Anastasia Vashukevich, known by her pen name Nastya Rybka, was arrested with nine other foreigners in February when Thai police raided their sex training course in the seaside city of Pattaya.

She and six others were initially charged with lacking a work permit but are now facing additional charges of soliciting prostitution and criminal association, according to Apichai Krobpetch, Pattaya’s police chief.

Vashukevich, who is embroiled in a political scandal in Russia, made international headlines after she offered to reveal secrets to American journalists in a video posted on Instagram shortly after her arrest in Pattaya.

“They are trying to put us behind bars… That is why I am ready to tell you about all those missing puzzle pieces that you lacked… regarding a link between our esteemed lawmakers and (Paul) Manafort, Trump and all this brouhaha, the US elections,” she said in the video.

The model, who has written a book about seducing oligarchs, has not substantiated her claims but does have links to Russia’s elite.

She is facing a lawsuit in Russia over footage she filmed purporting to show an influential deputy prime minister, Sergei Prikhodko, enjoying lavish hospitality on a yacht owned by billionaire Oleg Deripaska.

The video went viral after it was published by top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in February.

Deripaska, one of several Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the US this month, denied any wrongdoing and later sued Vashukevich and Alexander Kirillov, a “sex guru” who was also detained in Thailand, for invasion of privacy.

Deripaska, an aluminium tycoon, was once an associate of US President Donald Trump’s ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort.

Manafort has been indicted on money laundering and tax-related charges as part of the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

A participant in the sex training session who was not among those arrested told AFP that Vashukevich fears being deported back to Russia.

Three other participants have either been deported or are awaiting deportation, an immigration official told AFP.

The US Embassy in Bangkok has declined to comment on the case.//AFP

DRUNK DRIVING is seen as a major cause for fatalities after 323 people were killed and 3,140 others were injured in 3,001 crashes during the first five days of the Songkran seven-day accident-monitoring period (April 11-17), the Road Safety Centre announced yesterday.

On Sunday alone, drunk driving was the cause of 42 per cent of 552 road accidents in which 69 people were killed and 589 injured, Damrong Limaphirak, the Education Ministry adviser on policy and strategy, said at the centre’s press conference.

Speeding played a role in 26 per cent of accidents, while 79 per cent involved motorcycles, Damrong said.

All the figures for the five-day period were an increase over numbers from last Songkran, which saw 283 people killed and 3,087 wounded in 2,985 road crashes.

Chiang Mai continued to chalk up the highest number of accidents, at 119 cases and 136 injured over the five days. At 19, Nakhon Ratchasima recorded the highest accumulated death toll.

Only seven provinces – Yala, Ranong, Satun, Samut Songkhram, Nong Khai, Nong Bua Lamphu and Angthong – did not report any deaths from road accidents during Songkran.

Damrong said 21,829 drivers were arrested at checkpoints nationwide for drunk driving.

He conceded that although more drunk drivers were caught and taken off the streets, road accidents continued to increase. The Royal Thai Police committee to beef up road safety measures will consider additional actions, including heavier punishments for repeated offenders and increasing the budget for purchasing breathalysers and speed radar.

Meanwhile, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and related authorities have seized a total of 10,099 vehicles (7,372 motorcycles and 2,727 cars and trucks) from drunk drivers from April 11-15, said NCPO and Army deputy spokeswoman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong. On Sunday alone, the authorities seized 2,069 motorcycles and 814 cars from drunk drivers, she said.

Chiang Rai, Maha Sarakham and Surin topped the list of provinces for most number of drunk drivers caught in the first five days of Songkran. Thousands of offenders were immediately slapped with probation and dozens had monitoring devices attached to their ankles to keep them off the roads.

Probation Department director-general Prasarn Mahaleetrakul said the five days saw 3,460 motorists arrested and placed on probation across the country. In all, there were 6,707 arrests, of which 97.5 per cent were for drunk driving. The remain

der were for reckless driving (21 cases), street racing (two) and driving under the influence of narcotics (143), Prasarn said. Chiang Rai clocked up the most drunk-driving cases with 455, followed by Maha Sarakham at 394 and Surin at 313.

