Thailand News Today | 36 sex workers in Pattaya arrested for prostitution
Car bomb kills one, hurts 31 at Narathiwat police flats
Police found that a man dressing like a plainclothes policeman parked a bomb-
carrying pickup truck which later went off, killed one police captain and injured 43
others at a police flat compound in Muang district on Nov 22.
Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, commissioner-general of the Royal Thai Police
Office, and forensic officers inspected the bomb scene and found parts of a
timebomb that was apparently placed in a 50-kilogram cooking gas cylinder.
The national police chief was informed that detectives were hunting for the
bombing suspect who appeared on surveillance camera footage while wearing a
gray polo shirt and dark blue tactical pants. The footage will be sharpened and
detectives would then identify the suspect.
Meanwhile, the national police chief ordered temporary residences for affected
police and their families, the quick repair of damaged flats and strict security
measures to prevent such an incident from recurring.
Pol Gen Damrongsak also ordered a seven-level salary increase for Pol Capt
Sutthirak Phanthaniya who was killed in the bombing. The police would request a
police general rank for him and provide his family with welfare and privileges.
Financial aid for affected people initially exceeded 3 million baht. Thailand news
Police target Pattaya transvestites preying on tourists Thailand news
Tourist police have begun a campaign to prevent transvestites preying on tourists
along Pattaya beaches ahead of the high season for tourism. The campaign started
at 10pm on Tuesday at Walking Street in South Pattaya, when Pol Lt Col Pichaya
Khieopluang, a tourist police inspector, sent patrols of tourist police and volunteers
to scour Pattaya beaches for transvestites.
The patrols rounded up 36 of them. Their personal information was taken and put
on record. They were then warned against gathering in groups along the beaches
and tourist spots to target tourists with aggressive offers of sex services and
committing other crimes.
Pol Lt Col Pichaya said the campaign was intended to protect both Thai and
foreign tourists against being assaulted and robbed. The patrols would be taken
against those found defying the warning, he said. Thailand news
Fate of Thai baht depends on return of Chinese tourists, economists say
The Thai baht has been flying recently but its upward trend could draw to a
standstill unless Chinese tourists return to the kingdom of Thailand, according to
economists.
In the past month, the baht appreciated almost 6% against the US dollar as reports
indicated the US Federal Reserve would slow down its aggressive interest rate
hikes.
Despite inflation, a reinvigorated tourism sector has helped expand Thailand’s
gross domestic product in the third quarter, growing by 4.5% from a year ago.
The positive trends have led to the Thai baht being overbought when it was
oversold just two months ago, indicating that its value might not be stable for much
longer.
Signs the Fed would slow down its interest rate hikes helped the baht to appreciate,
but some US bankers aren’t sure the US’s fight against inflation is over just yet.
The value of the greenback is likely to change somewhat today as investors eagerly
await the minutes of the Fed’s most recent meeting to be released.
The tourism-dependent Thai baht was the second-best performing currency in
Asia, but its value is likely to remain volatile unless a new catalyst comes into
play, such as the return of Chinese tourists.
Prior to the pandemic, tourism made up a fifth of Thailand’s economy, with
Chinese tourists comprising around 28% of foreign arrivals. However, Thailand’s
tourist hotspots are near enough devoid of Chinese tourists at present thanks to
Beijing’s ceaseless Covid-zero policy. Thailand news
AirAsia Thailand passenger data allegedly leaked after ransomware attack Thailand news
AirAsia group allegedly fell victim to a ransomware attack that leaked the personal
data of five million passengers and all staff of AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Malaysia,
and AirAsia Indonesia.
‘Daixin Team’ allegedly leaked the data after the airline refused to pay a ransom.
On Monday, Daixin Team was the focus of a cybersecurity alert jointly released by
the US FBI and CISA.
According to the document, Daixin Team is a cybercrime group that actively
targets businesses with ransomware and data extortion operations.
DataBreaches reported that the ransomware attack took place on November 11 and
November 12, 2022. The airline allegedly swiftly responsed to Daixin Team
through a chat when the hackers sent a data sample.
DataBreaches allege that Daixin leaked two .csv files containing the personal data
of five million passengers and staff. The first included passenger data including
passenger ID, full name (full, middle, last), booking ID, and cost of ticket.
Meanwhile, the second .csv file allegedly leaked contained employee data
containing photos, secret questions, secret answers, birth city, birth state, birth
country, nationality, and employment details.
A Daixin spokesperson said that AirAsia responded to the attack and “asked in
great detail how we would delete their data in case of payment.” The spokesperson
said that AirAsia did not try and negotiate the amount, indicating that they never
intended on paying the ransom for their data.
“Usually everyone wants to negotiate a smaller amount,” said the spokesperson.
Daixin allegedly said they wouldn’t bother launching a second attack on AirAsia
because they were “irritated” by the “poor organisation” of the company.
A French man was arrested in Rawai for having whale bones
Bart Simpson used to famously say, “Don’t have a cow, man!” But maybe, also
don’t have a whale? In Rawai, a French man was arrested after he was discovered
in possession of part of a whale skeleton. It turns out that owning whale bones
violates the Wild Animal Protection Act.
The Phuket Express reports that the man was nabbed when officials received an
anonymous tip. The tipster alerted the Department of Marine and Coastal
Resources that a foreign man in Rawai somehow had whale skeletons that were
probably illegal.
The department investigated and tracked the man down after being notified of the
whale bones. On Monday, police arrested a 52 year old man from France for the
illegal skeleton possession. Arresting officers seized bones that made up the lower
part of a baleen whale.
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