Pol Colonel Pananchai Chuenjaitham, a deputy chief of the police unit responsible for suppressing social media and other related money scams, said there had been no evidence so far to implicate Nicha, 24, of any involvement in a so-called “romance” scam that cheated social media users out of their money.

A source said Nicha had cooperated with police in the investigation after she told them her ID card had been lost at a convenience store. The ID card was then mistakenly returned to Paveena Singpibul, 31, who is facing criminal charges regarding her role in the “romance” scam.

The stolen ID card was later sold to a Camaroon national for Bt5,000 and used by Paveena to open multiple bank accounts and purchase mobile phone SIM cards.

Meanwhile, Nicha had provided more evidence to back her claim that more than Bt6 million previously transferred into her accounts had no connection with the money scams.

It was suspected earlier that Nicha could have an accomplice in the fraudulent scheme due to the fact that she had previously reported three losses of her ID card while her bank accounts showed more than Bt6 million had been transferred into her accounts.

Police said they were checking the money trail of members of a criminal network that includes a foreigner and two locals who were responsible for opening dishonest bank accounts that enabled them to receive the money.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) said there are currently about 4,000 bank accounts believed to be illegal due to the use of stolen or fake ID cards.

The agency has also threatened to take legal action against banks and other financial institutions which fail to ensure that accounts are properly opened by customers since dishonest accounts can be used for money-laundering schemes and other criminal activity.

There are more than half a million teachers in Thailand.

Prime Minister chief General Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday that as part of the upcoming education reform there were two aspects regarding teachers.

“One is about teachers’ welfare and the other is about what teachers are expected to deliver,” he said. “Importantly, teachers should ease parents’ burden and boost the quality of children’s [education].”

Several events were held across Thailand yesterday to honour the teaching profession and its members.

In the southernmost province of Yala, Deputy Yala Governor Jessada Jitrat presided over a ceremony to grant plaques of honour to outstanding teachers and education personnel.

In another southern province, Narathiwat Governor Suraporn Prommoon gave alms to monks dedicated to 109 teachers and education officials who have died in incidents related to the unrest in the deep South.

The ongoing wave of violence in Thailand’s southernmost region started around 2014, when teachers were targeted almost daily.

“When I was first assigned to the deep South, I was very frightened. But as a teacher, I have resolved to focus on my duty. I am committed to teaching and guiding my students well,” Sutham Nuikrai said from Narathiwat.

Boonsom Thongsriprai, chairman of the federation of teachers in the three southern provinces, urged the government to urgently pay Bt4 million for each teacher’s death. According to him, the families of several victims have not yet been compensated.

Dr Kasame Bamrungveth, Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya Rajabhat University’s president, told teachers to keep pace with technology and boost their English knowledge.

“These two [areas] are crucial for self-improvement for both teachers and students,” he said.

Phuket Gazette online reported that the accident had occurred at about 4.30pm, and involved vessels named “Pimracha” and “Sattakamol”.

It took place at the entrance to the canal leading to the Royal Phuket Marina.

Two of the tourists were taken to Vachira and Phuket International (Siriroj) Hospitals with serious injuries.

Facebook user, Udomsak Sakulpradit, of Dog Landmark farm, said when the dog was returned to him it had severely irritated eyes, face and mouth”

. “It has eye problems also, making it almost blind,” Udomsak wrote.

He said he recorded a video of the dog before it was sold and when it was returned to him four months later. “Please watch the video and you can’t help but cry like me,” he wrote.

Udomsak said that he sent photos of videos of the healthy dog to the doctor before he bought the animal.

However, four months later the doctor telephoned Udomsak and complained that the dog’s colour and character was different and he wanted to return it.

After a long conversation, Udomsak agreed to take the dog back. He said the dog looked like it had been assaulted and injected with some chemical that made severely irritated eyes, face and mouth”

Udomsak said he is considering seeking legal action against the doctor.

The charge against Kriengkrai, who is one of five people still in hospital after the incident, is in addition to a similar charge posted against another crewmember earlier this week.

Kriengkrai and the unnamed crewmember were operating a speedboat that exploded on Sunday while heading from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, resulting in 16 injuries.

Twenty-six Chinese tourists and five Thai boat crewmembers were on the “King Poseidon 959” speedboat chartered by Apple Tour when it exploded in front of the so-called “Viking Cave” attraction.

Meanwhile, officials have used a crane to move the speedboat’s engines for forensic inspection to determine the cause of the explosion.

Pol Colonel Surapol Jaisaen, a superintendent at the forensic centre No 8 Surat Thani, said his officers would have to compare what remained of the burnt-out speedboat with a boat of the same model and conduct a simulation of incident.

Surapol said it was suspected that the speedboat’s engine had a fuel leak during hot weather. When the boat captain opened the hood to check a machine malfunction, air pouring into the engine chamber may have caused an explosive reaction

However, Somneuk said the police investigation was 90-per-cent complete and officers would apply for an arrest warrant for the suspect later on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Rama Yador, a 47-year-old businessman of Indian origin, was robbed by a man wearing a uniform that resembled that of a soldier.

Yador works in the garment industry, has lived in Thailand for three decades, is married to a Thai woman and reportedly has Thai nationality.

He told police that an armed man who claimed to be a soldier broke into his home in Khlong Sam Wa district and accused him of being a loan shark.

The man then told Yador that he had to see his boss and made him ride pillion on his motorcycle. The suspect then forced Yador to make two cash withdrawals from an ATM machine for Bt17,600 and then Bt180,000 before fleeing with an additional Bt11,500 in cash and Yador’s two cell phones.

