BANGKOK — Bram Stoker’s legendary Transylvanian, Shakespeare’s emo prince of Denmark and seven other soundless stories will screen at two good-ole’-day indie cinemas for a full week.
The Silent Film Festival opens Thursday at Scala Theatre with the 1922 German Dracula adaptation “Nosferatu,” accompanied by music performed live by pianist Gunte A. Buchwald and composer-musician Anant Narkkong.
The following eight silent films include one of the best-known silent Shakespearean films, 1921’s “Hamlet,” vintage French rom-com “Two Timid Souls” (1928), and a struggling elderly hotel doorman in “The Last Laugh” (1924).
The film schedule is available online. Tickets at Scala Theatre are 200 baht and 120 baht for Lido Theatre. Subtitles of dialogue intertitles will be included in Thai.
The festival, organized by Thai Film Archive and Goethe-Institut Thailand, runs Thursday through June 22 at Siam Square’s Scala and Lido theaters.
All screenings will be accompanied by live music played alternately by Anant, Buchwald and pianist Tama Kerena from New Zealand.
A photo said to show Saroj going to meet boy at Terminal 21 posted by Troll Students of Suankularb.
BANGKOK — While the director of an elite boys school defends one of its teachers against allegations of being a pedophile predator, a group of school students has offered proof he knowingly solicited for sex from a minor as recently as Wednesday.
In a series of photos posted online, Saroj Meepai, the now-suspended science teacher at Suankularb Wittayalai, was seen going to meet what he believed to be a 17-year-old schoolboy at a restroom in a downtown shopping mall.
The photos, dubbed “sting operation,” were posted Saturday by Troll Students of Suankularb, the same Facebook group that first drew attention to Saroj’s Twitter account where he reportedly published photos of the abuse.
The images were posted Wednesday, one day before the page went public with information incriminating Saroj.
Saroj was free on bail Monday, three days after being arrested and charged with uploading child pornography to the internet.
As set forth by Troll Students, a student contacted Saroj via chat application on Wednesday, introducing himself as a 17-year-old schoolboy. According to images purported to be of their chat, the student asked Saroj if he wanted to meet for sex in a public restroom at the Terminal 21 shopping mall. The teacher readily agreed, according to the chat, and the pair arranged a meetup at 8.30pm that night in the toilet by the malls’ CPS Chaps store.
Unbeknownst to Saroj, it was all a ruse. The student didn’t show up, and he was left wandering near the restrooms marked as the meeting spot, providing ample photo-ops material for students who were lying in wait.
A pre-censored photo said to show Saroj going to meet boy at Terminal 21 posted by Troll Students of Suankularb
The Troll Students page admin said he’s already submitted the photos to police as further evidence against Saroj, who was arrested Friday. He also suggested that he has more information to implicate Saroj that’s being withheld.
“I’m not sure if we will publish more information, but most of the information we have already sent to police,” the unidentified admin wrote in reply to a reporter’s inquiry.
Teacher the Victim?
Saroj was arrested Friday evening after the allegations against him surfaced on social media. He’s also been removed from his teaching post at Suankularb Witthayalai, while both the school and education authorities have launched separate investigations.
But Troll Students of Suankularb say the school administration is shielding Saroj from the full force of the law and minimizing the matter.
“We are not satisfied with the school’s handling of the issue,” the admin said.
On Saturday, school director Withoon Wong-in told Thairath in an interview that Saroj was in fact a victim of a fight between him and his ex-boyfriend, who tried to ruin the teacher’s reputation by making false allegations against him.
According to Withoon, some photos on Saroj’s Twitter were of him and his ex-partner, while other pictures were “photoshopped” by the ex-partner to make it look like he had sex with many underage students.
“The main objective for this act is to destroy reputation of the partner teacher as much as possible, because he’s upset for betraying the love that he had devoted to him,” Withoon said.
Withoon’s remark were consistent with the narrative put forth by Saroj at a police news conference where he denied having sex with any minors. As for the captions on his Twitter photos boasting of anal intercourse with schoolboys, Saroj said it was just roleplay.
School deputy director Amnuay Chanhom said Monday that it’s still too early to say for sure whether Saroj abused minors.
