Pattaya police at the shallow grave in which Australian national Wayne Schneider’s body was found early morning on Dec. 2, 2015.
PATTAYA — A court has sentenced an Australian man to death for the murder of a countryman who was an alleged confederate in a drug smuggling gang.
The Pattaya Provincial Court on Tuesday found Antonio Bagnato, 28, guilty of killing former Hells Angels member Wayne Schneider in November 2015 after he and accomplices beat and kidnapped the victim from his luxury villa in the resort area. Bagnato fled to Cambodia where he was arrested soon after the crime.
Eyewitness accounts and DNA evidence from bloodstains and weapons linked Bagnato to the crime. American Tyler Gerard, 22, who confessed to involvement in the abduction and aided police, was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Thai police say Bagnato murdered Schneider because of a dispute over their drug trafficking.
A Cheeto that bears a resemblance to slain gorilla Harambe has sold for nearly USD$100,000 (3.5 million baht) on eBay.
Bidding on the cheese snack the seller said he found in a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos began at $11.99 on Jan. 28. It ended early Tuesday morning with a winning bid of $99,900. The listing showed a picture of the Cheeto side-by-side with a gorilla climbing a tree.
Harambe has become fodder for internet jokes since his death last May. He was shot dead by handlers at the Cincinnati Zoo after dragging a small boy who had gotten into his enclosure.
Sadly shipping to Thailand was not available for the auction.
Update March 28: After it was confirmed that some members of Wu Tang Clan would play the festival, the event was indefinitely postponed in March. Those who purchased tickets can get a refund or use them at the Nelly Live in Bangkokconcert in May.
BANGKOK — Call it a long shot, but a cryptic tease for an upcoming concert got the internet humming Tuesday at the possibility a legendary New York hip-hop band could be coming to Thailand this May.
An image posted around noon on Tuesday on Golden Axe Music Festival was quickly interpreted by some to mean the event’s headliner could be Wu-Tang Clan, one of the most important and influential hip-hop groups since 1992.
The image, showing a golden-headed axe embedded in volcanic-looking stone with the word “headliner” and the following clue:
“W_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.”
Could the image reference a verse in one of the clan’s most famous songs, Protect Ya Neck?
“I’m nice, maxed out, creepin’ wit the ax out.”
Or maybe the hidden message is simply, “We won’t tell.”
User Vutthichai Aemsang perhaps best summarized fans’ reactions:
“WU TANG CLAN !!!!! Plzzzzz.”
Thansaya Gerdnavy, a representative for event organizer Godzillionaire Entertainment, said Tuesday afternoon that she could not spill the beans and asked fans to wait for the official announcement.
The music festival will take place May 19 and May 20. The venue has not yet been announced.
“[I] shouldn’t miss this. The legendary will visit Thailand. ‘Cash rules everything around me!’” wrote Ddee Bongster, referencing the band’s popular song “C.R.E.A.M.”
Worshipers at a mosque in Pattani province crowd around the body of a Muslim ranger shot to death on Thursday, one of the latest fatalities in over a dozen years of separatist violence in the region.
BANGKOK — Six people arrested by Malaysian authorities near the Thai-Malaysian border on suspicion of belonging to the Islamic State terror group included a Thai national, the Thai army chief announced Tuesday.
Citing information forwarded by Malaysia, army chief Chalermchai Sittisat said the Thai national, who was not named, had a record of involvement with a separatist group in the southern border region, though other officials declined to confirm the story.
“We have requested for that person to be sent back for prosecution in Thailand,” Gen. Chalermchai said. “But Malaysia needs to proceed with this in accordance with their own laws first. I don’t know when this person will be sent back to Thailand.”
Apart from the person’s alleged link to the international militant group, Gen. Chalermchai said the Thai man belonged to BRN, the most active and well-armed among all separatist groups in Thailand’s Deep South.
He also said it’s unclear how deeply involved with the Islamic State the six people were.
“It does not mean all of the six suspects are all connected to each other,” Gen. Chalermchai said. “Being connected to ISIS could be engaged at many levels. They might be at the level of receiving ideas through its social media propaganda.”
The general added that there is no record of ISIS movements between Thailand and Malaysia so far.
Thailand’s southern region that borders Malaysia has been a hotbed of secessionist violence since 2004. The insurgents aim to secede the three provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat and revive the independent sultanate of Patani.
Although the southern separatists are not historically part of a wider global jihadist movement, there have been reports that ISIS has been keen to establish a presence in the region through efforts such as distributing local-language newspapers advocating its causes in Malaysia and the Deep South.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said Malaysia told Thai authorities the six were arrested “with bomb-making equipment,” so they were suspected of working on ISIS’ behalf.
But the spokesman said there were no other details, including their identities and nationalities.
“They said these people were ‘without clear residence.’ That’s what Malaysia told us.” Maj. Gen. Kongcheep Tantravanich said. “They were arrested in Malaysia. We didn’t get to question them. We haven’t even seen their faces yet. So we can’t give you any details about it now.”
