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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40019870

BY LINE : THE NATION

THU, SEPTEMBER 08, 2022

The Excise Department Aims To “Drive The Economy In 2023” By Increasing The Tax On Products That Harm The Environment And Health.

Director-general Ekniti Nitithanprapas said on Wednesday that the department is considering raising tax on six products in fiscal 2023 – bio-jet-fuel, bioplastics, electric vehicle batteries, non-alcoholic booze and beer, electric cigarettes and carbon.

A decision on the tax rate must be taken in fiscal year 2023, but the Excise Department will decide when to implement it later, he said.

“The department has a strategy to drive the economy with excise tax under the environmental, social and governance [ESG] principle,” Ekniti said. “[Our] principle is to collect less tax or not collect any taxes for environmentally friendly products and services, while taxing products and services that are not in line with ESG principles.”

For example, the current tax rate on batteries could be reduced if they can be recycled, or made higher if they cannot, he said.

Another example is the tax rate on liquor and beer, with low tax for zero per cent alcohol but an increased tax if the alcohol by volume is higher, Ekniti said.

He explained that the department found most of the new-generation group drink alcohol “only to look good”.

Meanwhile, both the department and the private sector see this as a future trend, so the department will find a middle ground between normal beverages and alcoholic beverages.

Ekniti admitted that collecting less tax on ESG products might decrease revenue, but the department will collect more tax on products that are harmful to the environment and health.

The department has set a goal to collect 567 billion baht of taxes in fiscal 2023 and 500 billion baht this fiscal year, Ekniti said.

He added that the department has collected less tax this fiscal year after reducing the excise tax on diesel to help people affected by high energy prices.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40019857

BY LINE : THE NATION

THU, SEPTEMBER 08, 2022

The Public Health Ministry Is Considering Downgrading Covid-19 From A “Dangerous Communicable Disease” To A “Communicable Disease Under Surveillance” From Next Month, Minister Anutin Charnvirakul Said On Wednesday.

After the downgrade is announced, people in the 608 group – which comprises the elderly aged 60 and over, people with chronic diseases, pregnant women, and those over 90kg – are still advised to get a booster shot and wear a face mask in public as currently almost 100 per cent of Covid-19 deaths are from this group, he said.

“People who test positive should follow doctor’s suggestions and refrain from getting anti-viral drugs from pharmacies unless you have a prescription, as not all Covid-19 cases require drug treatment,” advised Anutin.

On October 1 several departments under the ministry will have new executives, from director-general to deputy permanent-secretary levels, he said, insisting that the transition will not affect the department’s Covid-19 reclassification plan or any public health services.

The minister also said that from October 1 Pfizer will start delivering Covid-19 vaccines for children aged 6 months to under 5 years. The Department of Disease Control had ordered 3 million doses.

Pfizer’s vaccine for children under five must be administered at 10 micrograms per dose for the first two jabs three weeks apart. For a booster shot, the vaccine will be given at 3mcg per dose eight weeks after the second jab.

“As for the vaccine management plan for next year, the National Vaccine Institute’s Immunisation Subcommittee is finalising the details regarding target groups, the number of allocated booster shots, as well as the proposed budget,” he said.

On Thursday, Thailand recorded 1,587 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 19 deaths in the past 24 hours, while 1,969 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital. The number of cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022, stands at 2,440,721 with 10,785 deaths.

As of September 6, Thailand administered 142.89 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, with 57.27 million being the first jab, covering 82.3 per cent of the population, 53.74 million being second jabs (77.3 per cent), and 31.88 million third jabs (45.8 per cent).

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019858

BY LINE : THE NATION

THU, SEPTEMBER 08, 2022

A Motorcycle Rider Escaped Death But Suffered Severe Injuries After Nosediving Six Metres Into A Hole While “Speeding” Down A Road In Bangkok’s Thonburi District In The Wee Hours Of Thursday.

