But the new approach is being questioned by the Constitutional Drafting Commission. They worry that removal of the cross-selection process would allow fraud during the senate selection process.

Admiral Tharathorn Kajitsuwan, the committee’s spokesperson, said a majority of committee members has agreed to reduce the group number by merging some groups together.

It also agreed to remove the cross-selection process and allow selections from within groups to recruit senator candidates from a district level up to the national level.

The committee proposed a new method to detect fraud. All candidates within each group would elect 13 finalists from within that group. If a group includes candidates that gain no more than 10 per cent of votes for all of the candidates (3 in 10 candidates for example), conspiracy and fraud would be considered to have taken place.

The committee expects to submit the amended senate bill to the National Legislative Assembly by January 26, said Tharathorn.

CDC spokesperson Nora Chit Sinhaseni, said the Commission had no problem with the reduction in the number of professional groups from 20 to 15, but was concerned about the removal of the cross-selection.

In its view, the cross-selection proposed by the CDC is still the best means to prevent fraud, he said.

Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam, meanwhile, urged all concerned parties to be cautious when dealing with the issue, suggesting them to study carefully what addressed in the charter. He said the provisional chapter in regard to the senate would have finished in the next five years, at which point  the new proposals and their effects would be in full force and for the long term, if passed.

Thawatchai Raksasil, 33, and his aide were arrested in Khon Kaen using arrest warrants and were brought to the Natural Resources and Environment Crime Suppression Division of the Royal Police for interrogation Friday evening.

They reportedly confessed to being the principle coordinators within the gang.

The arrest is part of ongoing suppression efforts against the gang, which is believed to be the largest Phayung (endangered Siamese rosewood) logging gang in the country and possibly transnational in scope.

The centre’s Phayak Prai taskforce, led by Cheewapap Cheewatham, last December teamed up with Thap Lan National Park rangers to track illegal-logging moves by the gang’s members within the Sakaerat Environmental Research Station in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Two ancient Phayung trees had been cut down and sawed into pieces and placed beside the roadside pending transportation.

The park’s Central Network Anti-Poaching System (NCAPS) cameras were later able to capture the gang returning to the site to transport the logs. When officials showed up to make arrests, they were fired upon by gang members and their vehicles damaged by bullets.

Three people were arrested at the scene, and at least two vehicles were seized as a result.

The centre then mobilised the forces to expand the investigation, which included the Phayak Prai task force, officers from the Royal Thai Police and their Natural Resources and Crime Suppression Division, along with the military from Internal Security Operations Command.

Discovering that one of the cars had a fake licence plate, officials went to check a car rental tent, from which one of the vehicles had reportedly been bought. The business owner claimed that four of his cars had been stolen. The matter is still under investigation.

Meanwhile, officials also expanded their investigation, and learned of the involvement of a resort in a popular tourist attraction in nearby Wang Nam Khiao.

One of three loggers previously arrested in the October operation reportedly confessed that the gang used the resort to plan its operations. The resort belongs to a so-far unnamed former senior police officer, with the rank of Police Lieutenant rank, who claimed that the 12-rai (1.9-hectare) plot was under an Agricultural Land Reform designation.

Typically, land under that designation is distributed by the Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) to landless farmers. However, ALRO informed FPOC officials that the land’s status is still under review and it had not been allocated to anyone.

Athapol Charoenshunsa, FPOC director and deputy chief of the Royal Forestry Department, said that the centre’s initial investigation suggested the criminal ring was probably the largest illegal Phayung logging gang in the country. It is transnational, with several known criminals involved, he said.

“This criminal case is very critical as a number of criminals have records related to similar Phayung logging cases. Despite their criminal records, they did not show fear, but repeated their crimes. They even shot at officials,” Athapol said.

An additional 20 suspected gang members have arrest warrants issued against them, with Vietnamese individuals also identified, putting the total number of criminals known to be involved at 25.

Siamese rosewood has been extensively harvested from Thai forests in recent years, from the Northeast to the eastern forests of the World Heritage Site of Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex which includes Thap Lan National Park.

