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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024075

Three generals among 80 immigration police charged in triad visa scam

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023

Investigators believe at least 80 immigration police officers, three of whom are generals, have been aiding about 5,000 members of Chinese triad criminal gangs to stay illegally in Thailand.

Deputy National Police chief General Surachet Hakparn told reporters on Monday that the suspects have been summoned to hear charges filed against them, which include malfeasance and demanding bribes.

The police launched a nationwide investigation in November after former massage parlour tycoon and politician Chuwit Kamolvisit provided information on alleged Chinese triads operating in Thailand.

The tip-off quickly led to an arrest warrant being issued for alleged triad kingpin Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant, a Chinese national who gained Thai citizenship by marrying a senior Thai police officer.

Surachet, who led the investigation, said officials were found to have issued student and other visas to some 3,000 Chinese nationals in the Northeast and more than 1,000 in the North from 2020-2021, allowing them to stay in Thailand and engage in illegal operations.

Among the 5,000 recipients is the owner of Club One, a famous entertainment venue in Pattaya, which police suspect is a triad base of operations.

“We need to weed out bad officials from the force of over 20,000 immigration police,” said Surachet.

“Investigators are also coordinating with the National Anti-Corruption Commission in tracing the finances of these suspected officials.”

Authorities have so far confiscated assets worth 5.3 billion baht from Chaiyanat, including real estate, buses, bank deposits, businesses and an aircraft. The Justice Ministry announced last week that it is seizing another 3 billion baht in assets owned by Chaiyanat and people in his network.

Related Stories

More assets of alleged drug kingpin under scrutiny of narcotics control board

New video shows drug party at Bangkok ‘triad club’: Chuwit

27 Thai immigration police officers found to be aiding Chinese triads

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024074

‘Benchakitti not a golf course’, says Bangkok governor as park trees wilt

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023

Bangkok has not abandoned its duty to take care of Benchakitti Forest Park, said governor Chadchart Sittipunt on Monday, responding to public complaints of trees wilting in the park.

Photos shared widely on social media show several trees drooping in the 300-rai public park in Klong Toei district, indicating a lack of watering and proper care.

On Sunday, the Facebook page “Benchakitti Forest Park” posted photos of water trucks manned by volunteer soldiers spraying the park’s trees. The posts prompted netizens to ask why the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was not doing its job of taking care of the park.

On Monday, Chadchart responded by saying park maintenance had been outsourced.

“We hired a private company to take care of Benchakitti Park since it also serves a learning centre and therefore has a complex design,” Chadchart said. “Taking care of such a delicate public park is different from maintaining a golf course, where grass and trees can stay green all year long.”

The governor added that BMA officials have been working with the Army’s Maintenance Engineering Department, which built the park, to come up with short- and long-term plans to procure sustainable water sources for plants in the park, especially during drought.

“The BMA is taking care of all the parks in Bangkok equally. Benchakitti Park is relatively new and there are some aspects about it that we have to learn from the designer and constructor as we continue working on it,” he said.

Chadchart added that several agencies have been participating in taking care of the park, including the BMA’s drainage and environment office, the Treasury Department which owns the land, and private partners who have been tasked with inspecting the park’s equipment and water quality of its lake.

“Thank you for your concern about the park. The BMA is doing the best we can to complete all the [park-related] projects that we have planned,” he said.

Benchakitti Park officially opened in 2004 on land formerly owned by the Tobacco Authority of Thailand to honour Her Majesty Queen Sirikit on her 72nd birthday. The park is situated next to the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre and is connected to Bangkok’s other large park, Lumphini, by a 1.3km-long elevated pedestrian walkway and bicycle trail at the southwest corner. Benchakitti was expanded as a forest park last year and now incorporates wetlands, cycle paths, overhead walkways and a bicycle trail.