Police were alerted to the accident near Soi Ratchada-Thaphra 7/1 in Dao Khanong subdistrict at around 2am. At the scene they found the rider and a crashed Yamaha Fino motorcycle lying at the bottom of a 6-metre-deep opening in the road surface, where Metropolitan Waterworks Authority officials had been laying an underground pipe.

Rescue workers used a stretcher and pulley to lift the victim out of the hole. Medics found the man, aged between 35 and 40, had suffered several severe injuries, including a bleeding head.

He was rushed to Somdech Phra Pinklao Hospital.

The head construction worker at the accident site reportedly told police that two left lanes of the four-lane road had been closed for pipe laying, with warning signs installed. However, he said, the motorcycle rider was travelling against the flow of traffic at high speed and plunged into the hole.

Police aim to question the man to find out the exact cause of the accident once his condition improves.

Eerily, a similar incident happened in Bangkok also in September last year, when a motorcycle rider fell into another 6-metre-deep hole, where workers were laying underground cables near Soi Ratchadapisek 10 in Huai Khwang district. The victim suffered a broken leg and several injuries. He, too, had to be brought up to the surface on a stretcher and via a pulley.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019850

The Royal Thai Army has deployed modified military trucks to 11 flood-prone districts in Bangkok to transport commuters if the capital’s roads get flooded again on Wednesday evening.

Colonel Sirichan Ngathong, spokeswoman of the Royal Thai Army, said the military trucks, which have been modified for transporting people, were sent to be on standby to Din Daeng, Saphan Sung, Chom Thong, Klong Toey, Para Khanong, Vadhana, Sathorn, Bang Bon, Bang Kae, Wang Thong Lang and Bueng Kum district offices.

Roads in the 11 districts were expected to be flooded again in case heavy downpours occur on Wednesday evening as forecast by the Thailand Meteorological Department, Sirichan said.

Sirichan said the military trucks would transport people from flooded main roads to a spot where they could conveniently continue their travel back home.

She said soldiers would be on standby to help commuters return home as soon as possible in case heavy downpours happen, resulting in floods again.

The soldiers will work in coordination with district offices and traffic police. The Royal Thai Police has instructed all police stations in Bangkok to be on standby Wednesday evening to help motorists on flooded roads.

Sirichan said the operation on Wednesday evening would be similar to what the Army had done on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

Hours of heavy downpour caused flooding on several roads in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani provinces on Tuesday night. The First Army Area deployed modified military trucks and troops from major mass transit stations to their communities or sois or to secondary roads, which helped transport commuters throughout Tuesday night until Wednesday morning.

Among several places, the military trucks operated from Lak Si Roundabout, Bang Khen and Wat Phra Si Mahathat stations of the BTS Green Line, Chaeng Wattana-Pak Kret Road and Muang Thong Thani.

She said four military trucks were sent to help transport commuters to work on Wednesday morning from the Lak Si roundabout, Saphan Mai Market and Soi Ram Indra 39, where roads were inundated.

Apart from providing trucks to transport commuters, the Army also provided teams from the engineering corps to help fix vehicles, whose engines broke down because of the floods. The teams also helped remove vehicles, which could not be fixed at the spot, from the roads as soon as possible.

Some teams of soldiers were also dispatched to help Bangkok city officials to drain floodwater from roads as soon as possible, the spokeswoman added.

She added that the Army has also been cooperating with the Bangkok Metropolitan Adminstration and volunteer groups, and the Marine Department to help dredge some canals and get rid of weeds so that floodwaters could flow into the sea faster.

On Wednesday, troops helped get rid of hyacinths at the Bang Na Watergate and dredged a canal in Bang Kae district, she said.

During the past two days, troops were deployed to collect garbage and get rid of weeds at several waterways in several Bangkok districts, including Klong Jullanak in Pom Prap district, a waterway in front of Lak Si Temple in Lak Si district, Klong Lad Yao and Klong Thung in Chatuchak district and Klong Nong Bua Ban in Bang Khen district, Sirichan said.

Published : September 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019845

The majority of respondents want Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt to first tackle corruption in procurement, according to a poll survey conducted from August 29 to September 5 by Bangkok No Corruption Group.

