A social media user who calls himself ‘Seaman Freeman’ shared the pictures of ‘Try Dive’ activities to a LINE group titled ‘Healthy Reefs’.

According to him, the incident occurred at about 11:55am when two women, along with their dive instructor, spent 15 minutes posing on the coral and taking photos of each other. The user’s pictures also showed the instructor holding a tourist’s hand to seemingly balance her on the coral while pictures were being taken.

Once the diver resurfaced, he saw the two tourists on the beach.

“I went to talk to them and learned that they are Korean and their instructor is Thai. However, they denied stepping on the coral,” he said on the LINE group.

The punishment for such behavior in Thailand is a maximum of one year in prison, or a 100,000 baht fine, or both. It could not be confirmed that, if found, the dive instructor would receive the same punishment as his foreign customers, as he was allowing them, indeed facilitating them, to step on and pose on the coral.

“The reason that I’m sharing this is that I want relevant officers to take action on this issue. Additionally, I want all diving operators and divers to come together and help prevent such activities. I don’t want to see our coral and marine life repeatedly damaged in this way,” the user wrote on LINE.

The photos were sent to Region 6 officers at the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR).

“We really appreciate the photos. We are now checking to find out what happened and to see what we can do about this. We have learned their identities and are now hunting for them,” said Suchat Rattanaruengsri of the DMCR.

So far, the DMCR has been keeping a close eye on marine activities with signs and instructions to educate and warn both tourists and tour guides at Koh Racha Yai.

The latest case in Koh Racha involved a Russian tourist, who was jailed for two nights and forced to pay a 100,000 baht bail for feeding a fish. The incident made international headlines. She was also required to stay in Thailand for a month until her case went to trial. Neither the tour guide nor the boat ‘captain’, both Thai, were punished.

“We will closely monitor all ‘Try Dive’ activities from now on. However, as we cannot keep observing tourists 24/7, we hope to educate dive instructors so they can inform tourists about responsible behavior,” said Suchat.

Almost 2,000 Filipinos flocked to the Royal Thai Navy Hall yesterday to meet Duterte, who has become a hero to many of his compatriots.

Accompanying Duterte on a trip to Thailand, Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo insisted that the Philippines was a safe destination but said journalists were making the country a hard sell because of their focus on the killings.

“Help us because … it’s really difficult for me to sell the Philippines, especially when extrajudicial killings becomes the topic,” Teo told reporters in Duterte’s entourage. Teo said tour operators abroad were “always” asking her about the issue, citing Asia and Europe as regions where people were particularly concerned. “To the media, please tone down a little the extrajudicial killing [reports],” she said.

About 5.9 million tourists visited the Philippines last year, compared with 32.6 million for Thailand.

Duterte was elected last year after promising during the campaign to eradicate drugs in society by killing tens of thousands of people.

Since he took office in June last year, police have reported killing 2,594 people in the drug war while rights groups say thousands more have been killed in a state-sanctioned campaign of mass murder. However, Filipinos in Thailand had a different view.

“He’s my idol. And things being said about him from the outside are much politicised. They just want to disturb his administration, which goes by our constitution,” said Reagan Bronola, a Filipino who has settled to teach in Bangkok for 10 years.

“Things hadn’t changed since Marcos,” Bronola told The Nation, referring to the former dictator President Ferdinand Marcos. “Then comes Duterte. He does what he promised to do. Despite what others may see, I think he wants peace in the Philippines.”

Filipina teacher Janice Fuentes shared the same sentiment. “He has cleansed the Philippines. Corruption is not that big now,” Janice said. Like Reagan, she didn’t believe criticism surrounding Duterte on human rights issues. “It’s just not true,” she said.

“It makes us cry how he has changed the Philippines. If I get to speak with him, I will just thank him,” she said. “We love him so much.”

Angelou Barcelona, from Mlang, Cotabato, is married to a Thai national and has lived in Thailand for seven years. She told The Philippine Daily Inquirer that she voted for Duterte. She also expressed admiration for the president’s war on drugs and corruption.

THE NATIONAL Office of Buddhism (NOB) is pushing for the appointment of an outsider as Dhammakaya Temple’s new abbot.

NOB director Pol Lt-Colonel Pongporn Parmsneh said that the appointment of an outsider would ensure transparency in the monastic investigation into the temple’s senior monks.

Meanwhile, Pongporn has pledged to take action against people involved in a social media video clip that revealed the planned appointment in a way that he believes damages his credibility and reputation.

Phra Buddha Isara, his Or Noi Temple and the Dhammakaya Temple are all highlighted in the video.

The clip showed Phra Buddha Isara speaking on the phone, with Pongporn identified as the person on the other end of the line. They were heard discussing efforts to name an outsider as the new abbot of the Dhammakaya Temple.

“I’ve seen this clip and believed it was made to discredit me. It makes it seem like I am taking orders from Phra Buddha Isara, while in fact he has just called to check information and ask a few questions just like reporters,” Pongporn said yesterday.

The clip appears in the Wake Up Buddhist Facebook page, with a written message saying “Exposing the Evil Plot to Take Over the Dhammakaya Temple”.