A surge in demand is partly driven by large-scale international consumption of the wood, including in China. The strikingly beautiful wood is used for household furniture and decoration. In China, many people believe the wood brings good luck and prosperity.

In recent years, foreign nationals have been found to be involved in illegal logging activities, prompting officials to step up their suppression efforts with the help of technology such as the NCAPS camera system.

THE ELECTION is likely to be postponed until next year after a majority of the law vetting committee yesterday voted to write that the MP election bill should be enforced 90 days after promulgation.

Committee spokesman Taweesak Sootakawatin said the move follows the junta’s recent order that only allows political parties to start working on their administrative affairs later this year.

He refused to say whether the extension would cause the election to be delayed. Taweesak Sootakawatin

The charter states that the election should take place within 150 days after all the four laws, including the MP bill, were “in effect”.

Taweesak said that the stipulation, first addressed under Article 2, still had to undergo deliberation by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA). A minority of members continued to argue that the bill should be effective as soon as it is promulgated, he said.

He insisted the committee had acted independently and there had been no pressure to prolong the road map. However, he refused to say who brought the idea to the committee.

The proponent of the move also proposed an extension of 120 days but the committee settled at 90 days.

Some critics speculate that the delay supports the junta’s ambition to set up a party to contest the election. The 90-day period could give the junta extra time to set up a party.

Chat Thai Pattana politicians said the move would taint Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha image.

Paradon Prisananantakul, the party’s former MP, said that although the delay was legally feasible, it would affect Prayut’s credibility.

However, no matter how the law turned out, Paradon said he believed politicians from all parties were ready to comply.

Koravee Prasananantakul

Koravee Prasananantakul, also Chat Thai Pattana’s former MP, said the news about the 90-day extension may be a move to test reactions, although the government’s image would also be impacted, he said.

Despite the controversy, he said he believed all parties would equally fall under the same conditions so it would not prove advantageous to one particular group. But if the rules created inequality, conflict may arise, he said.

Siriphong Angkhasakulkiat, the former Si Saket MP, said he did not mind whether the election was held late this year or early next year, although the government should just be exact about the date.

People could have different perspectives about the legislation, he said, but in the end the voters would decide the election. Siriphong said he hoped political groups had learned a lesson from the issues that had arisen in the past decade.

Nipit Intrasombat, deputy leader of Democrat Party, wrote on Facebook yesterday the extension of the enforcement of the law could be against the Constitution.

He warned the powers that be that such an action could have consequence. In the past, the Pheu Thai Party tried to amend the Constitution and it led to a political crisis, he said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), in its World Report 2018 released yesterday, said the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) had failed in 2017 to keep its repeated promises made at the United Nations and elsewhere to respect human rights and restore democratic rule.

“The government announced the national human rights agenda in November, but did not end repression of civil and political liberties, imprisonment of dissidents, and impunity for torture and other abuses,” the report said.

In the latest 643-page annual report, its 28th edition, HRW has reviewed the human rights situation in more than 90 countries.

The report said that as head of the junta, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha “wields limitless authority, including the military’s power to arrest, detain and interrogate civilians without safeguards against abuse”. There are still at least 1,800 civilians facing prosecution in military courts, which do not meet international fair-trial standards, it added.

“Thailand’s military junta has used its unchecked powers to drop the country into an ever-deeper abyss of human rights abuses,” said Brad Adams, HRW Asia director. “Instead of restoring basic rights as promised, the junta prosecuted critics and dissenters, banned peaceful protests, and censored the media.”

“Prime Minister Prayut’s empty promises cannot justify a return to business as usual with Thailand,” Adams said. “Governments around the world should press the junta to immediately end repression, respect fundamental rights, and return the country to democratic civilian rule,” he added.

Media outlets face intimidation, punishment and closure if they publicise commentaries critical of the junta or raise issues the NCPO considers to be sensitive to national security, the report said. Last year, some television and radio stations were temporarily forced off the air, and were allowed to resume broadcasting only after they agreed to practice self-censorship.

HRW said that since the 2014 coup, Thai authorities have arrested at least 105 people on lese majeste charges. Some defendants have been convicted and sentenced to many years of imprisonment.

