They said the ongoing attacks reflected the failure of the government’s investment in cybersecurity over the past decade.

Dr Sutee Tuvirat, a certified information system auditor (CISA), said that servers of state agencies were weak and prone to online attacks regularly.

“They just were not aware of the attacks. This time the hackers displayed the information they got from government websites that they attacked,” Sutee said.

He added that the benefit of this seemingly concerted attack was that it increased awareness about the importance of cybersecurity in all levels and all sectors, including the public and private sectors. “Also, the mass media have covered this issue continuously,” he said.

A group of local and foreign “hacktivists” claimed to have broken into the computer systems of many Thai government agencies in retaliation for the National Legislative Assembly last week passing the Computer Crime Act’s amendment bill in a unanimous vote. The new law is expected to bring about tougher controls on online activities and cybercrimes.

One of the hacking targets was the website of the Second Army Area, authorities confirmed yesterday.

Maj-General Rittee Intravudh, director of the Army Cyber Centre, said the website of the Royal Thai Army’s Second Army Area had been compromised. He told reporters that confidential military data remained intact, as it was not linked to the website.

Late on Friday, the hacktivists group posted detailed budgeting of the Army’s water-resource dredging projects in 2016 on its Facebook page. The group also pointed out a Bt4-million budget set aside for overtime pay.

The hacktivists have announced another planned cyberattack tomorrow, and have given the government until Tuesday to revoke the new Computer Crime Bill.

The amended Computer Crime Act will criminalise the action of distributing online information deemed disruptive to “public safety” and “economic stability”. Critics say the terms are too vaguely defined and could be used to stifle dissent.

On Thursday, the group, whose Facebook page carries the title “Thai Netizens against Single Gateway: Thailand Internet Firewall”, leaked the personal data of at least 3,000 Thai police officers and exposed the identity card information of 3,000 government officials.

Sutee said what was painful to him was the fact that the latest attacks were done by a group of “amateur hackers using techniques that are not complex at all”.

However, he viewed this as a good opportunity for the government to improve its computer systems with a focus on cybersecurity.

Another cybersecurity expert said the latest series of hacking attacks appeared to be an attempt to destabilise the government.

“Their main targets are websites of the military and the Prime Minister’s Office,” said the expert, who declined to be identified.

The expert said the latest hacking attacks pointed to Thailand’s need for a new agency that specifically dealt with cybersecurity matters. He said such an agency should have a status comparable to the National Security Council and should not come under the new Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.

Meanwhile, the group Free Internet Society of Thailand (FIST), which is campaigning against the amended Computer Crime Act, has denied being involvement with the ongoing online attacks on government websites.

Vikran Janyaporn, a member of FIST, said his group was holding a signature campaign and peaceful protests and had not resorted to hacking to air discontent against the new legislation.

ALRO secretary-general Sompong Intong disclosed that 200,000 rai (32,000 hectares) of land had been seized from illegal owners.

The seizures followed an order from the National Council for Peace and Order to tackle the problem and redistribute the seized land to landless farmers by the end of next year.

“From our inspection of a total 430,000 rai of targeted land, it can be proved that owners of 120,000 rai have legal land deeds and 30,000 rai was forestland. So we will have to reclaim the balance 280,000 rai of unlawfully acquired land. Currently, we have seized 200,000 rai,” Sompong stated.

The NCPO order to reclaim the land was issued on July 5 and aims to solve the problem of rich and powerful persons illegally acquiring ALRO land, which is supposed to be for landless farmers only.

The operation has been under way for five months.

Sompong said 5,900 rai was recently seized at the Thanathon orange orchard and the Sai Thong orange orchard in Chiang Mai.

“The former owners of the orange orchards willingly returned the land to ALRO, so we will distribute the land to the original farmers through an agricultural cooperative. The former owners still can buy the products from the cooperative,” he said.

“This way all orange farm workers will not lose their jobs and the orange plantation still can be preserved.”

The orange orchards were owned by the Thanathon Orange Farm Co and the Chiang Mai Mit Kaset Co. In September, the ALRO inspected the land and found the land ownership claims to be suspicious, and the land was seized this month.

The ALRO secretary-general revealed that for the other reclaimed land, the agency would distribute it to landless farmers via two methods: granting agricultural cooperatives to use the land for groups of farmers, and giving land to individual farmers. Individuals will receive five rai for farming and one rai to live on.

