LGBTQ+ couples now have the right to Government Housing Bank (GH Bank) loans, the bank said on Monday.
GH Bank said the move to promote equality was in line with its mission to help Thais improve their life quality by owning their homes.
The bank is issuing a new loan called “My Pride” targeted at LGBTQ+ homebuyers.
Annual interest for the first three years is set at the minimum retail rate minus 2.4 per cent. The bank’s standard interest rates apply from the fourth year until the end of the contract, which can last up to 40 years.
“This loan is being granted to customers who want to purchase a house, condominium or the bank’s NPA land,” the announcement said. “Instalment payments can be made for up to 40 years.”
My Pride loans are available until December 30 this year at GH Bank branches nationwide, the call centre at (02) 645 9000, www.ghbank.co.th, @ghbank Facebook page or the GHB ALL application.
A heartbroken Thai singer, who is popular in China, is demanding an explanation from Thai Airways International over the death of her pet dog during a flight from Bangkok to Shanghai.
The singer, Mimi Promwilai or Mimi Lee, posted on her Weibo account on June 25 that she had looked forward to seeing her pet dog, Melody, only to find that he was dead upon arrival from Bangkok aboard a THAI flight that day.
Her post has been shared over 28,000 times and received over 479,000 reactions and over 15,000 comments.
“Thought it would be a happy weekend, thought I would be happy to be reunited with my dog. However, they just thought that the reality was much colder. I was already on the way back, typing this series of words with trembling hands, about the experience of the day,” Mimi said in the post.
“Melody boarded the plane after a series of inspections and epidemic prevention-related procedures. Since last night, I had been looking forward to seeing him again after two years.”
She said she went to the Shanghai airport in the morning to wait for her dog to pass through the Customs clearance but Customs officials found the dog dead when it was handed over to them.
Mimi said she had tried but failed to contact THAI officials both in China and Thailand.
She said officials at the airport speculated that the dog had died apparently because it was transported in hot temperature. She has demanded an explanation from the airline on the circumstances that led to the unfortunate event.
Most of her friends criticised the Thai national carrier over the incident and demanded justice for the singer.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has issued a notification banning the use of cannabis by pilots, air-traffic controllers and flight dispatchers.
The ban also applies to medical products and violators stand to face a fine of up to 50,000 baht as well as the risk of suspension or having their licence revoked.
CAAT director-general Suttipong Kongpool issued the directive on Thursday (June 23), which said that though cannabis has been decriminalised in Thailand, the plant contains the cannabinoid compound that can affect the nervous system.
The notification said the Institute of Aviation Medicine and the Aviation Medicine Association of Thailand believe the use of cannabis by pilots, air-traffic controllers and flight-control officials will put public safety at stake.
The statement pointed out that every part of the marijuana plant carries compounds that can affect the nervous system, and any medical certificate claiming persons under the influence of cannabis can carry out their duty will be automatically rejected.
The Court of Justice (COJ) has warned that scammers are sending fake court orders by letter that demand transfer of money.
The COJ Facebook page recently posted an example of a fake court order sent by scammers. The fake order looks highly authentic. It comes printed with court’s seal as well as the receiver’s name and instructions to transfer money to the bank account specified. It also warns that failure to transfer the money will result in the recipient’s arrest or seizure of their assets.
However, the COJ clarified that it never sends court orders demanding transfer of payment.
“If a court order is sent to you with instructions to transfer money to a bank account, for whatever reason, do not believe it,” said the COJ statement.
It warned that scammers are also trying to trick people via other methods, from phone calls to messaging.
The court also advised people to be cautious of Facebook messages from friends, pointing out their accounts may have been hacked to steal their personal or financial data. Hence it was best to check by calling first.
The COJ offered six guidelines for using social media safely:
Do not accept friend requests from strangers.
Do not accept friend requests from accounts that do not use a real profile picture or real name.
Verify accounts by checking whether they post or share posts regularly.
Be aware that even authentic-looking accounts can be fake.
Check the profile to make sure it contains personal information rather than something related to a pyramid scheme.
