But Spain – which has many more Brit visitors every year – had the highest number of deaths, the Sun tabloid reported on March 28.

Cambodia and Thailand top the table when comparing the number of deaths to the number of British visitors per year, according to new figures obtained by Sun Online.

Cambodia’s 11 deaths – taken against the 136,232 Brits who visit the country on average each year – mean a death rate of roughly eight young people per 100,000 Brit visitors.

Similarly, Thailand’s 25 deaths mean a death rate of around six young people per 100,000 when compared to the 411,000 Brits who usually go each year.

In the other hand, Spain drops down the danger table once its much bigger visitor numbers – nearly 13 million – are taken into account.

With less than four young people dead per million Brits arriving in the country annually, the country actually seems to be one of the safer places to holiday.

Other European countries have similar death rates, with Portugal, Turkey and Germany on roughly four out of a million and even fewer per capita dying in France and Italy.

Australia had the second-highest number of deaths, with 27 losing their lives.

France and Thailand came in joint third place with 25 Brits under 40 dying in each country, according to figures obtained by a Freedom of Information request from the FCO.

Thailand is famous for its beautiful beaches and lively nightlife, attracting plane-loads of sun-seekers every year.

But it has also become known for a string of tragedies in recent times, including a spate of mysterious tourist deaths on “death island” Koh Tao.

The country is also the deadliest in the world for motorbike accidents – such as the one that killed pregnant Brit mum Sophie Emma Rose last year – with the FCO warning of “poor vehicle and driver safety standards”.

Also ranking among the top ten countries was neighbouring Cambodia – where five Brit backpackers were this year arrested after cops raided a pool party because of “pornographic” dancing.

Amnaj Phosa-ard, director of the National ID Card division of the Household Registration Office under the Provincial Administration Department, clarified the issue after Facebook users widely argued whether it could be done lawfully.

The dispute came after a female doctor, Numfon Sinchai, wore an Ayutthaya period costume while renewing her ID card and shared her photo on her Facebook wall.

Amnaj said the law does not prohibit citizens from wearing historical Thai costumes for the ID card photo. He said most Thai costumes are modest and aesthetically acceptable if worn properly.

People having their photos taken for ID cards are banned from wearing sunglasses or a hat and are not allowed to cover their faces with a cloth. Muslim women may wear hijabs as long as the cloth reveals the entire face. Since hat wearing is banned, a long-pointed hat or chada, which is part of a traditional dancer’s costume, cannot be worn for the government ID.

The series has been a big hit, leading many Thais, particularly women, to dress up in ancient costumes and visit various historical locales, especially the Ayutthaya temples, which have served as shooting locations for the TV drama.

The series, which will end later next month, is about a kind-hearted woman, “Kedsurang”, whose soul is transported back in time to the Ayutthaya period to live inside the body of a beautiful woman called “Karaked”.

Karaked was initially a wicked woman, who plotted a murder and was cursed.

After the real Karaked died following a sacred cursing ritual, her body was possessed by Kedsurang’s soul. Other characters in the series are surprised to see the changes in Karaked’s behaviour. She becomes funny and kind.

Kedsurang in Karaked’s body challenges some social norms of the olden days but has also learned to adjust over time. In Karaked’s body, Kedsurang meets and marries her destined soulmate who was a courtier during King Narai’s reign.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission will decide what action to take.

Suthi is accused of altering the content of investigation reports to support schoolteacher Preecha Kraikruan’s claim that he owned the winning lottery tickets.

Counter-Corruption Division chief Pol Maj-General Kamol Rienracha said the investigators’ report contained “convincing evidence” against Suthi.

Pol Maj-General Suthi Puangpikul

He said it included Suthi’s written testimony submitted on March 23, a Kanchanaburi police investigator’s testimony about the alleged changes to reports, electronic text messages from Preecha’s phone and police computer data showing that information had been added after the fact to initial testimony.

Kamol said Preecha and lottery ticket vendors Rattanaporn Supathip and Patcharida Promta are accused of supporting Suthi in his alleged dereliction of duty.