“We aim to finish this operation by October 2017, but we still face the problem of land owners not showing up when we summon them, and the slow land rights inspection process. Apart from these problems, everything is on its way,” Sompong said.

However, Suraphon Songrak, a resident of Ban Klong Sai Pattana in Surat Thani, stated that the endeavour faced many problems.

“Our community is situated on disputed ALRO land. This plot of land was illegally taken by an oil palm plantation company and the ALRO still has not successfully driven the illegal encroacher away,” Suraphon said.

“Meanwhile, the ALRO also insisted on applying the land distribution system, which does not suit our community, by granting only five rai of farming space per family. We are now bargaining with the authorities to distribute the land for use the right way according to local preferences, but we have not had any success.”

More than 70 families live in the Ban Klong Sai Pattana community. They handed in a petition to the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister in July, calling on authorities to distribute the land to villagers according to their farming system.

His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued a royal command on Friday to appoint Kampanat, a former member of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), as the new privy councillor with immediate effect.

Kampanat on Thursday resigned as an NLA member.

The royal command was undersigned by Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda.

According to the post-coup interim charter, the King can appoint up to 19 privy councillors including the president.

After ascending the Throne, His Majesty the King first appointed 12 privy councillors – Wirat Chinvinijkul, Jaranthada Karnasuta, General Surayud Chulanont, Kasem Watanachai, Palakorn Suwanrath, Atthaniti Disatha-amnarj, Supachai Poo-ngam, Chanchai Likhitjitta, Air Chief Marshal Chalit Pukbhasuk, General Dapong Ratanasuwan, General Teerachai Nakwanich and General Paiboon Koomchaya.

Kampanat, Wirat, Jaranthada, former education minister General Dapong, former Army chief General Teerachai and former justice minister General Paiboon are first-time members of the Privy Council while the other eight, including Prem, served as privy councillors under the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and were reappointed.

General Kampanat, 60, graduated from Class 16 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School and Class 27 of the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy.

Before his latest appointment to the Privy Council, Kampanat had served in numerous high-ranking positions including assistant Army chief, NLA member, and director of the National Council for Peace and Order’s Centre for Reconciliation for Reform.

Foundation chairwoman Paveena Hongsakul yesterday disclosed the contents of the foundation’s annual report about the cases it worked on. She said serious crimes against vulnerable individuals – such as rape, domestic violence and human trafficking – were still major problems in Thailand.

Paveena said that from January 1 to December 21, the foundation received 9,157 distress calls. Some 1,540 of these related to domestic violence, while 939 involved battery (assault), 681 involved sexual assaults, and 176 related to incidents of human trafficking.

She said that 356 calls also involved people seeking justice, while 229 related to a missing person, 174 were about cases of online bullying, and 69 related to unjust employment.

Another 110 calls were from people seeking health advice, while 2,892 involved case consulting, and 1,899 dealt with other matters.

Paveena said that based on this year’s records, the number of domestic violence cases had doubled due to the prevalence of drug addiction, divorce and unplanned pregnancies in society.

She said the number of assault, forced detention, and other violence-related cases rose by 212 cases compared to the previous year, while rape and sexual harassment cases were up by 23.

She said the youngest rape victim was one year old, while the oldest victim was a 78-year-old woman.

The foundation received an average of two calls every day about rape cases.

Paveena said the human-trafficking problem had slightly improved this year because of strict government regulations and a crackdown on trafficking gangs. But the foundation still received calls for help on this issue – averaging about 15 cases per month.

The biggest problem in trafficking cases was young women deceived and lured into sex work in foreign countries such as Bahrain, South Korea and Malaysia.

“We would like to thank the police, officers from relevant agencies, the media, and all people who keep supporting our foundation’s work. With your assistance we can greatly help improve society,” she said.

People in 113,117 cases had been assisted by the foundation over its 17-year history, she said.

This is the view of top executives at Charoen Pokphand Food (CPF) who were on a tour of the North. They called on Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak to respond to the upcoming changes, such as lower taxes and higher growth that Trump has promised, lest Thailand miss out on a new boom cycle.

The avian-flu outbreak in Japan and South Korea has led to Thailand tripling its chicken-meat shipments to these markets, CPF president and CEO Adirek Sripratak said yesterday.

“The bird-flu outbreak has |forced the culling of millions of chickens in affected markets,” Adirek said.

Thailand has been spared the |flu, he added, while CPF’s new |broiler farms are enclosed and |fully protected from contamina-tion.

