Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul expressed thanks to Charoen Pokphand Group and Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (CP Foods) for the covid-19 relief efforts to help Thailand tackle the new wave of coronavirus outbreak during the hand-over ceremony of food supplies and masks.
The company has donated 83,200 packs of ready-to-eat meals and 30,000 pieces of surgical masks as a part of “CPF Food from the Heart against COVID-19” project.
“CP Foods is the kitchen of the world. The kitchen that creates jobs and helps generate significant income for Thailand. In the midst of a crisis, the company is still able to continue supporting society. On behalf of all the medical staffs combatting the outbreak, I would like to offer sincere thanks to CP Group – CP Foods as well as Senior Chairman, Dhanin Chearavanont, who has given the policy to support the country amid the crisis,” said Mr. Anutin.
Meanwhile, Mr. Prasit Boondoungprasert, chief executive officer of CP Foods, said the project was initiated in responding to the CP Group’s policy based on the philosophy of 3 benefits, which are the country where it invested, the people, and, lastly, the company. Subsequently, CP Foods aims at ensuring the country and its people to be stable and prosperous. As with society is facing the COVID crisis, the company intends to continue supporting and helping society until the situation resolved.
Aside this project, CP Foods had delivered 61,200 packs of quality ready-to-eat food products to 15 hospitals in six provinces in the highest controlled areas. Moreover, the company has recently handed over food supplies to the field hospitals in Samut Sakhon. It also partnered with Labour Protection Network to give 30,800 packs of meals and 10,000 eggs to migrant workers under quarantine in Samut Sakhon.
CP Group and CP Foods donated a total of 220,800 pieces of surgical masks to frontline staffs, volunteers, vulnerable groups and migrant workers through the government agencies and the embassies of Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
In 2020, the world’s countries and global economies were ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite some countries’ best efforts, the pandemic currently rages on and is toppling industries left and right. For the better part of 2020, Thailand remained largely isolated from COVID-19, boasting some of the lowest infection rates in the world. As a result, many skilled workers sought to leave their home countries and move to Thailand to live a safer life and turned to recruitment companies in Thailand to help them navigate the job market.
For skilled workers, finding employment in Thailand is not as difficult as it would be in more developed countries. As Thailand looks to leverage its status as a regional hub for ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations), companies are encouraged to bring in skilled workers to grow the local economy. That said, there are still some challenges that make finding a job a more laborious process.
If you are a skilled worker looking for a change of scenery or looking to advance your career in a developing market that is hungry for quality workers, a recruitment company in Thailand can help you find a suitable job in your desired industry.
Challenges to Finding a Job in Thailand
Recruitment companies in Thailand know that many companies do a poor job of advertising that they have a job opening. There are a few main websites that companies will use to advertise an open position, chiefly LinkedIn, JobsDB, and Glassdoor. Navigating these sites can be simple, however, many companies do not provide enough information about their position in the job postings. This can be worrisome for foreigners, as it would appear to them that the jobs available are by unprofessional companies; in reality, the errors stem from professional companies not understanding the platform.
Additionally, many companies will elect to post an available job only on one website or platform, instead of multiple platforms. Without proper knowledge of which websites in Thailand to look through, foreign employees will be left in the dark about work opportunities.
How Recruiters Can Help
Because foreigners have such a difficult time finding available jobs across the many public platforms, recruitment companies in Thailand have created dedicated positions to remedy this situation. When contacting a recruiting firm, you’ll be able to explain to them your desired industry and your skills and they will help scour the market for you. The jobs are out there, and a recruiter will find them for you.
One challenge that a Thai recruiting company can certainly help you overcome is the language barrier. As mentioned before, sometimes companies do not provide enough information in their postings or choose to only write them in Thai. From a foreigner’s perspective, this would imply that the job is only for Thai nationals when in reality it is open for anyone. A recruiter has the means to contact the company and speak to their hiring manager to inquire further about the position in the Thai language where the foreigner could not.
It is important to understand that because Thailand is still developing, some of the systems or language proficiency used in hiring you may be used to in your home country do not yet exist. Recruitment companies in Thailand help to bridge that gap.
Tourists are seen on Jomtien Beach on Nov. 15, 2020.
