Bank Worker Apologizes for Profiting From King Anniversary Banknotes

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10 June 2016, 18:46

Seventy-baht commemorative banknotes on sale Thursday at a Government Saving Bank branch in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — A Krungthai Bank employee is under investigation for selling banknotes commemorating His Majesty the King’s 70th anniversary on the throne without permission and pocketing the profits.

A screenshot of Pannasith's offer to sell the banknotes. — A screenshot of Pannasith’s offer to sell the banknotes.

While the special 70 baht bills are available for sale at banks for 100 baht each, Pannasith Kosol advertised them online for 160 baht. His actions were harshly condemned on social media as insensitive to Thursday’s occasion marking King Bhumibol’s 1946 ascension to the throne.

In a statement, Krungthai Bank said Pannasith has apologized for his actions and has been placed under disciplinary investigation.

“The bank management feels sorry for what happened, and it has instructed [supervisors] to strictly oversee their staff,” the statement said.

Thirty baht of the bills’ purchase price is set aside for donation to the King.

Almost immediately after the banknotes went on sale, they were reported sold out in many provinces, and Pannasith posted in an online marketplace that he had stacks of the special notes for sale for 160 baht each.

An example of the 70-baht commemorative banknote.

Many on social media chastised Pannasith for profiting from the commemorative banknotes.

“I consider this as taking advantage of His Majesty the King and defrauding the country,” wrote Facebook user Jang Punsri.

Pannasith’s now-deactivated Facebook profile identified him as working at Krungthai Bank in Phuket province.

The monarchy is a sensitive issue in Thailand, where any remark or action deemed insulting to the Royal Family is punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

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Love Triangle Led to Guitarist’s Horrific Street Murder

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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10 June 2016, 15:21

Piyanat Boriphan and Sunanta Sodsoon are brought to Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok Thursday.

BANGKOK — A woman and her boyfriend said they stabbed her ex-boyfriend more than a dozen times last month as he was heading home from a gig at a Bangkok pub.

Sunanta Sodsoon,32; and Piyanat Boriphan, 23; were arrested in Phuket and later charged with premeditated murder Thursday, three weeks after they stabbed Manus Leerungreung, 26, 17 times near Soi Sathu Pradit 31 then fled the capital, where they both had been working in government jobs.

Piyanat said he was in conflict with Manus after he started dating Sunanta, the guitarist’s ex-girlfriend, six months ago. He claimed that he felt unsafe and carried a knife because Manus had threatened him.

On May 19, Piyanat said he was drunk and suddenly decided to confront Manus. He forced Sunanta to take him to the restaurant where Manus was playing music. The guitarist had just left, so they followed until they found him on the road.

“I never thought I would kill him,” Piyanat said in front of the press Thursday. “But when I met him, I was drunk and angry. I didn’t think. I didn’t count.”

Manus was found dead with 17 stab wounds next to his motorcycle on the road not far from CentralPlaza Rama III mall at 12:30am on May 19.

A witness said he was stopped by two people wearing helmets on another motorcycle then attacked with a knife by a passenger who got off the bike.

Police Col. Jiraphob Phuridet yesterday said they tracked the pair down with the help of witnesses and security camera footage.

After the murder, the couple resigned from The Secretariat of The Cabinet where they were both working and returned to their hometown in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. They later moved to Phuket to search for new jobs before being arrested.

Serial Pedophile Teacher Suspended from Oldest Public High School

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Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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10 June 2016, 14:59

Suankularb Wittayalai School in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district in an undated photo. Photo: Old Suankularb Network (OSK) / www.osk99.com

Update: Saroj Meepai was arrested Friday evening and charged with spreading child pornography online.

BANGKOK — A science teacher at one of Thailand’s most prestigious all-boy schools was suspended today after reportedly admitting to having sex with numerous students and posting videos of the abuse on Twitter.

After his explicit Twitter account surfaced last night, the teacher, named as Saroj Meepai, was placed under two separate investigations by both Suankularb Wittayalai School and education authorities. Saroj is said to have confessed to having sex with underage male students, some of whom he paid.