Also, the NCPO continued to summon members of the opposition Pheu Thai Party and the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), as well as anyone accused of opposing military rule, for “attitude adjustment”, according to the report. Arrests were also made of dissident academics and journalists, as well as protesters against government projects.

In 2017, the NCPO rejected calls by human-rights groups to disclose information about persons held in secret military detention, and summarily dismissed all allegations that soldiers tortured detainees. “The junta did not move 369 cases [involving the prosecution of approximately 1,800 civilians] out of military courts and into civilian courts as required by international law,” HRW said.

To worsen the human rights situation, the HRW said, the National Legislative Assembly in February suspended its consideration of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Bill, which would make torture and enforced disappearance criminal offences in accordance with Thailand’s treaty obligations. The government has not clarified whether the bill will be reintroduced.

However, there was some improvement. HRW said that in March 2017, in response to domestic and international pressure, the Internal Security Operations Command announced that it would end its legal action against activists Somchai Homlaor, Pornpen Khongkachonkiet and Anchana Heemmina, who accused the military of torturing suspected separatist insurgents in the southern border provinces. On October 24, prosecutors informed the police that the case had formally been dropped.

Ekachai was preparing to hand his Bt1,000 watch to Prawit in front of Government House when a man, later identified as Ritthikrai Chaiwannasat, ran up to him fast.

Ritthikrai was, however, blocked by police officers. He and Ekachai were both taken to the Dusit district police station.

Ritthikrai was allegedly hiding a three-inch folding knife in his bag. He was charge with wrongfully carrying a knife in a public place.

Ekachai said the incident was the closest to a physical attack he had experienced during his activist years. “Normally I get attacked verbally, but not physically,” he wrote in his Facebook post. “I don’t know his affiliation but he surely wanted to threaten me.”

Ekachai has made several attempts to give his cheap watch to the scandal-ridden junta leader to convey his message that “any watch can tell the time and now the junta’s time is up”.

Prawit has been spotted wearing at least 25 luxury watches, whose prices range from hundreds of thousands to millions of baht, even though he had not declared any assets worth more than Bt 200,000 when he started serving in the Cabinet in 2014.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders convened a session at the Supreme Court a 9.30am to hand down the ruling against Tarit.

The charges were laid in 2016 by the NACC National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for failing to declare his four bank accounts, a plot of land under his and his wife’s names, his shares in two companies, and two bank accounts under his and his wife’s names.

The NACC alleged that Tarit assigned his wife and a relative of his wife to take on the assets without informing the NACC.

On December 1 last year, the court read the charge to Tarit and he submitted a written statement pleading guilty to the court.

Before the court read the verdict on Friday, Tarit reaffirmed his guilty plea to the panel of judges.

The court ruled that Tarit intentionally withheld the information of his assets from the NACC and so was found guilty of assets concealment.

The court ruled that Tarit was prohibited from holding a state official post from April 3, 2017 when he left the post of an advisor to the PM’s Office. He was also banned from holding any political office for five years.

The court initially sentenced Tarit to six months in jail and imposed a fine of Bt10,000. Since Tarit had pleaded guilty, the court commuted the sentence by half to a three-month imprisonment and a fine of Bt5,000. Because this was Tarit’s first offence, the imprisonment was suspended and Tarit was put on probation for two years.

Tarit is also facing another trial in the Civil Court after the NACC suspected that he had unlawfully amassed Bt90 million worth of assets. The NACC froze the assets on March 10, 2016. Tarit and his wife are defending their assets in that action.

The text in the Constitution is clearly written – the election is to be held 150 days after the four laws essential for the election are “effective”, not “promulgated”, the law professor said.

If the 90 days were to be added on to the MP bill, then an election postponement could be expected, he said.

“I view that this is another way to do it if [they] don’t want the vote to happen,” Parinya said. “It was marked before as November 2018, but if the enforcement date is set [that way] then the voting is delayed.”

He said this was a serious issue. Although some people may think that democracy is not all about the election, voting was intertwined with the charter, he said.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) could stay in power until the new government was in place, he added. But the NCPO would be questioned and there would be pressure on it, especially given that it is on its decline, he said.

