Riot police at the pro-democracy protest on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road on Feb. 28, 2021.
BANGKOK — The contingent of riot police officers who were deployed at a recent pro-democracy protest included a policeman who was infected with the coronavirus, health officials said Thursday. One more person also died from the virus.
Sgt. Maj. Somyot Nuamcharoen, an officer at Wang Thong Lang Police Station, tested positive for the virus on Wednesday after learning that one of his friends was infected, station chief Col. Ekkapop Tunprayoon said. Somyot was sent to the hospital on Thursday.
The policeman was part of the crowd control police unit who was dispatched to monitor the rally close to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s residence on Sunday. The largely leaderless protest turned violent as dusk fell. Protesters hurled projectiles at the police, who responded with tear gas, water jets, and rubber baton rounds.
Somyot’s travel history published by health authorities showed he had gone home to Samut Sakhon on Feb. 18 and met up with friends and family there.
After his return from Samut Sakhon, Somyot was on duty transporting suspects from Feb. 19 to 20. He worked at the Wang Thong Lang Police Station from Feb. 23 to 26, then at the Children and Women’s Welfare Center on Feb. 27, before being deployed at the protest the following day.
Ekkapop, the Wang Thong Lang police superintendent, said that the precinct has been disinfected per safety measures, while other police officers who had worked closely with him were put in quarantine.
The pandemic response center also announced the country’s 85th death from the coronavirus. The victim was identified as a 63-year-old Bangkokian man, who had a travel history in areas with large numbers of infections.
The unnamed man was admitted to the hospital on Jan. 9, and died on Feb. 28. He had preexisting conditions of diabetes and high blood pressure, officials said.
Students flee as Sayan Chaleephol brandishes a gun at Thepha School on Feb. 4, 2021.
SONGKHLA — A school director who allegedly had a sexual relationship with one of his students and brandished his handgun at a school assembly was charged with sexual obscenity, police said Thursday.
Thepha School administrator Sayan Chaleephol, 60, was charged with sexual obscenity, taking a minor away from their family for indecent purposes, and unauthorized carrying of a gun, local police chief Col. Thammarat Petchnongchum said by phone.
Both obscenity and taking away a minor to commit obscenity charges carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Sayan pulled out his gun in front of his students at Thepha School on Feb. 4, to the terror of the pupils and teachers at the scene. The panic was also captured in a video that went viral on social media, but that didn’t stop one of the school directors from trying to defend Sayan and claiming that he was merely “adjusting” his belt.
Police were not convinced, and they soon charged him for the firearm offense.
Prior to the incident, Sayan was already under criminal investigation after the mother of a Matthayom 3 girl filed a complaint to the police, accusing Sayan of having a sexual relationship with her daughter.
Local police chief Col. Thammarat said there was sufficient evidence of the wrongdoing, based on witness accounts and medical examinations. Investigators have subsequently charged him with obscenity, a charge that can land Sayan in prison up to 10 years if convicted.
An undated photo of Nuttigar Woratunyawit in San Francisco, U.S. Image: Courtesy.
BANGKOK — An anti-government activist who fled Thailand in 2017 after she was charged with royal defamation said she’s gained political asylum in the United States government.
Nuttigar Woratunyawit, 47, said by phone Tuesday that her application for an asylum was granted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Nuttigar, who’s now living in San Francisco, said she was delighted by the news, although her status effectively means she is now unable to return to her home country.
“I’ve been waiting for this for three years now, but by principle, I shouldn’t go back to Thailand at all. It’s written in the letter,” Nuttigar said.
Part of the letter she received from the Department of Homeland Security said: “WARNING: If you return to the country of claimed persecution, you may be questioned as to why you were able to return to the country of claimed persecution, and your asylum status may be terminated.”
Nuttigar was one of the eight Facebook users who were abducted from their homes by security officers in 2016 and prosecuted for running satirical Facebook pages that targeted PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, who seized power through a military coup in 2014.
