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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022806

No monkey business: 2 coconut plantations get Thailand’s cruelty-free stamp

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2022

The Department of Agriculture has started handing out “monkey-free” certificates to coconut farmers in Ratchaburi and Samut Sakhon to signify animal-cruelty-free harvests.

The certificates handed out on Tuesday verify that no monkeys were abused in the collecting of coconuts.

The issue of Thai farmers using chained monkeys to scale tall trees and bring down heavy coconuts was brought to global attention by PETA Asia in 2020. British supermarkets were the first to react and stopped stocking coconut milk from Thailand.

This prompted the Department of Agriculture to hold a virtual meeting with the International Coconut Community (ICC) and apply the principles of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) to the industry. It also resulted in the department launching the “GAP Monkey-Free Plus” programme.

On Tuesday, department director-general Rapeepat Chansriwong presented the GAP Monkey-Free Plus certificates to Theppadungporn Coconut Co Ltd in Ratchaburi and K-Fresh Co Ltd in Samut Sakhon. They were the first two major coconut product manufacturers to pass the animal cruelty-free standards.

Rapeepat said coconut farmers are welcome to join the programme at any branch of the department’s Agricultural Research and Development Centre.

Officials will be dispatched to monitor the growing and harvesting process to ensure that GAP Monkey-Free Plus standards have been met before plantation owners receive a certificate.

This stamp can also be displayed on coconut-based products from these plantations.

Thailand exported 236.3 billion tonnes of coconut milk in 2021 worth 12.8 billion baht. Thai coconut milk is currently holding the largest market share of coconut milk products in the United States and Europe.

Related Stories

No more monkey business: Thai farmers now have a machine to take them up coconut trees

Govt urged to solve ‘monkey-picked coconuts’ row urgently

Ban on monkey-picked coconut products in UK won’t hurt: shippers’ council

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022802

Closing time for bars will not be extended, says Anutin

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2022

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced on Tuesday that his ministry was against the Tourism and Sports Ministry’s proposal to extend the operating hours of nightspots by two hours.

Political observers, however, have dubbed this announcement as bizarre, especially since Anutin is the leader of coalition partner Bhumjaithai and he appears to be going against a fellow party member, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

Anutin announced his ministry’s stance just before attending the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning. This was in response to an earlier announcement by Phiphat, who said the Cabinet was scheduled to deliberate his proposal to extend bar closing hours in specific tourist destinations on Tuesday.

Phiphat said he would ask the Cabinet to greenlight his plan to have nightspots in specific areas remain open until 4am instead of 2am.

He said if his proposal got the Cabinet go-ahead, he would immediately apply the new extended time to nightspots on Bangla Road in Phuket’s Patong area.

However, Anutin said the 2am closing time is perfectly fine because Covid-19 is still a threat.

“We also don’t want to see more road accidents caused by drunkards,” he added.

Observers believe Anutin is trying to distance himself from Phiphat’s proposal after it sparked criticism from civic groups and doctors, who believe that late closing hours will contribute to drunk driving and road accidents.

They also believe that Anutin and his party are still reeling from criticism over the policy of decriminalising marijuana, which doctors are blaming for the reported surge in ganja consumption among young people.

Late last month, the Alcohol Control Committee rejected Phiphat’s proposal to keep entertainment venues open until 4am, because they said this would see booze being served for 11 consecutive hours from 5pm.

The committee also cited findings of a study showing that extending the opening hours of nightspots would boost road accidents by 27% and cause as many as 20 casualties from drunk driving.

It also cited records showing that despite police checkpoints and strict enforcement of the law being in place, no more than 50% of drunk drivers are intercepted.

Deliberation on Phiphat’s proposal, which was welcomed by the tourism sector, has been postponed for several months and only added to the Cabinet agenda on Tuesday.

Related story:

Proposal to let nightspots remain open till 4am rejected

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022797

Strolling wild elephants bring traffic to a stop in Khao Yai

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2022

Tourists at Nakhon Ratchasima’s Khao Yai National Park had to park their cars for over an hour to make way for a herd of some 10 elephants to cross the road.

The wild elephants slowly sauntered across the road on Monday evening under the watchful eye of national park officials.

People had flocked to the national park in Pak Chong district during the Father’s Day long weekend.

Tourist Nattaporn Kwangpimai said she was excited to have had the chance to take pictures of wild elephants so closely.

“The herd was gentle and did not cause any panic among the tourists,” she said.

Related stories:

• Elephant buffet over: Farmers usher wild herd back to Chachoengsao sanctuary
• Man hospitalised after driving into elephant near Khao Yai National Park
• 100 elephants in Ayutthaya camp may be evacuated as Lopburi River overflows

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022796

Bangkok Skytrain, Gold Line fares to rise by 1 baht from New Year’s Day

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2022

Rides on the Gold Line feeder train between BTS Silom Line and Iconsiam shopping mall will cost 1 baht more from New Year’s Day.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the operator Krungthep Thanakom (KT) announced that the fare from Krung Thonburi to Klong San station will rise from 15 baht to 16 baht from January 1.

