Somboon Uthaiwiankul, secretary to the House speaker, said Kalaya had submitted her resignation to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai and the resignation took effect on Thursday.

Her place will automatically be filled by the 22nd Democrat party-list candidate Phisit Lee-artham.

The controversy has been raging since before just the government policy debate, when Future Forward secretary general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul said Prayut was not constitutionally qualified to work as the prime minister because he had failed to properly take the oath of office.

Piyabutr alleged that Prayut ended his oath statement before saying he would protect the constitution.

Prayut earlier argued that he had spoken the oath correctly and and the YouTube clip presented by Piyabutr might be edited.

But when Prayut held a meeting of top executives of government agencies at the Grand Diamond Ballroom of Impact, Muang Thong Thani, he issued an apology.

“I would like to apologise to ministers. I’ve done my part to the best of my ability. Anyway, the country must move forward and this government must move forward too,” Prayut said while addressing the top permanent officials.

He said he would take all the blame for the controversy and he had only one concern – how to ensure the government could go on working.

“I take all the blame myself,” Prayut said.

“We must study how the charter has been written. No matter what, the government exists.”

He said he would not give any further interviews on this issue.

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Experts and academics have called on the government to legalise the use of kratom leaves (Mitragyna speciosa), saying some foreign companies have started patenting chemicals extracted from the leaves for medical use.

While visiting the Yala Government Complex, Prayut was asked whether it would be possible for his government to legalise kratom leaves.

Prayut replied that his government could not go that far for now because even the legalising of marijuana for medical use had encountered a lot of obstacles.

“One at a time, please. If it is useful, we’ll make it legal,” Prayut said.

The PM said he could not say for now whether he would support the use of kratom leaves for medical treatment because it must be legalised first.

The prime minister was speaking to reporters at noon while visiting the Southern Border Provinces’ Government Complex in Yala’s Muang district.

“I have tasted Yala’s durians. Delicious,” Prayut said.

He said concerned government agencies are developing the province as “the city of durians” because the best species of durians are grown in Yala.

The prime minister said he has met investors who are willing to develop the durian business in the province, which would create a lot of jobs for local people.

Pol Lt-General Kraiboon Suadsong, a member of the investigative team, said Chakthip would hold a press conference after he had accompanied Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to visit Yala on Wednesday, during which he would interview some suspects being detained there.

Kraiboon said Chakthip would not present any suspects during the press conference. Attempts to identify the correct number of suspects remained in custody confused as police sources said four had been arrested, but Prayut on Tuesday said that up to nine suspects were being detained.

Police sources said investigators have obtained sufficient evidence to seek arrest warrants against several additional suspects.

The sources said investigators were confident of obtaining court warrants after they had summoned explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) officers to brief the investigators about evidence found at the scenes of blasts that clearly determined the types of bombs used in the coordinated attacks.

Sources said nine bombs were used in the attacks, with six having exploded and three safely disposed of. Two bombs were planted in front of the Royal Thai Police headquarters and were disposed of on Thursday, before the other bombs went off on Friday. Two bombs were planted in front of the Building B of the Government Complex in Chaeng Wattana, two in front of the Supreme Command, one in front of the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Defence, one in front of the King Power Mahanakhon Building and another under the pedestrian bridge linked to the Chong Nonsi BTS station.

A team of EOD officers checked a clothing shop in Pratunam area on Wednesday morning after a mysterious power bank was found hidden in a pile of clothes inside the shop late on Tuesday night.

EDO officers will check again later on Wednesday the six locations where fires had broken out early on August 2, prior to the bomb blasts occurring in other places. The six locations are three cloth vending stalls in Pratunam, the Platinum shopping mall, the Siam Paragon shopping mall and the Siam Square One shopping mall.

NACC secretary general Worawit Sukboon said on Tuesday that the nine NACC commissioners unanimously resolved on Monday to file corruption charges against Wirat Rattanaset, Thassaneeya Rattanaset and Thassanaporn Ketmethikarun as well as 21 other alleged accomplices.

Wirat is Phalang Pracharat party-list MP and Thassaneeya is Phalang Pracharat MP for Nakhon Ratchasima’s Constituency 2 while Thasssnaporn is Phalang Pracharat MP for Constituency 8 of the province.

Worawit said the NACC has conducted an investigation and found grounds to suspect wrongdoing by the accused. The Commission will now forward its findings to public prosecutors to charge the suspects in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office.

Worawit said the NACC found alleged abuses in the 2012 budget allocation for repairs to a public school in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Constituency 2 by three groups made up of politicians, permanent officials and private sector firms respectively.

In the first group, the NACC found that six political office holders and coordinators had allegedly violated Article 168 of the 2007 charter regarding the allocation of a budget to a school in Nakhon Ratchasima.

This first group was also accused of violating the government project bidding law and the Criminal Code.

He said nine permanent officials were also accused of violating Article 151 and 157 of the Criminal Code and of committing severe disciplinary offences.