For her roles in the satires, Nuttigar was charged with insulting the monarchy, violating the Computer Crime Act, sedition, among other offenses. She and seven other defendants were sent to stand trial under a military court. The most serious charge – lese majeste – carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.
Security officers bring Nuttigar Woratunyawit to the military court on June 16, 2016, to hear her bail ruling.
She spent 71 days in prison, which she described as a hellish experience, before the court granted her bail. Convinced that she could find no justice from a trial under the military tribunal, Nuttigar fled Thailand to the U.S. in late 2017.
Despite her distance, Nuttigar said she remains active in the pro-democracy cause for Thailand. Nuttigar said she’s formed a group of about 20 Thais in San Francisco to support and show solidarity with the student-led protests back home.
“Last year, when the young people were politically active, it gave me passion again,” said Nuttigar, who is now working at an online shopping company in San Francisco.
As for her private life, Nuttigar said she has been in a relationship with an American for three years now. She recalled that after their first meeting, the man didn’t know about her background until he googled her name. Search results lead to online articles that discussed Nuttigar’s past as a dissenter wanted by the Thai junta.
Nuttigar and her fellow defendants, known as the Facebook Eight, upon their release from prison on May 10, 2016. Image: Prachatai.
“At first he didn’t know anything about me,” Nuttigar said. “He was impressed. He admired what I did.”
She said her next goal would be to become a U.S. citizen and spend the rest of her life in the Land of the Free. Asked what advice she has for other dissidents in Thailand who are considering an asylum overseas, Nuttigar said they must prepare themselves for a very difficult decision.
“Fleeing for asylum isn’t traveling for sightseeing or studying abroad. It’s leaving the country that you were born in, and once you get out, you can never go back. It’s a one-way ticket,” Nuttigar said.
She continued, “You have to evaluate yourself whether you’re ready for it. No one can guarantee that your requests will be approved. No one can tell you what kind of a life you’ll have. Your life will begin at zero.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated Nuttigar’s days in prison as 11. In fact, she spent 71 days in prison. We regret the error.
Police officers aim their guns towards people in nearby apartments as they stand off with anti-coup protesters in Yangon, Myanmar, Thursday, March 4, 2021. (AP Photo)
NEW DELHI (AP) — Police in India’s northeastern Mizoram state said Thursday they have detained three Myanmar policemen who entered India seeking refuge a month after the country’s powerful military ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup.
Police officer Lalnunzira, who uses one name, said the three men crossed into Indian territory near Lungkawlh village on Wednesday afternoon. The village is 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the border with Myanmar.
“The three policemen said they ran from the country because the Myanmar army was on their trail after they refused to obey some orders,” the police officer said.
He did not explain what orders the three policemen had refused to obey. He said they were wearing civilian clothes and were not carrying any weapons when they were found inside Indian territory.
India shares a 1,643-kilometer (1,020-mile) -long border with Myanmar, where more than 50 people, mostly peaceful protesters, have been killed since the Feb. 1 military coup.
India is home to thousands of refugees from Myanmar who are scattered across different states.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Yang Hongke checks on test samples at a testing lab of KingMed Diagnostics Group Co., Ltd. in Shijiazhuang in northern China's Hebei Province on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. (Mu Yu/Xinhua via AP)
TOKYO (Kyodo) — The Japanese government has requested China not to subject Japanese citizens entering the country to anal COVID-19 tests after receiving complaints of “psychological distress” from some of them, the top government spokesman said Monday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said the government has made the request through the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, although it has not been informed of any change in China’s policy on how it conducts the polymerase chain reaction tests for the novel coronavirus.
People mourn as they view the body of Kyal Sin, also known by her Chinese name Deng Jia Xi, a 20-year-old university student who was shot in the head while she attended an anti-coup protest rally in Mandalay, Myanmar Wednesday, Mar. 3, 2021. (AP Photo)
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar security forces were seen firing slingshots at protesters, chasing them down and even brutally beating an ambulance crew in video showing a dramatic escalation of violence against opponents of last month’s military coup.