Related Stories

Their Majesties launch Benjakitti Forest Park expansion phases

New lung of Bangkok expected to fully ready in Feb 2022

Youth are Bangkok’s future, says Chadchart as he marks Children’s Day

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024063

Owner of online lottery platform defiant after raid by police, several agencies

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

Police and several government agencies turned up at the head office of Kong Salak Plus, the popular online lottery platform, on Monday morning following allegations by the Government Lottery Office (GLO) that it was deceiving consumers.

The unfazed CEO of Kong Salak Plus, Phanthawat Nakwisut, said he would go on Facebook Live to announce the lottery results on Tuesday and lottery ticket buyers from his platform would still receive full prizes without tax deduction in keeping with the earlier practice.

The raid on Kong Salak Plus at SSP Tower in Bangkok’s Watthana district was led by Pol Lt-General Prachuap Wongsuk, assistant National Police chief who heads a police committee in charge of cracking down on overpriced lottery tickets.

The raid by Metropolitan Police Bureau officers was joined by officials from the Office of the Consumer Protection Board, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the Revenue Department, and the Department of Special Investigation.

Prachuap said police had obtained a search warrant after the GLO filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Police Division that Kong Salak Plus had been selling overpriced lottery tickets. The platform was also accused of buying up tickets from small-time vendors for reselling at inflated prices.

Prachuap said the GLO maintained that it had not appointed Kong Salak Plus to sell its tickets.

He added that police would check whether Kong Salak Plus had violated any law by claiming to be selling the tickets at their face value of 80 baht per ticket but charging another 25 baht per ticket as service fee.

GLO director Noon Sansanakom said on Monday that the GLO had filed complaints with police against all online platforms selling lottery tickets because they buy up tickets from vendors for reselling at inflated prices.

Noon said Kong Salak Plus and other platforms might be charged with deceiving the public by claiming that they bought tickets for over 80 baht each and reselling them at 80 baht (plus service fees).

“It’s impossible to buy tickets for over 80 baht and resell them at 80 baht. So, this may constitute deception of the public,” Noon said, making no reference to the service fees charged by the platforms.

Noon added that the GLO has never licensed Kong Salak Plus to sell its tickets and the platform also was not in a position to prevent buyers under 20 years of age from buying, unlike the Krung Thai Bank’s Pao Tang app that requires buyers to identify themselves first.

After the search, Prachuap did not elaborate on evidence the police and officials might have found at the head office as they left without speaking to reporters.

Also on Monday, a former Special Branch police officer, Santhana Prayoonrat, met Yutthana Praedam, deputy director of the DSI, at 11am.

Santhana claimed that he had come to hand over evidence of alleged grey businessmen’s connection with Kong Salak Plus.

Santhana claimed that he had been gathering the evidence for seven or eight years and his evidence allegedly showed the operation used funds of 10 million baht from drug traffickers.

Kong Salak Plus CEO Phanthawat returned to his office at 1.30pm when the officials had already left.

He said he had a personal business in the morning so he was not at the office when the officials arrived.

He said he was not worried about the allegations because he had not engaged in any wrongdoing from the beginning.

Phanthawat argued that other platforms had been buying up lottery tickets from vendors and reselling them for over 10 years but the GLO had not taken any action.

He said many other platforms had for years been following the practice of adding a service charge to the 80 baht face value of each ticket.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024062

New learning centre aims to help Thai SMEs with global barcode standards

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

Nongluck Ajanapanya

GS1 Thailand, a division of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), on Monday opened a new learning centre with the goal of educating the country’s entrepreneurs, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on how to go global with barcode standards.

Khomsan Laosillapacharoen, chairman of GS1 Thailand and FTI’s vice chairman, said in an opening statement that the “FTI Connect Learning Center by GS1 Thailand” is a business learning centre focusing on the global language of business, also known as barcodes, which is the most widely used system of standards globally.

GS1 is a non-profit international organisation that develops and maintains its own barcode standards and issues company prefixes.

