Phrae restaurant collapses under weight of partying diners
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2022
As many as 18 people were injured when a wooden house on stilts that serves as a restaurant collapsed under the weight of diners in Phrae’s Muang district.
Police said the incident took place at about 4.30pm on Saturday as members of an insurance company were having a party.
“Of the 18 injured, 11 were sent to Phrae Hospital, three to Phrae Christian Hospital and four to the Phrae-Ram Hospital,” Muang Phrae Police Station chief Pol Colonel Pongpeera Karaket said.
He added that at least three people had suffered bad fractures.
“The police will summon the restaurant owner for questioning,” he added.
Diner Wannee Intajuang said she and her colleagues had gathered for a celebration. “Some 50 people were attending,” she said, adding that the floor fell through when the group had gathered to take a photograph together.
She said she escaped unscathed because she was not standing where the floor collapsed.
Restaurant owner Suwit Sombat said the floor collapsed because it could not take the weight of so many people, adding that he would have warned them if he had seen them earlier.
Pomp and pageantry: Anna Sueangam-iam off to New Orleans for Miss Universe crown
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2022
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport was buzzing on Saturday as supporters showed up to see off Anna Sueangam-iam as she headed to the US to vie for the Miss Universe crown.
The 71st Miss Universe 2022 pageant is scheduled to be held on January 14-15 in New Orleans.
The beauty queen and her 12 pieces of luggage were accompanied by officials of TPN Global, which owns the copyright of Miss Universe Thailand.
Anna, 24, who has earned a name as an actress and model, was crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2022 on July 30. She had previously participated in the Miss Thailand 2020 pageant in Chiang Mai and had been included in the Top 16 list.
Tuhao’s wife arrested in Bangkok over money laundering charges
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2022
Police swooped in at a condominium in Bangkok and arrested the police colonel wife of alleged triad leader Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant on money laundering charges.
Police also arrested six other alleged accomplices in the operation on Saturday afternoon.
Pol Colonel Wattanaree Kornchayanant, who is the superintendent of the police foreign affairs division, and the other suspects are being detained at Metropolitan Police Bureau for interrogation led by chief investigator Pol Maj-General Noppasin Poolsawat.
Wattanaree is a niece of Pol General Pracha Promnok, a former National Police chief and former deputy minister under the Yingluck Shinawatra government.
Police said they plan to arrest another 15 Thai and Chinese suspects believed to be involved in the case.
“The key suspect is Tuhao’s grandson who has reportedly left Thailand,” police added.
Chaiyanat is a Chinese businessman who was granted Thai citizenship after marrying a senior police officer and is believed to be behind a Chinese triad dealing in drugs and other criminal activities.
After he surrendered on November 23, police raided many sites in Bangkok and other provinces believed to be the bases of Chaiyanat’s alleged network. They include 50 houses in two luxury residential projects in Bangkok, eight companies in Phuket, and a non-profit organisation in Chiang Mai.
Assets worth more than 3 billion baht have also been confiscated.
More than 100 Chinese nationals have been arrested in relation to the case and are being questioned. Some 27 immigration police officers have also been found to have been helping these Chinese triads to stay illegally in Thailand.
Former massage parlour tycoon and politician Chuvit Kamolvisit has been exposing businesses run by Chinese triads and pushing the authorities to take firm action.
Harrowing account of HTMS Sukhothai’s last moments posted on Facebook by ‘friend of survivor’
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2022
Before the HTMS Sukhothai corvette capsized in the Gulf of Thailand last Sunday night, cracks were seen on the port side of its hull near a gun bay, a retired naval commander quoted a survivor as saying.
Strong waves sent seawater gushing in through the cracked hull, former commander Kritdecha Sweyanont wrote on Facebook. He said he was quoting Lieutenant Junior Grade Sayan Kitkiat who was on the ship that night.
Kritdecha said Sayan explained what happened on the vessel during a “homecoming” get-together with friends earlier on Saturday. Kritdecha said they had been colleagues before he retired from the navy.