Poultry farms in the Niigata and Aomori prefectures on Japan’s main Honshu Island were ordered by local governments to cull 330,000 chickens and ducks this week, as millions more were destroyed to prevent the flu from spreading.

Meanwhile US President-elect Trump has made a big impact on the world economy as world stock exchanges jump and the greenback currency appreciated more than 10 per cent.

CPF recently bought Bellisio, a Minneapolis-based frozen food company, for about US$1.08 billion as it strives to penetrate the North American market.

Adirek said the US market presents a huge opportunity as demand will grow with renewed growth. Bellisio is known for Italian cuisine but CPF will add Thai food to its menu.

Adirek’s upbeat view of the US is due to a pro-business Trump presidency, he said. “By promising to reduce corporate tax to 15 per cent and cutting tax on repatriated profits as well |as abolishing inheritance tax, |Trump will unlock cash that has been frozen and fire up the US economy, he said.

“A healthy and prosperous US economy will be good for Thailand and the world,” he added. A strong wave lifts all boats, he said.

Such events and the seismic shift in financial markets affect us all and should be recognised as opportunities to be seized, said Adirek and his chief operating officer Pong Visedpaitoon.

Pong said Somkid and his |economic team could learn from these developments and spur local growth.

“Thai corporate tax at 20 per |cent will not be attractive when compared to 15 per cent in the US,” Adirek noted. The US could soon rival Asia’s financial giants such |as Hong Kong and Singapore for capital.

“Already our purchase of Bellisio is paying off,” Adirek said.

The purchase was finalised |last week with CPF having arranged payments when it was Bt35 to |the dollar. It is now Bt36 and |could be Bt37 next year, he said. |CPF made foreign exchange gains |of about 5 per cent even before |commencing its US operations in 2017.

Adirek said he was positive Trump could achieve his GDP target of 4 per cent growth next year.

His top professional team who include Carl Icahn and Wilbur Ross have said they thought a higher figure than 4 per cent was likely.

The Dow Jones Industrials Index touching a record 20,000 this week signalling optimism among New York’s financial community who had been supporters of Hillary Clinton, Trump’s rival.

“In 2016, CPF’s foreign investments for 11 acquisitions totalled Bt38 billion,” Adirek said. More acquisitions may follow next year as the firm expands its potential to serve global demand.

The company operates in 14 countries including Belgium India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

CPF should grow by more than 12 per cent this year and by at least 10 per cent per annum for the next decade, Adirek added.

Company staff are being given a two-month bonus for the year.

Pol Lt-General Sanit Mahathaworn said that police had arrested two persons suspected of starting the flares while watching the match at the Rajamangala Stadium – a leader of the Ultras Thailand group of hardcore football fans, and a vendor who sold the flares.

Arrest warrants have also been issued for 12 more suspects in connection with the incident, Sanit said, adding the suspects were now in hiding in the provinces. “Police investigators are collecting evidence. We believe it will take a little more time before we arrest all of them,” said the Metropolitan Police commander.

The fireworks vendor’s shop in the Bang Na area was raided last week and police seized more than 1,950 pieces of fireworks, flares and firecrackers, Sanit said. He did not identify the vendor

Sale of fireworks, including flares, has been banned as they are regarded as military materials.

Prapoj Panphothong, a leader of the Ultras Thailand group, met with police investigators at Hua Mark Police Station on Friday night.

During questioning, he admitted that he was among the audience during the match but that he did not start the flares.

Two other members of the group – a man and a woman who were not identified – also met with police investigators and they denied any role in igniting the flares.

Sanit said yesterday that police were waiting for findings from the forensic science division about their examination of the stand section where the flares were ignited.

Meanwhile, the Lampang Provincial Court yesterday issued an arrest warrant for local fireworks vendor Worapol Suasakul on charges of import, production or possession of banned military substances. The offence carries a maximum imprisonment of five years and a fine of no more than Bt50,000.

Thousands of patients showed up at Mawlamyine General Hospital earlier this month hoping to undergo free cataract surgery provided by a medical team from Banphaeo Hospital in Samut Sakhon. And even though only 219 were chosen, a surgery machine was also donated to a local hospital.

Cataract problems are prevalent and severe in Myanmar’s Mon State, as many people don’t have the money or opportunity to seek medical treatment.

But with the new Phacoemulsification machine donated by Siam Cement Plc (SCG), doctors believe that treating cataracts will become more efficient and this problem will be reduced in the near future.

