Phuket
Osotspa clan member alleges B293mn land swindle off Phuket

PHUKET: Saowanee Osathanugrah, a member of the famous Thai “Osotspa” family, has filed a complaint against her husband for allegedly trying to swindle her out of land on Koh Yao Yai, an island off Phuket, valued at 293 million baht.
Osotspa Co Ltd, known worldwide for its M-150 and Shark energy drinks, last year reported a total operating income of about 2.1 billion baht.
Ms Saowanee, however, is embroiled in a drawn-out divorce from her estranged husband Chinnawes Sarasas.
She filed a complaint with Koh Yao Police Deputy Superintendent Sinchai Srikhumklip on Tuesday, alleging that Mr Chinnawes had used her forged signature on land ownership transfer documents in an attempt to acquire the land through a hotel company.
“I married Mr Chinnawes in 1977. In 1996, we agreed to buy three plots of land and register Mr Chinnawes as the owner,” Ms Saowanee explained to police.
The three plots, covering a total area of 17 rai, were all registered with the Phang Nga Land Office and were issued NorSor 3 Kor (NS3) titles, numbered 1132, 1280 1261.
“On November 24, 2003, Mr Chinnawes, Mr Suthi Sirprathum and Ms Phinya Chusa-nguanpong created a land ownership transfer document with my forged signature on it,” Ms Saowanee alleged.
“The document says that I agreed to transfer [ownership of] those three plots of land to Pakoh Hotel Co Ltd. I have never known anything about this,” she added.
Ms Saowanee also accused Mr Chinnawes of using her forged signature on copies of her house registration book and her ID card to attach to the land transfer document.
“Later, on December 18, 2003, Mr Chinnawes, on behalf of Pakoh Hotel Co Ltd management committee, authorized Mr Suthi to present the copies of my forged personal documents and the forged land transfer document to Koh Yao Land Office officials to register and conduct the transfer of the three plots of land to Pakoh Hotel Co Ltd,” she alleged.
Ms Saowanee did not explain exactly when she became aware of the alleged forgeries and the transfer of the land in question.
However, Suwat Apaiphuk, Mrs Saowanee’s lawyer, told the Phuket Gazette, “We found out about this after we discovered her forged signature was used by her ‘ex-husband’ [sic] to conduct a transfer of land ownership in Udon Thani.
“Ms Saowanee filed for divorce at Prachuap Khiri Khan Provincial Court in 2010. That application is still being processed by the court,” he added.
Regardless, Ms Saowanee stood firm in her resolve to not relinquish the land to her “ex-beloved”.
“The three plots were acquired during marriage, so no matter what Mr Chinnawes is going to do with them, he has to have my permission,” she said.
According to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Pakoh Hotel Company, which operates from the registered address of 56 Moo 5 Koh Yao Noi, Phang Nga, 82160, was forced to hold a debt-restructuring meeting with TMB Asset Management Co Ltd in January this year in order to come to some “conciliatory” resolution with investors.
For more detailed information about the long-running problems encountered by Pakoh hotel Co, read Phuket Gazette property columnist Bill Barnett’s report dating back to 2010 (click here).
— Kritsada Mueanhawong
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
UPDATE: Field hospitals being established in Covid hot zones around Thailand

UPDATE: The field hospital in Bangkok’s Bang Bon district, west of the Chao Phraya river, had its first 10 Covid patients today. The director of the medical services office of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says that the 10 patients into the makeshift hospital, located at the Chalerm Phra Kiat Stadium, will enable assessment of the performance by the medical team, before more patients arrive – Thai PBS World
ORIGINAL STORY: Despite the confident posture and Songkran going ahead, amid restrictions, there is a lot of background activity which suggest the authorities are getting ready for a surge of new infections at the end of the Songkran break, officially this Thursday (but in reality, next Sunday at the end of the weekend when most people who travelled home will return for a resumption of work).
The Thai lunar new year celebrations – Songkran – are the largest mass movement of Thais each year, a source for a huge leap in road deaths and accidents. And, this year, a potential super-spreader event.
Quietly, at least 3,000 extra beds have been prepared in 10 field hospitals around Bangkok. The government has also confirmed that additional field hospitals are being set up in other potential ‘hot zones’, including Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chonburi and Hua Hin. Some of them were set up last year, and since closed, and now being prepared for new positive infections.
One Thai person who had been in one of the field hospitals put together a check-list of things to take IF you end up as an invited ‘guest’ HERE.
The CCSA say they are looking for additional beds in hotels and previous state quarantine facilities (where repatriating Thais were housed for their free quarantine) to be used if needed.
This year’s Songkran had bad timing, coming just a week after a number of major clusters were identified around some of Bangkok’s popular nightlife areas in 3 key inner city districts. Even before Songkran these isolated clusters had already spread into the provinces. In the weekend before Songkran the government had already listed 37 provinces which had instigated some form of paperwork or restrictions for people who had been in any of the 3 Bangkok districts.
The government also leapt on the source of the new outbreaks – bars, clubs and entertainment venues – and promptly shut them down for at least 2 weeks. At this stage it looks likely that that ban will be extended beyond the 2 weeks and, depending on the extent of new infections following the Songkran holiday, additional restrictions will also be added.
Even today the Civil Aviation Authority published a number of new in-flight restrictions for passengers – another blow to the hard-hit domestic aviation sector.
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Chiang Mai
Tourism officials slash Songkran travel expectations by half

