Bangkok: Amnesty International questions Thailand’s commitment to abolish the death penalty

A mother and daughter were run over today by a pickup truck carrying furniture reversing down a busy road in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok. The shocking incident was caught on surveillance footage. The pair had stepped into the road and didn’t notice the truck creeping up on them from behind.

Fortunately, both mother and child survived. Poh Teck Tung Rescue Foundation told the Daily News they were taken to hospital with leg and rib injuries.

Comments, criticisms and shares have been many on Thai social media. Most blame the pickup driver, but others say the mother and daughter shouldn’t have been standing in the road and should have looked to their left. Still, others say they appeared to have been waiting for a bus and shouldn’t have stepped off the sidewalk at all.

Local police say that the driver clearly could not see behind him properly and was negligent.

They suggested he should fit his truck an additional mirror, or better yet not reverse down a busy road but go to a U-turn to get back to where he wanted.

They say they plan on inviting the driver in for a “chat” with the victims when possible.

SOURCE: thaivisa | Daily News

A taxi driver’s body was found yesterday in the restroom of an NGV petrol station on Bangkok’s Kanlapaphreug Road. Police from Bang Khun Thian station in Jomthong district was alerted to a bad odour coming from the toilet.

The body of 58 year old Kaew Srikan, a resident of Jomthong, was found seated inside. Police say the toilet was locked from the inside and there were no signs of struggle or wounds on the body. Forensic staff estimate the victim had been dead for at least 48 hours.

A taxi driver, who visits the petrol station daily to refuel, told police he saw a pink taxi parked near the bathroom for 3 days and speculated it might have belonged to the deceased.

“The company that owns the vehicle took it back on Wednesday as they thought the driver might have fled without paying the installment. However, I could still smell something rotten from the toilet so I told the petrol station staff to call the police.”

Police are reviewing CCTV footage and interviewing witnesses to determine when the deceased went into the toilet, while his body has been sent to the hospital for a detailed autopsy.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand

Investigators in Udon Thani in Thailand’s north believe a short circuit was the cause of a fire at Wat Pa Ban Tad forest temple that killed a revered abbot. The assistant national police chief yesterday led senior officers and Udon Thani’s deputy governor to inspect the fire-ravaged living quarters of Phra Ajarn Sudjai Thanthamano, the abbot, who died in the blaze.

75 year old Phra Ajarn was in his quarters when the fire broke out on the afternoon of May 22. Monks, novices and citizens tried to put out the fire and rescue the abbot, who was trapped inside. Firemen later sprayed water to douse the fire. When the flames died down, the monks rushed in to bring the abbot out. He was taken to a van and rushed to Udon Thani but died on the way.

Police say the death of the abbot drew public attention. Officers handling the case have so far interrogated 22 witnesses to find the cause of the fire. They found no traces of a struggle or bruises on the abbot’s body, nor was there any evidence suggesting the fire arson or the work of men. The assistant national police chief, who spoke after a meeting with the investigators, forensic officers and electricians, gave more weight to the electrical system as the cause of the fire.

Police made the remarks following online speculation on the cause of the fire at the famous forest temple, long associated with the late Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno, thought by many of his followers to be an Arahant (someone who has attained Enlightenment).

The caretaker of the temple said donations for the cremation of Phra Ajarn Sudjai now stand at 20 million baht. Several agencies suggested part of the money should be used to improve fire prevention at the temple.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post