(30 April) Locals flocked to pray to a two-headed gecko in Baan Mar Keed, Taak province, believing the animal is sign of good luck that predicts potential lottery number.

The 2-inch gecko was found inside the property of Ms. Dee Jarodyen, 78. Our correspondent
said the gecko appeared to be quitestrong and could walk normally. The owner of the house turned on
the electric fan for thegecko, fearing that it may die from the heat.

Ms. Dee said that she
caught the gecko in the bathroom. At first, she said, she was shocked since she has never seen a two
headed gecko in her life. She then put it in a plastic box and called her children and family to
come take a look at the gecko. News of this strange gecko spread, leading visitors to her house to
interpret the gecko for lucky lottery numbers, such as 142, which is the house number.

Ms.Dee added that she plans to raise this gecko inside the house and believes it will bring
good luck.

(30 April) At 2 AM. Pol.Lt. Bunjong Somsong, official on duty at the Klong Luang police station in Pathumthani province, received reports of teenage gangs throwing explosives at each other, causing injury to bystanders in Soi Bongkochi.

Investigations on site uncovered remains of a shattered light bulb in the middle of the
road along with flower pots, blown to bits. 3 explosion marks were found on the road along with
plastic remains of small handmade explosives. Mr. Somsak Sawasjeen, 46, was injured in his right rib
and elbow area.

Mr.Somsak says that when he was inside his house, he heard an explosion noise
so he went out to see what was going on. Meanwhile, a group of teenagers were chasing another group
of teenagers and threw an explosive in Mr.Somsak’s direction. He then ran into the house but not
before the explosive went off, causing him minor injuries.

Police officials plan to arrest
these teenagers for further litigation.

(29 April) Ms. Rachel Elizabeth Cooper, a citizen of the United Kingdom, along with her tour guide and her lawyer Ms. Thipusa Paantongkaew, arrived today at Ranong Provincial Court for the hearing of the initial judgement of the accident case which killed her son 3 years ago.

Fellick Cooper Robinson lost his life in a tour bus accident on the Ranong – Bangkok
route.The bus lost its balance when turning onto the Baan Baang Song Bridge, Ranongprovince, on 11
May 2010.

Initial investigations show that the tires of the tour bus did not have any tread,
despite the fact that the bus had just passed a safety check 3 months prior. Also, seat belts were
not provided for the passenger seats as per international standard.

Ms. Thipusa stated that
the driver has issued a confession to the attorney. The plaintiff declared to not pursue criminal
prosecution, but asks for compensation. Therefore, the court documents are to be filed again within
May 17th and allowed the defense to file a defense.

The hearing will be held on 5 June. Ms.
Rachel would appoint representatives to attend the hearing due to the high cost of travel from the
UK.

Ms. Rachel said that she was still confused by the legal procedures in Thailandwhich is
different from the UK. She said she still felt devastated that her son had lost hischance at a
future.

26,000 Thais die every year in traffic accidents, which is a very high number, Ms.
Rachel said, This case can become a study case for traffic accidents due to the poor condition of
safety tests and seat belts.

Once she returns to the UK, she said, she would campaign for
improvement of public transportation in Thailand. She also stated that if Thailand still wants
income from tourism, more attention must be paid to safety in public
transportation.

(29 April) An investigation has been launched on a police officer after a video clip of teenagers chasing the police officer as he jumps into a police vehicle and fled the scene is circulated online.

Reportedly, the police officer was forcefully taking a woman to a motel and she called her friends for help. Security footage shows the police officer and a woman arriving to the motel by motorcycle, disappearing for 30 minutes, and emerging to face the angry teenagers.

The video was uploaded on to Youtube and shows a group of men chasing after a police
officer in uniform while yelling condemning words at a motel before 2 more police officers
arrived on their motorcycles and helped the officer escape.

The video was uploaded on April 27th. The incident was described as taking place in Din Dang area of Bangkok, where a girl was searched by the policeman and taken to the motel against her will. She then secretly texts her friends for help.

Pol.Lt.Gen. Kumronvit Toobkrajang, commander of Bangkok Metropolitan Police, said his force had received report about the video but hasn’t seen the video clip himself yet. He said the police officer in the video clip is on leave to take exam promotion and has been summoned for questioning.

Pol.Col. Panop Worntanatchakul, director of Din Dang police station, confirms that the man in the video clip is indeed a police officer at Din Dang police station, Sergeant Major Worawit Nokoolkij, 42.

