The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is getting an appeal ready in case the court rules in favour of the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTSC) over the BTS Green Line dispute.
The Central Administrative Court is expected to deliver a verdict on Wednesday.
In September last year, BTSC filed a lawsuit against BMA suing the city for the 12 billion baht it is owed for operating the Green Line extension and another 20 billion baht it is owed for the train operating system. The total debt plus interest now amounts to nearly 40 billion baht.
The Green Line extension runs from Mo Chit to Khu Khot and from Bearing to Samut Prakan.
“The BMA has been fighting this dispute for a few years now. Since I became governor [in May this year], I have been studying the contract between BTSC and Krungthep Thanakom to see how the city can settle this debt,” Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Monday.
“The issue must be considered carefully because it is a huge sum of money and will come from taxpayers’ pockets.”
Chadchart said if the court were to order BMA to pay up, then the city will file an appeal so it has a chance to provide additional evidence.
The governor explained that BMA will earn about 1 billion baht annually from fares collected from the Green Line extension, which are capped at 14 baht per station and a maximum of 44 baht. The 44-baht maximum fare will stay in place until the concession expires in 2029.
However, he said, the fee for operating the extension is 7 billion baht per year, which means the city will have to either raise the fare or use taxpayers’ money to cover the difference.
“This is a delicate matter that needs to be considered carefully so it is suitable and fair to every affected party,” he said.
Former Democrat MP Watchara Phetthong on Monday demanded that the anti-graft agency and auditor-general look into why the roof of Phuket’s airport had sprung a leak on Friday.
“The roof at the passenger terminal should not be leaking after it was just built at a whopping budget of 5.14 billion baht,” Watchara said.
The incident took place on the night of September 2, when most of Phuket was hit by heavy rain. The leaking roof created a small flood in the passenger terminal.
“The National Anti-Corruption Commission and Office of the Auditor General should promptly investigate the case along with the Engineering Institute of Thailand to find out what went wrong. The airport is the face of Thailand and such incidents will only damage the country’s reputation.”
Watchara also called on the authorities to check if the passenger terminal was blocking any existing waterway that may create future flooding.
He said this incident was particularly shameful, especially since Phuket had been chosen to pilot the sandbox tourism scheme during the Covid-19 crisis as well as the sole destination where entertainment venues can operate until 4am.
“The province is also scheduled to host many exhibitions and expos in the coming months. Hence, the government should take immediate action to ensure Phuket is prepared to welcome tourists and event participants,” he added.
Watchara noted that Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction Plc has been awarded both the construction and renovation contract for the airport buildings from 2011 to 2014. He also pointed to a similar incident in July when the new 12.2-billion-baht Parliament complex had sprung a leak after heavy rain. The Parliament complex was also built by the same firm.
Watchara, who had called on authorities to investigate the leak at Parliament, blamed both incidents on construction defects caused by insufficient quality control, use of substandard materials and poor specifications.
A Bangkok tuk tuk driver has been slapped with four charges after a clip of him abusing a Singaporean couple went viral on Monday.
The caption with the clip, posted on Instagram by ‘singapore_incidents’, said the couple had taken the tuk tuk from CentralWorld shopping centre in Pathumwan district to BTS Chong Nonsi station at an agreed fare of 150 baht.
When they approached the destination, the passengers said they wanted to get off near Charoenrat Road. The driver then said the fare had to be raised to 200 baht as the new destination was farther.
The couple then refused to continue, demanding that they be let off the tuk tuk immediately at Soi Narathiwat 3 and paid the driver only 100 baht as they had not reached the destination.
This ignited an argument, with the tuk tuk driver flinging insults at the passengers, one of whom was recording the incident. The clip later went viral online, sparking widespread criticism.
The tuk tuk driver, identified as Thongkham Chardchai, 57, was detained by Tourist Police on Monday evening and taken to Thung Maha Mek Police Station for questioning.
Thongkham reportedly admitted to losing his temper and using bad language with the passengers when they refused to pay the agreed-upon fare.
He was quoted as saying that he was not scamming the passengers as they were the ones who had changed the destination.
After about an hour of interrogation, police slapped Thongkham with four charges, namely driving without a driver’s licence, operating a public vehicle without a licence, not wearing the uniform of a public vehicle driver, and failing to clearly display a copy of the vehicle registration papers. Each charge carries a maximum fine of 1,000 baht.
Apart from paying the penalty, Thongkham will also be required to undergo three hours of training on etiquette as a public vehicle driver.
Tourist Police said they will coordinate with the Singapore Embassy to discuss the incident with the couple in a bid to maintain a positive image of Thailand.