Use your privacy setting to ensure you are not revealing personal information such as assets, address, or how many people live in your house
The Government Lottery Office (GLO) has called on a university to study the concept and eventual launch of a new “three-digit” lottery, a government official said on Monday.
Chankit Detwithak, an assistant to the PM’s Office minister who chairs a panel on solving overpriced lottery tickets, said GLO signed a contract with Khon Kaen University on June 17 to study the three-digit lottery idea.
He said the university is now in the process of drafting a plan to hold public hearings before details of the new lottery system are made public early next month.
Charnkit said once the details are announced, the university will collect public opinions via its website and also hold public hearings in key provinces.
He reckons the new lottery plan should be wrapped up by September and the final proposal handed to the GLO board of directors for endorsement before it is sent to the Finance Ministry to pass on to the Cabinet.
Charnkit said the new three-digit lottery system will be a brand new product and not involve betting on three numbers like in the past.
The Thaksin Shinawatra government had in 2003 launched a two- and three-digit lottery system based on the main lottery draw. The aim was to compete against underground lottery, which was popular among buyers and generated huge profits for sellers.
However, this lottery system was dropped in 2009 when the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office ruled against ex-deputy finance minister Warathep Rattanakorn, former Finance Ministry’s permanent secretary Somchainuek Engtrakul and ex-GLO director Chaiwat Pasokphakdee for unlawfully approving the system.
On June 6, 2019, the same court sentenced former PM Thaksin to two years in jail for unlawfully issuing two- and three-digit lotteries in much the same way as the underground system. The court said this lottery system would get people addicted to gambling.
Charnkit, however, said the new three-digit lottery will be very different from the one in Thaksin’s time.
“I emphasise that it will be a new product. It won’t be like the two- and three-digit lottery in the past because that is against the law,” he said. “The new three-digit lottery will be issued in a new format and new method.”
Charnkit added that his panel was on the right track when it comes to tackling the overpricing of lottery tickets by issuing special digital versions that can be sold via the Paotang application.
Since this digital version has proved to be popular, with tickets being snapped up in a matter of hours, GLO will add another 2 million tickets for the August 1 draw, he said. This means there will be 7.1 million lottery tickets up for grabs on the Paotang app from June 17.
He said the number of tickets will be increased by 2 million per draw until the total number hits 20 million within this year.
Separately, GLO has decided to retain 754 outlets across the country where buyers can physically purchase a lottery ticket for 80 baht. Charnkit added that GLO is also planning to open 2,000 digital lottery selling points at PTT and Bangchak petrol stations nationwide.
The Ban Na Khad Taea community in Chonburi’s Muang district organised a water buffalo race on Sunday in a bid to bring back old traditions.
According to the community’s Facebook post, water buffalo racing is a tradition unique to Chonburi. It also said that it hopes to revive the tradition because the number of water buffalos is dropping due to a change in people’s way of life and industrialisation.
Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
“If we don’t preserve local culture and traditions, our children will not get to witness the local wisdom of using water buffalos for ploughing,” the post read.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is happy that the selling of digital lottery version has successfully tackled the issue of overpriced tickets, the government spokesman said on Monday.
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Prayut was overjoyed after an opinion survey found that people were satisfied with the sale of two draws so far of digital lottery.
After using several measures and making legal threats to unsuccessfully end the overpricing practice, the government has turned to use the Paotang app of Krung Thai Bank to sell the digital lottery version with a face-value of 80 baht.
The digital lottery version turned out to be popular with buyers snapping up over 5 million tickets in only a few days after the selling started for each of the last two draws.
The opinion survey cited by Prayut was a proof of the success of the latest measure, according to a study by Super Poll.
Thanakorn said the survey found that 79.7 per cent of the respondents were satisfied that they could buy fairpriced lottery tickets via the Paotang app.
The spokesman said the survey also found that 90.7 per cent of the respondents wanted the Government Lottery Office to increase the number of digital lottery tickets so that middlemen and those who sold overpriced lottery tickets would be eliminated from the market.
