DSI director general Pol Colonel Phaisit Wongmuang alleged that the couple, Ratkhet Chayarat and Kanokkul Pornapichote, had collaborated with six foreigners to deceive Thais and foreigners into investing in Eagle Gates Group Co Ltd and losing a total of about Bt1.7 billion.

Phaisit said the DSI has obtained an arrest warrant against the eight suspects but only the Thai couple has been arrested so far.

Speaking at the same press conference, DSI deputy chief Pol Colonel Songsak Raksaksakul said the gang came to Thailand last year with the intent deceive investors.

Songsak said the gang created credibility for deceiving investors by holding seminars at luxurious hotels in major cities, such as Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Pattaya. They also rented a helicopter to fly to some seminar sites to convince their prey of the company’s good financial status.

The gang also faked a CNN website and other news websites to deceive their targets and even substituted the covers of investment books with their own names as authors.

The victims were deceived to invest in the company with a promised 100 per cent yield, to be earned through investing in foreign stock markets.

The victims were told to solicit additional investors in a pyramid scheme in which they would shares in the investments of new members they introduced.

Songsak said the group also transferred the money abroad to alleged money launderers working for international drug rings.

Songsak said the DSI has checked with the Homeland Security Department and found that Eagle Gates has never conducted any business. The company was simply registered and sold to the gang.

DSI chief Phaisit added that the company had never registered in Thailand either.

Phaisit said there are also victims in Macao, China, and Malaysia.

He said the DSI has investigated and found that the gang worked in two teams. The first team would try to create images and perception to convince the targets to invest while the second team set up firms as nominees to which they would transfer the victims’ money.

    General Wanlop Rugsanoah, secretary general of Thailand’s National Security Council, told AFP the request was made during his meeting with US special envoy for North Korea Joseph Yun, who arrived in Bangkok Wednesday evening for a two-day trip to the kingdom.

“The US asked Thailand to put more pressure on North Korea, put more trade and diplomatic pressure,” Wanlop said after his sit-down with Yun in Bangkok.

He stressed that Bangkok had already significantly reduced its trade volume with Pyongyang — down to around $1.5 million a year — and would curtail visas to North Korean citizens.

Thailand, one of America’s oldest allies in the region, is one of several Southeast Asian countries to host a North Korean embassy, and once enjoyed valuable economic ties with the reclusive regime.

But the UN and the US have increasingly leaned on regional leaders to do more to squeeze North Korea as international sanctions have not resulted in Pyongyang halting its nuclear and long-range ballistic missile tests.

Yun’s visit is part of a December 11-15 trip to Asia — including a stop in Japan — “to discuss ways to strengthen the pressure campaign following the DPRK’s latest ballistic missile test,” the US State Department said, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.

The US embassy in Bangkok confirmed Yun’s meeting with the National Security Council chief took place but declined to provide more details on the discussion.

Wanlop insisted there were no meetings planned between American and North Korean officials in Thailand.

In August, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stopped in Bangkok to pressure the government to crack down on North Korean shell companies that use the Thai capital as a trading hub.

Thailand said this week it had drastically slashed trade with North Korea this year, down 94 percent compared with 2016.

Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director of the Thai Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said “there will be no export or import of goods between Thailand and North Korea” by the end of 2017.

– Peaceful dialogue –

Outside of Southeast Asia, Washington has focused most on Beijing to counter Pyongyang, urging the North’s longtime ally and economic lifeline to rein in leader Kim Jong-Un and his nuclear programme.

China has accepted a series of UN sanctions against Pyongyang but has so far resisted calls to shut a crude oil pipeline considered crucial to North Korea’s economy.

However, some of the sanctions are starting to bite.

The UN Security Council had ordered countries to stop providing guest work permits to North Koreans after Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear test in September.

The ban impacts an estimated 100,000 North Koreans who send some $500 million in wages back to the regime.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has swung back-and-forth between contradicting approaches to the crisis on the Korean peninsula, with Tillerson adopting a more diplomatic attitude amid fiery threats from the White House.

On Wednesday, the State Department said the US position on North Korea has not changed despite Tillerson’s comments that he would be willing to talk to the North without preconditions.

Thailand’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said in a statement that Yun emphasized that the US still wants to resolve tensions with North Korea through peaceful dialogue.

In his meeting with Yun, Thailand’s deputy foreign minister reiterated the government’s intention “to see peace and happiness return to the Korean peninsula”, the statement said.//AFP

Provincial Police Region 4 chief Pol Maj-General Surachai Kuandechakup gave the order to widen the investigation on Friday, according to deputy spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen.