“Our medium and large-sized businesses had already implemented barcodes, but our small businesses had not. So, this centre will serve as a simple portal to help them understand what a barcode is, why it is important, and how to obtain one,” Khomsan stated.

Meanwhile, the FTI Connect Learning Centre will demonstrate some of the most recent use case technology and innovation related to barcodes so that visitors can see the benefits firsthand.

Besides, Khomsan intends to use this learning centre to prepare Thai entrepreneurs and businesses for the next 2-D barcode version.

“Instead of the familiar barcode, the next one will resemble a QR Code. This new version of the product code will include product information, all manufacturing processes for goods and services, such as packaging, production period, and any other information that will assist buyers and consumers in tracing the origin of the product,” he explained.

He predicted that the 2-D code will be widely used worldwide within the next five years. Its goal is to meet the demands of sustainable trends.

Kriangkrai Tiannukul, FTI’s chairman, praised the importance of the FTI Connect Learning Centre.

During the opening ceremony, he stated that barcodes are the global language of products. It is an essential tool for international trade.

Aside from helping boost the confidence of Thai SMEs to go abroad, the learning centre aims to educate the general public about the country’s industries and their evolution, FTI history, and other current interesting economic trends and issues.

“With our interactive display, visitors will enjoy learning about business knowledge,” Kriangkrai said.

The learning centre is now open for free visits on the first floor of Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep’s Creative Technology Building.

Visitors must pre-register and limit their visits to 5-20 people per round. Each round of the visit lasts about 30 minutes.

Nongluck Ajanapanya

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024060

Police, FDA raid 6 more sites for fake plastic surgery silicone strips

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials joined police to raid and confiscate a horde of fake silicone pieces at a plastic surgery clinic’s five branches and at the manufacturer’s warehouse.

The joint operation was announced on Monday by FDA secretary-general Paisarn Dunkum and Pol Colonel Tharakorn Lertporncharoen, deputy chief of the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD).

The latest raid was conducted last Thursday, following two previous operations on December 20 and 22.

The raid also uncovered information that Korawin Clinic’s five branches had used the counterfeit silicone pieces in 1,621 surgeries last year. Of them, 1,436 were nose jobs, 154 chin implants and 31 both nose and chin surgeries.

Paisarn said the FDA sought help CPPD’s help to investigate the use of fake silicone pieces at clinics operating under the Korawin brand.

The FDA and CPPD also obtained a court warrant to search a deserted rice mill in Suphanburi’s Sri Prachan district on December 20.

There they learned that the rice mill was being used as a factory to make silicone for nose and forehead jobs.

They also seized counterfeit equipment, 68 moulds and 1,098 silicone pieces in the December 20 raid. The cost of the confiscated items was estimated at 3.5 million baht.

Nattapapas (surname withheld) was subsequently arrested for manufacturing silicone and medical equipment without a licence. She reportedly admitted to running the business for two years and said her biggest buyer was K Medical Thailand Co Ltd.

K Medical reportedly placed orders for Korawin Clinic’s Ngam Wong Wan branch in Bangkok and in Khon Kaen province.

Paisarn said subsequent investigation found that the counterfeit silicone was later distributed to 30 other branches of the clinic nationwide. Officials also found documents proving that the Korawin Clinic had paid more than 2 million baht for the fake silicone pieces.

On December 22, police and FDA officials raided the Ngam Wong Wan branch and seized 12,282 pieces for nose jobs, 27 pieces for forehead implants and 3,855 pieces for the chin. All had been made in Nattapapas’s factory.

On January 12, FDA officials searched the clinic’s branches in Nakhon Pathom, Rayong, Udon Thani and Khon Kaen as well as the Ngam Wong Wan branch and a warehouse in Nonthaburi.

Police said the January 12 and December 22 raids resulted in the seizure of 12,282 pieces for nose jobs, 2,775 for foreheads and 1,107 for chins as well as 998 illegal medical equipment and 474 items of illegal medication.

