Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni), Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera omurai), Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) were added to the wildlife conservation list. They were previously just protected animals.

The new list is based on amendments to three wild protection laws issued in 1992, 2003 and 2014. Since nearly extinct animal species are given the “preserved” status, they need extra conservation, the announcement read.

Section 113 of the new amendment outlined the increased protection and specified that those who have any of these four species in their possession must inform officials within 90 days after the act is enforced.

The new law will come into force in the next 180 days.

Bryde’s whales can be found in the Gulf of Thailand, but there are only 45 left after deaths caused by fishing boats and lack of food sources. There are also just 15 Omura’s whales left in the Gulf of Thailand.

Though Leatherback sea turtles can be sighted in the Andaman Sea, they are still under threat by the tourism and fisheries industries as there is no exact number for how many are left. It is reported that some 100 whale sharks live in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea, but they too face dangers from fisheries.

The Thaiger website quoted marine biologist Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat as saying that it took about four years to get these four species a classified status and give them additional protection through stricter laws.

“There have been no reserved species [added to the list] in the last 27 years,” Thon said.

The amended law defines the term “protected animals” to refer to those living things of significance to an ecosystem, and the diminishing of whose population may affect that ecosystem. The law defined the “controlled animals” as being protected in accordance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

VENDORS IN Bangkok’s wholesale Sampheng market have joined forces to oppose plans to construct a bridge near their area.

“We will officially submit a letter of protest to the Bangkok Metro-politan Administration (BMA),” Amornrat Kriangka-chaorn said yesterday as coordinator of vendors in Sampheng and Tha Din Daeng.

Opponents have warned that the construction, if implemented, will destroy the thriving Sampheng market as well as businesses nearby in areas such as Ratchawong and Tha Din Daeng.

Chumsilp Sothipreedawong, a local resident, said businesses in the area have a distinctive identity and were mostly developed by small entrepreneurs.

“This bridge will hurt local businesses and local ways for no reason. Even if it is built, the bridge will not ease the traffic congestion,” he complained.

The 12-metre-wide bridge straddling Chao Phraya River will have two lanes for traffic in each direction. Given that traffic from one direction will have to flow into the Sampheng area, locals foresee traffic snarls.

“Really, we see no point of building this bridge,” Amornrat said.

This bridge is one of the four that BMA is planning to build across the Chao Phraya River. The three other bridges are at Kiak Kai intersection, Lad Ya-Maha Preuttaram and Chan-Charoen Nakhon roads.

For the bridge on Ratchawong-Tha Din Daeng roads, the BMA had tasked Tesco Co Ltd to conduct a preliminary study and draw up the design.

In 2011, the company completed its work and recommended that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) be conducted.

In response to the suggestion, Pre Development Consultant Co Ltd was commissioned to prepare the EIA. It completed its study on

March 30 and was set to start the building work.

Draft city plan

This bridge project is included in Bangkok’s draft town plan. Last Friday, a public forum on the draft was held in order to gather opinions from relevant parties.

However, most of those who turned up at the forum disagreed with the draft, saying it seemed to favour investors and the private sector at the expense of local people.

Among their concerns were evictions, dust from construction projects and urban overcrowding.

Narumon Mekborisut from the Foundation for Consumers, which represents many communities in Bangkok, revealed that she had|previously informed the BMA that many parts of the draft should be reviewed.

“It’s necessary to pay close attention to environmental impacts and problems that high-rise buildings will cause to local communities,” she said.

Woranan Wiworakij said last Friday that high-rise buildings brought to Mahadlekluang communities cause traffic jams, floods and dust problems.

“Those coming to high-rise buildings often park in the small lanes of our community,” she lamented.

BMA has maintained that the town-planning draft is designed to make the capital a more pleasant place in which to live.

The new regulations, controlling the price of medicines, medical supplies and medical services, went into effect yesterday.

Many patients go to private hospitals to avoid the crowds and long queues at state medical facilities, but many find themselves being “ripped off”.

