Mother’s Day Attacks: Bombs Hit 5 Thai Provinces, Killing 4

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12 August 2016, 10:20

Firefighters work to put out a fire early Friday morning at the Bang Niang Market in Phang Nga province.

BANGKOK — A wave of coordinated, double bombings which began Thursday night and continued Friday morning killed at least four people across the south of Thailand at the beginning of a long weekend vacation marking Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday.

Tourists, markets and government sites were targeted by apparent terror attacks in Trang, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phuket, Phang Nga, Surat Thani provinces. No mass casualties were inflicted in the attacks, which each consisted of two bombs exploding in unison. On Friday afternoon, national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda said both firebombs and IEDs were used.

Two people were killed when eight more bombs exploded Friday morning after twin blasts killed a woman in the popular resort town of Hua Hin late Thursday night, injuring 21 others, including 10 foreign tourists.

Police spokesman Col. Krissana Phatthanacharoen said the injured included three Dutch nationals, four Germans, two Italians and one Austrian.

Twelve more bombs went off in four additional provinces Friday morning, with a repeat bombing in the same town where the first pair happened Thursday evening. Two makeshift bombs were defused Wednesday evening at Phuket’s Patong Beach, another popular tourist destination.

Read: One Killed, At Least 12 Injured in Hua Hin Explosions

One person was killed and three injured when two bombs hit Surat Thani on Friday morning, one near the police station and another at a Marine Police Station, where the fatality occurred. On Phuket’s Patong Beach, two bombs went off at 8am resulting in at least one injury. At about 9am, Hua Hin was struck again with two more bombs going off near its clock tower, killing one woman and injuring three. Just after 2am, two bombs had detonated earlier at the Bang Niang Market in Phang Nga province with no injuries reported.

Friday’s attacks came early in the morning, several near to where Buddhist alms-giving ceremonies were being held.

Residents in Hua Hin said they were relieved after a bomb unit declared the area clear last night, and were shocked when fresh explosions hit Friday morning right after a 7am alms ceremony.

Police chief Chakthip said at 3pm on Friday that no arrests have been made, despite reports that some suspects had been taken into custody.

Arson Attacks

A series of suspicious fires broke out at four locations early Friday morning that seemed linked to the spree, including one followed by another double bombing. Between 2am and 7am, fire hit the Bang Niang Market in Phang Nga, a three-story supermarket in Trang province, the Aonang Market in Krabi and a Tesco Lotus in Nakhon Sri Thammarat were damaged by fires.

Two bombs went off at the market in Phang Nga shortly after the blaze started.

Junta spokesman Piyapong Klinpan said officials in every province were investigating the incidents to collect evidence and track down the perpetrators.

“We still have no information about them. But at this moment, we believe the attacks are all connected. We don’t want to speculate on the motivation, but we believe it’s the work of a coordinated movement.”

Despite saying they have no knowledge, Klinpan was quick to rule out it was linked to separatist violence in the Deep South, a conflict which has mostly been contained in the provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.

This past Sunday’s charter referendum saw a wave of at least 35 bomb attacks sweep through the Deep South.

Klinpan added they have no information about any links to ISIS militants, whose attempts to wield influence among the southern Muslim Malay have been rebuffed in the past.

Two bombs went off Friday morning at a clock tower near Wat Hua Hin

Who Did It?

Like previous terror attacks in Thailand, no group immediately claimed responsibility. The attacks came several days before the one-year anniversary of the bombing of Bangkok’s Erawan shrine, which left 20 people dead.

Chakthip said Friday afternoon the bombs were similar to those used by separatist insurgents in the Deep South. Acknowledging he had no evidence, he said he believed the attacks were linked to Thailand’s political conflict.

“All seven provinces where the incident took place all endorsed the draft charter,” he said.

Chakthip didn’t name the opposition Redshirt movement but intimated his suspicion in reference to the suspected arson attacks.

“I believe this kind of incidents didn’t involve foreigners,” he said. “It’s never been foreigners burning places.”

