The chopper-riding suspects say they are innocent. The alleged victim, aged in his 50s, had told police the duo threatened to kill his family if he failed to pay the money.

It is alleged that the duo told the alledged victim that they spent that amount trying to collect a debt from his former business partner on his behalf. The alleged victim said he had revealed to the Australian suspect his suspicion the ex-business partner had cheated him and claimed that the man said he would collect the debt.

The restaurant owner, however, claimed he had “merely wanted to complain”. A restaurant owner filed a police complaint against his former business partner a month later.

The Australian suspect then allegedly told him that he and the Dutch suspect had spent Bt1.7 million trying to collect the debt and demanded they be compensated.

The restaurant owner said he feared for his life and his family’s safety and paid them Bt300,000 and was scheduled to pay the rest on Thursday but told police about the alleged extortion.

Police then set up a sting operation and arrested the duo at a shopping mall’s parking lot in Mae Rim. Police are investigating separate complaints about large-built foreigners matching the description of the two men who had allegedly extorted money from tourists.

As of 9am, PM10 levels at Mae Mo district’s Tambon Ban Dong (Lampang) and Muang district’s Tambon Phra Baht (Lampang) were 208 and 152 micrograms per cubic metre respectively.

In Tambon Chong Kham in Mae Hong Son’s Muang district, the reading was 171mcg.

A PM10 level exceeding 120mcg can affect people’s health.

The PCD urged related agencies to prevent unauthorised outdoor burning and to guard against forest fires while it advised younger children, the elderly and those suffering from a chronic respiratory illness to stay indoors in those areas and seek medical attention if they become sick.

People wishing to follow haze updates can visit air4thai.pcd.go.th.

Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan and Mae Hong Son provinces have implemented a 60-day ban on outdoor burning until mid-April.

Salyukov arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday and met several high ranking Thai Defense officials and the army.

Russian Ambassador to Thailand Kirill Barsky told news website Russia Beyond the Headlines (RBTH) that both countries are determined to take results-oriented steps for strengthening military interaction.

“Thai military forces will participate in the International Army Games (in Russia) for the first time, while Russian Naval command representatives will be welcomed at the military parade dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN,” Barsky said.

In May 2016 when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha made a trip to Russia, the two countries signed an intergovernmental deal on military cooperation.

The same day Russian Minister of Industry Denis Manturov announced that Moscow would supply two Sukhoi Superjet (SSJ-100) aircraft for the Thai Air Force.

Thailand has been interested in Russian aircraft since the mid-2000s. In October 2008 Bangkok bought several Russian Mi-17V5 helicopters and since then there have been discussions on ordering more.

In February 2017 Rostec state corporation’s international cooperation head Viktor Kladov said that Russia plans to deliver four military transport Mi-17V5 helicopters to Thailand

“There are additional plans on conducting joint military exercises and sending Thai officers to study in Russian military institutions,” Barsky told RBTH, adding that these were “confidence-building measures.”

Following a report of the vandalism at Prathom 6 classroom at Ban Nong Moung Nong Tae School, police on Wednesday found piles of damaged books and other items strewn across the floor of the ransacked classroom. Watercolours and school milk were poured onto computers and smeared over the whiteboard.

The police probe identified the suspects as two local boys, whose names have been withheld due to their ages, who attend another school in the province’s Muang district. The damaged school was unoccupied at the time of the incident as staff were on a field trip.

The two schoolboys confessed to committing the offence for fun, saying they had nothing against the school.

When police informed one of the boys’ construction worker parents on Wednesday that the school had demanded Bt62,692 in compensation, the parents broke out into tears. They said they were poor and the “naughty” boys had committed the act without fully realising the consequences, pleading for a lower compensation amount.

Si Sa Ket Children and Family Home head Chanthee Sommana yesterday led officials and police on a fact-finding probe to provide aid to ‘the boys and their parents’ in line with the Child Protection Act.

At the affected school, kindergarten teacher Walee Saengthong showed them the kindergarten centre, where the boys entered the school and stole milk and snacks as well as a football, and then the Prathom 6 classroom where they played football and ransacked the room.

Walee said one of the boys had attended the kindergarten previously, which was why the two did not vandalise the first room. She said they were good children but might have been carried away or acted out of feeling pressured.

