TAK — Viral photos of a Karen woman wearing a sarong and bathing in a road to make a point about the potholes in her hometown prompted Tak provincial Gov. Charoenrit Sanguansak to order urgent repairs Friday.
The family of 22-year-old Aticha “Palmy” Kusoltrakulpattana said she disrobed and posed for the provocative shoot on the road in Mae Ramat district to draw attention to the road’s poor condition.
BANGKOK — This wet weekend check out Bangkok’s new independent mini-cinema.
Cinephiles’ long wait for a new indie home for indie films ended this week with the opening of Bangkok Screening Room, a cinema paradiso for art film lovers that officially opened downtown Wednesday in a space that is cozy – if tight.
At a Tuesday evening preview the small, privately owned theater in the Silom area showed it was more than ready to screen quality films such as this week’s roster of a North Korean comedy, a gonzo music doc on old Japanese punkers, a Thai art film and some classics.
After stumbling a bit to find the place – its sign wasn’t posted yet – I found it located above a 7-Eleven. Inside, the reception area was smaller than it appeared in the conceptual renderings. Still, it’s stylishly decorated in warm tones with marble tables and comfortable seating. To contrast the swank decor, the concrete ceiling was left raw for that unfinished vibe.
Above the mini snack bar is a marquee recalling the golden age of cinema. Food varies from finger foods to Thai-style spaghetti. Light snacks are 60 baht – 150 baht. There is of course popcorn. It comes in flavors such as truffle, tom yum and larb and can be taken inside the cinema. I couldn’t really tell the difference between the tom yum and larb; they were both sour.
That didn’t really matter because my main interest was what was inside the cinema.
Read: Finally, An Alternative Cinema To Open In Bangkok
The 50-seat cinema is filled with custom-built cushy chairs arranged in seven rows. I sat in the back and soon felt I would have been happier in a middle row. The chairs are very comfy and larger than the seats found in many corporate theaters. So, you don’t have to worry about sitting uncomfortably or shrinking yourself to fit throughout the film.
Tuesday’s sneak peak was filled with trailers of their upcoming selections. Its contemporary film series kicks off with 2012 North Korean comedy “Comrade Kim Goes Flying,” 2010 Palme d’Or winner “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” and two recent music documentaries: “Mad Tiger” and “Hot Sugar’s Cold World.”
The selected classics are also interesting: The original 1954 Japanese monster movie “Godzilla,” 1953 comedy “How to Marry a Millionaire” starring Marilyn Monroe, 1949 British thriller “The Third Man,” and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 mystery “Vertigo.”
Sound and visual quality were good, but that was expected given the 4K digital projector and professional surround sound brought to bear. The screen size can be changed to accommodate films with different aspect ratios.
Props to the owners for providing adequate accessibility, with facilities for disabled people including front row seats which be swapped out to make room for a wheelchair. The building is equipped with a large elevator and ramp.
It’s a bit messy as building renovations continue. One of two toilets was out of order, so you’d best manage your bladder well until it’s fixed. When I headed down at about 8pm, the stair lights were very dim, and I was afraid of falling.
As a huge Apichatpong Weerasethakul fangirl, I definitely won’t miss another chance to see “Uncle Boonmee” in a theater. Other selections are also tempting for a film fanatic like myself, but I will have to choose carefully. Tickets are 300 baht, the cost of three films at Lido or two at chain cinemas on Wednesday.
But if you want to watch a good movie in a decent quality theatre, there’s little other choice. The Bangkok Screening Room owners said half of the box office will go to the films’ directors. So, I’ll consider myself a patron of the arts and give the filmmakers what they deserve, compared to the raw deals they get from the big theaters.
Read: Lack of Competition Stifles Thai Film Industry
Tickets are 300 baht. A 1,100 baht annual membership includes three tickets, discounts on food and tickets, and other “exclusive privileges.” Thai subtitles are shown for non-Thai language films.
Bangkok Screening Room is open every day except Monday from the afternoon onward. Check the website for exact hours. It’s located on the second floor above a 7-Eleven on Soi Saladaeng 1. It’s walkable from MRT Lumphini’s exit No. 2 or BTS Sala Daeng’s exit No. 4. Cars can be parked at the U Chu Liang or Srifueang Fung buildings nearby.