As was the case after the August 2015 shrine bombing, fingers were quickly pointed at the opposition Redshirts, as well as the southern separatists. That terror attack was later determined to have been the work of ethnic Uighurs, most likely in retaliation to the military regime’s forcible deportation of their people back to China.

In an earlier televised address from National Police headquarters in Bangkok, deputy police Col. Kritsana said the bombs Thursday night were detonated remotely by mobile phone.

Repeating another refrain from last year’s attack, Kritsana pleaded with people not to use the word “terrorism” in favor of “local sabotage.”

A political and national security analyst at Chulalongkorn University said the attacks look like the work of outside terrorists.

“At this time, it looks like terrorists from the outside, not an internal problem,” said Surachat Bumrungsuk. “Attacks related to domestic issues don’t intend to cause mass fatalities, only to make a lot of noise.”

A fire at 'Lee Mart' burns early Fridiay morning in Trang province, where a deadly bombing hit the night before. — A fire at ‘Lee Mart’ burns early Fridiay morning in Trang province, where a deadly bombing hit the night before.

He discounted the timing of the attacks as being related to the Queen’s birthday.

“Terrorism needs opportunity, not a schedule,” he said, comparing similarities in the bombings to attacks in Kuala Lumpur and Bali.

However the director of Deep South Watch news agency said it was too soon to rule out a connection with the roiling conflict there.

“There is a possibility,” Srisompob Jitpiromsri said. “Though they operate out of their area as widely as this. They do have the network and potential ability.”

He said forensic examination of the devices would be able to tell whether there was a link. Most if not all of the bombs Thursday and Friday were reportedly detonated by mobile phones.

Srisompob noted the bombings comes days after the south sent a political message by rejecting the junta-backed charter which was passed nationally by a wide margin last Sunday.

Talks between separatists and the junta went dark months ago, and Srisompob said the attack could have been hatched by some factions within the different insurgent groups.

Junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha was quick to link it to last Sunday’s charter vote.

“I will let you consider why it has happened since before the referendum until now,” he said Friday morning. “Why did it happen when the country is moving forward … who doesn’t want this to happen in Thailand?”

The U.S. Embassy offered its condolences among such statements coming from various diplomatic outposts.

“We express our deepest sympathy to all those affected by the bombings in Thailand,” wrote a message posted online. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.”

Scene of a bombing attack Thursday night in Hua Hin.

TIMELINE

Wednesday
At 8pm, police found and defused two power banks wired to explode in front of the Paradise Market and Chinatown Market in Phuket’s Patong Beach area.

Thursday
At 5pm, a bomb struck the Center Point Market near Trang City Hall while vendors were setting up their stalls, killing one and injuring at least six others.

At 10:15pm, the first bomb hit Hua Hin in front of the Johnny’s 56 Bar. A second followed at 11pm in front of Raintree Spa. Both places are on Soi Selakam which is home to many bars popular with foreigners. The bombs, believed hidden in tree pots, killed a woman and injured 21 others, including 10 foreign tourists.

Friday

At 8am, bombs went off near the Surat Thani Police Station and a Marine Police Station where a Mother’s Day ceremony was being held. One person was killed by the latter and three were injured, according to Royal Thai Police.

At the same time, two bombs went off at Phuket’s Patong Beach. The first bomb exploded at 7:45am in a park along the beach, causing one injury. The second bomb took place at the Kratu Police box at 8:45am, but no one was injured.

One hour later at 9am, two more bombs hit Hua Hin at the city’s clock tower, killing one woman and injuring three.

At about the same time, another two explosives were reported in front of the Bang Niang market in Phang Nga’s Takua Pa district where a fire had just broken out at 2am, destroying more than 80 shop stalls. No one was injured from the explosion though two cars were damaged.

Story: Teeranai Charuvastra, Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Pravit Rojanaphruk, Kaewta Ketbungkan and Todd Ruiz

Siam’s Leading Intellect-Inspired-Musical Restages

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Kaewta Ketbungkan, Staff Reporter

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12 August 2016, 09:30

BANGKOK — To commemorate the 100th birthday of “an honest man in a crooked country,” a musical on the life of a leading intellectual by renowned theatrical director Pradit Prasartthong returns this month.

