Colonel Thanawee Suwannarat, deputy spokesman of Isoc Region 4’s forward command, on Tuesday called on all sides to condemn the insurgents who allegedly carried out these “inhumane, extremist and illegitimate attacks that violate human rights”.

The simultaneous blasts went off at around 6pm on Monday at three locations, leaving 13 people injured and causing damage to property. As of press time, four victims were in still hospital while the others, who had minor wounds, were discharged.

Thanawee offered his sympathies to the wounded victims and their families and said the authorities would beef up security to maintain peace in the region. He said the officers would gather evidence and check CCTV footage to bring the culprits to justice.

Thanawee said the first bomb exploded in front of Wat Kolok-Thepwimon on Prachawiwat Road Soi 4, resulting in one minor injury. The second bomb exploded behind Plaza Hotel, leaving six injured, and the third bomb was detonated in front of a Thai-Chinese food restaurant on Prachawiwat Road’s Soi 3, which also left six injured.

Education inspector-general Atthapol Truektrong, chairman of a ministry-assigned fact-finding committee, filed a formal complaint along with the list, which names 22 individuals accused in the original complaint covering 2012-2017.

As investigators probed further back, to 2005, more officials were found to be involved.

The list also names from this period two education officials, one at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, one at the Land Department, a military officer, a Border Patrol policeman and a teacher in Tak.

A further 15 officials’ involvement was detected in when the committee took a more detailed second look.

Six non-governmental officials are also under investigation as recipients of cashier cheques signed by Rojana Sinthee, a C8-level education official who allegedly abused her authority in overseeing the fund.

Atthapol said Rojana had confessed to stealing millions of baht from the fund and has been sacked.

Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin announced on Monday that the panel determined Bt230 million was wired from the fund in 1,049 transactions to the 471 bank accounts of fund recipients and others from August 2005-November 2017.

Forty per cent of that amount, Bt96.38 million, is believed to have been embezzled and sent to 52 bank accounts of people not authorised to receive funds, Teerakiat said.

The owners of 34 of these accounts have been identified. The Anti-Money Laundering Office is looking into the ownership of the other 18.

Teerakiat said document evidence pointed towards another C8-level education official as an accomplice, a matter to be probed further.

The 52 accounts were divided among four groups, members of which are being urged to step forward and cooperate with investigators, he said.

The first group of accounts belonged to Rojana and her relatives and the second to her friends from her bachelor and master’s degree classes. Some of these have already confessed to being involved, Teerakiat said.

The third group includes the account of a charity foundation where Rojana served as an executive. It received Bt2 million over seven occasions. The fourth group is accounts opened by former fund recipients who let Rojana use them because they respected and trusted her.

Public Health Ministry officials have meanwhile been instructed to prepare more evidence regarding scholarships issued by the Sema Pattana Chevit Fund now that the investigation is reaching back to 2005.

The ministry had already submitted information about scholarships granted from 2012-2017.

But Dr Panpimol Wipulakorn, deputy permanent secretary, said the Health Ministry only had information dating back to 2010, when it signed an agreement with the Education Ministry that resulted in funding being wired to students at various campuses of Boromarajonani College of Nursing.

From 2012-2017, 292 nursing students received scholarships from the fund via three projects.

All the defendants continued to deny the charges filed against them in court, leading the judge to appoint the morning of June 4 to review the evidence.

The seven suspects in court were: parlour manager Satthatham “Pa Tik” Jaengchai, 67; chief promoter Boonsap, 55; Chainarong Ansuk, 54; Manas Aumthab, 48; Eknapat Jaruwatpathomkul, 29; Somchai Saeng-udon, 52; and the massage parlour licence holder Sasithorn Wirathepsuporn, 46.

The eighth defendant is a legal entity called Amarin Onsen while Satthatham is again identified as the ninth defendant in his capacity as an authorised executive for Davis Silver Star Co. The public prosecutors on April 5 indicted nine defendants in the lawsuit for charges that included conspiracy to traffic in humans by seeking profit from the prostitution of minors, and conspiracy to procure 113 girls and women for the sex trade. The charges apply to the offences allegedly committed October 2016-January 2018. The prosecutors on April 5 objected to bail release for the defendants on the grounds of flight risk and evidence-tampering risk.

A team of officials from the Department of Special Investigation, Department of Provincial Administration and the military raided the premises on Rama IX Road in Huai Kwang district on January 12, rounding up 113 sex workers, including 92 from Myanmar and 14 from Laos. Several of them were later tested and confirmed as minors under 15.

Officers also found a list of police officers who had received free food, drinks and massage services there. The list identified – usually by position rather than name – several police officers attached to Wang Thong Lang police station, which has jurisdiction over Victoria’s, and the Metropolitan Police and Immigration bureau.

THE OFFICE of the Judiciary has cited “laws” as the reason why it cannot suspend construction of the controversial residences for court officials at the foot of Chiang Mai’s Doi Suthep mountain or demolish some of those buildings despite growing calls from locals and environmentalists.

