CONTINUING MAJOR flaws in the protection of the rights of workers and sustainable fishing policies has kept Thailand on the European Union’s “yellow flag” watch list for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, according to experts.

A source at the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry revealed that the EU has decided to retain the yellow flag for Thailand on IUU fishing.

Activists from the Civil Society’s Coalition for Ethical and Sustainable Seafood (CSO Coalition) said that lack of proper measures to protect the rights of workers in the fisheries sector and ensure sustainable fishing to protect species were the major reasons hindering government efforts to improve Thailand’s rank on IUU fishing – and protect its key seafood market.

The CSO Coalition also discussed the findings of two recent research studies on the situation of migrant workers in the fisheries industry and the impacts of unsustainable fishing on marine natural resources at a press conference in Bangkok yesterday.

The studies found solid evidence of unsolved problems in Thailand’s fisheries sector, said CSO.

The government received kudos from Thai Sea Watch Association president Banjong Nasae for its determination to solve IUU fishing problems.

They had introduced many strict measures to regulate and control Thai fishing fleets, said Banjong.

However, the measures to tackle IUU fishing also contained many flaws and resulted in unsuccessful efforts to improve Thailand’s fisheries to meet EU standards, he said.

“The weak point of the government’s previous IUU fishing mitigation measures was that they only prioritise the regulations for fishing vessels and ignore the policies for promoting sustainable fishing, which are also a very important matter for tackling IUU fishing,” he said.

He emphasised that Thailand’s fisheries could not be sustainable unless the government prohibits the use of destructive fishing equipment such as otter trawling and lit purse seines and issues quotas for catches.

“How can we solve IUU fishing when destructive fisheries are still openly operating?” Banjong asked.

“The government must ban environmentally harmful fishing equipment and come out with sustainable fishing policies based on a sustainable yield from our seas, in order to prevent overfishing and preserve the bounty of the marine ecosystem.”

A CSO Coalition study on the impacts of destructive fishing equipment found that the use of otter trawling and LED lights have cost an estimated Bt145 million in damages to Thailand, as these fishing methods also catch juveniles of many species, including 74 economically important fish, before they get a chance to reproduce.

Prominent migrant workers’ rights defender Suthasinee Kaewleklai said that inadequate rights protection for migrant workers in the fisheries sector had also contributed to the unsatisfactory performance in the mission to end IUU fishing.

“The results of a survey of 300 migrant workers in the fisheries industry from six provinces showed that many migrant workers still have to work in hostile condition for too long hours without proper welfare and protection of their rights,” Suthasinee said.

“We have found that many workers were being illegally taken advantage of by their employers. One in three participants in our survey said they have less than six hours rest per day, and one in five revealed that they have to work for more than 14 hours, which is a clear violation of worker protection laws.”

The government must efficiently enforce worker protection laws, she insisted, as well as encourage business owners to treat their workers justly.

The woman is reportedly an elder relative of Armed Forces staffer Second Lieutenant Thititat Niponpittaya, whose house in Bangkok was shown as the company’s address.

“The probe is still ongoing. So I cannot disclose details,” Deputy national police Commissioner Pol General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said yesterday.

The name of the money recipient was Nuchara Sittinok, 32. On paper, Nuchara owned the company that provided PR and event-organising services to a big temple in Bangkok. However, she is only a maid in the Thititat home.

When police found her at Thititat’s home during Wednesday’s raid and questioned her, she reportedly admitted to opening the bank account and more at the family’s bidding.

Police also found numerous weapons in Thititat’s house. In his safes, they found 18 guns and 1,005 rounds of ammunition, in addition to gold ornaments, diamond rings, valuables and financial records. Thititat works at the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters.

“We have seized his weapons pending a full probe,” Srivara said at a press conference yesterday.

Maj-General Kanisorn Suthornt-eemakorn, who works for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said at the same event that although laws did not specify how many guns a soldier could have in his possession, it was unlikely that Thititat’s military job would require him to have so many guns.

A source said Thititat’s elder relative, who has not been named yet, had got PR and event-organising jobs from a temple via a senior monk.