Inspired by the life and ideals of Puey Ungpakorn, who helped reshape the country’s economy, society, and democracy, “Dragon’s Heart” is being restaged a year after it debuted to a warm welcome in May 2015 at the Thailand Cultural Centre.

Led by Pradit, Anatta Theatre Co. will bring a scaled-down production of the musical to a 200-seat studio at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre to question society’s treatment of people like Puey, a leading light later branded a communist and driven from the country .

“This special edition is more condensed and intense,” said the 2004 Silpathorn Award winner. “It portrays Puey as a normal human being and how he went through the changes and defeats which made him who he was.”

The musical consists of 15 songs with two new numbers. All are adapted from the type of fast-paced narrative musicals that were popular in Thailand during the World War II era, with lyrics based on Puey’s philosophy.

Puey rose to prominence as a bureaucrat who brought integrity and modernism to banking and academics. Hard-right forces branded him a traitor when students at Thammasat University protested military dictatorship, and he was forced to flee the country on Oct. 7, 1976, when those forces gunned down hundreds of students.

Sneak Peek of “Dragon’s Heart” (Special Edition):

For its two-week run starting Aug. 18, Pradit, the 56-year-old director, also plays “Rapee,” a man who represents all the forces in opposition to Puey.

Unlike its first outing, Dragon’s Heart returns without any high-watt stars. The role of Puey is played by 27-year-old Pasakorn Rungrueangdechaphat.

“The role is hard, as I have to play Puey at age 27, 40 and 60; while there were three actors playing the role in the last edition. Puey and I are both Teochew Chinese, so maybe that was why I got the role,” he laughed.

Pasakorn’s said his love for singing, especially Luk Thung and Luk Krung music, began when he was a kid in his hometown Suphan Buri. As for acting, he was trained as an actor in Srinakharinwirot University’s faculty of Fine Arts.

“The voice of an unsung Thai hero should be heard. This is a crucial part in Thai history that even Thais ignore. This is a chance to get to know what’s hidden by the mass media,” said Pradit, adding that he wants to expand its audience to young audiences so they can learn about Puey and his principles to make a better future for the country.

All performances are in Thai with English surtitles.

Ticket prices range from 500 baht to 700 baht (250 baht to 450 baht for students) and can be reserved online.

The musical kicks off at 7pm on Aug. 18 and runs through Sept. 4, with 2pm matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. There will be no performances Mondays and Tuesdays. The show is a part of the fifth Performative Art Festival, which features local and international performances June through December.

The venue is on the fourth floor of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, which can be entered by skywalk near exits No. 3 and 4 of BTS National Stadium.

One Killed, At Least 12 Injured in Hua Hin Explosions

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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12 August 2016, 00:31

HUA HIN — Twin explosions hit major tourist destinations in the resort town of Hua Hin shortly before midnight, killing one victim and injuring at least 12 others, including four who were in critical condition, police said.

The incident came hours after another bomb went off in the southern province of Trang and wounded seven people, and just days before the first anniversary of Thailand’s worst terror attack in recent history.

Update: Mother’s Day Attacks: Bombs Hit 5 Thai Provinces, Killing 4

Hun Hin Police Station Chief Sitthichai Srisopacharoenrat identified the deceased victim as a Thai woman. Among the 12 people injured in the explosions, nine were foreigners, Col. Sitthichai said.

According to police report, the two bombs in Hua Hin went off nearly half an hour apart at Fa Pha Intersection and Soi Bintabaht, which are home to numerous bars and restaurants frequented by foreign tourists.

The injured were sent to Hua Hin Hospital, San Paulo Hospital and a local branch of Bangkok Hospital.

Police said evidence at the scene suggested both explosions were results of explosive devices.

The bombing came on the eve of a holiday celebrating the Queen’s birthday at the start of a three-day weekend when many people were out.