“The issue is still unclear. We have to wait for the investigation committee to decide,” Amnuay said by telephone, adding that could take up to 15 days, “The places in the photos, where are they? What’s the story? Who are they? Are they really underage? If they are, what schools are they from?”
Amnuay said he’s heard Saroj is already out on bail, and he was scheduled to report Monday to another investigation panel set by the Office of Basic Education Commission.
The unfinished construction of the footbridge built over an existing electricity pole on the Ratchaphruek Road in Nonthaburi province.
NONTHABURI — Of all the philosophical questions posed by an abstract urban masterpiece which went viral over the weekend, one had an answer: Which came first, the staircase or the pole popping through it?
In photos posted Saturday, an unfinished staircase is seen built around an existing utility pole on the Nonthaburi side of metropolitan Bangkok. The Escheresque images, first posted by Facebook page Black Hat, were shared more than 2,000 times. Today, the process of removing the persistent pole began.
Some netizens took a moment to appreciate the concern shown for the concrete post.
“When it’s a big tree, they decide to cut it,” Facebook user Tim Kulachart wrote in reply.“ If they [showed the same consideration] for trees, people would praise them a lot.”
Another user suggested a practical answer, that workers were on deadline when they encountered the pole where the stairs for a new footbridge were to be erected.
“I understand them. Once they signed the contract, they had to hurry. Otherwise they will be fined,” wrote user Nopadol Kong, suggesting the electrical authority wouldn’t have moved quickly to remove it if asked.
Nonthaburi Governor Nisit Chansomwong backed up that theory, saying the footbridge project had to move forward despite the pole’s continued existence, because the contract to build it was set to finish mid-July.
Under public scrutiny, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, or MEA, started Monday the process of removing the pole located on side of Ratchaphruek Road. They expected the work to be finished today.
The 4 million baht footbridge was initiated by the Nonthaburi Highway District Office, which said it had sent a written request for MEA to remove the pole.
In a statement, the utility blamed the developer for rushing ahead.
“The developer and the officials responsible at MEA did plan together,” it said in a Sunday statement. “But construction began without waiting for the removal of the electricity pole.”
People lighting candles as supporters of the LGBT community at Ten Atlanta following a fatal shooting at a Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando on Sunday in Atlanta. Photo: Branden Camp / Associated Press
BANGKOK — The public is invited to gather this evening in front of the U.S. Embassy to honor the victims of the Orlando, Florida, massacre in which at least 50 people were killed at a gay club Sunday.
LGBT activist Paisarn Likhitpreechakul said the mourning event Pray for Orlando, which will start at 6pm today at the U.S. Embassy on Wireless Road, was not meant to be an LGBT event but a human event.
“We’re not hosting this under any organization,” Paisarn said by phone Monday afternoon. “We only do this as human beings. We shall show our support with flowers and candles.”
The deadliest mass shooting in American history happened early Sunday morning at “Pulse,” a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. At least 50 people were killed and 53 injured.
Chat messages sent Sunday in which a Nok Airlines pilot refers to intentionally crashing a passenger jet because it was carrying former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
BANGKOK — Two years after her government was deposed, former premier Yingluck Shinawatra remains a hated figure for some, including the commercial airline pilot flying her home on Sunday.
The latest scandal arose when a pilot of Nok Air flight DD8005, which was flying Yingluck from Phrae to Bangkok on Sunday afternoon, sent messages via Line into a group of at least four people that he or she should crash the plane because Yingluck was aboard.
“We have prey on board,” someone wrote in the message exchange after posting a photo of Yingluck and her group heading to the plane. “Get her!” came the reply, followed by the pilot requesting a “CFIT.”
CFIT is an acronym for Controlled Flight Into Terrain – technical language for crashing an airplane.
The unidentified messages to the pilot’s friends were later seen by Yingluck’s niece Chayika Wongnapachan and cousin Panthongtae Shinawatra.
“I am saddened and didn’t expect such a thing to happen,” said Chayika, who is a close aide of Yingluck and was among the dozen others aboard the flight.
Trying to sound magnanimous, Chaiyaka said she thought it was a joke.
