Navy says ‘HTMS Sukhothai’ was fully repaired before being recommissioned
THURSDAY, JANUARY 05, 2023
The Royal Thai Navy on Thursday rejected a report on a Facebook page that the doomed “HTMS Sukhothai” was not fit for operation as its steel hull had eroded at 13 spots.
The Royal Thai Naval Dockyard issued a statement to affirm that “HTMS Sukhothai” had been fully repaired and met the safety standards before it was recommissioned in the Royal Thai Fleet on January 28, 2021.
The corvette sank some 20 nautical miles (32 kilometres) in a stormy sea off the coast of Bang Saphan district in Prachuap Khiri Khan province on December 18 with 105 crew onboard. So far, 76 members of the crew have been rescued and brought safely to shore, while 24 sailors have been declared dead and five missing. Since December 29, no bodies have been found.
A Facebook page hinted that the capsize might have been caused by the fact that 13 spots in its hull were more than 25% thinner than the original hull.
Vice Admiral Sutthisak Bunnag, commander of the Royal Thai Naval Dockyard, said on Thursday that the report on the Facebook page was incomplete.
He explained that HTMS Sukhothai was at the Mahidol Adulyadej dry dock for routine maintenance from July 12 to September 3, 2021 and the maintenance operation did find erosion in 13 spots, which were 25% thinner than the original hull.
But the corvette had been repaired and tested for safety before it was returned to the Royal Thai Fleet, Sutthisak insisted.
Woman hit with THB6.6 million parking fee after leaving car for 2 hours
THURSDAY, JANUARY 05, 2023
A woman who parked her car at a shopping mall in Nonthaburi was shocked to find a demand for 6.5 million baht in parking fees when she returned two hours later.
The motorist shared her ordeal via Facebook under her username, Popgoh Queen.
Her post contains a photo of the mall’s parking fee collection machine displaying the amount she owes as 6,574,590 baht.
A staff member manning the parking fee booth was no less astonished to see the whopping fee, and politely asked the woman to wait for a supervisor to clear things up.
According to her post, the woman arrived at the shopping mall at 9am and parked her car before returning at 11am.
A supervisor eventually turned up at the car park, checked the machine and diagnosed a glitch in the system.
The supervisor apologised and let her leave without paying a parking fee.
The poster said she would not be taking legal action against the mall as her ordeal had made a funny story to share on social media.
Royal Thai Navy gets custody of ‘HTMS Chang’, its new China-made warship
THURSDAY, JANUARY 05, 2023
The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) on Wednesday organised a ceremony to take custody of its new landing platform dock, “HTMS Chang”, from China.
Navy chief of staff Admiral Thaloengsak Sirisawat ceremony presided over the function at Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding in Shanghai.
Thailand’s third HTMS Chang replaces its second landing platform dock of the same name. The name of the warship is derived from an island in Trat province. The order was placed in September 2019.
The second HTMS Chang, also known as USS Lincoln County, was decommissioned in 2005, 43 years after the United States Navy transferred the ship to the Thai government on August 31, 1962.
The Thai Navy sank the second HTMS Chang at Hin Luk Bat diving site in Trat on November 28, 2012, under a project to recover marine resources there.
This move is also in line with the Navy’s 20-year strategy (2017-2036) to procure four landing platform docks to be used in operations, such as amphibious warfare, marine rescue and disaster relief.
“The Royal Thai Navy has to procure more landing platform docks in order to maximise operational efficiency,” it said.
The third HTMS Chang, 213 metres long and 28 metres at the beam, has maximum displacement of 20,003 tonnes and a speed of 25 knots. The ship can tolerate choppy seas and can accommodate 600 officers. Built at a cost of 6.1 billion baht, the ship will be commissioned at Royal Thai Fleet in Chonburi province.
Phuket officials tell PM they are ready to host expo in 2028
THURSDAY, JANUARY 05, 2023
Executives and members of 19 local administrative organisations from Phuket on Thursday gathered at the province’s city hall in Muang district to submit a letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha confirming the island province is ready to host the 2028 Specialised Expo.
The gathering was a response to a recent comment by Interior Ministry permanent secretary Suttipong Juljarern who said Phuket was not ready to host the international event and suggested the province withdraw its candidacy.
The letter was accepted by deputy governors Amnuay Pinsuwan and Anuphab Rodkwan, who promised to forward it to Prayut.
Rewat Areerob, president of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation, said local officials and communities had been working together over the past several months to prepare for hosting the international expo.
“We submitted the letter because we wanted those in high positions to understand our dedication and readiness to host the 2028 Specialised Expo,” he said.
