Pattaya police was alerted to a fire at 6am on Thursday (January 23) at a La Bella Casa village in Bang Lamung District of Chonburi. Smoke were seen billowing out from a one-story house in the housing estate.

Firefighters were able to put out the flames and disconnect electricity supply to the property. During the incident, Filipino Phlaserdin Angel (49), was seen rushing out of the house with her pets. Officers later found Henry Hermann (81), a Swiss, lying on the floor and choking on smoke. Firefighter performed first aid on him but failed to save his life.

According to a source, Hermann called Angel after feeling tightness in his chest before his house caught fire.

Officers found several possible causes of the fire, including the stove which was left turned on.

Hermann might have ignited the stove in an attempt to set the house on fire, said the  source.

The Swiss is suffering from paranoia, a condition of being afraid of everything and constantly thinking that he will be attacked. His body was taken for an autopsy as police investigate the incident.

The pollution was a problem at this same time last year, it noted, providing statistics indicating that the situation should abate in early February.

KResearch sees the capital’s economy impacted in terms of health, tourism and business.

People’s health is again being severely affected, especially among those with allergies and respiratory diseases, the centre said.

“From January 1-22, 2019, the number of patients treated for respiratory ailments at Bangkok Metropolitan Authority hospitals increased by about 50 per cent compared to December 2018.”

KResearch estimates health costs of between Bt2 billion and Bt3 billion this year, of which more than 75 per cent will be attributable to medical treatment.

Facemasks cost less on average this year, though, and many people kept the ones they used in 2019.

KResearch expects the dust haze to scare off Bt1 billion-Bt2.4 billion worth of tourism in Bangkok and vicinity, or 1-2.5 per cent of normal total tourist income.

“Both Thai and foreign tourists will avoid Bangkok during this period.”

The business sector in Bangkok and the area will likely lose Bt200 million-Bt600 million, mainly because people will dine out less, hurting restaurants as well as food shops and markets.

KResearch lauded the government’s priority budget to ease the pollution in fiscal 2020, but warned that “this problem requires cooperation from all sectors”.

“For example, the private sector should check the condition of all vehicles used and inspect construction sites and factories, while citizens should not burn garbage or farm detritus.”

Daily trade volume was Bt61.98 billion, with an index high of 1,577.92 and a low of 1,567.10.

Tisco Financial Group had predicted a swing between a support level of 1,565-1,570 and a resistance level of 1,585.

Contributing factors are concerns about the Wuhan coronavirus, an expected delay in disbursing the budget for fiscal 2020 and a lowered project for world economic growth from the International Monetary Fund.

Elsewhere in Asia:

Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 23,795.44, down 235.91 points or 0.98 per cent.

China’s Shenzhen SE Component Index fell to 10,681.90, down 390.15 or 3.52 per cent.

The Shanghai SE Composite Index closed at 2,976.53, down 84.23 or 2.75 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 27,909.12, down 431.92 or 1.52 per cent.

South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,246.13, down 21.12 or 0.93 per cent.

The Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) announced that Pareena had returned the land in question to the office and the charge was dismissed. Local officials in Ratchaburi province have yet to measure and allocate the land to qualified farmers as intended, it said.

However, ALRO was responsible for monitoring the national forest under the instruction of the Royal Forest Department. Thus, it must impose a fine on

Pareena for encroaching into the area according to Agricultural Land Reform Act 1975 Section 24, otherwise ALRO would have violated Penal Code Section 157.

The case also falls into the juridication of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division (NRECD) which has not decided if Pareena would be charged.

Social activist Srisuwan Chanya said Pareena was not qualified to own the land, reasoning that she was not a farmer or had an monthly income less than Bt30,000.

She must be considered as violating the law, Srisuwan added.

Keerati Ratchano reported that Thailand benefited from US$65.64 billion worth of privileges from January-November last year, 75.98 per cent of the total available, representing a 4.14-per-cent decrease from the same period of 2018.

Of that amount, $60.79 billion in privileges came through free-trade agreements (FTAs) and $4.85 billion from generalised systems of preference (GSP).

Keerati said the figures covered only 11 of Thailand’s 13 FTAs, since those signed with Hong Kong and New Zealand came into effect in the second half of 2019.

“The biggest increase in our use of FTA privileges came with Peru, up 31.96 per cent thanks to exports of surgical gloves and 250-500cc motorcycles,” he said. “Exports to Chile, mainly canned tuna and pickup trucks, saw the least expansion of FTA privilege use, at minus-29.19 per cent.”

Thailand’s biggest export markets offering FTA privileges in 2019 were Southeast Asia ($22.72 billion), China ($16.57 billion) and Australia ($7.29 billion).

The products most subjected to privileges were pickup trucks, synthetic and natural rubber, fresh durian, sugar and dried fruits.

For GSP privileges, Thailand’s biggest partners last year were the United States ($4.41 billion), Switzerland ($283.27 million) and Russia ($129.3 million) and the top exports were air-conditioner components, rubber gloves, processed foods, fruit juices and optical lenses.

“Thailand was faced with many obstacles in 2019, such as the US-China trade dispute, the baht’s appreciation and Washington’s decision to withdraw GSP privileges for some product categories,” said Keerati.

“The Foreign Trade Department is negotiating with the US to restore those privileges and is discussing suitable aid measures with exporters and the private sector.”

