A mysterious fire burned all financial documents and ballot papers at a building owned by Muang Ubon Ratchathani’s Pa Ao sub-district administration organisation on Monday.
Police was notified of the fire at 9.30pm and additional fire trucks were called to help put out the fire. It took nearly an hour to get the blaze under control.
The burned down building stored official financial documents and ballot papers from a 2012 election.
A Pa Ao administration organisation official said he had been told that the building had caught fire and that there was no guard in sight.
Police have yet to confirm the cause of the fire and will launch an investigation to see who should have been watching over the building and why the accident was allowed to happen.
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has ordered Phatsapasa Resort in Kanchanaburi to remove its “huts” for encroaching on Khao Laem National Park land.
The order follows the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry’s measures to preserve ecosystems and tackle capitalists who have encroached on forest land.
Khao Laem National Park officials sent a warning letter to the family that runs Phatsapasa Resort, demanding they remove all 17 huts that encroach upon two rai of park land in seven days or they would be immediately fined Bt200,000.
On July 27, 2016, the park, armed with information from locals, began an investigation, which led to revelations that the resort was allegedly operated by a female major-general.
On January 24, 2018, a court slapped a 6-month imprisonment and Bt30,000 fine (appealed to Bt10,000) on Jarupha Detjinda, who allegedly ran the resort for the major-general, and the resort had to cover “damages” worth Bt103,379.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Tuesday reported 14 cases in state quarantine over a 24-hour period.
The latest cases are:
> Seven soldiers who returned home from a UN mission in South Sudan on September 22. They were found positive on September 26 in Chon Buri state quarantine.
> A 50-year-old woman and two 28-year-old women, who came home from Hong Kong on September 23. They tested positive on September 26 in Bangkok state quarantine.
> A 44-year-old woman who returned from Turkey on September 22. She was found positive on September 26 in Bangkok state quarantine.
> Three Indians – a mother (31) and daughter (9 months) and a 34-year-old businessman – who arrived on September 23 and went into Bangkok alternative state quarantine at a hotel. They were found positive on September 26.
Meanwhile, one patient has recovered and been discharged.
The number of confirmed cases in Thailand has now increased to 3,559 (621 in state quarantine). Of these, 117 are in hospital and 3,369 have recovered and been discharged. The death toll remains unchanged at 59.
Thailand ranks a safe 137th for most cases in the world.
The US has the most number, with 7.36 million, followed by India (6.1 million), Brazil (4.74 million), Russia (1.15 million) and Colombia (818,203).
According to Worldometer, as of 10am the number of confirmed cases has increased to 33.5 million (rising by 230,547 in 24 hours). Of these, 24.87 million have recovered, 7.66 million are active cases (65,318 of whom are in severe condition) and one million have died.
Soldiers arrested 19 Thai casino employees who fled Myanmar for Tak’s Mae Sot district early on Tuesday morning.
Despite a ban on crossing into or out of Myanmar, 10 males and nine females with Thai nationality crossed the Moei river.
On being arrested, they told the soldiers they were employees at casinos in Myanmar and just wanted to return home. They were all promptly quarantined.
On Monday, Myanmar reported 897 new Covid-19 patients, taking the total of those infected to 11,631.
The Thammasat Student Council submitted a petition to Thammasat University demanding it take responsibility after a pro-democracy guard was injured during the protest on September 19.
The document, posted on the council’s Facebook page on Monday, said the university did not support the students on that day as it should have done.
Moreover, a guard named Sitthat Jindarat had one of his fingers torn off accidentally when the student protesters tried to enter the university.
“This injury is tragic. But Thammasat authorities have not provided any assistance to him or shown remorse for the accident,” the student council said.
It demanded the university show remorse, as well as take responsibility for the guard’s injury. The council also called on Thammasat authorities to take the pro-democracy side.
“To forsake the people’s fight was not only negligence on the part of the authorities but also of the Thammasat spirit, which supports both democracy and human rights,” the student council petition concluded.
Thirty-four industrial estates have been awarded the Eco-Champion title by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT), governor Somchint Pilouk said.
The authority has employed key performance indicators in ecological aspects to evaluate industrial estates nationwide and grade them in hierarchical categories – Eco-World Class, Eco-Excellence and Eco-Champion based on their ecological capabilities, she said.
“We use 22 indicators in five different aspects, such as waste water treatment capability using reverse osmosis technology, the use of renewable materials as raw materials or fuels, and adding value to agricultural waste to generate income for local communities,” she said.
“This year, 34 industrial estates have been awarded the Eco-Champion title – the first step toward higher ecological standards, while 13 were upgraded to Eco-Excellence and three were named Eco-World Class.”
Apart from the eco titles, the IEAT has also granted certification of ecological efficiency to 29 factories and three industrial ports, as well as certificates of water footprint management to seven factories.
“From 2021-2025, IEAT is planning to extend evaluations to cover five more industrial estates nationwide,” she added.
