The Minister of Digital Economy and Society on Thursday defended his decision to block access to Pornhub and other adult sites, saying pornography violates children’s and women’s rights.
Buddhipongse Punnakanta acknowledged that Monday’s move to block access to Pornhub and other sites had triggered an outpouring of public complaints over government censorship.
“I believe that people who have children will understand the ministry’s move, because the site contains lots of inappropriate video clips,” he said, adding that the ministry did not intend to bully anyone.
He said pornography websites that give access to users of any age must be closed, as they violate the law, as well as children’s and women’s rights.
“Currently, ministry officials are dealing with hundreds of websites. If any violate the law, we will submit the evidence to court,” he said, confirming that the ministry is also dealing with gambling websites.
It was up to lawmakers to decide whether to review the law on users’ age, he added.
Pornhub had been accessible in Thailand for more than a decade before Monday.
NationalNov 05. 2020Jatupat Boonpattarasaksa, left, Haruethai Muangboonsri, right
By The Nation
A political debate between royalist former singer Haruethai Muangboonsri and pro-democracy activist Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpattarasaksa turned into a pointless shouting match when the pro-monarchist snapped and refused to listen.
The debate, broadcast by Thairath TV on Wednesday night, was moderated Jomquan Lopetch and began with Jatupat being asked why the protesters’, going by the name Khana Ratsadon (People’s Party), refuse to accept the government’s reconciliation committee.
Jatupat responded by saying this committee is being used as an excuse to avoid applying existing procedures and for the government to play outside the rules.
He also said protesters are demanding Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s resignation because he took the post through a military coup in 2014.
Haruethai immediately countered him by declaring that the coup was necessary because Thais were not happy and there were far too many conflicts in the country at the time. She also said that the elected-Yingluck Shinawatra government was far too corrupt and the military-led junta was the only solution at that time.
Jatupat then shot back saying senators had been chosen to fix this corruption problem, but no efforts have been made to examine the Prayut-led government.
Haruethai, however, continued arguing how it was absolutely necessary for the military to overthrow Yingluck’s “corrupt” government.
She then began shouting that an elected government will never be able to stop corruption, and when Jatupat tried to explain his point she lost her cool.
Haruethai would not stop fuming even after the moderator stepped in to calm her down. At one point, she even began accusing American Jews of being behind the ongoing conflict, claiming they were funding the pro-democracy movement.
She also referred to the Cold War and slavery, saying that human dignity cannot be guaranteed even in a free country like the United State.
During the noisy and much-interrupted debate, Jatupat was only able to say that protest had been driven by the youth, as they cared about their future and did not want it to be taken from them.
The debate has become a top-trending topic on social media, with pro-democracy supporters saying Haruethai’s screaming embodied the true nature and logic of royalists. Her “illogical” behaviour has also given birth to many memes that have gone viral.
The pro-monarchists, however, are very happy with Haruethai’s “burning words” and claim Jatupat lost the debate because he couldn’t counter her.
Sukhumvit Asset Management (SAM) has set up a debt clinic at Big C in Bangkok’s Fashion Island shopping centre, where people struggling with debts will be given directions on how they can ease their burden. The clinic, under the supervision of the Bank of Thailand, will be open until Sunday.
Those who wish to avail of its services, must bring the following:
• Copy of national ID and house registration.
• Credit report from the National Credit Bureau, which takes about seven working days to get.
• Proof of Income: Employees need to provide a bank statement over the past six months and salary slips of the past three months or salary certificate, while freelancers need to provide a bank statement over the past six months and non-resident withholding tax certificate if any.
SAM will next set up a debt clinic at the Money Expo in Songkhla province to be held at Central Festival Hat Yai from November 13 to 15. After Songkhla, SAM will join the Thailand Smart Money expo to be held at Central Plaza in Rayong from November 20 to 22.
“Those who receive approval at the debt clinics, which will be held until June next year, will be granted debt moratorium and an interest reduction of up to 2 per cent to help ease their burden,” an official at SAM said.
For further details, call (02) 610 2266, visit www.debtclinicbysam.com or access the Debt Clinic Answer official Line account.
Bumrungrad Hospital (BH) said it earned a third-quarter profit of Bt221.52 million, a 79 per cent decrease compared to the same period in 2019 with a profit of Bt1.05 billion.
BH vice chairman Dr Chanvit Tanphiphat informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand that total revenue in the previous quarter was Bt2.94 billion, a 38.6 per cent decrease compared to the third quarter last year.
Chanvit said the decrease in earnings came from a limitation on travel by foreign customers for medical treatment during the Covid-19 crisis.
He also mentioned that the revenue earned from foreign patients in the third quarter decreased by 59.9 per cent, while earnings from domestic patients increased by 3.4 per cent. The latter accounted for 56.1 per cent of the total.