He described it as a proactive move to prevent crime as per policy instructions from national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda and Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan.

On Wednesday evening, Nong Khai Customs chief Nimit Saeng-ampai said Bt94 million of the Bt98 million might end up in state coffers.

He said the Lao smugglers – brothers Suebanh Tiasili, 30, and Khumborn Tiasyly, 24 – had agreed to pay a Bt40,000 fine and let Thailand keep Bt94 million, thus avoiding further prosecution.

Nimit notified the Customs Department of the proposed arrangement and was waiting for a reply.

The authorities initially deemed the cash illegally acquired, but the brothers maintain they’d collected it for their currency-exchange business in Laos and had failed to declare it as required by law when trying to cross the border.

The cash was allegedly found hidden inside milk boxes and in the engine compartment of the car in which the brothers were travelling – the same car later found to have been in and out of Thailand at least five times in November and four times in December.

Customs regulations state that anyone transporting across the border undeclared cash valued between Bt450,000 and Bt2 million is liable to a Bt20,000 fine, while larger amounts draw a Bt40,000 fine.

The reconciliation came to light yesterday, hinting at the possibility that Justice Ministry officials would be spared prosecution in the case and only civilians would be implicated in the alleged plot to whitewash Jomsap.

“No matter how this case ends, it is the result of collaboration between the Justice Ministry and police,” Provincial Police Region 4 deputy chief Pol Maj-General Tanasak Rittidejpaiboon announced at a press conference yesterday.

Sitting next to him was Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Pol Colonel Dusadee Arawuit, who has been criticised for supporting Jomsap’s request for a retrial despite knowing that at least two witnesses speaking in her defence had failed lie-detector tests.

While the Justice Ministry actively responded to Jomsap’s plea for help, police stood by its conclusion that Jomsap, a former teacher, was the driver who hit and killed an elderly bicyclist with her pickup and fled the scene. In 2013, Jomsap was convicted and jailed. But after she was released early on a royal pardon, she fiercely tried to clear her name, all the while declaring her innocence.

Police objected to Jomsap’s request for a retrial and, after the Supreme Court rejected the request last month, they started investigating her and others about an alleged plot to clear her name by hiring another man to claim responsibility for the crash.

Jomsap and her close friend Suriya Nuancharoen are already in detention for allegedly hiring Sap Wapi to make the claim.

Both Suriya and Sap failed lie-detector tests when they were trying to defend Jomsap.

Police recently summoned 14 officials from the Justice Ministry for questioning regarding their role in the case. Tanasak also interviewed Dusadee personally yesterday.

After talking for more than two hours, the two senior officials decided to hold a press conference.

“We talked today because the public might begin to think the Justice Ministry and police have had a conflict,” Dusadee said.

He added that he would answer police in writing after he received a list of questions. Dusadee said he had genuinely believed Jomsap’s claim that she was innocent and decided to help look for evidence that could be used to back her claim.

He added that Jomsap had submitted to a lie-detector test, but the results had been inconclusive.

“As for Sap and Suriya, I never met them. I am not at an operational level,” he said.

Dusadee added that he had informed senior police officers after learning of the lie-detector test results for Sap and Suriya.

Tanasak confirmed Dusadee had notified the National Police Office about the suspicious witnesses.

“That’s how we started the investigation into alleged perjury,” Tanasak said. He added that he would take action against everyone involved in the alleged plot.

In related news, Jomsap’s niece, Wassana Petchthong, yesterday turned herself in to Muang Nakhon Phanom Police Station to acknowledge perjury charges related to her efforts to clear Jomsap.

An investigation into the death of the first-year cadet at Nakhon Nayok’s Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School by an Army committee has been completed and the report handed over to the Supreme Commander of the Army.

While the results were not revealed to the public, a source said the investigation committee concluded that Phakhapong had died of natural causes.

The conclusion matched the preliminary autopsy, which indicated that the cause of death was heart failure.

However, Phakhapong’s family said they were disappointed at the conclusion and intended to sue the Army. A second autopsy has indicated that Phakhapong had suffered a physical attack, raising concerns that corporal punishment may have caused his death.

Phakhapong’s mother, Sukanya Tanyakan, said the family and many others did not agree with the results and would pursue every option to obtain justice regarding his death.

Sukanya said the family had gathered evidence in preparation for litigation, but they could not disclose the details as that might affect the lawsuit.

