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BTS tests Green Line trains at 7 new stations before public opening at year-end

NationalOct 07. 2020

By THE NATION

Since October 5, the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) has been testing train operations at seven new stations of the Green Line’s northern extension section from Phahon Yothin 59 to Khu Khot stations, chief executive officer Surapong Laoha-Unya said.

“The extension section is 9.8 km long and will open to the public at the end of this year,” he said.

“The tests we are performing include the track system, train operations, overall system integration, which will cover both signal and communication systems to ensure the trains run smoothly, and safety for all passengers.”

The new stations – Phahon Yothin 59, Sai Yud, Saphan Mai, Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital, Royal Thai Air Force Museum, Yaek Kor Por Aor and Khu Khot – will be fitted with platform screen doors to prevent passengers falling onto the tracks.

“With the addition of these seven stations, the entire BTS system will have 59 stations by the year-end, covering a total distance of 68.25 kilometers,” Surapong added.

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Parents furious after new CCTV footage shows ‘Khru Jum’ stripping female student

NationalOct 07. 2020File Photo: Ornuma Plodprong 

By The Nation

New CCTV footage showing the infamous “Khru Jum” stripping a girl naked in front of a foreign male teacher has further angered parents.

The girl’s mother showed up at Chaiyapruek Police Station on Wednesday to file a complaint against Sarasas Witaed Ratchapruek School teacher Ornuma “Khru Jum” Plodprong for sexually assaulting her daughter by removing the child’s pants in full view of a Filipino teacher.

The mother said removing a child’s clothes in front of her classmates was unacceptable, and worse when an adult male is present because he may get aroused by the naked child.

The mother refused to accept the teacher’s apology, saying, “Apologies and school fees refunds doesn’t mean parents won’t take action against the school.”

The teacher, meanwhile, is suing parents for hitting her after seeing footage of her abusing their children.

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9 Thais, 6 foreigners found positive in quarantine

NationalOct 07. 2020

By The Nation

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Wednesday reported 15 new cases in state quarantine over a 24-hour period.

The new cases are all male and comprise:

> Six Thai soldiers who returned on September 22 from a UN mission in South Sudan (they were found positive on day 11).

> A 54-year-old Thai businessman who came home on September 22 from Myanmar and went into state quarantine in Tak (found positive on day 13).

> A 36-year-old man who returned from Hong Kong on September 23 and is in state quarantine in Bangkok (found positive on day 11). He appears to have caught Covid-19 again as his health history shows he first got infected on August 2.

> A 31-year-old Thai man who came home from the US on October 1 and went into Bangkok state quarantine (found positive on day 6), and two Americans, aged 21 and 40, who arrived on September 29 and 30 and went into alternative hotel quarantine in Bangkok (found positive on day 5 and day 4, respectively).

> Two Indian businessmen, aged 39 and 41, who arrived on September 23 and 30 respectively and went into alternative hotel quarantine in Bangkok (found positive on day 12 and day 4, respectively).

> Two Bangaladeshis – a 53-year-old doctor and 26-year-old student – who arrived on September 30 and went into alternative hotel quarantine in Bangkok and Pathum Thani respectively. (Both were found positive on day 5).

Meanwhile, one patient has recovered and been discharged.

The number of confirmed cases in Thailand has increased to 3,615 (677 in state quarantine). Of these, 165 are in hospital and 3,391 have recovered and been discharged. The death toll remains unchanged at 59.

According to Worldometer, as of 10am the number of confirmed cases has increased to 36 million (rising by 311,613 in 24 hours). Of these, 27.14 million have recovered, 7.84 million are active cases (with 67,821 in severe condition) and 1.05 million have died (an increase of 5,553).

Thailand ranks a safe 140th for most cases in the world.

The US has the most number, with 7.72 million, followed by India (6.75 million), Brazil (4.97 million), Russia (1.23 million) and Colombia (869,808).

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Female motorcyclist killed after being knocked off bridge in car crash

NationalOct 07. 2020

By The Nation

A woman was killed after a car rammed her motorcycle, knocking her off a bridge on Ratchadapisek Road in Rama 3 area on Wednesday while the car driver jumped into a taxi and fled, only to return later and surrender to police.

