Actor’s Fugitive Brother Arrested Over Crypto Scam

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12 October 2018, 17:34

Parinya Jaravijit, left, talks to authorities Friday at Suvarnabhumi airport.

BANGKOK — The man accused of conning cryptocurrency worth almost 800 million baht from a Finnish businessman was arrested Friday at Suvarnabhumi airport.

Investigators said airport immigration officers detained Parinya Jaravijit, 35, and handed him over to the Crime Suppression Division before 3am today upon landing from the United States following the revocation of his passport, and that he denied all allegations against him.

Parinya – wanted as a main suspect – had been abroad since actor Jiratpisit “Boom” Jaravijit, his younger brother, was arrested and charged in August as his accomplice. Several members of the Jaravijit family are also implicated in the case, as it was found their bank accounts received large sums of money linked to the scam.

The victim, Aarni Otava Saarimaa, came to Thai authorities to complain that Parinya and a few other Thai investors tricked him last year into investing his Bitcoin in several businesses, some of which turned out to be shell companies.

He later withdrew his charges against Prasit Srisuwan and Chakris Ahmad – two other suspects who claimed they were also fooled by Parinya – after a settlement was reached, according to Col. Chakrit Sawasdee.

The Criminal Court initially denied Parinya bail after being deemed a flight risk. His lawyer has requested another revision and presented a bond in real estate worth 4.5 million baht.

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9 Years After Promise, Paper Plane Champ Gets Thai ID

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JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

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12 October 2018, 16:26

Mong Tongdee smiles while holding his Thai ID card Friday at the Chiang Mai City district office.

CHIANG MAI — Nine years after a stateless boy who won the gold medal at a paper airplane championship in Japan was promised Thai citizenship, he received his ID card Friday.

The Interior Ministry officially granted 21-year-old Mong Tongdee citizenship today, after which he registered at the census bureau and was issued an ID card by Chiang Mai city administration, to the joy of his family and close acquaintances.

“I’m very relieved and happy to get the ID card and become fully Thai,” he said.

Read: Paper Airplane Champ Flies High Again – Still Awaits Citizenship

Mong, who was born to Burmese migrants, gained national fame in 2009 after he won his first paper airplane competition aged 12, but had to turn down an invitation to represent Thailand in a world contest in Japan due to his statelessness.

He was later able to travel and won two medals after then-PM Abhisit Vejjajiva – who also promised to naturalize him – gave him a temporary passport.

His case seemed nearly forgotten before four stateless Wild Boars football team members drew fresh attention to it in August, when they were granted citizenship shortly after being rescued from a 17-day ordeal inside a Chiang Rai cave.

Mong said today that he plans to pursue a bachelor degree in civil engineering, and would request a deferment to serve in the military – mandatory for all Thai men from age 21 – as he would like to finish high school first.

Nirinthon Saengpanna, Mong’s 19-year-old girlfriend who accompanied him throughout the process today, said she was very happy for him. She added that they both plan to teach children in the north about paper-airplane-folding techniques because they found many kids are very interested in following Mong’s footsteps.

In late August, Mong won first place in a paper airplane contest held in Bangkok, and will represent Thailand at a competition in Japan next year or in 2020.

Boy Whose Paper Planes Soared Into Nation’s Heart May Get Citizenship

Vietnam Jails Activist for Using Facebook to Abuse Freedoms

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Associated Press

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12 October 2018, 15:54

This undated photo shows the emblem of the Vietnamese communist party on a government building.

HANOI — A court in northern Vietnam has sentenced an activist to five years in prison after finding him guilty of abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the government, organizations and individuals.

Lawyer Ha Huy Son says his client, Do Cong Duong, was convicted in a two-hour trial Friday by a people’s court in Bac Ninh province.

Son says Duong used Facebook to accuse local officials of corruption and failing to address his family’s land grievances. He said local law enforcement agencies accused him of abusing democratic freedoms instead of investigating his allegations.

Communist authorities have stepped up a crackdown on dissent in recent years, with scores of activists, bloggers and democracy campaigners in jail on charges of violating national security laws.

Thais React as Prayuth Tells Tokyo Forum to Stretch ‘Japanese Style’

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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12 October 2018, 13:11

In this image from video, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha leads a stretching session Wednesday at a forum in Tokyo, Japan. Image: Channel 3

TOKYO — Junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha was drawing mixed reactions Friday after he told a Japanese audience at a conference in Tokyo to stand and stretch earlier this week.

While on an official trip to Japan as Prime Minister, Prayuth was given the opportunity to address local business leaders and journalists after lunch Wednesday in Tokyo. The premier – who assumed this role after leading the May 2014 coup – proceeded not with a speech but a “request.”