Asked about Gen. Chalermchai’s claim, Kongcheep suggested that the army chief might have received different intelligence compiled by his own agency.
“If there’s really a Thai national involved, police will fly to Malaysia to handle the issue,” Kongcheep said. “Please wait for the information to come first. If I had the information, I would have told you already.”
Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha also said the government is looking into the matter but did not elaborate.
Minister of Defense Prawit Wongsuwan likewise declined to confirm the report. He only said the intelligence agencies were working with their Malaysian counterparts on the issue.
BANGKOK — Bangkok’s music scene will hear more instrumental rock when a math-rock quartet from Japan makes some noise on the same stage with some local acts next month.
After touring the United States, the four musicians of Lite – Nobuyuki Takeda, Kozo Kusumoto, Jun Izawa and Akinori Yamamoto – will fly to Bangkok for a one-night show.
The band was formed in 2003 in Tokyo and praised for its complex and emotionally edgy riffs and atypical sounds. It has performed in New York, Los Angeles, London and Ireland.
Bangkok-based alt-rockers Monomania, instrumental rock trio Spring Fall Sea and PC 0832/676 from Chiang Mai will open.
Kamhaeng and Nantana Lhorketsuwan on the BRT Tuesday morning.
BANGKOK — In sandals and socks, Kamhaeng Lhorketsuwan, and his front backpack-wearing wife Nantana Lhorketsuwan, swiped their free senior passes to enter BRT Thanon Chan on Tuesday morning for a swift ride over to Sathon Road, where they would transfer to the BTS Skytrain.
What is almost a daily ritual for them today was fraught with worry at news the bus rapid transit system would close for good by the end of April.
“It’s 10, 10:30 in the morning. Look at how crowded this bus is! And they say, ‘no one uses it?’ Psh!” 65-year-old Kamhaeng said. “They didn’t come to investigate themselves!”
Commuters at BRT Sathon on Tuesday morning.
Since the word spread Monday, they were among dedicated straphangers expressing displeasure at the disappearance of the public transport system, which links southern Bangkok to the BTS at the Chong Nonsi and Talat Phlu stops.
The system will be shut down seven years after it launched in 2010 because it loses 200 million baht a year is only used by 25,000 people per day, according to Deputy Bangkok Gov. Amnuay Nimmano.
“It’s really a shame. Since they’re losing money, the administration should fix the problem at the source, not just shut down a useful service. The infrastructure cost so much to build, too,” Nantana, 62, said.
Residents in southern Bangkok otherwise only have public rot may buses, she said, and the system services everyone from Thonburi-side condo dwellers to students and office workers.
“Before there was the BRT, Naradhiwas was always clogged with traffic,” she said.
She suggested they start by raising fares – including for them.
“Increase the cost of the bus. It’s too cheap right now, that’s why they’re losing money,” Nantana said. “Sukhumbhand made it free for elderly and students to ride, but that’s not the way to get more people to ride it.”
The BRT fare is 5 baht for all stops. Free rides for students and seniors came in 2013, when the general fare was reduced from 10 baht. It uses a dedicated bus-only lane that runs along Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Road then curves along the Chao Phraya river on Rama III Road before crossing the river over Rama III Bridge, terminating at Ratchapruek stop, which connects to BTS Talat Phlu.
The BRT Sathon-Ratchapruek line. Image: Google
An employee at the Thanon Chan stop, who refused to give his name because he had been ordered to be tight-lipped about the looming closure, said in the event of the bus system’s termination, BRT employees would likely be absorbed back into the BTS system.
Both the BTS and BRT systems are operated by the Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Co. Ltd.
“We are all BTS employees that city government hired to run the BRT,” he said. “I have heard from higher ups who are meeting about shutting it down. If it does, then we should see official signs coming up about a month before it’s closed.”
He said Thanon Chan receives about 1,000 passengers a day, while BRT Sathon, a short walk from BTS Chong Nonsi, receives many more, especially during rush hour, when long queues form.
“I really don’t want it to close,” he said, furrowing his brow. “I’ve been here for five years. You can clearly see the BRT is good for transportation and the community, especially for regular commuters.”
The Facebook page Bangkok BRT has also drawn some angry comments.
“Mostly people who use the BRT are work commuters who don’t want to use a private car,” user JeabKhanittha Kongprasertlap wrote. “Imagine if only one in four went back to using their car, how much more clogged would the roads be?”
A full BRT bus leaves from the Thanon Chan stop 10:30am Tuesday.Kamhaeng Lhorketsuwan and Nantana Lhorketsuwan step aboard a BRT bus on Tuesday morning.Elevated walkway into BRT Thanon Chan on Tuesday morning.
Labels on bottles of fish sauce are covered in an image from the Quality and Safety of Food Bureau. Photo: National News Bureau of Thailand
BANGKOK — Forty brands of fish sauce were declared botulism-free on Monday.
The Medical Science Department announced that 48 brands of nam plaa had no Clostridium botulinum bacteria or other toxins known to cause botulism. Among the 48 were 28 pure fish sauces and 20 adulterated sauces made from either squid, shrimp, razor clam or artificial flavors.