Suthi Boonmee, director of the NACC investigation and special affairs office, received the 798-page report from Kamol and said the NACC would decide whether to proceed with prosecution against a senior official accused of committing wrongdoing.

Maj-General Suthi would be allowed to submit additional evidence in his defence, he said.

Preecha claimed to have lost the jackpot-winning tickets that ended up in the possession of retired police officer Charoon Wimoon.

Preecha filed a complaint of embezzlement and receipt of stolen items against Charoon. Charoon accused Preecha of filing a false complaint.

The recent arrest of Preecha and his key witness, vendor Rattanaporn, suggested that investigators believe Charoon is the rightful owner of the tickets.

In fact, said Attaporn, there are sufficient doses for use in the planned June-August period for the vaccine shots. Some 480,000 dosages have been sent to vaccination administrators for the second required dose for schoolgirls who had received their first shot in the 2017 academic year’s first semester.

The vaccine is supposed to be given to schoolgirls in two doses, six months apart.

NHSO is now in the process of procuring another 780,000 dosages, which the supplier had on Wednesday confirmed are available and would soon be delivered to Thailand, he said.

Most of these 780,000 dosages would be used for the first shot in the Prathom 5 schoolgirls’ first semester in the 2018 academic year.

Thailand averages about 6,000 new cases of cervical cancer per year, with about 3,000 yearly deaths from the disease.

Prathom 5 girls, aged 11-12, were deemed the most suitable group for HPV vaccination as per the World Health Organisation recommendation.

The vaccine would protect against the two high-risk HPV types (types 16 and 18), which cause 70 per cent of cervical cancer in women.

ONE OF Thailand’s best-known tourist attractions, Maya Bay, will be closed to all visitors for four months during the monsoon season in an effort to restore its natural ecosystem that has been damaged by excessive tourism.

The decision to temporarily close Maya Bay on Phi Phi Island in Krabi to all tourists during the monsoon season from June to September was approved at a meeting of marine national parks chiefs on Wednesday. The move follows proposals from local people and academics to restore the coral reefs and allow nature to recover from the impacts of uncontrolled tourism during the rest of the year.

The chief of Had Nopparat Thara-Phi Phi Island National Park, Worapoj Lomlim, said the meeting approved the plan to restore the natural beauty of Maya Bay.

Presided over by the director-general of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, the meeting decided to impose a seasonal closure of the venue starting this year after it became clear that the previously pristine nature of the bay was being degraded by excessive tourism.

Maya Bay is globally well-known as the set of the Hollywood movie “The Beach”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The filming of the movie at Had Nopparat Thara-Phi Phi Island National Park made the area one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in Thailand.

However, the increasing number of tourists visiting the Phi Phi islands and Maya Bay has led to overcrowding, and also harmed its natural beauty and ecosystem.

Worapoj said the problem of “overtourism” could be resolved by a four-month closure of Maya Bay, which would enable nature to restore itself, allow damaged coral reefs in the bay to regrow and also prevent danger to tourists from rough sea conditions during the monsoon season.

“During the four-month closure period, no tourists will be allowed to enter the bay from any side, but sightseeing from boats outside the bay area will still be possible,” he said. “As we are implementing the closure period of Maya Bay for the first time, we are going to study the restoration rate of nature and overall impact on the ecosystem and tourism to improve our plan next year. We want to promote sustainable tourism.”

He said controlling tourist numbers would have to be further discussed among all stakeholders, given the seriousness of the issue.

According to data on tourist numbers with the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Had Nopparat Thara-Phi Phi Island National Park was found to have drawn the highest number of visitors last year – nearly 2 million. It is expected that by the end of fiscal year 2018, the number of tourists at Phi Phi Islands could reach 2.5 million.

A leading marine biologist and major campaigner on the Maya Bay closure plan, Thon Thamrong-nawasawat, said the seasonal closure was a major step towards environmental preservation of all famous marine tourist attractions in Thailand, as overtourism had taken a great toll on the marine ecosystems and natural resources.

Thon suggested that the next goal should be to restrict the number of tourists at Maya Bay to no more than 2,000 per day, to prevent negative impacts. He said according to his observations, Maya Bay had received on average 3,700 tourists per day, which was well beyond the capacity of the area.

