Unveiling the report yesterday at an event jointly organised by the Labour Ministry and World Bank, Mauro Testaverde, the bank’s economist for the East Asia and Pacific Social Protection and Labour Unit stressed that effective migrant systems could play a critical role in today’s knowledge-based economies by attracting highly productive, formally employed workers.

While the Asean Economic Community may now allow free movement of workers, the expert explained that Asean countries only focused on high-skilled migration which did not cover the majority of the intra-region migrants, who were mostly low-skilled and often undocumented.

Although trends showed a change in demography that indicated Thailand may be in need of more workers, Testaverde pointed out that Thailand has banned migrant workers from 39 occupations, including some of those listed by the Asean’s Mutual Recognition Agreements, such as engineering, accounting, and architects. Thailand at least could first address shortages in the labour markets, he said.

Apart from that, the country could try to be more evidence-based, transparent and predictable when it came to migration policies, he added. Meanwhile, adjusting the policies in accordance with the rapid change in the labour markets was also advisable, he said.

Currently, with a high number of informal migrants, the World Bank report entitled “Migrating to Opportunity: Overcoming Barriers to Labor Mobility in Southeast Asia” also suggested that Thailand needed to work more to accommodate the needs of the large population of undocumented migrants, rationalise entry procedures that are currently costly and time-consuming, aside from rethinking immigration policies.

Three major economies in the region – Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia – host a combined 6.5 million migrant workers, equivalent to 96 per cent of the entire region.

Nearly half of the 3 million migrant workers in Thailand are undocumented, according to Labour Minister Adul Sangsingkeo. Migrant workers in Thailand are mostly from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, the bank report said.

Labour mobility in Asean brings benefits to the citizens of both receiving and sending countries, Adul said. However, a migration system requires collaboration between not only sending and receiving countries but also other stakeholders, in order to bring about the greatest gains from labour migration, the labour minister said.

Meanwhile, Jane Namchaisiri, chairman of a joint panel of the Federation of Thai Industries, said that the mindset on migrant workers in Thailand needed to change. While the common impression is that the migrants were taking away the welfare of Thais, Jane said they were an important part of the workforce and made a significant economic contribution.

Jane also shared his experience about migrant workers, complaining that paperwork remained a serious problem. Hiring 200 migrant workers required a company to work on 200 sets of paperwork, which could be time-consuming, an experience corroborated by the World Bank report.

As reform has been a major theme in Thailand in the past four years, Ulrich Zachau, World Bank director for Thailand, said the World Bank supports reforms that ensure consistency of migration policies and systems with Thailand’s economic needs

Efforts to align migration policies and systems with its strategic transformation into a modern, high-knowledge, innovative economy are highly welcome, he added.

“Strong, streamlined labour policies and systems to facilitate migration commensurate with labour needs, the increased use of data by decision-makers, and lower costs for would-be migrant workers will be key to realising the vision of Thailand 4.0,” he said.

 It will next go before the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) for deliberations.

The Narcotics Code Bill won the nod of the Cabinet on Tuesday.

“The Cabinet has approved the bill in principle. The next step is for relevant authorities to carefully plan the enforcement,” Government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday. “Even when this bill becomes a law, marijuana will be used for medical purposes only,” he said.

Last week, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) revealed that it would be taking a key role with regard to growing and improving marijuana.

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

In a related development, Bangkok police said they had raided a marijuana grower’s two-storey commercial building in Lat Phrao Soi 87 yesterday afternoon.

Following a complaint that loud music was coming from the building in Suksabai Villa Housing Estate and that teenagers were buying drugs there, the police conducted a search at 3pm.

The ground floor had a temperature-controlled room to grow marijuana. There were eight marijuana plants and 10 grams of seeds, said Metropolitan Police Area 4 chief Pol Maj-General Theerapong Wongratpitak, who led the search.

Some dried marijuana and a bong were allegedly found in a bedroom.

The 35-year-old occupant, Somprasong Kaewkhoon, reportedly confessed, saying he learned about growing marijuana during a recent trip to Australia and studied it further on YouTube.

He apparently said he started growing it last year, with good results and profits.

One plant can yield 50 grams of dry cannabis, which can be sold for around Bt35,000 per 50 grams.

He was charged with manufacturing and possessing narcotics with intent to sell.

The Central Administrative Court on Wednesday decided to award compensation to the Saengyoktrakarn family and also ordered the relevant authorities to ensure there were no markets or stalls around the family’s house.

“I agree with the decision to remove the market. But regarding the compensation, I will first consult my legal team. I think we will have to appeal on the compensation part,” Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said.

The ordeal of the Saengyoktrakarn family has attracted widespread attention this year after two elderly family members earned the nickname “furious aunts” (pictured) for attacking a pickup parked in front of their house gate.