“She also accompanied him on an overseas trip for a Dhammaduta Bhikkhu project, which has the written objective of promoting Dhamma,” it added.

When Thititat got ordained as a monk in a grand ceremony, the senior monk performed the ordination for him. At the same ceremony, a former executive of an independent agency auditing the use of state budget also attended because Thititat used to serve as his secretary.

It remains unclear whether Thititat, his former boss and his elder relative will face any charges in connection with temple-fund embezzlement.

Last month, the National Buddhism Office (NBO) lodged a complaint against five senior monks, accusing them of embezzling state funds meant for the Dhamma schools.

Implicated are Phra Phromdilok, the abbot of Sam Phraya Temple; Phra Phrommedhi, an assistant abbot of Samphanthawongsaram Temple; Phra Phromsitti, the abbot of Sa Ket Temple; and Sa Ket Temple’s assistant abbots Phra Medhisuttikorn and Phra Wijitdhammaporn.

The five monks are the third batch of suspects in the temple-fund scam. Authorities started seriously investigating the use of state funds at temples last year following a discovery that some senior officials of the NBO were themselves involved in the fund embezzlement.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission has already indicted several officials, including former NBO chief Phanom Sornsilp and former deputy director of the NBO Pranom Kongpikul.

Pol Maj-General Kamol Rienracha, who heads the National Police Office’s Counter Corruption Division, said yesterday that his office was now investigating the fourth batch of suspects.

“The previous batches have already been handed over to the relevant agencies,” he said.

Colonel Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for the forward command at Internal Security Operations Command Region 4, said drones could not be flown in aviation zones or near military outposts and checkpoints or near other areas involving national security.

Offenders would face legal measures and the drones could be seized and destroyed, he said. Pramote dismissed news reports that the Fourth Army Region chief had ordered the automatic destruction of any drone flying in the region.

The reports followed an attack on Tuesday by suspected militants on a military outpost in Yala’s Yaha district in which two people were injured. Someone at the scene reported having seen a drone flying over the outpost a few days earlier. Pramote said the erroneous report had caused public confusion and misunderstanding. Drones could still be used for aerial photography anywhere in the South not deemed sensitive to safety and security, he said.

Two possible approaches could be used to stop unwanted surveillance by drones, said Somkid Nakapisut, director of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) Region 4 Office in Songkhla.

The first approach would involve advance prevention through human patrols looking for drones in prohibited areas, and would include timely action to impound any drones so discovered. The second approach would use “anti-drone” technology, featuring a device emitting radio signals that would interfere with a drone’s navigational control.

Somkid said the first approach would be suitable for general surveillance over large areas, while the second more expensive option is best used in narrower areas such as near airports and runways.

It would be a good idea to also get the exact number of registered drone owners in each province, he added.

Most drones registered so far with his office are used by media outlets and state offices, he said. Not many other people or organisations had yet registered their drones.

Somkid said the NBTC had stations in the southern border provinces that, in addition to controlling signals for digital TV and Internet/Wi-Fi, could check for the frequency of drones. There is one such station in Satun and Pattani provinces, and two each in Songkhla, Yala and Narathiwat provinces.

“Three years from now, we may consider granting people such permission,” ONCB secretary-general Sirinya Sitdhichai said yesterday.

Earlier this week, the proposed amendment to the narcotics law got the nod from the Cabinet. The proposal aims to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

“Marijuana can be useful for medical research,” Sirinya said.

He said researchers from Rangsit and Mahidol universities have already presented proposals seeking permission to grow marijuana for medical research on cancer therapies and pain alleviation.

At present, several countries have legalised marijuana for medical use to treat people suffering neurological conditions, terminal cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

“While we will allow the growing of marijuana and its use for medical purposes, we will control such activities,” he said. “We will not allow marijuana use for entertainment purposes.”

He said his office had the authority to decide where marijuana could be planted.

International Narcotics Control Board chairman Viroj Sumyai said the United Nations had not banned the medical use of marijuana extracts.

“Marijuana is not completely banned. The government may use it for medical research and implement proper control measures for marijuana farms,” he said.