HAT YAI — A homemade bomb planted in a road has killed three police officers in insurgency-plagued southern Thailand.
Police in Yala province said the bomb was detonated as the officers’ car passed over it, wrecking the vehicle and killing the three instantly. Another officer was taken to a hospital with injuries. Police believe Muslim separatist insurgents were behind the attack.
More than 6,000 people have been killed since the insurgency flared in 2004 in Thailand’s three southernmost provinces, the only ones with Muslim majorities in the predominantly Buddhist country.
Correction: An earlier headline of this article incorrectly said the explosion took place in Hat Yai.
SAMUI — An altercation between a group of young cops and other revelers at a bar turned deadly when two officers pulled out guns and opened fire, police said, killing two and injuring seven early Friday morning.
Jaerasak Soisungwan and Narongsak Khamjai, both lance corporals, pulled out guns and fired into a scrum of officers and bar patrons as they were leaving the Camp Beer pub in Koh Samui’s Bo Phut area at about 2am. Col. Thewet Pleumsuk said Narongsak shot and killed officer Jaerasak and Worawit Yimyong, who provided security at the pub and tried to stop the altercation.
Both men were taken to Bandon International Hospital where they died.
Five others were injured: officer Sitthisak Ngamkom, officer Kissana Bunyin, bar manager Theptingorn Tongpetch, waiter Weerapong Jaruseni and patron Kraisorn Mingsakul.
“The young kids were dancing, going out with their friends and girlfriends. When they were walking out of the bar, the kids were drunk and then shooting ensued,” Col. Thewet said.
The group of cops were intoxicated, he said.
Camp Beer’s security footage showed the moment guns were drawn. In front of the pub, the footage shows the drunk policemen and other patrons fighting. A man later identified as Narongsak, wearing a cap, pulls out a gun while others try to stop him.
After the shooting, Narongsak escaped the scene by car.
According to witnesses, the policemen came to party at the pub with their girlfriends. They got into a dispute with a group at another table that escalated into a confrontation.
Club security tried to stop the fight and told them to take it outside. Just before 2am, the policemen paid their bill and walked out to the parking lot, followed by the group they been quarrelling with.
That’s when a fight broke and Jaerasak pulled his gun, police said. Pub manager Theptingorn tried to stop him. Narongsak pulled out a Glock pistol andopened fire, shooting his fellow policemen and civilians including the pub security guard.
Narongsak was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons-related charges.
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — Police are encouraging caution amid a rash of public complaints and social media reports in a number of states of people dressed like clowns and acting suspiciously, even if they think many are knucklehead pranksters or simply bogus.
Real clowns are just plain miffed.
Authorities in Greenville, South Carolina, were among the first to report a clown-related incident in recent weeks. Late last month, some children reported clowns trying to lure them into the woods with money. Sheriff’s deputies found no evidence, however, not even a prankster in a clown suit.
But for whatever reason, since then, people in Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina and now, Pennsylvania, have reported scary or suspicious encounters with people dressed like clowns.
“When people report these things it should be ‘someone dressed like a clown,’ because a real clown would never dress or do anything to scare anyone,” said Tricia Manuel, 55, who runs Mooseburger Clown Arts Camp in Buffalo, Minnesota. The camp, named for her alter ego, Pricilla Mooseburger, trains about 100 clowns each year.
She said she has been following the reports closely because they are hurting business.
“In South Carolina, two of the clowns were afraid to go out and perform, and they’re two of my customers,” said Manuel, whose two children are also clowns. “If they don’t perform, they don’t need supplies.”
Some of the reported sightings have been hoaxes, like the four young children who told police they made up stories about spotting clowns in unusual places in and around Annapolis, Maryland, or the 24-year-old man whom police in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, charged with falsely reporting that a clown knocked on his window.
Other related cases weren’t so harmless and have resulted in criminal charges.
The sheriff in Escambia County, Alabama, last week arrested a 22-year-old woman and two juveniles after Flomaton High School was locked down and searched when students were threatened on “Flomo Klown” and “Shoota Cllown” social media accounts. And in Athens, Georgia, an 11-year-old girl was arrested for taking a knife to school on Friday because she was frightened by social media reports and other rumors that clowns were preparing to attack children.