Air Chief Marshal Chawarat Marungruang, deputy chief of staff and chairman of the investigation committee, said the committee had submitted a full report to Supreme Commander General Thanchaiyan Srisuwan.

“We cannot disclose the result of the investigation yet, as it will be the supreme commander’s decision on what to do with the report. And if he still has any questions about the result, he may ask the committee to find more information about it in order to avoid a dispute in the future,” Chawarat said.

He has previously said it was the right of the family to sue the Army, but the committee was confident about the integrity of the official investigation.

Meanwhile, Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) director-general Somn Promaros said an autopsy of Phakhapong’s internal organs would be delayed for at least two months because the institute could not retrieve DNA from the organs to confirm his identity as they had been preserved in formalin for too long.

He said the CIFS had asked Ramathibodi Hospital to assist with the DNA test, which would take at least two months to complete.

An environmental group in Phrae has condemned Sukhothai politician Somsak Thepsutin over his proposal that the government resume the Kang Sueten Dam project, even though the controversial irrigation project has already been abandoned and alternative small-scale water management projects are being implemented.

The local environmental group – the Kang Sueten, Yon Bon and Yon Lang Dam Opposition Committee – on Wednesday released a statement condemning Somsak for suggesting that the government restart the abandoned project during the upcoming mobile Cabinet meetings in Phitsanulok and Sukhothai on December 25 and 26.

Somsak’s remarks on Monday urged the junta to exercise its special powers to push forward the Kang Sueten Dam, which he said would not only solve water problems in Sukhothai, but also benefit the overall water management in the Chao Phraya River Basin.

But a statement from the environmental group said water control issues had been resolved by 14 alternative flood and drought prevention projects for the Yom River Basin. The umbrella project, known as the Sa-iap Model, was agreed to by all relevant agencies before Somsak tried to revive the contentious dam project.

“We condemn Somsak for trying to bring back the Kang Sueten Dam project,” said the statement. “We want him to stop any action that will reignite conflict among people, which will only disrupt the peace and order of our society.”

The statement added that the government had confirmed the dam project had been permanently cancelled and the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) had already returned the budget for an Environmental and Health Impact Assessment study to the Finance Ministry.

The Kang Sueten Dam was proposed as a Yom River hydropower project by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and RID in Phrae’s Song district. Project proponents said the dam would also solve drought and flood problems in the Yom River Basin and increase the area under irrigation.

The project faced severe opposition from local people, who claimed the dam would cause severe impacts to the environment and people’s livelihoods.

After more than 25 years of protest, residents successfully halted the project. But advocates have reignited the debate from time to time.

The statement from dam opponents cited research by various organisations that found that the benefits of the project were overstated. The Food and Agriculture Organisation concluded that only 8 per cent of previous water disasters in the Yom River would have been prevented if the Kang Sueten Dam had been in place.

The Thailand Research Fund concluded that the dam would cause catastrophic damage to the ecosystem of Mae Yom National Park. And the National Human Right Commission warned that the project would significantly violate the communal rights of local citizens.

Local people have begun work on the Sa-iap Model to prevent droughts and floods and to store water by maintaining a healthy forest ecosystem at the river’s headwaters. The already-approved alternative approach involves designating an area of communal forest to provide resources for people. They will also develop small weirs and reservoirs throughout all 77 tributaries of the Yom River and preserve 395 areas for retaining floodwaters.

Government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd confirmed that politicians and other people had asked to meet with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha during the mobile Cabinet meeting in late December meeting to suggest a plan to restart the Kang Sueten Dam project.

Sansern added that the prime minister was willing to listen to information from all sides on the issue, because it pertained flood and drought prevention.

“If we are against every project, we will be unable to do anything,” Sansern said. “The prime minister wants every side to open their minds and listen to each other’s information to sustainably solve the problem.”

“Every year the government invests billions of baht to help victims of floods and drought, so it would be wiser to spend such large amounts of money on projects that could prevent these disasters in the first place.”

The gift was meant to reinforce two decades of cooperation between the twinned cities as well as mark the 120th anniversary of Thai-Russian diplomatic relations.

Sergey Cheremin, Moscow’s head of the External Economic and International Relations Department, and Kirill Barsky, Russia’s Ambassador to Thailand, presented the gift to Wanvilai Promlakano, Bangkok’s deputy governor.

