Thai and foreign tourists flocked to Khaosan Road in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district to celebrate Songkran on Wednesday evening.
Apart from participating in Songkran activities, many foreigners dropped in to pubs and bars in the area.
The crowds at Khaosan Road began to disperse only at 11pm after pubs and bars began closing for the night one by one.
Phra Nakhon district office director Wasan Boonmuenwai said officials warned tourists who splashed water that they could face a fine of up to 20,000 baht under the Communicable Disease Act BE 2558 (2015).
According to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, water splashing, powder smearing and foam parties are prohibited in public areas this Songkran.
Suvarnabhumi Airport on Wednesday put up a QR code at the luggage pickup zone for passengers so they can get information on which counter they should head to to meet up with staff of hotels they booked with.
Airport director Kittiphong Kittikhajorn said the move aimed to minimise congestion at the international passenger terminal caused by a high volume of arrivals under the Test & Go scheme during peak hours. It would also reduce confusion and crowding after passengers were unable to find their hotel service counter.
On Monday, the airport increased the number of counters from 8 to 17 – to provide service to customers of more than 400 hotels that are now arranged alphabetically – and added an extra baggage carousel for each flight to smoothen passenger flow.
“To let the public know of the new QR code system, an infographic is being displayed on TV screens at the baggage carousel for international arrivals. The airport has also told airlines to instruct their passengers before landing to use the QR code,” said Kittiphong.
“Furthermore, we have established two public relations booths – at exits B and C – with officials providing information on how to use the code,” he added.
Ministry of Public Health reported on Thursday (April 14) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 24,134 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 125 of whom have arrived in Thailand from abroad.
Death toll increased by 115, while 26,997 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 1,749,568.
The three major mobile phone operators are joining forces with the authorities to use artificial intelligence and other technologies to try to weed out fraudulent calls and text messages from call-centre scammers.
Advanced Info Service, True Corporation and Total Access Communication (DTAC) have been stepping up efforts to protect their clients from fraudulent spam calls and SMS messages following an increase in attempts to deceive the people by call-centre scammers since late last year, the three operators said.
Pratthana Lilapanang, chief of AIS’ division for general customers, said the telco has developed AIS Secure Net, a free digital service to filter out spams, phishing messages and virus to protect AIS customers.
He said AIS has also launched its 1185 hotline to receive complaints about calls and SMS from scammers. The hotline is called AIS Spam Report Centre that allows AIS customers to make calls free of charge to report the spams and fraudulent calls and SMS.
The AIS also has an AIS chatbot for customers to report suspicious phone numbers, Pratthana added.
He said AIS would thoroughly check the registrations of the reported numbers and the patterns of their calls and SMS to determine whether they belong to call-centre scammers. Once confirmed, the numbers will be blocked and customers will be notified within 72 hours, he added.
Natwut Amornvivat, co-president of True Corporation, said True has been working with the Police Cyber Taskforce and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to launch 9777 hotline to receive complaints about suspicious calls and SMS around the clock. English-speaking customers can also call the 9777 hotline, he added.
Natwut said True has also set up a task force to monitor and investigate suspicious phone numbers and report its findings to the customers within 72 hours.
Once confirmed as phone numbers of gangsters, calls and SMS messages from the numbers would be blocked and True would coordinate with police to track the sources and make arrests, Natwut said.
True has also launched Mali AI, a chatbot, on its True iService platform to receive complaints from its customers.
The operator is also cooperating with Whoscall platform to report numbers that have been confirmed as being used by gangsters, in another measure to protect the people, Natwut added.
Meanwhile, DTAC announced on its website that it has opened 1678 hotline to receive complaints about suspicious calls and SMS messages. The call centre is an automatic and interactive system for customers to report the phone numbers for investigations.
Customers can also send SMS messages to the 1678 hotline to report numbers of suspicious calls, the website said.
DTAC said it has enforced three measures to protect its customers:
— Blocking overseas calls made in the manner of call-centre gangs
— Blocking overseas calls that are disguised as local calls in Thailand
— Using Test Call Generator technology to check whether overseas calls use any technology to disguise the phone numbers. The TCG will also check and trace back to the country of origin from where the calls are made.
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the 2a phase of the project to study the immunogenicity and efficiency of plant-based Baiya Covid-19 vaccine on humans at a cost of THB211 million.
The Cabinet also told Thai startup Baiya Phytopharm and National Vaccine Institute to prepare a contingency plan to ensure the project will be completed within December this year
“They have also been tasked with proposing a plan to accelerate the third clinical phase of trials on humans to the loan screening committee within two weeks,” Deputy Government Spokesperson Traisulee Traisoranakul said on Wednesday.
Baiya is one of four Covid-19 vaccines being developed in Thailand. The others are Chulalongkorn University’s ChulaCov19, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation’s HXP-GPO Vac and Biotech’s nasal-spray vaccine.
The Royal Thai Police one Wednesday warned Songkran revellers not to violate the ban on water splashing as they could be prosecuted under the Disease Control Act.
Police spokesman Pol Maj-General Yingyot Thepchamnong said the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration had issued the order banning water splashing and allowed only traditional celebrations under Covid Free Setting measures.
Under Covid Free Setting measures, water splashing, drinking and selling alcohol are banned, and people who enter celebration venues must have been fully vaccinated and they must pass through checkpoints, Yingyot said.
It was reported that both Thais and foreigners had engaged in water splashing in a soi on Patong Beach in Phuket province on Tuesday night, but no arrests had been made.
Yingyot said those who violated the ban would be subject to a penalty of a maximum THB20,000 fine under Section 51 of the Disease Control Act of BE 2558 (2015).