The Pennsylvania reports and law-enforcement response have, so far, been more low key. Police want to encourage people to report suspicious behavior without aggravating matters.
Albert Walker, the police chief in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Hanover Township, has stepped up patrols along the Sans Souci Parkway after Facebook posts about a clown in nearby woods.
But the chief chose his words carefully in describing his department’s connection to any other clown sightings.
“Peripherally we’re connected to it, but not directly,” Walker said. “It was a social media post that identified the possibility of an alleged sighting of an individual dressed as a clown along one of our main highways.”
Pottsville Police Chief Richard Wojciechowsky said there appeared to be more to a clown-related incident reported Monday evening in his borough, about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia – but still no cause for alarm.
“Two knuckleheads with clown-like clothes on” hopped out of a pickup truck and yelled at a group of young children and teenagers, the chief said.
“It wasn’t a physical threat or a violent act. At best, (it’s) a misguided juvenile prank,” the chief said. “Some of the older kids weren’t even frightened.”
The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating recent unspecified clown sightings in the towns of Huntingdon and Ebensburg, where a woman said a clown peeped through her window. Trooper Adam Reed said citizens should “not confront the individual but rather gather information and report it to your local police.”
Manuel said the public’s perception of clowns has been going downhill since Stephen King’s 1986 novel about a child-killingclown, “It,” became a TV miniseries four years later. But the latest incidents take the cake.
“We are used to ‘Killer Klowns from Outer Space’ and Krusty the Clown, but this has taken it to another level,” Manuel said. “It’s another thing to have people act out these sick fantasies. This is like, ‘Are you kidding me?'”
Story: Joe Mandak
AYUTTHAYA — Officials might have stolen the premiums for a missing insurance policy meant to compensate the families of those who died in a recent boat accident, the Marine Department said Friday.
The department’s director said only embezzlement or a clerical error could explain what happened to the policy paid for by the owner of the boat which capsized and caused 28 Muslim pilgrims to die Sunday. The investigation was announced Thursday along with a review of such policies nationwide.
Ferry Captain Charged As More Bodies Pulled From Chao Phraya
“It might have been careless mistake, or whatever reasons,” Sorasak Saensombat, director of the Marine Department, said by telephone Friday. “We’re investigating how it happened. Was it like what the boat owner said? Or was it a careless mistake? We’re looking for facts to confirm it.”
After his boat capsized, owner Sunthorn Pansueathong learned the insurance policy he paid for when he renewed its license didn’t exist. Insurance for vessels can be paid for and arranged through the department.
Speaking at Ayutthaya City Police Station on Thursday, Sunthorn denied the boat was uninsured. He said he paid officials for mandatory premiums for Thai Pattana Insurance Co. in June when he renewed the license in Nonthaburi province.
On Monday the Nonthaburi office denied that he renewed the insurance, he said.
“Can anyone explain to me what happened? Where’s the money I paid? And how could the license be issued in the first place?” he said.
Sunthorn owned the boat rented Sunday by a group of Muslims in Nonthaburi for travel to an annual religious ceremony at a mosque in Ayutthaya on Sunday. The boat, captained by Wirat Chaisirikul, hit a berm at high speed before sinking. Twenty-eight people died, including children. Police said the boat was overloaded twice over capacity.
Per regulations, licenses can only be issued for vessels with valid insurance.
Hathaikan Penkun, head of Nonthaburi’s Marine Department office, was transferred to an inactive post Thursday while her office is investigated for possible embezzlement.
The inquiry will take about two weeks, Sorasak said. In the meantime, he said, marine officials will inspect all passenger boats nationwide to see whether there are other cases of missing insurance.
“By mid-October, we expect to have the answers,” Sorasak said.
He also ordered implementation of a new computer system to prevent officials from fraudulently issuing permits.
Due to the lack of insurance, Sunthorn told reporters Thursday he’s selling his assets and borrowing money from his family members to compensate the victims’ families.
He’s charged with several offenses, including operating an overloaded vessel that caused death and injury. He faces life in prison.
Sunthorn was granted bail on Thursday, police said.
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‘Sit Down!’ Video Captures Sinking of Chao Phraya Ferry (Video)
Death Toll in River Ferry Accident Rises to 18, Search Goes On
BANGKOK — A gay-positive Chinese documentary which challenges conservative notions of family and prevailed against censorship at home will show in Bangkok next month.