As the new academic year approaches, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University unveils its award-winning Taicang campus to students, staff and the public on September 5. XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang), established in 2019, will be moving to the new campus.
The campus was made possible with help and investment from the local Taicang government and will eventually be able to support up to 10,000 students and 1,200 staff members.
It was designed with entrepreneurialism, industry, interdisciplinarity and the community in mind. The main building has a circular structure linking its magnet-shaped schools, connecting them physically and symbolically.
Professor Stuart Perrin, Associate Principal of XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang), says: “I’m excited about how the campus will bring together staff and students from different schools. Every space is a potential learning space.”
Professor Youmin Xi, Executive President of XJTLU, says: “This opening marks the College becoming a bigger part of the Taicang community and the industry-community-university ecosystem.”
In addition to XJTLU’s partnership with the local government, the College features industry partners for each school, giving students a unique learning environment and experience.
ECOVACS, a robotic vacuum cleaner company, is one of the College’s partners. Liang Zhao, Dean of Research Institute of Innovation Ecology at ECOVACS, believes the industry-supported labs will “provide fertile soil for developing cutting-edge scientific research projects and innovation technologies.”
Xiang Ao, manager of Xingwen Zhijiao Company, a branch of partner Haier Group, says the College combines a love of learning with hands-on experience. “When our corporate engineers go to the College to teach, they find that the students actively ask questions, and our engineers actively help them solve their queries.”
In addition to guest lectures from experts, the College arranges site visits and internships for students.
Tianhe Sun, Year Three student in BEng Data Science and Big Data Technology with Contemporary Entrepreneurialism, says: “I secured my second internship thanks to Taicang’s Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Hub courses. Learning here is different – we can get real-world experience.”
Malaysian student Adrian Heng Hwa Onn, a Year Three student in the same programme, says: “When I first came to XJTLU’s SIP campus, I was impressed with the gorgeous architecture and well-equipped facilities. But I’m more excited about studying in Taicang. I mean, who doesn’t want to be a part of something new?”
Police are expected to wrap up an investigation into academic falsification charges against first lady Kim Keon-hee this week without sending the case to prosecutors for possible indictment, sources said on Monday.
Kim has been accused of fraud, obstruction of business and document forgery for falsifying some of her academic and career credentials on resumes she submitted to several universities between 2001 and 2014 while applying for a teaching job.
A civic group and others filed complaints against Kim in the run-up to the March presidential election, and the first lady has recently undergone written questioning over the accusations.
According to sources, the Seoul Metropolitan Police in charge of the case has decided not to refer Kim to the prosecution for indictment and plans to officially notify accusers of the decision this week.
The police reportedly cleared Kim of the fraud charge while determining that the seven-year statute of limitations on the remaining charges had already expired.
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A security guard at Kathmandu’s Chhaya Centre faces detention because he asked the Tourism minister to not jump the queue.
Sher Jung Gurung working at the visa centre in the complex was taken into police custody after he asked the Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Jeevan Ram Shrestha, who was at the centre in a personal capacity, to join the queue.
The incident took place on Friday.
Shrestha had arrived at the visa centre to complete his biometrics for his and his family’s upcoming trip to Canada, police sources said.
When he tried to head to the top of the line, Gurung asked him to join the queue. When told by the minister’s bodyguards who Shrestha was, Gurung said many others were waiting before the minister arrived and that he should wait his turn.
This response angered the minister, who then had a heated exchange with the guard.
Eventually, Shrestha completed his work and returned to the ministry, where he wrote to the Home Ministry demanding that action be taken against the “misbehaving” guard.
The letter was then forwarded to the police, who are getting charges of “indecent behaviour” ready for Gurung, who is currently in police custody.
“The security guard has been arrested and is in police custody following a complaint that he had misbehaved with the minister,” said Kathmandu police chief SSP Bharat Bohora. “The Durbar Marg Police Circle is investigating the matter and if there is an offence, legal action will be taken.”
DSP Kopila Chudal, chief of the Durbar Marg Police Circle, said they are investigating the case after receiving a complaint of misbehaviour with a minister.
“He [Shrestha] is the sitting minister of the country who was with government security personnel. The minister’s bodyguard had also made repeated requests but since the security guard resorted to misbehaving, the Tourism Ministry sent a complaint to the Home Ministry which was forwarded to our office following which we arrested the security guard and the process of legal action has been initiated,” he said.
The Kathmandu District Administration Office on Sunday allowed police to keep Gurung in custody for five days pending investigation.