The case led to public speculation that the suspect might be a military officer guarding the residence of a deputy prime minister, which Somneuk denied on Saturday.

A police source on Sunday said the suspect was a former conscript from Kanchanaburi who had left the Armed Forces in 2013 but still commonly wore military uniforms.

The suspect had committed similar crimes on various occasions before and was wanted on four arrest warrants, the latest of which related to a 2017 theft case in Pathum Thani’s Khu Khot precinct, the source said.

Boonsom Thongsriprai, chairman of the federation of teachers in the three southern provinces, also told a press conference to mark National Teachers’ Day that the government had not yet compensated the dead teachers’ families.

He said the federation has been calling on the government to pay Bt4 million for each teacher lost in the insurgency, in accordance with a Cabinet resolution in 2013. However, the money has not yet reached their families.

Boonsom said the government should speed up the process.

Aswin said he expected that the contractor would be selected by the middle of March.

He said the terms of reference for the bid have been completed and the BMA is now inviting contractors to bid.

The Supreme Administrative Court ruled on October 30, 2014, that the partial demolition of the Aetas hotel and Aetas condominium was to take place within 60 days, after finding construction of the buildings violated the law. However, no demolition work has taken place since then.

Aswin said the BMA has allocated Bt199 million for the demolition and the two owners of the buildings, the Larp Prathan and Thaptimtorn companies, would be billed later.

The hotel has 24 floors and the condominium has 18 floors, both higher than the legal limit of 23-metres for buildings on a small soi with the width of no more than 10 metres.

The court ruling concluded that the width of Ruamrudee was less than 10 metres so the upper floors of the two buildings must be taken down.

Viroj’s two alleged accomplices – a deputy school director and another individual – were still under the disciplinary investigation committee’s scrutiny and, if they were deemed guilty, their names would be revealed and this case would be concluded next month, Kosol said.

Viroj was accused of demanding and taking Bt400,000 in “tea money” from a parent in exchange for enrolling a son in the school’s Mathayom 1 class for academic year 2017. His accuser posted to social media as evidence a secretly taken video clip of Viroj allegedly taking the bribe.

Viroj and the two other accused had also been summoned by the disciplinary committee to hear the bribery accusation. They have 15 days to object to the disciplinary probe result and clear themselves, or the decision would be concluded and submitted to the Bangkok Education Committee to consider appropriate punishment, Kosol said. The punishment for such a serious breach was dismissal from the civil service with or without benefits and pension entitlement, he said.

“We have information of a clear disciplinary breach linked to Samsen Wittayalai School amounting to around Bt7 million or Bt8 million in bribes,” said Kosol. “There are several cases, not just this case revealed in the video clip and the money didn’t go to the school’s or state’s coffer and the receipts weren’t given right away but later, which was a violation of regulations.”

Kosol added that the delay in this case’s disciplinary investigation was due to the busy schedules of the litigation team members, which led to some turnover.

Kosol also shared an update on the progress of another case in which a retired teacher, who also served as a school director’s secretary in Lampang, had filed a complaint against the school director via the Dhamrongtham Centre and related authorities. The complainant said the school director had borrowed Bt10 million for his personal use.

The school director was transferred to an inactive post pending a disciplinary probe, said Kosol, and the disciplinary committee for that case had already concluded that the school director was guilty and proposed to the Lampang Education Committee that he be fired from the civil service.

At the end of the meeting, local people said they did not believe that the proposed mitigation measures would significantly reduce the adverse effects of the dam.

Representatives from Datang (Lao) Pak Beng Hydropower Co Ltd and the Lao government yesterday met in Chiang Rai with the Network of Thai People in Eight Mekong Provinces and other local people that could be affected by the Pak Beng Dam.

They were there to discuss concerns on the Thai side of the river even as construction of the dam on the main branch of the Mekong River proceeded in Laos.

The Laos Energy Policy and Planning Department and the Chinese project owner, assured the Thai citizens that the dam would be properly built that mitigation measures would address their concerns about impacts on the river ecosystem, fish migration, water levels in the river, and the livelihoods of local people.

The local people were unconvinced, however, and said that their assurances were not credible and that the mitigation measures would fail to prevent problems.

Thongsuk Inthawong, the community leader of Ban Huai Leuk in Chiang Rai’s Wiang Kaen district, told the visitors that his community is close to the dam site and vulnerable to impacts.

“I do not believe their claims that this dam will have low impacts on the people in Thailand and the river, because they only presented models to mitigate the dam’s impacts, which do not match with reality,” said Thongsuk. “Moreover, most of their guarantees are groundless.”

He also expressed his doubt about assurance that his community will not be flooded after the dam construction is completed, saying that Datang did not provide credible proof of its claim.

Therefore, he urged Laos authorities and Datang to comprehensively study the impacts of their project and reconsider the plan to build this dam, which would trade the rich Mekong River ecosystem that sustains people from its headwaters to delta for only 912 megawatts of electricity.

Jansawaeng Bunnong, the deputy director-general of the Laos Energy Policy and Planning Department assured the local citizens that Pak Beng Dam had gone through all required procedures. They include procedures for notification, a prior consultation and agreement (PNPCA) process, and audits by international academics and experts in related fields. The feedback has been used to hone the project plan, improving it to reduce the possible impacts by, for example, incorporating fish ladders and sediment gates.

“This project will benefit both Laos and Thailand, as 90 per cent of the power will be sold to Thailand and benefit Thai industrial growth, while this project will also improve the quality of life for Lao people around the dam site,” Jansawaeng said.

The hydropower facility “will provide a secure and clean source of energy, and I believe that if the dam is carefully planned and properly built, all of the problems can be prevented,” he said.