TRAT — Police on Koh Kut yesterday had to cut short a “re-enactment” of five Cambodian men accused of raping two French women after an angry mob gathered and attempted to assault the men.
Officers on Sunday could not guarantee the safety of the five men, who allegedly attacked four French tourists on the resort island with knives on Saturday night after coming ashore from the Thai fishing boat they served on, according to police Maj. Gen. Nopparat Rintapon.
One of the tourists escaped to seek help while the two women were sexually assaulted, he said.
The victims were being treated at a local hospital.
Police were to restage the re-enactment Monday.
In 2006, two Thai fishermen were convicted of raping and murdering a British tourist after they swam ashore from their boat.
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Two suspects, center foreground, in the rape of two French tourists participate Sunday in a ‘re-enactment’ as a crowd gathers on Koh Kut.
TRAT — Police on Koh Kut yesterday had to cut short a “re-enactment” of five Cambodian men accused of raping two French women after an angry mob gathered and attempted to assault the men.
Officers on Sunday could not guarantee the safety of the five men, who allegedly attacked four French tourists on the resort island with knives on Saturday night after coming ashore from the Thai fishing boat they served on, according to police Maj. Gen. Nopparat Rintapon.
One of the tourists escaped to seek help while the two women were sexually assaulted, he said.
The victims were being treated at a local hospital.
Police were to restage the re-enactment Monday.
In 2006, two Thai fishermen were convicted of raping and murdering a British tourist after they swam ashore from their boat.
Workers, wearing protective suits and masks, stand near the No. 3 and No. 4 reactor buildings at Tokyo Electric Power Co's tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016. Photo: Toru Hanai / Associated Press
TOKYO — Three former utility executives have been formally charged over their alleged negligence in the Fukushima nuclear disaster, becoming the first ones from the company to go to criminal court.
National broadcaster NHK reported that a group of court-appointed lawyers on Monday had indicted Tsunehisa katsumata, chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co. at the time of the crisis, along with two other TEPCO executives. The three men, charged with professional negligence, were not arrested.
The indictment follows a decision by an 11-member judicial committee in July to send the three men to criminal court after prosecutors had dropped the case.
Three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami suffered meltdowns, triggering massive radiation leaks that forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
'Line Rangers' Image: Line Rangers Thailand / Facebook
Reuters
By Khettiya Jittapong
BANGKOK — The world's hottest region for mobile video games, Southeast Asia, may be set to cool off amid early signs of the curse of makers of titles like "Minecraft" and "Candy Crush Saga" – the prospect of market saturation after a wave of smartphone buying.
Games revenue in Thailand, its leading light, is set to grow 50 percent a year to 17.3 billion baht (USD$485 million) in 2018, according to market research firm Newzoo, helped by new 4G mobile spectrum that boosts Internet speed. But revenue, stoked by purchases of in-game virtual accessories, surged 86 percent last year.
For Southeast Asia, Newzoo expects revenue to grow about 40 percent a year to USD$2.25 billion by 2018, down from nearly 60 percent last year. Growth is still easily outpacing more saturated China, Japan and South Korea for game makers like Microsoft's Mojang and King Digital Entertainment Pcl, but industry insiders say all eyes are now on what happens next in Thailand, the region's biggest market.
"Thailand is becoming a key market for mobile games and studios," said Jakob Lykkegaard, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong-based Playlab, developer of the game "Juice Cubes".
The country's surge to gaming prominence has come as Naver Corp's Line messaging service estimates Thais spend on average 5.7 hours per day on smartphones. Soon, however, the focus may switch to Indonesia, likely to become the region's number one in 2018 due to its huge population, a growing middle class and rising mobile internet penetration, Newzoo says.
