The US Embassy in Bangkok, in collaboration with the Foundation of Consumers, will launch a new financial literacy programme for students in 30 high school across Thailand on Friday (August 28).
The project aims to lay a strong, early foundation of good financial habits, so youngsters can avoid mistakes that can lead to financial hardship. The curriculum also addresses consumer rights, sources of income, financial planning, financial threat awareness and debt.
The programme team has also produced a short video promoting financial literacy among young people, which will be aired across the country via both traditional and digital media.
The government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today (August 27) confirmed one new virus case. Today marks the 94th day Thailand has seen no domestic case since May.
The latest case is a 35-year-old Indian, who arrived in Thailand from India on August 8 and was later found positive in alternative state quarantine. He case was said to be asymptomatic.
As of today, the number of confirmed cases in the country stands at 3,404 (467 found in state quarantine). Of these, 109 are under treatment, 3,237 have recovered and been discharged, and 58 have died.
Globally, the number of confirmed cases has increased to 24.3 million, up by 272,000 in 24 hours, with 16.8 million recovering and 829,000 dying. Thailand ranks 120th for most cases in the world. The number of Covid-19 cases in the US has hit 6 million, the highest worldwide, followed by Brazil (3.72 million) and India (3.3 million).
A 39-year-old Thai male returnee from Israel jumped to his death from the balcony of Jomtien Palm Beach Hotel and Resort, where he was undergoing state quarantine, yesterday evening.
He arrived with 168 others in Thailand on August 25 aboard Thai Airways Flight 6H691 and entered the state quarantine hotel the same day. He committed suicide the next day at 4pm. His body was taken to Banglamung Hospital for an autopsy while police investigate the death.
Defence Ministry spokesman Lt-General Kongcheep Tantrawanich said today (August 27) that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed his condolences and ordered related agencies to help the man’s family and transport his body to his hometown after the investigation is completed.
Government Savings Bank (GSB) is offering emergency loans for people who have been affected by floods caused by tropical storms that have hit Thailand in the past few months, GSP president Withai Ratanakorn said.
“Two loans are now being granted. One is the ‘Home Repair Loan for Victims of Natural Disaster’. New and existing customers can apply for this loan not exceeding Bt500,000 of estimated damage to their homes under a maximum 40-year repayment plan,” he said. “GSB grants free interest in the first year and a 3 per cent fixed rate until year three. From the fourth year, interest will be at MRR -0.75 [the current MRR is 6.245 per cent],” Withai added.
“The other loan is the ‘Loan for Rehabilitation after Natural Disaster’ at Bt50,000 per person under a 3-5-year repayment plan. This loan offers three-month grace peirod and free interest in the first year, after which the interest will be at a flat rate of 0.85 per cent per month,” he said.
“Applicants for either loan will be exempted from a loan application fee and must present at least one personal guarantor with a monthly salary of Bt9,000 or more,” Withai said.
“Alternately, applicants can use their savings account, GSB lottery or property as collateral, or use the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation [TCG] as a guarantor if they are SMEs, in which case GSB will help pay 2 per cent of the guarantor fee to TCG from the second year until the contract ends.”
For more information, contact the GSB call centre at 1115 or visit www.gsb.or.th, Facebook: GSB Society, Official Line: GSB.
Metropolitan Police Region 6 chief Pol Major-General Methee Rakphan has ordered the Pathumwan Station to investigate whether a man caught on video gambling at a den is indeed a Region 6 inspector, Royal Thai Police deputy spokesman Pol General Krisana Pattanacharoen said.
The video clip, which has been circulating on social media, appears to portray a man resembling a Region 6 inspector, who is seen playing a high-low dice game at the den.
Although the den’s location has yet to be disclosed, netizens have speculated that it might be in central Bangkok.
“If the man in the video is found to be a police officer, he will face severe disciplinary and criminal action,” Krisana said.
“National Police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda has always emphasised to all police divisions that it is unacceptable for officers to break the law and those who do will face severe punishment,” he added. “If any officers are found guilty of breaking the law, their superiors too will face disciplinary punishment for negligence to do with their subordinates.”
Department of Livestock Development director-general Sorawit Thaneeto said he has ordered department officials in Mae Hong Son and Tak provinces to investigate the deaths of five pigs in Mae Hong Son’s Sob Moei district.
“Officials reported that the pigs died of PRRS [porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome], which is caused by a virus and can be transmitted among pigs but not to humans,” he said.
“Therefore, I have ordered the department’s offices in the northern provinces to employ preventive measures and monitor the situation closely, especially in Mae Hong Son and Tak.
“So far we have found no additional deaths among pigs by PRRS,” he added.