Pongporn said he talked to Phra Buddha Isara on Tuesday regarding information that had already been released to the media.

“I had already written to the monastic chief of Pathum Thani province on Monday that the new abbot of the scandal-hit Dhammakaya Temple should be an outsider,” he said.

Phra Dhammachayo, the temple former abbot, and Phra Thattacheevo, the temple’s former acting abbot, are to face monastic investigations and both monks are facing legal charges. They have already been stripped of their monastic ranks.

Phra Dhammachayo has failed to turn himself in to face charges of money laundering despite an arrest warrant.

Meanwhile, Phra Thatthacheevo presented himself to public prosecutors of the Thanyaburi Provincial Court yesterday to fight charges of violating a junta order to present himself before the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief.

The embattled monk, who was accompanied by lawyers, refused to comment.

The DSI also accused Phra Thatthacheevo of using temple funds to trade in stocks – an offence that could result in him being charged with abuse of authority under Article 157 of the Criminal Code.

The move makes Thailand among the first countries to provide such accommodation for LGBT inmates.

Reporting on the progress of the department’s plan to separately house LGBT inmates as proposed by various agencies and human right groups, Kobkiat said prisons did not currently incarcerate many LGBT inmates making it difficult to justify separate facilities for them. He added that transferring LGBT prisoners from various jails to a single facility could also mentally affect them and pose difficulties for family visits, he said.

However, the department must consider the matter based on reality, current problematic conditions, the safety of LBGT inmates and the necessity of preventing sexual harassment, he said.

One possible solution was for those prisons with a large number of LGBT inmates to set up special zones, he said, adding that the Min Buri, Klong Prem and Pattaya jails had already done so.

Self-identified LGBT prisoners account for slightly more than 1 per cent of the total population of 300,000 inmates in Thai prisons.

LGBT inmates are currently divided into categories including so-called “ladyboy” transsexuals, gay men, “tomboy” lesbians, “lady” lesbians and transgender people.

In the past, the department would divide the LGBT inmates according to four groups. Men who had undergone a sex-change operation and were confirmed by physical examination as transgender people would be sent to the women’s jail. Transsexual men with feminine behaviour would initially be sent to the men’s area pending a final court ruling on their criminal cases before they would be sent to spend time in other areas. Homosexual females would be kept in separate sleeping cells.

Records show that Thailand does not currently incarcerate hermaphrodite inmates but department guidelines state they would be initially treated according to the gender specified on their household registration documents. When allowed by a medical diagnosis or a court order, the person could choose which sex to be treated as while serving their term.

Uber has rejected a demand that it suspend its operations in Thailand until a study into legalising its operations is completed. The study could take up to 12 months.

Authorities have threatened to take legal action against drivers working for Uber if they continue operating without waiting for the results of the study.

Department of Land Transport director-general Sanit Promwong said on Tuesday that if there are any complaints against Uber drivers, the committee tasked with keeping order in the public transport sector, comprising military officers, police and DLT officials, will arrest and fine drivers who operate without a public transport licence.

He said the crackdown on Uber is one of the policies of the National Council for Peace and Order, in an attempt to keep order in the public transport sector.

The warning came after a meeting between the Ministry of Transport, the DLT and representatives of Uber on Monday agreed to look at the possibility of legalising Uber through the study. The study is expected to take between six and 12 months.

During the meeting, the authorities requested that Uber suspend its service nationwide until the results of the study are known but the California-based company rejected the request.

Transport deputy permanent secretary Somsak Hommoung said if Uber refused to suspend its service while the study was being conducted it would make further talks, set for the next one or two months, more complicated.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has said he will not use Article 44 against Uber drivers.

“The [Uber] ride-sharing service is a good alternative for public transportation but an applicable law is needed to be issued in order to avoid creating a new problem,” he said after the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

He said while there are no directly applicable laws to regulate Uber, the country’s taxi drivers must be protected and public services must be regulated through the issuance of licences.

He said any violation of the law concerning the matter must be resolved with using existing laws and regulations.

The EC came under public scrutiny for a trip to Japan and Korea late last month, which was questioned about its worthiness.

Trips made by independent organisations such as the EC have become the subject of discussion among charter drafters on whether steps should be considered to prevent taxpayers’ money being wasted.

So far, they have prohibited the organisation from taking part in any extra courses, which were alleged to be used to forge “connections”.

EC president Somchai Somcharoen said the Cabinet had resolved that foreign expeditions should ensure that the destination is a member of the ASEAN+3 countries, but the Cabinet also allowed exceptions in necessary cases.

The EC’s Political and Electoral Development Institute, which was responsible for the recent extra curricular course, had considered taking the trip to countries within the ASEAN+3 scope but none of them were holding an election, Somchai said.

He said the EC was willing to help save the state budget but Japan was still a good option for the expedition because the students could learn how the state sponsored political parties in an election campaign.

Also, Somchai said the trip was advantageous as the students and the EC could learn how democracy was developed in those countries.

Regarding some other trips, Somchai said the EC only had to cover travel expense as other expenditures were picked up by the host countries.