Taxis wait at Suvarnabhumi Airport in an undated file photo. Photo: Matichon
BANGKOK — A taxi driver was punished today for using a broken meter that charged passengers by the second, officials said.
Thawatchai Pansu was ordered to pay a 1,000 baht fine after the agency received complaints via social media, the Department of Land Transport announced Monday, including a video showing his meter racing ahead every second.
“I just realized that meters these days go up every one second. Fine, if you want to cheat me like this, just take my damn money,” Facebook user Jam Atilal wrote in a caption for the video posted Friday.
Answering a friend’s question in the comments section, Jam said she ended up paying almost 400 baht for the ride, an unusually expensive fare for taxis in Bangkok.
In a statement this afternoon, the Department of Land Transport said officials inspected Thawatchai’s car and found the meter was broken and not deliberately rigged.
Apart from the fine of 1,000 baht, Thawatchai was ordered to have his car inspected by the department before returning to the road.
Any taxi driver caught rigging the meter risks losing their license, the department warned.
Hyeonseo Lee explains her escape from North Korea at a 2013 TED talk. Photo: TED.com
BANGKOK — Satisfy your lust for knowledge and ideas this Valentine's Day weekend with the mouths and minds of more than 40 artists, writers and thinkers.
Described as Bangkok’s First Ideas Festival, Bangkok Edge (Bangkok Waek Naew)will bring together a broad range of people for a weekend of thought-provoking talks, exhibitions, concerts, workshops, food and drinks.
In the spirit of TED, the event will feature talks by the likes of renowned architectDuangrit Bunnag, Dudesweet founder Pongsuang “Note” Kunprasop, “Very Thai” author Philip Cornwel-Smith and Dracula author’s great-grand nephewDacre Stoker.
There’s also workshops, bands, movies and an exhibition.
“Bangkok Edge Festival is aiming to be Bangkok's first ideas festival where people come to exchange ideas and learn new things. However, we also didn’t forget that people love to have fun,” organizer Grissarin “Yui” Chungsiriwat said.
Duangporn “Chef Bo” Songvisava will teach how to cook authentic Thai food, Rajini School students will teach fruit and vegetable carving, and illustrator Kathy MacLeod will school children and adults in visual storytelling.
Along with the talks and workshops, Museum Siam will exhibit Chiang Mai-based photographer Philip Jablon’s work documenting classic movie theaters in Southeast Asia.
Those who prefer their pictures moving can catch independent films screening both days, including the premier of the untold story of the Hua Lamphong rail terminal and “Y/Our Music,” a sonic journey through Thai music from the country to the capital.
Bangkok Edge Festival runs noon to midnight on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14 at Museum Siam, Chakrabongse Villas and Rajini School. Find the full schedule and details in both Thai and English online.
Admission to everything is free. However it wouldn’t be Bangkok without an upscale option: For a full VIP experience, sip cocktails and look down on everything from an exclusive garden overlooking the river with a 500-baht pass for two days’ access to Chakrabongse Villa’s historic garden. Space is limited.
Transportation
Take bus No. 73 or 73ก from MRT Hua Lamphong to Memorial Bridge and walk a few minutes to Museum Siam.
For Skytrain fans, head to BTS Saphan Taksin and catch an express boat to Yodpiman River Walk or Tha Tien piers and walk a short distance to the venue, which is located between the two piers.
If you must drive, park at the Royal Thai Navy Club House or Yodpiman River Walk.
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].
Hyeonseo Lee explains her escape from North Korea at a 2013 TED talk. Photo: TED.com
BANGKOK — Satisfy your lust for knowledge and ideas this Valentine's Day weekend with the mouths and minds of more than 40 artists, writers and thinkers.
Described as Bangkok’s First Ideas Festival, Bangkok Edge (Bangkok Waek Naew) will bring together a broad range of people for a weekend of thought-provoking talks, exhibitions, concerts, workshops, food and drinks.
In the spirit of TED, the event will feature talks by the likes of renowned architect Duangrit Bunnag, Dudesweet founder Pongsuang “Note” Kunprasop, “Very Thai” author Philip Cornwel-Smith and Dracula author’s great-grand nephew Dacre Stoker.
There’s also workshops, bands, movies and an exhibition.