Thundershowers and gusty winds are possible in Udon Thani, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Sakon Nakhon and Mukdahan on Friday and Saturday, followed by a temperature drop of 6-8 degrees Celsius.

Minimum temperatures are expected to be in the range of 10-15C and in the mountains of the North 1-13C, with isolated frost likely.

Temperatures in Central Thailand should decrease by 2-4C, prompting a warning to farmers about the potential for crop damage.

Winds will remain light in the North and Central regions, including Bangkok and vicinity, and rain will also be isolated and light, meaning there’ll be little respite from the dust and smog.

But its president, Vichit Prakobgosol, is confident that the same problems recurring at the beginning of each year can be resolved.

“The main negative factor is the baht’s appreciation, which might decrease the number of tourists this year to below the targeted 41 million-42 million,” he said. “We’re expecting Bt29 per US dollar, down from the current Bt30.

“The PM2.5 dust in the air is another concern for many tourists. They’re not going to feel safe if the locals are wearing facemasks.”

Vichit would like to see the government give stronger support to the Tourism Authority of Thailand on marketing and entrepreneurs develop new goods and services that are reasonably priced.

“If the government and private sector don’t work together, they’ll lose out to competitors such as Malaysia and Vietnam, where the currency isn’t an issue.

“It’s been report that the Malaysian government has already waived visas for Chinese and Indian tourists. If that’s true, Thailand will lose an enormous amount of income because the Chinese are our main customers.”

Vichit doesn’t believe the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, will hamper Thai tourism during this weekend’s Lunar New Year festivities, but the situation in China will have to be closely monitored into February and March.

“Most of our tourists tend to be Chinese simply because China has such a large population. Our other main sources are India, Taiwan and the CLMV countries,” he said, referring to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Supawan Tanomkieatipume, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said average occupancy at hotels fell to 70-75 per cent last year, down from a long-time norm of 80 per cent.

As well as the baht’s appreciation, she blamed changes in tourist behaviour.

“Now there are a lot of people travelling on their own and even more people booking online because it’s more convenient and cheaper than booking through an agent,” she said. “So Thai hotel operators need to keep up with digital disruption affecting their customers’ behaviour.”

Supawan said hotels have to be more accepting of online bookings and perhaps even decline reservations made through agents.

“They may need to organise promotions or reduce room rates,” she added.

Head of mutual fund products Kidakarn Chudsuwan said that indicates improvement in the investment market, which he credited to progress on the US-China trade agreement and a Brexit deal in Europe.

“The investment situation still faces many challenges this year, such as the global economic slowdown, trade wars and political tension in many countries, causing fluctuations in the market and low-interest rate,” she said.

“To increase returns on investments, investors should diversify to reduce fluctuations in their portfolios.”

Kidakarn said the TMB bond had received excellent feedback from investors since the first round of sales between January 13 and 21, when Bt4.2 billion worth of the total Bt6 billion was sold, a record high for both TMB Bank and TMB Asset Management Eastspring.

“What brought this success was the low interest rate. Investors were looking for better returns than those coming from deposits with low risk,” she said.

“This fund has a yield to maturity of 5 per cent. Also, we control risk by diversifying investments in various bonds, resulting in low fluctuation in the past three years of 2.2 per cent. This fund has the lowest return in three years, contracting by just 1 per cent.”

Bond assets can still generate returns this year and also help reduce portfolio fluctuations while interest rates remain at a steady level, Kidakarn said.

“Since the establishment of this fund in December 2015, it has provided a return of 6.6 per cent per year. With proactive management policies and the flexibility to adjust investments to suit all market conditions, the fund yielded up to 11.77 per cent last year.”

At a press conference held by the Royal Thai Police at 10.40am on Thursday, suspect Prasittichai Khaokaew spoke through a phone-in system.

Previously, the suspect had told the police that he wanted to be killed by the police force because he was having personal problems and he had robbed the gold shop only to draw the attention of the authorities.

Police recently found that the gold robbed from the shop hidden in the house of the suspect’s wife, contradicting his previous confession that he had thrown all the gold in the river since he had no interest in it.

He also reportedly claimed that the gunshots he fired during the robbery were aimed at scaring people away from the gold shelves so that he could take it easily but he unintentionally shot a two-year-old child in the process.

Some journalists asked him whether he had wanted to turn himself in. He replied he had wanted to but he was unable to due to his tight work schedule taking care of students in his school.

Prasittichai was a director of a public school and firearms coach in Sing Buri province.

Patchara Anuntasilpa, director-general of the Excise Department, said that the department is working on this matter, especially a carbon tax that the government can charge from owners of motorcycles. The aim is to encourage entrepreneurs to invest more in electric vehicles.

Moreover, the diesel excise tax structure is going to be reformed by expanding the range of diesel types from two to six. The measure will be a long-term solution, he said.

Regarding the manufacture of electric vehicles, the government is planning to make a model scheme for it to enhance investment within three years so that the private sector can see a clear picture of the future plan and move forward with the public.

The Excise Department will soon propose to the Minister of Finance an act for an electric vehicles fund to manage battery waste disposal.

Under the new act, owners of electric vehicles have to pay a deposit for battery disposal at Bt1,000 per unit to help the fund and they will get all the money back after returning batteries for disposal to car companies.