Left, Amorn Boonmee at Pattaya City Police Station on Feb. 25, 2021. Right, Salvatore Andrews Castromedina receives a basket of chicken essence soup from police.
PATTAYA — Police on Thursday arrested a man who confessed to attacking a Chilean national in the resort town of Pattaya.
Amorn “Jeab” Boonmee, a motorcycle taxi driver, was apprehended at his home after he allegedly slapped and kicked Salvatore Andres Castromedina, 24, breaking his nose. Speaking at the police station, Amorn said he acted in a blind moment of fury because he was annoyed by the Chilean man.
“I apologize,” Amorn said at the Pattaya City Police Station on Thursday afternoon. “I was annoyed at the tourist who came up to speak to me and I didn’t understand what he was saying. He wouldn’t go when I told him to. I’m someone who gets annoyed easily, especially at people who talk a lot.”
The attack took place close to the red light district of Walking Street at about 2am Thursday. It was also captured on a security camera.
Police Col. Pisit Poonsap said investigators were still waiting for a full medical report of Castromedina’s injuries in order to determine Amorn’s charges.
“This incident has damaged the image of Pattaya and the country’s tourism,” Pisit said, attributing the cause to a “misunderstanding in communication. “We don’t want these images to happen.”
Speaking via an interpreter, Castromedina said this was his first time in Thailand. The man said he tried to ask the motorcycle taxi driver for a ride to Soi Buakhao prior to the incident.
The other person seen in the CCTV footage was Rittisak Kulsumaso, 45, another motorcycle taxi driver. Rittisak said he tried to stop Amorn from attacking Castromedina and turned himself into the police at noon.
Rittisak said he was also the one who brought Castromedina to the police to file a complaint.
“I really didn’t want this to happen. It’s already hard to make money,” Rittisak said. “[Castromedina] had also been drinking alcohol.”
At the station, police officers also gave Castromedina a basket of chicken essence soup and wished him a speedy recovery.
A royal motorcade drives through a crowd of anti-government protesters in front of Government House on Oct. 14, 2020.
BANGKOK — Prosecutors on Thursday deferred their decision on whether to indict a group of five activists accused of blocking Her Majesty the Queen’s motorcade to March 31, a defense attorney said.
The indictment was initially expected today, but prosecutors delayed it because they needed more time to study the case file, defense lawyer Winyat Chatmontree said by phone. Five activists were charged with harming Her Majesty the Queen or Her Liberty under Article 110 of the Criminal Codes, which carries a lifetime prison sentence.
Winyat, who represents three of the five suspects, said he already filed a letter to the prosecutors asking them to reconsider the case, but it’s too premature to assume how they will proceed.
“It’s too soon to tell, but usually if someone asks for fairness, they have to consider the issue,” the lawyer said.
Charges were filed against the five activists following an incident on Oct. 14, when Her Majesty the Queen’s motorcade passed through a group of pro-democracy protesters in front of Government House without any warning. The authorities accused the demonstrators of attempting to block the convoy and harming Her Majesty.
In the letter submitted to the Office of the Attorney General, Winyat questioned why the authorities did not inform the demonstrators in advance about the royal motorcade.
“Did they ever investigate this incident? If not, then they should do so,” Winyat said by phone. “Usually when security details are deployed [to protect the motorcade], even a dog can’t walk through. How did the motorcade pass through the protesters? Why did they not clear the protesters from the area first?”
A royal motorcade pushes through protesters in front of Government House on Oct. 14, 2020.
Three people were charged with Article 110 in the days after the confrontation: political activist and former lese majeste convict Ekachai Hongkangwan, Mahidol University student and activist Bunkueanun “Francis” Paothong, and children welfare campaigner Suranat Paenprasert.
Two were later charged with the same offense: Panupat Paikor, 31, an office worker and Chanathip Chanintayangoon, 50, an artist.
One of the suspects, Ekachai, said to be charged with the harsh law of Article 110 is a new experience for him, even though he’s been through many legal battles as an activist.
“It’s an unprecedented case,” Ekachai said.
In this Oct. 16, 2020, file photo, activist Bunkueanun Paothong poses for a photo outside a police station in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer, File)
Bunkueanun, the Mahidol student, said he feels optimistic that the prosecutors may drop the allegation once they’ve looked into the full picture.
