The baht opened at 31.21 to the US dollar on Tuesday, weakening from its close of 31.18 on Monday.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 31.10 and 31.25 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.
The baht in the short term would move in line with the dollar, Poon said, advising investors to monitor funds flowing into the stock market.
The market strategist added that the baht would weaken slightly. Exporters would aim to sell the dollar when the baht moves between 31.15 to 31.20 per US.
Meanwhile, importers planned to purchase the dollar, when the US currency was equal to Bt31.
Thailand has decided to reduce its mandatory quarantine period for foreign arrivals from 14 days to 10 days from Wednesday onwards.
The quarantine period will be further reduced to just seven days for travellers who have been inoculated against Covid-19.
However, travellers from high-risk countries will still be required to quarantine for 14 days.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) decided on March 26 to launch the Phuket “tourism sandbox” for vaccinated tourists from July 1 as proposed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said tourists who can verify they have been inoculated against Covid-19 and test negative can fly into Phuket and move around freely without having to quarantine.
Similar schemes will be applied to other destinations such as Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani later, once more people have been vaccinated and preventive measures are put in place.
The government also plans to completely remove quarantine measures for foreign arrivals from October 1, by which time a large number of Thais should be vaccinated.
But before the country completely opens, here is some advice for people planning to holiday in Thailand:
The Central Administrative Court on Monday read its verdict in a case where the Foreign Trade Department (FTD) sued former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and four other officials for damage to the country from the Yingluck Shinawatra administration’s rice-pledging scheme.
The other four defendants are Manas Soiploy, the former director-general of the FTD; Tikhumporn Natvaratat, former director of the Bureau of Rice Trade Administration; Akharapong Theepwatchara, former secretary to the FTD; and Poom Sarapol, former deputy commerce minister.
In 2017 the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions had convicted the five for their role in the government-to-government rice scandal. The case was filed after the military overthrew Yingluck’s government in the 2014 coup.
Boonsong was sentenced to 42 years in jail; Manas to 40 years; Poom to 36 years; Tikhumporn to 32 years and Akharapong to 24 years.
The other key defendant who was given 48 years in prison by the Supreme Court was well-known rice trader Apichart “Sia Piang” Chabsakulporn of Siam Indiga Company. He was also ordered to pay Bt16.9 billion in damages to the Finance Ministry.
The five had filed a petition with the Central Administrative Court asking it to overturn the Commerce Ministry’s order for them to pay damages caused by their abuse of authority in conducting the fake G2G rice deal.
However, the court ruled that they had a clear intention to commit graft and therefore ordered them to pay the compensation as follows: Manas – Bt4 billion; Tikhumporn – Bt4 billion; Poom – Bt2.2 billion; Akharapong – Bt2.6 billion and Boonsong – Bt1.7 billion.
Some 6,000 rounds of ammunition for M16 assault rifle and 52 K75 anti-personnel grenades were found in four packages at a courier service company in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.
They were labelled to be delivered to Tachileik in Myanmar.
Mae Sai Police Station were alerted about the suspicious packages by the company’s staff on Monday after finding that the four boxes were unusually heavy.
Inside the boxes, officials found ammunition and explosives wrapped in newspaper. All the boxes were sent by the same person with the same mobile phone number in Chonburi province, while the recipient’s address is in Tachileik town in Myanmar.
Officials tracked down the persons who had dropped the boxes off at the company and arrested Manokorn (last name withheld), aged 30 years, a local of Mae Sai, and Songsak (last name withheld), the driver of the van that carried the boxes. Both suspects reportedly said they were hired by another person to drop the packages off and that they did not know of the contents in the boxes.
Officials are gathering evidence to track down the sender as well as the recipient, while the two suspects were initially charged with possessing unregistered ammunition and explosives.
The Thailand Meteorological Department said on Tuesday that a heat low covers upper Thailand leading to hot to very hot conditions with haze in the areas.
Meanwhile, the southerly and southeasterly winds carry humidity from the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea to cover the lower North, the Northeast, the Central and the East regions, resulting in thundershowers and gusty winds in the areas.
People in upper Thailand should beware of the severe conditions, it warned.
The department added that the easterly winds blowing over the Gulf and the South would bring scattered thundershowers in the lower South.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Hot to very hot with haze; thundershowers and gusty winds in 20 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 21-27 degrees Celsius, highs of 37-41°C.
Northeast: Hot to very hot with haze; thundershowers and gusty winds in 20 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 22-27°C, highs of 38-40°C.
Central: Hot to very hot with haze; thundershowers and gusty winds in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 25-26°C, highs of 37-40°C.
