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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40020832

Phuket flight capacity rises to 70% but China airlines still staying away

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2022

THE NATION

Phuket Airport is now operating at 70 per cent of its flight capacity thanks to the improving Covid-19 situation, airport director Monchai Tanode said on Friday.

From January to August, 9,167 domestic and international flights landed at the airport, carrying a total of 849,406 passengers – or about 7,400 per day on average.

Monchai said the airport expects to see at least 30,000 passengers per day from November, when high season starts. Of these, more than half (16,000-18,000) should be Thais, he added.

Passenger numbers at the airport have jumped to about 10,000 per day this month after a rise in Thai tourists booking flights to Phuket since October 1.

Meanwhile, airlines from Europe, the Middle East, Scandinavia, Turkey and South Korea say they will resume flights to Phuket towards the end of this year.

“We are also expecting flights from new airlines, such as Russia’s Aeroflot, which will launch two services per day to Phuket from October 30, and a Myanmar chartered flight operator who will fly here three times a week,” he said.

The 30 per cent of Phuket flights not yet restored are from China, which still has tight travel restrictions.

However, Monchai expects Phuket Airport to see 13 million passengers next year before returning to pre-Covid levels of 18 million passengers in 2024.

THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40020831

Their Majesties visit 4-year-old survivor of nursery mass-shooting

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2022

THE NATION

Their Majesties the King and Queen travelled to Nong Bua Lamphu province on Friday to offer moral support to families injured and grieving after Thursday’s mass shooting at a nursery.

After arriving at Udon Thani airport on Friday evening, Their Majesties headed first to Nong Bua Lamphu Hospital and then to Udon Thani Hospital to visit the injured as well as families who lost young children in the attack.

Thursday’s mass shooting by a sacked policeman left 37 people dead, including 24 children. Of the 10 people injured in the attack, eight are in critical condition.

The King and Queen visited at the bedside of 4-year-old Kantapong Sena, who is among five survivors being treated in the intensive care unit at Nong Bua Lamphu Hospital.

Two other critically ill survivors are being treated at Udon Thani Hospital.

“I would like to extend my condolences; there are no other words to describe this feeling. I want to give you all moral support to be strong,” the King told relatives of the victims.

Expressing sorrow over the occurrence of an “evil incident”, His Majesty said the priority now was to “make things better as best as we can”.

Their Majesties will take all injured patients from the incident under royal patronage, while the Palace will sponsor bathing rites for all victims.

THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40020829

Autopsy shows no drugs in body of mass shooter as police probe family quarrel

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2022

THE NATION

An autopsy on the body of the Nong Bua Lamphu mass shooter detected no trace of narcotics, the Royal Thai Police announced on Friday evening.

Results from the autopsy conducted at Udon Thani Hospital show no drugs in the body of Panya Khamrab, 34, who launched a gun and knife attack at a nursery in Na Klang district on Thursday. Panya killed 36 people, 24 of them children, before turning the gun on himself. Of the 10 people injured in the attack, eight are in critical condition.

National Police chief Damrongsak Kittipraphat said investigation of the gunman’s motive was now focusing on a family dispute and financial problems, since Panya had been out of a job for nearly a year.

He said investigators found that Panya had quarrelled with his wife at around 4am on Thursday, before she called her mother to come and pick her up because she “did want to live with him anymore”.

Later on Thursday morning, Panya attended a court hearing on a drugs charge and was told he would hear the verdict on Friday.

Investigators speculate that Panya returned home, became angry after discovering his wife was missing, and launched the attack on the nursery where he thought his son had been taken. He then returned to his house and killed his wife, son and two relatives before turning the gun on himself.

“The autopsy result shows no trace of drugs, which means the shooter may not take have taken drugs in the previous 72 hours. However, officials will perform a full medical test to confirm the result,” said Damrongsak.

Panya was dismissed from the police force in January after being arrested in possession of methamphetamine pills. Earlier, he had been reprimanded by his supervisors for repeated abuse of the illicit drug.

Panya joined the Royal Thai Police in May 2012 and was moved to the Na Wang Police Station in Nong Bua Lamphu province in June 2019. He worked there until his dismissal from the police force.

Damrongsak added that the gun that was used in the attack was bought legally by Panya, who possessed a permit to use it. He said Panya bought the gun while in the force at the discounted price offered to police officers. When he was dismissed from the force, the gun became his personal property.

THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40020827

Thai PM visits families of attack victims, promises compensation

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2022

THE NATION

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha arrived in northeastern Nong Bua Lamphu province on Friday (October 7) to hand out oversized compensation cheques to relatives of slain daycare centre victims, as the country reeled in shock at the mass killing.

Speaking in a microphone while giving out the large cardboard cheques printed with figures ranging from 110,000 to 200,000 Thai baht ($2942.75 to $5350.46), Prayuth also hugged dozens of people in a crowded hall.
 

The nation mourned the death of more than 30 people, including 23 children, after an ex-policeman burst into a daycare center in a knife and gun rampage that left people shocked and seeking answers.

Most of the children who died at the daycare center in Uthai Sawan, a town 500 km (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok, on Thursday (October 6) were stabbed to death, police said, marking one of the worst child death tolls in a massacre by a single killer in recent history.

THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40020824

Thai Air Force chief sees even chance of US agreeing to sell F-35 jets

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2022

THE NATION

There is a 50 per cent chance that the US will sell F-35 aircraft to Thailand, the chief of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) said.

Air Chief Marshal Alongkorn Wannarot revealed on Friday that the committee looking into the procurement had informed the US government that Thailand wants to buy two F-35 aircraft with a budget of 7.383 billion baht.

He said that the committee is coordinating with the US government and is waiting for the answer in the purchase and assumption (P&A) process.

If the US government agrees to sell, Thailand will follow the Letter of Request for the Letter of Acceptance (LOR for LOA) process to draft a contract. However, Alongkorn said that the Cabinet might need to consider this before the LOA process.

He said, “[But] I hope [the US] agree to sell because this is what we want the most. After the LOA process was done, it is up to the US Congress. If the P&A says yes, then it is 90 per cent done .”

Alongkorn said that he had confidence in the aircraft, unlike the Navy’s submarine procurement from China, because the aircraft was manufactured by the Lockheed Martin.

He said that if Thailand is slow, the country might have to wait in line so Thailand must sign the LOR for LOA as soon as possible after receiving the P&A.

Alongkorn said that the RTAF’s weapons could connect with F-35 aircraft immediately.

He said that he would reconsider if he needed a substitution plan or postpone the aircraft decommissioning.

He refused to comment when asked if he had considered any other aircraft apart from the F-35, as he needs to appoint a committee to consider the plan with the 2024 budget, because the current budget was limited due to the pandemic and was reduced from 41 billion baht to 36 billion baht.

Alongkorn said that it would be a great help if the government helps in the negotiation of this deal. He said that it would be up to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to raise the matter if he has a chance to meet with US President Joe Biden.

He said that the RTAF has a 50 per cent chance of the deal going through because the US will consider several factors, including the relationship with several countries and international politics.

As for the military exercise with China, he explained that it is a strategy to create a balanced relationship, not a neutral strategy. It is up to Washington to decide as he had done his best to provide information to the US government.

When a reporter asked if the US government had set a condition on Thailand not importing defence equipment from rival countries, Alongkorn said the US could not set such a condition because Thailand already has a standpoint.

THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40020823

Police foil gun-wielding druggie’s mission to ‘kill his son’ at school gates in Nakhon Si Thammarat

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2022

A man carrying a shotgun was caught trying to break into a school in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat province on Friday afternoon.

The man, believed to be a drug addict, was caught trying to scale the school’s walls while firing his gun. The suspect, who is in his late 20s, managed to fire four shots before being caught.

The incident took place at Suwankosit School in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Ron Phibun district, where the alleged perpetrator’s son is studying.

The suspect has been arrested and his shotgun seized. Police investigators found that the man was recently released from prison on drug offences.

He had allegedly attacked his wife at home before heading to the school to “kill his son”, the man’s wife, whose name has been withheld, said. The woman called the school to alert the authorities that the man was going there with the gun in his hand.

The school’s gates were closed just before the man arrived to prevent a repeat of Thursday’s massacre in Nong Bua Lamphu province.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40020820

Interior minister blames mental issues of perpetrator for massacre, denies failure of gun control

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2022

Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda on Friday blamed the perpetrator’s mental issues for the massacre at a Nong Bua Lamphu nursery on Thursday, and defended the ministry in response to questions over its role in gun control.

Speaking to reporters before flying to the northeastern province, General Anupong said that his agency carefully follows the law in issuing permits to own a gun.