A U.N. official speaking from Switzerland said 38 people had been killed Wednesday, a figure consistent with other reports though accounts are difficult to confirm inside the country. The increasingly deadly violence could galvanize the international community, which has responded fitfully so far.
“Today it was the bloodiest day since the coup happened on Feb. 1. We have today — only today — 38 people died. We have now more than over 50 people died since the coup started” and more have been wounded, the U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, told reporters at U.N. headquarters on Wednesday.
Demonstrators have regularly flooded the streets of cities across the country since the military seized power and ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Their numbers have remained high even as security forces have repeatedly fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse the crowds, and arrested protesters en masse.
Anti-coup protesters standing behind makeshift-shields brave teargas in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (AP Photo)
The intensifying standoff is unfortunately familiar in a country with a long history of peaceful resistance to military rule — and brutal crackdowns. The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian nation after five decades of military rule.
The Democratic Voice of Burma, an independent television and online news service, also tallied 38 deaths. A toll of at least 34 was compiled by a data analyst in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety. He also collected information where he could on the victims’ names, ages, hometowns, and where and how they were killed — an effort he said he had made to honor those who were killed for their heroic resistance.
The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm most of the reported deaths, but several square with online postings.
According to the data analyst’s list, most were in Yangon, where 18 died. In the central city of Monywa, which has turned out huge crowds, eight deaths were reported. Three deaths were reported in Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city, and two in Salin, a town in Magwe region. Mawlamyine, in the country’s southeast, and Myingyan and Kalay, both in central Myanmar, each had a single death.
Anti-coup protesters stand behind makeshift barricades made with bricks in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (AP Photo)
As part of the crackdown, security forces have also arrested hundreds of people, including journalists. On Saturday, at least eight journalists, including Thein Zaw of The Associated Press, were detained. A video showed he had moved out of the way as police charged down a street at protesters, but then was seized by police officers, who handcuffed him and held him briefly in a chokehold before marching him away.
He has been charged with violating a public safety law that could see him imprisoned for up to three years.
The escalation of the crackdown has led to increased diplomatic efforts to resolve Myanmar’s political crisis — but there appear to be few viable options. It’s not yet clear if Wednesday’s soaring death toll could change the dynamic.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to hold a closed meeting on the situation on Friday, council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make the information public before the official announcement. The United Kingdom requested the meeting, they said.
Policemen and soldiers armed with guns and sling-shots advance towards anti-coup protesters in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (AP Photo)
Still, any kind of coordinated action at the United Nations will be difficult since two permanent members of the Security Council, China and Russia, would almost certainly veto it. Some countries have imposed or are considering imposing their own sanctions.
The U.N. special envoy, Schraner Burgener, who supports sanctions, said she receives some 2,000 messages per day from people inside Myanmar, many “who are really desperate to see action from the international community.”
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Myanmar, issued a statement after a teleconference meeting of foreign ministers Tuesday that merely called for an end to violence and for talks on how to reach a peaceful settlement. ASEAN has a tradition of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.
Ignoring that appeal, Myanmar’s security forces have continued to attack peaceful protesters.
Anti-coup protesters take cover behind makeshift barricades in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (AP Photo)
In addition to the deaths, there have been reports of other violence. In Yangon, a widely circulated video taken from a security camera showed police in the city brutally beating members of an ambulance crew — apparently after they were arrested. Police can be seen kicking the three crew members and thrashing them with rifle butts.
Security forces are believed to single out medical workers for arrest and mistreatment because members of the medical profession launched the country’s civil disobedience movement to resist the junta.
In Mandalay, riot police, backed by soldiers, broke up a rally and chased around 1,000 teachers and students from a street with tear gas as gun shots could be heard.
Video from the AP showed a squad of police firing slingshots in the apparent direction of demonstrators as they dispersed.
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Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at U.N. headquarters in New York contributed to this report.