No one claimed immediate responsibility for the attack.

If it proved to be a terror attack, it would be the worst incident of its kind to hit Thailand since a bomb went off nearly a year ago at Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. The Aug. 17 attack killed 20 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Additional reporting Sasiwan Mokkhasen

Police Intercept Submachine Gun Bound for Deep South

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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11 August 2016, 18:07

An officer checks the intercepted firearm on Thursday at Udon Thani City Police station.

UDON THANI — A businessman from the northeast is under investigation for trying to mail a submachine gun to an associate in Songkhla province, where Muslim separatists have battled security forces for over a decade.

Although the weapon appeared to be properly registered, police said they want to know why someone would send a firearm to the sensitive region.

“We want to know why he wanted to send it to Songkhla,” said Sitthiporn Tharakullathip, deputy chief of Udon Thani City Police Station. “It’s an area that has security issues.”

Lt. Col. Sitthiporn said staff in the cargo section at Udon Thani’s airport alerted police Thursday after they scanned parcels and found what looked like a firearm in one.

According to Sitthiporn, police confirmed it was a submachine gun and contacted the registered sender, a rubber plantation owner named Witthaya Nitipant, 34.

Witthaya reportedly told police he bought the gun from his friend in Songkhla province in February 2015 and wanted to mail it back to the seller for repair because the weapon jammed when he was shooting targets recently.

However, Sitthiporn said police are checking whether the weapon was linked to any crimes, though he added it was properly registered.

Songkhla, a major destination for Malaysian tourists, is often targeted by insurgents seeking to secede the three southern border provinces.

7 Injured In Trang Explosion

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Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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11 August 2016, 17:41

Injured vendors are taken to hospital after an explosion took place in southern province Trang Thursday afternoon.

TRANG — An explosion hit the southern province of Trang, injuring at least seven people.

The bomb exploded at about 3pm on Thursday afternoon, injuring vendors who were setting up their stalls for an evening market downtown near the City Hall near other important government buildings. All injured were taken to Trang Hospital.

The area was shut for investigation of the scene. The cause or motive for the attack was yet undetermined.

Amnat Ruenroeng And Other Pros Ousted in Rio Olympics

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Associated Press

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11 August 2016, 16:50

France's Sofiane Oumiha, at left, fights Thailand's Amnat Ruenroeng during a men's light weight 60-kg preliminary boxing match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Frank Franklin II / Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO — It was a big blow for the pros in Rio de Janeiro.

The three professional fighters that bucked 112 years of amateur competition in Olympic boxing have all been eliminated from the tournament.

Thailand’s Amnat Ruenroeng, Cameroonian fighter Hassan N’Dam and Italy’s Carmine Tommasone are history.

Ruenroeng was the last one eliminated. Sofiane Oumiha of France absolutely battered him over the final two rounds before the fight was stopped Monday. Ruenroeng was gassed after a competitive first round, and took two standing eight counts in the second. He was stopped in the third.

Tommasone lost a unanimous decision to Cuba’s Lazaro Alvarez in a lightweight bout Monday morning. N’Dam was ousted over the weekend.

The trio wasn’t exactly the big professional names the International Boxing Association had hoped to compete when it decided earlier this year to allow any boxer to attempt to qualify for the Olympics.

Floyd Mayweather stayed retired. Manny Pacquiao never budged from his role as a Philippine senator. Amir Khan didn’t try for another medal run.

Eight years after Ruenroeng fell just short of a medal in Beijing, the 36-year-old former IBF flyweight champion was simply dominated in a lightweight bout. The 21-year-old Oumiha connected with a big right hand in the third round for another eight count and the match was stopped.

“It doesn’t change anything if it’s professional or not,” Oumiha said. “I’ve been working for the Olympics and am well prepared to fight and win.”

Ruenroeng, who had served time in a Thai prison, earned a spot at the Beijing Olympics and won two fights, but fell one fight shy of a medal in the light flyweight division.

