Bangkok
Thailand celebrity gets a month in jail for Covid-19 cluster birthday party at Bangkok hotel

A Thailand celebrity was sentenced to jail for charges relating to his birthday party last month that became a notorious Covid-19 cluster. The South Bangkok District Court sentenced Techin Ploypetch, known as DJ Matoom, to 2 months in jail with a fine of 20,000 baht for violating the Emergency Decree which banned social gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The DJ pled guilty and the court cut his sentence in half to a month in jail and a 10,000 baht fine. The court also suspended his sentence for a year.
DJ Matoom held his 31st birthday party at a rooftop bar at Bangkok’s Banyan Tree Hotel on January 8 where people were drinking alcohol and not abiding by disease control practices like wearing face masks and social distancing. During this time, bars in Bangkok were closed and restaurants were prohibited from serving alcohol in an effort to limit gatherings and prevent the spread of Covid-19. The celebrity tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after his party.
Doctors reviewed the DJ Matoom’s travel history and say they believe he caught the virus at a New Years party in Chiang Mai, another Covid-19 cluster. Doctors say they believe a man who attended both the News Years party in Chiang Mai and the celebrity’s party in Bangkok spread the virus at both events.
30 people who tested positive for Covid-19 attended the New Years party in Chiang Mai, and 9 of them also went to the celebrity’s birthday party. People who attended the birthday party will also face criminal charges, according to police.
SOURCES: Bangkok Post | Thai PBS
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Thailand
Thailand classified as a “not free” country in Freedom House report

On a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being absolute freedom, Thailand scores at 30, a “not free” country, according to the nonprofit Freedom House. Each year, the organisation reviews the political rights and civil liberties of countries around the world. According to their recent assessment, Thailand has declined in terms of rights and liberties, dropping on the scale from “partly free” to “not free.”
The main reason for the drop on the freedom scale, the organisation says, is “due to the dissolution of a popular opposition party that performed well in the 2019 elections, and the military-dominated government’s crackdown on youth-led protests calling for democratic reforms.”
The Future Forward Party was dissolved in February 2020 after the court found that the founder, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, had made a large donation to the party that exceeded the legal limit. The party’s leaders were then banned from politics for the next decade.
Youth-led protests started in February, but the demonstrations were put on pause due to Covid-19 restrictions banning large public gatherings. Protesters gathered in July as restrictions lifted, but some leaders then faced charges for holding a public gathering, which was still banned under emergency orders.
In October, the prime minister imposed what Freedom House calls a “severe” State of Emergency order in Bangkok that banned gatherings of more than 5 people. Some protesters were arrested for violating the order nearly immediately after it was imposed.
With activists pushing for monarchy reform and an end to the military’s involvement in government, raising subjects considered taboo and unprecedented in Thai society, the Thai government has increased its use of the draconian lèse majesté law. Since November, dozens of activists have faced charges for insulting or defaming the Thai Monarchy.
Freedom House scores countries on topics like the electoral process, questioning if politicians and leaders were elected in free and fair elections, as well as freedom of expression and individual rights.
Thailand’s military seized power in 2014 in a bloodless coup. The 2017 constitution was drafted by a committee appointed by the military’s National Council for Peace and Order. In 2019, the country transitioned to what Freedom House calls a “military-dominated, semi-elected” government.
The 2019 elections were overseen by the Election Commission of Thailand, whose members were appointed by the military. All 250 senators were appointed by the military in 2019 to serve 5 year terms.
In 2020, the combination of democratic deterioration and frustrations over the role of the monarchy provoked the country’s largest anti-government demonstrations in a decade. In response to these youth-led protests, the regime resorted to familiar authoritarian tactics, including arbitrary arrests, intimidation, lèse majesté charges, and harassment of activists. Freedom of the press is constrained, due process is not guaranteed, and there is impunity for crimes committed against activists.
SOURCE: Freedom House
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Riot police officer in Bangkok tests positive for Covid-19

A riot police officer, who was deployed at the recent pro-democracy protests in Bangkok, has tested positive for Covid-19. His supervisor, chief of Wang Thonglang station Ekapop Tanprayoon, says the officer had visited Samut Sakhon, a coronavirus hotspot.
Riot police who worked closely with the infected officer, Somyot Nuamcharoen, are ordered to quarantine. The Wang Thonglang police station and any items the police officer handled are being disinfected, the chief says.
The officer had met up with friends during a visit to Samut Sakhon, just southwest of Bangkok. He travelled to the coastal province on February 18 and returned to Bangkok the next day.
On the 20th, he was deployed to a protest outside of parliament, just after returning from his trip to the “red zone” province. On Sunday, he deployed the protest outside the military barracks in Bangkok. The demonstration turned violent and numerous people were injured.
On Tuesday, his friend from Samut Sakhon tested positive for the virus. The infected officer was tested for Covid-19 that day and his result came back positive yesterday.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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Transport
“Sealed route” set at Bangkok airport for international transfers

