A Buri Ram couple was summoned by Nang Rong district police on Thursday to explain why they were fighting and hitting each other on the street.
The quarrel was recorded by students from a military school, who tried to intervene but claimed the man threatened them with a gun before fleeing with his partner on a motorbike.
During interrogation, the couple told police that they were fighting because the woman had left their three-year-old child with her mother, and did not want to give the child’s father any access to the baby.
As for the gun, the man said he waved an object at the students, who may have thought it was a gun.
After initial interrogation, police decided to hit them with a Bt100 penalty before allowing them to leave. The couple also apologised for their behaviour.
Thonglor police station has set up a new style of checkpoints after complaints that police are forcing motorists to pay them and have double standards.
A committee on police affairs, led by Democrat Party MP Chitpas Kridakorn, visited checkpoints to inspect and follow up on the matter.
National Police chief Pol General Suwat Jangyodsuk has come out with a new policy to boost the standard of checkpoints so that they are now transparent and employ international procedures. Thonglor is the first to trial the new checkpoints.
On Wednesday, police showcased the new methods in checking passengers and vehicles at the checkpoints and dealing with certain situations such as drunk driving.
Policemen are required to produce their badges and inform drivers of their name and the name of their commander. They have been instructed to strictly follow the regulations, which include being polite.
The plan is expected to heighten transparency and lessen corruption at checkpoints.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Thursday reported six new cases in quarantine over a 24-hour period.
The latest cases include five foreigners, all asymptomatic:
> A 59-year-old French construction adviser and a 46-year-old Chinese housewife, who travelled from France, transited via Qatar, arriving in Bangkok on October 29. They were found positive on November 3 in a Nonthaburi quarantine hotel.
> A 53-year-old Dutchman, who arrived on October 31, tested positive on November 3 under quarantine in a Samut Prakan hotel.
> Hungarian Foreign and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto, 42, who arrived on a charter flight on November 3 and was confirmed positive the next day. He was taken to the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute for treatment.
> A 27-year-old Myanmar cargo truck driver, who tested positive at a border checkpoint on October 31. He was deported to Myanmar.
> A 73-year-old Thai woman, who returned from Germany on October 31. She was found positive on November 2 under quarantine at a Bangkok hotel and had fever, muscle ache, diarrhoea and a loss of smell.
Meanwhile, 11 patients have recovered and been discharged.
As of Thursday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand has increased to 3,810 (861 in state quarantine). Of these, 128 are in hospital and 3,623 have recovered and been discharged. The death toll remains unchanged at 59.
According to Worldometer, as of 10am the number of confirmed global cases has risen to 48.42 million (increasing by 571,314 in 24 hours). Of these, 34.67 million have recovered, 12.53 million are active cases (89,290 in severe condition) and 1.23 million have died (an increase of 9,067).
Thailand ranks a safe 148th for most cases in the world.
The US has the most number, with 9.8 million, followed by India (8.36 million), Brazil (5.59 million), Russia (1.69 million) and France (1.54 million).
The Sheikhul Islam office of Thailand said on its official Facebook page that the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand, the Islamic Committee of Bangkok and the Provincial Islamic Committee will jointly hold an event titled “Unite Muslims to Protect the Monarchy” next Tuesday, November 10, from 8.30am until noon at the National Islamic Affairs Administrative Centre on Khlong Kao Road in Bangkok’s Nong Chok district.
There will be a forum on the history of the monarchy and Muslims in Thailand from 10am to 11.30am. Sheikhul Islam senior chairman Arun Bunchom will “declare the intention of Thai Muslims” at 11.30am, after which will be a prayer and the singing of the Thai Royal Anthem.
A truck crash in Songkhla province took down two electricity posts and damaged a nearby house on Wednesday, with the driver sustaining only a minor injury and occupants of the house escaping harm.
The accident took place on Songkhla-Ranot Road in Sathing Phra district. Despite the front of the truck being smashed in completely, driver Supakit Saengchan, who was found stuck in his seat, survived.
The police had to close the road for an hour to find a way to spring him loose. Rescuers had to finally use equipment to free him.
He was later sent to Sathing Phra Hospital.
The police initially believed that the wet road surface might have been the reason why the truck lost control. But they also suspected that Supakit might have fallen asleep at the wheel. They are investigating.
Wanchalerm Satsaksit’s sister said she has still not received any contact from her prominent pro-democracy activist brother, who disappeared after he was bundled into a van in Cambodia’s capital five months ago and driven away.
He was abducted in Phnom Penh at 5pm on June 4.
Sitanan Satsaksit said she had submitted a petition for an investigation to Cambodian justice authorities and the prosecutor had accepted it. She will soon give her testimony.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is also helping and will make an announcement to urge both the Thai and Cambodian governments to get serious on solving the case, she said.