“The passengers have become the first prey while the [airline] management became the prey of a pilot who can’t differentiate between personal politics and work.”
Not everyone took it so well.
“I think the first and only step is to fire [the pilot] because we can’t have a pilot flying with such a mental state,” said Ekachai Chainuvati, a law lecturer at Siam University and a die-hard Yingluck supporter.
Joke or not, the pilot’s behavior comes as Thailand is trying to satisfy concerns of international aviation authorities to lift a “red flag” placed on its civil aviation sector for failing to meet safety standards.
Last year a new civil aviation law enacted more stringent penalties in line with international standards for anyone who makes statements, serious or not, about a potential aviation threat.
According to Article 15 of the Civil Aviation Crimes Act, that law applies to anyone on the plane and is is punishable by imprisonment between five to 10 years or a fine between 200,000 baht to 400,000 baht, or both.
A spokeswoman for the Civil Aviation Department, Aparat Yaithongbu, said they would likely wait for Nok Air to come file a report on the matter first.
Nok Air CEO Patee Sarasin issued an apology and vowed to investigate the matter, adding that there’s no discrimination at Nok Air, an airline already struggling to stay aloft this year after the departure of many pilots and a strike among those who remained, which left many passengers stranded.
“I’ll call to apologize Yingluck myself. At Nok Air, there’s no politics. I definitely won’t take it,” Patee tweeted Sunday night.
Ekachai said he would boycott Nok Air, saying the incident undermined his confidence in the airline, whether its pilot’s hatred was expressed toward Yingluck or someone else.
“I’m shocked and in fright,” said Ekachai. “I think I will seek out alternative airlines. Such prejudice means it’s hard to expect justice for Redshirts.”
Theft suspect Polat Ibrahim, at left, gestures at Sunday’s police news conference in Pattaya.
PATTAYA — Two foreign nationals were arrested Sunday in Pattaya for allegedly stealing from foreign tourists.
Polat Ibrahim, 44 of Turkey, and Sadena Hamedani, 45 of Iran, were accused of befriending tourists then snatching their cash when they were not looking, according to police. Both suspects deny the allegations.
Deputy Chonburi police commander Trairong Pewpan said it’s still unclear how many people were victims of the crime spree.
“We’re expanding the investigation,” Col. Trairong said Monday.
According to Trairong, police received complaints from many tourists, “mostly Chinese, Indian and Korean,” that they were approached by two “Middle Eastern-looking people” who chatted them up and asked them about currency exchange.
“They asked to see their money. When the victims let their guard down, the suspects snatched their cash and fled the scene,” Trairong said.
The police colonel said he has sufficient evidence to implicate Ibrahim and Hamedani, including security camera footage.
Ibrahim and Hamedani have been charged with nighttime theft using a vehicle, which carries a stronger penalty. They have also been charged with overstaying their visas, Trairong said.
A bus carrying 20 passengers burst into flame on the tollway heading to Suvarnabhumi Airport Cargo Monday morning.
BANGKOK — A bus heading into Suvarnabhumi Airport was destroyed after it burst into flames Monday morning.
About 20 passengers quickly exited the bus onto the side of the road just before 8am after driver Ratana Janeraksa spotted smoke coming from the engine compartment. Ratana said he failed to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.
“No one was injured,” said Police Capt. Ritthikrai Yomprakon from Lat Krabang Police Station. “The fire started on its own, so we didn’t charge anyone.”
The bus was just about to enter the airport when the fire broke out. Firefighters arrived and took 20 minutes to put out the burning bus, which was consumed by the fire.
Three lanes of the tollway were closed during the incident but have now returned to normal, Ritthikrai said. Officials were investigating the cause of the fire.
Veterans listen during the dedication ceremony for the Minnesota Memorial for the United States and Alliance Special Forces in Laos on Saturday, June 11, 2016 on the State Capitol grounds St. Paul, Minn. Photo: Peter Cox / Minnesota Public Radio / Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A new memorial on the Minnesota Capitol grounds honors soldiers of the “secret war” in Laos.
