Thailand News Today | 263 guns seized in 15 days in southern Thailand

263 guns seized in 15 days in southern Thailand

The Royal Thai Police confiscated 263 guns and 1,702 rounds of ammunition in

Advertisements

eight provinces of southern Thailand over a 15-day period this month.

Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered a crackdown on illegal

firearms following the massacre at a daycare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu province

earlier this month.

Between October 10-24, police confiscated 263 firearms in Provincial Police

Advertisements

Region 8, which covers Krabi, Chumphon, Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Phang Nga,

Phuket, Ranong and Surat Thani provinces.

Police made 363 arrests and confiscated 260 regular firearms, three war-scale

firearms, and 1,702 rounds of ammunition.

Commander of Provincial Police Region 8 Pol. Lt. Gen. Surapong Thanomjit said

that guns are frequently used in crimes in Thailand. He said firearms are a huge

problem causing loss of life every day. The police officer said the presence of guns

in Thailand is instilling fear into the population.

The officer said the force is cracking down on illegal guns by command of PM

Prayut, who recently ordered the police to prevent gun crime in the kingdom. PM

Prayut also declared a crackdown on drugs, especially methamphetamine.

Yesterday, a SWAT police officer fired 11 shots at a man in a nightclub in Trang

province, southern Thailand, with a 9mm Glock. He killed one man and injured

two more before going on the run.

Thailand ranks 15th among countries with the highest numbers of gun-related

deaths worldwide and 2nd in Southeast Asia, after the Philippines, according to the

World Population Review.

Thailand has the highest gun possession in Southeast Asia because guns are easy to

purchase legally or illegally. Among 10,342,000 guns recorded in Thailand in

2017, 6,221,180 were legally registered and the rest were illegal. Thailand News Today

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Allow foreigners to hold land ownership

The cabinet approved on Tuesday the Interior Ministry's proposal to allow

foreigners to hold land ownership of up to one rai (roughly 0.16 hectares) for

residential purposes, though critics warned the move might trigger land speculation

from foreigners.

According to government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri, the weekly cabinet

meeting approved in principle a draft regulation of the Interior Ministry regarding

land ownership by foreigners, allowing four groups of rich foreign nationals,

wealthy global citizens, wealthy pensioners, people who work from Thailand, and

highly skilled professionals or specialists – to buy and own land for residences.

The proposal marks a departure from long-standing laws limiting land and property

purchases, except condominiums, to Thais or people married to Thais.

Over a period of five years – from now through 2026 – the government hopes to

attract more than a million wealthy expats to Thailand.

The government estimates the scheme will inject more than 1 trillion baht into the

economy, with an uptick of 800 billion baht in investment and 270 billion through

revenue collection.

According to Mr. Anucha, the land slated for foreign ownership should be in

Bangkok, the Pattaya area, the municipalities of all provinces nationwide, and

areas stipulated as residential zones according to the town and country planning

act.

Qualified foreign nationals must invest 40 million baht in Thai property, securities,

or funds to participate in the scheme. They are required to invest in real estate or

infrastructure funds, real estate investment trusts, securities, or enterprises

promoted by the Board of Investment.

If participants withdraw their investment before the designated period, the land

ownership rights must be revoked. The proposed scheme will become effective

after publication in the Royal Gazette. The scheme will be reviewed after five

years. For foreigners applying to buy land or houses must produce evidence of their

investments.

The foreign investor may buy houses and/or land in Bangkok, Pattaya, or another

“residential area” under Thailand’s town-planning laws.

Foreign investors are not permitted to purchase land or houses in military zones.

The land/house must be used for personal use and “must not violate the morals,

customs or way of life in the local community.”

To apply to buy houses or land, the foreigner must submit an application to the

Director-General of the Land Department who will seek approval from the

Ministry of Interior.

Once the application is approved, the investor must inform the local land

department within 60 days.

If the buyer withdraws their investment, they must inform officials within 60 days.

Foreigners are only eligible to buy one rai of land once. The limit will apply even

if the investor sells parts of or all of the land. Thailand News Today

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Chon Buri governor and police chief deny taking bribes from Pattaya nightspot operators

Chon Buri Provincial Governor Thawatchai Srithong (ธวัชชัย ศรีทอง) and the

provincial police commander, Pol Maj-Gen Kittanet Thana-nan-taveesin, held a

joint press conference yesterday (Tuesday) to refute allegations of bribe-taking

from night entertainment establishments in Pattaya.

Both also threatened legal action against those responsible for posting the

allegations on social media.

A recent social media post shows a piece of paper with names of the entertainment

venues in Pattaya scribbled on it, with numbers thought to be the amounts of bribes

paid. Another post shows an image of the police commander eating at a gathering,

which they claim was hosted by the venue operators.