BANGKOK — Nearly 10,000 people were implicated in a massive scheme to defraud the government through an aid program to revive domestic tourism amid the pandemic, police said Thursday.
A total of 50 people were arrested so far over the scandal in the “We Travel Together” program, which caused at least 1.7 billion baht in damages. National police commissioner Suwat Chaengyodsuk said he has instructed investigators to summon more people involved in the scam.
“We found 400 more hotels and 400 more shops involved in the fraud,” Suwat said. “The Crime Suppression Division will forward the case to provincial police stations nationwide, who will then summon the accused business owners and facilitators for questioning.”
Throughout last week, police raided 55 businesses in connection with the fraud. Natchaya Resort in Chaiyaphum and Thara Patong Beach Resort in Phuket are identified as the chief perpetrators.
Police said Natchaya Resort forged its invoices by hiring people who had registered for the travel subsidy and using their quota to book the rooms and spend their daily allowance vouchers at shops they colluded with.
Thara Patong Beach Beach is accused of marking up their bills from the typical rate at 1,000 to 7,500 baht per night to make up for the government discounts. The “guests” never stayed at either hotels.
A hotel in the resort town of Hua Hin is also said to have registered as many as 6,900 bookings per day – mostly bogus reservations made up to claim the subsidies.
Deputy chief of the Crime Suppression Division Anek Taosuphap said that up to 9,800 people were believed to be involved in the fraud scheme, and police are preparing to issue them summon warrants.
“The suspects spread out across all the 77 provinces across the country,” Col. Anek said on Sunday. “If they didn’t stay at the hotel, they could be charged with colluding in a fraud.”
The 22-billion baht travel subsidy allowed registered travelers to reimburse 40 percent of hotel costs, capped at 3,000 per night, as well as bills of restaurants and shops of 900 baht per day. Costs for air tickets can be also deducted by 40 percent, up to 3,000 baht per round trip. Only Thai nationals were eligible.
Reports of fraudulent practices in the program surfaced on social media by late November. The Tourism Authority of Thailand filed complaints to the police in December, prompting a police crackdown.
TAT Governor Yutthasak Supasorn said his agency has submitted all the evidence to the police and declined to comment further on the case.
“The case is being investigated by the police,” Yutthasak said.
He said most of the suspects are hoteliers, business owners, and individuals who gave up their privilege to the fraudsters. No government officials were found to be involved at the moment, Yutthasak said.
A representative of a regional tourism guild urged fellow hoteliers to follow the rules since the fraud also impacted others who are struggling to survive amid the absence of foreign tourists.
“Most hoteliers know what is good and bad,” Sarayuth Mallum of Phuket Tourist Association said. “If they keep using up the quota for bogus reimbursement, there will be no quota left for those who really need it.”
Registration for the subsidy program was briefly halted in December after the discovery of frauds among the participating hotels. The ban was later lifted on Dec. 28.
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit speaks at a news conference on June 4, 2019.
BANGKOK — A hardline royalist group leader on Thursday filed yet another royal defamation complaint against opposition politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit for questioning transparency in the COVID-19 vaccine program.
The complaints were lodged by Thai Phakdee group founder Warong Dechgitvigrom at Nang Loeng Police Station. Warong said Thanathorn was dragging the monarchy into his criticism of the vaccine deals between Thailand and British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca – an allegation denied by Thanathorn.
“He was trying to manipulate the facts,” Warong said by phone. “Don’t forget that this is a deal between AstraZeneca and the government. But he [Thanathorn] tries to link it to the monarchy.”
In the complaint filed to the police, Warong accused Thanathorn of violating Article 112 of the Criminal Codes, which ban any insults or threats made toward the Royal Family, in his speeches about Siam Bioscience, a company wholly owned by the Crown Property Bureau.
Thanathorn has repeatedly questioned why the government chose Siam Bioscience to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca, a process that would take months to complete, instead of directly importing the doses from overseas.
“Actually, the public has known for a long time that what Mr. Thanathorn is doing is to infringe on the monarchy and mislead the people,” Warong told reporters in front of the police station. “His behavior resulted in insults, slanders, and threats toward the monarchy.”
It was the latest legal action to be taken against Thanathorn for his vaccine criticism. In January, representatives of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha also filed a royal defamation complaint against the politician.
Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul visits Siam Bioscience headquarters on June 1, 2020.
Warong presented two pieces of evidence to the police today: Thanathorn’s Facebook Live speeches about Siam Bioscience on Jan. 18, and a brief interview he gave to Al Jazeera news agency on Jan. 30.
Thanathorn insisted he is innocent, however.
“The use of Article 112 against me is the evidence that Prayut times and again uses the monarchy to conceal his failures, and in this case the failure of vaccine strategy,” Thanathorn said in online messages. “To simply put it; vaccine too little too late.”
The politician was at the court today to contest a court order to remove his speech on Siam Bioscience’s ties to the monarchy from his Facebook; Thanathorn insisted he was merely stating facts.
In the interview with Al Jazeera, which was aired five days ago, Thanathorn said: “Our question is whether this scheme gives too much benefit to one company or not. You have legal immunity because the king is the head of the state.”
“But as a vendor to the government’s contract he is the shareholder of the company and if things go wrong, the government cannot sue the owner of the company.”
In a related development, the Thai Phakdee Group said it has collected 40,000 signatures to oppose a move by the Move Forward Party – a political ally of Thanathorn – to push for an amendment of the lese majeste law.
Warong said on the phone that he will wait until the group collects 100,000 signatures before submitting it to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai.
“I think it will take several more days,” he said.
Move Forward MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn said the party’s bid to amend the lese majeste law is constitutional and will go ahead as planned, possibly as soon as the end of the month.
“I’d like to affirm that the Move Forward Party’s proceedings are perfectly in accordance with the Constitution,” Wiroj said by phone Thursday. “Article 112 is causing a mass delusion of hatred. This is not good for the monarchy at all.”
Wiroj also said on Tuesday that his party has assigned a lawyer to investigate whether there’s sufficient grounds to launch a libel lawsuit against Warong for his remarks.
Thanathorn said he supports the bid to amend the royal insult charge.
“Article 112 in its current form must either [be] abolished or amended. I trust my friends, the Move Forward Party MPs,” the tycoon-turned-politician said.
“This [law] clearly violates human rights principle, namely freedom of speech,” he continued. “When the bill is proposed to the parliament, I would like to sincerely ask Thai people to help promote this bill and help support it.”
In this July 24, 2019, Techin “DJ Matoom” Ploypetch speaks to reporters during a promotional event at CentralWorld shopping mall in Bangkok.
BANGKOK — Police on Thursday said charges have yet to be filed in the ongoing investigation into a celebrity’s birthday party responsible for one of the largest clusters of coronavirus infections in the recent outbreak.
Although health minister Anutin Chanvirakul had instructed officials to take legal action against talk show host Techin “DJ Matoom” Ploypetch and those associated with his birthday party at Banyan Tree Hotel on Jan. 9, no legal action was ever taken. Police said they still needed to question more witnesses before criminal charges can be filed against them.
“No one has been charged so far,” Metropolitan Police Division 5 commander Sophon Saraphat confirmed by phone.
District chief of Sathon, where the Banyan Tree Hotel is located, filed a complaint to Thung Maha Mek Police Station on Friday. District director Pansak Charoensuk said partygoers and the hotel could be held liable for violating the Emergency Decree and the Communicable Diseases Act if there is clear evidence of wrongdoings.
Breaching of the Emergency Decree is punishable by up to two years in prison and a maximum fine of 40,000 baht.
Maj. Gen. Sophon said health officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration met with investigators on Wednesday to provide more evidence, but he refused to disclose the details.
Thung Maha Mek police superintendent could not be immediately reached for comments, though he said earlier on Sunday that investigators are waiting for Techin to recover and waitstaff of the rooftop restaurant to complete their quarantine before investigation can begin.
“We are expediting the investigation. Things should get clearer within this month,” Col. Chaiyapant Petchsodsin said.
Officials and police on Jan. 28, 2021, inspect a rooftop restaurant at Banyan Tree Bangkok Hotel where the Jan. 9 birthday party was held.
At least 30 coronavirus infections could be traced back to the rooftop party and the subsequent private party held inside a suite at the same hotel, according to the latest report by the Department of Disease Control.
