Malaysia Set to Abolish Death Penalty

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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.

City Hall Claims Victory in Central Lardprao Sidewalk War

Report a Moto on Sidewalk and Get Paid Half the Fine

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EC Says Parties Need Junta’s Permission to Accept Donations

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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11 October 2018, 16:21

An undated photo of Police Col. Jarungvith Pumma. Photo: Matichon

BANGKOK — The Election Commission’s secretary general said Thursday that political parties would have to receive permission from the junta to accept public donations.

Police Col. Jarungvith Pumma said letters would be sent to all political parties on Friday to clarify the matter and reminded parties not to break the law. Junta order No. 57/2014, bans political activities, and its recent relaxation does not include the acceptance of public donations.

The decision came after the commission contacted Future Forward Party on Wednesday and said donations were forbidden under the junta.

Jarungvith denied that the commission is becoming the junta’s legal tool and said it is there to abide by the law. He urged all political parties to persevere, adding that the would soon be allowed to raise fund without seeking permission.

Future Forward Party raised 20 million baht on Saturday alone, the first day it allowed member registrations. The party did not specify as of press time what it would do with the money it had already received.

New Parliament to Open in May

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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11 October 2018, 15:20

The site of the new parliament, set to be completed in May.

BANGKOK — The newly constructed parliament will be ready in May, the speaker of the junta-appointed National Legislative Assembly said Thursday.

Pornpetch Pichitcholchai said the new riverside parliament northwest of Bangkok would be fully completed a month later. He added that it’s unclear if it would be ready for the new elected MPs and appointed senate after general elections slated for Feb. 24.

Sorasak Pianwej, secretary general of the parliament, said staff would be relocated to the new site by the end of December and that a temporary meeting place for staff would be used until the new parliament is ready.

Parents Vow to Press Charges After 8th Graders Beat Autistic Daughter

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JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

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11 October 2018, 15:08

These images from video show a young school girl being assaulted. Image: Seksan Mahayot / Facebook

PHAYAO — The parents of a 10-year-old girl said Thursday that they would press charges against eighth graders who assaulted her at school in Phayao province last week.

The family – who said the girl is autistic – also accused the school of attempting to cover up the incident, which was revealed yesterday after the victim’s uncle obtained and posted two videos of the beating on Facebook. The clips quickly went viral and drew sharp online criticism.

One of the clips shows the girl, who is in fourth grade, sitting on a classroom floor while a group of older girls violently pull her hair until she cries loudly. In another one, the girls kick her and grab her neck before one puts a foot on her face.

School headmaster Nantapol Fooseekul yesterday said eight students were put on probation over the assault. He said parents from both sides had talked and agreed on a settlement.

However, the girl’s parents said today that the family never told the school they agreed to settle and vowed to take legal action.

The mother, identified only as Thiwa, said her daughter complained of a headache and chest pain Sunday, but she only learned what happened after watching the footage she said was heartbreaking on Tuesday. The father said he forwarded the clips to his brother, who shared them online a day after.

Thiwa added that the school wanted to hush up the attack, which she said occurred Friday, by giving them a 4,000-baht compensation it received from attackers’ families and trying to convince them to sign a settlement paper.

School bullying in Thailand often draws public attention through incidents exposed on social media, but little has been achieved to tackle the problem. The Department of Mental Health in January said about 600,000 students are bullied in schools annually. The rate is considered the world’s second highest after Japan.

Phayao provincial administration said a meeting would be held today with local education officials and schools executives to discuss the problem and find long-term solutions.

Thiwa said her daughter was still easily frightened and suffered headaches and chest pains, adding that she would take her to a hospital later today before filing a complaint to police.

“We’ve never thought of settlement since seeing the clip where my daughter was kicked,” she said. “I’ll file charges against everyone involved to set an example for other young people that it’s not something they should follow.”

Have a Cat or Dog? You May Have to Pay to Register Them

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Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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11 October 2018, 14:00

S__21569565 — Pisit ‘Loong Yee’ Kumkom, 69, takes care of almost 500 abandoned animals Thursday in Western Bangkok.

BANGKOK — A government spokesman said pet owners will soon need to register their pets for ฿450 each – prompting concerns and backlash from both academics and abandoned pet carers.

Junta spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the cabinet on Wednesday passed a law requiring owners to pay ฿450 to register their pets. He didn’t say when the measure would come into force.

“There is no current law that requires owners to register their pets. This lack of control results in lack of care, such as letting pets starve, get run over by cars and so on,” Sansern said.

