Local authorities said rains unleashed by the tropical storm Talas caused the water level in Pakchan and Lam Khanchu canals to rise.

The irrigation dyke downstream from the canals overflowed from their combined water.

The water has inundated houses and some 5,000 rai (800 hectares) of farmland in some areas since Friday evening. The local officials said the water further rose late at night to affect houses in other areas.

Altogether the flooding affected over 600 houses.

A 500-metre section of a local road was also flooded, according to Prasit Poonpraser, chief disaster prevention and mitigation officer of the district.

A landslide onto a road to Phra That Doi Tung in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district yesterday afternoon prompted officials to close the two-lane road until Monday. People wishing to access the temple this weekend have to walk two kilometres. In Nan province where Chiang Klang, Pua, Tha Wang Pha, Bor Klua, Santisuk and Mae Jarim districts have been hit with downpours since Monday, residents still suffered flood damages.

Some 2,000 residents in three villages have been affected by a route closure due to the severely damaged bridge at Ban Nam Tuang in Tambon Nam Pang of Mae Jarim district, said provincial governor Paisal Wimonrat.

For now, officials have placed metal sheets on the bridge so villagers can walk or ride motorcycles across, he said.

The Mae Jarim flood also destroyed two tap-water pipe systems. Fallen tree branches also damaged electricity and telephone signal wires, resulting in blackouts and disconnection at Nam Pang’s Ban Nam Tuang, Nong Daeng’s Ban Kiew Nam and Ban Sawang.

In Phichit’s Sam Ngam district, 20 low-lying homes in Tambon Rang Nok suffered one-metre-deep floods yesterday, while runoffs from the upstream Pheatchabun mountain range caused a canal in Tambon Wang Lum of Taphan Hin district to rise fast, threatening to flood more homes.

In Wang Sai Poon district, six riverside homes were submerged.

Overnight, heavy rains measured at 120mm caused flooding on a 200-metre-long section of the Mitraprap Highway to Nong Khai City, causing traffic jams yesterday morning.

In Kalasin, heavy rains caused creeks to overflow, sending up to two-metre-deep floodwater across farmlands in Na Khu and Khao Wong districts damaging 200 rai of rice paddies. The Lampao Dam received 160 million cubic metres of water in three days and was now at 54 per cent of its 1.9 billion cubic metre capacity.

In Sukhothai, the Muang Sukhothai Municipality used big sandbags to erect temporary flood levees to protect business areas as the Yom River, which runs through downtown, was expected to burst its banks later yesterday. Local administrators also had water pumps installed and tools prepared in case the river burst its banks.

In related news, several roads in Chon Buri’s downtown area were flooded yesterday morning following overnight heavy rains. In Sri Racha district, a big tree was toppled by strong winds, blocking the Lao Moo Na Prao-Nong Ya Bu road but it was promptly removed by officials.

“At this point, there is no evidence that suggests Bang Fath might have received an order from someone else,” he said.

Bang Fath or Surifath Bannopwongsakul, 41, is the alleged mastermind behind the murders of Krabi village head Worayuth Sunglung and seven of his family members on July 10.

“Bang Fath had a serious dispute with Worayuth after he failed to return land-title deeds to the latter. These deeds were initially submitted as collateral. But even after Worayuth repaid the debts, Bang Fath did not return the deeds,” Chaktip said.

The two men made threats against each other over this dispute. Due to the threats made by Worayuth, Bang Fath had to move away from his hometown and faced trouble collecting repayments from his other local debtors.

“Bang Fath then planned to kill Worayuth. Two previous attempts failed,” the national police chief said. He added that Bang Fath allegedly planned a third attempt on Worayuth’s life with Komsan Wiangnon, 41.

Bang Fath

The six other alleged accomplices were: Chalita Sangchote, 41, Prajak Boontoy, 36, Abdulloh Doloh, 30, Tawatchai Boonkong, 37, Arun Thongkham, 29, and Thanachai Jamnong, 41. Chalita is the only alleged female accomplice.

Chaktip spoke after he led the team to take custody of the suspects from the military.

About 100 locals gathered at the Muang Police Station to watch the eight suspects when they arrived amid tight security.

All eight suspects wore yellow neckerchiefs so security officials could easily notice them in the event they were mobbed. Officials also provided the suspects with bullet-proof vests.

Many of the spectators were relatives of Worayuth.

Bang Fath appeared calm as the military handed him over to the Muang Krabi Police Station. The rest of the suspects looked stressed.

Police later took all the suspects to a local court to ask for permission to detain them for 12 days pending further investigation. In a related development, a judicial official in Krabi has lately revealed that Worayuth was not the only victim cheated out of land-title deeds.