At 1am, Bang Phong Phang police and paramedics from King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital found the body of Supalai, 30, at the accident scene.

Her body was covered in blood, while her face was disfigured from major injuries.

A witness at the scene told police the driver, who appeared to be drunk, came out of the car immediately after the accident and grabbed a taxi, while the passenger drove the car and parked it in adjacent Nonsi alley.

He led the police to the alley, where they found the parked bronze Toyota.

Forensic officers found hair, presumably belonging to the victim, on the crashed side of the car.

Two hours later, at 3am, the driver returned to his car and surrendered to the police, confessing he quickly left the scene after panicking. There was no word yet about the passenger who drove the car into the alley.

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Engineering consultant cheats death after falling into 12-metre hole

NationalOct 07. 2020

By The Nation

An engineering consultant escaped death when a vacuum sweeper truck hooked a cable he was standing on, making him lose balance and sending him plunging into a 12-metre hole as he was inspecting underground electrical cable work in Bangkok on Wednesday.

The 56-year-old consultant was visiting the construction site on Rama 3 Road early in the morning to examine the progress of the electrical cable work when the incident took place.

An electrical cable on which he was standing suddenly got entangled in the vacuum sweeper truck that was passing the site. The consultant lost his balance and fell into the nearby hole.

Bang Phong Phang police, which were notified of the incident, immediately contacted a rescue team, which helped the man, who was miraculously still alive, out of the hole.

The team used a crane to lower a rescuer with a cable and spent 30 minutes before they could bring the consultant back up and out of the hole. He suffered head and body injuries and was sent to the hospital.

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Baht weakens, ‘not likely’ to strengthen today

NationalOct 07. 2020

By THE NATION

The baht opened at 31.28 to the US dollar on Wednesday, weakening from 31.19 at close on Tuesday.

The Thai currency is likely to move between 31.30 and 31.40 on Wednesday, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, head of markets strategy at SCB Securities.

Financial markets went into a “risk on” state again on Tuesday night. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes closed down 1.4 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively, due to investors’ concern over the state of the US economy after President Donald Trump signalled there would be no more stimulus measures before the election. However, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned unemployment would increase if the government failed to come out with a new dose of measures, Jitipol noted.

This concern led to a decrease in the US Ten-Year Treasury yield by 2 basis points to 0.77 per cent, while the WTI crude oil price dropped lower than $40 (Bt1,247.50) per barrel.

The dollar weakened by 0.2 per cent compared to other currencies, while the yen strengthened more than the dollar.

Jitipol said the baht could weaken today if the Asian capital market went into a “risk off” state.

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PEA powers 12 ECC projects worth nearly Bt50 billion

NationalOct 07. 2020

By THE NATION

The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has earmarked nearly Bt50 billion for 12 electricity projects in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), said Sekson Sermpong, deputy governor for planning and power system development.

“The EEC is a high potential area with 32 industrial estates, more than 5,000 factories, two of Thailand’s largest industrial ports and Asia’s fifth largest petrochemical centre, all of which require stable electricity supply and therefore makes the PEA’s investment necessary in helping industrial development move forward,” he said.

“One of the key projects is the development of a smart grid system in Pattaya City, which should be complete next year. This project will be a pilot in developing smart grids for the entire EEC area.”

Other notable projects, apart from the construction of substations and powerline networks to strengthen electricity stability in the area, are the construction of charging stations for electric vehicles and clean energy for industrial estates.

“The PEA aims to increase the use of clean energy in the EEC by up to 30 per cent, most of which will be solar energy, while the remaining 70 per cent will still come from fossil fuels, as the ratio of clean energy is one of the factors foreign companies will consider before investing in the area,” Sekson said.

“So the PEA has earmarked Bt23 billion, or about half of its EEC investment budget, for the construction of a solar power plant, which aims to supply at least 500 megawatts of electricity to industrial factories there,” he said.

“Next, the PEA will conduct a survey on electricity usage and prepare for an increased load in the EEC until the year 2024, as well as start the procurement of alternative renewable energy using our storage system to ensure the EEC is a low carbon emission area and ready for establishment of future cities,” Sekson said.