Thailand is now allowing international transits and transfers at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport by using a so-called “sealed route” arranged at the airport to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has now set guidelines for passengers who have a layover at the Bangkok airport.
Passengers will not be allowed to leave Concourse E. A “sealed route” for the passengers will be set up at Gate E10 and E9, allowing passengers to enter the airport at Gate E10, go through security screening and then either board the transit aircraft at Gate E9 or go on a designated shuttle bus directly to an aircraft.
Social distancing is required for all passengers in waiting areas and a face mask must be worn at all times. The CAAT says food and beverage services will be available at the airport’s “sealed route” waiting area, but there will be “active oversight” on the services. Areas will also be cleaned and disinfected regularly.
Passengers must present required documents…
- A fit-to-fly health certificate
- Medical certificate declaring a negative Covid-19 result issued no more than 72 hours before departure
- Travel health insurance that covers Covid-19 treatment expenses up to $100,000 USD
If demand increases, the airport will add Gates E5, E7 and E8 to the sealed route. If Concourse E is under maintenance, then Concourse F will be used under the same plan.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
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Grumpy John
Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 6:26 pm
Seems fair, 2 weeks in the slammer but the fine should have been half a million baht.
Ben
Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 7:38 pm
Suspended his sentence for a year? So he can wait a year before he goes to jail? What’s the point of that? Is this a deterrent to others who might do the same thing?
Pedro
Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 8:25 pm
Ben, I believe that a suspended sentence, even in Thailand, means that if he stays out of further trouble for a year, then he does not have to go to jail, and the jail time is waived. If he repeats the offence within the year then he does the original time plus extras for the new offence. Like it or not, the idea of a sentence should not be to deter others, but to educate the individual through a punitive sanction for their personal transgression so as not to do it again. It could be suggested that a show trial with punishments designed simply to deter others into submission is the stuff that Dictators rely on to keep the population in order, something that is alleged by some to have happened in the recent Lese Majeste trial where the lady was given over 40 years. Is that what you really want as Thai justice?
Shane
Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 8:59 pm
A suspended sentence is not a deferral of doing jail time. As Pedro states, it’s a deterrent not to re-offend for the period of suspension. The court could have suspended the sentence for a longer period as a further deterrent, if they had reason to.
Issan John
Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 9:12 pm
Correct, Pedro, suspended means exactly that.
The point of a sentence, though. is three-fold: to deter others, to punish the offender, and to reform the offender.
I doubt it achieved any of those.
Jeff
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 11:27 am
Oh puhlease. ALL sentences are meant to punish AND deter. If there were no consequences for crime, crime would be more rampant than it is now.
Shane
Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 8:15 pm
That’s a VERY misleading headline. The sentence was suspended. Please rectify it or you’ll lose credibility.
Leo Z
Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 8:17 pm
And what about the Banyan Tree Hotel? Zero penalty and free advertising? Did the people sneak in there to have a birthday party?
John
Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 10:31 pm
I was wondering exactly the same ….
Toby Andrews
Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 11:01 pm
WHAT DID HE DO WRONG?
HAVE A PARTY IN A ROOTOP BAR.
ANY CATCH COVID?
The only reason he was arrested was because the police hoped for a bribe.
Well they collected B10000. How much of it will go further that the police station?
Mister Stretch
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 7:22 am
Actually, there were 9 cases related to the party, including the celebrity host.
What did he do wrong? He broke the law.
Baroness
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 4:19 am
Can you imagine if it has been a foreign national instead of the DJ?
Issan John
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 12:49 pm
Imagine? You mean like the other cases that are widely reported involving “foreign nationals”?
James Pate
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 4:51 am
Assuming he didn’t do this before, I think the punishment is about right. Hopefully, he learned his lesson. 8 guests at a private party, not comparable to the Hippie Music Fest on the beach.
Jeff
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 11:23 am
A month in jail (suspended) for having a party but yet the Lumpini Boxing Stadium officials who ignored the events ban and whos actions we reportedly linked to COVID deaths, walk free. No one should be surprised that people are protesting the status quo.
Samuel Yeo
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 12:36 pm
Suspended sentence will never work,as others will likely follow suit due to the leniency imposed.What happens for those infected,who may end up dead ?