Sansern said the ฿450 would consist of a ฿50 registration fee, ฿100 for the pet’s logbook and ฿300 for an identification item he did not elaborate on. He added that owners that don’t register their pets could be liable to a ฿25,000 fine.

The act would focus on dogs and cats first, in an effort to reduce the number of abandoned pets – which he said resulted in the spread of infectious diseases that could pass onto humans.

But a disease academic said the law would backfire.

Theerawat Hemajuta, head of the Emerging Diseases Center at Chulalongkorn Hospital, said the registration could result in even more abandoned animals, especially people with a large number of pets.

“I don’t agree with this measure. I’m concerned that people will start abandoning their dogs and cats,” Theerawat said. “In a lot of neighborhoods there’s that one person who has dozens of pets. We should cooperate with them to neuter the pets and administer rabies vaccines to control the population.”

Theerawat said the measure was ill-advised, since Thailand needs to focus on controlling their stray animal population rather than registering pets.

“A registration law to prevent abandonment will only increase abandonments. In the end, these animals will be left without carers, starve and have no access to birth control,” Theerawat said. “The dogs will become more aggressive, and the risk of rabies will be higher.”

A rabies scare in early 2018 prompted officials to round up thousands of dogs to live in squalid shelters where many died and weren’t treated for diseases.

An average of 8 people a year died from rabies from 2013 to 2017 with the most, 14, coming in 2016. This year, 16 died from the disease in the first nine months, mostly in Isaan and the south. Of those deaths, 15 were from dogs and one from a cat. Ten of 16 pets had owners. The victims had not been vaccinated and almost none sought treatment after they were bitten or scratched.

Read: Thousands Dead, Hundreds More Dogs Now Dying Due to Scare: Foundation

Khaosod visited Pisit Kumkom, 69, better known as “Loong Yee,” a former Flight. Sgt. 1st Class who takes care of 500 abandoned dogs and cats at Soi Sala Thammasop 34 in western Bangkok’s Thawi Watthana area.

“I would be in such hot water, like with all people who take care of abandoned pets,” Loong Yee said, regarding the new registration law. “They should have a measure to exempt us from registration since we take care of them. I don’t even have enough to cover the daily costs.”

If Loong Yee were to register all his pets, it would cost him about ฿225,500. He said he spends about ฿50,000 a month to feed them and make sure they’re neutered and vaccinated.

“I have so much debt that my wife and kids won’t stay with me,” he said.

Loong Yee, who has been taking care of abandoned animals for two decades, said people stuff the pets – many of them disabled – into boxes, cages or sacks and dump them on his property.

“A lot of pets miss their owners so much they die after a few days even with food,” he said.

6 Deaths From Rabies Since Start of 2018: Officials

Bangkok’s Doggos and Kittehs Vaccinated For Rabies (Photos)

Deaths from Rabies Rise to 14 in 2017: Officials

New Law Requires Rabies Shots for All Cats

Future Forward Party Decries EC’s Donations Ban

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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11 October 2018, 13:55

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit sits for an interview in August at his southeastern Bangkok home.

BANGKOK — The Future Forward Party on Thursday demanded that the Election Commission issue a written order if it wants to ban them from accepting cash donations and said the move undermines the party’s ability to compete in elections.

The move came after the commission called the party Wednesday and said cash donations were forbidden, considering them a breach of junta order No. 57/2014 banning political activities.

Police Col. Jarungvith Pumma, the commission’s secretary-general, said Tuesday morning that the commission was summoning a representative of the party for a talk later today.

Future Forward Party said on Saturday that it had raised 20 million baht when it allowed the public to register and donate money.

On Wednesday, Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit said during a work visit to Brussels that the move goes against the aspirations to free political parties from the domination of a handful of people. He added that the party seeks to raise 300 million baht to compete in the promised general elections slated for February and did not have much time left.

Thanathorn formerly served on the board of Matichon Group, the parent company of Khaosod English.

Last week, party spokesperson Pannika Wanich said Thanathorn, who is a billionaire, has committed to donate no more than 10 million baht a year to the party.

Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, Future Forward’s secretary general, called on the commission to reinterpret the junta’s ban. He also urged the public to join the party and pay life-time membership fees of 2,000 baht.

Piyabutr said the commission would have to decide whether to be on the side of democracy or serve as a hindrance to political parties.

Reached by phone Thursday, Jarungvith refused to dwell on whether the commission will demand that Future Forward return the money, saying the press should wait until after the meeting between party representatives and the commission.

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