The FDA chief said the silicone pieces cost 60-80 baht each to produce and were used in surgeries costing 4,900 to 50,000 baht.

The FDA chief and CPPD deputy chief said more arrest warrants will be sought but did not elaborate.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024059

Teachers up in arms over draft National Education Act

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

More than 400,000 teachers and educational personnel nationwide dressed in black on Monday, urging Parliament to postpone consideration of the draft National Education Act.

The draft, which aims to enhance Thailand’s education system to meet international standards and boost the country’s competitiveness, has been included in the Parliament session since January 10-11 this year.

Among teachers who participated in the event, a group of teachers in Lampang province said some details in the draft act would not support learners’ development. The group also claimed that the draft act’s centralised command would affect their independence in teaching.

“We have given our opinion many times to the special House committee to amend the draft act but there is no response,” the group said, “Instead, the committee hastened proposing the draft act to the Parliament session.”

The group reaffirmed that its move was a peaceful protest under the Constitution, adding that the special House committee’s move to propose the draft act before the Parliament session ends on February 23 is hasty.

The group urged Parliament President Chuan Leekpai to consider the draft National Education Act after the general election, which is tentatively scheduled for May 7.

Related stories:

• Good teachers make good citizens, says PM to mark Teacher’s Day
• Teachers’ Day slogan revealed: ‘Good teachers, good students = good future’
• Teachers accused of child assault face lifetime ban in China

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Thailand’s Covid-19 hospitalisations drop, but deaths rise in 2nd week of 2023

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

Though fewer people have been hospitalised for Covid-19 during the second week of this year, the number of deaths has risen, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) said on Monday.

According to DDC, 969 people were hospitalised for Covid between January 8 and 14, averaging 138 patients per day. This was slightly lower than the 997 patients hospitalised in the week of January 1-7, which averaged about 142 patients per day.

So far this year, 1,966 patients have been admitted to hospital for Covid-19 symptoms.

Meanwhile, the second week of this year saw 65 deaths from Covid, or approximately nine deaths per day, compared to 58 deaths in the first week or about eight deaths per day. So far this year, 123 people have died from Covid-19.

DDC said 322 Covid patients are being treated for lung infections and 203 of them are on ventilators.

As of January 14, the Public Health Ministry has administered 144.463 million doses of Covid vaccines, of which 57.1 million are first doses, 53.66 million second doses and the rest boosters.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024051

Foreign entities among eight firms interested so far in bidding for Patong expressway project

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

Eight Thai and foreign firms have so far purchased bidding documents from the Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) to build an almost 4-kilometre-long expressway linking Tambon Krathu with Patong Beach in Phuket province.

EXAT governor Surachet Laophulsuk said the authority has been selling the request for proposal (RFP) documents for the 3.98km Krathu-Patong expressway project, estimated to cost 14 billion baht, since December 26 and eight firms have bought it so far.

Sale of the RFP documents will continue until January 25. The EXAT will call on the document buyers to submit their envelopes on April 7, Surachet added.

A source from the EXAT said each bidder would be required to submit four envelopes stating the bidder’s qualifications for the project; the technicalities involved in the construction; the total investment and returns; and, other proposals that would benefit the services.

The source said that in order to qualify, the bidder must secure at least 85% of points for each envelope and 90% for all the conditions.

The first envelopes will be opened on April 28 and the winner is expected to be announced late this year.

Surachet said Chinese and South Korean investors were among those who had bought the RFP documents.

“The EXAT is open to both Thai and foreign investors for this project but there is a condition that the consortium bidding for the project must be led by a Thai entity,” Surachet said.

The EXAT source clarified that a Thai entity must hold 51% stake in any consortium that bids for the project and the Thai entity must have been registered for at least three years.

Work on the construction of the 3.98km Krathu-Patong expressway in Krathu district will begin in 2024 and the expressway would be opened to motorists in 2027.