The group, which consists of six networks including Nation TV, aims to rid Bangkok of all types of corruption.

Most respondents agreed that corruption in the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) had gone after the Bangkok governor election in May; 50.56 per cent of respondents had voted for Chadchart during the election.

Asking what graft-related issues the governor should tackle first, 48.03 per cent said procurement, followed by bribes to City Law Office (32.24 per cent) and construction project bribes (8.55 per cent).

Earlier on Tuesday, Chadchart noted that corruption often started as a small irritant before growing into a cancer that consumes an organisation. However, effective suppression of corruption depended on the actions of leaders.

“Leaders are important because when they refrain from initiating corruption, they set an example for their subordinates to follow,” he said.

Published : September 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019843

A mother has asked a public hospital in Pathum Thani to take responsibility for the death of her baby, believing that the boy died when she was in labour during the “extraction” process.

Facebook page Sai Mai Tong Rod (Sai Mai District Must Survive) posted on Tuesday that the mother went to the unnamed public hospital after she could not afford treatment charges by a private hospital, which she had been visiting for prenatal care.

The mother said she tried her hardest to give birth naturally, but some nurses at the unnamed hospital “spoke badly of her, saying she did not use her full power”.

She then told them she wanted a caesarean section as she had already tried her best to give birth naturally, but the hospital allegedly replied that it was unnecessary.

After three hours, a doctor via video call decided to use vacuum extraction instead of a caesarean section.

According to the page, nurses as well as practical nurses performed the operation via the video call by the doctor who was not physically present. During the extraction, the baby allegedly choked on amniotic fluid and was left unconscious.

The baby was rushed to Pathum Thani Hospital but after two weeks this hospital informed the parents that it could not save their baby.

The mother told Nation Online that she could not accept what had happened as this was her first child.

She blamed the unnamed hospital that conducted the extraction, claiming her child died during the process, not after.

She added that no executive or doctor from this hospital had come forward to take responsibility or conduct an investigation. Only the head nurse apologised and attended the funeral.

The heartbroken mother said she wanted the hospital to take responsibility and compensate her. She hoped her case would be the last.

“He was my first child and I really tried my hardest to give birth naturally, so I want the hospital to tell me what they plan to do now,” she said.

“I was pregnant for nine months, but I have been robbed of the chance to raise him. During the labour process, there were only 5-6 nurses and practical nurses but there was no doctor,” she claimed.

Published : September 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019841

Phayao province has been named an official member of Unesco Global Network of Learning Cities, along with Sukhothai and Hat Yai.

Poon Thiengburanathum, deputy director at Program Management Unit on Area Based Development (PMUA), an agency under the Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council, said that Phayao had begun efforts in November last year with the launch of the Phayao Learning City project.

“The project is a cooperation between Phayao University, Phayao Provincial Administration Organisation, and PMUA, with the aim to promote the adoption of university-level knowledge, innovation, research and development to local economic and social development through working with partners from public and private sectors,” he said.

Poon said for almost a year, the Phayao Learning City project is focusing on important issues, such as economic recovery from the impact of the pandemic, urban planning and eliminating socio-economic disparity to ensure that every Phayao citizen is entitled to equal opportunities in education, career, public health service and a better quality of life.

Poon added that on September 2, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) approved three Thai provinces — Phayao, Sukhothai and Hat Yai — as members of the Unesco Global Network of Learning Cities. He said it was an outstanding achievement, especially for Phayao, a northern province that is rich in both historical heritage and natural beauty.

Supphakorn Phongbangpho, rector of Phayao University, said: “This achievement is a result of integrated efforts in urban development by all related parties, made possible by the Phayao Learning City project. This project has created an opportunity for us to receive funding and to initiate the exchange of knowledge, technology and personnel with other cities around the world. We have adopted techniques of global leaders in city planning and have adjusted them to suit Phayao’s status in several aspects, including economy, tourism, education and community development. It is exciting to see how Phayao will continue to improve after joining the Unesco Global Network of Learning Cities.”

