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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023580

Foreign Ministry working to identify, retrieve bodies from Poipet casino blaze

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2022

The Foreign Ministry is working with Cambodian forensic authorities to identify Thai victims of the huge fire that gutted a Poipet casino and contact their relatives to transport their bodies home.

At least 19 bodies have been found so far but the death toll is expected to surge. Dozens of Thai workers and customers are believed to have been trapped inside the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino when fire tore through the building on Wednesday night.

The casino-hotel complex is located near the Ban Klong Luk checkpoint in Sa Kaew’s Aranyaprathet district and owned by convicted fugitive Thai politician Vatana Asavahame.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control by noon on Thursday, by which time the complex was gutted.

The ministry has ordered the Royal Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh to work with local authorities to help Thais and their family members in Cambodia who have been affected by the fire.

The embassy has compiled a list of Thais in Cambodia and prepared travel documents in case they want to return home, ministry spokeswoman Kanchana Patarachoke said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Sa Kaew authorities have set up an emergency help centre in the parking lot of Aranyaprathet district office on Thursday. The centre will coordinate with relatives of Thais who were working or residing in the hotel to locate and identify their relatives in case they are among the injured or deceased. The centre can be reached by phone at 081 172 2603 or 063 901 2903.

Related Stories

At least 10 feared dead in Poipet casino inferno as people jump from 5th floor

Fugitive Thai politician owned Cambodian casino where fire killed 10

Cambodian casino fire kills 19, dozens more missing

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023573

Cambodian casino fire kills 19, dozens more missing

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022

At least 19 people were killed and up to 30 were missing after a huge fire tore through a casino-hotel complex in a Cambodian town on the Thai border, officials said on Thursday.

“The number of deaths may reach more than 20,” said Sek Sokhom, head of the Banteay Meanchey provincial information department.

Sixty people had been injured, he said.

A Thai rescuer at the scene said they recovered 14 bodies before the figure was later updated to 19.

Rescuers struggled to extricate people who feared being trapped.

Khieu Sopheak, an interior ministry spokesperson, had earlier said it was not clear how many people were still inside the charred building.

About 400 employees and patrons were in the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in the town of Poipet when the fire broke out around midnight, and up to 30 were still missing.

A key part of Cambodia’s tourism industry, important for its economy, casinos in the capital of Phnom Penh and on the borders with Vietnam and Thailand are a draw for visitors from Asian nations that ban gambling.

Casinos in Poipet are hugely popular with short-term Thai visitors in particular as gambling is illegal and unlicensed casinos operate underground in the neighbouring country.

At least 25 people were being treated in hospitals in Sa Kaeo province across the border, Thai authorities said.

Reuters

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Four Chinese citizens arrested for allegedly selling pirated Starbucks products

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022

Police on Wednesday arrested four Chinese nationals in Bangkok for allegedly selling counterfeit tumblers and mugs of American multinational coffeeshop operator Starbucks.

The suspects were arrested at a warehouse located in a luxury housing estate in Watcharapol area and an unnamed shop in Khlong Thom Market. Police confiscated 10,000 counterfeit tumblers and mugs, as well as sales records and parcel boxes worth 5 million baht.

The suspects were charged with “having in possession for distribution goods bearing a counterfeit trademark or imitated trademark in order to mislead the public”, the police’s Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) said.

The arrest came after police was tipped off by Starbucks Corporation that pirated versions of the company’s products were being sold by a shop named “Nanan Sale” on the online shopping platform Shopee.

“Following investigation, it was found that the pirated goods were kept in a warehouse located in a luxury housing estate in the Watcharapol area,” the ECD said, adding that the warehouse was owned by a group of Chinese business people.

The suspects have reportedly pleaded guilty to smuggling pirated goods from China and selling them via online platforms. Police are pursuing legal actions against the suspects.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023571

Daughter jailed for 20 years for stealing THB 250 million from mother’s bank accounts

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022

A 56-year-old woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined 123 million baht by the Phra Khanong Criminal Court on Thursday for falsifying documents in order to steal more than 250 million baht from her bedridden 82-year-old mother.

