In its statement, the embassy revealed that in the past two months, it had been alerted by many Thais visiting Sweden on study, pleasure or business trips that their belongings and valuables, including passports, had been stolen.

The most common locations were hotel lobbies and breakfast rooms, therefore all visitors should be careful about keeping their belongings secure, even at their own hotels, the statement said.

Moreover, visitors should be extra-cautious while in crowded areas such as train stations, airports and walking streets.

Many thieves give the impression that they are lost and ask for directions in order to catch a target off guard, while others ask the victim to take a photo for them and then grab the opportunity to steal from them, the statement explained.

Thais should therefore not leave their bags, passports or valuables far from them at any time, it warned.

The statement also said that no one should assume that their friend would take care of their belongings.

Visitors should not carry large sums of cash, and should divide and keep their money in separate places so that in the event of theft, they would have some money left, the embassy recommended.

Moreover, the embassy said shops in Sweden did not prefer cash, while some refused to accept it, therefore Thais should be ready to use a credit card or some other way of paying, such as mobile payment.

Visitors are also recommended to make paper or digital copies of their documents, such as passports and visas, in case of emergency.

Thais affected by such crime in Sweden can call the embassy at +46702344191 or +46702344192, e-mail to consular@thaiembassy.se, or message via Facebook atwww.facebook.com/RoyalThaiEmbassyStockholm.

The embassy’s address is Floragatan 3, 114 31 Stockholm.

This year, as many as 11 physical attacks have erupted at state hospitals in various provinces. In the latest incident, a patient receiving treatment at an emergency ward at an Ubon Ratchathani Hospital had his face sliced with a cleaver when his rival forced his way in.

That incident, which occurred on May 19, appears to have been the last straw.

An informed source has revealed that the Public Health Ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr Sukhum Karnchanapimai, on May 24 issued a letter to all provincial governors informing them that they should ensure that perpetrators of violence at state hospitals face legal action.

The letter emphasised that state hospitals must file a complaint with police against all instigators of violence.

The letter even detailed the legal clauses that can be used against the wrongdoers.

Under Article 364 of the Criminal Code, for example, a raid using violence or the threat of violence is a crime. Damaging public property is also a legal offence under Article 360.

“Brawling at state hospitals scares patients, threatens hospital staff, and causes damage to state property,” reads one part of the letter, as it underlined the need to take legal action.

In the past, violent incidents at state hospitals were almost unheard of. But in recent months, several reports of physical attacks have made it into the media to the dismay of the public and authorities.

Statistics show 51 violent incidents occurred at state hospitals under the Public Health Ministry’s supervision between 2012 and 2019.

Of them, 18 were brawls among non-staff and 19 others were attacks against hospital officials. There was one deliberate attack on hospital property.

The violence caused 10 deaths, including three public-health officials. Violent incidents at state hospitals injured another 56 victims, 13 of whom were public-health officials.

By year, there was one violent incident in 2012 and 2014, and none in 2013. The number of violent incidents at state hospitals quickly ramped up from four in 2016, to 10 in 2017, and 17 in 2018.

The upward trajectory of violent attacks seems set to continue, with at least 11 cases reported so far this year, prompting the Public Health Ministry to take a clear stance to bring instigators of violence to court.

Sexual attacks against children below the age of 13, for example, will result in life in prison under the tougher law, while penalties will double for rapists who share recordings of the assault. The new law also recognises sexual crimes against men and corpses.

Promulgated in the Royal Gazette on Monday, the act to amend the Criminal Code’s rape section prescribes harsher punishments against sexual attackers and recognises new forms of the crime. Death penalty will be given in cases where the victim dies as a result of sexual violence.

Panadda Wongphudee, a beauty queen-turned-campaigner, has hailed the new law as being more comprehensive and in line with the modern context. “For instance, it addresses the issue of audio and video recordings of sexual assaults,” she said, adding that under this law, police can no longer push victims to settle the matter out of court.

Jaded Chouwilai, director of the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation (WMP), said yesterday that police usually try to mediate when rape complaints are filed.

“This happens in cases that have not received media attention,” he said.

WMP has been following reports in 13 newspapers to monitor the frequency of sexual violence. In 2017, 317 cases of sexual crimes were reported. Of the victims, 60.6 per cent were aged between five and 20, while 30.9 per cent were aged between 41 and 60. The oldest victim was 90 years old.

WMP also highlighted the fact that 53 per cent of the rapists were very close to the victims or members of their family. This is also possibly the reason why the newly introduced law seeks to toughen the penalty for sexual crimes committed against relatives.

“Only 38.2 per cent of rapists were complete strangers,” Jaded said, adding that some 8.8 per cent of rapists had met their victims through social media.