Senior citizens and war veterans, however, will continue paying 8 baht, while children below the height of 90 centimetres and the disabled will still get free rides.

KT is the business arm of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Also late last month, the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTSC) announced that fares on the Sukhumvit (Mo Chit to On Nut) and Silom (National Stadium to Wong Wian Yai) BTS Skytrain lines will rise by 1-3 baht from January 1.

The basic fare for a one-station journey will cost 17 baht instead of 16, while the maximum fare – eight stations or more – will go up from 44 baht to 47 baht.

One-day passes will also cost 150 baht, up from 140 baht, from January 1. However, senior citizens will continue receiving special discounted fares.

Related story:

BTS Skytrain fares to rise on January 1

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022795

Alleged Golden Triangle drug kingpin Zhao Wei denies ‘Tuhao’ links

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2022

Zhao Wei, an alleged Chinese crime boss based in the Golden Triangle, has rejected accusations he is involved with Chainat “Tuhao” Kornchayanan, who police suspect of running criminal enterprises in Thailand.

Chainat – a Chinese national who acquired Thai citizenship after marrying a Thai police colonel – denied the charges against him after surrendering to police on November 23.

The charges stem from information provided by former massage tycoon and politician Chuwit Kamolvisit, who claims Chainat runs criminal networks in Thailand and has connections with several foreign gangs, including Zhao’s.

Zhao, 71, has been sanctioned by the United States for “drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, bribery, and wildlife trafficking” through the Kings Romans Casino”, a vast gambling complex on the Laos border with Thailand’s Chiang Rai.

Zhao dismissed the allegations of links with Chainat and said he had never met Chuwit.

“I don’t know why he tried to frame me. I suspect there could be someone else behind this allegation,” he said, as quoted by Thai media.

He added that US sanctions against him were “groundless” and “a ploy used by a superpower to bully other nations”.

In 2018, the US Treasury sanctioned “the Zhao Wei network” as a transnational criminal organisation that facilitates storage and distribution of heroin, methamphetamine and other narcotics for illicit networks including Myanmar’s United Wa State Army.

Zhao, who chairs the Laos government’s Golden Triangle special economic zone, said his main concern was aiding develop and poverty elimination in Laos.

“I have received warm support from the Laotian government and its people over the years. They understand what we are trying to do. Most people already know that Chinese people have unbound love for everyone in the world,” he said.

Related Stories

Alleged Chinese drug-ring boss surrenders to police in Bangkok

Fourth ‘lieutenant’ arrested as noose tightens on triad, police say

Live snakes seized in raids as triad crackdown expands to Phuket, police say

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022792

7 injured in Songkhla blast while salvaging train derailed by earlier bombing

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2022

Seven people were injured by an explosion on Tuesday as they salvaged a freight train that was derailed in a suspected insurgent attack in Songkhla’s Sadao district.

The explosion occurred at 6.24am about 10 metres from the site where the train was derailed by the initial blast on Saturday.

Seven people, mostly engineers from nearby train depots, were sent to hospital with injuries from the second blast.

Officials have launched an investigation.

Train No 707 from Songkhla’s Hat Yai district to Padang Besar in Malaysia was derailed at 12.50pm on Saturday by a bomb blast as it approached Khlong Ngae railway station, authorities said. Eleven of its 20 containers left the track, which was also severely damaged. No staff onboard were injured in the incident. Bomb disposal officers had reportedly searched the area before engineers were given the green light to salvage the train.

The State Railway of Thailand has closed the track for repairs, suspending train services from Hat Yai to Padang Besar and from Padang Besar to Bangkok.

Related stories:

• Freight train to Malaysia derails in Songkhla, investigation underway
• Train travel suspended between Thailand and Malaysia after Saturday’s bomb blast
• Songkhla railway bombing likely to signify a stepping up of attacks before end of Ramadan

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022790

Frenchman arrested after Thai woman complains of luxury brand scam

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2022

Police say a French scammer lured Thai customers to invest in importing luxury-brand products from France before stealing millions of baht of their money.

Suspect Jacouel Clemen, 41, was arrested near a hotel in Bangkok’s Watthana district, Pol Lt Gen Phakphumphiphat Satchaphan, chief of the Immigration Police Bureau, told press on Monday.

Clemen last entered Thailand on October 24.

An arrest warrant for the Frenchman had been issued earlier on May 2 after a Thai woman filed a police complaint that he had defrauded her. She said the suspect took her investment of about 2 million baht but never delivered brandname products he had promised to import from France for her to resell in Thailand.

The woman told police that she had met Clemen at an entertainment venue in the Sukhumvit area and had travelled to France with him before agreeing to invest her money.

She later found out that the suspect had committed similar scams against Thai victims several times, Phakphumphiphat said.

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