He also said during the monsoon season, the number of tourists heading to Maya Bay peaked at as many as 5,000 per day, as the other major islands were closed to visitors during the period and tourists crowded the remaining islands.

The water festival in mid-April, the hottest month of the year, is known worldwide. One tradition sees people armed with water guns and buckets of water ride in the beds of pickups to splash water on passing vehicles and people.

However, last year the government banned the activity citing safety concerns for passengers at greater risk of injury in accidents.

However this year, deputy city police commissioner Pol Lt-General Panurat Lakboon said the ban would be relaxed, although drivers of vehicles were told to follow traffic laws.

“This year, the government will allow people to sit in the back of pickups and enjoy the water festival. However, we recommend that drivers of vehicles do not travel over the speed limit to prevent road accidents,” Panurat said.

The relaxation will cover those who would travel back to their home province in the bed of a pickup. Panurat warned that passengers were still banned from drinking alcohol.

“We would like to ask cooperation from women and transvestites to refrain from wearing revealing costumes as this could be against the law and punishable by a fine of Bt5,000,” he said.

During the festival, which officially runs from April 13 to 15, police will implement special-enforcement areas in nine places that will be crowded with more than 2,000 revellers.

They are Lumpini Park, where 70,000 people are expected; Silom Road, 60,000; Khao San Road, 30,000; Asiatique the Riverfront, 15,000; Na Na Songkran Festival, 10,000; Patpong and Thaniya roads, 8,000; CentralWorld and Siam Square, each 5,000; and Chokchai 4 Road, 2,000.

THE OFFICE of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) has set up subcommittees to investigate 94 officials for their roles in the alleged embezzlement of state funds designated for the destitute, self-development centre, and the San Kamphaeng Cooperative.

“We have also asked the Social Development and Human Security Ministry to transfer the chiefs of protection centres for the destitute in Trang, Chaiyaphum and Buri Ram, as we have found that they tried to tamper with evidence,” PACC board member Pol General Jarumporn Suramanee said yesterday.

He said his agency had also told the Education Ministry that a school director based in Nakhon Phanom province should be transferred, as he had apparently tried to cover up alleged corruption at the protection centre for the destitute in that province.

“Our moves are in line with the Cabinet’s just-approved guidelines on how to deal with corruption cases,” Jarumporn said.

PACC has been investigating all 76 protection centres for the destitute in the country after a university-student intern at the Khon Kaen centre detected irregularities and alerted authorities. In the last fiscal year, the centres received Bt107 million from the state budget.

The ongoing PACC probe has already found evidence of wrongdoing at 53 centres and the other 23 centres are under investigation for corruption.

Jarumporn said the ongoing project had detected a distinct pattern of wrongdoing that could be considered almost a guideline for how local officials at various centres could embezzle from the fund.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister ACM Prajin Juntong, who heads the Centre for National Anti-Corruption, said separately that the recently approved anti-corruption guidelines applied to all cases.

“After the guidelines came out, 14 officials – most of them police officers – were transferred for alleged human trafficking,” Prajin said. “I can say that many more will be transferred under the guidelines.”

Asked about the alleged corruption in the Education Ministry’s Educational Fund for Life Development, Prajin said the investigation would proceed quickly because the guidelines required that a preliminary probe conclude within 30 days.

A senior education official, Rojana Sintee, has said she acted alone in stealing more than Bt100 million from the fund over the past decade. She was dismissed from service even before the Cabinet approved the strict anti-graft guidelines on Tuesday.

“The investigation is still ongoing to determine who else is involved,” Prajin said.

He said everyone engaged in grave offences must be dismissed.

“If there is grounds for charges of criminal wrongdoing, they will also face criminal proceedings,” Prajin added.

The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Somchai Ameen, said yesterday the Civil Court had accepted the class-action case involving more than 6,000 people who live near the Chatree gold mine in two tambons of Phichit and Phetchabun.

The suit demands compensation from the company, as the plaintiffs claimed the people’s health has been harmed by the environmental impacts from the gold mine.