The father of one of the boys told Chanthee’s team that he had not punished his son for misbehaving but had talked to him to determine the motive for his actions. He said the boy had claimed he only played football in the classroom with his friend but had not destroyed anything.

The father added that he was willing to pay for the damage and was waiting for the results of the school committee’s March 24 meeting considering the matter.

The other boy’s grandmother echoed the family’s willingness to pay for the damages, saying the boy’s parents worked elsewhere and had left him in the care of his aunt and grandmother during the school break. The grandmother said she could not understand why the boy and his friend did such a thing.

Chanthee said officials would conduct psychiatric tests to assess the mental health of the boys and related conditions before providing them with aid. She added that actions could possibly include asking the parents’ permission to send the boys to Rajaprajanugroh 29 School where specialised teachers serve as instructors.

Thirteen Cambodians were found to be carrying other people’s passports when the van they were travelling in was stopped by police in Samut Prakan province Wednesday night.

Although the photos on the passports looked a lot like the people using them, immigration police investigated further, after receiving a tip-off that a gang had illegally arranged the loan of real passports to illegal migrants.

“We have heard that the passports are being supplied for illegal workers to produce when they run into police,” Immigration Bureau’s chief Pol Lt-General Nattorn Prohsunthorn said at a press conference yesterday. “Now, they have confessed to their crime.”

Immigration police became suspicious when they flagged down the van on the outbound Bang Na-Trat Road in Samut Prakan’s Bang Sao Thong district, and found 13 Cambodians and Peng Phosai, a 50-year-old Thai national.

Further investigation revealed that none of the Cambodians had their own passports.

Peng has been charged with hiding or helping illegal migrants to evade arrest. The Cambodian suspects are facing a charge of illegally using the passports |in a way that could cause damage to |others.

All the suspects are being held at the Bang Sao Thong Police Station.

Several gangs have arranged van services between Bangkok and adjacent provinces and border zones to transport illegal migrants on a regular basis, supplying passengers with passports of look-alikes to help them to evade arrest in the event the vehicle is stopped by authorities.

Immigration Bureau’s deputy commander Pol Colonel Banleusak Khlib-ngern urged people to alert his office if they detect suspicious activity involving foreigners.

Pa is one such pronoun, which is very commonly used in Thai to denote “daddy”, although the pronunciation of the word suggests a Chinese derivation.

So, after a member of Thailand’s political elite recently struck a bartender for calling him Pa, there have been mixed opinions whether the term itself is offensive, with some referring to it as “impolite” while others believe it is a sign of respect.

Anusawn Chirawomgse, a member of National Reform Steering Assembly, recently provoked the controversy by striking the bartender for the ill-received reference. He said he did not like people calling him by such an impolite term.

The drama was sparked after the bartender reported the assault to police, with fuel added to the fire after netizens dug up photos of him with a young woman prompting an online debate whether Anusawn is indeed a Pa.

Certainly the word has different connotations in different contexts. But one commonality in every usage is that it signifies the person being referred to is influential or powerful in some way, with the role of the father being a highly revered institution in Thai culture.

The most common connotation of the term signifies financial power, with the equivalent in English in this sense being “sugar daddy”. If a man is in a nightclub and is called Pa, the impression is that he is a senior figure who has the ability to pay.

The term became more common in the 1990s during the boom of night-time entertainment venues. Older male customers were often referred to as Pa, partly because it was impossible for staff to recall all the customers’ names, but they wanted to maintain a very friendly relationship with them, often to solicit tips.

If people do not look like they can pay, they will instead be called “Uncle”, which in the world of nightclubs is simply not cool – it seems everyone aspires to be a Pa, not an uncle, and of course be surrounded by sugar babies.

But Pa also has several other connotations. Many prominent figures in society are openly referred to as such, indicating they are influential and well respected.

In politics, such figures include Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda, “Pa Prem”, and former minister Sanoh Thienthong, “Pa Noh”.

In the entertainment industry, there are “Pa Thep” (comedian Thep Phongam), the late comedian “Pa Tok” (Sawong Supsamruay) and “Pa Ted” (festival promoter Yuthana Boonom).

The honorific before their names actually signifies seniority, respect and power, which one would think would not provoke the violent response recently allegedly inflicted on the bartender.