Mawadee Sriwirat was found guilty of colluding to falsify documents to siphon money from the bank accounts of her mother, Huai.

The lawsuit, filed in 2019, said that Mawadee and four staff of Kasikorn Bank colluded in the crime.

While her mother was seriously ill, Mawadee was accused of changing the conditions of withdrawing money from Huai’s accounts at two bank branches with the help of bank staff, according to the lawsuit.

Instead of requiring a signature, Mawadee and her accomplices changed the process so that only a thumbprint was required.

This allowed her to withdraw more than 250 million from Huai’s bank, which she did in scores of small transactions.

Huai was unaware that her signature was no longer required to withdraw cash from her bank accounts.

The court found Mawadee guilty of falsifying documents and 84 counts of theft. The court also ordered her to repay 123 million baht to her mother – the plaintiff in the case.
One of the four bank officials who were co-defendants was sentenced to two years in prison, while the other three were acquitted.

In a separate civil case, Huai sued Kasikorn Bank, the four bank employees, and her daughter Mawadee, demanding 350.3 million baht in damages in connection with the theft. The civil case is being tried by the Phra Khanong Civil Court.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023569

Deadly clashes continue between Myanmar troops and Karen rebels near Thai border

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022

More than 1,000 resistance forces were involved in a fierce battle against Myanmar junta troops at a Karen town near the border with Thailand.

Reports said many people were killed and injured in the armed clashes that have continued for over two weeks in a battle for the control of Kawkareik, a town in Myanmar’s Karen State.

The exact number of casualties could not be independently confirmed.

Kawkareik sits on the road to a major border crossing at Mae Sot district, Tak province, in western Thailand.

More than 1,000 resistance fighters from Division 6 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the People’s Defence Force (PDF) attacked military bases around Kawkareik, killing and injuring many junta troops, reports said.

The KNLA siege of the town prompted aerial bombings with MiG-29 and helicopters, as well as mortar gun shelling, on the resistance forces. The junta troops have failed to retake control of the seized area from the resistance forces, the reports said.

Citing the rebel forces, The Irrawaddy online media outlet reported on Wednesday that at least 25 Myanmar junta troops have been killed in two weeks of clashes with the KNLA and other resistance groups in Kawkareik.

It quoted local residents as saying that the junta aimed to retake the township and it was targeting civilian areas with shelling and airstrikes.

Some residents told The Nation in a telephone interview that recent shelling had damaged four houses and a temple, which also left 10 people dead, including a monk, and many others injured.

Some sources on the Thai side of the border said that the recent clashes in the Karen State could have something to do with the Myanmar junta’s plan to reopen the border checkpoint at Myawaddy, across the border from Mae Sot, on January 1.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023568

Thailand opens border crossing amid casino blaze death toll fears

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022

Thailand’s police chief on Thursday ordered the Aranyaprathet border crossing to be opened to speed up transportation of victims from a deadly casino fire in Poipet, Cambodia.

Police chief Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas told Sa Kaew immigration office to clear the path for rescue vehicles taking casualties to Aranyaprathet Hospital and nearby hospitals, police spokesman Artchayon Kraithong said.

The fire started at around 11pm on Wednesday at the Thai-owned Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino, which is located about 200 metres from the Ban Klong Luk checkpoint in Aranyaprathet. It took firefighters till noon on Thursday to bring the blaze under control, by which time the complex was gutted.

Poipet authorities told the Phnom Penh Post that “more than 10 people” had been killed in the blaze but more than 400 people, mainly Thais, were still trapped in the casino. Local media outlets are estimating the death toll is in the hundreds.

Firefighters and rescuers have been prevented from entering the building over fears it will collapse.

The Thai police spokesman said most of the casualties transported to hospitals in Sa Kaew are Thais. One person, named only as Ae, 24, was confirmed dead in hospital while 32 others are being treated for injuries, the spokesman said.

Damrongsak also ordered Sa Kaew police to set up an emergency call centre in Aranyaprathet to provide information on victims and assist their families.

The centre is coordinating with the Institute of Forensic Medicine to help identify victims.