“PEA subsidiary PEA Encom International will be responsible for this project,” he added.

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Subdistrict economy project gets Bt10-billion boost

NationalOct 07. 2020

By THE NATION

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a budget of Bt10.62 billion for subdistrict-level economies, also collectively known as the “One Tambon One University” project, with the aim of reducing poverty and increasing local employment, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said.

“The project has three main missions. The first is to hire 20 new graduates from each subdistrict to work in data analytics for their local administration offices and support their missions in Covid-19 prevention, local career development and technology and innovation transfer within communities,” he said.

“The second mission is to hire local people to organise activities at higher education institutes [colleges, universities] in 3,000 subdistricts to promote careers in creative economy, healthcare, circular economy, environmental promotion.

“The third is to hire local, qualified people as system integrators at the national and regional levels to ensure smooth operation of the project and seamless integration with other communities,” Anucha said.

The project’s target groups and wage rates are:

> Local people not under an employment contract with any government or private agency will be hired at Bt9,000 per month.

> New graduates or those who have graduated less than 3 years before and possess qualifications in related fields will be hired at Bt15,000 per month.

> Students of higher education and vocational institutes who possess qualifications in related fields will be hired at Bt5,000 per month.

“Initially, the One Tambon One University project aims to provide jobs to 60,000 people nationwide,” Anucha said.

“The Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry will be responsible for employment and payroll disbursement and will coordinate with the Labour Ministry to ensure candidates under the project are not receiving benefits under other government schemes,” Anucha added.

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Department promotes orchid exports under FTAs

NationalOct 07. 2020

By THE NATION

The Commerce Ministry’s Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN) is promoting the export of orchids under free-trade agreements (FTAs) with 17 countries so the plants are exempted from import tax.

“The Covid-19 crisis has resulted in a hike in international transport costs, which has affected Thai exports of orchids,” said DTN director-general Oramon Subthaweetham.

“The department aims to help orchid growers and exporters by utilising FTAs with 17 countries including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand so import tax on Thai orchids can be exempted, compared to the normal rate of 60 per cent in countries we don’t have FTAs with, such as India,” she said.

“Thai orchids have big potential in international markets due to high tolerance to changing weather and a lower cost of growing, especially orchids of the Dendrobium family,” she added. “As for countries that have yet to sign a FTA with us, the department will help by finding suitable trade partners as well as promoting Thai orchids in those markets to increase local awareness.”

In the first seven months of 2020, Thailand exported more than $30 million (Bt935.6 million) worth of orchids, $24.7 million from flowers and $5.6 million from plants, DTN statistics show. Some 61 per cent of total exports, or $18.6 million, are from countries that have a FTA with Thailand.

In 2019, total orchid exports were valued at $85.5 million (81.6 per cent from flowers and 18.4 per cent from plants). The biggest export markets of 2019 were the United States (21 per cent), Japan (20.8 per cent), Asean (15.8 per cent), China (7.2 per cent) and the Netherlands (5 per cent).

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PM recommends Kor Khor 43 rice for weight watchers, diabetic patients

NationalOct 07. 2020

By THE NATION

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha gave bags of Kor Khor 43 rice to Cabinet members and other officials before a Cabinet meeting, urging government spokespersons to promote the rice, deputy government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said on Tuesday.

“The PM said Kor Khor 43 rice is good for your health and suitable for diabetic patients or people who wish to lose weight,” she said. “It is a product of the government’s policy to develop and promote rice breeds that suit market demand and can withstand changing weather and rice diseases.”

Kor Khor 43 rice is a mixed breed of Suphan Buri fragrant rice and Suphan Buri 1 rice. It has a light fragrance and is very soft when cooked. It has a short harvest time of only 95 days and can withstand rice blast disease and brown planthoppers. The breed was certified by the Rice Department in 2009.

Research by Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine at Ramathibodi Hospital found Kor Khor 43 rice has lower glucose content compared to other breeds and a glycemic index of only 57.5, which makes it suitable for weight watchers and diabetic patients.