Ruenroeng and Tommasone had each won their first fights at the Rio Olympics.

The 32-year-old Tommasone never found his stride against Alvarez, a three-time world champion in two classes.

“I consider them professional amateurs,” Tommasone said. “They are professional players of three rounds. I tried to adapt to the three-round matches but it was difficult to adapt.”

Tommasone fights as a 126-pound professional featherweight, but chose the 132-pound lightweight division for the Olympics, likely making it easier to deal with daily weigh-ins.

Three-round bouts, the demands of the daily weigh-ins in a multi-fight tournament and injury concerns all played a role in keeping more professional fighters from changing their pursuit from championship gold around their waist to Olympic gold around their neck.

There was also some fear in the boxing community that the tournament would have been stuffed with lopsided matchups had the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin actually signed up.

Turned out, the amateurs are the last ones left fighting.

“He was just better than me,” Tommasone said. “He won the match.”

Story: Dan Gelston

Hotel Worker Arrested For Turning Blind Eye to Deadly Sexual Assault

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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11 August 2016, 16:04

Hotel employee Rattana Ruengyot, at left, listens as Bangkok police chief Sanit Mahatavorn speaks to reporters Wednesday at Bangkok’s Metropolitan Police Bureau.

BANGKOK — Police have accused a hotel receptionist who allegedly stood by and did nothing as an accessory to the death of a 19-year-old student brought unconscious to the hotel, where she was raped and murdered.

For failing to intervene in the crime, Rattana Ruengyot, 66, who works at Sena Place in the Phaya Thai district, was arrested Wednesday and charged with being an accessory to the fatal sexual assault.

“The staff member saw the perpetrators and the [victim],” Bangkok police chief Sanit Mahatavorn announced Wednesday night. “If the staff member did not open the room for them, the incident wouldn’t have happened. This action is considered as aiding the crime.”

Read: Gang Rape Leaves Student Dead, 4 Men Arrested

According to police, the victim died of heart failure after she was raped by the four suspects. Maj. Gen. Charoen Srisasalak, a division commander in the Bangkok police force, told reporters on Friday he suspected the woman was drugged before being taken to the hotel.

Police did not identify the victim other than saying she was a student at a Bangkok university.

The four suspects – Thawatchai Bupphamatanang, 28; Khettawan Wiwattananont, 21; Kongkrapan Sankhameenoi, 21; and Khanakorn Thong-em, 19 – are currently held in remand prison to await trial on charges of deadly sexual assault. They face the death penalty if convicted.

Those convicted of being accessories to a crime can be punished with jail terms up to two-thirds that of the crime in question. In death-penalty cases, it means 50 years in prison.

Murder at 7-Eleven: Man Shoots Woman in Crowded Convenience Store (Video)

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Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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11 August 2016, 15:49

BANGKOK — It was a most harrowing evening at 7-Eleven when a customer was shot as she picked out goods from the shelves.

Chalinthorn Wattanasap, 35, was shopping inside the convenience store located in her condo development in Bangkok’s southwestern district of Bang Khun Thian district at 8pm Wednesday when Pichai Tangchit, also 35, suddenly appeared next to her. After speaking for just a few seconds, he produced a gun and shot her four times in the middle of the crowded store.

The gunman fled the scene on his Honda motorcycle toward Rama II Road.

Chalinthorn was later pronounced dead at Nakornthon Hospital.

Bangkok Police Chief Sanit Mahatavorn said a court has approved an arrest warrant for Pichai on a count of first-degree murder and his officers are searching for the suspect. He believed the man was driven by a personal issue with the deceased.

Englishwoman Follows Cootie Catchers to Distraction

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Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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11 August 2016, 15:04

BANGKOK — Distraction and disorientation inspired by crowdsourced origami walking guides are at the heart of a Bangkok-based artist’s mixed media exhibition that came about through her wandering the city.

Psycho Geography: Bangkok The Ant Farm will feature abstract paintings, drawings and sculptures by English artist Hannah Theodorou.

