Banned From Politics, Yingluck Goes on Tour (Photos)

By

-

2 June 2016, 11:39

In this Monday, May 30, 2016 photo, students of Bueng Kan Wittaya school take photos with former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra at Bueng Kan Province, Thailand. Photo: Sakchai Lalit / Associated Press

BUENG KAN — As ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra made her way through a line of fans, some cried, others screamed and a few embraced her.

“She touched my hand! She touched my hand!” one woman yelled at a Buddhist temple in the rural northeast where several hundred people came to see her Monday.

This was not a political campaign stop. If it had been, the generals who ousted Yingluck two years ago never would have let it happen. She’s banned from politics, and the military government has banned the entire country from trying to sway voters, who will decide Aug. 7 whether to accept a new constitution drawn up by the junta.

In this May 30, 2016 photo, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra meets with fans in Bueng Kan Province, Thailand. Photo: Sakchai Lalit / Associated Press

Yingluck says she’s simply greeting and thanking her 5 million Facebook fans for their support, but she appears to be hoping that by touring the country, she can galvanize supporters without saying a political word.

“She will show to her opponent and also to the public that, ‘We are still here and there is a huge support for us,'” said Kan Yuenyong, executive director of the Siam Intelligence Unit think tank. “I think this is very important message, a hidden message, that she would like to send to the public.”

Yingluck herself conceded no hidden messages in an Associated Press interview.

“I am still banned from being involved in politics for five years, even if the law from the constitution that was used to impose the ban on me is no longer in use,” she said. “I still want to work closely with people in whatever capacity. Today I am meeting the fan page followers because during this time of economic hardship, people want tourists to visit their provinces. So we’re using this as an opportunity to promote tourist destinations and make them well-known. This is one of the many ways to strengthen the economy at the grassroots level.”

The junta wants voters to approve the constitution and a related measure. They would, among other things, allow a non-elected prime minister to lead the country, create an appointed rather than an elected Senate and give unprecedented power to the Constitutional Court.

“This draft will lead the country backwards,” Yingluck and her Pheu Thai Party said in a March 30 statement.

The military government has made it illegal for anyone but itself to advocate for or against the proposed constitution. Expressing a strong opinion for or against it before the referendum could bring a jail term of up to 10 years, a 200,000 baht fine and revocation of voting rights for 10 years.

In this May 30, 2016 photo, students of Bueng Kan Wittaya school take photos with Yingluck Shinawatra at Bueng Kan Province, Thailand. Photo: Sakchai Lalit / Associated Press

During Yingluck’s visit Monday to Bueng Kan in the northeast — a bastion of support for her — Yingluck and her team were careful to not make any political statements. Her supporters, who in the past have typically worn red shirts as a show of allegiance to her party, carried red roses instead. The junta has arrested its critics for many forms political protest, including wearing T-shirts.

“I came to the temple since early this morning with the sole purpose of welcoming Yingluck because I love her so much,” said Pakorn Pali, 48, said while wiping away tears. “I see her goodness, we’re the same age and I would love to be friends with her. I’m so happy that she is coming to visit us.”

Yingluck did not make speeches at the temple, a school or other places she visited. She just walked around greeting people, accepted gifts of fruit baskets and flowers and took photos with her fans.

She plans to keep traveling, but it’s not clear for how long. Her adviser Win Rungwattanajinda says the events are simply intended to allow her supporters to meet her.

“We have always been clear that this is a fan page event, not a political event,” said Win. “Yingluck doesn’t have anything to gain politically from this event because she’s still barred from politics. She still has three years left.”

In this May 30, 2016 photo, fans of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra give her a scarf as she arrives in Bueng Kan Province, Thailand. Photo: Sakchai Lalit / Associated Press

Her supporters say they have been careful not to violate rules set up by the junta.

“They don’t allow us to hold up signs — we don’t hold up signs. They don’t allow us to organize — we come here individually,” said Charoenchai Saponcharoen, a 44-year-old Bueng Kan resident. “Whatever they don’t allow us to do, we won’t do it.”

“She’s not here for political reasons,” said Kalaya Kalahaan, a 50-year-old Udon Thani local who traveled three hours to see Yingluck. “She’s just here to visit her supporters because she misses and loves us.”

Yingluck’s government fell after months of sometimes violent protests sparked by its plans for an amnesty that would have allowed her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, to return to Thailand. The billionaire Thaksin led the country from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a coup. He has lived abroad since 2008 to avoid serving prison time for a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated.