Meanwhile, Suchart Moonsawas, head of the department’s Mae Hong Son office, said he had contacted the pig owner and got permission to eliminate 25 other pigs in the farm as well as properly dispose of the carcasses.
“The owner will be compensated at 75 per cent of the cost of the pigs if he chooses to have them eliminated by the department,” he said. “This is fully voluntary. Some farmers might not allow officials to get rid of their remaining pigs, in which case we will keep a record of their animals and monitor the situation closely. If their pigs die later, they will not get any compensation,” he said.
“As a precaution against the disease, we have also prohibited pig farmers in suspected areas from moving their animals out of farming areas or eating the pork of dead pigs,” he added.
People in upper Thailand may breathe a sigh of relief as the Meteorological Department forecast less rain for the region today (August 27).
It added however that the monsoon trough is still present in the area as well as over the upper Northeast, resulting in more rain over the country, with isolated heavy showers in some parts of the North, the Northeast, the Central region and the East.
Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Cloudy with thundershowers in 30 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 23-26 degrees and highs of 30-36 degrees Celsius.
Northeast: Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 20 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 25-26 degrees and highs of 34-37 degrees Celsius.
Central: Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 25-26 degrees, highs of 36-38 degrees Celsius.
East: Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 25-28 degrees, highs of 33-36 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 30 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 24-26 degrees, highs of 32-36 degrees Celsius; waves less than a metre high and 1 metre during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 30 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 24-26 degrees, highs of 33-35 degree Celsius; waves a metre high and 2 metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Partly cloudy; temperature lows of 26-28 degrees, highs of 35-37 degrees Celsius.
The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has launched measures to help people in the North who have been adversely affected by the recent floods, especially those in Nan and Loei provinces.
“I have ordered BAAC staff in affected provinces to provide care packages and necessities to farmers who have been affected by the flooding,” the bank’s president Apirom Sukprasert said on Wednesday (August 25).
“Bank customers who have lost a family member will be given Bt20,000, including other related allowances such as the rental of vehicles for transport and evacuation.
“BAAC is also preparing an additional subsidy for account holders who need to urgently repair their home. Under this, a maximum of Bt20,000 will be provided per household, with an additional Bt2,000 for the repair or replacement of necessary facilities and another Bt2,000 for the repair of agricultural equipment,” he added.
For those seeking to borrow money, BAAC has prepared an “Emergency Loan for Natural Disasters in 2020-2021” under which a maximum loan of Bt50,000 per customer will be provided under an MRR interest rate and grace period of six months.
“Customers who have been affected by natural disasters can apply for ‘Loan for Quality of Life Improvement’ within a limit of Bt500,000 per customer at the interest rate of MRR-2,” Apirom said.
“As of August 23, BAAC has approved Bt275 million in emergency loans for 5,747 farmers affected by natural disaster and Bt4.09 billion in loans for the improvement of life for 23,403 farmers,” he added. “We have also approved Bt2.07 billion in loans for 13,931 farmers who were affected by drought earlier this year.”
The stricken Raja 4 ferry boat will be raised from the seabed by two cranes, according to the salvage plan revealed today by its operator.
The ferry capsized and sank two miles off Koh Samui on the night of August 1, after its cargo of three garbage trucks reportedly shifted. The accident killed five of the 16 people onboard and left garbage strewn across the beaches of nearby islands.
Raja Ferry Port managing director, Apichart Chayopas, said his company has hired MS Service to conduct the salvage operation and would now send the plan to the Surat Thani administration and relevant authorities. The salvaging firm has conducted an underwater survey of the wreck and its cargo of trucks, he added.
MS Service president Wirot Kulwirottama said they planned to salvage the boat by using two cranes. Divers will also cover the boat with a net in order to prevent garbage spilling from the trucks when it is lifted to the surface.
The operation will take at least a month, depending on weather, he added.
The photograph of a police cadet tending to an old woman at the stairs of Nakhon Ratchasima’s Sungnoen Police Station went viral on Tuesday (August 25), with netizens posting messages praising the young man.
A Facebook user, who had taken his grandmother to notify police about missing documents, said the cadet came downstairs immediately to tend to her as she stopped to rest on the stairs.
“After taking the notification, he escorted my grandmother to the car before tending to another old person,” the Facebook user said.
Meanwhile, Royal Thai Police deputy spokesperson Pol Colonel Krisana Pattanajaroen quoted national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda applauding the cadet for his service.
“The police chief called on the cadet to continue doing good deeds, adding that this is another example of a ‘good police officer’, who will graduate to serve the public in the future,” he said.
“The chief has also called on all police officers to serve the public by treating them as family members, ease their suffering and adhere to the police’s nine ideals.”
Withai Ratanakorn 