“Bangkok Edge Festival is aiming to be Bangkok's first ideas festival where people come to exchange ideas and learn new things. However, we also didn’t forget that people love to have fun,” organizer Grissarin “Yui” Chungsiriwat said.
Duangporn “Chef Bo” Songvisava will teach how to cook authentic Thai food, Rajini School students will teach fruit and vegetable carving, and illustrator Kathy MacLeod will school children and adults in visual storytelling.
Along with the talks and workshops, Museum Siam will exhibit Chiang Mai-based photographer Philip Jablon’s work documenting classic movie theaters in Southeast Asia.
Those who prefer their pictures moving can catch independent films screening both days, including the premier of the untold story of the Hua Lamphong rail terminal and “Y/Our Music,” a sonic journey through Thai music from the country to the capital.
Bangkok Edge Festival runs noon to midnight on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14 at Museum Siam, Chakrabongse Villas and Rajini School. Find the full schedule and details in both Thai and English online.
Admission to everything is free. However it wouldn’t be Bangkok without an upscale option: For a full VIP experience, sip cocktails and look down on everything from an exclusive garden overlooking the river with a 500-baht pass for two days’ access to Chakrabongse Villa’s historic garden. Space is limited.
Transportation
Take bus No. 73 or 73ก from MRT Hua Lamphong to Memorial Bridge and walk a few minutes to Museum Siam.
For Skytrain fans, head to BTS Saphan Taksin and catch an express boat to Yodpiman River Walk or Tha Tien piers and walk a short distance to the venue, which is located between the two piers.
If you must drive, park at the Royal Thai Navy Club House or Yodpiman River Walk.
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].
The View Talay Jomtien Condominium. Photo: Booking.com
PATTAYA — Police are investigating the death of a woman who fell from a balcony early this morning in Pattaya.
Jirawadee Uppanan, 29, was found dead in the parking lot of the View Talay Jomtien Condominium Project 2. Her 65-year-old Dutch boyfriend, Piers Edwin, said she called just after midnight to say she was upset about their relationship prior to entering the 15th-floor room they shared and jumping from the balcony.
“No trace of fighting was found at the scene,” said Temtrong Rodsiri of the Pattaya police. “Also no wounds indicating that she was harmed were found on her body.”
Jirawadee’s body has been sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for further examination.
Edwin told police they had known each other since 2014 and had been living together on and off for eight months.
After going out for a drink together Sunday night, Edwin said Jirawadee became upset and stayed in the lobby after he went up to the room. He claimed she called him to complain about their relationship before entering the room and walking directly to the balcony, whereupon she leaped to her death.
Police said they found a call record on her phone consistent with Edwin’s story.
Still image from 'For Our Beloved Uncle' Source: YouTube
By Pravit Rojanaphruk
Senior Staff Writer
BANGKOK — The surprising thing about a four-minute music video mocking junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, for which a little-known district official now faces up to five years in prison, is that it doesn’t appear to contain any obviously defamatory content.
While “For Our Beloved Uncle” alludes vaguely to the notion that Prayuth is corrupt, has a foul mouth and bad posture; it levels no specific allegations in favor of generally showing the general in an unflattering light. Two experts on law and rights said there was nothing about the country song and video to warrant the arrest Thursday of Narong Ruengthanawong, a 39-year-old former Pheu Thai councilman for Bangkok’s Bang Khen district.
Human rights lawyer Anond Nampa said he reviewed the music video after news emerged Thursday of Narong’s arrest and found nothing legally actionable.
“The military doesn’t want anyone to be creating satire against Prayuth,” Anond said. “This [arrest and charge] is a deterrent for others not to disseminate it and to ensure there will be no joking [about Prayuth].”
The video splices together news footage of Prayuth collected from different sources. The only user-generated element is a graphic at the beginning of a paper sack raised over the junta leader’s face, which plays after a presently popular internet meme suggesting someone’s been huffing glue and getting high to explain their bizarre behavior.
The video loops several infamous moments captured on film, such as Prayuth tossing a half-eaten banana and skin at a cameraman in December 2014. Toward the end of the video, the song asks when Prayuth is going to step down, because the longer he stays, the more people will snipe at him.
“To create satire is a right,” said Anond, decrying the fact Narong confessed to the crime and publicly apologized in front of police. “I think the man who spread it should have insisted on his freedom to satirize public figures.”