The awards and certifications were presented during a recent seminar titled “Eco Innovation Forum 2020”, which the IEAT organised in cooperation with the Federation of Thai Industries. Industry Ministry deputy permanent secretary Phanuwat Triyangkulsri presided over the event.
The baht opened at 31.63 to the US dollar on Tuesday, strengthening from yesterday’s close of 31.73.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 31.50 and 31.70, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, head of markets strategy at SCB Securities.
On Monday, the S&P index rose by 1.6 per cent due to intense trade in tech and bank stocks, while the Stoxx 600 recovered by 2.2 per cent as investors hoped the UK and the EU would finally reach an agreement on Brexit.
The relaxed market pressure could be seen from the VIX index, which decreased to 26 per cent, boosting the price of gold and oil by 0.9 and 1.1 per cent, respectively, he said.
Meanwhile, the dollar weakened by 0.2 per cent compared to other currencies. The US currency was pressured by the pound, which strengthened the highest, Jitipol said.
EU currencies recovered as well, after European Central Bank boss Christine Lagarde pointed out that ECB policies are expected to be used for stimulating the EU economy and will not focus on currency exchange.
In Thailand, Jitipol said, the baht would be supported by the capital market and other Asian currencies on Tuesday. However, its range of movement would be narrow.
Residents in Chaiyaphum’s Kudloh subdistrict and surrounding areas have been warned against going into sugarcane plantations after officials confirmed that footprints found in one sugarcane field belonged to bears.
In a Facebook post on Monday, a local of Kaset Somboon district showed pictures of bears’ footprints found in the plantation in Kudloh subdistrict. He urged officials to catch the animals before they attacked villagers.
Upon being notified, officials of the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary in Chaiyaphum’s Khon San district were sent to investigate and reportedly said the footprints belonged to an adult female bear and two of its cubs.
“The mother bear is suspected to weigh from 30-100kg, while the two cubs should weigh around 20 kg,” one of the officials said. “They could have wandered from the wildlife sanctuary into the plantations to find food. We have ordered locals in the area to refrain from going out to their plantations until the animals are caught.”
The officials added that they would use honey as bait and then shoot the bears with a tranquiliser gun. But the animals have so far proved elusive.
Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School in Nonthaburi province has terminated the employment of four teachers who allegedly physically assaulted young students.
The private school held a press conference on Monday afternoon to clarify the incident where a female teacher was seen on CCTV assaulting kindergarteners.
The recordings showed teacher Onuma Ploadprong physically assaulting the children, banging their heads on their desks, pushing them to the ground and twisting their ears until they screamed in pain.
School principle Nittha Yukhong read an announcement at the conference, saying the school is deeply sorry for the incident and will take responsibility for the action of its staff.
“The school has immediately terminated the employment of Onuma as well as three other teachers who were involved in the incident,” she said. “We are willing to cooperate with officials pursuing legal action against Onuma and others. Furthermore, we will help provide psychiatric help to the traumatised students.”
Warunee Pheukthes, one of the school’s teachers, said it would employ stricter measures in monitoring the teaching and activities of staff in the classroom, as well as using “stronger punishment” against staff that fail to adhere to the school’s standards.
“We will also invite parents to monitor the classrooms and take part in learning activities to strengthen parent-teacher cooperation, as well as select our staff based on qualification in kindergarten psychology and properly train them to use suitable disciplinary action and language toward children,” she promised.
Dr Warisnan Detprangprasong, representative of the school administrative panel, has vowed to appoint a new executive panel from its central office in two days to handle the problem as well as address the needs and concerns of parents.
“Please give us another chance to fix our mistakes,” he pleaded. “However, if parents want to take their children out of the school, we are happy to refund their tuition fees,” he said.
After the conference, some of the parents who attended the event still voiced dissatisfaction as the school failed to explain why some of its teachers did not possess professional licences but were instead granted a 2-year “extension” to improve their ability before applying for the licence.
“We found that Onuma had been granted an extension four times and still couldn’t obtain the license,” one of the parents said. “I’ll surely take my kid out of this school as the safety of my child is my top priority.”
A Korat man allegedly shot his wife dead then turned the gun on himself after the woman was said to want a divorce.
Khong Station police were alerted to a shooting on Monday evening at a house in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Thephalai subdistrict. At the scene they found the body of Saifon Aksorn, 34, lying face down in a pool of blood, and the body of Mongkhol Aksorn, 46, a gunshot wound to his head.
A neighbor reportedly said the deceased were a married couple who were often seen having a fight.
“Yesterday, they fought about a car that belonged to Saifon but which Mongkhol had borrowed. He drove off in the car and returned a short while later, when I heard several gunshots from their house,” she said.
An acquaintance of Saifon reportedly told the police that Saifon was planning to leave her husband for her new lover, so she told him she wanted a divorce. Mongkhol subsequently drove the car to his house, forcing Saifon to follow him to ask for the car back. After that, the shooting took place.
Police are interviewing other witnesses to determine the exact cause of the suspected murder-suicide.
Somchint Pilouk 