Since April 13, the department had attached electronic monitoring devices to the ankles of 37 drunk drivers placed on probation, in accordance with court-mandated conditions. The devices prevent them from leaving their homes between 10pm and 4am for 15 days. Given one year’s probation, they must report four times to probation officials and do 24 hours of community service.

The move is a response to the needs of 64 per cent of parents who reportedly suffer from high stress and discouragement while raising their children.

Mental Health Department director-general Dr Boonreung Traireungworawat recently visited the institute to check on its progress.

He said the facility – a national centre with expertise in providing care for children with developmental issues – had treated 52,000 such children last year, or about 300 per day.

Among the young patients, he said 60 per cent – or about 30,000 – had the three most commonly found developmental conditions: autism, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and cerebral palsy. In a bid to help the children feel more comfortable and calm, the facility’s outpatient ward was decorated like a house and steps were cut to crowding in the waiting room.

A special patient care unit was also added so the children and parents could rest while the youngsters underwent treatment and preparation for looking after themselves in daily life and entering the education system, he said.

The children’s condition directly affected their parents – who take care and aid them in all aspects of daily life. The parents’ stress was high due to expenses, the high attention required for caring and arguments with – or even separation from – spouses. Some people developed depression to the point of being suicidal, said Boonreung.

Among the parents, 22 per cent were single mothers, he added.

The department set up a clinic to provide mental healthcare for the parents. It has been a big help and had partially contributed to the improved care for the children, he said, adding that two-thirds of the children with ADHD could be cured or had much better control. He said such clinics could be implemented at all psychiatric hospitals, where they could help boost the at-home caregivers’ mental health, which would in turn contribute to patients’ better care.

Institute director Dr Dusadee Juengsirakulwit said the clinic would provide extra mental health services to the parents of children with special needs.

They would focus on the parents with complicated issues of severe stress and depression or were at risk of suicide.

Dusadee said that the parents of autistic children were often stressed and bored from the children’s lack of communication, complete ignorance of their environment, screaming and self-harming. Adding to stress was the lack of sufficient income to cover expenses, while some became estranged from their partners. Parents of autistic children generally suffer from mental health issues more often than their peers whose children had ADHD, she said.

The latter suffered from stress due to worries over their ADHD children’s academic performance, aggressive behaviour and relationship conflicts.

After the parents got the help they needed, they were in turn better able to ensure their children were in complete compliance with taking medication as per their doctor’s prescriptions, Dusadee said.

She said that 96 per cent of children with cerebral palsy could attend co-education schooling or specialised programmes and the centre had treated 300 parents who had suffered high stress from taking care of their children with cerebral palsy.

She said the institute would be sharing their experiences and lessons in caring for parents of children with special needs at an international conference in early August.

RTP deputy spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Patanacharoen said 120,000 people would be returning by train yesterday and today, while many others would arrive at bus terminals and airports. Police were therefore beefing up security at these hubs to control traffic in the busiest areas and take action against taxi drivers refusing to take customers.

Meanwhile, traffic heading towards the capital saw higher volumes than normal as people began the long journey back to work. In the northern province of Lampang, provincial Disaster Prevention Office head Khomsan Suwan-ampa said the local Bangkok-bound road was jam-packed with 2,040 vehicles in one hour yesterday.

In neighbouring Chiang Mai province, three bus terminals added 30 extra Bangkok-bound bus trips to cater for 112,600 travellers.

Chiang Mai transport chief Chanchai Kilapaeng said the number of bus passengers was actually down 20 per cent from last Songkran due to many travellers opting for low-cost flights instead.

Paholyothin Road in Pathum Thani’s Khlong Luang district reported an increased number of cars yesterday, although the traffic was still able to move along at 80kph.

Mitraparp Highway in Nakhon Ratchasima province saw increased traffic with some congestion at bottlenecks and intersections, prompting police to open special lanes in Noen Sung and Pak Chong districts to ease the jams.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith led officials to inspect the road and traffic condition on the Highway No 3263 in Ayutthaya’s Bang Ban district following a multiple-vehicle pile-up there on Sunday evening that led to three deaths and 26 injuries. To prevent future crashes, the Highway Department planned to set up a three-kilometre-long barrier to clearly divide the traffic lanes there.