Somchai said after suing Akara in 2016 and litigating whether it constituted a class-action case for more than a year, he was glad the court had finally accepted the class-action status. The defendant has seven days to appeal before the court proceeds with the case.

“This case can be a benchmark for class-action lawsuits on environmental issues, as all people who are affected can sue for compensation for damage suffered, without having to directly engage in litigation,” he said.

He said the representative of the affected people was Thanyarat Sinthonthammathat. The names of 300 affected people were presented to the court. Many local people had become sick from prolonged exposure to heavy metals, he added.

He added that a recent report by Naresuan University, which confirmed the leakage of water from the gold mine’s tailing storage facility to the environment, would be prominent evidence in the case.

Thanyarat said she would demand compensation of Bt1.5 million for herself, while the total sum demanded from Akara was about Bt500 million.

As of press time, Akara had not commented on the class-action case.

Police in Chaiyaphum’s Kaeng Khro district are now looking for three men identifying as monks who were allegedly involved in a ritual that required the 18-year-old to drink two large bowls of “holy water”, after which she expired.

The cause of the girl’s death remains a mystery as the monks have fled and removed traces of the so-called holy water, while the body has been cremated.

During the ritual on Sunday, the girl vomited and went into shock, after which she was taken to Krang Khro Hospital and then in critical condition to the better-equipped Chaiyaphum Hospital, where she was pronounced dead from a violent seizure that had deprived her brain of oxygen.

The case came to the attention of the public when the girl’s parents, Khan Cherdjorhor, 48, and Doungjit Khanakhao, 38, filed a police complaint on Tuesday.

Khan said they regretted believing one of the monks, a visitor to the village temporarily residing at an abandoned temple since March 18, who had told them that their daughter was cursed and had to undergo a ritual.

The girl’s father added that before the ritual, his daughter had appeared fine and did not display any symptoms of sickness.

Chaiyaphum public health official Dr Passakorn Chaiyaset said it was difficult to determine the cause of death as the monks had fled the temple and there were not any samples left of the liquid, which could have been tested for toxins.

The girl’s body has been cremated without autopsy, he said, adding that the case hinged upon police’s effort to locate and question the monks.

Passakorn also warned people not to participate in strange rituals, especially involving drinking or eating anything of unknown origin.

Khan said the family had held the girl’s cremation ceremony on Wednesday in line with a local tradition of cremation after a maximum three-day funeral prayer.

He added that the monk who had performed the ritual had insisted that the holy water did not contain anything that could have harmed the girl, adding that it could not have been a factor in her death.

He said the monks had promised him that they would take responsibility for the girl’s death, but then had fled the temple, leading him to file a police complaint.

One of the monks is described as elderly, while the other two are middle-aged.

The announcement bolsters an order last month blocking boats from mooring on Maya Bay in a bid to prevent further damage to its coral reefs.

Up to 4,000 tourists and hundreds of boats have been flocking daily to the white-sand beach on Ko Phi Phi Ley, an island whose towering limestone cliffs and azure waters were made famous by the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

But the bay will now be off limits to travellers for four months from June and September, which falls during Thailand’s monsoon season, said National Park Office Director Songtham Suksawang.

Photo from:  Shin Sirachai Arunrugstichai’s Facebook

“We reached a resolution to close Maya for four months to allow the ecological system to rehabilitate,” he told AFP.

The beach’s land entrance will be shuttered while boats will be barred from dropping off passengers, he added.

During the shutdown four universities will conduct a study on how to develop more sustainable forms of tourism, he said.

The closure is the latest effort to mitigate the environmental damage wrought by Thailand’s mammoth tourism industry, a crucial pillar of the economy that brought a record 35 million travellers to the kingdom last year.

Environmental experts and officials have warned that mass tourism is causing irreversible damage to beautiful beaches, with litter and unchecked development disrupting local ecosystems.

Smoking has already been banned on 20 of the country’s most famous beaches this high season, with a fine or even jail for those who flout the new rule.

Leonardo DiCaprio played the lead in “The Beach”, a Danny Boyle-directed adaptation of Alex Garland’s classic backpacker novel of the same name.