Bangkok

Thanathorn says “a storm might be coming”

Published

3 days ago

December 4, 2019

Thanathorn says “a storm might be coming” | The Thaiger

PHOTO: Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of the Future Forward Party, at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Bangkok – Khaosod English

Thailand might again see street protests again, according to Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of the Future Forward Party and former MP. Thanathorn forecast the tipping point could come if the Future Forward party is dissolved next month.

He was speaking yesterday at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Bangkok. Future Forward and its members face more than two dozen lawsuits from police, the attorney general, the Constitutional Court and the Election Commission, as he read out the list of litigation against him and the progressive part, as reports by the Bangkok Post.

“The establishment are pushing people out. They seem certain they can contain it and control it. But many think otherwise. I think this is a very dangerous gamble.”

Thanathorn, a critic of the establishment, opposes military influence in a country with a long history of coups. He was removed from parliament in November for allegedly violating media shareholding rules. He says the accusations are politically motivated.

“They consistently use fake news and misinformation to discredit opposition. They brand us as traitors, as anti-monarchy, creating hatred that divides the people of this country,” Thanathorn told reporters, in his strongest comments since his removal.

Thanathorn says he has no control over the timing of protests, that “the anger of the people is real” and that the anti-government Run Against Dictatorship, or Wing Lai Loong (“Run to oust the Uncle”), scheduled for January next year, will be a test of sentiment toward the ruling coalition.

After the speech, a member of the Committee to Return Happiness to the People said many politicians were hypocrites and troublemakers.

“Come in and solve problems, don’t make more problems.”

A spokesman for Palang Pracharat, the ruling coalition’s biggest party, said he disagreed with Thanathorn’s comments.

Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said, “He should respect the justice system. Nobody knows how these legal cases will play out. The majority don’t want to see street protests again. They don’t want to see chaos and disruption.”

Thailand held a disputed general election on March 23 after almost five years of military rule, and a pro-military coalition took office in July with a very narrow majority, installing former junta chief Prayut Chan-o-cha as PM, also a very close vote against Thanathorn for the top job .

The opposition FFP emerged as the third largest party, and became part of an alliance that today controls nearly half the lower house of parliament.

A deeply divided parliament and the government’s slim majority have shone a spotlight on political risk, in a Thailand where the economy is struggling. Observers are split on whether the ruling coalition can survive future tests, especially after the government’s shock defeat in a recent ruling over the controversial Section 44 of the 2017 Constitution.

Thanathorn says he doesn’t support violence, but that tension is rising and “a storm might be coming”.

“I see my role as a chain breaker. To break the chain that’s preventing us from advancing further.”

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.

Bangkok

Thai King and Queen to open Chinatown exhibition this evening

Published

1 day ago

December 6, 2019

The Thaiger

PHOTO: South China Morning Post

HM The King and HM The Queen will tour Chinatown in Bangkok this evening to preside over the opening of the Chalerm Phrakiat exhibition. The exhibition showcases the biographies and Royal activities of previous monarchs of the Chakri dynasty (Ramas 1-10).

Their Majesties are scheduled to leave the Ampornpaisarn Throne Hall in the Dusit Palace at 4.50pm and head to Trai Mitr Withayaram Temple where they will preside over the opening of the new exhibition.

They will tour the exhibition grounds and watch a documentary featuring the Royal activities of the former kings of the Chakri dynasty in the exhibition’s ‘LED tunnel’. Then the Royal couple will visit the Thienfah Foundation Hospital to pay respects to the statue of the Chinese goddess Guan Yin before meeting the people, mostly Thais of Chinese descent, along the Suapa and Charoen Krung roads and at Mangkorn Kamalawas Temple.

Yaowarat Road has been beautifully decorated with lighting, symbolic flags in yellow and blue, with banners reading “Long Live the King” hung across the road, to welcome Their Majesties to Bangkok’s old Chinese community.

Mr. Jitti Tangsitpak, chairman of the Thai-Chinese chamber of commerce and chairman of the organising committee, said that officials are making the final touches to all the decorative arrangements to make sure they are perfect before the Royal visit.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World

Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.

Bangkok

Over 50 Chinese youth arrested for running scam call centre from Samui hotel

Published

1 day ago

December 6, 2019

May Taylor

Over 50 Chinese youth arrested for running scam call centre from Samui hotel | The Thaiger

PHOTOS: CTN News

54 enterprising teenagers, most from China, have been arrested for running a call centre scam from a Koh Samui resort. The Chiang Rai Times reports that the arrests happened after police received a tip-off from a Chinese person who had worked for the call centre.

Police say the Chinese teenagers were enticed to come and work for the gang, which was running over 100 chat rooms tricking victims into parting with their cash. Workers at the call centre were given a target of 5 million baht to be raised from each person they spoke to.

Part of the con consisted of persuading other Chinese nationals to invest in fake stocks. Once the victim fell for the scam and transferred the funds, the app being used was closed down.

The gang leader is reportedly still at large and in possession of the Chinese teenagers’ passports. Police believe he has not left Thailand. Meanwhile, the 54 workers have all been charged with working illegally in Thailand.

In another bust in Bangkok yesterday, 24 Chinese people were arrested for running another call centre that duped fellow nationals into investing in a cryptocurrency-style scam. It’s understood the scam had been running since March.

The workers were arrested at various rental properties around the capital, with more than 500 mobile phones and dozens of computers seized. Immigration Police say they’re working to identify any Thai nationals who may have been part of the operation.

SOURCE: Chiang Rai Times

Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.

Bangkok

Lucky racer blames oil slick in Ferrari crash in Samut Prakan

Published

2 days ago

December 5, 2019

Greeley Pulitzer

Lucky racer blames oil slick in Ferrari crash in Samut Prakan | The Thaiger

PHOTO: Sutthiwit Chayutworakan

A beverage maker and auto racer, and his actress passenger, have escaped with only minor injuries after his Ferrari crashed in Samut Prakan, just south of the capital. The vehicle hit a concrete barrier at a monorail construction site and the front of the red car was almost completely destroyed.

36 year old Sarawut Sereetoranakul was trapped in his seat inside the totalled Ferrari, with a broken right leg. Rescue workers used hydraulic ‘jaws’ to extract him. Looking at the photo, the two occupants were lucky to survive.

Sereetoranakul is the managing director of JS Asia Beverage Company, and races professionally for the PSC Motorsport team. His passenger was 25 year old actress Sananthachat Thanapatpisal, aka. Fon Hormones, who suffered slight chest pains as a result of the crash. They were taken to a nearby hospital and later referred elsewhere.

Sereetoranakul told police that it felt like the vehicle slid on an oil patch, causing him to lose control and plough into the concrete barrier in the middle of the road. Police are checking local CCTV and investigating the accident.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post