“If we stop the construction, we will be sued for breaching construction contracts. In that case, the government will have to pay compensation using the state budget,” the Office’s secretary-general, Sarawut Benjakul, said yesterday.

He added that the Office also could not order the demolition of buildings in the ongoing construction projects because such an action would also be against the law.

“If we order the demolition, the Office of the Auditor-General may hold us liable for damages,” he explained.

Sarawut was speaking after the executive board of the Courts of Justice discussed the controversy arising from the Office’s decision to construct an office building for the Court of Appeals Region 5 and residences for court officials at Doi Suthep. These projects were sanctioned with a budget of nearly Bt1 billion.

Hundreds of people staged a rally in Chiang Mai province on Sunday to demand the construction project be scrapped. They said the projects had apparently encroached on forestland and caused environmental damage. The military has tried to mediate in the dispute by arranging talks among the parties. However, none of the court’s representatives has so far sat down to talk to opponents at a session arranged by the military.

Sarawut maintained yesterday that the construction site did not encroach on the nearby Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and argued that it was in the same line as the Chiang Mai Night Safari, the Chiang Mai University agricultural dyke, Chang Khian Community and Chang Puak Community. “You can see the alignment clearly from bird’s eye-view pictures,” he said.

Photo from Twitter @K5_Rescue

Regarding allegations of environmental damage, Sarawut said his Office had not cut down any big trees because all those more than 30 centimetres in diameter at the construction site had been dug up and relocated. The relocated trees included four teak trees, 29 Burma Paduak trees and 86 Antimony trees, he said.

He added that the Office also planned to plant 6,400 new trees in the area after the construction was completed. “Because of constraints in our budget and human resources, we will have to ask for government support for the greening effort,” he said.

Even though the Office cancelled its participation in the scheduled military-mediated session on the dispute at almost the last minute yesterday morning, the Third Army Area commander Lt-General Vijak Siribansop still decided to go ahead with the meeting. He listened to opponents of the court officials’ residences in the presence of Chiang Mai Governor Pawin Chamniprasart and representatives from various government agencies. Participants concluded that a committee would be set up to survey the construction site to determine by April 19 how many buildings encroached on forestland and should be demolished. Vijak said he would report the proposals to Army chief General Chalermchai Sittiprasart.

Teerasak Rupsuwan, coordinator of the Network to Reclaim Doi Suthep Forest, said 45 houses and four apartment buildings for court officials would have to be demolished.

A sense of optimism could be forgiven after an EU representative yesterday expressed satisfaction with the country’s recent efforts.

Thailand in 2015 was slapped with a yellow flag for “shortcomings in its fisheries monitoring, control and sanctioning systems”.

“There has been significant progress thanks to serious government support,” said Stefaan Depypere, the European Commission’s director for International Ocean Governance and Sustainable Fisheries, yesterday.

“We have recognised the Thai government’s efforts and determination in addressing IUU on a continued basis,” he said.

During the past few years, Thai authorities have taken seriously the issues raised by the IUU. If the EU were to issue a red flag, Thailand’s seafood exports would be banned by EU members.

Depypere said he hoped the Thai government would continue its anti-IUU efforts so as to set a good example for others.

He was speaking after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon.

Depypere heads an EU delegation that is in Thailand to discuss the country’s performance entailing IUU isues from April 4-11.

Given his comments, it is quite possible that the EU will decide later this month to remove the yellow flag for Thailand. The EU delegation is evaluating traceability along the supply chain, regulations, law enforcement and punishment against wrongdoers regarding illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Prawit said the Thai government would continue to fight IUU fishing, even if and after the EU removes the yellow flag.

“We will pursue the goal of becoming the IUU-Free Thailand. We will not ignore the woes of fishermen,” he said.

Prawit added that Thailand was ready to share its experiences with other nations.

“We also plan to declare IUU issues as important agenda items at the Asean level next year,” he said.

Depypere said if Thailand could solve IUU problems, the Thai economy would benefit and the quality of life for fishermen would improve.

The woman, whose name has been withheld, first alerted her mother in the UK to the alleged attack.

The UK Embassy in Bangkok stepped in at her mother’s request for her daughter to undergo a physical examination and filed a complaint with provincial police.

An arrest warrant was issued by a Court for the alleged attacker, Yohan Buaka, on April 7 and he was arrested later in Phuket province.

Pol Lt-General Sorasak Yenprem, a provincial police commissioner, yesterday went to Koh Samui district and interrogated the suspect in custody.

Sorasak later quoted the suspect as claiming to be a former French police officer and admitting to have met the woman at a bar during his holiday on Koh Tao on the night of April 4.

He stressed that he had consensual sex with the woman three times and that he even saw her off when she left for her hotel by taxi.

However, Sorasak said the woman claimed that she had met the suspect while drinking in a bar, after which she felt unusually drunk, probably caused by being drugged.

The following morning, she woke up in bed with the suspect in his hotel room, she said. She reportedly felt startled, left the room alone and returned to her hotel in a taxi.

The woman filed the police complaint two days later, Sorasak said.