Still image from 'For Our Beloved Uncle' makes fun of junta chairman Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha. Source: YouTube
Narong was charged under the Computer Crime Act for sending a link to the clip to someone over Line. Although the bar for defamation is set relatively low in Thailand, there is a long tradition of inflammatory and sometimes puerile satire of public figures.
Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, was briefed about the video’s content and noted that there was no hate speech.
“This is about creating a cult of Prayuth where he becomes untouchable,” Sunai said. “Being ridiculed or criticized is part of being a public figure and a politician. Someone should remind Prayuth that he’s a politician now – only that he wasn’t elected. People should be able to criticize and make satire against him.”
Former Pheu Thai MP Weng Tojirakarn said this afternoon that Narong has been quietly released and told by police not to do it again. It was unclear at time of publication whether the charge against Narong had been dropped or the case was moving forward, as he could not be reached for comment.
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].
KORAT — A football player from a prominent Korat club denied sexually assaulting a 25-year-old university student in her room as alleged.
Promphong Kransumrong, a 30-year-old striker for Nakhon Ratchasima FC, said Monday the allegation against him was a “misunderstanding,” on the same day his club announced that he would be suspended without pay until the case is concluded.
“It was a misunderstanding, and I didn’t think that she would file charge against me,” he said.
At a Monday afternoon news conference, Promphong said that while he went to the woman’s residence, he went there to see his girlfriend, who he thought was staying with her.
“We’d had a fight, and [at] this house, my girlfriend regularly stays there with her friend,” Promphong told reporters, saying that he drank some prior to visiting the residence.
The footballer stands accused of breaking into the student’s house, where she was staying alone, early Friday morning and attempting to rape her. His accuser said she managed to fight Promphong off, and later pressed sexual assault and intrusion charges against him.
Promphong denied sexually assaulting the student. In an effort to refute her claim that she fought him off, Promphong stripped off his shirt to show reporters he had no injuries.
Promphong said he would not seek to settle the case but would contest the allegation in court.
For now he is suspended without pay until the court reaches the verdict, Nakhon Ratchasima FC manager Witthaya Nisaiyoke said, who earlier vowed to fire him if he was found guilty.
Promphong Kransumrong, at right, of Nakhon Ratchasima FC, poses Monday with his team manager Witthaya Nisaiyoke at a news conference held in the headquarters of their football club in Korat.
KORAT — A football player from a prominent Korat club denied sexually assaulting a 25-year-old university student in her room as alleged.
Promphong Kransumrong, a 30-year-old striker for Nakhon Ratchasima FC, said Monday the allegation against him was a “misunderstanding,” on the same day his club announced that he would be suspended without pay until the case is concluded.
“It was a misunderstanding, and I didn’t think that she would file charge against me,” he said.
At a Monday afternoon news conference, Promphong said that while he went to the woman’s residence, he went there to see his girlfriend, who he thought was staying with her.
“We’d had a fight, and [at] this house, my girlfriend regularly stays there with her friend,” Promphong told reporters, saying that he drank some prior to visiting the residence.
The footballer stands accused of breaking into the student’s house, where she was staying alone, early Friday morning and attempting to rape her. His accuser said she managed to fight Promphong off, and later pressed sexual assault and intrusion charges against him.
Promphong denied sexually assaulting the student. In an effort to refute her claim that she fought him off, Promphong stripped off his shirt to show reporters he had no injuries.
Promphong said he would not seek to settle the case but would contest the allegation in court.
For now he is suspended without pay until the court reaches the verdict, Nakhon Ratchasima FC manager Witthaya Nisaiyoke said, who earlier vowed to fire him if he was found guilty.
Police officers inspect a boat pier Saturday in Bangkok’s Bang Phlat district where a human arm washed up.
BANGKOK — Police have yet to identify an apparent murder victim whose body parts were found scattered in the Chao Phraya River during the weekend.
Investigators believe the victim was a male foreigner and some speculate he might have run afoul of transnational crime, although forensic police said they need more time to confirm the identity.
“We still don’t know who he is, but at this moment, we believe it’s murder,” said Col. Montri Theskhan, commander of Nonthaburi City Police Station, one of the jurisdictions in which the body parts were found.
An arm was the first to be discovered floating next to a boat pier Saturday in the northern Bangkok district of Bang Phlat. Since then, a leg, torso and head were discovered in the suburbs of Bangkok.
Montri said he was confident the parts belonged to the same person.