Directed by Fan Popo, “Mama Rainbow” looks at six mothers from different backgrounds and locales who talk openly about how their children came out to them.
While displays of family affection are rare and having gay children is considered shameful by many parents in mainland China, the film made a mark for its positive portrayal of Chinese moms who learn to speak up for their gay children.
The 80-minute documentary premiered in Hong Kong before showing at LGBT film fests in cities including Boston, Mumbai and Vancouver.
The Beijing-based director and his film made headlines last year for suing Chinese Censors after his film was pulled from domestic streaming sites. Popo won the legal battle in December, though state censors denied responsibility.
“Mama Rainbow” will show in Chinese with English subtitles starting at 8pm on Oct. 9 at Jam. Activist-filmmaker Popo will be present at the event to discuss his film afterward in English.
Admission is free. The art-bar space is on Soi Charoen Rat 1, a five-minute walk from BTS Surasak’s exit No. 2.
SAN FRANCISCO — Two Indonesian fishermen who escaped slavery aboard a Honolulu-based tuna and swordfish vessel when it docked at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf are suing the boat’s owner for tricking them into accepting dangerous jobs they say they weren’t allowed to leave.
Attorneys for Abdul Fatah and Sorihin, who uses one name, say in a lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday that they were recruited in Indonesia seven years ago to work in Hawaii’s commercial fishing fleet without realizing they would never be allowed onshore. They have since been issued visas for victims of human trafficking and are living in the San Francisco area.
The lawsuit alleges that San Jose, California, resident Thoai Nguyen, owner and captain of the Sea Queen II, forced Sorihin and Fatah to work up to 20-hour shifts, denied them medical treatment and demanded thousands of dollars if they wanted to leave before their contracts expired. Nguyen did not return calls seeking comment.
The lawsuit seeks payment for debts the men incurred, fees they paid and compensation promised without specifying a dollar amount, and asks for unspecified damages for “mental anguish and pain.”
“I want to be compensated because of the suffering I felt on the boat and all the suffering I have endured after I got off the boat,” Sorihin said Thursday through a translator at his lawyer’s San Francisco office. “And I hope no one will suffer what I have suffered.”
The lawsuit comes two weeks after an Associated Press investigation found around 140 fishing boats based in Honolulu, including Sea Queen II, were crewed by hundreds of men from impoverished Southeast Asia and Pacific Island nations. The seafood is sold at markets and upscale restaurants across the U.S. A legal loophole allows them to work without visas as long as they don’t set foot on shore. The system is facilitated by the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as Customs and Border Protection who require boat owners to hold workers’ passports.
AP found some men are paid as little as 70 cents an hour. Others had to use buckets instead of toilets, suffered running sores from bed bugs or sometimes lacked sufficient food.
In response, the Hawaii Longline Association representing fishing boat owners has created a universal crew contract that will be required on any boat wanting to sell fish in the state’s seafood auction starting Oct. 1. The group says it deplores human trafficking, and that the contract will protect workers.
The contracts let owners continue to set their own minimum salaries, allow workers to spend the entire year at sea (15 trips, 10 to 40 days each), and reiterate that they must remain on board with passports held by owners.
Cornell University law professor Stephen Yale-Loehr said the new contract “reinforces the current deplorable situation by emphasizing that the crew members have no real rights.”
“Congress should repeal the loophole that exempts U.S. fishing captains from having to provide basic labor protections to their crew,” he said.
Here’s what Sorihin and Fatah say happened to them.
They signed contracts promising USD$350 a month plus bonuses. They borrowed about USD$300 to pay an agent in Jakarta. They flew from Jakarta to Singapore, then Sydney, on to Fiji and Pago Pago, American Samoa, an exhausting, 12,500-mile trip.
Because docking is inconvenient and potentially costly, the fishermen had to swim from one boat to another before sailing to Honolulu to begin fishing.
Then it got worse.
One day as Sorihin wrestled a shark onto the Sea Queen, a fishing line got wrapped around his finger, nearly breaking it off. He said his captain set it straight with a chopstick, rubbing ginger and honey on it.
