The court of primary instance ordered that murder mastermind Surifath “Bang Fath” Bannopwongsakul and five other accomplices pay between Bt420,000 and Bt2.4 million as compensation to each of the eight plaintiffs.

The compensation comes in addition to the life-in-prison sentence the six convicts were given earlier.

Two other defendants in the same case received jail sentences of 21 months and 12 months respectively for “minor” roles in the crime.

“I have spoken to Surifath and he has voiced willingness to pay the compensation,” lawyer Kriangsak Saraphi said yesterday. “But further discussions are required to determine when the payments will be made.”

The defendants are expected to pay a 7.5 per cent interest rate until all the payments are made.

Kriangsak was speaking after the Appeals Court yesterday rejected an appeal filed by the victims’ relatives on grounds that they had not been co-plaintiffs in the case from the very beginning. The Appeals Court only agreed to compensation that the lower court had determined and ordered that the six defendants honour it.

For instance, Jaree Boonteub, the father of slain Khao Ngam village headman Worayuth Sunglung, is entitled to Bt1.44 million in compensation.

The country was shocked last year by news that Worayuth and 10 members of his family were gunned down execution-style inside their home.

Three victims survived the attack.

The shooting reportedly occurred after a standoff that lasted several hours. The murders reportedly stemmed from a dispute over land deeds used as collateral for a loan. Surifath allegedly refused to return the documents to 46-year-old Worayuth even though the debt was cleared. This dispute caused both sides to threaten each other before the showdown ended in a massacre.

The suspects were quickly tracked down and found guilty by the court of primary instance in March.

THE CABINET will next Tuesday deliberate a shortened bill on legalising marijuana for medical use.

The new version of the bill was proposed yesterday, and supporters reckon it will become law as early as next month.

“This bill will only have 17 Articles,” Deputy Prime Minister ACM Prajin Juntong, who is also the justice minister, said yesterday.

He said the committee on legalising the medical use of marijuana and kratom leaves (Mitragyna speciosa) and the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) had suggested that 17 Articles from two previously proposed drug laws could be used to prepare a shorter bill for the legalisation of marijuana. This suggestion was taken up.

When a bill is short, relevant authorities need less time for deliberation.

Prajin said that though the bill features just 17 Articles, it would be comprehensive enough to allow plantation and possession of marijuana.

“Only doctors, pharmacies and patients who need to use marijuana will be allowed to possess the drug,” Prajin said, adding that strict controls will be put in place, such as requiring patients to carry certification to prove they were prescribed marijuana.

“The amount of marijuana one can have in possession will also be limited,” he said.

He added that the Food and Drug Administration, the Public Health Ministry and the Office of Narcotics Control Board will work together to control the growing and use of cannabis when the bill is legislated.

The scope of the bill is larger than the Public Health Ministry’s plan to declare marijuana as a narcotic in the same class as morphine – which means it can be used for patients.

Over the past few months, Prajin has been pushing hard for the quick legalisation of marijuana for medical use.

At one point, he even considered asking Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to invoke his special powers as National Council for Peace and Order chief to push the bill through.

However, efforts to legalise cannabis for medical use have progressed significantly since then.

NLA member Somchai Swangkarn said yesterday that the assembly would likely need just 45 days to deliberate the shorter bill. “This means the NLA should be able to clear the bill by around December 21,” he said. Somchai said Prayut hoped to expedite marijuana legalisation for the benefit of patients.

According to several doctors, marijuana can be used to manage pain from nerve damage and cancer, nausea from chemotherapy and loss of appetite among HIV patients. It is also helpful for seizures and chronic neuro-inflammation.

There are, however, lingering concerns about whether the authorities will be able to efficiently control marijuana once it is allowed for patients to use at home.

The 13th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion held on Tuesday revealed that unless the amendment banning children under 12 from participating in boxing matches becomes law soon, some 3 per cent of the new generation will grow up with learning disabilities.

As the new Boxing Bill continues being dragged in Parliament, Dr Liviu Vedrasco, a programme officer at World Health Organisation (Thailand), said banning the sport among children below 12 was necessary because not only does it have a long-term impact on brain development, it is also a very serious case of child labour.

“Child boxing is totally unacceptable, as it is the worst form of child abuse and needs to end now,” Vedrasco stressed.