The group of nine individuals from private firms was accused of violating the Criminal Code and the government project bidding law, Worawit said.

Worawit said the NACC had found that the 24 accused had collaborated to commit corruption at the policy level and systematically collaborated to allocate the budget to hire a firm close to them to build a futsal court that turned out to be useless.

Worawit said the NACC was certain of the evidence. It had considered Wirat’s complaint but found the evidence he provided in his defence unconvincing,

Wirat on Tuesday cried foul over the NACC’s decision and threatened to sue the commissioners.

He claimed that the NACC based its decision on an anonymous note accusing him.

Wirat’s lawyer, Thossapol Pengsom, said he would represent Wirat to file a complaint with police alleging the NACC commissioners were abusing the authority of and violating the NACC Act by using unfounded evidence in making a decision.

“The water banks will require the punching of three holes that are deep enough to reach the aquifer. It’s like putting money in the bank. This water can be drawn when required. Thailand has heavy rains, but there is nothing in place to collect this water. This is why the water bank project is suitable,” he said.

Praphat Phothasuthon, also a deputy agriculture minister, added that heavy rains brought by the tropical depression Wipha has relieved the drought situation in the North and Northeast. The dry season was expected to damage 1.2 million rai of rice fields in the country.

Speaking to reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Prayut – who also serves as Defence Minister – referred to significant progress in the investigation.

He said the nine suspects in custody were being interrogated, but declined to elaborate, saying only that they would be dealt with judiciously based on the evidence.

“The government will handle the case the best it can,” Prayut said. “I would like to thank the officials and the people for providing information to the authorities.

“Maintaining safety for life and property must start with the people. The people and communities can help the government by taking photos [of suspicious objects or activity].”

Malls report no impact on shoppers from bomb blasts

4 bomb suspects arrested so far, police to seek warrants for seven more

Interior minister puts all agencies on full alert

Government spokeswoman Naruemol Pinyosinwat said the reshuffle proposed by Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda was given the nod in Cabinet, with all transfers to take effect on October 1.

Among key moves, Samut Sakhon Governor Somkid Chanthamaruek becomes deputy permanent secretary, replacing Thanakhom Jongjira.

Thanakhom moves to the director general’s job at the Provincial Administration Department.

Local Administration Department director general Sutthipong Julacharoen will now lead the Community Development Department.

Nisit Chansomwong leaves that post in Community Development to take over the Land Department, replacing Prayoon Ratanasenee, who in turn moves to the Local Administration Department.

Tak Governor Charoenrit Sa-nguansat will be the new boss in Chiang Mai.

The Cabinet agreed that Nakhon Ratchasima Governor Wichian Chantharanothai should remain in office another year, through September 2020.

Officers of various precincts are studying security camera recordings and interviewing people seen with suspects, including taxi drivers.

There have been four arrests so far and warrants are expected to be sought for seven more suspects.

Investigators are in total probing nine bombs – six that exploded and three that were safely disposed of – and six arson attacks in six different locations.

A timeline compiled by The Nation based on information from police sources begins at 3.40pm on Thursday (August 1), when two bomb-like objects were noticed in front of Royal Thai Police HQ.

Police initially characterised them as fake bombs – containing full detonating equipment but no explosive material.

It was later announced, however, that they were homemade bombs set to detonate between 8 and 9am on Friday.

At 4.37am on Friday, Pathumwan police were alerted to fires at two department stores at the Samyan and Pathumwan intersections. Mall security and automatic extinguishers doused the flames and no one was hurt.

At 4.40, Phayathai police got a call about a fire at the single-storey Sidewalk Market on Soi Phetchaburi 19 in Ratchathewi district, behind the Indra Regent Hotel. The blaze destroyed 60 clothing stalls.

Officers from the Scientific Crime Detection Division found what were believed to be elements of fire bombs at the three fire locations, including timer circuit-boards attached to power banks and traces of alcohol.

The fire bombs were similar to those used to cause disturbances in seven provinces in the upper South in 2016. In Bangkok, the first was set to detonate at the DD House Building half an hour before the other two.

Security cameras at the malls recorded a man “planting” an object in the approximate right location at one mall, but no one was seen at the other.

At 6.10am, a bomb exploded at the entrance to Building B at the Government Complex in Bangkok’s northern Chaeng Watthana district. No one was injured.

Between 8.30 and 8.40, two more bombs exploded, one in front of the King Power Mahanakhon Building, injuring a security officer, the other in a carpark in front of the same downtown building, injuring an electrical technician.

At 8.40, a bomb detonated in front of the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Defence in Nonthaburi’s Pakkret district. Again, no one was hurt.

At 8.45, a second bomb exploded at Government Complex Building B, this time at the exit.

At 9.10 there was an explosion in front of Supreme Command headquarters. No one was injured.

At 11, a bomb disposal unit dismantled a second device in the same locale.