Another time a winch cable snapped, cracking Sorihin in his shoulder; swollen and sore, he was allowed a two-hour rest. A swordfish sliced his face as he pulled it aboard, according to the lawsuit.
They say the captain was verbally abusive and gave them only torn and worn-out gear. There was new protective gear on the boat but the captain said they would have to pay for it. Both men asked to see a doctor at various times but were told there was no health insurance.
“I knew if I stayed on that boat I was going to die,” said Sorihin in an interview.
They worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. without a food break. Then, after a meal and a few hours’ rest, they’d fish some more. After a few trips, three relatives of the captain’s joined them as crew.
“The captain’s nephew kicked me with his feet to wake me up. I never felt safe working on that boat,” Fatah said in an interview.
Although there was a toilet on board, they had to go to the bathroom in plastic buckets and baggies on deck. And the money, a few hundred dollars a month, just wasn’t worth it.
After a few 20-day trips out of Hawaii, they began docking in San Francisco about once a month. They would gaze from Fisherman’s Wharf dock over to Scoma’s, a classic San Francisco seafood restaurant where diners enjoyed the freshest catch.
Then they’d head out to sea again. One day Fatah got washed onto a railing by a huge wave. He shivered, cried and cramped up. “I thought, ‘This is probably the end,'” he said.
They asked to go home, but were told they would have to reimburse the captain the USD$6,000 he spent to bring them there.
Finally, they decided to run. It was before dawn, six years ago, when the skipper was gone and drunken crewmembers slept. Sorihin and Fatah sneaked into a private room and grabbed their passports. They dashed through San Francisco’s historic waterfront and eventually boarded a southbound train toward San Jose, where they sought help from an Indonesian man they knew of.
“I didn’t think I’d have another chance to survive at sea,” said Fatah. “I was really afraid.”
The man took them in and found them help, through the Catholic Church, a shelter, social workers and eventually immigration attorneys.
Today they both work two jobs. They clerk at a liquor store, and Sorihin also drives a car for hire. Fatah takes inventory at a department store. Neither goes anywhere near Fisherman’s Wharf.
Earlier this year, before filing their lawsuit, they looked at photos of the Sea Queen II and their former captain.
“That’s him,” said Sorihin, shaking his head when asked if he would take a short walk to see the boat. “I’m afraid of this man.”
Story: Martha Mendoza
BANGKOK — A woman whose uncle was beaten to death by drill sergeants on a southern army base five years ago was indicted Thursday for writing about his torture.
Naritsarawan Kaewnopparat is charged with defamation and violating the Computer Crime Act – two laws long described by activists as tools to suppress free speech – filed against her by the army officer who reportedly oversaw the deadly abuse.
Niece of Army Torture Victim Arrested For Internet Messages
A court official informed Naritsarawan about her indictment Thursday morning, Prachatai news agency reported.
She will stand trial at a court in Narathiwat province, where Maj. Phuri Perksophon filed charges against her in December.
Naritsarawan’s uncle was Pvt. Wichian Puaksorn, a draftee who was tortured and beaten to death by a group of soldiers in June 2011 at an army base in Narathiwat, reportedly for trying to desert.
Last year Naritsarawan posted photos and stories about the brutality that killed her uncle in a bid to seek on his behalf. No one was ever held legally accountable for Wichian’s death.
Phuri, a lieutenant at the time of Wichian’s death, was identified as the commanding officer present when the beating took place. He took offense to Naritsarawan’s messages and filed the defamation charges.
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BANGKOK — Movies, music, theatre plays and talks. While a variety of events will mark the 40th anniversary of the Thammasat University massacre, one artist has a unique approach.
Taking a note from those who commemorate important dates from coups to uprisings by uploading selfies, Chumpol Kamwanna created 10 oil paintings to show off at Selfie Series.
“What I see on [important occasions] is no longer different from other ordinary days,” Chumpol said. “Commemorating an event now means just taking a picture with a monument.”
One of his works depicts a naked man taking a selfie of himself that recalls an infamous photo of a cigarette-smoking police officer aiming a pistol into the campus.
The opening reception for Selfie Series starts at 6pm on Oct. 6. The exhibition runs through the end of the month at People’s Gallery on the second floor of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.
The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre can be reached on foot by skywalk from BTS National Stadium.