Initial public condemnation of the two women turned into sympathy after they revealed to media how activity from several markets around their house in the Seri Villa project had made their lives a misery. They said they suffered glaring spotlights from the markets during the night, while bad smells, exhaust fumes from shoppers’ and vendors’ vehicles, and loud noise had added to their woes. Often, people parked their vehicles in front of their gate making it impossible to drive out of their own house.

The Central Administrative Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of the family because by law, relevant authorities had the duty to uphold sanitary standards and ban illegal markets.

According to the court, Seri Villa is a housing project and thus cannot be used for commercial activity.

The Saengyoktrakarn family had lodged a complaint against the Bangkok governor, the director of the Prawet District Office, the Prawet District Office, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration with the court after they allegedly failed to properly control “illegal markets” around their house.

The complaint went to the Central Administrative Court’s Environmental Division.

On wednesday, the court also ruled that structures erected for illegal markets must be removed within 60 days of the final court ruling. Any request to build market-related structures near Seri Villa must be rejected.

Compensation shall be subject to 7.5 per cent interest per year, calculated from 2010 or the year the first market structure was built.

Boonsri Saengyoktrakarn said she was happy with the court’s ruling and hoped the authorities would not appeal.

“We have been suffering for too long already,” she said.

“We have already used all the Bt300-million budget for the 2018 fiscal year,” the department’s director general Pitikan Sithidej said yesterday.

She said 5,642 victims had received compensation from her department in line with the law since October.

“We will seek Bt210 million more for our budget for the rest of the fiscal year,” she said.

The fiscal year ends on September 30.

The arrest of the 30-year-old suspect, Serghei Cependiuc, was the result of cooperation between the Thai police and their Netherlands counterparts, Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) commander Pol Maj-General Worawat Watnakhonbancha said.

The joint investigation found a website providing services in uploading and downloading audio and video files of child pornographic materials to customers who were required to pay US$19.95 (Bt635) per month, he said.

The investigation found that the website earned around US$3.8 million (Bt123 million) and a Dominica-registered company was running it while Cependiuc was identified as one of the website’s administrators, he said. An arrest warrant was issued for Cependiuc, who has been in and out of Thailand since 2009 and has a Thai wife. He was arrested along with allegedly 18 items of evidence.

Police investigation so far has found that Cependiuc served as the website’s administrator to manage data and materials – all of which were of foreign girls. Police said there was no Thai victim or Thai accomplice. Worawat said Cependiuc would face prosecution in Thailand.

Netherland police technology crime suppression commander Gert Ras said his agency had first investigated the website and then contacted the Thai police after locating one of the culprits was living in Thailand.

Besides the operation that netted Cependiuc in southern Thailand and the Netherlands police closing the website, another related operation was conducted in Bulgaria, resulting in the arrest of website administrator and Moldovian national Alexander Osadcii.

It was suspected that tens of thousands people were involved in uploading child pornographic video clips onto this website, he added.

As the chief investigator in the probe against controversial Magic Skin products, national police deputy chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta said the police had evidence of audio clip of a conversation between Magic Skin business owner Wannapa Poungson and another person about transferring her cars and other assets to avoid being seized by the authorities during the investigation.

Weerachai said police found that Wannapa had 15 cars worth Bt40 million in her name while her husband Korn Poungson, also a suspect, had another 15 cars worth Bt28 million in his name.

The police would impound them for inspection if they were bought with ill-gotten money, he said, warning that others who might be involved in asset transfers could be held accountable.

Police already asked the Land Transport Office to report car ownership transfers to the case investigators immediately, he said. Weerachai said police will soon summon six celebrities to testify and possibly hear charges on May 26.

They are “Miss Tiffany 2012” beauty peageant Nisamanee “Nat” Lertworapong, actress Esther Supreeleela, actress Sririta Jensen, actress Kaneungnij “Rodmay” Jaksamittanon, actress and singer Namcha Sheranut Yusananda and actor Phupoom “Ken” Phongpanu.

Former deputy superintendent of the police special branch and Don Muang Modern Market operator’s adviser Pol Lt-Colonel Santhana Prayoonrat complained to the national police chief to probe three police generals, including Weerachai, for alleged discrimination and bullying.

But Weerachai said the multiple raids on the market were part of a normal, legal investigation. “I’m just doing my job.I am not an opponent and have no close, personal relationship [with Santhana]. … I am not afraid of lawsuits. If the police are afraid of suspects, who can the public depend on? If you do things for the public, the law will protect you,” he said.

Kharee Upatham School in Nong Chok district, Wat Thep Leela School in Bang Kapi district, Wat Phaitan School in Phayathai district, Wat Bangchak School in Phasi Charoen district and Chorake Khob Mosque School and Yoo Pen Anusorn School in Prawet are the institutions.

BMA deputy governor Thaweesak Lertpraphan has signed an order to provide special education for children with special needs in the six schools.

The BMA announced that last year its 128 schools provided special education to 3,782 children with special needs.

It said it plans to expand special education programme for children who have special needs to all 430 BMA schools in the future.