If found guilty, Saroj will be stripped of his teaching license, and families of the victims are advised to file criminal charges against him, said Karoon Sakulpradit, sec-gen of the Office of Basic Education Commission, which chairs the investigation.

“If parents and guardians want to hold him responsible, please file your complaints to the police for prosecution, because this involves children who are under 18,” Karoon said.

According to Karoon, Saroj is suspended while investigation is conducted.

Suankularb Wittayalai is the oldest all-male public school in Thailand. Its alumni include prime ministers, political activists and coup leaders such as Privy Council Chairman Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, Pridi Banomyong and Tanin Kraivichien.

The school’s response has been surprisingly restrained, with an administrator saying Saroj could only see his pay docked for his “inappropriate” behavior, depending on the outcome of an internal investigation.

Abuse Shared Online

Attention to Saroj’s Twitter account was raised by a popular Facebook page that usually publishes humorous stories about Suankularb and other school happenings. The Troll Students of Suankularb page posted the link and some screenshots Thursday night.

His Twitter account, opened in October 2014, had about 50,000 followers, according to a cached version. It is now removed.

School officials on Friday confirmed to reporters the account belongs to Saroj, a high school science teacher at the Matthayom 6 level.

Screenshots of the account, which is now deactivated, show Saroj posting videos and photos of what he said was sexual intercourse with male students.

“This is from long ago, during school break. Matthayom 5 kid gets anal after some extra class lessons,” the user captioned the explicit photo.

Amnuay Chanhom, deputy rector of Suankularb Wittayalai, said Saroj confessed to the crimes and added that he hired some of the students for the sex via online forums. Saroj also insisted that none of the students he had sex with were from Suankularb, Amnuay said.

“However, even if it’s not Suankularb students, it’s still considered inappropriate,” Amnuay said.

The deputy rector said Saroj faces a wide range of possible punishments, from salary reduction to expulsion, depending on the result of the school’s investigation. He also asked Suankularb students to come forward if they had been victims of Saroj.

“At this time, no students have identified themselves as victims so far,” Amnuay said.

The school’s relatively mute response to what is potentially a criminal act punishable by up to three years in prison per offense already led some Suankularb students to suspect of a cover-up attempt.

“If this page didn’t expose this, Amnuay would still have been clueless, and he would have said he hadn’t seen the news. Is that it?” wrote Attavit Panyapinyophol on the Troll Students of Suankularb page. “If I had a son, and Amnuay was still in charge of the disciplinary office, and baldy [Withoon Wong-in] is still director, I would definitely not entrust this school with my son.”

Another expressed disbelief at Amnuay’s suggestion victims of sexual abuse must step forward to identify themselves for the school to take action.

“Suppose I got fucked, and I have to report it to the school,” wrote Atiphat Buraphan. “It would be like I have to be fucked again.”

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Temple Party Busted, Four Monks Charged

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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10 June 2016, 12:58

One of the four arrested monks gives his testimony at Wat Ban Na Kam Noi on Wednesday night.

MUKDAHAN — Four monks’ routine of hosting drunken temple parties ended in arrests on Wednesday night, police said.

The four monks have been defrocked and are facing charges in court for drinking alcohol on temple grounds, said Thakoonsombat Suangtho, commander of Mukdahan City Police Station.

“They were disgusting monks,” Col. Thakoonsombat said of the four suspects, named as Phra Thonglai Muangtrai, 46; Phra Anuwicha Jongdaeng, 48; Phra Boonchoo Suthchiwiro, 50; and Phra Mahakan, 55.

According to Thakoonsombat, each of the four monks, who are from four different local temples, regularly took turns inviting the other three to his temple and hosting parties late into the night. Their nighttime antics eventually upset residents in the area, who alerted police to make the arrest Wednesday night, Thakoonsombat said.

All of the four suspects were arrested at Wat Ban Na Kam Noi while they were drinking beer, the officer said. They were later defrocked and charged with consuming alcohol in places of worship, a crime punishable by a fine of up to 3,000 baht.

However, Thakoonsombat said, the four former monks said they don’t have enough money to pay the fine, so they have been sent to court.