Anyarat Benhaphan, an official at the Krabi’s Justice office, revealed on Thursday that her office had received a report that more than 10 victims were duped into transferring the ownership of their land plots to him, she said.

Some of the complainants are Bang Fath’s blood relatives.

Dang Samdang, an uncle of Bang Fath, said that he was about to lose his land because of his younger relative.

“He took both my money and my land plot,” the 66-year-old man said.

Its major restoration, underway since 2013, is expected to conclude in August.

The Fine Arts Department announced Friday that it would install decorative lights on the ancient structure and flip the switch from September onward.

Built in the Ayutthaya period, Wat Arun is also widely known as the Temple of Dawn.

The original name of this temple was actually “Wat Makok”. King Taksin, however, renamed the temple “Wat Chaeng” as some believe that the king reached this temple at dawn when he intended to establish Thonburi as the new capital in 1767.

After a series of restorations over the next century, including extension of the stupa’s height in the reigns of King Rama II and III, the temple was bestowed its current name, “Wat Arun Ratchawararam” by King Rama IV, who also led another round of restoration for the temple.

The Culture Ministry said Friday that together with its partners, it would organise celebrations of the stupa between December 27 this year to January 5 next year, helping kick off Thailand’s Tourism Year 2018.

The celebration will feature a ceremony to pay homage to King Taksin, light-and-sound shows, cultural performances, and a royal barge procession showcase. There will also be Nang Yai (shadow puppet) performances, alms-giving ceremonies, and a traditional Thai market. Rounding out events will be exhibitions on “the History of Wat Arun Ratchawararam”, “250 years of Thonburi City’s history” and a display of award winning photos under the theme “Wat Arun from the Past … until the Present.”

The celebration coincides with the anniversary of King Taksin the Great’s accession to the throne on December 28.

See more photos: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/gallery/album/178

Pol General Weerachai Songmetta, a national police chief adviser, presided over a meeting on Friday of police investigators at the Muang Nonthaburi Police Station to discuss progress of a probe progress against accused of promoting alcohol consumption on social media.

According to a police source, the accused celebrities are DJ Davide Dorico, Sirin “Cris” Howang, Pongsak “Aof” Rattanaphong, Hansa “Nuclear” Jungwattanawong, Sean Jindachot and Ratchanon “Guy” Sukprakob. Police will also summon executives from the company linked to the alcohol brand for questioning.

The posts are suspected of promoting drinking and thus allegedly in violation of Section 32 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act. The section bans people from advertising alcoholic drinks and from showing the names and logos of alcoholic drinks to promote them. Offenders face up to one year in prison, a Bt500,000 fine, or both.

Weerachai said additional celebrities were participating in promotions and should remove their posts from all social media channels before police take action against them. He said police would fine a first-time offender at Bt50,000 and a repeated offender at Bt200,000. Those providing information leading an arrest would get one-fourth of the fine as a reward, he added.

This is not the first time Thai celebrities have been accused of posting photos of themselves with booze. In 2015 seven celebrities, including Pakorn “Dome” Lam and Virithipa “VJ Woonsen” Pakdeeprasong, faced police probes over similar allegations.

Translations of the investigation report are now ready start the extradition process.

Vorayuth, a grandson of Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, made headlines five years ago for allegedly running over a junior police officer in Bangkok’s Thonglor area, dragging the victim’s body under his Ferrari for several metres, and then speeding away.

Earlier this year, Vorayuth managed to sneak out of Thailand just days before his case went to the court. Thai authorities have since been criticised for perceived failure to strictly enforce laws against the billionaire suspect.

Criticism grew after a senior prosecutor revealed recently that Thonglor Police Station had still not submitted the translations of its investigation report to initiate the extradition request.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Pol Lt General Sanit Mahathavorn on Friday said: “The translations were forwarded to the National Police Office’s Foreign Affairs Division on Thursday.”

He said the next step was for the National Police Office to contact the Office of the Attorney-General to proceed further with the extradition.

Dismissing suggestions that police shielded the super rich, Sanit, said: “I can assure you that police enforce laws equally. Some cases may face delays but we will improve on that.”

Sanit refused to comment on the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s (NACC) decision to investigate seven commissioned police officers for allegedly trying to help Vorayuth out of his legal trouble.

Among them are Pol Maj General Kris Piakaew, a former chief of the Metropolitan Police Division 5, and Pol Colonel Chumpol Pumpuang, a former superintendent of the Thonglor Police Station.

The statute of limitations for several of Vorayuth’s alleged offences – speeding and reckless driving causing property damages – has already expired.

Currently, Vorayuth stands accused of reckless driving that resulted in death and failing to stop to assist his victim. The former has a 15-year statute of limitation, which ends in September 2027, while the latter’s statute of limitations will expire on September 3.