Under the current anti-coronavirus regulations, alcohol cannot be sold or consumed in restaurants, bars are ordered to shut down, and any gatherings are prohibited unless given permission by city authorities.
But metro police commander Phukphong Phongpetra said Tuesday health authorities did not find the hotel’s rooftop restaurant to violate any of those guidelines, since no alcoholic beverages were served and the restaurant closed at 9pm as mandated by the Governor’s order at the time.
Even the health minister voiced his skepticism at the finding.
“I have to ask the society to judge for themselves whether they believe that,” Anutin told reporters on Tuesday.
In this May 9, 2017, file photo, Techin “DJ Matoom” Ploypetch reacts during an interview with the media.
Lt. Gen. Phukphong said investigators will now shift their focus to the private party held inside a suite by Techin on the same night after transaction records showed alcohol was billed and the room keycard was used for 26 times.
“We are checking how many people were there and what they were doing inside the room,” Phukphong said. “Police are not idle, we will gather as much evidence as we can.”
Broadcasting company A-Time Media, where Techin works, said in a statement on Wednesday that the DJ’s condition is now stable and he is willing to cooperate with the authorities once he is recovered.
The Banyan Tree Hotel declined to comment on the matter.
The lack of any legal repercussions in Techin’s case is a drastic contrast to a recent police raid on a bar on Phangan Island in Surat Thani province, where security officers arrested more than 100 partygoers, including 89 foreigners, on charges of violating the Emergency Decree’s ban on gatherings.
The suspects were later fined 4,000 baht each and released.
BANGKOK — A popular sushi chain from Japan will open in Bangkok next month, the company said Thursday.
Sushiro, known for their 100JPY plates of sushi served on a conveyor belt, will launch its first branch in Thailand on March 31 on the 7th floor of CentralWorld shopping mall. It remains to be seen, however, how much the markup will be – let’s be real, we’re not expecting 28 baht plates of sushi.
Employees at Sushiro Thailand said by phone they could not reveal the pricing yet. PR for Sushiro has not replied to an inquiry about menu pricing as of publication time.
Sushiro is usually listed as one of the top most popular conveyor belt sushi chains in Japan. The restaurant first opened in Osaka in 1984, and today has branches all over the country, as well as in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
According to Nikkei Asia, the operator of Sushiro planned to expand into Thailand and China in 2021 due to Japan’s aging population.
A woman dressed as Chinese goddess Quan Yin greets dragon dancers during a warmup event for the Chinese New Year in Nakhon Sawan on Jan. 21, 2021.
Update: Citing threats from the coronavirus, the Bangkok Metropolitan Bureau on Thursday afternoon said it will not host any events or fairs to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
BANGKOK — Inquisition about your weight, work, and romantic relationship from your Chinese relatives in exchange for red envelopes may have to be held virtually for this year’s Lunar Festival.
The government’s pandemic center on Thursday asked members of the public to consider dropping the tradition of traveling and family reunions for the Chinese New Year holidays in favor of social distancing in order to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
“You can meet each other, but please still wear masks. If you live far from each other, you can just video call instead of travelling,” pandemic center spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin said at the news conference.
“Although we don’t have to have a lockdown like China did last year, we still need your cooperation,” Taweesin said.
He urged shoppers to wear masks and wash hands frequently when going out to buy food for the holiday. People are also advised to set up video calls instead of meeting up with family members if possible, and give out money via online transfer instead of physical red envelopes, or ang bao.
“Ang bao is very important. Don’t use cash or envelopes so you don’t have to have physical contact,” Taweesin said. “Transfer money online. This will be a lovely image that goes with the times.”
The advice seems to defeat the purpose of designating the Chinese New Year as a government holiday for the first time this year. The government justified the new holiday as an incentive to encourage domestic tourism and spending.
“The government’s measure of special holidays and regional holidays is to boost tourism and the economy,” government spokeswoman Trisulee Trisoranakul said on Dec. 29. “We’ve seen that during long holidays, people travel and spend, boosting the country’s economy.”
To underscore their point of celebrating the Chinese New Year in an extraordinary year, the authorities on Thursday also launched a slogan that goes, “This Chinese New Year, agong and ama want their children and grandchildren to have filial piety by protecting against COVID.”