Inebriation also played a part in about a third of the sexual crimes reported.

“From the news reports, we also learned that 20 victims had died from sexual violence,” Jaded said, adding that the reported cases were just the tip of the iceberg as many cases go unreported.

“Working in the field, I have learned first hand that sexual crimes show no signs of subsiding,” he said, adding that he doesn’t believe tougher penalties will reduce the number of crimes. Instead, he said, a more effective tool would be to enforce laws more strictly and make an effort to solve family and social problems.

He is also encouraging families and society as a whole to actively pursue efforts to put an end to sexual violence.

“Don’t make girls feel embarrassed to report sexual violence. Don’t let patriarchy prevail,” he said, adding that fathers often think they own their daughters, while male employers believe they can do anything to their female workers due to prevailing patriarchal attitudes.

He also called on media to stop stigmatising women in sexual-crime reports and urged the entertainment industry to stop portraying rapists as heroes.

“Don’t make it look like a rape can lead to love. In reality, no victim loves their rapist,” Jaded said.

Social Equality Promotion Foundation’s director Supensri Puengkhokesoong said she was worried about the enforcement process.

“No matter how good the law is, its effectiveness depends solely on the enforcers,” she said, expressing hope that victims will be given quick access to their legal rights following the crimes.

She said that while the new law in general wields tougher penalties, it also gives the court an option to consider putting offenders below the age of 18, whose victims are between 13 and 15 years old, under welfare protection instead of penalising them.

“They were brought in for questioning under martial law as authorities intend to go after the unidentified gunmen in Monday’s clash,” the source said yesterday.

The gunfight lasted several hours in Moo 4, Tambon Kathong, on Monday morning during authorities’ efforts to step up security measures in the area. The violent confrontation killed a suspected insurgent and injured two officials.

Abdullah Lateh, who was wanted for several security crimes, died at the scene.

Yala is a province in the deep South where unrest has raged on for more than a decade, claiming thousands of lives.

In the nearby province of Pattani, police are investigating a bomb blast that rocked the Bo Thong Market in Nong Chik district, also on Monday.

The explosion killed two people, including a 14-year-old boy, and injured 23 others. Of those injured, eight remained hospitalised.

The ongoing investigation suggested the rangers were the targets of the attack, as it was very likely that bombers knew that rangers would be providing security at the market. Explosives hidden inside a parked motorcycle went off just 10 minutes after the rangers arrived.

The blast injured four rangers, all of whom are now being treated in hospital. One of the rangers, 34-year-old Abdulloh Kahong, is reportedly in a critical condition.

“The motorcycle used for this blast was also used for a shooting at a restaurant last month,” said Pattani’s police chief, Pol Maj-General Piyawat Chalermsri.

He said that based on available evidence, there were reasons to believe that Monday’s explosion was staged by a group led by Maolana Samoh.

“Abdullah, the man who was killed in Yala’s Yaha district, is a close friend of Maolana,” Piyawat said.

Piyawat said most witnesses remembered seeing the motorcycle parked at the market but none could remember who parked it there.

“So, we are going to closely examine recordings from security cameras near the scene. We believe we should be able to see who drove the motorcycle to the spot,” the police chief added.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders yesterday found Major Wirawut Wajjanapukka, Boonsong’s secretary during the Pheu Thai Party-led administration, guilty of colluding in a scheme to allegedly sell rice from government stocks to two Chinese state-owned companies at reduced prices.

Wirawut was originally sentenced to 72 years in jail – 18 years for each of the four counts of offence. However, the Penal Code sets 50 as the maximum number of years in prison.

The rice was supposed to be sold as a government-to-government deal, but the rice was never shipped to China and was instead delivered to local businesses.

Suthee Chuamthaisong, another defendant in the case, was yesterday sentenced in absentia to 32 years in jail for his role in the graft scandal. The court has also ordered him to pay Bt16.9 billion in compensation to the Commerce Ministry, which is considered the damaged party in the case.

Suthee worked for businessman Apichart Chansakulporn, who is better known in media as “Sia Piang”. The tycoon is serving a lengthy jail term for his involvement in the rice-pledging scheme.

Yesterday, the court also ordered arrest warrants to be issued for both fugitives.

Both Wirawut and Suthee have been on the run since 2015, shortly after the case was brought to court.

In August 2017, Boonsong and his former deputy, Poom Sarapol, along with 15 others were found guilty and given jail sentences ranging from four to 48 years.

On May 17, the Supreme Court ordered that assets worth Bt896.5 million belonging to Wirawut, his parents, ex-wife, daughter and former father-in-law be confiscated.