A total of 23,381 migrant workers were arrested for illegally crossing into the country during January to November, the Royal Thai Police announced.
In addition, 344 people were arrested for bringing the workers into Thailand, while 720 people were charged with helping or hiding the workers.
In December, 547 have been arrested so far, along with 21 people who had brought them in and 117 who hid them from the police.
Deputy National Police chief Pol General Damrongsak Kittiprapas said that his organisation was focused on arresting the people involved in bringing the migrants into Thailand illegally, as well as screening the migrants for Covid-19 following the procedure suggested by the Ministry of Public Health.
An unlucky woman in Nakhon Si Thammarat got her head caught in a petrol station’s fuel price display after losing control of her motorbike on Monday.
A team of rescuers arrived at around 3pm to find Warapond Nuansri, 29, with her head trapped inside the fuel display box at a PT petrol station in Chian Yai district.
The woman’s face was badly wounded.
It took a while for the rescuers to untangle her and transport her to hospital. Doctors said she is recovering nicely.
Investigation revealed that the woman had crashed into the concrete base of a sign near the petrol station at high speed, which sent her flying and she landed on the plastic fuel display sign with her head getting stuck in it.
Nakhon Pathom launched a “big clean” of all fresh markets in the province on Tuesday as part of a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Deputy governor Rattasat Chidchoo said markets with the risk of infection will be closed for three days, while others will be closed for a day to clean and disinfect the area.
“The temporary closure of flea markets depends on district officials’ decision on whether they are risky areas,” he said
Nakhon Pathom’s public relations office reported five new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday.
Of the five, two live in Kamphaeng Saen’s Sa Si Mum subdistrict, while the others live in Bang Len’s Bang Luang subdistrict.
The total number of Covid-19 cases in the province stands at 58, which includes two foreigners. All patients are in hospital.
Six senior police officers from Bangkok’s Thung Song Hong duty were on Tuesday transferred to inactive posts for alleged dereliction of duty and abuse of power.
The order came after officers from the Central Investigation Bureau raided a gambling den in Chaengwattana Soi 14 in Thung Song Hong area, arresting 94 suspects, and confiscating several items of gambling equipment.
The Metropolitan Police Bureau will set up a panel of investigators to check to see if the six police officers were in any way involved with the den.
Meanwhile, the 94 suspects, half of whom are women, are being detained at Thung Song Hong Police Station and are scheduled to undergo tests on Tuesday afternoon.
The officers facing transfer are:
• Pol Maj-General Phattana Phesayanavia, commander of Metropolitan Police 2
• Pol Colonel Krisphon Phetsodsin, superintendent of Thung Song Hong Police Station
• Pol Lt-Colonel Surin Phurit, deputy superintendent (investigation)
• Pol Lt-Colonel Thanit Boonmaen, deputy superintendent (crime suppression)
• Pol Major Natthaphong Rongkohkerd, inspector (investigation)
• Pol Major Kittiphot Inchan, inspector (crime suppression)
Meanwhile, Pol Maj-General Pheeraphong Wongsaman has been made acting commander of Metropolitan Police 2 and Pol Colonel Phanudet Sukwong acting superintendent of the police station.
The Department of Highways will waive toll fees on two Motorway routes – No. 7 (Bangkok-Chonburi- Pattaya) and No. 9 (Bang Pa In-Bang Phli-Bang Khun Tian) from midnight of December 30 until the midnight of January 4, said director-general, Sarawut Songwilai.
“The move aims to facilitate traffic flow, which is expected to increase during the New Year festival,” he said. “To avoid congestions, motorists are advised to download the M-Traffic mobile application to check traffic conditions in real time.”
Meanwhile, the Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) announced that two expressways under its administration would be opened for free use from December 30 to January 4, namely Burapha Withi or Bang Na Expressway and Kanchanaphisek or Bang Phli-Suksawas Expressway.