Pol Maj-Gen Kittanet said that the allegations have tarnished his reputation, adding

that he will sue those responsible for publishing the false allegations.

The governor, meanwhile, said that entertainment venues that are found to be

violating the law will be closed down for five years without exception.

He added that he will also take legal action against those who accused him of

taking bribes.

In Bangkok, police raided a pub in Yan Nawa district on Tuesday night and about

40 of the 300 customers, mostly Chinese tourists, tested positive for illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, commander of the investigative division of Metropolitan Police

Bureau, said that the pub had been operating illegally for about four months and

only catered to foreign customers, adding that most customers are on package tours

from China. Thailand News Today

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Drug dealers use license plate flippers to trick police

Officers swooped and arrested a drug trafficking gang that managed to avoid

capture for months by using a car license plate flipper to trick police.

The Metropolitan Police Bureau in Bangkok held a press conference yesterday to

reveal details of the license plate flipper scam and the arrest of a major drug

trafficking gang in the central part of Thailand.

The Deputy Commander of the Metro Police, Jirasan Kaew-ek, revealed his team

arrested a drug dealer last month who confessed that he bought his illegal narcotics

from a bigger fish named Kittisak.

The police had been monitoring Kittisak and his two friends, Jack and Champ, who

rented a house in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok, for months.

Officers eventually tracked down the criminals and raided their drugs den, seizing

in the process some 120 bags of heroin, 162 kilogrammes of methamphetamine,

and 94 kilogrammes of ketamine.

Kittisak made known they were hired by a dealer in northern Thailand and earned

200,000 baht per month for trafficking his drugs.

Kittisak said they made four drug deliveries starting in July. He revealed they

managed to avoid arrest by using the license plate flipper, which they ordered

online for 30,000 baht.

The driver can operate the device from inside the car using a remote control, which

rotates the plate within a few seconds.

The Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Damrongsak Kittipaphat, ordered

every police checkpoint to focus on the car registration plates to avoid similar

cases.

Damrongsak issued a warning to criminals repeating the trick because they would

be violating Sections 264 and 265 of the Criminal Law. Anyone who fails to

follow the rules faces imprisonment from six months to one year and their car

registration license will be revoked.

Damrongsak also urged the merchants of the gadget to stop selling it. The

commissioner warned license plate sellers face prosecution if the flipper is used

illegally. Thailand News Today

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Miss Grand Thailand, Engfa Waraha, scooped the best national costume prize at the Miss Grand International 2022 final

Miss Grand Thailand, Engfa Waraha, scooped the best national costume prize at

the Miss Grand International 2022 final in Indonesia yesterday. Unfortunately, the

Thai beauty queen had to make do with the first runner-up prize in the overall

competition after being edged out by Miss Grand Brazil, Isabella Menin, who was

crowned Miss Grand International 2022. Thailand News Today

Beauty queens from 72 countries around the world joined the final round of the

Thai-franchised beauty contest at Sentul International Convention Center in Bogor

Regency of West Java province in Indonesia.

Many beauty pageant fans agreed that the 26 year old Brazilian beauty deserved to

wear the crown, commenting on her bright personality and education. Menin can

speak five languages and finished her Master’s degree in finance at University

College London.

As the beauty contest is a Thai-based project, Menin also spoke Thai in a part of

her speech in the final round too.

The runners-up included:

1st runner-up: Engfa Waraha (Thailand)

2nd runner-up: Andina Julie (Indonesia)

3rd runner-up: Luiseth Materan (Venezuela)

4th runner-up: Mariana Beckova (Czech Republic)

Engfa may not have been crowned Miss Grand International 2022 but she made

known that she still fulfilled many of her dreams competing in the competition,

scooping the first runner-up and national costume prize.

The national costume of Miss Grand Thailand this year was inspired by the

nation’s unique Muay Thai sport and the monkey character, Hanuman, from the

Ramayana epic. See Engfa’s national costume here. Thailand News Today

Thai netizens praised Engfa for her performance. Fans were also impressed with

her speech on the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The young beauty

queen was worried about her English speaking skills but delivered her point

eloquently.

Meanwhile, Anne Jakrajutatip, a Thai billionaire transwoman, and the Chief

Executive Officer of the JKN Global Group Public Company Limited took over

the Miss Universe Organization yesterday following a US$20 million (760 million

baht) investment in the franchise.

The Miss Universe headquarters and the team will remain in New York City, US,

according to the legal conditions.Thailand News Today

Check out other news or watch a news report on Thaiger’s youtube channel

Thailand video news

Related Articles