“I’m kind of not surprised especially when the case is supposed to have this kind of impact and especially it has no historical precedent,” Bunkueanun said by phone. “And I think the folk there at the Office of the Attorney General might want to get the facts straight, like how the police carried out the investigation.”
He continued, “I was near the motorcade but didn’t intend to do harm. I am certainly optimistic about the whole aspect of what’s going to happen. But then again, we must expect the unexpected. We probably have to wait and see.”
Ekachai and Bunkeanun have insisted that they did not pose any threat to Her Majesty the Queen; a video of the incident shows Ekachai standing close by and flashing the three-finger salute, but did not physically touch the vehicle carrying the Queen.
Suwat Kanjanawaha, 58, collects a water sample on Feb. 15, 2021 from Tha Chin River in Nakhon Pathom. Suwat, an orchid gardener, has had all his crops die since the river’s salinity reached levels as high as 4 grams per liter.
BANGKOK — Starting on March 1, experts from Chulalongkorn University will offer to test if the tap water and filter in your home has too much salt – free of charge.
The free service is part of a campaign to raise awareness about the ongoing phenomenon of salty tap water in the capital, which officials blame on the rise of the sea level that spilled onto Bangkok’s water supplies.
Residents concerned that their tap water may be too unhealthy are encouraged to bring their samples to Professor Aroon Sorathesn Center of Excellence in Environmental Engineering, which will open to the public Mondays to Fridays, from 9am to 4pm.
“People have a limit of salt per day, and that limit is 2000 milligrams,” Pisut Painmanakul, a professor in environmental engineering at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Engineering, said by phone.
“Since the water is already 200 or 250 milligrams per liter, and you drink maybe two liters per day, you have to make up for that by eating less salty food.”
Pisit warned that the problem of salty tap water would only escalate in the coming days due to rising sea levels and Chao Phraya tributaries being diverted for agricultural use.
He added that people should decrease their intake of mineral water, since the salty water already has an ample amount of minerals. Those living upriver from Bangkok should also try to conserve water usage.
Both the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency say that drinking water should have no more than 0.2 grams of sodium per liter, but Bangkok is seeing as much as 0.33 grams as of press time, down from levels of 0.96 in earlier February.
Orchid farmers in Nakhon Pathom hold up their orchids that have died due to salty river water on Feb. 15, 2021.
Although that’s time-worn advice previously given by government officials, Pisit illustrated just how much sodium is in Thai food.
“To put it easily, one fried snake skin fish has 1,200 milligrams of sodium. One tablespoon of fish sauce is almost the daily limit,” he said.
Ingesting too much salt puts one at the risk of kidney disease and high blood pressure. The professors recommended that people use Reverse Osmosis filtration systems.
Chulalongkorn University said in a statement that its experts have been working on creating water filter membranes that minimize wastewater and are longer-lasting than common ones. The professors have used electrodialysis, a method which separates salt from water, used ultra membranes to filter out pollutants.
Director Jenyuk Lohwacharin of the environmental engineering center said the university did not have plans to create and sell filtration systems yet, but if they had the budget they could create filtration systems for areas in dire need of them.
The public is also advised to avoid filling up their water jugs with tap water anything between 2pm to 5pm – since it’s the time of the day when the sea levels are at the highest.
The Professor Aroon Sorathesn Center of Excellence in Environmental Engineering. Photo: Chulalongkorn University
To bring in your water samples or filters for testing, go to the Professor Aroon Sorathesn Center of Excellence in Environmental Engineering (ศูนย์ความเป็นเลิศด้านวิศวกรรมสิ่งแวดล้อม) on the third floor of the Department of Environmental Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University.
The center is open from 9am to 4pm, and is a walkable distance from either BTS Siam or MRT Sam Yan.
Suthep Thaugsuban gestures to reporters as he is led away to Bangkok Remand Prison on Feb. 24, 2021.
BANGKOK (AP) — Three Cabinet ministers in Thailand were forced to leave their posts Wednesday after a court found them guilty of sedition for taking part in sometimes-violent protests in 2013-2014 against the government then in power.
The Criminal Court in Bangkok found Digital Economy Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta, Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan and Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam guilty along with about two dozen other defendants in a case that was launched in 2018.
Nataphol was among 10 Cabinet member who survived a no-confidence vote on Saturday over their performance in the current government.
The verdicts can be appealed to a higher court but under the law the Cabinet ministers must relinquish their jobs immediately.