PUBLIC PROSECUTORS have traced the money trail from the bankrupt Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative (KCUC), which was allegedly illegally diverted to Dhammakaya Temple for stock investments and manipulation, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) revealed.

Investigators are also pursuing a related, allegedly illicit land-ownership case, which may be connected to a property tycoon’s daughter.

Special prosecutor Kachornsak Bhuthanuparb said Phra Thattacheevo, the acting abbot of Dhammakaya Temple from 2010 to 2016, had been instrumental in moving more than Bt1.3 billion from the temple’s accounts to the accounts of several monks and lay persons for various investments, including buying stocks and other securities.

Thattacheevo replaced fugitive former abbot Phra Dhammachayo.

He said investigators would soon summon officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as brokerage firms that processed stock transactions for nominees of Phra Thattacheevo for questioning.

The former acting abbot did not use his name in the transactions but other monks and businessmen were allegedly his nominees in connection with a total of 15 criminal money-laundering cases and related investigations.

Most land plots, which were donated illegally by the now-bankrupt Klongchan Credit Union without the knowledge of credit union members, do not belong to Dhammakaya Temple, with the ownership having been transferred to foundations and individuals.

258 people questioned

Among the criminal investigations are cases in which illegal funds were allegedly used to buy land plots in several provinces for building the temple’s branches but the properties belong to other foundations and individuals.

Funds were also diverted from the temple’s accounts to buy stocks. Investment portfolios were opened with two or three brokerage firms. In addition, portfolios were opened with Land and Houses Plc, a major property development firm, whose major shareholders are considered to be among the temple’s key supporters.

Pol Major Woranun Srilum, the deputy chief spokesperson for Department of Special Investigation, said they had already summoned 258 persons for questioning in connection with various cases concerning Dhamamakaya Temple.

Officials are also examining land title deeds in and around the vast temple complex in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok to determine who owns the land plot where Boonruksa Building, part of the temple complex, is situated. Officials are not certain if the plot belongs to Alisa Asavabhokin, a daughter of Anant Asavabhokin, the major shareholder of Land and Houses Plc.

Meanwhile, Phra Thattacheevo is expected to see investigators later this month while 11 other monks have already met with prosecutors for violating orders issued by the National Council for Peace and Order which had earlier designated the temple complex a controlled area.

Activists stressed that the Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) and public participation process must be reformed first or there would be similar problems at the next public hearing forum.

The first public hearing for the Pak Bara seaport, scheduled to be held at Ban Pakbang School yesterday morning, was cancelled as protesters stormed the venue on Wednesday night and staged a prolonged protest.

The authorities, led by the Satun Provincial Internal Security Operations Command, tried several times to retake the venue from the protesters through negotiations and moving police into the school area.However, their efforts to hold the public hearing ended in failure, as both sides could not reach an agreement.

There were also minor clashes between police officers and protesters, but no one was injured.

After five hours of confrontation, Commander of Satun Provincial Internal Security Operations Command Maj-General Jetthapat Sriwong approached the protesters and announced the cancellation of the public hearing at about 3pm.

“After discussions with the project owner, the Marine Department, we have agreed to cancel the public hearing forum today,” Jetthapat told the |crowd.

“However, I would like the opposition groups to answer why they want the forum to be cancelled. I do not want to see people turn against each other because of this conflict.”

Marine Department deputy-director Nat Chubchai said that even though the public hearing could not be held as planned, the next round would be held within the next 45 days.

“After consultations with the local authorities, we found we could not hold the forum today because of the tense situation, hence we have postponed the forum and it will be held within 45 days,” Nat said.

He stressed that it was important to hold the forum to enable the public to have a good understanding of the project.

Dealing with similar problems

“After today we will have to report to the upper chain of command and to the prime minister. We will have to discuss how we can move further with this project or there will be similar problems again,” he said.

On the protesters’ side, one of the key leaders, Somboon Khamhang, said that the people were happy with the outcome of their struggle, but it was not the end. Unless there were reforms in the EHIA and public participation, the people will come out again to protest against the project, he said.

“They [the authorities] have still not contacted and invited us for discussions about our demands on the EHIA and public participation. We are ready to talk to them if they are interested,” Somboon said.