The attack at Nong Bua Lamphu’s nursery for preschool children left 38 dead and 12 injured including the gunman and his family.

Anupong reckoned on Friday that the violence was caused by “some problem inside the mind of the perpetrator that needed control measures”.

He noted that the attacker, a sacked police officer, also used a knife, and not just his gun. “Are we going to ban knives too?” Anupong asked.

“This issue is not just about gun [control]. We have to see why some people have this kind of mind. Our society must get rid of people like this,” the interior minister said.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party deputy spokesperson Siripa Intavichein said that the Nong Bua Lamphu massacre reflected three issues of Thai society.

First, it was mental issues of people who have to experience stress constantly on the job.

The second issue involved gun ownership. She urged the authorities to “screen” the mental health of registered gun owners annually. Those who fail the screening should have their guns confiscated, the politician advised.

The third issue involved the amended drug law that treats users as patients. She said that this enabled abusers to get more drugs.

At the nursery where the massacre occurred, mourners placed white roses, snacks and milk to mourn the victims, which included 24 young children.

A team of officials from the Mental Health Department was dispatched to the nursery to counsel the grieving families.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40020816

Calls grow for action to prevent repeat of Nong Bua Lamphu massacre

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2022

A children’s welfare network on Friday called on Thai society and the government to help end violence against children and women, as well as prevent a repeat of Thursday’s massacre.

In a joint statement, the 340 groups condemned the “act of violence and severe violation of human rights that deeply moved Thai society and the world community”.

The network said it was not just a personal problem of the perpetrator – sacked policeman Panya Khamrab – but was an issue that should be tackled by the government and society.

“We need urgent measures to prevent such violence from taking place again and causing more losses to women and children,” the statement said.

In a four-point demand, the network asked mainstream media and social media users to be careful about displaying or sharing photographs of violent incidents.

“Think about the children’s rights and avoid interviewing the young survivors because it will just bring back the trauma and hurt the feelings of families who have lost their loved ones,” the statement said.

It also called on the government to issue remedial measures as well as take actions to restore the morale of those at the Nong Bua Lamphu nursery where scores of children were killed.

The government should also put in place strict regulations on suppressing narcotics consumption and gun ownership, as well as take tough action against state officials with a history of drug abuse.

The 34-year-old Panya, who shot down and knifed 24 small children, had a long history of drug abuse, dating back to his school days.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40020810

Spotlight on Thailand’s gun control after Nong Bua Lamphu massacre

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2022

The massacre in a Nong Bua Lamphu nursery has raised an important question: How effective are gun controls in Thailand?

The attack on Thursday at a local nursery for preschool children, which left 38 dead and 12 injured including the gunman and his family, is the third such incident in recent years.

The last such mass killings took place in early 2020 in Lopburi and Nakhon Ratchasima provinces.

Most critics are pointing to the enforcement of the 1947 Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, Fireworks and Imitation Guns Act, and in the latest massacre, the fact that the perpetrator was a former police officer.

The law, which has been amended nine times, aims to control the use of firearms as well as owners, users, gun dealerships and authorised officials.

As per the legislation, gun ownership is banned for former convicts, drug abusers, frail or disabled persons, mentally unsound or infirm persons, incompetent or semi-competent persons and minors.

Unemployed persons or those with no income or fixed place of residence, as well as those convicted of public-order offences are also not allowed to own guns.

Gun shops are required to renew their permits annually and are allowed to procure or import a maximum of 30 pistols and 50 rifles per year.

The law also sets requirements for gun registrars and authorised officials regarding firearm ownership, registration and imports.

Gun ownership in Thailand is the highest in Southeast Asia and the 13th highest in the world, as per the independent Geneva-based Small Arms Survey.

As of 2017, 10.3 million guns in Thailand were owned privately, or 15.1 guns for every 100 persons.

According to the Royal Thai Police, in 2019 alone there were 31,419 gun-related crimes – 6,410 of them involving registered guns, 24,348 unregistered firearms and 661 rifles.

As per the 2022 Gun Deaths by Country report, Thailand had the third highest number of gun-related crimes in Asia in 2019 after Iraq and the Philippines.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40020811

Day of horror and grief

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2022

Thais across the country were united in shock and grief over the horrific events in Nong Bua Lamphu on Thursday. A selection of photographs tells the story of tears, sorrow, loss and grief of families separated forever from their loved ones.

Reuters