Now, with so many complaints filed against private medical facilities, the government can no longer turn a blind eye. Earlier this year, Foundation for Consumers secretary-general Saree Ongsomwang said that in one case, the medical bill went beyond Bt23 million.

In another case, a patient was charged Bt30,000 for a simple diarrhoea complaint.

“If hospitals involve many specialists for simple symptoms, like a headache or stomach ache, only to charge the patients a hefty fee, then that can be grounds for complaint and legal action,” Internal Trade Department’s director-general Wichai Phochanakit said yesterday.

He added that any hospital or executives found guilty of delivering unnecessary treatment and overcharging patients face the risk of seven years in jail and/or a fine of Bt140,000.

From yesterday, hospitals joined importers, exporters, manufacturers and distributors, in having to declare purchasing and selling prices for their goods. The new rules cover 3,892 medicines, medical supplies and medical services listed in the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients.

“The failure to do so will result in a jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of Bt20,000 plus a Bt2,000 daily fine throughout the period of delay,” Wichai explained. He said the prices declared by hospitals will be displayed on his department’s and the hospitals’ websites.

“Private hospitals are also required to display a QR code on their websites so patients can conveniently check the prices,” he continued.

A recent review found that at some private hospitals, medicines were being sold at prices that were 29.33 per cent to 8,766.79 per cent higher than their cost price. In other words, the price difference could be anything between Bt10.83 and Bt28,862 per unit.

For instance, Orfarin costs Bt2 per unit, but is on average sold at some private hospitals for Bt13.7, and in some as much as Bt36 per unit. Amphotericin-B costs Bt452, but is on average sold for Bt937 in some hospitals. The price of the medication can even go as high as Bt2,200 in some places.

“Our new rules aim to ensure fair prices. We will significantly expand the number of medicines, medical supplies and medical services covered under the new regulations,” Wichai said.

He added that from now on, private hospitals must inform patients, if asked, of the estimated cost of treatment.

“Also, under the new regulations, prescriptions must include the generic and trade names of a medicine, what form the medication is in, the amount and consumption instructions,” he said. “Bills should also specify the per-unit price of the medicine.”

Wichai added that hospitals failing to comply with this stipulation can face up to five years in jail and/or a fine of Bt100,000.

The 16-year-old boy received the inaugural award from Middlebury College, which will also provide an English-training camp at his school later in the year.

“Adul’s inspiring story is exactly what we had in mind for the Global Citizen’s Award,” Middlebury College president Laurie Patton was quoted as saying on the college website.

“Our intention is to recognise a person who, through their communication skills and compassion, are able to change the world with no expectation of being in the limelight – a global citizen who has been working without recognition,” said Patton.

Adul was born in 2003 in Myanmar’s Wa State, and was brought to the Hope Mae Sai Church in Chiang Rai when he was six. He was later taken in by the pastor and his wife, who enrolled him at the Baan Wiang Phan School.

The youngster became a top student, excelling in academics, including the study of English, Thai, Burmese and Mandarin, as well as an accomplished athlete, participating in soccer, volleyball, and track and field, the website said.

In order to offer something to Adul’s school community, Patton said the college has established a three-year summer internship programme — in collaboration with the Baan Wiang Phan School in Mae Sai district — that will have Middlebury students teaching English at the school.

“We talk about global engagement as an equal exchange of educational goods,” said Patton.

Hannah Krutiansky, 19, majoring in geography, and Anh Bui, a master’s student in the Middlebury Institute’s Teaching Foreign Language programme, will serve as the first interns in the new programme this summer.

“The message of the Baan Wiang Phan School of educating everyone regardless of their citizenship or nationality is directly in line with everything I believe in, particularly since I have spent the last two |summers working with non-profits that provide legal representation |to asylum seekers,” said Krutiansky.

Krutiansky said the fact that her family arrived in the US as migrants and struggled to learn the language motivates her to help others in a variety of capacities.