“Moreover, three expressways that Exat operates together with Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc [BEM] will waive toll fees on December 31 and January 1, namely Chalerm Maha Nakhon, Sirat and Udon Ratthaya expressways,” added the announcement.
Exat and BEM will also establish six service centres at expressway checkpoints that connect Bangkok to nearby provinces from December 29 until January 4 to provide roadside assistance to motorists travelling to their hometowns during New Year.
A crooked van driver left a group of Myanmar migrant workers stranded at a bus station in Chonburi after promising to take them home during the New Year holidays.
Early on Tuesday, police learned that the workers had been dropped off at the station at around 1am and the van that brought them sped off.
The workers said they had paid the driver Bt500 each to take them from Chonburi’s Sri Racha district to Tak’s Mae Sot.
However, the driver brought them to the provincial bus terminal and told them to remove their luggage before driving off.
The authorities checked the workers for their documents and screened their temperatures before putting them in detention. Police said they will look into the case further.
Chonburi police tracked down two thieves who stole motorcycles in Bo Win sub-district and found them to be young boys aged 11 and 13.
On Monday, victims reported that their motorcycles had been stolen around 2pm and security camera footage saw then being driven away by unknown persons.
Investigators identified one of the thieves as the 11-year-old boy, who confessed to the crime and told police the loot was hidden in the other boy’s house.
Police later found two stolen Honda motorcycles in the other boy’s house.
A teacher in Surin province allegedly whipped students with electric cables and challenged parents to inform the media.
The mother of a boy who sustained injuries from the whipping told reporters on Monday that she had been away and recently returned to find her son was being physically assaulted in school.
Upon speaking to the boy’s aunt and grandmother, reporters learned that the teacher taught primary school and often hit students with hard objects, like rulers and chalkboard erasers.
The boy said he had been whipped by the teacher until he bled.
The reporters spoke to other students who confirmed the teacher’s abusive behaviour.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported 155 new cases over a 24-hour period on Tuesday.
Eleven migrant workers were among the 145 cases.
Three Thais and a Myanmar national in Samut Sakhon province, five in Nakhon Pathom, two in Samut Songkhram and one in Nakhon Ratchasima were linked to the recent outbreak in Samut Sakhon.
Cases linked to the outbreak at Rayong’s gambling den included one person each in Nakhon Pathom and Nonthaburi.
Officials are tracking the source of the infection in 103 cases. They include three in Bangkok, five in Nakhon Pathom, one in Lampang, three in Chanthaburi, seven in Samut Prakarn, 28 in Chonburi, and 56 in Rayong.
Ten travellers from abroad were found positive in quarantine facilities. The new cases in quarantine facilities comprised one Thai who had returned from Germany, one each from Vietnam, India, the United States, Turkey and Switzerland, and four from Bahrain.
The total number of confirmed cases in Thailand increased to 6,440 (1,460 in state quarantine and 1,381 from active case finding), 2,195 are in hospital and 4,180 have recovered and been discharged. The death toll increased by one, bringing the total to 61.
According to Worldometer, as of 10am on Tuesday, the total number of confirmed cases had increased to 81.6 million (up by 410,102), 57.29 million have recovered, 22.07 million are active cases (105,385 in severe condition) and 1.77 million havd died (up by 7,041).
Thailand ranks 141st for most cases in the world, while the US has the most number with 19.57 million, followed by India 10.2 million, Brazil 7.48 million, Russia 3.05 million and France 2.55 million.
Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the CCSA, urged people to be aware of the situation, as the virus had spread to 45 provinces. Around 18,000 patients could get infected if no measures are applied to control the virus situation, moderate control with good cooperation will bring the total number down to around 6,000 patients, and strict measures will pull it down to 1,000 patients, he said.
He encouraged people to follow strict hygiene and social distancing, saying Thai people had achieved a victory over the first outbreak, and they can do it again with the same good approach.
“The usual seven dangerous days during the year-end, which sees hundreds of accidents when people travel on holiday, may be differerent this year. This New Year festival, we have to take care of ourselves,” said the spokesman.
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