thursday, Minister of Transport Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said his agency aimed to reduce road accidents on highways by five per cent, or less than 1,290 cases compared to the previous Songkran’s 1,358 cases. Among the measures being taken are: repairs of roads, better lighting, visible traffic signs, rest stops that offer refreshments and other services to drivers and passengers, real-time traffic monitoring system, the Highway Department’s free hotline 1586 to advise around the clock and toll-free motorway services from April 11-18.

He also urged motorists to not exceed the legal speed limit, to use the headlights and to fasten seatbelts.

In his televised national address after the promulgation on Thursday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said his government still could not provide a clear schedule as organic laws needed to be passed in preparation for the vote.

The premier stressed that although the new charter had come into effect, the Cabinet, the National Council for Peace and Order and the rest of the current administrative personnel would continue, at least for the time being.

The government has no desire for power or wealth, he reiterated, adding that at the same time it cannot turn a blind eye to various national issues.

He promised that his government would hand over power to a new administration after the next election.

Prayut said the Constitution Drafting Commission will complete the drafting of 10 organic laws within eight months and submit them to the National Legislative Assembly. The NLA deliberations would take two months with another month to incorporate any amendments.

He assured that the general election will be held after the first four organic laws related to election of members of parliament, acquisition of Senate members, the Election Commission, and political parties are enacted.

The bureau initially said the tremor that occurred in Tambon Bangnamjued in the district at 6.24pm was not a quake but probably due to land subsidence.

However the office issued confirmed on its website on Friday morning that it had analysed more information from the Meteorological Department and Department of Mineral Resources and concluded that the area had been hit by a minor quake.