Banphaeo Hospital executive board chairman Dr Manit Theeratantikanon said Myanmar was one of the countries where statistics show a prevalence of cataract-induced blindness and there were many serious cases even after the launch of the project last year.

“Given that a large segment of the elderly population is affected, the patients outnumber ophthalmologists working in area. Because of this many cataract patients have to live with poor eyesight with a low chance of getting proper treatment. This is why we have come here again,” Manit said.

Dr Naing Oo, an ophthalmologist at Mawlamyine General Hospital, said he was delighted that the Thai team visited and helped out with surgery, but said cataract conditions were still a very big problem in Mon State.

“As we are working in a small hospital in a remote part of Myanmar, we only have three ophthalmologists on duty. The lack of advanced technology is one of our major problems when it comes to treating patients,” Dr Naing said.

He said distance made healthcare inaccessible for many people in Mon State and hoped the next time the Thai team comes it will have a mobile unit, so people in remote areas can also be treated.

“We are very thankful to SCG and the Banphaeo Hospital team for their support and for donating the Phacoemulsification machine. We are currently learning how to operate this machine and I’m sure it can help many patients here,” he said.

Cataracts are caused by deterioration of the eye lens as a result of ageing. Working in bright sunlight for a long time without protection also increases the risk of cataracts. But eye doctors say the condition can be easily cured by surgery, with the deteriorated lens cut off and replaced with an artificial one.

This was the second time this team had visited Mawlamyine. The town, formerly known as Moulmein, is east of Mae Sot near the mouth of the Salween River. Many patients who were treated last year recounted how their lives had changed thanks to better eyesight.

“I can see clearly with my right eye thanks to the surgery last year. I have come here to have my left eye treated, as I can hardly see with it,” Ngwe Aung, a 90-year-old woman, said.

“Life was very difficult earlier, because I could not see with both my eyes. My children could not help me all the time because they all have work, and I felt quite useless. After my right eye was fixed, I can do a lot of things by myself.”

In October 2015, SCG and Banphaeo Hospital Bureau deployed a team of ophthalmologists for the first time in Mawlamyine and successfully treated 209 patients. Many of the patients returned this year to have their second eye operated on.

But there were many new faces too. Daw Kyawe, an 80-year-old woman came from the nearby town of Zar Ta Pyin, to get free surgery.

“My eyesight has been blurred for many years and I have never visited a doctor before because it was quite a long way from my home, and most importantly, she could not afford the treatment,” Kyawe said. She explained that she lived alone as her husband has passed away and all |her children were working in Thailand.

“My life is tough. I have to gather vegetables from the forest to sell at the market and it is very difficult because my eyesight is poor,” she said. “I hope my eyesight will become clearer again after surgery. This is the greatest gift I have received in many years.”

Dr Sittika Kokekhuntod, an ophthalmologist from Banphaeo, said many patients with serious cataract problems visited the team this year.

“We learnt all the patients treated last year have gained eyesight and a lot more showed up this time. Unfortunately, we could not treat everybody due to limited resources, so we had to select those who needed medical assistance the most,” Sittika said.

She said that from her experience, the severity of the problem in Myanmar was far greater than in Thailand and some people had already become blind from the condition, and many had almost lost their sight. Many had lost their sight because they could not get treated earlier.

“It gets tougher to fully recover from a cataract if it is left untreated for a long time. We rarely see patients with such serious cataracts in Thailand, because treatment is widely available,” she said.

The event will kick off today when BMA Deputy Governor Chakraphan Phewngam leads a clean-up around Wongwian Yai, before Asawin spearheads another session around the heart of the city – Victory Monument – tomorrow.

Throughout the first month of the New Year, the BMA also plans to clean up 365 fresh-food markets across Bangkok, according to reports.

In the final week of this year, officials in districts such as Chatuchak, Lat Phrao, Don Muang, Bang Khae and Bang Khunthien will also launch “Big Cleaning Day” events.

Every sector should join forces in restoring peace in society and step aside from all conflicts to rebuild the confidence of both Thais and foreigners, he said.

Chawalit said he agreed with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha that election was not an absolute answer. The rules and regulations underpinning it were as important, he said, adding that an election should be held under democratic rules.

The country’s gross domestic product growth has been the lowest in Asean in the past three years, he said. He blamed the undemocratic current rule for the sluggish economy, saying the global stagnation could not be cited as an excuse because the other nine Asean countries had been able to thrive.