He quoted his former colleague as saying that the HTMS Sukhothai started to tilt to the left before it sank. Next, all three power generators and one emergency generator stopped working, which caused the main engine to fail and control of the ship to be lost, Kritdecha said.
Some members of the crew hesitated before jumping off the ship, he said. Many of those who jumped into the sea said they felt “strong suction” and tried to hold on to each other to keep from drowning, he said.
The ship’s commander was the last to leave the HTMS Sukhothai, Kritdecha said.
Kritdecha is now head of disaster prevention and mitigation at the Ang Thong Tambon Administrative Organisation in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Thap Sakae district.
The warship sank off Prachuap Khiri Khan with 105 people on board as it was patrolling in rough seas.
Seventy-six sailors were rescued and 14 bodies have been recovered, eight of which have been officially confirmed as being crewmen from the ship.
BMA hopes to present Bangkok creatively via new film fest
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2022
Stephanie Adair
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is holding a film festival next month in a bid to push the capital’s soft power through films, as well as support the local film industry and economy.
The event, being held at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) during the weekend of January 20-22, will also feature the “Bangkok, The Creative City” seminar and workshops led by experts, directors and actors. On the agenda are topics such as editing and filming techniques, as well as script writing.
At a press conference on Friday, deputy Bangkok governor Sanon Wangsrangboon said: “The Bangkok film festival originates from our 12 months of activities in the capital. Our outdoor film screenings gained a lot of interest, helped many companies and created jobs.
“Organising festivals is not just about happiness, but also about promoting industries that were hit badly by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The upcoming festival will also showcase amateur filmmakers through a contest in which Bangkokians can submit self-produced 10 to 15-minute-long films under the theme “Connecting Bangkok 2030”. The contest is only open to people aged 28 or less.
A 65,000-baht cash prize will be awarded to the top contestant, followed by 45,000 baht for the first runner-up, 30,000 baht for the second runner-up and 15,000 baht each for the four honourable mentions.
The deadline for submission is January 15, and winning films will be screened during the three-day festival.
Six new Covid-19 variants have replaced BA.5 as the most dominant globally, with the BQ.1.x variant being the most prevalent of them, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In its Covid-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update issued on Wednesday, the WHO reported that six new Omicron variants account for 72.9% of the prevalence and are replacing BA.5 descendent lineages, which account for 68.4%.
Among these six variants, BQ.1.x is the most prevalent with 42.5%.
“Based on current evidence, there is no indication of increased severity associated with these variants under monitoring compared to the former Omicron lineages,” the WHO said.
Assoc Prof Dr Thira Woratanarat, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, warned that global Covid-19 outbreaks are continuing and remain fatal.
“In Thailand, there are many infections every day and we need to protect ourselves carefully,” he wrote on Facebook. “Covid can cause illness and death, and patients risk long-term illness.”
Thira called for people to take precautions to avoid Covid-19, particularly at festivities where the risk of infection is high.
Many countries are underreporting Covid-19 cases, which makes it difficult to accurately assess the global situation, Thira said.
Free food, water served in hospital to well-wishers of Princess Bajrakitiyabha
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2022
Food and water has been made available for people visiting King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital to wish Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati a speedy recovery.
His Majesty the King has graciously made arrangements for lunch, snacks and bottled water to be served to well-wishers and people seeking medical services at the hospital complex’s Bhumisiri Mangkhalanusorn Building. Lunchboxes are distributed at 11am and snacks at 1pm every day.
Well-wishers can write their messages in provided books at the building from 8am to 6pm every day.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the daughter of His Majesty the King and HRH Princess Soamsawali, is being treated at the hospital for a heart-related health issue after fainting in Nakhon Ratchasima province last week, according to the Royal Household Bureau.