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A Malaysian couple who travelled to Bangkok to look for their missing son was heartbroken upon finding out their son passed away on May 11 at Mae Sot Hospital near the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Goi Chee Kong, 50, and his wife, 45, from Ipoh, Perak, were devasted when they found out Zhan Feng, 23, had fallen victim to a job scam.
He was believed to have been trafficked into Myawaddy in south-eastern Myanmar and forced to work for the syndicate.
The couple travelled to Bangkok on August 30 and were scheduled to fly to Mae Sot the following day to meet their son.
“We were told my son was ill and was receiving treatment at the hospital. Therefore, my wife and I travelled to Bangkok, hoping to bring him back to Malaysia for treatment.
“However, we were informed he had died at 2am on May 11. The doctor believed my son was abused before he was left at the hospital for treatment on April 11,”.
Chee Kong said his son was admitted to the hospital’s ICU unit under a fake name and passport number.
Due to his son’s fake identity, he said the hospital could not reach the embassy and family to discuss his health condition and treatment.
“Without further medical treatment, he passed away a month later. His remain was buried at a cemetery in Si Racha in Chonburi province,” he said.
To bring closure to the family, Chee Kong said he and his wife hope to bring their son’s ashes home as soon as possible.
However, he was informed by a non-governmental organisation that arranged his son’s burial services in May to settle the outstanding hospital bills of about RM40,000 before the family could obtain a death certificate to exhume the body for DNA testing and cremation.
With the assistance of Teruntum assemblyman Sim Chon Siang who is in Bangkok, a fundraising campaign was launched on Friday.
In about 22 hours, the family had collected RM50,000 from generous members of the public.
Accompanying the family to Mae Sot, Sim said the family would settle the hospital bills on Monday (Sept 5) and obtain the death certificate and permission to exhume the body at the burial site at Si Racha in Chonburi (about120 km southeast of Bangkok) as soon as possible.
“We hope to bring the ashes back to Malaysia on Thursday. We hope everything goes smoothly,” Sim said.
Zhan Feng, a final year student of the Institute of Teacher Education (IPG), travelled to Bangkok for a holiday on January 19 to meet a friend he had met on social media.
Zhan Feng promised to return home to celebrate his mother’s birthday on Feb 5. However, he did not show up. Two days later, his father lodged a missing person report.
On March 31, Zhan Feng called the parent and informed them that he was in Mae Sot in Tak Province and he needed RM80,000 for medical treatment.
“During the conversation, we noticed something unusual. We believed he was monitored and threatened. He was unusually quiet. He also apologised for not being able to return home. He promised will return home a year later… We have not heard from him since then,” Chee Kong said.
After the telephone conversation, he believed his son was a job scam victim, and lodged a police report on April 2.
He advised job seekers to not fall victim to lucrative oversea job offers.
“We accepted my son’s death. I hope his death teaches all young job seekers a lesson. I hope his death will be the last,” he said.
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In recent years, an increasing number of vacant houses have been sitting unoccupied — even in good locations in urban areas. Now, however, owners are taking advantage of leasing services that renovate such homes and sublease them as residences or shops.
The businesses turn a profit by rehabilitating properties and transforming them into income-producing assets on behalf of the owners, who often lack the relevant expertise to utilize their properties effectively.
The central and local governments are currently strengthening measures on vacant houses due to possible problems following a natural disaster, and hope the growth of such services will help reduce the number of empty homes.
Empty for 7 years A popular ice cream store in Nishinari Ward, Osaka, set up shop in an empty property. Although the building was in a convenient location near Tengachaya Station on the Nankai Electric Railway line, it had sat unoccupied for seven years.
The shop opens late, at 8 p.m., but the neon-lit building, which is over 50 years old, is known for its Instagram-friendly appearance. Originally, the building leaked and had an uneven floor, but it was given a new lease on life last autumn by a vacant house utilization service operated by Tokyo-based real estate company Ject One.
The service, dubbed “Akisapo” is structured so Ject One or a partner company can lease, renovate and sublease vacant properties. The service, which began in 2016, has already been used to revamp about 50 properties nationwide. Old houses and other properties in Tondabayashi and Kishiwada in Osaka Prefecture are among Ject One’s ongoing projects.
Owners bear no financial burden. On the contrary, Ject One pays a portion of the rent upon a house lease. The company uses the rental income to cover renovation costs and takes a slice of the rent as profit. After all the company’s renovation costs are recovered, the owner is free to rent the property out and receive 100% of the income.
The ice cream store was opened by an Osaka City-based yakiniku barbecue restaurant operator. Rent was set at an affordable ¥70,000 per month, motivating the restaurant to try running a different type of business, according to the store.