The commissioner defended some criticism about the delay in the police investigation, saying police did their best after learning about the incident that led to the issuance of a warrant and the apprehension of the suspect.

“The affected woman did not file the complaint immediately after the alleged incident but alerted her family in England, who contacted their embassy here.

The embassy then contacted police. That took time,” he said.

In 2014, two British backpackers, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge, were brutally killed on the island and Thai police were accused of a lack of professionalism in their investigation of the double murders.

The case made headlines around the world and the island was dubbed as “Death Island” by the foreign media.

Initial reports said that at least four people were injured when bomb attacks hit Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district and Pattani provinces.

In Sungai Kolok, the bomb attacks took place in two areas, injuring at least three. In Pattani, the explosion seriously injured a volunteer, identified as Isama-e Jetae, 36.

Police rushed to the scene in Yaring district found Isama-e’s vehicle partly damaged from the impact of the explosion.

The initial investigation found that the victim parked the car in his garage near his house for about five days. As he was driving the car from the garage, a bomb hidden under the car exploded.

BuppeSanNivas, now a hugely popular TV series, is based on a novel of the same name. It tells the story of characters from the Ayutthaya period. Several characters are based on real-life historical figures, including King Narai and Greek Constantine Phaulkon, who lived in what is now Thailand more than three centuries ago.

“We have noticed that academic books and novels based on history are seeing huge interest from readers because of the BuppeSanNivas influence,” the president of the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand, Suchada Sahasakul, said on Monday.

The association organised the 46th National Book Fair and 16th Bangkok International Book Fair 2018 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre from March 29 to April 8. Suchada said readers apparently were now keen to know more about history after watching BuppeSanNivas.

Jindamanee, Thailand’s so-called first textbook, has become a big hit after the series mentioned it in some scenes.

During the recent book fair, about 10,000 volumes of Jindamanee were sold.

“This is a trend of entertainment inspiring the search for knowledge,” Suchda said. “People are having fun searching for knowledge.”

According to her, an encyclopedia in the Thai language also saw good demand because of the reference to the Chaiwattanaram Temple, which appeared in some scenes of BuppeSanNivas.

Youth were the biggest visitors to the recent book fair. The second-biggest visitors were those in the working age group.

The extra helpers, who have been ordered by the courts to perform social services, will serve as traffic-regulating volunteers at checkpoints nationwide, said Probation Department director-general Prasarn Mahaleetrakul.

These former drunk drivers would, besides missing the chance to celebrate Songkran or travel wherever they like during the holidays, will work at outdoor checkpoints come rain or shine and deal with other intoxicated drivers’ aggression.

This should make them think twice before doing the same thing next time, he said.

Those placed on probation for drunk driving are required to perform social services at given hours throughout the one-year probation period during which their driver’s licence are also suspended.

Prasarn made the comment during a press conference in Bangkok to announce the department’s collaboration with related agencies to boost road safety during Songkran.

Using or having the checkpoint volunteers is a new activity aimed to make those arrested for drunk driving realise their action’s impacts and refrain from repeating the offence.

The holiday duties will be on top of the department’s usual assignments for them to devote their time to social service activities, such as working in morgues or taking care of road accident victims at hospitals or at the bed-ridden victims’ houses, Prasan said.

The department officials, if caught drunk driving, would also be liable for dismissal, he added.

Anther speaker, Secretary General of the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation, Dr Taejing Siripanich, praised the new form of “checkpoint” probation and said it was entirely appropriate.

He said forcing former drunk drivers to work directly with traffic officers would give them a new perspective about drunk drivers’ actions. Many drunk drivers become aggressive, he said, threatening police officers and those manning checkpoints, or otherwise act inappropriately due to being intoxicated.

The Metropolitan Police Bureau’s Traffic Police deputy chief Pol Lieutenant Col Akom Jantalach said about 2,700 people were on probation in Bangkok City for drunk driving. They could be selected for the checkpoint-manning volunteer work or ordered to stand-by at police stations or other designated facilities.

The Ambassadors and their officials blessed “Happy Songkran and Happy Thai New Year” in the Thai language and accompanied by a cheerful Songkran song.

Culture Minister Vira Rajpojchanarat was seemingly impressed.

“The Culture Ministry appreciates these foreign embassies in Thailand for joining us to promote Thai culture to both Thais and their people,” said Vira.

For years, he added, the ministry has invited foreign embassies to promote Thai culture on special occasions, including New Year Day, Thai Language Day and the Songkran Festival.

Other participating countries were: Malaysia, Cambodia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Morocco, Peru, Columbia, Chile, Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, and Sweden.

Ukraine

Following the Thai Niyom Yangyuen” (“Sustainable Thainess”) programme, the Culture Ministry said it is promoting and conserving Thai culture by convincing Thais to wear their traditional national costumes to celebrate Songkran. They are also encouraging younger generations and foreigners to celebrate the festival in polite Thai ways.

In the 4-minute clip, Ambassadors invited Thais and foreigners to making merit, giving blessings by pouring water on statues of the Buddha and respecting elders.

Sweden

Bhutan

Poland

Peru

France