Thailand
NCPO’s 14-point order on maintaining national security

– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community
PHUKET: Prime Minister and National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) head Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday replaced martial law with its 14-point Order on Maintaining Public Order and National Security.
Here is a summary of the order:
Item 1: This order shall come into force from the date of its publication in the Government Gazette.
Item 2: A “peace and order-maintaining officer” refers to a military officer with the rank of sub-lieutenant and a pilot officer or above appointed by the NCPO head to act in accordance with this order. An “assistant peace and order-maintaining officer” refers to a military officer of a lower rank than sub-lieutenant or a pilot officer appointed by the NCPO head to act in accordance with this order.
Item 3: Peace and order-maintaining officers shall act swiftly to prevent and suppress offences against the monarchy and state security, and offences under the laws on weapons and announcements or orders by the NCPO.
Item 4: Peace and order-maintaining officers have the power to summon persons and documents, make arrests, help or take part in investigations of offences under Item 3, conduct searches, seize or freeze assets, and carry out other acts assigned by the NCPO.
Item 5: Peace and order maintaining officers are empowered to issue orders prohibiting the distribution of news, publications and other media deemed to cause fear, contain distorted facts, or likely cause public misunderstanding that affects national security or public order.
Item 6: Peace and order-maintaining officers are empowered to detain suspected violators summoned for questioning for no more than seven days. Such detention must be carried out on premises other than police stations, detention facilities, or prisons, and the detainee shall not be treated as an accused person.
Item 7: Assistant peace and order-maintaining officers shall perform duties as ordered or assigned by peace and order-maintaining officers.
Item 8: Peace and order-maintaining officers and their assistants shall be regarded as authorized officers under the Penal Code, and as administrative officers or police officers under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Item 9: Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with orders issued by a peace and order-maintaining officer or an assistant on duty shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine of no more than Bt20,000, or both.
Item 10: Any person who resists or obstructs a peace and order-maintaining officer or an assistant on duty shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine of no more than Bt20,000, or both.
Item 11: Peace and order-maintaining officers may allow the release of individuals detained under this order, with or without conditions. Conditions for release include not leaving the country. Those who fail to comply with conditions of release shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine of no more than 20,000 baht, or both.
Item 12: Political gatherings of five or more persons shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding six months or a fine of no more than Bt10,000, or both, unless permission has been granted by the NCPO head or an authorized representative.
Offenders who voluntarily agree to receive corrective training for no more than seven days may be released with or without conditions. Those who fail to comply with the conditions of release shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding six months or a fine of no more than Bt10,000, or both.
Item 13: Actions under this order are not subject to the laws on administrative procedures and the Law on the Establishment of the Administrative Court and the Administrative Procedures Code.
Item 14: Peace and order-maintaining officers and assistants shall be protected under the 2005 Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations, although a damaged party still has the right to seek compensation.
— Phuket Gazette Editors
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Crime
Gunman kills mayoral candidate, injures 4 other municipal candidates at funeral

A gunman shot and killed a woman running for mayor and wounded 4 others at a funeral in Ratchaburi, a province west of Bangkok near the Myanmar border. Police say they suspect the shooting was politically motivated. Out of the 4 people injured, 3 were running in the March 28 municipal election while another was the kamnan, a government official of a tambon, which is a sub district.
The gunman is still at large, but police say they suspect the shooter is Wanchart Niamraksa, a member of the Ratchaburi provincial administration organisation.
The gunman opened fire just as the kamnan of tambon Don Sai, Yingpan Kanket, was lighting candles and incense sticks under a Buddha image to start the ceremony, witnesses say. Shots were fired from behind the main Buddha image at the temple’s open prayer hall, witnesses say.
Bullets hit 5 people, including Yingpan who is in critical condition. Varaporn Niamraksa, who was running for mayor of the municipality, was shot and died at the hospital. Nakhon Wanpen, Somthawil Srirat and Monthien Jaitham, who are all running for the municipal council of tambon Don Sai, were shot.
Police found 2 spent .22 cartridges and a 11mm spent shell at the scene. The suspect faces charges of murder, attempted murder, carrying firearms and ammunition without permission and carrying them in public without a proper reason.
SOURCES: Nation Thailand | Bangkok Post
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Phuket
Thailand News Today | Covid passport talks, Thai Airways heads to court | March 2

In today’s Thailand News Today…. The island of Phuket has a firm plan to get its residents vaccinated leading up to an October opening for tourists, the Thai PM backs up his police over last Sunday’s protest violence and Thai Airway’s employee union criticises the changes to employee contracts.
But the plan must be approved by the national government by April, if the province wants to open tourism by October 1. Phuket has a resident population of around 300- 400,000 people.
Before you go rushing off to book your plane tickets we’d stress that this is another in a long list of proposals that have not come to fruition and we’d urge patience until the Government approves the plans.
Meanwhile the island has taken delivery of 4,000 doses of the Chinese Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine. Vaccinations started yesterday, with priority given to 1,500 healthcare workers and 500 “at-risk” officials exposed to Covid-19 patients.
On a broader note… Thailand’s Tourism Minister says he has asked the Public Health Ministry to approve a vaccine passport scheme aimed at reviving Thailand’s devastated tourism sector. According to the Minister, the government is looking to the World Health Organisation to issue a statement on vaccine passports before it makes a final decision on the matter.
The Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha has defended police action against protesters taking part in Sunday’s anti-government rally in Bangkok. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Bureau used tear gas, a water cannon and rubber bullets in an effort to drive protesters back from the PM’s residence. The PM insists the actions were in line with international standards. He says that police did not violate the protesters’ rights.
Thai researchers are claiming that horseshoe bats are not responsible for transmitting the Covid virus to humans. A researcher with the Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases-Health Science Centre, says that even though the bats have tested positive for a coronavirus, it is not the strain that is transmissible to humans, and it’s certainly not the virus that causes Covid-19.
As Thai Airways tries to sell new contracts and conditions to its remaining workforce, the labour union of the national carrier is challenging changes to the employment contracts, where Thai Airways employees are being asked to agree to changes as part of the bigger financial rehabilitation program.
But a union representative says the new contracts are unfair because it includes fewer leave days and shorter holidays. The union has filed a complaint with the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare.
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Thai army medic accused of injecting troops with fake Covid-19 vaccine during UN mission

A medic for the Royal Thai Army was dismissed and his medical license revoked after injecting troops with fake Covid-19 vaccines during a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. The “vaccine” was actually just water. The medic, who is also a lieutenant, apparently injected 273 Thai troops with the water shot and charged 607 baht, or around $20 USD, per injection.
A soldier noticed the bottles the medic was using for the injections were unlabelled. A superior then launched an internal investigation and found that the bottles were just filled with water. Under the UN’s orders, the medic was dismissed and sent back to Thailand. His medical license was also revoked.
Thai media first reported the news, saying that a Thai army doctor at a South Sudan field hospital was suspended from duty due to an investigation into alleged fraud. The medic reportedly worked at the hospital from December 2019 to December 2020.
Following the news report, Thai Supreme Commander General Chalermphol Srisawat confirmed that a medic had been injecting troops with water and claiming it was a Covid-19 vaccine.
SOURCES: Thai PBS | Nation Thailand
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