Update: The band “Bottom Blues” posted a message on its social media account that Chaiamorn has admitted to setting fire on the portrait of King Rama X to express his opposition to the jailing of four protest leaders on royal defamation charges. The message also quotes Chaiamorn as saying that he acted alone and his actions are not related to any group.
BANGKOK — Both forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts implicate a pro-democracy activist in the torching of a large portrait of His Majesty the King last week, police said Wednesday.
Chaiamorn “Ammy” Kaewwiboonpan, a singer for pop band “Bottom Blues” who took up activism during the street protests in 2020, is under police custody under suspicions that he and several others conspired to burn the royal portrait outside Klong Prem Prison in the early hours of Sunday. The singer-turned-activist was arrested on Tuesday night.
“Chaiamorn is a conspirator,” Bangkok police commander Phukphong Phongpetra told reporters. “We have witness testimony as well as forensic evidence pointing to him, not just security camera footage.”
Maj. Gen. Phukpong said police will apply for arrest warrants on other perpetrators soon.
Chaiamorn, 32, was charged with royal defamation, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, as well as arson and damaging public properties. The activist is said to be receiving treatment for unspecified injuries at the Police Hospital; investigators said Chaiamorn suffered a fall after he climbed up to burn King Rama X’s portrait.
Chaiamorn “Ammy” Kaewwiboonpan, wearing a cap, raises the three-finger salute on Oct. 19, 2020, upon his release from Bangkok Remand Prison, where he was jailed for several days for his role in anti-government protests.
Police also released CCTV footage of the incident to the media, allegedly showing Chaiamorn driving his car to the prison at about 3am on Sunday, just before the portrait went up in flame.
His band, Bottom Blues, also shared an image of the royal portrait being burned on its official Facebook account.
But his fellow activist Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul said she remains unconvinced of Chaiamorn’s guilt, unless police can show more evidence they claim to possess.
“I haven’t seen any evidence that clearly implicates Ammy as the wrongdoer,” Panusaya told reporters after a brief rally outside Bangkok Remand Prison.
Portraits of Royal Family members are a common sight in Thailand. The portraits typically decorate government buildings and intersections to honor the monarchy. Defacing or destroying the images is seen as a sign of grave disrespect, punishable under the royal insult law, or lese majeste.
In August 2017, eight teenagers were arrested and charged with lese majeste for allegedly burning down royal portraits in Khon Kaen province.
A Swiss national was also jailed for several months and deported in 2007 after he was caught defacing the portrait of King Bhumibol.
BANGKOK — The winner of Miss Universe Thailand 2020 said Wednesday she would not back down from comments about police violence that cost her job in a government agency.
Pageant queen Amanda Obdam, 27, was removed from her position as a publicity ambassador for the Mental Health Department on Tuesday for speaking out against the beating of a medic volunteer by riot police during a protest in February. In today’s news conference, Amanda stood by her remark and said human rights is a crucial issue.
“Democracy and human equality is a basic principle of humanity,” she said.
Amanda called out the police’s actions in a tweet published on Feb. 14, a day after a group of policemen were seen kicking and hitting a medic volunteer with their truncheons.
“How can we talk about love when there’s still violence on the street?” she wrote in English, and added in Thai, “How can we talk about the Day of Love when people are still harmed by security officers?”
The Department of Mental Health responded by sacking her from the publiclity job, just days after the department appointed her to the role on Feb. 25.
“The Department of Mental Health has discussed with the pageant winner and understood that some citizens are concerned,” a statement released by the agency said.
“Therefore, we have terminated her role as a brand ambassador for the Department of Mental Health, effective immediately.”
Organizers of the pageant appear to be sympathetic to Amanda. Miss Universe Thailand executive Piyaporn Sankosik said at today’s news conference, “Everyone has something to do with politics. Amanda has always posted her views and stance.”
Despite her removal from the health agency, Amanda said she would continue to campaign for mental health awareness via her own platform, called Have You Listened?.