Counter-protesters in a scuffle with a KKK member during which he stabbed an attacking protester Saturday afternoon local time as members of the KKK try to start an anti-immigration rally in Anaheim, California.Photo: Eric Hood / OC Weekly via AP
LOS ANGELES — Dozens of protesters who heard about a planned Ku Klux Klan rally were waiting by a Southern California park when six people pulled up in a black SUV. They were dressed in black shirts decorated with the Klan cross and Confederate flag patches and took out signs that read "White Lives Matter."
Witness video show the Klansmen were quickly surrounded Saturday afternoon by the counter-protesters who shouted at them. Someone smashed the SUV's window. One KKK member stabbed a counter-protester with the decorative end of a flag pole, setting off a vicious brawl where three people were stabbed, one critically, and two were assaulted.
"I got stabbed," a man is then heard screaming, lifting his T-shirt to show a wound to his stomach. A fire hydrant where the man briefly sat was covered in blood.
One police sergeant saw another Klan member with a knife in his hand and a counter-protester bleeding nearby, Anaheim Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said. The sergeant took the KKK member into custody. Meanwhile, counter-protesters stomped on two KKK members, he said.
"All hell broke loose," said Brian Levin, director of California State University, San Bernardino's Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, who witnessed the violence. "I thought they were going to stomp these Klansmen to death."
Wyatt said police were present when the violence erupted, but he did not say how many officers were deployed.
Anaheim police had notified the public about the planned KKK protest Friday at Pearson Park, about 3 miles from Disneyland, and said they would be monitoring the situation for any violations of law. The department also said that while the group's signs and fliers might be provocative, they are protected by the First Amendment.
Levin said he did not see any uniformed officers at the park when the violence erupted. He said he tried to get between counter-protesters and Klansmen to help quell the melee until officers were able to reach the scene.
"I'm still kind of a little bit shaken by it," he said.
Police Chief Raul Quezada defended the way his department handled the situation, saying a contingent of officers were dedicated to the KKK rally and counter protest and they were able to arrest all of the main participants in the clash.
"Preventing violent confrontations is always our goal; unfortunately the handful of individuals committed to criminal behavior this afternoon caused the violent episode," he said in a statement.
Chris Barker, who identified himself as the imperial wizard of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, said his members were holding a peaceful anti-immigration demonstration and acted in self-defense.
"If we're attacked, we will attack back," said Barker, who did not attend the rally and spoke by phone from North Carolina. The organization lists Pelham, N.C., as its headquarters. Last year, the group drew headlines when it protested the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Capitol.
Twelve people were initially arrested, but five were released after investigators reviewed video of the confrontation, Wyatt said.
Those taken into custody were four Klansmen, who were booked for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon, and three counter-protesters on suspicion of stomping on an elderly Klan member. Police were looking for a counter-protester wanted on suspicion of assault.
The critically injured man was upgraded to stable condition.
The KKK has a long history in Anaheim. In the 1920s several Klansmen held elected office in the city, which was overwhelmingly white but now has a majority of Hispanics among its roughly 350,000 residents.
In January 2015, packets containing fliers condemning the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and supporting the Ku Klux Klan were left in the driveways of about 40 homes in Santa Ana, about 8 miles south of Anaheim. The fliers opened with the heading "On Martin Luther King Day, you are celebrating a communist pervert." The bottom of the fliers stated they came from the "Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan."
Nationwide, the number of active KKK groups increased to 190 in 2015 after falling in 2013 and 2014, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.
Giovanni Namdar, 25, who runs an auto body shop near Pearson Park, said he saw people speaking passionately on a stage before the violence broke out. He later saw a swarm of police cars and helicopters flood the area.
Namdar said he was stunned to learn about the KKK's presence in his backyard.
"It's pretty disturbing," he said. "I didn't know they were around this area."
Unchalee 'Lee' Anantawat and Grisana 'Chris' Eimeamkamol, passionate champions of Bangkok's self-publishing scene, at Speedy Grandma gallery.
BANGKOK — If there was a Faculty of Zines, Grisana “Chris” Eimeamkamol would be its dean.