Govt urged to increase financial aid to students from impoverished families
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2022
Nongluck Ajanapanya
The government should increase financial aid for the more than 1.3 million students living in extreme poverty so that they do not remain trapped in poverty for the rest of their lives, Equitable Education Fund managing director Kraiyos Patrawart said.
Kraiyos told a press conference on Friday that investing a small amount of money to educate children and youths from poor families can free them from the cycle of poverty.
The number of poor students rose by nearly 50% over the last three years, from 900,000 to 1.3 million, as household incomes fell by 5%, according to the Equitable Education Fund.
It cited data from the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council that said more than 2.5 million children and youths live in poverty, with household monthly incomes of less than 2,762 baht.
More than 1 million students live in extreme poverty, with household incomes of less than 34 baht per day or 1,044 baht per month, Kraiyos said.
The government should provide enough financial support to students living daily in extreme poverty to cover the cost of living as well as the cost of education, Kraiyos said.
Kraiyos Patrawart
Providing financial assistance to extremely poor students will reduce the school drop-out rate, he said.
“Sending children to school incurs some cost, so giving a bit more money to parents will encourage them to send their children to school,” Kraiyos explained.
Pumsaran Tongliemnak, an education economist at Equitable Education Research Institute, said inflation was making it more difficult for children and youths from impoverished families to attend school.
Higher inflation makes it more difficult for poor families to afford necessities and can force parents to choose between feeding their children and sending them to school, Pumsaran said.
The government should increase monthly financial aid to poor students from 1,000 baht to 1,190 baht at the elementary level and from 3,000 baht to 3,300 baht at the secondary level to prevent them from dropping out, a report by the Equitable Education Fund recommended.
Pumsaran Tongliemnak
Pumsaran cited data from Unicef that said the cost of 500,000 students dropping out of school was equivalent to US$ 6.52 billion, or 1.7% of GDP. The data was compiled by the UN agency in 2015. If every student in Thailand receives basic education, GDP will rise by 5.5% during this century, Pumsaran said, citing a study from 2020.
Kraiyos also called on the government to work with his organisation to create a national database on students, saying it would help Equitable Education and its partners determine the exact number of students requiring financial assistance.
Government officials should also find creative ways for the private sector to help students from impoverished families to reduce the costs to the government, he said.
Kraiyos said youths from impoverished families are most likely to drop out during middle school.
Financial assistance for higher secondary school grades will help them remain in school until they finish high school, Kraiyos said.
He said that research by the Equitable Education Fund found that financial aid for students in impoverished families had a 700% return on investment.
“This means that investing in education is always worthwhile,” Kraiyos said. Equity in education will ensure Thailand does not fall into the middle-income trap, he said, adding that Thailand will become a high-income country faster if more young people complete higher education.
If the 2.5 million young people from poor and extremely poor households are able to pay taxes when they are older the number of taxpayers will rise from 11 million to 13.5 million, according to research from the Equitable Education Fund.
6 bodies retrieved from HTMS Sukhothai wreckage site on Saturday
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2022
As many as six bodies had been found at the HTMS Sukhothai wreckage site as of 1.30pm on Saturday, the Royal Thai Navy said in its latest Twitter feed.
All six bodies have been transported to hospitals for identification and autopsy. The navy reckons it will take three to four days to complete DNA tests and confirm the bodies belong to the 22 sailors declared missing.
Navy personnel and volunteers launched the search mission after HTMS Sukhothai, a Rattanakosin-class corvette, capsized during stormy weather with 105 crew onboard on Sunday night.
The ship sank some 20 nautical miles (32 kilometres) off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan district.
Before Saturday, the search and rescue mission discovered seven bodies since Monday, and all have been confirmed to be Sukhothai’s crew members.
Navy spokesman Admiral Pokkrong Monthatphalin said that six navy ships have been dispatched to carry out the search mission on Saturday, namely Taksin, Naresuan, Kraburi, Narathiwat, T.114 and T.270. They were also joined by volunteer search teams and divers.
Kraiyos Patrawart
Pumsaran Tongliemnak
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