“Could you please stand up. Stand up please. Sleepy. It’s Japanese style… It’s Japanese style,” Prayuth told the mostly Japanese audience at the Japan-Mekong Business Forum in English, before beginning to stretch his arms left and right.

The move was captured by TV Channel 3 and drew laughter from the Japanese audience who stood up, some following Prayuth’s exercise routine.

In Japan, factories are known to play music and having staff dance to the tune before beginning work in the morning.

However, Thai social media users gave mixed reactions to what Prayuth did.

“The forum is for stating visions, it’s not that you can just do anything,” Facebook user Tanawat Wongchai, Chulalongkorn University student council president, wrote Thursday accompanied by the video clip. The post had been shared more than 650 times by Friday noon.

Some said they felt ashamed of Prayuth representing Thailand in the international arena.

“He shows that anyone can become the Thai prime minister. Having army tanks suffices. No need to have a brain,” Facebook user Chaicha Winyarat wrote Thursday night.

“You can’t really do this unless you are a retard,” Facebook user Khunpan Chulamalara wrote Friday.

On Twitter, former Pheu Thai Party MP Watana Muangdsook called the move “crazy.”

“He must have thought it’s cool, but Thais feel so ashamed,” Watana wrote Friday from his account @watanamuansook.

Not all reactions were negative, however.

“I think it’s creative,” Twitter user @tigeryellowlive wrote Friday, adding that he found this better than being under the Yingluck Shinawatra administration and that foreigners are invited to hear Thais criticizing their own country.

“I like it. This helps the world understand what Thais are facing,” Twitter user @Mo_Lersphong wrote Friday.

500+ Foreigners Arrested in New Nationwide Raids

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JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

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12 October 2018, 12:22

A group of foreign detainees sit with police in a Friday press briefing at Nana Plaza hotel in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — More than 500 foreigners were arrested in another nationwide raid, police said Friday.

A crackdown on illegal immigrants seemed to gain intensity as the latest arrests almost doubled last week’s record numbers. A total of 528 foreigners were rounded up yesterday from 307 locations countrywide including Bangkok’s Nana and Sampeng areas, according to deputy immigration chief Maj. Gen. Itthipol Itthisarnronchai.

Read: Hundreds of Foreigners Arrested in Record Raids

He said 114 were arrested for overstaying their visas, 172 for illegally entering the country and the rest for petty crimes. The majority of them are Indians and Pakistanis, with some Guineans and Malians, he added.

On Thursday, 40 Indians were captured from Sampeng market in Chinatown. Itthipol said 30 foreigners were arrested from Nana area.

The sweeping campaign has seen 2,801 foreigners arrested and banned from entering Thailand, according to Itthipol.

Maj. Gen. Surachet Hakpan, who usually attends press briefings following the raids, was not present Friday. He has led the operation since before his recent appointment as Immigration Bureau commander.

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Malaysia Set to Abolish Death Penalty

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Associated Press

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12 October 2018, 11:37

Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is interviewed in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. Photo: Yam G-Jun/ Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s new government said it will abolish the death penalty for all crimes and halt all pending executions, a rare move against capital punishment in Asia that human rights groups hailed Thursday as a major advance.

More than 1,200 people are on death row in Malaysia, which mandates hanging as punishment for a wide range of crimes including murder, drug trafficking, treason, kidnapping and acts of terror.

Law Minister Liew Vui Keong announced Wednesday that the Cabinet had agreed to abolish the death penalty and that amendments to laws with capital punishment were expected to be presented when Parliament resumes Monday, local media reported. Liew couldn’t be reached for immediate comment.

Communications Minister Gobind Singh Deo on Thursday confirmed the Cabinet’s decision.

“This is part of our election pledge and also in line with the move away from capital punishment in the rest of the world,” he told The Associated Press.

Amnesty International said the move would be a major advance but urged the government to “completely abolish the death penalty for all crimes, with no exceptions.” It said the death penalty has been a “terrible stain” on Malaysia’s human rights record, and death row prisoners often have to wait years for their appeals to be processed.

“There is no time to waste, the death penalty should have been consigned to the history books long ago,” the human rights group’s secretary-general, Kumi Naidoo, said in a statement, adding that 142 countries worldwide have rejected capital punishment.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s alliance won a stunning election upset on May 9, ousting a scandal-tainted coalition in the first change of government since independence from Britain in 1957. Its promises included eradicating corruption and bolstering human rights.

The Malaysian human rights group Lawyers for Liberty praised the government’s decision, saying the death penalty is barbarous and pointless as it has never been proven to deter serious crimes. Its adviser, N. Surendran, said the new government has shown that “it is a force for moral good, and an example for the region and the world.”

Many Asian countries such as China and neighboring Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam still impose capital punishment.

Surendran urged the government to not forget the hundreds of Malaysians who are languishing on death row in Singapore and other countries, particularly for being drug mules.