BANGKOK — Spoon hearty scoops of ropa vieja and fricasé de pollo while munching on yuquitas fritas, from the comfort of your own home.
That’s right, authentic Cuban food, just like how abuela (grandma) makes it, is now available for delivery courtesy of Ray Gonzalez, 38, is the sole proprietor and cook of Casa Panza.
“Most people think that Cuban food is similar to Mexican food. But it’s about as similar to Thai food is to Indonesian,” Gonzalez said in an interview. “This is 100 percent what a Cuban grandma would make. It’s time to introduce Thais to Cuban food.”
Gonzalez said he learned the recipes from his grandmother, who fed him for most of his childhood. His mother was born to Cuban parents in Los Angeles, while his dad moved to the United States from Cuba in 1980.
The name of his restaurants, Casa Panza, means “belly house,” because Gonzalez says he wants to fill everyone’s bellies and he had an aunt’s cousin who would put his belly on the table at restaurants and ask, “How much will you fill it for?”
Casa Panza’s Ropa Vieja (340 baht).
He decided to open Casa Panza after the COVID-19 pandemic took away his work in education.
We had a delivery of four dishes, each of which were a sizable portion – it took three hungry people to finish the four meals.
The most memorable standout dish for us was the Ropa Vieja (340 baht), a tender beef brisket with red bell peppers, olives, richly cooked in red wine.
Fricase de Pollo (270 baht).
For a lighter meat meal, try the Fricase de Pollo (270 baht) which is chicken with sofrito (a base of aromatic vegetables cooked in oil with spices) with potatoes and plump raisins, but also in a red wine reduction.
Lechon Asado with a side of black beans (290 baht).
The Lechon Asado with a side of black beans (290 baht) is marinated for 36 hours, a stringy, yet tender, lime-kissed mess. They pair perfectly with the black peans, cooked with Cuban spices and just enough bacon and fat to make it lip-smacking.
Rice is a comforting familiarity on the plate, but Gonzalez cooks it as Cuban cuisine dictates, made with a bit of garlic and olive oil.
Half an order of yuca fries and tostones with mojo sauce.
For the whole Cuban experience, don’t forget to try the Yuca Fries (110 baht) and Tostones (120 baht) with mojo sauce. The yuca, or cassava fries, as well as the green plantains, are sprinkled with a bit of salt and dipped in a mojo sauce made of garlic oil and bitter orange.
“Thais eat it sweet, but we eat it savory,” Gonzalez said.
Ray Gonzalez cooking. Photo: Courtesy
Since Casa Panza opened in late November, Gonzalez has gotten orders from largely Latin expats or those who just miss the food scene in Miami.
“Cuban Americans, Puerto Rican Americans tell me it’s as if they’re sitting in grandma’s kitchen and eating the food of their childhood,” he said. “There’s no other authentic Cuban food in Southeast Asia.”
Gonzalez said Cuban food is influenced by Spanish, African, Moroccan, Chinese, and Caribbean cuisine – and genuine at heart.
“It’s a very, very homemade, no-frills food. It’s not hiso,” he said. “After working in the sugarcane fields, this is what you eat when you’re hungry at home. It’s filling, but not heavy, and there’s a lot of vegetables, beans, and meat. The basis should be tangy.”
To order from Casa Panza, message their Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp a day ahead so Gonzalez can get to work marinating the meats. Casa Panza also does vegetarian orders, which may include a quimbombo okra stew.
Our review is unsponsored and was based on a hosted delivery.
File photo taken in May 2020 shows deer in Nara. (Kyodo)
NARA (Kyodo) — A man was arrested Tuesday for killing a wild deer last month in Nara Prefecture in western Japan, in violation of the law that protects cultural properties, police said.
Hayato Yoshii, a 23-year-old construction worker from Mie Prefecture, central Japan, has admitted to killing the deer, which are protected under the cultural properties protection law, with an ax.