Published : September 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019835

The government is buying 3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to be administered to children aged six months to under five years old, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday.

Anutin said the 3 million doses of Pfizer’s magenta cap vaccine will be delivered from the fourth quarter of 2022.

Anutin expected the contract signing to take place soon, adding that delivery of this lot of vaccine would take less time compared to previous lots as the Department of Disease Control has a standing order with Pfizer, already approved by the Cabinet.

“This time, we are just adding a new type of vaccine for small children to the total order, so we should be able to use the vaccine from October onwards,” he said.

Pfizer’s vaccine for children under five must be administered at 10 micrograms per dose for the first two jabs, three weeks apart. The booster shot will be 3mcg per dose, eight weeks after the second jab.

As of September 6, Thailand has given over 142.89 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine — 57.27 million doses of first jab covering 82.3 per cent of the population; 53.74 million second jabs (77.3 per cent), and 31.88 million third jabs and more (45.8 per cent).

Published : September 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019833

All Bangkok police stations were ordered on full alert to rescue motorists who might become stranded on flooded roads in the capital on Wednesday evening.

National Police deputy chief Pol General Damrongsak Kittiprapha said Police commissioner-general Pol General Suwat Jangyodsuk had instructed all stations to be vigilant for possible heavy downpours in the evening.

The urgent instructions came after the Meteorological Department warned that Wednesday evening could see heavy rains and floods amid a strong monsoon.

Officials expect traffic chaos in the evening – similar to

the jams on Wednesday morning – after several areas in Bangkok were hit by floods following heavy downpours since Tuesday evening and late into the night.

Many roads were cut off due to high water levels, causing drivers to abandon their cars on the streets and wait out until the flood subsided. Heavy traffic congestion was also reported in several areas on Tuesday as people rushed home from work.

Damrongsak said all police stations were told to prepare contingency plans in case vehicles break down in the middle of roads because of flooding.

He said Acting Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan voiced concern about problems faced by motorists so he instructed the Royal Thai Police to come up with measures to help drivers who might get trapped on inundated roads throughout the rainy season.

Published : September 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019830

Overnight downpours triggered a run-off in the Muang district of Rayong province that hit and trapped a song-thaew truck on a road, leading to a tense but successful mission in rescuing 15 students.

In another incident soon after, a school van was half-submerged in a flash flood on a road, also in Muang district, but all students were safely evacuated.

The first incident happened at 7am on the Sanak Thong-Krached Road in front of the police station in Moo 1 village of Tambon Samnak Thong in Muang district.

Pol Sub-Lt Songserm Sirisuwan, deputy inspector of the police station, was alerted to the incident at 7am. He immediately dispatched police officers and also called for help from the Sawang Porn Kusol rescue foundation.

The four-wheel truck was modified as a vehicle for transporting students with two rows of long benches. The truck was transporting 15 students to Srinakharin School in the tambon.

When the truck arrived at the spot, a run-off swept across and hit the truck, bringing it to a halt. A student tried to get down to flee but he was dragged away by the strong current. Fortunately, a police officer managed to grab him before he was swept away.

While the truck was trapped in the middle of strong currents, the water level rose fast to the middle of the truck’s height.

While trying to evacuate the students, officials tied the truck with ropes to a power pole.

Officials found it too difficult to wade through the strong current to evacuate the students, so they waited an hour for the water to subside. Rescue officials then took turns walking along the rope to rescue the students one by one.

Songserm said the flash flood was very strong and high and the water rose very fast apparently because the road is located next to a canal.

He added that several houses on the canal’s banks were also inundated.

A witness, Saneh Samnakpraisont, 64, said he saw the truck driving amid heavy rains in the middle of the road before it was suddenly hit by a run-off, causing it to lose control. It washed away some distance before the driver managed to stop it.

Saneh said the areas were hit by heavy rains throughout the night until the morning.

Police also reported that a school van was inundated on Sukhumvit Road in Tambon Tapong in Muang district while driving students to the Taksin Secondary School. Police said all students were safely evacuated from the van.

Published : September 07, 2022

By : THE NATION