FEARS OF A delay in the promised election have risen following a reported attempt by the committee vetting the draft bill on MP election to stay its enforcement until 90 days after promulgation.

The government’s legal experts said it was not unusual to postpone enforcement of new laws, but politicians warned that further delay of the election is not good for the junta’s image.

A source close to the junta admitted yesterday that there was a suggestion to delay enforcement of the law. This was to complement the recent Article 44 order issued by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) which amended the Political Parties Act, the source added.

The order stated that after the organic law on the election of MPs is promulgated in the Royal Gazette, political parties and relevant agencies may discuss holding the general election.

The source said the NCPO was afraid that if the MP election law were to be enforced early, the election would take place before November when it is tentatively scheduled to take place.

“If the election takes place before November, it’s not good for the government. They need time to prepare the budget and bureaucratic transfers. Political parties also need time to prepare for the election,” the source said.

However, another source familiar with the matter said that the delay could be an attempt to give new, pro-junta political parties more time to prepare for the election. “They will get three more months,” the source said.

The 2017 Constitution states that the general election must take place within 150 days of four organic laws – on the Election Commission, political parties, MP elections, and the composition of the Senate – being promulgated.

If enforcement of the MP election law is delayed by 90 days, the election would then have to take place within 240 days of its promulgation. The delay would prevent the election being held in November as junta leaders have promised.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who is in charge of legal affairs, said yesterday that the Constitution does not require that all new laws must take effect the day after it is promulgated. He said there were cases in which new laws were set to become effective 30, 60, 90 or 120 days after the promulgation.

Asked if the delay would benefit newer political parties, Wissanu said the older ones would also gain.

Norachit Singhaseni, spokesman of the Constitution Drafting Commission, which is charged with writing the organic laws, said yesterday that it was not unusual to delay enforcement of new laws, to avoid adverse impacts or to allow sufficient time for relevant agencies.

He said that he was commenting on the matter as a member of the Council of State, which is the government’s legal advisory agency.

Democrat Party politicians Nipit Intrasombat and Sathit Pitutecha expressed dissatisfaction over the possibility of an election delay. They said the government’s credibility was increasingly on the decline after repeated failures to keep its promise about the election.

The Isra News Agency reported yesterday that the vetting committee, at their “secret meeting” on Tuesday, had agreed to amend Article 2 of the bill, which stipulates when enforcement of the law begins. The article says enforcement commences one day after the law is published in the Royal Gazette, but the committee’s amendment pushes enforcement back to 90 days after promulgation, the report said.

Members of the vetting committee, however, denied the report, insisting the panel had not discussed or included such a stipulation in the bill.

Taweesak Suthakavatin, spokesman for the vetting committee, dismissed the report yesterday. He insisted the panel did not discuss the matter, and reiterated that the current draft bill would be enforced one day after publication in the Royal Gazette.

He said the committee would meet today to finalise the draft and then submit it to the National Legislative Assembly for further deliberation in the second and third readings next week.

Seree Suwanpanon, another panel member, said it had convened a meeting on Wednesday but nothing about adding 90 extra days to the enforcement date had been discussed. He was not sure whether it was just someone spreading a rumour or an attempt to extend the time period to help the parties, giving them more time to conduct the primary or internal voting.

Pornpetch said he would forward the petition to the court in a day or two. The NLA would inform Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha about the delay in submitting the law to him for royal endorsement, he said.

Pornpetch said he had no idea how long the court deliberations would take, but that constitution-related cases take about one month to resolve.

NLA member Taweesak Sootakawatin said his fellow legislators wished the court to rule on a single point regarding waiver of disqualifications under the charter.

The NLA recently passed the organic law governing the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), waiving disqualifications. The Constitution Drafting Commission had drafted the law in order to allow the NACC commissioners to remain in office if they met qualifications addressed in the charter.

NACC President Pol General Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit said he was not worried about the petition by the NLA members and if the court invited him to explain the issue, he would cooperate.

Watcharapol, and some other NACC commissioners have had their qualifications questioned when they were compared to the qualifications addressed in the charter. Though they either lacked qualifications or had areas of disqualification under the charter, they were able to remain in their posts due to the NLA law waiving the requirements.