Agong and ama are grandfather and grandmother in Teochew dialect, the common tongue of many Thais with Chinese descent.
Thursday saw new 809 COVID-19 cases logged, 789 of them found in Samut Sakhon, the epicenter of the second wave of the pandemic. A majority of the infections were discovered in active case-finding operations.
Correction: An earlier version of this article said the leading photo was taken in Samut Prakan province. In fact, it was Nakhon Sawan.
BANGKOK — One of the countries’ last remaining alternative cinemas will close for good on March 31, one of its founders said.
Impacts from the coronavirus and the shutdown measures were cited for the imminent closure of Bangkok Screening Room – a one-screen theater in downtown Silom known for screening art house flicks, indie documentaries, golden-era classics, and other films alien to the mainstream blockbuster theaters.
“COVID was quite damaging. We tried our hardest to keep it going but this is the most we could do,” Sarinya Manamuti, film buff and one of the three founders said. “We’ve exhausted all our resources.”
The rent contract was expiring, while the theater’s main income, alcohol sales and events, were made impossible by the pandemic. Cinemas were previously ordered to close down from March through May in 2020.
They were later allowed to reopen, although with strict social distancing measures – a sacrifice that large cinema chains can afford, but not a small business like Bangkok Screening Room.
“From 52 seats, we can only sell 24. Even if a show is sold out, the theater is still at half capacity, and it’s not enough to cover the expenses,” Sarinya said.
Out of the four-year-run, Sarinya said she was proudest of holding the theater’s three annual iterations of the LGBT Film Festival.
The theater opened in September 2016 with a screening of Orson Welles’ “The Third Man” (1949), which will also be its final screening. The theater’s final bookings for “The Third Man” as well as “The Godfather” (1972), “The Ugly American” (1963), and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” (2019) is TBA.
The cinema is located on Soi Saladaeng 1 and can be reached on foot from BTS Sala Daeng exit No. 4 or MRT Lumphini’s exit No. 2.
In this Jan. 28, 2021, file photo, Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee (TOGOC) President Yoshiro Mori speaks to the media at the TOGOC headquarters in Tokyo. (Takashi Aoyama/Pool Photo via AP)
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Yoshiro Mori, president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, on Thursday apologized for remarks he made that have been widely criticized as sexist and outdated but insisted he has no plan to step down.
“It was a careless remark and I want to express my apologies,” Mori said in a telephone interview with Kyodo News. “I had no intention of discriminating against women.”
A baby panda climbs on a display for the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Ox at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Nature Reserve in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Chinatopix via AP)
BEIJING (AP) — Ten panda cubs made their public debut in China’s leading panda reserve Wednesday morning to mark the coming Lunar New Year.
One appeared shy and covered its face with both paws when it saw the crowd, while another went rogue and crawled away from its keeper before being caught.
The pandas range in age from 4 to 6 months, and all resulted from natural mating, according to the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in southwest China’s Sichuan province.
Researchers hold ten baby pandas born during the year 2020 at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Nature Reserve in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Chinatopix via AP)
The black-and-white fluff balls made their appearance in a playground at the center adorned with Lunar New Year’s decorations including lanterns, traditional Chinese knots, paper cars and flags.
“Newborn baby pandas from the class of 2020 … wish you a happy New Year and lots of good luck in the Year of the Ox,” their keepers shouted with the pandas in their arms, while some tried to clamber away.
Baby pandas sit near a display for the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Ox at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Nature Reserve in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Chinatopix via AP)
Bamboo baskets of treats were prepared for the pandas, with the Chinese character “fu,” meaning good fortune and blessings, written on the outside.
This mimicked the Chinese tradition of adults giving red envelopes with money inside to children during the Lunar New Year to pass them good wishes and blessings.
Instead of money, the baby pandas got snacks. Some of them were curious about the baskets, while others were distracted by the toys and decorations nearby.
Researchers hold some of the ten baby pandas born during the year 2020 at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Nature Reserve in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Chinatopix via AP)
As of December, there were 44 panda cubs worldwide, and more than half were bred in China.
China has prided itself on its efforts to preserve a species that was endangered for many years. Pandas are also a symbol of China and part of its cultural diplomacy.
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Associated Press news assistant Caroline Chen contributed to this story.