“We call upon the government to vigorously speak up for our citizens facing death in distant shores. Having rejected the death penalty in this country, we now have the moral authority to fight for the lives of our citizens abroad,” he said in a statement.

Fake Lawyer Busted Over Foreigner Visa Scams

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JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

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12 October 2018, 11:05

Victims point at Pairoj Kanchanarat, left, at a Thursday police press briefing in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — A Thai man was arrested for impersonating a lawyer to scam foreigners wanting permanent residency or work permits, police said Thursday.

Pairoj Kanchanarat, 50, was detained in Nonthaburi province and charged with fraud after two foreigners filed police complaints. They said they were tricked into paying him tens of thousands of baht as he claimed he could secure visas for them, according to immigration chief Maj. Gen. Surachet Hakpan.

Police said the American victim paid 25,000 baht for a permanent resident permit, while his Italian friend lost 49,000 baht for a work permit after Pairoj approached them in February in a Bangkok bar.

Pairoj’s arrest warrant was issued on Monday, Surachet said.

He said Pairoj used this method to scam foreigners for about 10 years and had been charged with fraud seven times in Bangkok, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Nakhon Ratchasima and Chiang Mai provinces.

Pairoj would approach victims in popular places among foreigners claiming to be a lawyer or government official who could get them the permits without undergoing the normal process, according to Surachet.

Guesthouse Near Khaosan Catches Fire, Injures 3

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JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

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12 October 2018, 10:22

A fire Friday morning at a gesthouse near Khaosan Road in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — A fire tore Friday morning through a guesthouse near Khaosan Road in Bangkok, injuring three people.

Police said the fire broke out before 7am on the second floor of Thai Green Guest House on Phra Sumen Road in Phra Nakhon district. Firefighters were able to control the flames in 45 minutes.

Saengrawee Satjapirak, the 64-year-old owner of the four-storey building, suffered from smoke inhalation. A foreigner was burned on the chest and injured his leg after jumping from the second floor – from which a rescue volunteer also fell after being electrocuted, according to police.

Capt. Warat Boonyeun said police suspect the fire started from room 209 of the guesthouse. The cause is still under investigation.

Former Thai Football Chief Appeals FIFA Ban

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Associated Press

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11 October 2018, 18:24

LAUSANNE — Former FIFA executive committee member Worawi Makudi is at the Court of Arbitration for Sport challenging his ban for forgery ahead of a Thailand football federation election.

Makudi said outside the court on Thursday he was “very confident. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

The former Thai federation president appealed against a 3 1/2-year ban by FIFA that expires in April 2020. He was also fined 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,100).

FIFA’s ethics committee found him guilty of forgery, falsifying documents, and not cooperating with investigators.

Makudi was alleged to have altered federation statutes before his 2013 re-election campaign.

He was convicted in a Bangkok criminal court, though said on Thursday that case was resolved in his favor.

“You know very clearly that the court in Thailand already decided I won the case, OK?” he said.

Makudi was a long-time ally of Qatar’s Mohamed bin Hammam when sitting on FIFA’s ruling committee for 18 years until 2015. He was voted out by Asian federations.

Desperate City Hall Doubles Fine for Undeterred Sidewalk Motorists

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JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

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11 October 2018, 16:43

A motorcycle taxi on a sidewalk in Bangkok. Photo: Thailand Footpath / Facebook

BANGKOK — City Hall on Thursday said the number of motorcycle jockeys on sidewalks is almost unchanged even after more than 3 million baht in fines were collected from them in the past three months.

While admitting that setting up more checkpoints across Bangkok failed to clear motorcyclists from sidewalks, Deputy Gov. Sakoltee Phattiyakul said the minimum fine had recently been increased from 500 baht to 1,000 baht, hoping it would discourage further violations of the law.

Read: Sidewalk Moto Jockeys Fined 1.65M Baht: City Hall

Since July, authorities in more than 230 checkpoints busted 8,000 riders on sidewalks, with 5,000 being fined and the rest let off with warnings, according to Sakoltee.

Gov. Aswin Kwanmuang said last month that City Hall collected over 1.65 million baht in fines from about 3,200 offenders riding or parking on sidewalks, and that it would increase the number of checkpoints to strengthen the law’s enforcement.

The decision appeared to almost double the number of arrests and fines in just under a month.

“These checkpoints are set up … to make people change their behavior, ride their bikes in proper traffic lanes and stop infringing on others’ right to use public spaces,” Sakoltee said. “However, so many people are still violating the law and riding their motorcycles on sidewalks. We’ve constantly received complaints.”

The policy, which is part of City Hall’s ongoing campaign to keep the sidewalks clear for pedestrians, is enforced by code compliance officers and police, and has a maximum fine of 5,000 baht.

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