When Yingluck led her party to victory in the 2011 general election, becoming Thailand’s first woman prime minister, she was dismissed as a lightweight who was just serving as a proxy for her brother. While the characterization was not without merit and she has never shaken it off, she displayed a politically potent charm that won her many fans, especially among women.

Yingluck faces criminal charges for negligence, over a government scheme to buy rice from farmers that cost the country billions of dollars.

At her latest appearance at the Supreme Court on May 13, she spoke out to supporters outside and called on the military government to allow the Thai people freedom of expression ahead of the August referendum. She repeated the plea once more on her Facebook page May 22, the two-year anniversary of the coup.

She wrote that the NCPO justified the seizure by claiming that it wanted to restore unity, build legitimacy for all concerned and reform the country. She questioned that promise in her Facebook statement and implored the junta to return power, rights, independence and freedom to the people.

Story: Natnicha Chuwiruch

Officers Swarm UCLA in Massive Response to Murder-Suicide

By

Associated Press

-

2 June 2016, 11:00

LAPD officers walk by the Mathematical Sciences Building on the UCLA campus Wednesday after a fatal shooting there. Photo: Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of heavily armed officers swarmed the sprawling UCLA campus Wednesday following a shooting that forced thousands to barricade themselves in classrooms and offices, some using belts and chairs to secure doors, until authorities determined the gunman and the professor he shot were dead.

About two hours after the first 911 call came in around 10 a.m., with the center of campus still saturated with officers, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said it was a murder-suicide and declared the threat over. Two men were dead, and authorities found a gun and what might be a suicide note, he said.

William S. Klug, a professor of mechanical engineering, was gunned down in an engineering building office, according to a law enforcement official. The official has knowledge of the investigation but wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss it. The shooter has not yet been identified.

Colleagues of Klug’s tell The Associated Press he was a married father of two and a kind, gentle person.

UCLA biology and chemistry Professor Charles Knobler said those who knew Klug are in shock. He described the professor as “a very lively, lovable, likable guy.”

The response to the shooting was overwhelming: Teams of officers in helmets and bulletproof vests looking for victims and suspects ran across the normally tranquil campus tucked in the city’s bustling west side. Some with high-powered rifles yelled for bystanders to flee.

Groups of officers stormed into buildings that had been locked down and cleared hallways as police helicopters hovered overhead.

SWAT officers search students who were evacuated from the UCLA campus near the scene of a fatal shooting at the University of California, Los Angeles, Wednesday, June 1, 2016, in Los Angeles. Photo: Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press

Advised by university text alerts to turn out the lights and lock the doors where they were, many students let friends and family know they were safe in social media posts. Some described frantic evacuation scenes, while others wrote that their doors weren’t locking and posted photos of photocopiers and foosball tables they used as barricades.

It was the week before final exams at the University of California, Los Angeles, whose 43,000 students make it the largest campus in the University of California system. Classes were canceled Wednesday, but they are expected to resume Thursday.

Olivia Cabadas, a 22-year-old nursing student, was getting ready to take a quiz in the mathematics building when her classmates began getting cellphone alerts. Through a window, they could see students rushing down the hallway.

An officer yelled that everyone should get out.

“It was just a little surreal — this is actually happening,” Cabadas said. “It was chaos.”

Those locked down inside classrooms described a nervous calm. Some said they had to rig the doors closed with whatever was at hand because they would not lock.

Umar Rehman, 21, was in a math sciences classroom adjacent to Engineering IV, the building where the shooting took place. The buildings are connected by walkway bridges near the center of the 419-acre campus.

“We kept our eye on the door. We knew that somebody eventually could come,” he said, acknowledging the terror he felt.

The door would not lock and those in the room devised a plan to hold it closed using a belt and crowbar, and demand ID from anyone who tried to get in.

Scott Waugh, an executive vice chancellor and provost, said the university would look into concerns about doors that would not lock. Overall, he said, the response was smooth.

Tanya Alam, 19, also was in the same classroom with about 20 other students. She said she saw an alert on her phone that warned of police activity near Engineering IV. Then, several minutes later, an alert said there was an active shooter.

“I let that sink in. Then I realized there was a shooter on campus and Engineering IV is right here! So I said it out loud,” she said.

The teacher’s assistant told students to shut their laptops, turned out all the lights and switched off the projector. They were ordered to be quiet and got under their desks. Sitting on the ground, Alam cried.