In this Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, file photo, the Thai Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan, center negotiates with student representatives ahead of a rally of high school students in Bangkok, Thailand. N (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, file)
Another prominent person convicted Wednesday was Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister who helped found the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, which led the demonstrations against the elected government of then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Instability caused by the street protests led to the Thai army staging a coup in 2014 and keeping power until 2019.
Suthep and the Cabinet ministers each received prison sentences ranging from five to about seven years. Another prominent defendant, Suwit Thongprasert, who was a Buddhist monk known as Buddha Issara during the protests, was sentenced to 4 years and 8 months in prison. All were remanded into custody pending appeals procedures.
“We are prepared. Whatever happens, will happen,” Suthep said outside the court. “But I have to assure you that the protest leaders and those who share our same belief, that we are fighting for our country and our land. We firmly believe in responsibility in our actions and not violating the law.”
The protests marked the tail end of almost a decade of intense political contention in Thailand that began in 2006 after then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted by a coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin is Yingluck’s brother, and they are both currently in exile.
Suthep Thaugsuban greets Buddha Issara at the court on March 14, 2018.
Thaksin’s ouster set off years of sometimes violent conflict between his supporters and opponents, both of which engaged in aggressive street protests against governments led by the other’s faction. The People’s Democratic Reform Committee was in the anti-Thaksin camp, which in an earlier incarnation as the People’s Alliance for Democracy occupied the prime minister’s offices and Bangkok’s international airport for about a week in 2008.
Thaksin’s supporters were known as the Red Shirts, and in 2010 wreaked havoc by occupying part of central Bangkok. Their protest was suppressed by the army in several weeks of violence that took almost 100 lives.
The court in Bangkok on Wednesday dismissed charges of insurrection and terrorism against the defendants, on the ground that they had not used force to hurt anyone.
However, Suthep and 26 other defendants were found guilty on several other lesser charges carrying prison terms as short as four months. The court suspended for two years the sentences of 12 people because they considered them participants rather than leaders of the protests.
Japan's new Olympic minister Tamayo Marukawa meets the press in Tokyo on Feb. 20, 2021. (Kyodo)
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan’s Olympics minister said Wednesday that coronavirus vaccinations would not be a prerequisite for participation at this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics, despite a World Anti-Doping Agency appeal that athletes be inoculated.
“We are putting together a number of comprehensive measures to realize a safe and secure event without needing vaccinations to be a prerequisite,” Tamayo Marukawa, who last week took over as Olympics minister, told a press conference.
An anti-coup protester flashes the three-fingered salute of defiance as police stand watch in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (AP Photo)
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Social media giant Facebook announced Thursday it was banning all accounts linked to Myanmar’s military as well as ads from military-controlled companies in the wake of the army’s seizure of power on Feb. 1.
It said in a statement that it was treating the post-coup situation in Myanmar as an “emergency,” explaining that the ban was precipitated by events since the coup, including “deadly violence.”
Facebook’s action comes as diplomatic efforts to resolve Myanmar’s political crisis have intensified and protests continued in Yangon and other cities calling for the country’s coup makers to step down and return Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government to power.
Facebook already has banned several military-linked accounts since the coup, including army-controlled Myawaddy TV and state television broadcaster MRTV.
The bans are also being applied on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.
Anti-coup protesters play instruments and sing after riot policemen blocked their march in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (AP Photo)
Facebook and other social media platforms came under enormous criticism in 2017 when right groups said they failed to act enough to stop hate speech against Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority.
The army launched a brutal counterinsurgency operation that year that drove more than 700,000 Rohingya to to seek safety in neighboring Bangladesh, where they remain in refugee camps. Myanmar security forces burned down villages, killed civilians and engaged in mass rape in their campaign, which the World Court is investigating as a crime of genocide.
Facebook in 2018 banned the accounts of several top Myanmar military leaders, including Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led this month’s coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party. The general heads the junta that now acts as the government,
The junta has tried to block Facebook and other social media platforms, but its efforts have proven ineffective. For more than a week it has also turned off access to the internet nightly from 1 a.m.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Wednesday visited the Thai capital, Bangkok, and held three-way talks with her Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai and Myanmar’s new foreign minister, retired army colonel Wunna Maung Lwin, who also traveled to Thailand. The meeting was part of Marsudi’s efforts to coordinate a regional response to the crisis triggered by the military takeover in Myanmar.