Damrongsak also directed the Immigration Bureau to coordinate with the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh to provide Thais affected by the fire with temporary travel documents so they can return to Thailand.

Earlier reports:

Number of dead in Poipet casino inferno expected to surge

At least 10 feared dead in Poipet casino inferno as people jump from 5th floor

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023567

Number of dead in Poipet casino inferno expected to surge

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022

Thai rescuers estimated that more than 30 Thai nationals perished in the massive blaze that engulfed the 355-room Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in the Cambodian border town of Poipet late Wednesday night, while a Cambodian official warned that the death toll could rise to the hundreds.

Banteay Meanchey provincial spokesman Sek Sokhom told Cambodian newspaper Kampuchea Thmey late Thursday afternoon that the death toll could rise to the hundreds. He said the casino complex had 400 staff and an unknown number of guests. Anyone trapped in a room during the fire can be presumed dead, he told the newspaper.

Rescue officials from Thai foundations who crossed the border from Sa Kaew’s Aranyaprathet district to the impoverished casino town on the Cambodian side of the border, said they retrieved bodies believed to be Thai.

The official number of fatalities has yet to be announced, but Cambodian media said at least 19 bodies had been recovered by mid-afternoon on Thursday and that those trapped inside the casino complex during the blaze were likely killed by smoke inhalation or fire.

Island of Peace newspaper reported that the blaze had spread to an adjacent casino, Poipet Resort and Casino. It said that the number of dead would surge as both casino workers and guests had been trapped inside the casino complex during the blaze.

Damage caused by the fire made it unsafe for rescuers to enter the building – which appeared in danger of collapsing – to search for bodies, the newspaper reported.

The two Thai-owned casinos are operated by Grand Exclusive Poipet Cambodia. They are located just 200 metres from Ban Klong Luk checkpoint in Aranyaprathet, along the main road through the busiest border checkpoint between Thailand and Cambodia.

The fire started at 11pm on Wednesday and rapidly swept through the complex. Thai and Cambodian employees as well as Thai gamblers were inside the casino complex when the blaze broke out.

Firefighters managed to control the blaze by noon on Thursday and kept dousing the building with water for fear the fire would resume.

Thai fire fighters said the building was completely ravaged by the fire and appeared on the brink of collapsing.

Opas Karnkawinpong, permanent secretary at the Public Health Ministry, said he was informed by Dr Prapas Phukduang, chief Sa Kaew province public health officer at 8:20am that 32 injured people were transported across the border to hospitals in Sa Kaeo.

Opas said 13 of them were in critical condition, three in mild condition and 16 were slightly injured. Opas said he had instructed all hospitals in Sa Kaew to be prepared to accept more injured people.

Hospitals on the Cambodian side of the border also reported receiving scores of patients, Cambodian media reported.

Opas added that he had sought cooperation from Rayong Hospital, Chonburi Hospital, Sunpasitthiprasong Hospital, Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital, Rajavithi Hospital, Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital, Ramathibodi Hospital, Chulalongkorn Hospital, and Vajira Hospital to prepared beds for patients critically injured in the blaze.

Cambodia’s firefighting departments are poorly equipped and their crews poorly trained. The country only enacted fire-safety legislation about five years ago. Firefighting departments in Cambodia rely primarily on donations of equipment and are frequently accused of failing to extinguish blazes until local residents or business owners pay bribes to make them do so.

Videos circulating on social media show panicked people waiting on rooftops and open winders for rescue cranes to help them escape. Firefighters in Poipet, however, had no rescue cranes to assist them. Several jumped from rooftops as the flames approached. At least two of them were killed while others sustained broken legs, Cambodian media reported. Videos circulating on social media show panicked people jumping from windows and the casino’s rooftop as no other escape routes were available.Earlier report:

At least 10 feared dead in Poipet casino inferno as people jump from 5th floor

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023559

Fugitive Thai politician owned Cambodian casino where fire killed 10

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022

The Cambodian casino and a hotel where at least 10 people died and another 30 were injured in a fire on Wednesday night reportedly belongs to fugitive Thai politician Vatana Asavahame.