Santi Patipanrat, a representative of the Motorcycle Taxi Association of Bangkok, submitted his group’s petition to the Grab Thailand manager via its legal department staff in front of the Thanapoom Tower on New Phetchaburi Road.

The demonstrators brought funeral wreaths with the names of Grab Thailand executives and burned a motorcycle taxi vest to symbolically express their anger.

The Grab staffer told him that the petition would be passed on to the manager, Santi said.

Taxi drivers said they would give Grab 15 days to respond to their demands, before going on to protest at the Land Transport Department and call on its director-general to step down over this issue, said Santi before the crowd broke up and went their separate ways.

Makkasan police officers were at the site during the protest.

Santi also expressed hope that the Land Transport Department would bring together all sides to discuss the problem and implement measures.

“I have no problem with the Grab application, but they have to adhere to the law,” he said, suggesting the city’s more than 100,000 motorcycle taxi drivers are sufficient for providing services via Grab without also allowing illegal riders.

Thailand requires that vehicles used in public transport display yellow licence plates, while members of the general public receive white licence plates for vehicles for their personal use.

Grab drivers with white licence plates – who are said to offer cut-rate rides and are reportedly more convenient to hail via smartphone apps – are therefore considered unauthorised to offer the service and compete with motorcycle and automobile taxi drivers.

Failing to resolve the issue could lead to more disputes and assaults or fistfights between the legal drivers and the “illegal” Grab transporters, warned Santi.

He also insisted that fares for motorcycle taxi rides are regulated by the government.

A recent confrontation was witnessed last week by a female office worker who hailed a Grab motorcyclist to take her from the Sathorn area to the Yaowarat area.

A Facebook user posted about the incident along with a video clip as the Grab motorcycle on which she was riding pillion was chased and cut off by an angry motorcycle taxi rider in the Sathorn area who then scolded the Grab rider.

The post asked others how much they would choose to pay for the three-kilometre ride – the traditional motorcycle’s fare of Bt120 or the Grab motorcycle’s fare of Bt28?

“Is the Bt120 fare legal? As a customer, I have the right to choose, right?” she asked.

The 30-year-old Wutthikorn Mon-ing said his bank-worker sister Pimonwan Mon-ing, 31, died of an acute heart attack due to the products allegedly being laced with the appetite suppressant sibutramine. He said his grief-stricken mother fell ill and passed away six days after her daughter Pimonwan died.

Claiming to having received a phone call by the product distributor offering Bt1 million in compensation, he said the amount didn’t match the family’s pain over losing its two members.

“The product distributor and manufacturer must take responsibility and ensure my sister’s death is the last [among] its customers,” he said.

His accompanying lawyer Ronnarong Kaewphetch said they filed the complaint with the Consumer Protection division because the case being investigation by Muang Kanchanaburi police was not sufficiently progressing. He said they would also asked the Royal Thai Police head office to re-open “many cases of people who died after taking Lyn products”.

However, the division’s fourth command superintendent Pol Colonel Paitoon Pulsawat said the local police were probing Pimonwan’s death and his division could not just take it over unless there were complications.

Police allege that Lyn products contain sibutramine and the laxative bisacodyl and have already closed the company’s offices as well as raided factories associated with the brand. Police have said they would charge the distributor with premeditated murder if provided with solid evidence linking the Lyn brand products to the deaths.

A medical examiner had confirmed Pimonwan’s death stemmed from taking sibutramine, but results on two other deaths of product consumers weren’t yet out.

In the police’s separate action against the Magic Skin food supplement products that were accused of being substandard and illegal, national police deputy chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta on Thursday morning led the search of another factory linked to the company in Bangkok’s Soi Arun Amarin 53.

Meanwhile, another police team seized a Porsche car from the Chao Phraya Massage parlour’s parking lot. A probe found that the car had originally belonged to Magic Skin case suspect and business owner Wannapa Poungson, who then transferred it to her close aid Apiwat Pongwattananukul.

Apiwat – the owner of a factory making food supplements in Samut Sakhon, which he received by transfer from yet another case suspect Kasit Worachington – is among the seven additional people summoned by police to give information over their alleged involvement with the Magic Skin Co business.