Phuket residents were sad to hear the disheartening comment from a fellow Thai, especially one who is a senior official, Rewat said.
Thailand launched its bid for Phuket to host the 2028 Specialised Expo in Paris in June last year, highlighting the southern island’s suitability to host the event under the theme “Future of Life: Living in Harmony, Sharing Prosperity”.
Specialised Expos are meant to respond to a specific challenge facing humanity and usually take place between World Expos.
The Bureau of International Exposition will announce the country that will host the 2028 Specialised Expo in June. There are five candidates: the US, Argentina, Serbia, Spain, and Thailand.
In January of last year, the Cabinet approved a budget of 4.18 billion baht for hosting the 2028 Specialised Expo.
More assets of alleged drug kingpin under scrutiny of narcotics control board
THURSDAY, JANUARY 05, 2023
The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) plans to confiscate more assets of a drug-dealing network operated by alleged kingpin Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant.
Chaiyanat is a Chinese businessman who was granted Thai citizenship after marrying a senior police officer and is believed to be behind a Chinese triad dealing in drugs and other criminal activities.
After he surrendered on November 23, police raided many sites in Bangkok and other provinces believed to be the bases of Chaiyanat’s alleged network.
ONCB secretary-general Wichai Chaimongkhon said on Thursday that the office had confiscated assets worth 1.2 billion baht from the network so far, thanks to clues provided by the Justice Ministry and former massage parlour tycoon and politician Chuwit Kamolvisit.
He said the ONCB recently found that the network owned more assets worth in excess of 2 billion baht, including real estate in Bangkok and its vicinity.
“The ONCB will investigate such assets while allowing asset owners to clarify the issue,” he said.
He said clues from Chuvit helped facilitate officials’ operation, adding that the ONCB will investigate one of the network’s venues soon.
Chuvit had earlier released a new video clip on his Facebook page, showing network members giving first aid to a Chinese man who suffered from drug overdose at Bangkok’s Jinling nightclub.
He said the video clip was taken from a CCTV camera inside the nightclub, adding that the Chinese man was taken out of the room after he recovered.
He plans to address a press conference on Thursday to introduce the main witness who had seen cash transfers of 20 million to 30 million baht per transaction from China to Thailand.
Chuwit also said the witnesses preferred to meet him, as they did not trust the police.
Curb the craving: Thailand to up tax on sweet drinks, food from April 1
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
Sweet, sugary food and beverages will become more expensive from April 1, as the Excise Department will be pushing up the tax again.
Ekniti Nitithanprapas, the department’s director-general, said on Friday that the hike was initially meant to be put in place on October 1 last year, but was postponed by the Cabinet to March 31 this year.
“The Excise Department will launch the third phase of the tax hike in fiscal 2023 in line with the law,” he said.
The first phase of the tax hike ran from September 16, 2017 to September 30, 2019, and the second phase from October 1, 2019 to October 1, 2022.
Under the third phase, from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2025, tax will be levied as follows:
• 0.3 baht/litre for 6-8 grams of sugar
• 1 baht/litre for 8-10g of sugar
• 3 baht/litre for 10-14g
• 5 baht/litre for more than 14g
Thailand began levying heavy taxes on sugary food and beverages in a bid to promote good health and to meet the World Health Organisation’s recommendation to prevent and contain non-communicable diseases.
Average headline inflation in 2022 was the highest in 24 years
THURSDAY, JANUARY 05, 2023
Thailand’s average headline inflation in 2022 hit 6.08 per cent, the highest in 24 years, the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) said on Wednesday.
The inflation rate is still within the 5.5% to 6.5% range forecast by the Commerce Ministry, TPSO director Poonpong Naiyanapakorn said, adding that the last time Thailand’s headline inflation was this high was in 1998 when it rose to 8.1%.
Based on the consumer price index (CPI), headline inflation in December was 5.89% — 0.06% higher than the previous month — due to global energy prices that continued to soar since August, said Poonpong.
Core inflation in December remained the same as in the previous month at 3.23%, while the whole-year average was 2.51%.
The TPSO also reported consumer confidence index (CCI) in December at 50.4%, rising for the first time in 43 months, thanks to the continuing recovery of the domestic economy.
The TPSO forecast headline inflation in 2023 at 2-3% as it expects energy prices to stabilise amid the stagnating global economy. Also contributing to this number is the result of the government’s measures to reduce people’s cost of living.
The National Economic and Social Development Council, however, has predicted inflation in 2023 at 2.5-3.5%, the Bank of Thailand has predicted 3%, the Fiscal Policy Office 2.9%, and Krungsri Research 2.5%.
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