The 24-year-old was introduced to the world of DIY printing in Melbourne while tagging along his high-school punk skater gang to a bookshop at a downtown subway. The literally underground shop, Sticky Institute, only sold books crafted by amateur hands. He soon became a regular, whenever he hit downtown Melbourne.
That exposure to piles of raw print, humming xerox machines, long-arm staplers and what he describes as a generally “nerdy smell” marked Chris’ entry into a counterculture scene of self-publishing that since fading with the advent of the World Wide Web is enjoying a revival, including a small but thriving scene in the capital city.
It wasn’t until a couple years later when he was in college that Chris found the time to make his first zine (short for fanzine). “Two Face” was a paper-mache comic book riffing on aliens and conspiracy theories such as Queen Elizabeth II being a reptilian shapeshifter. More zines with political themes and topics such as his former vegan lifestyle followed.
When Chris returned Thailand in 2013, it seemed he was alone in his passion. He was giving up on finding a scene here until he met a few like-minded people. It turned out that Pongsuang “Note Dudesweet” Kunprasop was a zinester, as was Chatchai Susoradit who publishes Cherish The Darkness, which just celebrated 20 years and is believed to be Thailand’s first zine.
He also met fellow zine geek Unchalee “Lee” Anantawat, who at the time had just opened her Speedy Grandma gallery.
An early zine from Chris’s extensive collection, ‘Cherish the Darkness’ Issue No. 9. ‘Cherish the Darkness’ is considered the first zine in Thailand.
On a recent afternoon, Chris and Lee were at the Soi Charoen Krung 28 gallery poring over piles of the low-cost, small-run publications and discussing their life after death in the Web Age.
Zines started in Western countries, Chris said, with topics considered outsider, aggressive or antisocial such as hardcore punk or metal.
Chris, whose heart still maintains a punk beat, said that they exploded in popularity when reproduction technology such as photocopying machines made it cheap and easy for anyone to create their own.
At the turn of the century, there were even zine fairs in Bangkok. Lee traces her how-I-met-zine story back to one on Phra Atit Road at a festival hosted by indie radio station FM 104.5 Fat Radio.
“I went to Fat Festival’s zine fair on Phra Atit Road around 2001 or 2002. Zines were at their peak at the time,” the Speedy Grandma co-founder said.
Whereas zines in the West vanished as soon as anyone could roll a Geocities site, they endured until internet access became widespread in Thailand in 2004 or so. Most Thais turned to blogs, boards or services such as Exteen, Pantip and Thaimail.
A zine fair back in 2000 at Santi Chai Prakan Park on Phra Athit Road in Bangkok. Photo: A Day Magazine / Facebook
But now sentimentality and net fatigue are helping fuel a small but growing scene. Looking to rebuild a community after a decade gap, Chris and Lee hosted their first zine-making workshop in 2013 at Speedy Grandma with around 14 participants.
“We discussed zine history, ideas they wanted to put into their zines, and we helped guide them with techniques. The last Saturday ended with us all going to print the zines together,” 34-year-old illustrator Lee said, pulling out a pile of the zines produced by her students.
Thinking it might be a one-time thing, they were surprised to get more calls from interested participants.
Paper Mirrors
Zines are part of the cultural record because they capture very specific strains of individuality: the music, fashion and ideas their makers are most passionate about.
While the digital age promised a world where everything could live forever in 1s and 0s, Lee said it’s proved less permanent.
“Recently I keyed in a website which used to be very popular,” she said. “But it was completely gone. No way I could get back that website again.”
A zine workshop hosted by Chris and Lee at Speedy Grandma in August 2013. Photo: Speedy Grandma / FacebookA portion of Chris’ zines collection. ‘I have a thousand more at my place.’
That physical appeal of zines is hard to explain. Chris and Lee struggle for words beyond “tangible” and “textile.”
But even more than the object is its social aspect. Before you could share a link through the ether, people traded zines by hand or by mail to spread and discover new things.
