PHOTO: Chaiyot Pupattanapong

Pattaya police arrested three Filipino women for collecting donations from tourists for an ‘imaginary’ children’s foundation.

The three women, 38 year old Ruthie Espina Babila, 50 year old Jessica Bayutas Ortega and 55 year old Belinda Austria Toledo claimed to represent the ‘Children’s Joy Foundation’. They were arrested while collection donations outside a restaurant in Pattaya today.

Two of the women would approach tourists asking them to help the children while the third would play guitar. The police seized two boxes of printed leaflets seeking donations, 5,690 baht cash, 10 books with details of donors, a guitar and other items.

Police reported the culprits had entered Thailand on a tourist visa and did not posses any of the necessary paperwork proving their ties to the charity which, anyway, does not exist.

The women confessed to having executed the scam before in several parts of Thailand for over a year. They have been charged with being foreign nationals working with no permission, having no work permits and colluding in raising funds without permission.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

A kindergarten in Chatuchak, to the north of central Bangkok, has suspended classes because of air pollution that has landed Bangkok in the top 10 list of worst-polluted cities.

Bangkok still lags far behind some of the world’s most polluted cities, including the Afghani capital Kabul (at 576), Delhi in India (306) and Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar (300). But the Top 10 worst air-pollution list is not the list Bangkok wants to be in.

Bangkok and Pattaya remain in the ‘unhealthy’ or ‘unsafe’ levels today whilst some cities in northern Thailand are also suffering with poor air quality.

Surang Khamneungnet, director of Jananan Kindergarten in Chatuchak, said pupils had been kept indoors in recent days and the grounds sprayed with water three times a day, but the children had become listless and were eating less.

The school is closed for National Teachers Day today anyway but will remain closed tomorrow and Friday because of the air pollution, she said.

Chulalongkorn University logistics expert Manoj Lohatepanont at a seminar on Tuesday advised schools to consider closing temporarily to reduce health risks for students and curb the number of cars on the roads, one source of PM2.5.

PM Prayut Chan-o-cha separately said the Education Ministry should use its discretion in deciding whether “at-risk” schools should be closed.

SOURCE: The Nation | aqicn.org

Bangkok

Morning clouds followed by afternoon sun. High 33ºC. Winds NE at 10 to 15 km/h.

Chiang Mai

Generally clear. High 30ºC. Winds ESE and variable.

Phuket

Afternoon showers. High 31ºC. Winds NNE and variable. Chance of rain 40%.

Ko Samui

Thundershowers. High 25ºC. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 40%.

Pattaya

Partly cloudy. High 32ºC. Winds NW at 10 to 15 km/h.

Songkhla

Thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. High 29ºC. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 km/h. Chance of rain 80%.