Indonesia and fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are seeking to promote some concessions by Myanmar’s military that could ease tensions to prevent more violence. The regional grouping, to which Thailand and Myanmar also belong, believes dialogue with the generals is a more effective method of achieving concessions than more confrontational methods, such as the sanctions often advocated by Western nations.
In this image taken from MRTV video Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, left, talks with Thailand Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, center, and Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, right, during their meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (MRTV via AP)
In a virtual news conference after her return to Indonesia, Marsudi said she expressed her country’s concern about the situation in Myanmar.
“We asked all parties to exercise restraint and not use violence . . . to avoid casualties and bloodshed,” she said, emphasizing the need for dialogue, reconciliation and trust-building.
Marsudi said she had conveyed the same message to a group of elected members of Myanmar’s Parliament who were barred by the military coup from taking their seats. The lawmakers are from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, which won a landslide victory in elections last November that would have given it a second five-year term in office.
After the coup, the group, called the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the name of the combined houses of Parliament, announced it was convening the body in an online session and appealed to the U.N. and foreign countries to treat it as Myanmar’s legitimate government.
It has received mounting support from Myanmar’s protest movement, but little if any foreign endorsements. Indonesia’s acknowledgement that the group has a role to play could open an avenue for negotiations between Myanmar’s ruling junta and its opponents.
Opposition to the coup continues inside Myanmar, with large demonstrations in many cities and towns.
There was a new look to anti-coup demonstrations Thursday, with protesters smearing a traditional yellow paste on their faces, as a proclamation of their national identity.
Outside the Hledan Centre in Yangon, where around 1,000 people gathered to keep up pressure on the new military regime, protestors wore the mixture, called thanaka, in broad swathes on their foreheads, cheeks and down their noses.
Some had slogans written into the designs.
Anti-coup protesters stage a sit-in protest in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. Placards reads as “Abolish 2008 Military Slave Law.” (AP Photo)
Thanaka is made from pulverized tree bark. It is said to be good for the skin and to protect it from sunburn. It is ubiquitous in Myanmar and is as much a symbol of its culture as the sarong-like longyi skirt or the Shwedagon temple in Yangon.
There was a tense standoff on Wednesday in the country’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, where police holding riot shields and cradling rifles blocked the path of about 3,000 teachers and students.
After about two hours, during which demonstrators played protest songs and listened to speeches condemning the coup, the crowd moved away.
On Saturday, police and soldiers fatally shot two people in Mandalay while breaking up a strike by dock workers.
The military says it took power because last November’s election was marked by widespread voting irregularities, an assertion that was refuted by the state election commission, whose members have since been replaced by the ruling junta.
Despite the landslide victory by Suu Kyi’s party at the polls, the army blocked Parliament from convening and detained her and President Win Myint and other top members of her government.
The junta has said it will rule for a year under a state of emergency and then hold fresh elections.
TOKYO (Kyodo) — The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee released a set of coronavirus countermeasures Thursday for the nationwide torch relay leading up to the games this summer, including the possibility of temporarily suspending the event if large crowds form along the route.
The committee said it will encourage fans to watch live online broadcasts of the 121-day event, starting March 25, to prevent overcrowding on roadsides. Those watching in person are asked to wear face masks and keep their distance from other spectators.
In this image taken from MRTV video Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, left, talks with Thailand Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, center, and Myanmar's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, right, during their meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (MRTV via AP)
BANGKOK (AP) — Regional diplomatic efforts to resolve Myanmar’s political crisis intensified Wednesday, while protests continued in Yangon and other cities calling for the country’s coup makers to step down and return Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government to power.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi visited the Thai capital, Bangkok, and held three-way talks with her Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai and Myanmar’s new foreign minister, retired army colonel Wunna Maung Lwin, who also traveled to Thailand. The meeting was part of her efforts to coordinate a regional response to the crisis triggered by Myanmar’s Feb. 1 military coup.
In a virtual news conference after her return to Indonesia, Marsudi said she expressed her country’s concern about the situation in Myanmar.
Anti-coup protesters display placards near the Indonesian Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (AP Photo)
“We asked all parties to exercise restraint and not use violence … to avoid casualties and bloodshed,” she said, emphasizing the need for dialogue, reconciliation and trust-building.
Marudi said she had conveyed the same principles to a group of elected members of Myanmar’s Parliament who were barred by the military coup from taking their seats. The lawmakers are from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, which won a landslide victory in elections last November that would have given it a second five-year term in office.