Arkhom also said a flyover would be built in two years at Worachet Intersection to ease traffic congestion and prevent accidents.

Another 30 people were injured in Ayutthaya’s Bang Pa-in district at 8.30am yesterday when an Ubon Ratchathani-Bangkok double-decker coach lost control at high speed on Paholyothin Highway and crashed into a roadside ditch.

The unnamed driver, who reportedly also had a minor collision with a car in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district on Sunday evening, fled the scene before police arrived.

They included 7,372 motorcycles and 2,727 cars and trucks, said National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and Army deputy spokeswoman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong on Monday.

On Sunday alone, the authorities seized 2,069 motorcycles and 814 cars from drunk drivers, she said.

The five-day period also saw 61,758 travellers using services (resting, asking for direction, and getting a free vehicle check-up) at the Army pit-stops along highways, she said.

The seized vehicles will be returned to their owners after the seven-day accident monitoring period, Sirichan added.

Probation Department director-general Prasarn Mahaleetrakul said on Monday that the five days saw 3,460 motorists arrested and placed on probation across the country.

Four of those cases involved reckless driving, the rest drunk driving.

In all, there were 6,707 arrests, of which 97.5 per cent were for drunk driving. The remainder were for reckless driving (21 cases), street racing (two) and driving under the influence of narcotics (143), Prasarn said.

Chiang Rai clocked up the most drunk-driving cases with 455, followed by Maha Sarakham at 394 and Surin at 313.

Since April 13, the department had attached electronic monitoring (EM) devices to the ankles of 37 drunk drivers placed on probation, in accordance with court-mandated conditions.

The devices prevent them from leaving their homes between 10pm and 4am for 15 days.

Given one year’s probation, they must report four times to probation officials and do 24 hours of community service.

He said the ministry, the main agency for providing medical care to those migrant workers who are not entitled to social security, had joined with the Labour Ministry and Interior Ministry in legalising the migrant workers via “one-stop service” system.

From February 5 to March 31, the ministry’s hospitals had performed healthchecks on 909,448 migrant workers out of the estimated 1.1 million in Thailand who needed them in accordance with the law, while the other 190,056 had registered online for the procedure, said Jessada.

Of those who had undergone the examinations, 2,584 were diagnosed with tuberculosis, 1,650 with syphilis, 37 with elephantiasis and six with leprosy – all of them were treated for their illnesses – while another 637 were diagnosed with drug addiction, chronic alcoholism and psychiatric disorders, he added.

There are 12 hospitals in Bangkok where migrant workers can receive such a medical check-up. They are: Rajavithi hospital, Noppharattana Ratchathani hospital, Lertsin hospital, Taksin hospital, Bangkok Metropolitan Adminsitration’s Central Hospital, Chareonkrung Pracharak hospital, Wachiraphayaban hospital, Ratchapipat hospital, Luangpho Thaweesak hospital, Karunrat hospital, Lat Krabang hospital, and Sirindhorn hospital.

The figures marked an across-the-board increase over the same period last year, which saw 226 deaths, 2,457 injured and 2,385 road accidents.

On Saturday alone, there were 603 accidents, killing 57 people and injuring 626 others. Some 44 per cent of the road accidents stemmed from drunk driving and 26 per cent from speeding. A majority (80 per cent) of the crashes involved motorcycles, the centre said.

From April 11 to April 14, Chiang Mai reported the highest number of accidents – 99 – and the highest number of injuries – 109. Nakhon Ratchasima reported the most number of deaths – 17. Only eight provinces: Yala, Ranong, Lop Buri, Satun, Samut Songkhram, Nong Khai, Nong Bua Lamphu and Angthong did not report any deaths from road accidents during Songkran.

As many holidaymakers were expected to start their return journey to Bangkok and neighbouring provinces for work today, the authorities would emphasise on highway checkpoints, roadside service points, pit stops and ensure public transport drivers’ sobriety, the centre said.