Lee holds a copy of “How to be a Very Good Person,” a thin stack of folded A4 papers containing rough handwriting she got from someone at a zine making fair held in December at The Jam Factory.
“This zine was left at the fair and was ignored by most of people because it didn’t look pretty,” Lee said. “But it happened to have very cool content, as I flipped through.”
The zine went into depth dissection Thailand’s hardcore politics, critical of both Red and Yellow sides of the divide. Either its author forgot to sign it or preferred to remain anonymous, as Lee believes.
Chris and Lee at A Day Magazine-hosted ‘Make A Zine’ fair Dec. 19 at The Jam Factory. More than 200 people joined the event and 50 of them signed up for a workshop and zine-swap. Photo: A Day Magazine / Facebook
Static Snapshots
There’s no profit in zines, so I had to ask what could be the motive or value to reviving it as a form? Chris paused before blurting out: “posterity.”
“They’re for posterity of opinions, passed on from one human to another,” he said. “When you read zines again in the next five or 10 years, you’ll know what was going on back then,” his eager voice explained.
Each zine seemed to come alive as Chris and Lee took turns to telling its story, such as a tourist named Jordan who walked into a workshop one afternoon to make a zine about a near-death experience in Indonesia. Then there was “beggar writer” Anont Thaidee, who sold handmade books at Victory Monument for years before he was killed by a hand grenade thrown at a protest stage there in January 2014.
‘Bule Dirampok Di Hutan’ was made at a recent workshop by a tourist recounting in graphic-novel style his being robbed for a motorbike and slashed with a knife in Borneo, Indonesia. Photo: Speedy Grandma / FacebookAnont ‘Beggar writer’ Thaidee sells handmade books on Victory Monument’s skywalk. His books were made from folded A4 papers and ranged from 20 baht to 50 baht. He was selling his zines when someone threw a grenade during anti-government protests in 2014, killing Anont. Photo: Soclaimon
Keeping it Real
What makes a good zine? The content, said Lee. Good zines are the ones holding sincere expression. Chris and Lee agreed they’re more likely to value honest content and intent more than appearance.
Although there’s no right or wrong to making zines, she admitted to being frustrated by new creators trying to hard to make them aesthetically pleasing.
“Sometimes I can’t help criticize zines that only appear too “pretty,” or “hip” or “cool” without real content inside,” she said.
Underground self-publishing in Thailand may prove a passing trend, but Chris and Lee are hopeful it will live on because more people keep showing up.
“Like with music, we have DJs … but some people still choose to play an instrument,” Chris said.
Bangkok’s first zine fair in more than a decade is planned for this year, possibly in June. Those interested in learning about zines can contact Lee Anantawat via Speedy Grandma.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JDS Kongou sails in formation with other JMSDF ships and ships in a 2005 exercise. Photo: US Navy
MANILA — Japan will sign an accord with the Philippines to allow Tokyo to supply military equipment to Manila, the first such Japanese defense pact in a region where both have expressed alarm over China's island-building and other aggressive acts in disputed waters.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told The Associated Press on Saturday that the agreement he'll sign on Monday with the Japanese ambassador in Manila is not directed against any country but aims to address gaps in the underfunded Philippine military's capabilities.
The Asian allies began stepping up defense cooperation "even before the disagreement in the West Philippine Sea," Gazmin said, using the name the Philippine government has adopted for the disputed South China Sea, where its territorial conflict with Beijing has flared in recent years.
"It's not directed against any country," he said in what appeared to be an effort to avoid provoking any hostile Chinese reaction.
The Asian neighbors have openly brought their security and political ties to new levels, including by holding joint naval search and rescue drills near the disputed South China Sea last year that angered Beijing.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have exchanged visits and vowed to intensify defense cooperation, sparking talks about a possible security pact that will allow Japanese forces to hold larger drills with Filipino troops in the Philippines. The Philippines has signed such visiting forces accords with the United States and Japan.