An academic at the Quality and Safety of Food Bureau, who only identified himself as Kai, declined to name which brands were tested. He said the testing was conducted randomly, and it would be “inappropriate” to reveal the names of the products.
“I think you should focus on noticing the FDA labels on the bottles instead,” Kai said Tuesday, insisting that all the samples are fish sauces approved by Food and Drug Administration.
The reason behind the examination, according to the Medical Science Department chief Sukhum Kanchanapimai, was to repair the damage done to the reputation of Thai fish sauce after many brands were banned from import into the United States in 2014.
The botulinum toxin is regarded as a potentially fatal agent produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria and often found in fish-based products. Those who are affected by the toxin experience nausea, muscle weakness and dyspnea (breathing difficulties).
Many Thai fishery products have been banned from the United States, including Tang Sang Hah company’s Tiparos fish sauce after it ignored a warning issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asking it to monitor temperatures of its fish and keep better records.
Well-wishers gather for a second day on Oct. 13 to pray for King Bhumibol at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok.
BANGKOK — Dec. 5 will remain a national holiday after Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Tuesday countersigned a royal order from King Rama X.
The day will mark three important occasions: National Day, Father’s Day and the birthday of His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The statement said the date would be used to pay gratitude to the late king’s dedication to the country and its people.
Phra Maha Muneewong gives a lecture on July 12, 2016, to monks at Wat Paknam in Bangkok.
BANGKOK — Exercising his royal power under a recently amended law, His Majesty the King on Tuesday named a new leader of Thai Buddhist authorities, ending years of vacancy on the ecclesiastic throne.
Phra Maha Muneewong, the 89-year-old abbot of Wat Rajabopit, was named the 20th Supreme Patriarch by King Vajiralongkorn, junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters after his weekly cabinet meeting. Muneewong replaced the previous patriarch who died in 2013 at 100, and the issue of his succession has been hotly debated ever since.
Gen. Prayuth said Muneewong will be instated by the King himself Sunday at Wat Phra Kaew, aka the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
Muneewong is known for his focus on meditation and works at forest monasteries. He was Thailand’s top Buddhist missionary – an equivalent of the Holy See’s nunciature – to Australia while King Vajiralongkorn studied at a military school there in the 1970s.
Muneewong was appointed through an amendment to the Sangha Act which gave the King the sole authority to name new Supreme Patriarchs. The amendment replaced an older clause that required the prime minister and the nation’s supreme Buddhist authority, the Sangha Council, to make the selection when the presiding one dies.
Proponents of the change hoped it would help reduce the chance of future power struggles among the Sangha and finally resolve the present one over who would succeed the late Supreme Patriarch, Phra Nyanasamvara.
After Nyanasamvara’s death, the title was supposed to pass to the next most senior monk, Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn.
But for years the government balked at formalizing the succession, largely due to resistance from orthodox Buddhist leaders who opposed him on the grounds he had ties to the Dhammakaya movement, a sect deemed heretical by much of mainstream Buddhism.
Protesters advocating for the release of Jatupat ‘Pai’ Boonpatararaksa pose in front of the provincial court Feb. 1 in Khon Kaen province.
GENEVA — In a rare statement on use of lese majeste in Thailand, a United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of expression called on the authorities to stop using the law as a political tool.
Describing the law, which punishes perceived insults to the monarchy with up to 15 years in prison, as “incompatible” with international law, David Kaye wrote that it should be repealed in a statement published Tuesday.
“The lese-majeste provision of the Thai Criminal Code is incompatible with international human rights law, and this is a concern that I and my predecessors have raised on numerous occasions with the authorities,” Kaye wrote.
His statement comes after at least 60 lese majeste cases have been filed since the 2014 coup. Many of those charged and detained were opponents of the ruling junta.
Junta spokesman Col. Winthai Suvarai could not be reached by telephone on Tuesday. However, the junta upon seizing power made lese majeste prosecutions a priority, saying it was necessary to protect the monarchy.
Kaye, a professor at a public California law school, urged Thailand to revise the Criminal Code and repeal the law, saying it has “no place in a democratic country.”
“Public figures, including those exercising the highest political authority, may be subject to criticism, and the fact that some forms of expression are considered to be insulting to a public figure is not sufficient to justify restrictions or penalties.”
The statement noted the case of Jatupat ‘Pai’ Boonpatararaksa, who was arrested Dec. 2 for sharing a biography produced by BBC Thai on Facebook. Jatupat is currently in detention and on Wednesday was denied bail a sixth time. On Friday he has a seventh hearing where police will most likely ask the court to keep him in custody a seventh and final time allowed under the law before the matter goes to prosecutors.
“I [am] concerned about reports that the court hearing on his bail took place behind closed doors, in contradiction to the right to a fair and public hearing,” Kaye wrote.
The statement also mentioned that although junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha has revoked an order that lese majeste be tried by the military, those already in process would still go before military tribunals, “which have applied harsher penalties on lese majeste cases.”
The statement noted that in one case, a man, Phongsak Sribunpeng, was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