“If they still don’t have money to pay the fine when the judge asks them to, they will be jailed [for six days] instead,” Thakoonsombat said.

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Fake Bomb Left at Suvarnabhumi an Attempt to Create Panic, Police say

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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10 June 2016, 12:40

The suspicious device discovered Thursday evening at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

BANGKOK — Suvarnabhumi Airport Police said a suspicious device discovered there Thursday evening was not a bomb.

The device, consisting of an empty water bottle connected to two smartphones and a battery bank, was found 200 meters from the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel at 7pm.

Suvarnabhumi Airport Police said Friday the device was not explosive, contrary to initial fears. Police said that they suspect that it was left at the airport to create public panic.

“The detection dog sat down so the officers initially thought it was an explosive,” said Police Lt. Col. Montien Baothong.

He said police then called Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians and it was later found to be a false alarm.

Montien said police were notified by a member of the public who heard a ticking sound when jogging in the area. The bottle, which was wrapped in magazine pages, was found hidden behind some trees.

“And even if it really was a bomb, it would not have much impact as it was placed near the exit, 200 meters from the Novotel,” Montien said.

Montien believes it was an attempt to cause panic. He said the Office of Police Forensic Science has collected DNA from the scene to help track down the perpetrator and police are looking into footage from CCTV.

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Debris in Madagascar, Australia to be Analyzed by MH370 Team

By

Associated Press

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10 June 2016, 11:35

In this Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, file photo, a waiter walks past a mural of flight MH370 in Shah Alam outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Joshua Paul / Associated Press

SYDNEY — Australian officials say debris discovered in Madagascar by a man who previously found a part from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will be examined by investigators to see if it, too, came from the missing plane.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said Friday that they had been contacted about the debris by Blaine Gibson, an American adventurer who has been hunting for Flight 370 over the past year. Gibson told the agency he found a part that may have come from the missing plane in Madagascar. The ATSB says Malaysian authorities have procedures in place to examine any suspected debris, but Australia will help if asked.

Malaysian authorities, who are leading the investigation into the plane’s disappearance, have procedures in place to examine any suspected debris, though Australia will help analyze Gibson’s discovery if asked, the agency said.

In February, Gibson found debris off the coast of Mozambique that experts later determined came from the missing Boeing 777 that vanished more than two years ago with 239 people on board.

In a separate development, a man found a piece of debris on an island off southern Australia that the transport bureau will examine, said ATSB spokesman Dan O’Malley. The agency was informed of the find on Thursday, and was working with island officials to have the part sent to the ATSB’s headquarters, he said.

That piece was found on Kangaroo Island, just off the coast of South Australia state. Video of the part shows it bears the words “No step” — a phrase that also appeared on the part that Gibson found in Mozambique in February.

Several pieces of the plane have washed up over the past year on coastlines around the Indian Ocean. But officials have had no luck finding the main underwater wreckage despite an extensive search of a vast area of the Indian Ocean off Australia’s west coast. Crews are expected to complete their sweep of the 120,000 square kilometer area by August, and there are no plans to extend the hunt beyond that.

Story: Kristen Gelineau

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Glowing Antlers Failed, So Finns Try App to Save Reindeer (Photos)

By

Associated Press

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10 June 2016, 11:00

In this picture taken July 13, 2009, reindeers walk across the road in Suomussalmi, Finland. Finnish reindeer herders launch app to cut road kills in northern Arctic where 300,000 reindeer regularly roam freely. Photo: Vesa Moilanen / Lehtikuva / Associated Press

HELSINKI — Finnish reindeer herders in the Arctic have painted Rudolph’s antlers in fluorescent colors, hung reflectors around their necks and even used movable traffic signs, but none of the efforts have helped reduce the annual 4,000 reindeer road deaths.

Now they have decided on a new tactic: an interactive reindeer warning app where drivers can tap their mobile phone screens to register any reindeer they see and get warnings if they are approaching an area where reindeers have been spotted. They’re hoping to save at least some of the 300,000 reindeer that wonder freely in the wilds of Lapland, sometimes described as the last wilderness in Europe.