The TAT, ever the optimists regarding anything tourism related, even domestic tourism, predict that the Bangkok clusters that have emerged in the week before the Songkran break could reduce traffic and spending by up to half.
Today the CCSA is reporting 789 new infections and one additional death. 522 were local infections, mostly walk-ins to Bangkok hospitals, 259 were discovered through track and tracing. The remaining 8 were found in quarantine from overseas arrivals. In Phuket, another 17 cases have been reported today, taking the island’s week total to 43.
GRAPH: Worldometer figures for Thailand, up to April 9
A 68 year old man from Nakhon Pathom province died on April 4 but wasn’t reported until today. The CCSA report that he died from Covid and “complications”. 33 other former patients have recovered and been discharged.
Last week the TAT estimated 3.2 million domestic trips would circulate 12 billion baht for the Thai economy. But the Tourism Authority has now slashed their estimates by half after hotels, airlines and bus companies reported mass cancellations in the last few days. Other provinces are reporting less than 20% cancellations. Although this weekend will see a lot of travel, Songkran doesn’t formally start until next Tuesday and the TAT expect there could be additional fallout as travellers decide to have a staycation for Songkran instead heading home.
Bangkok Post reports that 70% of travellers to Prachuap Khiri Khan and Hua Hin have already cancelled hotel bookings. Similar cancellations have been reported in Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai. Many other provinces, particularly in the north east and north, are also enforcing quarantine on arrivals or additional paperwork to try and protect their provinces from any of the Bangkok clusters.
8 north eastern provinces rare now requiring 10 or 14 day quarantine periods for anyone arriving from areas where new clusters have been reported. Chiang Mai provincial officials say that tourists from Samut Prakan, Nakhon Pathom, Bangkok, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi – basically Bangkok and surrounding provinces – must complete a 14 day mandatory quarantine or conduct a test for Covid when they arrive.
The reality is that the travel and quarantine changes are outstripping the ability to communicate them all. Anyone crossing into other provinces in the next few day, especially if you’re travelling from Bangkok and surrounding provincial ‘red zones’ can expect some additional paperwork or a Covid test. Or even quarantine.
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Education
Phuket student protests and is flunked as “not loyal to the nation”

After participating in protests for student’s rights, a Phuket student was barred from graduating 9th grade, moving from middle school to high school, charged with being “not loyal to the nation, institution of the monarchy”. The student had advocated against mandatory uniforms and for student’s liberties. He told reporters that the school started paying attention to his actions last year when he participated in rallies in solidarity with students across Thailand. The school’s student affairs office received a copy of posts he made on social media encouraging others to join the cause. The school ordered a stop to his political actions, but he and his friends disregarded warnings and violated school rules when they handed out white ribbons to classmates. They received a warning from the student affairs office.
Student protests have increased after pro-democracy demonstrations surged in July last year, empowering many Thai people to speak out against injustices, including students’ rights and liberties. People from schools across the nation have been banding together in solidarity to bring their issues to public light.
On graduation day, all the students were promoted into high school, except for the one student protestor, says the Bad Student protest group. The theme of the day focused on dedication to the monarchy, country and religion, and specifically how students should be obedient. The student said he has received support from friends, but his parents remain neutral and his teachers have been completely silent on the matter. He is frustrated that he was punished for his right to express himself. He plans on testing with incoming students to re-enrol in the same school, and if he is not accepted because of the disloyalty charge, he will pursue legal ramifications, suing the school for blocking his right to an education over the student’s protests.
The student believes he needs to speak out to prevent school administrators from imposing on more students’ rights. He advocates for diversity in schools and ending prejudices, with increased liberties and freedoms for students.
“Schools must teach children to be able to think by themselves, not force children to think like them. Schools should create opportunities for students to express their ideas more freely.”
SOURCE: Prachatai
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