Japan's Emperor Akihito paid his respects last month at war memorials in the Philippines, where the largest number of Japanese invasion troops perished outside their homeland in World War II.
Last year, Japan's parliament approved contentious legislation that enhances the role of the country's military by loosening post-World War II constraints, reinterpreting the Japanese constitution and fundamentally changing the way it uses its military.
For the first time since the end of the World War II, Japan's military can now defend its allies even when the country isn't under attack and work more closely with the United States and other nations.
The legislation has sparked protests and debate about whether Japan should shift away from its pacifist ways to face growing security challenges.
Gazmin said there has been no discussion on what defense equipment Japan can provide, but added that the Philippine military currently needs to upgrade its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
"They haven't offered what we can buy," Gazmin said. "There needs to be a wish list."
A senior Philippine security official said the new pact will pave the way for Japan to sell new military hardware, transfer defense technology, donate used military equipment or provide defense training to Filipino forces.
It "opens the door to a lot of opportunities beyond the confines of mere equipment transfer or sale," the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
The Philippines, however, is restricted from reselling or transferring any Japanese-supplied military equipment to a third country, the official said.
Japan has forged similar pacts with the United States and Australia, but the Philippines is the first Southeast Asian country to have such a defense deal with Tokyo, Gazmin said.
Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have conflicting claims in the South China Sea, a major conduit for world trade. The United States lays no claims to the disputed territories, but began bold attempts to promote freedom of navigation and overflight after China turned several disputed shoals into islands that rival claimants fear could be used as a springboard to project its military might and intimidate rival claimants.
Beijing has said it harbors no hegemonic intent, insisting that it has the right to build in what it says has been Chinese territory since ancient times.
Burmese fishermen prepare to board a boat during a rescue operation April 3, 2015 at the compound of Pusaka Benjina Resources fishing company in Benjina, Aru Islands, Indonesia. Photo: Dita Alangkara / Associated Press
TUAL, Indonesia — Indonesian prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of up to 4 1/2 years for five Thais and three Indonesians accused of human trafficking in connection with slavery in the seafood industry.
The suspects were arrested in the remote island village of Benjina last May after the slavery was revealed by The Associated Press in a report two months earlier.
The victims — 13 fishermen from Myanmar who testified under protection of Indonesia's Witness and Victim Protection Agency — told the court that they had been tortured, forced to work up to 24 hours a day and were not paid. They also said they were locked up in a prison-like cell in the fishing company's compound.
In their sentencing demand, prosecutors on Friday sought 4 1/2-year sentences for Thai captain Youngyut Nitiwongchaeron and four countrymen – Boonsom Jaika, Surachai Maneephong, Hatsaphon Phaetjakreng and Somchit Korraneesuk – as well as Indonesian Hermanwir Martino.
They sought 3 1/2-year sentences for two other Indonesians, Yopi Hanorsian and Muklis Ohoitenan.
They also demanded that all eight defendants, who were tried by a three-judge panel led by Edy Toto Purba, pay a fine of 240 million rupiah (USD$18,000) each or serve three more months in jail.
Indonesian police have found that hundreds of foreign fishermen were recruited in Thailand and brought to Indonesia using fake immigration papers and seamen books and were subjected to brutal labor abuses.
More than 2,000 men from Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos have been rescued and sent home this year from brutal conditions at sea as a result of an AP investigation into seafood brought to the United States from the slave island. Some had been held captive more than a decade after being trafficked onto Thai trawlers.
Prosecutors demanded that the five Thais pay compensation ranging from 50 million to 350 million rupiah (USD$3,750 to USD$26,000) to the 13 victims, who testified at the trials that began Nov. 16 at the district court in Tual, a municipality in southeastern Maluku province.
State prosecutors have charged the defendants with violating a law against people-smuggling that carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 15 years and a fine as high as USD$46,000.