“These child boxers are encouraged by their parents and boxing camps to fight each other to earn money for their family and generate income for the camp. Gamblers also bet on them. This deplorable practice continues despite the fact that the sport damages the children’s still-developing brain and leaves them with incurable learning disabilities and other physical and mental health impacts for the rest of their lives.”

Hence, he said, the Boxing Bill needs to be passed as soon as possible so children can be protected from harm and not taken advantage of.

Dr Gary A Smith, a child health expert from Child Injury Prevention Alliance in the United States, also pointed out that many studies vividly verify that brain injuries from boxing lead to serious health-related consequences.

Dr Jiraporn Laothamatas, Ramathibodi Hospital’s Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Centre director and neuro-radiologist, explained that brain injuries sustained by children lowers their IQ and increases the risk of them suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s later in life.

“Remember that children are the future of our society. Imagine what will happen if 300,000 children, who are child boxers today, lose out on opportunities due to learning disabilities caused by brain damage at a very early age,” Jirapon said.

However, she said, since Thai boxing is a national sport and part of Thailand’s cultural heritage, children below the age of 12 should not be total banned from boxing.

Instead, she said, they could learn the sport using proper safety equipment, but not be allowed from actual boxing matches until they are old enough.

Interested people can register at any of Bangkok Bank’s branches from November 16 to 25, and via http://www.savingforgiving.com from November 23 to 25.

Donors will get opportunities to follow in the footsteps of the late and much-beloved monarch in developing good habits of saving and giving.

The campaign promises to reward them with souvenir moneyboxes whose designs are inspired by King Rama IX.

There are three moneybox designs for the campaign: a camera, a walkie-talkie radio communication device, and a jeep.

During his lifetime, King Rama IX was often seen with these items as he worked tirelessly to improve the lives of his people.

King Rama IX passed away in 2016, and the Saving for Giving campaign was first launched last year.

The Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital has decided to implement the “Saving for Giving” campaign in the second year now so as to raise further fund for equipping the Navamindrapobitr 84th Anniversary Building with medical equipment.

Medical services provided at the hospital responds to the late monarch’s wish to help underprivileged patients.

“This building is constructed to ease overcrowding at Siriraj Hospital,” said Prof Dr Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital.

Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital’s director Clinical Professor Pradit Panchavinnin said this year, Bangkok Bank had stepped in to help prepare and facilitate channels for people’s participation in the campaign.

Registered participants are expected to save money from the date of registration to January 15 next year, with Bt450 donation eligible for one souvenir moneybox.

Donations can be made between January 16 and 22. Donors can get souvenir moneyboxes from a Bangkok Bank during the period, if they declare the intention to collect moneyboxes in person beforehand. However, donors also have a choice of having souvenir moneyboxes sent to them. Deliveries will begin on February 1. “We have developed a special programme particularly for the Saving for Giving campaign,” Bangkok Bank Executive Vice President Pochanee Kongkala said.

NHRC commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit said on Tuesday there should also be regulations establishing the level of aid and remedial measures given the families of soldiers injured or killed while being punished.

Angkhana was reporting the results of an NHRC probe into two recent cases – the caning and kicking of a soldier at the Royal Thai Army Cavalry Centre in November 2016 and the fatal beating of conscripted Private Yuthinan Boonniam at a military detention facility in Surat Thani in April 2017.

The NHRC regards the 2016 caning and kicks to the torso as a violation of rights protected by the national constitution, she said.

The 2017 case was an offence resulting in death under Articles 289, 290 and 291 of the penal code and a violation of the national constitution, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Mandela Rules.

Witthaya Chartbanchachai, head of an accident-prevention centre working with the World Health Organisation (WHO), said the issue was discussed during the 13th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion 2018 (SAFETY 2018) in Bangkok. The conference started on Monday and is scheduled to end Wednesday.

The seminar was told that the condition of roads was a major factor contributing to the seriousness of accidents in Thailand, whose roads are among the most dangerous in the world. Experts said the government needs to improve the roads to tackle the issue.

Witthaya said most Thai roads lack central barriers, guard rails or guard slings. This means that when a vehicle has an accident, it tends to career into the opposite lane, resulting in a serious and often fatal collision.

He noted that while motorways do have central barriers, on most highways there is no barrier to separate fast-moving traffic in opposite lanes.