Hundreds gathered Saturday for the dedication of the memorial to the U.S. and Alliance Special Forces in Laos, Minnesota Public Radio News reported.
The 10-foot-tall bronze monument commemorates those who served in the southeast Asian country, from 1961 and 1975. Laos was neutral during the Vietnam War, but the CIA recruited Hmong soldiers to carry on a covert campaign.
After the U.S. pulled out of Laos and Vietnam, tens of thousands fled and lived in refugee camps in Thailand. Many refugees eventually resettled in the U.S. An estimated 66,000 Hmong live in Minnesota.
Lt. Gov. Tina Smith praised the veterans at the dedication ceremony.
“More than four decades ago, Hmong, Lao and southeast Asian soldiers served during the Secret War, saved American lives and helped to advance the cause of freedom and democracy,” Smith said. “Your service embodies the ideal of sacrifice.”
The memorial resembles a sprouting bamboo shoot, with its leaves bearing images of daily life, war and relocation.
The ceremony featured Hmong music, a gun salute and the playing of “Taps.” Several officials including St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar spoke as well as veterans.
The Americans recruited Gen. Vang Pao to encourage many in his country to fight. The general, who died in 2011, was represented by his son, Wang Chong Vang.
Vang said it was a “special day for all of us to honor the Lao Hmong soldiers who served as the U.S. secret army in Laos.”
This June 12, 2016 law enforcement booking photo provided by the Santa Monica, Calif., Police Department shows James Wesley Howell, 20, of Indiana. Photo: Santa Monica Police Department / Associated Press
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — An Indiana man armed with three assault rifles and chemicals used to make explosives was arrested in Southern California on Sunday and told police he was headed to a West Hollywood gay pride parade, an event that annually draws hundreds of thousands of people, authorities said.
The early morning arrest in Santa Monica of James Wesley Howell, 20, of Jeffersonville, came just a few hours after at least 50 people were shot and killed in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, though police said they had found no evidence of a connection between the events.
The LA Pride event continued as usual, albeit with increased security. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the arrest at the start of the parade and struck a defiant tone.
“We are here as Angelenos, as the LGBT community and allies,” he said. “And we will not shrink away, we will not be stuck in our homes, we will not go back into our closets. We’re here to march, to celebrate and to mourn.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department motorcycle deputies ride along a street in West Hollywood, Calif., during the Gay Pride Parade on Sunday, June 12, 2016. Photo: Richard Vogel / Associated Press
Howell was arrested around 5 a.m. after residents called police to report suspicious behavior by a man who parked his white Acura sedan facing the wrong way. When officers arrived they saw an assault rifle sitting in Howell’s passenger seat, Santa Monica police Lt. Saul Rodriguez said.
That prompted them to search the whole car. They found two more assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and ammunition and a five-gallon bucket with chemicals that could be used to make an explosive device, police said.
Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks initially tweeted that Howell told officers he wanted to “do harm” at the gay pride event, but she later corrected her statement to say only that Howell said he was going to the parade, about seven miles from the scene of the arrest.
Authorities would answer no further questions on Howell or his motives. The FBI is leading the investigation.
A Facebook page that apparently is Howell’s includes photos of the white Acura he was driving in Santa Monica. The postings are unremarkable. There’s no enmity toward gays or notable political activism. One post says he’s signing a petition to legalize marijuana.
The page’s most recent public post, from June 3, shows a photo comparing an Adolf Hitler quote to one from Hillary Clinton. An anti-Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders photo was posted in February.
The site said Howell worked as an auditor for a company that makes air filters.
Howell was charged in October in Clark County, Indiana, with pointing a firearm at someone, and with intimidation. He made a deal with prosecutors in April to plead guilty only to the misdemeanor intimidation charge. He was given one-year prison sentence that the judge suspended in favor of strict probation that prohibited him from having weapons.
A friend of Howell’s, 18-year-old Joseph Greeson, said Howell’s parents in Jeffersonville hadn’t seen him for days and that they called Greeson’s parents looking for him. Greeson told the Los Angeles Times that he and Howell are in a car club together and that Howell had a gun collection.
Greeson also said Howell harbored no ill will for gays or lesbians.