In June 2018, Adul and his teammates and coach became trapped in the Tham Luang Cave, where they’d gone exploring. Rapidly rising waters due to heavy rain created dangerous conditions for rescue teams working to get the boys out.

Their two-week ordeal came to an end when British divers, in search of the missing boys, discovered them deep in the cave.

Adul took on an unexpected leadership role during the rescue operation when, due to his knowledge of four languages, he offered to translate, which enabled him to effectively communicate with the divers, asking questions and keeping his friends informed, the website said.

All 13 members of the soccer team were safely rescued over the course of several days. Adul has since returned to school and is continuing his studies.

Pongsathorn Amput, 18, a resident of Chiang Rai province’s Dok Kham Tai district, was undergoing treatment at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital for serious head injuries suffered in a road accident.

After he died a few days ago, the hospital found that he had donated his organs to the Thai Red Cross for transplants.

The teenager’s family was informed about his organ donation. Due to his age, permission was needed from his parents before his organs could be used.

Surgeon Dr Pongsakorn Pongsapas, who is in charge of the hospital’s organ donation and transplant centre, told the press conference yesterday that six organs of the deceased teenager – heart, liver, two kidneys and two eyes – were removed and later transplanted in six patients.

“Organ donation is a great way to make merit,” the doctor said. The hospital thanked the donor’s family.

He said the Chiang Rai hospital has the capability to conduct organ transplants but the problem was one of shortage of donated organs.

The teenager’s parents yesterday said they were surprised to learn that he was an organ donor. He had never told them about that.

Pongsathorn Amput, 18, a resident of Chiang Rai province’s Dok Kham Tai district, and his parents are all smiles in this photo. The teenager recently passed away and donated his organs to a state hospital.

His father Watchara, 56, said yesterday that the family has just learned from the hospital that he had donated his organs to the Thai Red Cross.

“We were surprised and found it unacceptable in the beginning. But we later accepted that it was his intention, so we went along. We are very sorry [about his death] but we find that his organs could help as many as six people, so we allowed the doctors to use the organs,” the father said.

The teenager’s mother Saokham, 47, said she had learnt that he had donated his organs when he was a high-school student, without his family coming to know about it. The mother said that she initially disagreed with the idea of organ donation but she later learned that there was a high demand for donated organs for patients in need of transplants.

“We discussed and gave permission to make merit for him,” she said.

More than 6,400 patients have registered with the Thai Red Cross for organ transplants. Of these, most of them – 6,082 – are on the waiting list for kidney transplants. So far this year, only 585 people on the waiting list could actually undergo organ transplants, according to the Thai Red Cross.

Dr Samroeng Srikaew, deputy director of the Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital, told the press conference yesterday that only 111 people had offered to donate their organs this year, which was far below the demand.

“The hospital would like to thank the Amput family for allowing Pongsathorn’s organs to be donated. His organs could help save a lot of lives – and this was a great merit-making,” the hospital executive said.

Durian lovers are invited to Nonthaburi Durian Festival and enter auctions of durians whose money will be donated to buy medical equipment for hospitals.

Last year, the highest bid for a Kan Yao durian was Bt800,000 and the total raised by the auction was Bt2.89 million.

Nonthaburi durians are well known for their unique taste.

The authorities joined hands with the private sector in hosting the festival until Monday.

The auction will be held on Saturday from 5pm onwards. Nine durians will be sold at auction and officials have cut down four durians in preparation for the auction.

The festival will be used as a platform to preserve the plants under the guidance of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, generating income for durian planters as well as to promote tourism in the province.

Krissana Kewchingduang, 30, who was sent to the hospital for stomach treatment, snatched a Honda motorcycle from Sarinthorn Chuannok, 29, who was parking at a pharmacy where she worked on Wednesday.

The pharmacy is located in front of the hospital.

The inmate was jailed for drug distribution at Thonburi Remand Prison in Bangkok’s Bangbon district.

As of Thursday afternoon, he is still at large.

Meanwhile, a Samut Sakhon court issued an arrest warrant for Krissana.