In the investigation, at least five fishing boats used by the suspects for human trafficking and slavery-like practices were confiscated, along with dozens of fake passports and seamen books. Also, a multimillion-dollar Thai-Indonesian fishing business has been shut down.
All the defendants were employees at Pusaka Benjina Resources, one of the largest fishing firms in eastern Indonesia.
The hearing will resume March 4 to allow the defendants and defense lawyers to submit their responses to the sentencing demands.
Wildlife officials load a tiger onto a truck Tuesday at the ‘Tiger Temple’ in Kanchanaburi province.
By Teernai Charuvastra
Staff Reporter
KANCHANABURI — Authorities have rejected a zoo application from a commercial tiger temple that had been defying wildlife laws for years, though its administrators said they will apply again soon.
Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yanasampanno, aka the Tiger Temple, hoped to gain legal status for its horde of 147 tigers by applying for the zoo permit about two months ago, but temple lawyer Saiyood Pengboonchoo said by telephone Saturday that the wildlife department has rejected their application.
The temple has been keeping and breeding tigers without a permit for years, in violation of the national laws on protected wildlife.
After years of sporadic, failed efforts to get the temple to surrender its tigers, five were transfered to state custody in January, and another five on Tuesday.
Saiyood said the application was rejected on technical grounds: The temple’s zoo blueprint lacked several security functions, and by the time it redrafted the plan, the 60 days allotted for the application had expired.
“We will submit the application again.” Saiyood told Khaosod English. “Now we have completed the application. In the past, we consulted the experts too little.”
According to the lawyer, he has personally asked four of the eight committee members to take a look at the new application, and they all agreed that it would pass.
“I haven’t talked to the other four members yet, but I believe the application is complete,” Saiyood said, adding that the temple still need several documents, such as criminal records for the applicators and financial affidavit of the temple.
The 60-day period will start counting down once all of these documents are filed, he said.
Wildlife authorities have been slowly moving tigers from the commercial temple in recent weeks. Of the 147 tigers said to be residing there, 10 have been taken away to state-owned shelters.
Saiyood said the temple will simply buy back all the tigers once the zoo permit is granted.
Animal welfare activists opposed to the temple have criticized law enforcement agencies for their apparent reluctance to take concrete legal action against the influential monks who operate the highly profitable temple.
Follow Khaosod English on Facebook and Twitter for news, politics and more from Thailand. To reach Khaosod English about this article or another matter, please contact us by e-mail at [email protected].
Pailin Kiangkwa, at center, says she could not have written allegedly defamatory messages online because she has been blind for eight years.
KRABI — A woman who reportedly went blind eight years ago has been charged with defamation in Krabi province for allegedly writing insults against another Facebooker.
Pailin Kiangkwa, 26, said she was surprised to learn about the charge because her blindness prevents her from having a Facebook account in the first place.
The plaintiff, 34-year-old Chanadda Saroj, accused Pailin of mocking her possession of a child spirit doll called “luk thep” back in October on Facebook, according to a police report. Pailin denied the accusation when she was summoned Friday to the Krabi City Police Station. Friday.
“I don’t have Facebook because I have been blind since 18,” Pailin told reporters at the station. “I don’t know anything about this. I was so surprised to know I had been served with a warrant.”
Pailin said someone likely created a Facebook account with her name and photos without permission and then insulted Chanadda. The exact nature of the alleged comments regarding Chanadda’s luk thep was not disclosed.
She was later released on bail. Her bond was set at 50,000 baht, and paid for by a former Pheu Thai MP who received a plea for help from Pailin.
Somgpong Thip-apakul, head of Krabi City Police Station, said investigators will be fair to both sides.
“This incident can be seen in many angles,” Col. Sompong said Friday. “For example, the suspect genuinely didn’t know anything about it, and she was impersonated by someone else. Or the suspect might have been aware of it. She might have someone close to her go on Facebook, and she dictated the words to that person.”