Students were told to put their phones away, too, but no one did, she said. In the darkened room, the glow of screens illuminated many faces.

“On one hand, yes, this is an emergency. But on the other hand when your mother is calling from miles away …” Alam said, trailing off.

Their entire classroom was finally allowed to leave. Students were greeted by a phalanx of SWAT team members but were not searched.

SWAT officers cleared occupants one by one at the mathematical sciences building. One man walked out with his hands up and was told to get on his knees. An armed officer searched him and his backpack, then sent him on his way with his hands still in the air.

Story: Christopher Weber and Christine Armario

2 Professors Shot to Death at College

Thammasat Gardener Turned Gunman Says Poverty Insult Led to Killing

Gardener Guns Down Colleague at Thammasat University

Bombing Suspects’ Interpreter Says Cops Plant Drugs on Him

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

-

1 June 2016, 20:31

Security officers escort Mohammad Bilal and Yusufu Mieraili to the martial court in Bangkok, Nov. 12, 2015

BANGKOK — An interpreter for the two men on trial for last year’s deadly bombing in Bangkok denied he was carrying drugs when police arrested him Wednesday after he testified in their trial.

Sirojiddin Bakhodirov, an Uzbek man who’s been helping translate for the two Uighur defendants since September, denied possessing marijuana and crystal meth when the police stopped him on Soi Sukhumvit 5. Police said it was mere coincidence that brought them to stop and search Bakhodirov on the same day he testified in a military courtroom that he has been attacked and threatened to not help the two men.

Bombing Suspect Interpreter Arrested After Telling Court ‘I Worry About My Life’

“He said he was not involved and the drugs did not belonged to him,” said Schoochart Kanpai, Karadag’s lawyer who went to meet him at Lumpini Police Station. “So he refused to sign the record of the arrest.”

Bakhodirov, 38, has been interpreting for Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mieraili since they were placed in military custody in September. Karadag, aka Mohammad Bilal, and Mieraili are accused of staging the bomb attack at the popular Erawan Shrine on Aug. 17, killing 20 people, mostly Chinese tourists. Bakhodirov, who’s overstayed his visa, expressed fear he might be deported to Uzbekistan.

Only a Coincidence

According to police’s arrest record, which was distributed to reporters, officers learned from an informant that a drug-carrying foreigner was seen near Soi Sukhumvit 3, and they apprehended Bakhodirov at Soi Sukhumvit 5, a street colloquially known as Soi Africa for its concentration of foreign nationals.

Officers found 0.80 grams of crystal meth and 7.2 grams of marijuana on the suspect, according to the police report, which misidentified him as Turkish.

Col. Pornchai Chalordech, commander of Lumpini Police Station, said it was merely a coincidence that the suspect is an interpreter for the men who were the most wanted terror suspects in the kingdom.

“It was just a coincidence that he was interpreter for the bombers,” Col. Pornchai said by telephone. “We didn’t [stalk] him or anything. The police patrol thought he was acting suspicious, so they arrested him and found the drugs.”

But defense lawyer Schoochart, who had talked with Bakhodirov at the police station, said the Uzbek man told him a very different story.

Defense lawyer Schoochart Kanpai talks to a policeman at Lumpini Police Station.

Schoochart said he and other defense lawyers went to have lunch with Bakhodirov at Nouvo City Hotel after this morning’s trial, then Bakhodirov’s friend called him that he needed the key of the room they were staying, so he abruptly left the table without finishing the meal.

According to Schoochart, Bakhodirov said the taxi he took from the restaurant was stopped by police. He was ordered to the ground and told to put his hands up. Upon searching, police produced the drugs which he said he had never handled.

Bakhodirov was taken a for drug test at Royal Police Hospital. Police can hold him in custody for 48 hours without charges.

Deportation Looming

Schoochart said police also asked Bakhodirov for his passport in order to verify his immigration status. He could only provide a copy, saying the real passport was with his sister in Uzbekistan.

Residing in Thailand without proper travel documents is punishable by deportation.

On top of that, Bakhodirov has already overstayed his visa in Thailand, a crime that also can result in deportation. In fact, the defense lawyer team raised the issue about Bakhodirov’s status to the military court just this morning. The judges said they would coordinate with relevant agencies to solve the problem.