After the coup, the group, called the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the name of the combined houses of Parliament, announced it was convening the body in an online session and appealed to the U.N. and foreign countries to treat it as Myanmar’s legitimate government. It has received increasing support from Myanmar’s protest movement, but little if any foreign endorsement. Indonesia’s acknowledgement that the group has a role to play could open an avenue for negotiations between Myanmar’s ruling junta and its opponents.
Marsudi described her communications with the committee as “intensive.”
Tin Tin Win, center, weeps over the body of her son, Tin Htut Hein, at his funeral in Yangon, Myanmar, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (AP Photo)
Indonesia and fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are seeking to promote some concessions by Myanmar’s military that could ease tensions before there is more violence. The regional grouping, to which Thailand and Myanmar also belong, believes dialogue with the generals is a more effective method of achieving concessions than more confrontational methods, such as sanctions, often advocated by Western nations.
Opposition to the coup within Myanmar continued Wednesday, with a tense standoff in the country’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, where police holding riot shields and cradling rifles blocked the path of about 3,000 teachers and students.
After about two hours, during which demonstrators played protest songs and listened to speeches condemning the coup, the crowd moved away.
On Saturday, police and soldiers fatally shot two people in Mandalay while breaking up a strike by dock workers. Earlier in the week they had violently dispersed a rally in front of a state bank branch with batons and slingshots.
Also Wednesday, about 150 people from a Christian group gathered in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, to call for restoration of democracy and the release of Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders held since the coup.
An anti-coup protester shout slogans after riot policemen blocked their march in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (AP Photo)
International pressure against the takeover also continues, with more than 130 civil society groups issuing an open letter to U.N. Security Council calling for a global arms embargo on Myanmar.
The letter released Wednesday cited concerns about Myanmar’s citizens being deprived of a democratically elected government and ongoing violations of human rights by a military with a history of major abuses.
“Any sale or transfer of military-related equipment to Myanmar could provide the means to further repress the people of Myanmar in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law,” the letter said.
In addition to a sweeping arms embargo, it said any Security Council measures should make sure there is “robust monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.”
There have been past arms embargoes on Myanmar during periods of military rule but not on a global basis. China and Russia, both members of the Security Council, are among the top arms suppliers to Myanmar, and would almost certainly veto any effort by the U.N. to impose a coordinated arms embargo.
Indonesia’s efforts to work with other members of ASEAN to resolve Myanmar’s crisis had earlier been stumbling.
Anti-coup protesters and riot policemen face off in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (AP Photo)
Protesters demonstrated outside the Indonesian embassies in Yangon and Bangkok on Tuesday in response to a news report that Jakarta was proposing to fellow ASEAN members that they offer qualified support for the junta’s plan for a new election next year. Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah denied the report.
There was also criticism that Foreign Minister Marsudi had intended to fly to Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, this week.
Marsudi acknowledged Wednesday that she had planned to visit Naypitaw after Bangkok to directly convey Indonesia’s position and the hopes of the international community.
“However, the planned visit had to be postponed,” she said. “This postponement … did not dampen the intention to establish communication with all parties in Myanmar, once again, with all parties in Myanmar, including with the Myanmar military and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.”
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Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.
A special event sees GMs from 10 hotels cook surplus food and donate meals to local people in the Ma-chim Community, as part of a broader project to serve disadvantaged people.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) has come together with Scholars of Sustenance (SOS), the food rescue foundation, to host the first mutual “Rescue Kitchen” in Bangkok – an important CSR event designed to feed underprivileged people in Bangkok, including families affected by the COVID crisis.
Eight Marriott International hotels in the Thai capital – Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park, JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok, Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel, The Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok, The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers, The St. Regis Bangkok, and W Bangkok – currently work or have previously cooperated with SOS Thailand, taking surplus food from their kitchens and restaurants and donating it to those in need.
Since the onset of COVID-19 however, many more people have lost their only source of income, plunging them into poverty. To support them, Marriott and SOS Thailand have now expanded their relationship with the addition of two more hotels: Le Méridien Bangkok and Bangkok Marriott Hotel The Surawongse. The general managers of all 10 participating properties today teamed up to cook delicious dishes and distribute them to local residents.