In the three quarters (nine months) of 2020, BH witnessed total profit of Bt1.031 billion, a reduction of 64 per cent compared to the first three quarters of 2019, which saw total profit of Bt2.86 billion.
Total BH earnings in the first three quarters was Bt9.61 billion, decreasing by 30.8 per cent from the same period in 2019.
Three labourers harvesting corn in a field near Prachin Buri’s Thap Lan National Park were injured after coming under attack from a herd of wild boars that suddenly appeared from the bushes.
The incident came to light when Wang Khon Daeng police wrote about it on their Facebook page on Wednesday, leading to reporters visiting Ban Thap Lan.
An assistant to village chief Pitoon Poonkasem led the reporters to the 30-rai cornfield, where crops were being harvested and collected in baskets.
The assistant explained that the area was rented by a grower and labourers from Nakhon Ratchasima were hired to harvest the crop.
As the labourers were hard at work, their employer heard yelps and shrieks – around 12 of the territorial boars, which were reportedly living in the cornfield, suddenly attacked the workers, injuring a woman and two men. Two of the three sustained serious injuries.
The boars reportedly disappeared as fast as they appeared.
The three workers were immediately sent to hospital.
The police Facebook post warned people in the area to watch out for the animals and steer clear of them in case they were sighted.
Monks in Samut Prakan’s Wat Trai Samakkhi temple were taken by surprise when a woman showed up on Wednesday with a dead foetus in her arms asking for them to hold traditional rites for it.
The temple’s abbot, however, called the police.
His assistant said the woman showed up at the temple asking to make merit as she had lost her baby in a miscarriage. She also told them that her husband had returned to his country during the outbreak.
The woman was emotional as she pleaded with the monks to hold last rites for the foetus.
Police later took the woman to a hospital, who they said had been weakened by the miscarriage. They said that though a miscarriage is not illegal, they will still need to interrogate her.
A Buri Ram couple was summoned by Nang Rong district police on Thursday to explain why they were fighting and hitting each other on the street.
The quarrel was recorded by students from a military school, who tried to intervene but claimed the man threatened them with a gun before fleeing with his partner on a motorbike.
During interrogation, the couple told police that they were fighting because the woman had left their three-year-old child with her mother, and did not want to give the child’s father any access to the baby.
As for the gun, the man said he waved an object at the students, who may have thought it was a gun.
After initial interrogation, police decided to hit them with a Bt100 penalty before allowing them to leave. The couple also apologised for their behaviour.
Thonglor police station has set up a new style of checkpoints after complaints that police are forcing motorists to pay them and have double standards.
A committee on police affairs, led by Democrat Party MP Chitpas Kridakorn, visited checkpoints to inspect and follow up on the matter.
National Police chief Pol General Suwat Jangyodsuk has come out with a new policy to boost the standard of checkpoints so that they are now transparent and employ international procedures. Thonglor is the first to trial the new checkpoints.
On Wednesday, police showcased the new methods in checking passengers and vehicles at the checkpoints and dealing with certain situations such as drunk driving.
Policemen are required to produce their badges and inform drivers of their name and the name of their commander. They have been instructed to strictly follow the regulations, which include being polite.
The plan is expected to heighten transparency and lessen corruption at checkpoints.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Thursday reported six new cases in quarantine over a 24-hour period.
The latest cases include five foreigners, all asymptomatic:
> A 59-year-old French construction adviser and a 46-year-old Chinese housewife, who travelled from France, transited via Qatar, arriving in Bangkok on October 29. They were found positive on November 3 in a Nonthaburi quarantine hotel.
> A 53-year-old Dutchman, who arrived on October 31, tested positive on November 3 under quarantine in a Samut Prakan hotel.
> Hungarian Foreign and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto, 42, who arrived on a charter flight on November 3 and was confirmed positive the next day. He was taken to the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute for treatment.
> A 27-year-old Myanmar cargo truck driver, who tested positive at a border checkpoint on October 31. He was deported to Myanmar.
> A 73-year-old Thai woman, who returned from Germany on October 31. She was found positive on November 2 under quarantine at a Bangkok hotel and had fever, muscle ache, diarrhoea and a loss of smell.
Meanwhile, 11 patients have recovered and been discharged.
As of Thursday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand has increased to 3,810 (861 in state quarantine). Of these, 128 are in hospital and 3,623 have recovered and been discharged. The death toll remains unchanged at 59.
According to Worldometer, as of 10am the number of confirmed global cases has risen to 48.42 million (increasing by 571,314 in 24 hours). Of these, 34.67 million have recovered, 12.53 million are active cases (89,290 in severe condition) and 1.23 million have died (an increase of 9,067).
Thailand ranks a safe 148th for most cases in the world.
The US has the most number, with 9.8 million, followed by India (8.36 million), Brazil (5.59 million), Russia (1.69 million) and France (1.54 million).
Buddhipongse Punnakanta 
Jatupat Boonpattarasaksa, left, Haruethai Muangboonsri, right 