Although the word “overstay” was not directly mentioned during the trial, Schoochart said all personnel involved in the trial have always known Bakhodirov to be an overstayer since he stepped in to help translating the case in September.

As the interpreter will be held in detention tonight, Schoochart said he will also have to go to military court tomorrow to announce the incident, which could slow the whole process.

He also lamented that the arrest of Bakhodirov will severely affect the his effort to provide counsel to Karadag.

“As you may see, there will rarely be anyone who wants to be involved with the case [from now on],” he said.

Additional reporting by Teeranai Charuvastra

Correction: An earlier version of this story contained an error in the second to last paragraph which suggested that Schoochart Kanpai provides legal counsel to Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mierali . Schoochart Kanpai only represents Adem Karadag.

Interactive: Who’s Who in the Bangkok Bombing Investigation

500 Witnesses to be Called in Bangkok Bombing Trial

Bombing Suspects Deny All Charges in Military Court

Singer Gets 7 Years for Lese Majeste, Must Write ‘Reconciliation Song’

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

-

1 June 2016, 18:42

Thanat Thanawatcharanon raises two thumbs up to reporters Wednesday at the Criminal Court in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — A singer-turned-activist was sentenced today by the Criminal Court to seven and a half years in prison for defaming the monarchy, and instructed to author a song promoting national reconciliation after he has served his time.

Thanat Thanawatcharanon, who contested the charge until reportedly confessing out of despair, was also told by the judge to plant trees in honor for His Majesty the King after completing his seven and and a half year jail term.

Activist’s Mother Defamed Monarchy With Her Silence, Police Say

Thanat, 58, was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison, but his sentence was halved for entering a guilty plea. He will actually serve a sentence of around five and a half years from today as he been in jail since his arrest nearly two years ago.

Thanat’s friend and fellow Redshirt activist Yosawarit Chooklom recalled that Thanat looked baffled when the judge gave the unusual instruction about writing a reconciliation song and tree-planting.

“I arrived at the courtroom just as the judge was saying those words, so I thought he got a suspended sentence and some community service,” Yosawarit said by telephone Wednesday. “I was so happy for him, then my wife turned to me and said he got seven years and six months.”

The judge, who, per court tradition, was not named, also “jokingly” advised Thanat to perform songs in prison in the meantime, according to Yosawarit.

“I guess the judge tried to console Tom,” Yosawarit said, referring to Thanat’s stage name Tom Dundee.

Thanat was found guilty of royal defamation, a crime known as lese majeste, by insulting King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit on a Redshirt protest stage in 2013. Lese majeste carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison per offense.

Although criticism of the monarchy has long been a taboo in Thailand, lese majeste law has been enforced with greater frequency and harsher sentences since the royalist military generals seized power in the May 2014 coup.

In August, the court sentenced a Redshirt activist to a record 30-year jail termfor committing lese majeste. Last month, a woman was charged with lese majeste because she did not reprimand someone who allegedly insulted the monarchy in a Facebook chat with her.

‘It’s Useless to Fight’

Thanat previously entered a not guilty plea and maintained his innocence throughout his time in Bangkok Remand Prison, but he recently changed his plea confessed to the crime on Monday.

According to Yosawarit, who had also spent some time in prison with his friend, Thanat used to be cheerful and “full of jokes” in earlier months of imprisonment. But eventually the prison broke him, Yosawarit said.

Thanat is also due to stand trial for two more offenses – an additional charge of lese majeste and for defying the junta’s summon order – both in the martial court, and he’s concerned that it would take years to contest those charges.

“He became depressed, so I told him, just confess,” Yosawarit said. “Just stop fighting. The other two cases, too. It’s useless to fight.”

Detained Facebookers Allege Chat Evidence Obtained Illegally

Police Ban ‘Marie Claire,’ Citing Lese Majeste

Lese Majeste Criminal, Not Political: Thai Govt

Bombing Suspect Interpreter Arrested After Telling Court ‘I Worry About My Life’

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

-

1 June 2016, 16:37

A powerful blast left a scene of devastation and killed 20 people Aug. 17, 2015, at Bangkok's Erawan Shrine. More than 100 were injured.

BANGKOK — An interpreter for the two men being tried for last year’s Bangkok bombing was arrested this afternoon hours after testifying that he was assaulted by four men who threatened to have him deported for helping the defendants.

Sirojdolin Bakhodirov, an Uzbek national, who has been interpreting for Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mieraili since their first court appearance in February, was arrested Wednesday afternoon by police and is now being held at Lumpini Police Station. A lawyer for one of the defendants said Bakhodirov was being held on a drug-related charge.

