But, on the day of the robbery, there were no police near the scene, he allegedly said.

Police said he claimed to have thrown all the gold stolen into a river in Sing Buri.

A close friend of the suspect, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Prasittichai, despite his gentle demeanour, had a bad temper and is deep in debt from betting on football.

The accident occurred in Ban Phaeo, Samut Sakhon, while the students were from Sirindhorn Ratchawittayalai School in Nakhon Pathom.

Police claim pickup driver Naruebet Boonpha, 18, who was only slightly injured, told them he was checking messages on his phone and came close to hitting a lorry in front of him.

He allegedly said he veered to the right, only to collide with the school van, sending it into a power pole.

One of the injured students remains in intensive care at Ban Phaeo Hospital. Three were treated and released and the other four are in good condition.

“The first measure is to use advanced scientific and statistical techniques to analyse the chemical structure of the sample CPO to accurately determine its origin,” he said. “The ministry will work together with government agencies, the private sector and educational institutions in developing an effective testing system based on these techniques.”

Sothirat further added that once ready, the testing system will be deployed to monitor CPO stocks nationwide, especially those in manufacturers of B100 (biodiesel made from 100 per cent pure palm oil), which is the key ingredient in manufacturing B7, B10 and B20 biodiesels. “The test system should be operational from the second quarter onwards, just in time for the Ministry of Energy’s policy to have all service stations sell B10 as standard biodiesel starting March 1,” he added.

As for the second measure, the ministry aims to install Automatic Tank Gauge (ATG) at storage tanks of all biodiesel manufacturers to monitor the stock of B100 in real time and be able to identify any discrepancy in B100 volume should there be any use of smuggled CPO.

“At present there are 14 manufacturers of B100 in Thailand with 76 storage tanks; 42 of them are already fitted with ATG while the rest are expected to be fitted by October,” said Sonthirat. “The fitting process does not take long but the procurement process of the ATGs, which cost in total around Bt10 million, will take some time.”

Petchchai reportedly confessed to police that he had hidden 138,000 methamphetamine pills, which he had bought from another suspect, Nirun Chansri, 31, in an abandoned house a day before he was captured.

Locals believed the house, in which two people had died, was haunted. People in the area were discouraged from staying in it or even passing by. Suspect Petchchai, however, thought the ‘haunted’ rumours would make it a safe hiding place for the drugs.

After his arrest, he identified Nirun, which soon led to his arrest. Police founded 20,000 meth pills and a 9mm gun inside Nirun’s house. Both had identical meth pills, which had been transferred from a neighbouring country.

The officers brought the two suspects and the seized 158,000 meth pills to the inquiry official in Phitsanulok Police Station. Both will be prosecuted for being in possession and distribution of drugs.

The coronavirus, whose outbreak began in Wuhan, China earlier this month, causes pneumonia.

“Three of these patients were Chinese, while one is a Thai national who had travelled back from Wuhan,” he said. “Two of the Chinese patients have already recovered and returned to China, while the Thai patient is receiving treatment at Nakhon Pathom hospital.”

Anutin added that there was no human-to-human transmission of the virus in the quarantined patients.

“The condition of the Thai patient is improving gradually. Once they fully recover, the ministry will compare the hospital’s test results with results from other medical institutes. If the result turns out negative, then they will be discharged,” said Anutin.

“The Ministry of Public Health is strictly following World Health Organisation [WHO] guidelines in disease control to ensure the safety of Thai people,” Anutin said. “We have regularly updated and discussed the situation with WHO executives, who have complimented Thailand for its efforts in providing information regarding the disease to the people, which has enabled precautionary measures and reduced the level of public panic caused by lack of understanding,” the minister added.

National Police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda will later provide further information.

On Wednesday morning, the forensic team was preparing evidence to issue an arrest warrant. They used DNA from sweat at the scene to identify the suspect.

The report identified the suspect, Prasittichai Khaokaew, as a firearms coach and director of Wat Pho Chai School in Singburi province. He has reportedly confessed to the crimes and his motive is being investigated.

Thai netizens have shared a picture of the suspect celebrating Children’s Day on his Facebook account two days after allegedly murdering three people, including a two-year-old boy.

He said the Narcotics Suppression Bureau joined hands with the Armed Forces security centre to arrest on January 15 the “masterminds” behind an international drug smuggling gang using ambulances. Their roles were revealed when seven suspects were arrested in Phayao province on March 30, 2019, and 398kg of “ice” and 81kg of ketamine seized. All the convicts will face the death penalty.

The two alleged masterminds behind the operation were revealed to be “Mr Payao” and “Ms Sureerat”, who allegedly ordered and monitored the transportation from North and South.

On July 2019, a truck containing 1,500kg of “ice” was found in Pathum Thani and police learned about the two masterminds. Both fled to Nakhon Pathom province but the combined efforts of the security forces led to their arrest on January 15. They are being interrogated to find more members involved in the drug smuggling gang.

“This year, the company is still focused on the keys of success in 2019, namely, consumer-based expansion strategy, customer-based innovation development, and distribution channel extension,” she said.

She added that these core businesses will improve and develop themselves through the key initiatives of health and wellness, digital adoption, and sustainability.

Regarding the company’s beverage business, she said the overall market for bottled green tea has started to rebound after being impacted negatively by excise tax since 2017.

“However, consumption has not recovered to the same level as in 2017,” said Jesdakorn Ghosh, senior vice president of the beverage business. “The market value in 2019 and 2018 was Bt12.369 billion and Bt12.106 billion respectively, while the value in 2017 was Bt13.279 billion”.

“We aim to extend our consumer base for beverages to help generate revenue after being affected by the tax,” she added.

This year, the beverage section plans to expand its consumer base of high-quality products. Besides, it aims to expand overseas from 33 countries currently, while strengthening the main markets in Asean, especially Cambodia and Laos.

Previously, Oishi promoted its brand through Realm of Valor, an online game, targeting the engagement of those who aged between 13 and 24.

Meanwhile, the executive vice president of the food division, Paisarn Aowsathaporn, said that the concept to drive restaurant business was to build and maintain Oishi as “King of Japanese Food”.

He said this year restaurants under the company will increase to more than 26 branches nationwide.

The restaurant section also plans to develop spin-off brands to strengthen the company’s port.

“The premium ‘Oyoki’ soft-serve ice cream shop, which was launched last year, will open its second branch soon at Samyan Mitrtown department store,” he added.

The executive vice president also plans to rebuild the existing ‘Hou Yuu’ restaurant by expanding its branch and open ‘Sakae’ restaurant to serve those high-end customers.

Mekhala Nethipo, senior vice president of the packaged food business, said that the trend of instant foods remained strong and was showing continuous growth.

“We aim to strengthen our instant cuisine brand ‘Oishi Eato’ to make it more well-known to consumers and will reinforce the company’s leadership in ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook foods,” she explained.

She said that those instant foods will be improved in diversity and quality to attract more customers and to serve consumers’ needs.

Lastly, another aim of instant food this year was to extend its distribution channels from supermarkets and retail stores to hotels, cafés and restaurants, in Thailand and overseas.

Mekhala’s section will cover food-service providers through synergistic partnerships with other subsidiaries under Thai Beverage Group, she said.