East: Hot day with haze, thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 25-27°C, highs of 33-39°C; waves less than a metre high and a metre high during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 22-26°C, highs of 33-36°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas and heavy rains in some areas; temperature lows of 23-26°C, highs of 33-35°C; waves less than a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Hot day with haze; thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 26-27°C, highs of 34-39°C.
The Criminal Court ruled on Monday that prison officials’ attempt to remove protesters from their jail cell late at night purportedly for Covid-19 tests was a violation of their rights.
The court also said inmates can only be tested or moved during normal hours in line with regulations.
On March 16, human-rights lawyer Arnon Nampa wrote that officials at the Bangkok Remand Prison had visited the cell at 9pm the previous day to usher fellow Ratsadon group members – Panupong “Mike” Jadnok and Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpattararaksa – out for a Covid-19 test.
However, Arnon said he and others in the cell stopped the two from following the prison guards as the act was suspicious, especially since it was at night.
The officials then left their cell and returned in larger numbers three times, at 11.45pm, 12.15am and 2.30am. Arnon said all officials were armed with batons, adding that there were also some men in blue uniforms with no name tags.
The court interrogated Arnon and other related persons before deciding that such late-night activity in prison was a violation of the inmates’ rights.
The Royal Thai Navy has anointed two new patrol boats in a ceremony at its Sattahip base in Chonburi.
T115 inshore patrol boat
The T114 and T115 inshore patrol boats were built by the Marsun Co shipyard at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. The Navy said they will be used to provide safety to HM the King and the royal family, and for surveillance, protection of fishing and cargo vessels, and to combat marine terrorism.
Each boat is 36 metres long, 7.6 metres wide and boasts a top speed of 27 knots fully laden with an operating range of 1,200 nautical miles.
The boats come armed with a main gun, a 30mm machine gun mounted on the bow, and two .50-calibre gunwale machineguns.
The boat-receiving ceremony dates back to the reign of King Rama V.
State-run interprovincial bus operator Transport Company will add 5,000 bus trips per day over the six-day Songkran holiday (April 10 to 15), its president Sanyalak Panyawatthanalikhit said on Monday.
“We estimate that around 110,000 people per day will use the Bangkok Bus Terminal [Mo Chit 2] in Chatuchak to travel to their hometowns during the Songkran festival, so we will increase bus trips by 5,000 per day starting from April 10 to ensure that no passengers are left behind,” he said.
About 70 per cent of bus tickets to the North and Northeast during Songkran have already been reserved, said Sanyalak, advising travellers to book online to avoid crowding at the bus terminal.
Cooperation has been sought from police to manage traffic flow in and out of the terminal and ensure safety of passengers waiting for buses. “We have also employed Covid-19 preventive measures, including mandatory face masks, thermal scanner checkpoints and social distancing on services,” Sanyalak added.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has banned all water-splashing activities, making Songkran a dry event for the second year running in a bid to curb the outbreak. However, massive numbers of Thais are still expected to travel back to their hometowns to be with their families for Songkran as well as National Elderly Day on April 13 and National Family Day on April 14.
CP Group has started sending working groups to study the Airport Rail Link as it will be taking over the network’s operation from October 24 onwards, Suthep Panpeng, director-general of SRT Electrified Train (SRTET), said on Monday.
He added that CP will hire some 490 employees when it takes over, while SRTET will transfer the 256 staff currently running the Airport Rail Link to the new SRT Dark Red Line.
He said changes will become noticeable from July or August when CP employees start joining.
Suthep added that based on the deal with CP, the Airport Rail Link will be rebranded and the train station upgraded.
Police warned on Monday that the new craze known as surfskating is attracting online sharks who are taking a big bite out of innocent consumers. Social media users have advised netizens to be cautious when ordering surfskate boards online after fake sellers stole more than B2.7 million from over 100 victims.
Police spokesman Krisana Pattanacharoen said on Monday that legal action would be taken quickly against anyone caught operating an online surfskate scam.
Surfskating, also known as carveboarding, has become a trendy sport during the Covid-19 era as people can do it anywhere.
Krisana said surfskate equipment was in short supply, meaning customers were pre-ordering boards with online traders.
“Criminals have taken this opportunity to launch sales scams by offering discounts for people who pay the full price,” he said.
The scammers take the money transfer but fail to deliver the boards.
Those found guilty of online surfskate scams face up to three years in prison and/or a fine of up to Bt60,000, Krisana warned.
“They face up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to Bt100,000 fine if they scam multiple victims,” he added.
National Police chief Suwat Chaengyodsuk has ordered the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau to catch the criminals while also boosting netizens’ awareness of how to avoid becoming victims.
“To avoid falling victim to sales scams, people should check online traders’ information carefully, read customers’ product reviews and use cash-on-delivery services while purchasing goods via online channels,” Krisana said.
Boonsong Teriyapirom (File Photo)
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