The procedure was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which had raised difficulties in international transportation.
Wanchalerm’s disappearance drew attention from domestic and international media including The Reporter, the BBC and Al Jazeera English, They shed light on the disappearance, resulting in more information about it, Sitanan said.
The information showed how the incident occurred and a team of lawyers believed it was a serial crime as about eight political activists had faced the same fate.
Wanchalerm’s disappearance was one of many incidents that have incited student-led pro-democracy protests against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, along with demands for reform of the country.
The baht opened at 31 to the US dollar on Thursday, strengthening from 31.13 at close on Wednesday.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 31.09 and 31 on Thursday, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, senior director of the chief investment office at SCB Securities.
Financial markets recovered worldwide. The S&P 500 and Stoxx 600 indices increased by 2.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.
Despite the sensitive US election situation in which votes are still being tallied, some investors believed that a new US stimulus package would be announced, whether by Donald Trump or Joe Biden, Jitipol said.
The VIX index meanwhile decreased from 36 points to 29 points.
On Thursday, the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve will hold monetary committee meetings. The interest rate in the UK and the US is 0.10 per cent and between 0 and 0.25 per cent, respectively.
The dollar weakened by 0.2 per cent. The US Ten-Year Treasury yield was also down by 12 basis points to 0.78 per cent, while the WTI crude oil price rose by 3.6 per cent.
In Thailand, the baht strengthened in line with Asian markets and currencies. The Thai currency will continue to strengthen if Biden becomes the new president, and will weaken in case Trump is re-elected, Jitipol forecast.
The Thai Rice Exporters Association estimates total rice exports for 2020 at 5 million tonnes, only half of last year’s figure of 10 million tonnes, honorary president Wichai Sriprasert said.
“Next year the situation could be worse as the water level in 35 major dams is still lower than the previous year’s, while the rainy season will end soon. Therefore, rice output in 2021 could be lower than this year.” he warned.
“Furthermore, China now has more than 100 million tonnes of rice in their stocks, so they can compete with us in foreign markets such as Africa by using a price cutting strategy, as our rice production costs are still higher than those of our competitors.”
Wichai said that due to drought, the cost of rice production is Bt8,000 per tonne, while other rice producing countries such as China, Vietnam, India and Myanmar are witnessing a cost of around Bt6,000 per tonne.
“This makes Thai rice more expensive that foreign rice by around $100 per tonne. Luckily in some countries such as India, the Covid-19 situation has resulted in a nationwide lockdown and crippled their logistics system, forcing them to import rice from us,” he said.
“It is estimated that when India’s Covid-19 situation improves, they will have over 30 million tonnes of rice on their hands and Thai rice would no longer have the chance of penetrating their market,” Wichai pointed out.
“Thai farmers and related authorities need to focus on cost reduction and developing water resources for rice paddy. Currently, our irrigation system is not comprehensive enough, causing farmers whose paddy is far away from reservoirs to spend extra on water pumps, thus further increasing their production costs,” said Wichai.
“We also need to conduct research on new breeds of rice to penetrate new markets, or risk losing the opportunity to Vietnam, which has introduced several new rice breeds in the last few years,” he added.
The National Health Security Office (NHSO) is planning to pilot the use of smart ID cards in conjunction with gold cards under its national healthcare scheme to prevent fraud by those who are not covered under the scheme but use another person’s gold card, secretary-general Sakchai Kanjanawatana said on Wednesday.
“We plan to enact the new regulation in Bangkok first, which will require all gold-card holders to provide a smart ID card to verify their identity before receiving treatment at participating clinics and hospitals,” he said.
“The use of the smart ID card will also enable the integration of patient’s data and treatment history between medical institutes, so the patient can go to any participating clinic or hospital at their convenience to receive continued treatment,” Sakchai said.
He said the new regulation would not lead to any difficulty or delay in medical treatment for gold card holders.
“Patients only need to present their smart ID card along with the gold card when they arrive at the clinic/hospital, and the staff will handle the verification process while the patient can meet a doctor, get diagnosed and receive medication. The staff will then return both cards to the patient and he/she can go home,” Sakchai explained.
“As for children, they can be verified using their parents’ smart ID card when receiving treatment,” he added.
Don Mueang Kwaeng Court on Wednesday decided to imprison 13 Por Kung Pow restaurant guards in Bangkok in a case in which they attacked three people on October 7.
The incident took place during a brawl between two groups.
Two of the three injured persons were policemen. Six of the 13 guards were soldiers working a part-time job.
The court decided to imprison each of the 13 guards for six months and also fined them Bt5,000 for violating Article 295 of the Criminal Code.