In a pilot project, drivers of heavy transport vehicles are being given 1,000 free handsets, which have been deactivated for any other use than the reindeer warning system. If it proves successful, the app will be available for download on smartphones later this year.

Anne Ollila, director of the Finnish Reindeer Herders’ Association, said Wednesday the other methods simply didn’t work.

Fluorescent paint makes the antlers of a reindeer shine, in this photo dated February 15, 2014, after Finnish herders painted the animal in an attempt at halting the thousands of road deaths of the roaming caribou in Rovaniemi, the wilds of Finland's Lapland. Photo: Anne Ollila / Lehtikuva / Associated Press — Fluorescent paint makes the antlers of a reindeer shine, in this photo dated February 15, 2014, after Finnish herders painted the animal in an attempt at halting the thousands of road deaths of the roaming caribou in Rovaniemi, the wilds of Finland’s Lapland. Photo: Anne Ollila / Lehtikuva / Associated Press

“Drivers often mistook reindeer with reflectors for people in the dark, thinking they wouldn’t run into the middle of the road when they saw car headlights approaching,” she told The Associated Press. “And the deer would tear the reflectors off.”

Reindeer traffic warning signs were pinched by tourists for souvenirs, and reindeer would scrape off the fluorescent paint from their antlers. “Somehow the reindeer know they had paint on their antlers — maybe their friends laughed at them,” Ollila said.

Reindeer husbandry provides work for some 10,000 people in the region.

In this picture taken August 21, 2009, a reindeer walks out of the road in Pudasjarvi, Finland. Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / Associated Press

Story: Matti Huuhtanen

Man Falls Into Acid Hot Spring at Yellowstone, Body Totally Dissolves

By

Associated Press

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9 June 2016, 23:53

The Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Photo: Beth Harpaz / Associated Press

BILLINGS, Montana — Rangers suspended their attempts on Wednesday to recover the body of a man who wandered from a designated boardwalk and fell into an acidic hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, another in a string of incidents raising concerns over visitor behavior.

“They were able to recover a few personal effects,” park spokeswoman Charissa Reid said. “There were no remains left to recover.”

Colin Nathaniel Scott, 23, of Portland, was with his sister and had traveled about 225 yards off the boardwalk on Tuesday when he slipped and fell into the hot spring in the Norris Geyser Basin, park officials said.

After Scott’s sister reported the fall, rangers navigated over the highly-fragile crust of the geyser basin to try to recover his body. They halted the effort Wednesday “due to the extreme nature and futility of it all,” Reid said, referring to the high temperature and acidic nature of the spring.

The death occurred in one of the hottest and most volatile areas of Yellowstone. It follows high-profile incidents at the rugged park in which tourists got too close to wildlife or went off designated pathways onto unique landmarks, sometimes leading to injuries.

“It’s sort of dumb, if I could be so blunt, to walk off the boardwalks not knowing what you’re doing,” said Kenneth Sims, a University of Wyoming geology professor and member of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

“They’re scofflaws essentially, who look around and then head off the boardwalk,” he added. Sims said he was speaking generally and had no direct knowledge of the circumstances of Scott’s death.

Scott previously worked as a volunteer at the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve in Oregon, said Mary Loftin, a manager at the Hillsboro, Oregon, parks and recreation department. She said that Scott worked there for about 20 months fielding questions from visitors, and his stint ended last year.

“A very nice young man a bright spirit,” Loftin said.

The basin is a popular attraction in the nation’s first national park, which received a record 4.1 million visitors last year. Water temperatures there can reach 199 degrees, the boiling point for water at the park’s high elevation.

At least 22 people are known to have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around Yellowstone since 1890, park officials said.

Most of the deaths have been accidents, although at least two people had been trying to swim in a hot spring, park historian Lee Whittlesey, author of the book “Death in Yellowstone.”

Posted signs warn visitors to keep to boardwalks and trails in thermal areas, which feature boiling pools, geysers that can blast hundreds of feet into the air and toxic gases.

The crust that makes up the ground in parts of Yellowstone is formed when minerals underground are dissolved by the high-temperature water, then redeposited on or near the surface.

That crust can be as “thin as a skiff of ice” Reid said.