The building’s owner, an Osaka City resident in her 60s, said the building was previously used by her father as an office. “My father passed away and I had no choice but to leave it empty,” the woman said. “I’m glad to see it put to good use.
Transportation firm involvement Osaka Metro Co. became involved in the housing market in December 2019. The company rents vacant buildings around three subway stations on the Midosuji Line — Nishitanabe, Nagai and Abiko — and subleases them following renovation work. The company has completed work on five such houses so far, with plans to increase this number to around 100.
“We want to create a lively atmosphere along our subway line and increase user numbers,” an Osaka Metro official said.
In the past, getting information on vacant houses was difficult, leading to a belief that such premises would be unlikely to make a profit. Nevertheless, the central and local governments have begun to act on the empty home issue, fearing the buildings could collapse or catch fire if left unattended. This has encouraged the spread of private companies and other services.
Good location vital According to government statistics, as of 2018, there were 8.48 million vacant houses nationwide, with the figure more than doubling in the past 30 years. In 2015, the government enforced the law on special measures against vacant houses and has also opened “empty house banks,” which facilitate online searches for vacant house information. Currently, some 5,600 houses in about 640 municipalities are registered.
The Kobe city government has recently begun a project to subsidize up to ¥5 million for renovation work on empty homes in cases where architects are involved. Twenty houses will be revitalized as shared living quarters, artist activity centres and other facilities to improve the community’s appeal.
However, observers say it is difficult to profit from vacant houses unless they are well located. Currently, there are only limited examples of homes that have benefited from the renovation service.
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Two Russian embassy staff in Kabul were among six people killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near the entrance of the embassy, in a blast that injured at least 10 others, the Russian Foreign Ministry and Afghan officials said on Monday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that an unknown militant set off an explosive device near the entrance to the consular section of the embassy around at 10:50 a.m. Kabul time.
“Two our colleagues died… We will hope that the perpetrators of this terror attack and its executors will receive just punishment very soon”, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
Police said the attacker was shot dead by armed guards as he approached the gate, in one of the first such attacks since the Taliban took power last year.
The four others killed were Afghan civilians, Khalid Zadran, a Kabul police spokesman said.
Russia is one of the few countries to have maintained an embassy in Kabul after the Taliban took over the country more than a year ago. Although Moscow does not officially recognise the Taliban’s government, they have been in talks with officials over an agreement to supply gasoline and other commodities.
The United Nations’ mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemned the blast.
During the decades-long Taliban insurgency against the western-backed Afghan government, bombings targeting foreign missions were a regular occurrence in Kabul, especially in recent years, with embassies and hotels fortifying themselves with razor wire and blast walls.
Such incidents have decreased dramatically since the insurgent group swept to power in August 2021.
Since then, attacks – some of them claimed by Islamic State – mainly targeted the Taliban and civilian targets such as mosques.
Liz Truss was named as Britain’s next prime minister on Monday, winning a leadership race for the governing Conservative party at a time when the country faces a cost of living crisis, industrial unrest and a recession.
Britain’s Conservative Party has chosen Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as the party’s new leader, putting her in line to be confirmed as prime minister.
Truss’s selection was announced Monday in London after a leadership election in which only the 180,000 dues-paying members of the Conservative Party were allowed to vote. Truss beat rival Rishi Sunak, the government’s former Treasury chief, by promising to increase defence spending and cut taxes, while refusing to say how she would address the cost-of-living crisis.
Truss received 81,326 votes to Sunak’s 60,399.
Queen Elizabeth II is scheduled to formally name Truss as Britain’s prime minister on Tuesday. The ceremony will take place at the queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland, where the monarch is vacationing, rather than at Buckingham Palace.
The two-month leadership contest left Britain with a power vacuum at a time when consumers, workers and businesses were demanding government action to mitigate the impact of soaring food and energy prices. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has had no authority to make major policy decisions since July 7, when he announced his intention to resign.
With household energy bills set to increase by 80% next month, charities warn that as many as one in three households will face fuel poverty this winter, leaving millions of people to choose between eating and heating their homes. The Bank of England has forecast that inflation will reach a 42-year high of 13.3% in October, threatening to push Britain into a prolonged recession.
“The new prime minister is facing a very, very difficult inheritance,” said Tim Bale, a political analyst and professor at Queen Mary University of London.
Johnson was forced to resign after a series of ethics scandals that peaked in July when dozens of cabinet ministers and lower level officials resigned over his handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by a senior member of his government.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system of government, the center-right Conservative Party was allowed to hold an internal election to select a new party leader and prime minister, without going to the wider electorate. A new general election isn’t required until December 2024.