Meanwhile, the National Council for Peace and Order and Army deputy spokeswoman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong reported yesterday that the authorities had seized a total of 7,067 vehicles from drunk drivers in the first four days of monitoring road accidents over the Songkran holidays.

Apart from seizing 5,019 cars/trucks and 2,048 motorcycles from April 11 to 14 in an effort to enforce drunk-driving laws, the authorities also seized driver’s licences from 16,588 motorists and motorcyclists. The seized vehicles would be returned to the owners after the seven-day accident-monitoring period, she added.

Colonel Sirichan reminded people that very hot weather was forecast for Sunday to Wednesday, with maximum temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius and summer storms expected in upper Thailand plus Bangkok and surrounding areas. She said the Army and related agencies would help affected residents where necessary.

National police deputy chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta, meanwhile, presided over an oath-taking rite in Samut Prakan province in which 380 drunk-driving offenders vowed not to repeat the offence, before listening to a monk’s sermon. They were then brought to court for legal action.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, expressed satisfaction with the emphasis on culture in Songkran events nationwide and the lower number of crimes reported during this period. He urged people playing in the water for too long in the hot sun to beware of heat stroke or pneumonia or other health problems, Government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.

Many holidaymakers continued to celebrate Songkran in their hometowns for the last day yesterday despite the hot weather.

Phitsanulok province, where the mercury rose to 39 degrees Celsius, still saw many splashing water at designated zones while Uttaradit’s Muang district saw a five-kilometre-long congestion of Songkran revellers’ vehicles on Samranreun Road as they engaged in fun water wars.

Meanwhile those in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Lampang, and Phayao made merit at temples for the auspicious beginning of the New Year, while people stood along a road section from the Tambon Wangka Market to the famous Utamanusorn Bridge (Mon Bridge) in Kanchanaburi’s Sangkhlaburi district to offer alms to 199 monks.

As some started their journey back to the city, traffic police commander Pol Maj-General Theerasak Suriwong said police had arranged 20 shuttle vans to give a free ride to the returnees from the Mor Chit Bus Terminal to the Mor Chit and Victory Monument BTS train stations from 4am-9am and 4pm-8pm yesterday.

In the mean time, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith yesterday inspected the Doi Ruak hill area on Highway No 12 (Tak-Mae Sot) in the border province of Tak, after three major crashes killed 27 people in the past two weeks.

The sharks were about two metres long and the biggest is believed to weigh about 100 kilograms.

They were grey and had black fins.

After spotting them near the national park office, the officers took a boat to see them in the water and found that they didn’t seem to be frightened by humans at all. They were swimming in only about a metre of water and took about half an hour to hunt for food before swimming back to the deep water close to a coral reef nearby.

The Chief of Bok Khorani National Park, Weeasak Srisajjang, said that the blacktip reef sharks were quite often spotted near Koh Hong.

This was already the fourth time this year, he said, and they typically live near the deep water in the coral reef around the island.

“This is a sign showing that Hong Island has a lush ecology,” said Weeasak. “We have strictly controlled the tourists so the ecosystem is not destroyed and have prohibited any illegal fisheries that damage coral.

“The blacktip reef sharks show little signs of ever attacking a human. They usually just eat small fish and are commonly found in the Andaman area.

“They usually hunt at night or early morning and hide among the coral reefs during the day. Apart from the blacktip reef sharks, we also spotted whale sharks at Hong Island, which is rare.

“I would like to ask tourists and fishermen not to harm these fish if you find them.

“They are not dangerous and eat only small fish and plankton.”

NCPO and Army deputy spokeswoman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong said on Sunday that apart from seizing 5,019 cars/trucks and 2,048 motorcycles from April 11 to 14 in an effort to enforce drunk-driving laws, the authorities also seized driver’s licences from 16,588 motorists and motorcyclists.

The seized vehicles would be returned to the owners after the seven-day accident monitoring period, she added.

Colonel Sirichan reminded people that very hot weather was forecast for April 15-18, with maximum temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius and summer storms expected in upper Thailand plus Bangkok and surrounding areas.

She said the army and other related agencies would help affected residents where necessary and she advised people to avoid prolonged water-splashing in the hot weather because this could lead to them getting sick.