Other recent tourist incidents at Yellowstone include a 13-year-old boy who got burned Saturday when his father, who had been carrying him, slipped into a different hot spring.

In May, a Canadian film crew was accused of leaving an established boardwalk and stepping into a geothermal area where they snapped photos and took video of themselves.

Also last month, another Canadian man loaded a bison calf into his SUV because he thought it was cold. The calf later had to be euthanized because it could not be reunited with its herd.

Story: Matthew Brown

Abbot of 22 Years Denies Knowing Tiger Temple’s Terrible Secrets

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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9 June 2016, 17:02

The Tiger Temple abbot Phra Visuthisaradhera, aka Luangta Chan, rolled past reporters Thursday morning in a golf cart.

KANCHANABURI — There were few surprised faces Thursday when the abbot of the former Tiger Temple failed to make good on a promise to address the public.

Temple lawyer Saiyood Pengboonchoo said Phra Visuthisaradhera has been emotionally stressed since all the dead wildlife, amulets made from endangered animals and more were discovered last week inside the temple which for many years profited from marketing itself as a spiritual sanctuary dedicated to animal conservation.

The temple’s leader, who has run the temple since its inception in 1994, had no knowledge of any of that, the lawyer said. A wildlife official said tiger pelts were found in his room. Police say they will seek a warrant for his arrest.

In fact, the lawyer said, the abbot known locally as Luangta Chan really wanted to address the controversy but suffered a heart attack this morning just before he had the chance. Instead he had to settle for riding past reporters on the other side of a high fence.

“He’s almost 70,” Saiyood said by phone Thursday afternoon. “But he showed up on a golf cart to show that he’s not running away.”

Saiyood said that although the temple has closed its gates to is keep its remaining wildlife animals such as deers, muntjacs and boars inside, the public is still welcome to donate money and animal food.

With that improbable backdrop, temple representative Siri Wangboonkoed denied the abbot had anything to do with the animal bodies, tiger-skin talismans and endangered-animal energy drinks discovered last week.

“Some of the temple staff and monks have done this without the abbot’s knowledge,” Siri said.

As for charges of land misuse and forest encroachment levied after wildlife officials raided the temple, Siri said it would cooperate with investigators.

Temple representative Siri Wangboonkoed (left) and lawyer Saiyood Pengboonkoed at a Thursday news conference at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province.

Lt. Col. Jaruwat Chanpen of Sai Yok Police Station said a court warrant to arrest the abbot will be sought as soon as they finish collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses.

The Sai Yok deputy chief Jaruwat declined to say how long the investigation is going to take.

Adisorn Noochdamrong, deputy chief of the national parks department, said it will aid police and land reform officers in their investigations.

“[We] found tiger pelts right in the [abbot’s] room. How can he deny that?” Adisorn said.

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House of Cards: MRT Rolls Out Yet Another Transit Fare Card

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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9 June 2016, 16:33

Four designs for the new MRT Plus card which goes on sale in August at every station along the new MRT Purple Line. Photo: MRT Purple Line / Facebook

BANGKOK — In case there were not enough cards to carry, the operator of the soon-to-launch MRT Purple Line will soon offer a new one.

The new card, called MRT Plus, will work the same as those already in use for the existing subway system. It will, like the old cards, be usable from MRT Hua Lamphong on the Blue Line through MRT Khlong Bang Phai on the new Purple Line when it opens in August.

The only real difference is that the new card can be used by commuters at four park-and-ride structures along the line at the Khlong Bang Phai, Sam Yaek Bang Yai, Tha It and Yaek Nonthaburi 1 stations.

The biggest benefit for anyone who’s used the system is not waiting in long queues to buy tickets, but the fares will be the same – 14 baht to 42 baht.

It bears reminding those only planning to ride the Blue Line that they have until the end of June to trade in their old stored value cards for new ones soon being introduced.

Despite the Transport Ministry’s promise of one card-to-rule-them-all, MRT operator Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand plans to continue offering its own cards even after it is available.

The Mangmoom (Spider) card, a long requested and long delayed solution integrating the MRT with the BTS Skytrain and Airport Link systems has been delayed again until later this year at the earliest.

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