A blaze erupted at Grand Diamond City Hotel on Wednesday night, killing at least 10 people and injuring another 30.

The blaze erupted in the 355-room hotel casino at about 11.30pm after a gas tank exploded. The blaze continued into Thursday morning. Cambodian police said the fire was under control before noon today.

Cambodian media said several guests had climbed to the rooftop to escape the blaze. They were expecting Cambodian authorities to rescue them with cranes, but as the flames approached and no rescue cranes arrived, they leapt to the ground. At least two of them died, while the rest suffered broken legs, the reports said.

Over a year ago, Vatana offered to sell his two casinos in Cambodia – Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino and Poipet Resort and Casino – for a combined price of 12 billion baht. The two venues are owned by Grand Exclusive Poipet Cambodia, and located in Poipet town – the main border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia.

Vatana, 86, told a Thai media outlet that he wanted to sell his two casinos in Poipet, citing an economic downturn, but it remains unclear whether they were sold.

Vatana, a former deputy interior minister, is wanted by Thai authorities for malfeasance in connection with irregularities involving the Klong Dan wastewater treatment project in Samut Prakan province, which is located in his former constituency.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in July 2008 after Vatana failed to attend the reading of a Supreme Court verdict on the case against him and others accused of corruption in the wastewater project. He reportedly fled to Cambodia.

In July 2018, the court sentenced Vatana in absentia to three years in jail for land-procurement fraud.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023558

Thai version of anti-Covid Molnupiravir to be made available this week

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022

Thai-made Covid-19 antiviral drug Molnupiravir will be made available at all branches of Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) pharmacies this week.

The GPO announced on Thursday that it has successfully developed its own version of the antiviral, called “Monovir”, for treatment of Covid-19 symptoms.

The Thai-made drug has passed a bioequivalence study, meaning it has similar efficacy as the original Molnupiravir developed by US drug companies Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, said GPO deputy director Dr Nanthakan Suwanpidokkul.

She said the GPO has started delivering Monovir to GPO pharmacies nationwide and it will be available in 200mg capsules for patients with a doctor’s prescription in the next few days.

Thailand is currently using between 100,000 and 200,000 capsules of Molnupiravir per day, all of which have to be imported.

“Although we still have adequate stocks of imported Molnupiravir, being able to manufacture the drug domestically will further strengthen the country’s supply and ensure that all patients have access to the treatment,” said Nanthakan.

Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved four antiviral drugs, namely Favipiravir, Remdesivir, Molnupiravir and Paxlovid. All four can be purchased with a prescription at hospitals, clinics and pharmacies under the Health Facility Act of 1998.

For more info, call the GPO hotline at 1648.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023554

First underwater images of HTMS Sukhothai surface as divers search wreck

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022

The Royal Thai Navy has released the first underwater images of HTMS Sukhothai after the warship disappeared beneath 4-metre waves in the Gulf of Thailand 11 days ago.

The corvette capsized and sank some 20 nautical miles off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan district on December 18 with 105 crew onboard.

Photos and video grabs of the wreck were taken by an undersea drone and a team of divers, who reached the ship for the first time on Wednesday.

Thursday saw the SeaFox drone and dive team back at the wreck site, which lies at a depth of 40 metres, searching for bodies of the five crewmen still missing.

They are also tasked with surveying damage in preparation for the mission to lift the Sukhothai from the seabed.

HTMS Rawee is circling above the sunken warship as an operating base for the divers, who so far have yet to find any bodies trapped in the ill-fated Sukhothai.

The search mission launched for its 11th day on Thursday with five more to go, said the Navy on Thursday morning.

On Wednesday, three more bodies of Sukhothai crewmen were found on and around islands off Chumphon province. As of Thursday morning, the death toll stood at 24 sailors in what the Navy described as a “historic loss”.

Seventy-six crewmen have been rescued and brought safely to shore.

Of the 24 victims, 20 have been identified while DNA test results are pending for the rest.

Related Stories

6 still missing from HTMS Sukhothai after grim discoveries in Chumphon

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Navy chief expresses sorrow at funerals as search resumes for missing crew