When she moved into the Thonglor area last year, Hannah created origami-style fortune tellers and asked strangers to fill them out with instructions to navigate the neighborhoods she was unfamiliar with.

“I was really excited, I felt like an adventurer,” Hannah wrote. “I knew that it wouldn’t be easy, and I maybe wouldn’t like some parts of the journey, but I thought the challenge make it more interesting.”

The first journey laid out by the fortune teller took eight hours of walking, Hannah said.

Following the directions to find places, Hannah said she was often reminded of something else irrelevant to where she was at. Her eyes saw children playing, but her thoughts turned to her little brother, cat or something she had to do that evening.

“More than ever we’re so distracted by the virtual world, and walking in Bangkok is not really [a thing people do], so I try to communicate the chaos of everyday life [such as] colors, random thoughts and ideas of what is actually in front of or around you.”

Psycho Geography runs Aug. 20 to Sept. 18 at Brownstone Studios. Its opening day starts at 7pm with the presence of local acoustic duo Kingkong and the Chum.

Brownstone Studios is located on Soi Sukhumvit 77 near Soi On Nut 25. The gallery, opens from 10am to 10pm daily, can be reached by motorbike from BTS On Nut.

Part of Hannah’s canvas shows ant eggs and Thai letters she can’t understand. Photo: Hannah Theodorou / Facebook

New ‘People’s Reform Party’ Would See Prayuth Prime Minister of Elected Gov’t

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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11 August 2016, 14:00

Junta leader and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha rides in an electric vehicle Wednesday at Government House in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — A move to establish a military-friendly political party to appoint the junta leader prime minister again under an elected government was met with mixed reactions in the political sphere, though the consensus was that pro-junta elements and their proxies want a larger political space.

After a former senator declared earlier this week he would create a new party called the People’s Reform Party to support Prayuth Chan-ocha becoming prime minister again, an MP in the former government ousted by Prayuth called it a clear move to drag Thailand back to the 1980s or earlier.

A new political party to seat junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha as prime minister of a new civilian government recalled past parties which wielded political power for the military, such as the 'Justice Unity Party' — A new political party to seat junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha as prime minister of a new civilian government recalled past parties which wielded political power for the military, such as the ‘Justice Unity Party’

“This is not beyond my expectations,” said Weng Tojirakan of the Pheu Thai Party and a leader of the Redshirt movement. “The fate of Thailand is to become a military-bureaucratic state with elections as a veneer. I really don’t know of what will really happen.”

He accused the junta of seeking power for the next two decades by going back to the days when political parties acted as fronts or a proxy for the military.

In announcing the move, former senator Paiboon Nititawan said Prayuth was the most suitable person to lead the nation. For his part, Prayuth declined to comment on the idea when asked about it Wednesday.

Weng said it was “highly likely” some factions within his Pheu Thai Party could break away to join a pro-junta party out a pragmatic desire to hold power.

“There are ideologically driven Pheu Thai MPs, but there are also those without ideology,” Weng said.

Democrat Party deputy leader Nipit Intarasombat was less concerned such a party would pose a threat to the Democrats. He said political parties are easy to launch but difficult to sustain in the long-run as an institution.

Nipit questioned the need for Paiboon to do so when the junta, aka National Council for Peace and Order, will be able to virtually pick all the 250 members of the senate under the constitution passed by referendum Sunday. That referendum also granted those junta appointees a voice in selecting an unelected figure for the post of prime minister.

“That 250 senate members is already like a big political party in which the members are in their hands. The 250 appointed senators should be enough to ensure the [elected] government would fall in line,” Nipit said.

The three-decade veteran politician added however that people should wait and see if Prayuth accepts endorsement by the party.

Political analyst and Voice TV program host Sirote Klampaiboon believes the new party, if established, would simply become a new political outlet for pro-junta elements who are passed over for seats in the new junta-appointed senate. He also said it’s not easy to set up a proxy party that can really win enough parliamentary seats to wield influence.

“This party is for the enlargement of a political space for those who will not be appointed as senators,” Sirote said.

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