The expressway would be a PPP (public private partnership) net cost project, meaning the EXAT would pay for land expropriation and the private firm would bear the construction expenditure, as well as the operation and maintenance cost. The land expropriation cost would be 5.792 billion baht and the construction cost would be 8.878 billion baht.

The bid winner would be allowed to collect expressway toll for the next 35 years and ownership of the expressway would be transferred to the EXAT once construction is completed under the build-transfer-operate model.

The expressway will be an elevated road with four lanes in each direction and it would have a tunnel in the middle.

The construction would take no longer than four years.

According to studies by the EXAT, the expressway would be used daily by some 35,000 motorcycles and 36,000 vehicles with four or more wheels.

A motorcycle will be charged 15 baht for the toll, 40 baht for a four-wheel vehicle, 80 baht for a six-to-10-wheel vehicle, and 125 baht for a vehicle with more than 10 wheels.

Related story:

EXAT invites bids for building expressway that would improve access to Patong Beach in Phuket

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024049

Thai beauty Anna has ‘no regrets’ about joining Miss Universe pageant

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

Thai beauty queen Anna Sueangam-iam insisted she had no regrets after failing to qualify for the final round of 16 contestants at the 71st Miss Universe pageant in New Orleans on Saturday night.

Writing in an Instagram post on Monday, Anna expressed satisfaction with her performance and said everybody should be happy for her.

“Anna is now feeling better,” said the post, adding that it was best to live in the present.

It went on to say that the Miss Universe pageant had given her plenty of experiences as well as the chance to show that everyone can fulfil their dreams whoever they are.

Anna rose from humble beginnings as the daughter of trash collectors in Bangkok.

On Monday, she also asked fans to continue to follow her career.

American model R’Bonney Gabriel, 28, was crowned Miss Universe on Saturday night (Sunday morning, Bangkok time) in New Orleans. Venezuela’s Amanda Dudamel and Dominican Republic’s Andreína Martínez were named first and second runners-up, respectively.

Though she failed to make the final round of 16, Anna won the Transformational Leadership Award. The award was being presented for the first time, in a collaboration between the Miss Universe brand and ImpactWayv, a global social impact platform “uniting people, businesses and nonprofits to accelerate their collective impact”.

Related stories:

• Thai beauty queen wins leadership award at Miss Universe pageant
• Thai beauty queen wows New Orleans with glittering gown made from pull tabs
• Thai Miss Universe hopeful uses shawl to celebrate unity in racial diversity

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024048

Trouble ahead for Thai nominees behind Chinese-owned restaurants in Yaowarat

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

The government has taken heed of public suspicion that Chinese investors have been setting up restaurants via Thai nominees in Bangkok’s Chinatown, a government spokesperson said in response to complaints.

Deputy government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said on Monday that relevant government agencies have been instructed to investigate whether the complaints circulating via social networks are true.

Local food vendors have been complaining that Chinese investors have been taking away their business by setting up eateries via Thai nominees in Bangkok’s Yaowarat or Chinatown area.

Yaowarat is popular among Chinese tourists and rumour has it that Chinese tycoons have opened restaurants to cater to them.

Rachada said the Commerce and Labour ministries have joined forces with Royal Thai Police, the Immigration Bureau, Tourist Police, Special Branch and local police stations to investigate the issue.

She said foreigners can only set up food and beverage businesses once they receive a permit from the Business Development Department.

She said that though foreigners need Thai partners, these partners are required to provide bank certificates proving that they have enough assets to make an investment as legal entities, Rachada added.

She said Thais who are nominees of foreign businessmen can face a maximum jail term of three years and/or a fine of between 100,000 and 1 million baht. They can also face a daily fine of between 10,000 and 50,000 baht.

Last year, Bangkok’s Chinatown was voted the world’s 8th most interesting street to visit thanks to its history and food culture.