The mutual “Rescue Kitchen” took place on 22nd February at Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park, with the aim of providing meals for the Ma-chim Community, which comprises 575 households with over 1,000 people in the Wattana district of Bangkok. Many are street vendors, and it is believed that up to 300 local people could have been left without work due to the impact of COVID-19, and now rely on government aid. Some residents already receive food donations from Marriott’s hotels via SOS Thailand, and this latest initiative will manage these supplies and distribute them those people in society most in need of help.
“It gives us great pleasure to expand our partnership with SOS Thailand, enabling us to support even more families who have been hit by the COVID crisis. This cooperation is a win-win scenario, as it helps to combat the critical issue of food waste, while also generating direct benefits for the community. Our mutual Rescue Kitchen is part of our continuous effort to support the community in Thailand,” said Mr. Jakob Helgen, Area Vice President – Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia & Myanmar, Marriott International.
The Rescue Kitchen initiative forms part of Marriott International’s sustainability and social impact platform, “Serve 360: Doing Good in Every Direction”, which guides the company’s commitment to make a positive and sustainable impact wherever it does business, in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes bringing the benefits of “Good Travel” to its guests, associates and communities in Asia Pacific.
“We are truly proud to have such an amazing partnership with Marriott International, who have been supporting us since we started. This new step they are taking, to cook and serve nutritious meals using surplus food, will create a much bigger impact on society. It is a clear testament to their dedication to their sustainability & impact platform. It started in Phuket last year, now the GMs of these Bangkok hotels are following. Amazing people, amazing partners!” said James Leyson, Managing Director of Scholars of Sustenance Foundation.
In partnership with SOS Thailand, Marriott regularly diverts excess food from its hotel kitchens and restaurants to those in need. Since it was founded in 2016, SOS Thailand has served more than seven million meals to people in Bangkok, Phuket and Hua Hin. This has saved almost 1.68 million kilograms worth of surplus food from going into landfill sites, saving 3,188 tons of CO2 and thus contributing to the global fight against climate change.
Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CP Foods)’ expert says all of its poultry operations are implementing maximum farm biosecurity measures to keep animals safe from outbreaks, particularly bird flu and COVID-19.
Dr. Payungsak Somyanontanagul, DVM, vice president at CP Foods, said that Thailand is on high alert for avian flu. Thai government agencies, led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Department of Livestock, are now monitoring the pandemic closely, especially in the border areas.
Dr. Payungsak Somyanontanagul, DVM, vice president at CP Foods.
Aside the government’s efforts, he added that CP Foods’ farm biosecurity measures are maintained and intensified.
Dr. Payungsak explained that the company has implemented the compartmentalization system to prevents the spread of avian influenza in broiler chicken and duck operations for over 15 years.
The principle of compartmentalization was established by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) with an aim at promoting disease-free animal health, which will in turn, benefit consumer’s safety.
The proactive principlescomprised of common biosecurity management, Avian Influenza surveillance in compartment’s area and buffer zone of 1 km radius around the farm, control measures and traceability system.
Also, CP Foods’ farms are closed loop and controlled by Evaporative Cooling System (EVAP). This enables farmers to control the temperature of the facility, making it suitable for animals to be raised in a comfortable and stress-free environment as well as reducing human contact.
Importantly, CP Foods has joined hands with the Department Livestock Development (DLD), the Competent Authority of Thailand, to develop risk analysis for bird flu in line with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). The practice was drawn to precisely ensure disease assessment.
For sustainable biosecurity, the company has shared best practices for implementing the compartment model with its contracted farmers.
Aside Avian disease control, COVID-19 is important, the company has established an additional health and safety measures for employees. Meanwhile, non-employees are not allowed to enter CP Foods’ poultry farms.
Under the new guidelines, all workplaces must comply to the following measures: 1) implement stringent screening process for outside delivery persons and providing them reserved space to reduce the probability of the spread 2) increase cleaning frequency to at least every 30 minutes 3) keep social distancing at work 4) clearly mark the floor to inform people of the acceptable safe social distance at all areas where congestion is likely and 5) organize weekly deep cleaning activities that included farm area disinfection to minimized risk of COVID-19.
CP Foods also encouraged training and awareness its employees to follow health instructions like temperature screening, wearing face masks all the time, keeping social distancing, regularly washing hands and maintain personal hygiene to avoid risk of COVID-19 exposure.
“With stringent biosecurity measures, in both animal and human, we are confident that our products are disease-free and safe for consumer consumption” Dr. Payungsak said.