“I believe so, but we have to wait for official confirmation from the forensic police,” he said. “The body parts were already sent to their department for inspection.”
The police colonel went on, “Physicians who checked the body say he’s probably a foreigner.”
A police officer from Bowornmongkol Police Station was quoted in media reports as saying he believes the unidentified man might have been a victim of a transnational gang from China or Hong Kong.
“The leg and arm that were found had signs of severe torture, including use of tape or rope to tie the body,” Police Lt.Col. Suparp Petcharat was quoted as saying. “It might have been done to force the deceased to reveal a secret or something else, which is a behavior of Chinese or Hong Kong gangs, who are known for their cruelty.”
On Monday police from different jurisdictions met to discuss the case, after which commander of Metropolitan Police Bureau announced they still have no clue as to the victim’s identity, suspects or a possible motive.
“We cannot yet confirm whether he’s Thai or a foreigner,” said Lt. Gen. Sanit Mahathavorn.
“As for whether the perpetrators are Chinese gangsters, we cannot yet say,” he told reporters. “We need more time to investigate this. We have some hypotheses, but we are not particularly suspicious of any group of perpetrators.”
Sanit added that police are not even sure where the murder took place – in or out of Bangkok – because the Chao Phraya’s current is strong enough to have carried the remains kilometers away from where they were first dumped.
In this Jan. 1, 2016 file photo, Chinese policemen watch as depositors from Ezubao gather outside the State Bureau for Letters and Calls Reception Division office in Beijing. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein / AP
BEIJING — Chinese police arrested 21 employees at China's largest online finance business on suspicion of fleecing 900,000 investors for USD$7.6 billion (270 billion baht), in what could be the biggest financial fraud in Chinese history.
State media outlets reported the arrests late Sunday and state broadcaster CCTV aired purported confessions from two former employees at Ezubao, an Anhui Province outfit that rose from anonymity to become China's largest online financing platform in the span of about 18 months.
Investigators found about 95 percent of the investments offered on Ezubao were fake.
Chinese authorities have struggled to regulate the sudden boom of online investment schemes that promise higher returns than those at traditional banks. The industry has attracted a flood of investment from China's middle class.
French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala in Thailand in an image posted Wednesday to Facebook. Photo: Dieudonne Officiel / Facebook
PHUKET — A French comedian and political activist was forced to cancel shows last week in the south of Thailand under pressure from the Israeli Embassy, according to media reports.
Dieudonne M'bala M'bala’s first shows in Thailand had been scheduled for Jan. 26 and Jan. 27 at Phuket night club Illuzion. According to Ynetnews, Israeli Ambassador Simon Roded asked Thailand’s military government to bar him from performing due to his history of making anti-semitic comments.
“Police and officials visited our place the day before the event,” Namaoi Pasuphan of Illuzion said by telephone Monday. “My boss later googled his name and found out about his background. He suddenly decided we don’t want to be involved.”
Namaoi said the pub’s owner canceled with the organizer who booked the pub for those nights after being asked to cooperate by both local officials and the Embassy of Israel.
The club was reportedly ordered to scrap the show on both nights by Phuket Gov. Chamroen Tipayapongtada after a joint appeal was made to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Roded and French ambassador Thierry Viteau.
"The need to stop the spread of anti-semitism, Holocaust denial and racism is an honorable duty in every civilized society," Ambassador Roded wrote in reply to inquiries this afternoon. "I am greatly satisfied that relevant Thai authorities, once became aware of this shameful performance, took action to prevent it from taking place."
Roded said his embassy solicited aid from French and Thai authorities to intervene after it was unable to reach the night club.
From Thailand, the 49-year-old comedian traveled Thursday to Hong Kong where he was detained for 15 hours upon arrival, according to his Facebook page. The controversial comedian, who has been convicted several times in France and Belgium under hate speech laws, said he was forced to cancel another two shows there under pressure from French officials and was reportedly deported Friday morning.
A Facebook page promoting the Illuzion show has since been removed.
Promotional image for shows by French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala in Phuket. Image: Clubbingthailand.com
Dieudonne has appeared in many films and TV show. Following the January 2015 terrorist attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, he was arrested and accused of supporting terrorism due to comments written online.
In November, he was sentenced to two months in jail by a Belgian court for anti-semitic comments made at a 2012 show.
