Crime
Thai Marine chief visits Phuket, bans boat captains, two Russian children dead

“If you see any unsafe boat, unsafe pier, dangerous boat driver, please inform the Marine Department hotline 1199.”
The Thai Marine Department Chief visited Phuket yesterday afternoon for a full briefing following yesterday morning’s tragic speedboat crash that killed two Russian children, a 6 and 12 year old, and injuring up to 20 passengers around 7.50am.
The incident happened in the entrance channel off Phang Nga Bay as one boat was turning to dock at Royal Phuket Marina and the other vessel was speeding along the channel with passengers from Boat Lagoon, on the east coast of the island. The published speed limit in the channel is 5 knots.
One injured passenger is still receiving medical treatment at Bangkok Hospital Phuket in Samkong.
The two boats involved were the “Payan 5”, operated by Seastar Andaman, with offices in Thalang, and the “ALP 3”, owned by Andaman Leisure Phuket, based at Boat Lagoon.
Read the full Thaiger report about the incident HERE.
Marine Chief Witthaya Yamuang inspected the site of the collision and visited the two nearby marinas, speaking to investigating police.
Speaking to the media he noted that one of the tour boats was travelling too fast.
““We believe that one of them was driving too fast. I am very sorry for the two deaths and those injured. The boats have been seized as evidence. The boats’ captains have been banned from driving any boats for two years.”
In a damning condemnation of the lack of local marine procedures and inspection processes, Chief Witthaya noted that the driver education was not up to standard.
“I have ordered Phuket Marine officers to set up training for boat captains, as we found that some of them may not know how to drive properly in different areas and not know the proper safety procedures.”
He also alerted passengers and tourists to report any unsafe boats, procedures, boat drivers, crews or piers.
“If you see any unsafe boat, unsafe pier, dangerous boat driver, please inform the Marine Department hotline 1199.”
Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana, who escorted the Thai marine chief, passed on his condolences on behalf of the Phuket provincial government.
“I am deeply sorry for those who passed away and had injuries from the two boat crash.”
According to a report in The Phuket News, the tour provider has insurance coverage with Southeast Insurance of up to 500,000 baht per death and up to 500,000 baht for medical expenses.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
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Thailand
Police say at least 2 people to be arrested in Bangkok bomb attack – UPDATE

Police say they will issue arrest warrants for at least 2 people in connection to yesterday’s bomb attackin Bangkok. According to Thai PBS World, the people are suspected of throwing a ping pong bomb into a group of police officers in front of the Chamchuri shopping centre that injured 3 policemen and 1 reporter. But previous reports by Khaosod English say the bomb attack saw only 2 policemen injured out of a total of 4.
Piya Tawichai, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, says it is believed that the perpetrators threw the bomb from a vehicle on the flyover heading towards Hua Lampong railway station. Police say they found nails, wire and black electrical tape at the scene of the explosion.
The attack occurred at 6pm, during a pro-democracy rally over the government’s enforcement of the lesé majeste law, which has seen over 43 people arrested, including students, since November. Just last week, a Thammsat University student was arrested in his dorm room over lese majeste charges. Ironically, the reason for his arrest was reportedly due to his calling for such a law to be abolished.
Earlier today, a group of pro-democracy protesters and Ratsadon guards rallied in front of the Internal Security Operations Command head office in Dusit district, demanding for the release one of the guards, who has been missing since last night.
ISOC spokesman Thanathip Sawangsaeng responded to the claims by saying that ISOC had nothing to do with Mongkol’s disappearance because it is “not responsible for maintaining peace and order in the city.”
Now, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights have reported that that Mongkol has been released in the Bangpoo area. Mongkol and his lawyer went to notify the police at the Muang district police station and say that Mongkol will be sent for a physical and psychological evaluation.
SOURCE: Thai PBS World
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Thailand
Police hunt for those behind Bangkok bomb attack near pro-democracy protest site

Police are hunting for those responsible for yesterday’s bomb attack that hit near a pro-democracy protest site in Bangkok. The attack occurred at Samyan Intersection at around 6pm, leaving 4 people injured, including 2 policemen. Bangkok police chief Phukphong Phongpetra says the device used appears to be a pingpong bomb, which was filled with nails.
Demonstrators gathered yesterday in front of Samyan Mitrtown shopping mall to protest enforcement of Thailand’s royal defamation law, which has been used sweepingly since the protests started up again last year. Riot police were deployed to the site as well as to Victory Monument, where police dispersed a group of activists earlier yesterday.
Since November, at least 43 people have been charged with lese majeste, including underage students, with most being comprised of activists that helped organise the protests in Bangkok calling for monarchy reforms.
“The government does not wish to see a rise in infections caused by political rallies. Therefore, we’d like to ask for cooperation from the public to comply with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
The cooler weather is expected to last for another 2 days, after a cold spell from China washed over Thailand, with the northern part of the country expected to see a drop of up to 8 degrees Celsius in temperature.
Authorities are banning any unauthorised gatherings under the Emergency Decree, as Anucha confirms the need to carry out the decree as well as Thailand’s Communicable Disease Act measures.
SOURCE: Khaosod English
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Drugs
Thai laws, how to stay out of jail in Thailand | VIDEO

Thailand has plenty of laws, some of them applied more vigorously than others. Some not at all. But the ones they do apply can get you in hot water or, at worst, in a Thai jail. You DON’T want to end up there. Here’s a few of the better and lesser known Thai laws from The Thaiger. You can visit all our videos, and subscribe to our channel HERE.
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheThaiger/videos
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