The spokesman said the violators could also be subject to a maximum jail term of two years and a maximum fine of THB40,000, or both, under Section 18 of the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations BE 2548 (2005).
As many as 1,123 traffic violation cases were reported on Tuesday, the second of Songkran Festival’s “Seven Dangerous Days”, the Department of Probation said on Wednesday.
This year, the seven dangerous days are being counted from April 11 to 17.
Of the total, 923 cases involved drunk driving, five cases were reckless driving and 195 cases were drug-impaired driving. The court has ordered to attach electronic monitoring (EM) bracelets on two drivers on Tuesday.
In the past two days, the total number of traffic violations was 1,582, of which 1,251 cases were drunk driving, 13 cases were reckless driving and 318 cases were drug-impaired driving.
“On Tuesday, Surin and Ubon Ratchathani provinces reported the highest number of drunk driving cases — 95 cases each — followed by Nonthaburi (90) and Bangkok (77),” the department director-general, Wittawan Soonthornkachit, said.
“The number of drunk driving cases has risen sharply, compared to 18 cases in the same period last year.”
Wittawan added that Probation Offices are cooperating with related agencies to ensure safety of motorists at checkpoints nationwide.
He also asked citizens to be careful while driving and wear a helmet to prevent loss due to road accidents.
A senator on Wednesday voiced his opposition to a Justice Ministry proposal to reduce the minimum jail term before a convict can become eligible for a royal pardon.
Somchai Sawaengkarn, chairman of the Senate committee on human rights, rights and liberty, and consumer protection, said he disagreed with the shorter imprisonment period proposed by the Justice Ministry on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the ministry informed the Cabinet of new criteria used for considering whether inmates would be eligible for royal pardons on the occasion of key national events, such as HM the King’s birthday.
In one criterion, the ministry said inmates, to be eligible for royal pardon, must serve one-third of their jail term or at least eight years, whichever is earlier.
Somchai wondered on what basis the ministry had come up with the eight-year minimum imprisonment period. He said eight years would be too short for inmates who have received a 50-year or longer jail sentences.
“I wonder how the eight-year idea came up. Will it be appropriate to pardon a convict who has received a 50-year jail term or life imprisonment?” Somchai asked.
“The Justice Ministry should consider only one-third imprisonment criterion or at least 15 years.”
Somchai said he would like MPs to consider amending the Criminal Procedure Code of Thailand to set clear-cut criteria for royal pardon.
The senator said the 2021 royal decree for granting royal pardon need not be amended but the government should be alerted to unusual enforcement of the decree.
Somchai said some prison commanders have proposed reductions in jail terms of some inmates three times in just one year. Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin should investigate these instances.
“I believe only a few hundred inmates have received jail term reductions up to three times in one year,” Somsak said.
“The minister must find out if such criteria for reduction of jail term three times a year was available for all 200,000 or 300,000 inmates, or whether they were used for just some cases.
“I’m not saying dishonourable practices have taken place, but I simply doubt whether the criteria were used for all inmates. This could be investigated as to how many inmates have received reduction in jail term three times from the Corrections Department.”
He called on the National Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the cases in which certain inmates had suspiciously received jail-term reductions three times in one year.
Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of consumer products have been instructed to ensure they have adequate stocks during the Songkran holidays.
The Department of Internal Trade recently held a meeting with 30 manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of detergents, soaps, shampoos, dish-washing liquids, toothpastes, and seasoning sauces to follow up on the product distribution situation ahead of Songkran.
“Entrepreneurs and businesses have been told to keep their stocks full by increasing the frequency of distribution to prevent any shortage as people tend to shop more to prepare for family get-togethers,” department deputy director-general Jakkra Yodmanee said on Wednesday.
“As for the news that product shelves at some shops have been emptied before the Songkran break, shop owners explained that it was due to customers buying products in bulk before heading back to their hometowns, making stores unable to replenish their shelves on time,” he said.
“However, manufacturers have confirmed that production is continuing as usual, while wholesalers and resellers have promised to work as fast as they can to fill up the shelves during the holidays.”
All manufacturers and sellers insisted they would cap the price of necessary products in order not to add to the financial burden of people, Jakkra added.
The Department of Internal Trade will also hold promotional campaigns at Blue Flag shops and other participating stores nationwide to sell consumer products at discounted prices to help low-income earners, as well as to stimulate the economy that is recovering from the impact of Covid-19.
If you witness any product hoarding or unfair hike in prices, contact the department’s hotline at 1569, Line application “Mr.DIT” or visit www.dit.go.th.
Both Thais and foreign tourists were seen brazenly using water guns and splashing water in a popular soi at Phuket’s Patong Beach on Tuesday night, reminiscent of pre-Covid times, despite a countrywide ban.
Soi Bangla, where many bars are located, was completely soaked with water splashed by both bar girls and foreign tourists, many of whom were seen armed with large water guns.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) had banned water splashing and wet powder smearing nationwide on concerns that these activities would lead to the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreading. The CCSA has allowed only the traditional pouring of water on the hands of the elderly to seek their Songkran blessings.
Phuket Governor Narong Wunsiew had issued a provincial directive prohibiting water splashing, with the order assigning district CCSA committees to enforce the ban.
But the soi came alive with foreign tourists fearlessly targeting bar girls in a water-gun battle on Tuesday night. No officials were seen around to stop them from flouting the ban.
The spokesman said the violators could also be subject to a maximum jail term of two years and a maximum fine of THB40,000, or both, under Section 18 of the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations BE 2548 (2005).
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