Thanakorn said the Super Poll also found that 89.8 per cent of the respondents wanted the government to use the model of digital lottery to tackle other issues.
“The survey results showed that the government’s use of technology to tackle the issue of overpriced lottery made people happy,” Thanakorn said.
“The prime minister has instructed the agencies concerned to tackle the issue of overpriced lottery with concrete results by allowing people to really buy lottery tickets at 80 baht each.”
He quoted Prayut as saying that the digital lottery was an example of using technology to end profit-taking and irregularities in lottery selling.
Prayut also thanked all government agencies for successfully implementing his policy, the spokesman added.
Hundreds of Bangkokians put aside their fears and flocked to the Tio Chew Association’s Wat Don Cemetery on Sunday to enjoy “Music in the Garden”.
The cemetery, which is the final resting place of thousands of Chinese immigrants, is known for its spooky ghost stories. Reports say taxis often refuse fares to the area, while many motorists have claimed to have seen ghosts while driving past the area.
However, the graveyard on Sathorn Road was bustling on Sunday as hundreds showed up to enjoy performances put up by the Saen Lamao and Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music Percussion Ensemble. Well-known artist Dr Suchart Vongthong was also at hand creating a watercolour masterpiece.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt was greeted with loud cheers when he arrived at the event.
As part of his policy to make the capital “liveable” for everyone, “Music in the Garden” events will pop up randomly at Bangkok’s 40 public parks every weekend with free performances held in line with Covid precautions.
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Center in Thailand hosted the Annual commemoration for the Korean war outbreak (June 25th) on June 24th at 21st Infantry Regiment in Chonburi. More than 200 guests participated at this event, including 16 Thai Korean War Veterans, diplomatic corps from 22 countries, Thai government, and military.
The event has been resumed after 3 years due to covid-19. It started with laying flower and paying respect to Korean War Memorial at 10 AM, and the consolation event for war veterans held from 11AM. After his memorial speech, H.E. Mr. Moon Seoung-Hyun delivered ‘Ambassador for Peace Medal’ to 13 veterans and their descendants.
In this event, Acting Sub Lt. Saksom Panthong, Acting Sub Lt. Sillapin Thongaram, Ms. Ms Kasama Thongaram, and Ms Chadarat Wangkawee official performance artists from the Ministry of Culture, performed ‘Taepyeongmu’, which is the Korean dance wishing peace and prosperity, and ‘Khon’ together to express the relationship between Korea and Thailand. Then, Mr. Jeong, Sung Hee and Kim, Kwang Il, two Taekwondo master who are teaching Taekwondo to 21st Infantry Regiment and the Korean war veteran village in Ramintra for last 7 years, showed Taekwondo demonstration. Veterans A Korean vocalist, Ms. Jeong, Sun Young sung a Korean song ‘Bimok(Tree of Sorrow)’ and Kim, Ryeo Won, Thai-Korean student(6th grade, Korean International School of Bangkok) read the letter for veterans in Thai. Both moved veterans to tears.
Also, the famous travel Youtuber from Korea, HongGoGo donated 4 million Won (Around 110,000 THB), which is his income from Youtube as the scholarship for the Korean war veteran’s descendant.
H.E. Mr. Moon and the Korean embassy officers served ‘Samgyetang(chicken soup with ginseng)’ to the veterans as the lunch and expressed gratitude to their sacrifice and devotion. Thailand dispatched total 6,326 soldiers from Army, Navy, and Air Force units during the Korean war.
Bangkokians caught driving, riding or parking their vehicle on footpaths will be fined up to 5,000 baht under a 1992 legislation on cleanliness and orderliness.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said it has dispatched officials to check out footpaths in the metropolitan area to ensure the law is being followed.
“BMA’s law-enforcement officers have been authorised to fine violators on the spot. If the fine cannot be paid, then the violator will be prosecuted under the law,” the announcement said.
Such flouting of the law can be reported to the BMA via http://www.bangkok.go.th/reward or by scanning the QR code below. Informers will be rewarded half of the fine once the case has been settled.
Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
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