The organizers of LA Pride said in a statement before the parade that the Orlando tragedy made them all the more determined to continue with plans.
“Our brave founders made this happen to show the world who we are,” the statement said. “We will be loud. We will be proud, and we will celebrate in honor of all those lost.”
Carl Oliver of Los Angeles attends the parade every year. He said he cried after hearing about Orlando, but he never considered not coming.
“This is about love,” he said. “We have to show our love and unity.”
Orlando Police officers direct family members away from a fatal shooting at the Pulse Orlando nightclub Sunday in Orlando, Florida. Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press
ORLANDO, Florida — A gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside a crowded Florida nightclub early Sunday before dying in a gunfight with SWAT officers, police said.
The exact death toll appeared to be in flux. The Orlando mayor referred at a news conference to as many as 50 casualties and 53 more people who were hospitalized. But it was unclear whether the casualties referred to the number of dead.
Authorities were investigating it as an act of terrorism.
“There’s blood everywhere,” Mayor Buddy Dyer said.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with an officer working at the gay club known as Pulse Orlando around 2 a.m., when more than 300 people were inside. The gunman then went back inside and took hostages, Police Chief John Mina said.
Around 5 a.m., authorities sent in a SWAT team to rescue the hostages. Police have not determined an exact number of casualties, but Mina said “approximately 20” bodies were inside the club.
In addition to the guns, the shooter also had some sort of “suspicious device,” Mina said.
Authorities were looking into whether the attack was an act of domestic or international terror, and if the shooter acted alone, according to Danny Banks, an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
“This is an incident, as I see it, that we certainly classify as domestic terror incident,” Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.
The suspect was identified as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Rep. Alan Grayson named the shooter, citing law enforcement officials. A federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation also confirmed the name. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
FBI agent Ron Hopper said there was no further threat to Orlando or the surrounding area.
When asked if the gunman had a connection to radical Islamic terrorism, Hopper said authorities had “suggestions that individual has leanings towards that.”
Police had said previously on Twitter that there was a “controlled explosion” at the scene of the shooting. Mina said that noise was caused by a device intended to distract the shooter.
A woman who was outside the dance club early Sunday was trying to contact her 30-year-old son, Eddie, who texted her when the shooting happened and asked her to call police. He told her he ran into a bathroom with other club patrons to hide. He then texted her: “He’s coming.”
“The next text said: ‘He has us, and he’s in here with us,'” Mina Justice said. “That was the last conversation.”
Dozens of police vehicles swarmed the area around the club. At least two police pickup trucks were seen taking what appeared to be shooting victims to the Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Pulse posted on its own Facebook page around 2 a.m.: “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.” Just before 6 a.m., the club posted an update: “As soon as we have any information, we will update everyone. Please keep everyone in your prayers as we work through this tragic event. Thank you for your thoughts and love.”
Local, state and federal agencies were investigating.
President Barack Obama was briefed on the attack and has asked for regular updates on the investigation, the White House said.
The attack follows the fatal shooting late Friday of 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie, who was killed after her concert inOrlando by a 27-year-old Florida man who later killed himself. Grimmie was a YouTube sensation and former contestant on “The Voice.”
Jon Alamo said he was at the back of one of the club’s rooms when a man holding a weapon came into the front of the room.
“I heard 20, 40, 50 shots,” Alamo said. “The music stopped.”
Club-goer Rob Rick said the shooting started just before closing time.
“Everybody was drinking their last sip,” he said.
He estimated more than 100 people were still inside when he heard shots, got on the ground and crawled toward a DJ booth. A bouncer knocked down a partition between the club area and an area in the back where only workers are allowed. People inside were able to then escape through the back of the club.
Christopher Hansen said he was in the VIP lounge when he heard gunshots. He continued to hear shooting even after he emerged and police urged people to back away from the club. He saw the wounded being tended to across the street.
“I was thinking, ‘Are you kidding me?’ So I just dropped down. I just said, ‘Please, please, please, I want to make it out,'” he said. “And when I did, I saw people shot. I saw blood. You hope and pray you don’t get shot.”
The photos, dubbed “sting operation,” were posted Saturday by 