Karadag and Mieraili stand accused of carrying out the worst terror attack in modern Thai history, the bombing of Erawan Shrine on Aug. 17, which killed 20 people, mostly Chinese tourists.

Karadag – who also goes by Mohammad Bilal – and Mieraili are both Uighurs, an ethnic minority that suffers documented repression in China, where some have taken to violent resistance.

They deny the charges against them.

In his testimony to the military tribunal Wednesday morning, Bakhodirov said he was attacked and threatened by the four men May 18, one day after both Uighur suspects broke down outside the court in front of the press and insisted on their innocence. He recalled that the men told him to stop “helping two Uighurs escape.”

“I worry about my life,” the 38-year-old interpreter told the court Wednesday in English. His remark was then translated into Thai by a police interpreter. “I have been changing the place to live for four times now.”

Reported Intimidation

Bakhodirov said the assailants hit him in the leg and back. One of them ordering him in English to say everything he knows about the case, he said. They also asked him why a Uighur journalist was in the courtroom May 17.

“They said they will deport me back to my country,” he said. “They said the court cannot help me.”

Bakhodirov, who has been living in Thailand for four years, said he believed his phone was also tapped.

In response, the judges said they will coordinate with related agencies to see to his safety, as he was not only an interpreter but a witness.

Bakhodirov’s fate is further complicated by the fact, admitted by lawyers of both defendants, he has already overstayed his visa and is liable for deportation.

Bakhodirov said if deported he will face seven years imprisonment in Uzbekistan for helping the Thai government.

Without mentioning the overstay offense, Mieraili’s lawyer, Chamroen Panompapakorn, asked the court whether the trial process would be affected if his Uighur interpreter is deported due to immigration regulations.

The court replied that it had acknowledged “the problem” and will coordinate with related parties on the matter.

Speaking outside the court, Schoochart Kanpai, who represents defendant Karadag, said the court is already aware Bakhodirov has overstayed his visa.

Dramatic Torture Allegations

Bakhodirov’s tale of assault followed allegations by the two defendants, Karadag, 31, and Mieraili, 27, that they had been tortured in custody.

At their May 17 court appearance, both defendants asked the judges to transfer them out of the 11th Army Circle headquarters, where they have been held since September, citing torture and abuse at the hands of military personnel there.

“I’m not an animal! I’m human, I’m human!” Karadag pleaded to the crowd of reporters before he entered the courtroom that day. He also lifted his shirt to show what he said was injuries caused by the alleged torture.

Two weeks later, the judges today said they are still waiting for the response from Department of Corrections for their request. In the meantime, both of the defendants will remain in the military prison until the next hearing Aug.23.

Karadag and Mieraili were led today into the court through a basement level to avoid contact with the media waiting outside the main entrance.

Evidence Weighed

Meanwhile, in the courtroom, lawyers from both sides have yet to agree on what evidence and which witnesses will be examined in the trial. The defendants’ lawyers only accepted evidence that did not concern their clients’ direct involvement, such as a roster of fatalities, autopsy reports and list of damages.

Karadag’s lawyer, Schoochart, said he expects the trial to continue until mid 2017.

Lawyers for both sides agreed to attend two court sessions a month, each lasting two days. The date of each round was set August to September.

The first of 447 witnesses from the prosecution side is police Lt. Col. Thuaythep David Wiboonsilp, a Royal Thai Police officer who has interpreted between English and Thai since the beginning of the case. He will appear in court Aug. 23 and 24.

Thuaythep is the same officer seen at the side of Karadag and Mieraili as they were paraded before the press for a “crime reenactment” staged by police.

Schoochart said he had around 15 to 20 witnesses to present to the court.

Asked about his client’s health, Schoochart said he hasn’t visited Karadag at the barracks-turned-prison since early February. But after today’s hearing, the lawyer said, Karadag seemed to have more understanding about the process

“I told him, you must behave inside, be a good boy,” he said.

Swiss Complete $12B Rail Tunnel, World’s Longest (Photos)

By

Associated Press

-

1 June 2016, 15:10

In this Sept. 6, 2006 file photo miners celebrate a breakthrough in the NEAT Gotthard base tunnel in Faido, Switzerland. Photo: Karl Mathis / Keystone / Associated Press

GENEVA — It's taken 17 years and cost 12.2 billion Swiss francs (about USD$12 billion) but Switzerland is finally ready to inaugurate the world's largest railway tunnel.

The ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the completion of the 57-kilometer tunnel through the Alps will be greeted with great fanfare with the leaders of France, Germany and Italy on hand.

In this Oct. 8, 2015 file photo a test train drives close to the northern gate near Erstfeld, Switzerland. Photo: Urs Flueeler / Keystone / Associated Press

The thoroughfare aims to cut travel times, ease roadway traffic and draw cargo from pollution-spewing lorries trucking between Europe’s north and south. Once it opens for commercial service in December, the two-way tunnel will take up to 260 freight trains and 65 passenger trains per day.

The Gotthard Base Tunnel eclipses Japan’s 53.8-kilometer Seikan Tunnel as the world’s longest and burrows deeper — 2.3 kilometers — than any other rail tunnel.

In this Oct. 31, 2013 file photo construction workers are busy in the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel between Biasca and Amsteg, Switzerland. Photo: Karl Mathis / Keystone / Associated Press

Story: Associated Press

Horrible Discovery in Tiger Temple: Dozens of Dead Tiger Kittens (Photos)

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

-

1 June 2016, 12:03

Dead tiger cubs, deer horns, a bull skull are displayed Wednesday at the Tiger Temple.

KANCHANABURI — At least 40 dead tiger cubs were discovered this morning inside the controversial Tiger Temple.

Rows of cubs’ bodies that look freshly killed are lined up in photos, as reports of other disturbing discoveries of other parts of animals, including some protected species, are made.

Officers Enter Tiger Temple to Begin Removing Tigers

The first image was posted to Twitter by Dario Pignatelli, a Bangkok-based photojournalist. Speaking by telephone, he said he took the photo at around 10:30am, and counted at least 40 bodies.

1464757508 Cj1d27HVEAAslb2%20(1).jpg large — Photo: Dario Pignatelli / Twitter

A Khaosod reporter at the scene confirmed Pignatelli’s account. He also reported seeing animal intestines in containers, heaps of deer horns, a dead bearcat and a bull’s skull. Bearcats, also known as binturongs, are protected animals under Thai laws.

Wildlife activists have long accused the Tiger Temple of animal abuse and trafficking tigers and their body parts. The temple has vehemently denied the allegations.

If the tiger cubs indeed turn out to have just been killed, it would support accusations it was knowingly engaged in illegal, for-profit breeding and trafficking of the animals.

The discovery came on the third day of a monumental operation by wildlife authorities to remove all of the 147 tigers from the temple, which has kept the animals illegally and profited from them for years.

The dead cubs were found stacked in a freezer vault where food for the tigers such as frozen chickens is kept, according to regional wildlife official Yanyong Lekavichit, who is in charge of the ongoing raid.

“This is abnormal,” said Yanyong, head of Protected Are Regional Office 3, adding that his team is investigating.

“We will find out who’s responsible for the cubs,” he said.

The management of the temple, known officially as Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yanasampanno, had repeatedly resisted efforts by the Department of National Park to take the tigers away, and only relented on Monday when the officials showed up with a court order.

Tiger Temple lawyer Saiyood Pengboonchoo was not immediately available for comment.

Forty tigers have been removed from the Tiger Temple since Monday — seven on Monday and 33 Tuesday. This makes total 50 tigers out of 147 relocated to new homes at the wildlife breeding research station in Ratchaburi province.

Tourists are no longer allowed inside the temple, officials said.

Additional reporting by Teeranai Charuvastra

Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly identified one of the dead animals found at the temple as a boar. It was later found to be a bearcat.

Another Showdown as Tiger Temple Blocks 1,000 Wildlife Officers

Activist to Sue Over Tiger Temple Zoo Permit

‘Tiger Temple’ to Sue NatGeo Over Damning Report

Temple Refuses to Release Tigers, Again

Watch more videos from Bangkok and check out our YouTube channel!

Kindergartener Killed as Bangkok Drenched in Rain

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

-

1 June 2016, 11:24

A policeman directs traffic at the Sino-Thai Intersection on Wednesday in Bangkok. Photo: JS100 / Twitter

BANGKOK — A 5-year-old girl died in Bangkok this morning after the motorcycle she was on lost control in the rain, one of two road fatalities reported so far Wednesday related to the rainstorm that hit much of the capital city.