 From left, Kirill Barsky, Russia’s Ambassador to Thailand, and Sergey Cheremin, head of Moscow’s External Economic and International Relations Department, present a sundial to Wanvilai Promlakano, Bangkok’s deputy governor, at Lumpini Park. Nation/Anan Chantarasoot

The sundial is the centrepiece of the “Moscow Corner” in Lumpini Park and forms part of the two-day event “Days of Moscow in Bangkok”. Cheremin and Wanvilai also signed an agreement on cooperation for the next three years.

“Created by a Russian designer, this masterpiece is symbol of good luck,” Barsky told The Nation.

He added that Russian culture included a famous fairytale in which fortune and happiness was represented by the firebird.

“The main character’s idea in this fairytale is how to catch the firebird. Is it possible? It’s hot. But the firebird has feathers and if you catch a feather, you’re in luck,” Barsky said.

“Made from bronze, Thais can hold, rub and hug this masterpiece for good luck and think about Moscow city and Russians,” he said, adding that the “soft power” symbolised by the gift would help strengthen political and economic relations.

The first day of the event wraps up with jazz concert by a Russian band. Nation/Anan Chantarasoot

Moscow also staged a jazz concert at the park as well as a “Culture of Moscow” photography exhibition on display at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre until December 24.

“Bangkok and Moscow have been cooperating for the past two decades. The ‘Days of Bangkok in Moscow’ held on August 25 and 26 in Moscow received a warm welcome from Russians. Now it’s our turn to host ‘Days of Moscow in Bangkok’ for strengthening our cooperation on academic conferences, cultural exchanges and environmental protections in order to develop our two cities,” Wanvilai told a press conference at Sala Bhirom Bhakdi in Lumpini Park.

 Sergey Cheremin, head of Moscow’s External Economic and International Relations Department, signs an agreement on cooperation from 2018 to 2020with Wanvilai Promlakano, Bangkok’s deputy governor, at Lumpini Park on Wednesday.Nation/Anan Chantarasoot

During the two-day event, officials from both cities discussed issues ranging from urbanism to the environment and transportation.

“We are quite similar if we look at both of our metropolises … We face the same challenges and the same problems,” Cheremin said. “Really quick development has caused a lot of problems for transport and urban areas. How to maintain all these lives in these mega-metropolises?

“It’s really important to share experiences between the two cites. As for us, we have some advanced technologies and Bangkok also has very modern technology, managing so many people and so complicated a municipal system. How to provide stability, harmony and social development? All these issues are making us are quite good friends. As we have shared these experiences for nearly 20 years, it has given us a kind of synergy,” he said.

The “Culture of Moscow” exhibition is on display at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre until December 24.  Nation/Rachanon Intharaksa

“It stimulates the culture sphere, social sphere, education, healthcare. We are going to cooperate in the field of sport especially to promote tourism.

“Thailand is very well known to Russian citizens as a tourism destination with nice culture, bright sun and warm sea. For us, the relationship is really important not only at the federal level, but also at the regional level. The relationship becomes stronger and improves every year.”

He added that delegations from Bangkok visited Moscow, where Russians showed their expertise in transport management, social programmes, the renovation of old towns and sustainability for cities. Other areas of collaboration were making cities friendly for citizens while improving the environment and expanding green spaces and parks.

In the system, each motorist would start with 12 points that would be shaved down as drivers commit traffic offences. When a driver has lost all points, they would be banned for driving for a certain period of time, said Pol Maj-General Ekkarak Limsangkas, chief of the Police Ticket Management project.

Ekkarak said on Thursday that certain details of the project have yet to be worked out, especially how many points would be cut for each type of traffic law violation.

He said his team will create three categories – light, medium and severe offences – which would also have a certain number of points associated with them. Then each of the traffic offences would be assigned to one of the categories.

It is that last step that is so far still being worked out, as the police debate which offence belongs in which category with which number of points.

As a point is lost for a violation, it would not be returned for a year.

If all 12 points were erased, the driver would be banned from the roads for 90 days. If they are banned three times over three years, the Land Transport Department would be notified, they would have their driver’s license annulled, and they would not be allowed to drive for a year.

If they then get their licence back after a year, but again deplete their points, they may lose their right to drive for life, Ekkarak said.

He said his team is still considering a system for retraining drivers before restoring their points.

Ekkarak said if all details are worked out in December, the point-cutting system could be introduced as early as next month.

But first they must link the online database hosting driver’s licences to the database of traffic tickets.

As part of the new system, police will use new tickets with barcodes, which will be automatically recorded into the online ticket system, Ekkarak said.

He said the new barcode traffic tickets will be implemented on Sunday.