Chatchadaporn Promsavana’s father was driving her to kindergarten in the Bang Khun Thian district when their motorcycle slipped on the rain-drenched road, media reports said. An oncoming motorcycle couldn’t brake in time and ran the girl over. She died at the scene.

The other victim was an unidentified motorcyclist who died after he was crushed by a pickup truck in Tha Phra district.

Police are said to be looking for the motorcyclist, who fled the scene.

Traffic news radio JS100 reported the rush-hour rain caused traffic delays in some areas of Bangkok, such as on the Rama II and Bang Na-Trat roads.

The Department of Meteorology’s forecast for Wednesday warns of severe storms in five outlying provinces of Chantaburi, Trat, Ranong, Phuket and Krabi.

Rainfall is expected to fall off in Bangkok but see a return Saturday with 60 percent chance of showers. Temperatures will likely hover in the mid-30s.

More rainstorms, and all but certain flooding, are expected throughout the month of June, when the rainy season begins in earnest.

4 Dead, 10 Hurt in South Korean Construction Explosion

By

Associated Press

-

1 June 2016, 10:29

Rescue workers search for survivors after an explosion at a subway construction site in Namyangju, South Korea, Wednesday, June 1, 2016. Photo: Lim Byung-shick / Associated Press<br />
Summary — Rescue workers search for survivors after an explosion at a subway construction site in Namyangju, South Korea, Wednesday, June 1, 2016. Photo: Lim Byung-shick / Associated Press
Summary

SEOUL, South Korea — Four people died and 10 others were injured after an explosion at a subway construction site on Wednesday near the South Korean capital of Seoul.

The workers were welding iron bars 15 meters underground when the explosion occurred in the morning, said officials from the Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters, who didn't want to be named, citing office rules.

One worker was found dead above ground, his body possibly blown upward by the force of the explosion, while three others were found dead underground. Three of the injured were seriously hurt, the officials said.

The cause of the explosion wasn't immediately known. An official from the Namyangju fire department, who also didn't want to be named, citing office rules, said a gas tank used for the welding operations might have exploded.

The accident is the latest addition into a long list of deadly safety accidents in South Korea, where, despite a period of soul-searching after a 2014 ferry disaster that killed more than 300 people, safety issues continue to be overlooked.

There was public outrage about the death of a 19-year-old subway worker who was hit by a subway train on Saturday while doing maintenance work on screen doors on a station platform in Seoul. Critics have questioned the labor policies at Seoul Metro, the subway operator, asking why the man was working alone when safety regulations require at least two for such jobs.

Analysts say many safety problems in the country stem from little regulation and wide ignorance about safety in general — and a tendency to value economic advancement over all else.

Story: Kim Tong-Hyung / Associated Press

Missing Girl Found Dead, 3 Days After Suspected Abductor Hanged Himself

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

-

31 May 2016, 19:45

Security officers inspect the site where 13-year-old Sunita Hoisankha was found dead Tuesday morning in Trat province.

TRAT — A four-day manhunt for a missing 13-year-old girl in Trat province came to an end this morning when her dead body was found in a forest canal, three days after her alleged abductor hanged himself.

Sunita Hoisankha was last seen cycling near her home Friday before her uncle, 55-year-old Sompong Wongthong, took her and her bike onto a pick-up truck, then drove away, according to the missing person's report.

Mystery about Sunita’s disappearance deepened after Sompong was found hanged in front of his home on Saturday, with no sign of the girl. Security officers widened the search over the weekend, while her family told the media they still had hope that Sunita was still alive somewhere in the forest.

A screenshot of the security camera footage that police said shows Sunita and her bicycle on Sompong's truck.

Their hope was shattered when police discovered Sunita along with her bicycle in the Huay Rang canal at around 11.30am today.

Sunita’s body shows sign of murder, most likely committed by Sompong, said Col. Boonsong Peekkhunthod, commander of Trat City Police Station.

“I believe it’s him,” Boonsong said by telephone. “Based on the CCTV footage we saw, it was clear.”

Sunita’s body has been sent to the forensic police laboratory in Bangkok to determine how she died, and whether she was sexually assaulted, before police can officially close the investigation, he added.

Boonsong also said police believe Sompong acted alone, and they have not arrested any other suspects. He added that the motive behind the murder is not immediately clear.

“We don’t know yet. But we know that they have had history together. They lived close to each other. They knew each other,” the police colonel said.

Hot News

LATEST NEWS