He is currently on leave until April 30th and cannot be reached. His family has been informed that the police officer should report for questioning immediately. A committee has been established by Police District 1 and Din Dang police station to investigate this incident.

Questioning reveal that the 2 police men who came to rescue Sergeant Major Worawit were responding to a distress call and had no knowledge of the situation. The pair said they asked Sergeant Major Worawit about the incident, but he had not responded and quickly left the police station. The workers at the motel were also questioned and security camera footage was reviewed.

Police said Sergeant Major Worawit is proven guilty, he will be prosecuted by law. However, they said, it is too soon to determine the situation since no victim has come in to report or provide any additional information.

(29 April) Baan Waan Monkey Garden, of Srisaket province, once housed thousands of monkeys and was a natural tourist destination of the province. Currently, there are only 100 monkeys left.

Tourists who come to visit the monkeys often feed them candy and they flock to humans for food. This is due to the shortage of food and water, causing the monkeys to migrate to
the Muang Kan forest.

To assist the remaining monkeys, a youth volunteer group led by Mr.Poosit Jitmun, 25, and Mr. Suwan Pirarat, 25, have built a 2×2 metre well 30 cm. from the ground with the support of Mr.Chawaek Sriboon, the owner of Wung Oon, a retailer of construction materials.

The well is connected to the pipeline of Baan Waan School and will provide water for the monkeys during the drought.

Mr.Poosit states that the monkeys will be greatly affected by this year’s drought due to lack of food. The Subdistrict Administrative Organization feeds the monkeys rice every other day and the monkeys are starving. Currently, the monkeys are being fed by monks with bananas and whatever food is leftover from the food offerings every day at 10-11 AM.

Mr.Poosit adds that another important problem for these monkeys is the “exotic cuisine gang” that captures them and sells them to exotic restaurants to make dishes such as monkey brains.

The gang members lure the monkeys with food traps and are able to capture 10-20 monkeys at a time, he said, loading them on to pick-up trucks and heading to the central region.

Recently, our correspondent learns, locals have been able to apprehend the culprits along with their cage traps, but they were let go by the police, citing lack of evidence. The Don Poo Taa area is an open space whose border cannot be controlled. Currently, there are only100 monkeys left and they are close to extinction.

Mr.Poosit begs the officials to help protect these monkeys.

(29 April) The “Bicentennial Bridge” or the Ratanakosin Bridge in Ayutthaya province collapsed yesterday (28 April) and fell to the Pasak River below, resulting in 4 deaths, including a 10 year old child, and injuring many more.

Police major general Kornake Petchaiwes opened an impromptu aid center at the scene of the accident for reports of missing persons and questioning witnesses.

Mr.Sompong Boonlert, 50, shares his account of the events, saying that before the bridge collapsed, he and his wife were crossing on a motorcycle. There were about 5 motorcycles going both ways and he noticed that the bridge was lopsided even though he did not
accelerate his speed.

Then, Mr. Sompong said, he heard a thundering sound and he didn’t dare look back. He went straight home and when he had collected himself, he came back to the scene of the accident. The bridge was already gone and there were many people crying in pain and trying to get out of the water.

The bridge was 2.2 metres wide and 110 metres in length, according to the Office of Public Works and Town Planning of Ayutthaya. The budget of construction and repair was 8.29 million baht. Currently, the search for missing persons have ceased due to the threat of the stanchion of the bridge breaking. The search will continue tomorrow, with the help of the military.

Officials said the province will take money from the disaster relief fund to pay reparations to victims for funeral expenses of 25,000 baht per victim. The province will also pay for any medical bills.

Reports said 2 sets of committees would be established to investigate the facts for civil and criminal liability and to assist victims in terms of litigation and healthcare. It is still unclear whether the bridge will be restored or a new bridge will be built in a different location.

Locals expressed that the bridge has begun to sink and tilt about a week ago and they have notified the authorities, but no one showed up.

Mr.Cheta Patumrungsee, chairman of the Tharua District council expresses his apologies to the locals and vows to aid the victims as fast as possible, stating that the bridge should be able to carry up to 4 tons of weight. Its collapse will warrant a thorough investigation on the state of the bridge and a new budget is to be approved for a new bridge.

Mr.Thanet Weerasiri, Secretary of the Engineering Institute of Thailand, with a crew of engineers thoroughly investigated the collapsed bridge. Mr.Thanet states that the collapse did not derive from the structure of the bridge, but from the breakage of the cables.

However, Mr Thanet said the precise cause of the breakage could not yet be determined. For now, the remaining cable is to be cut since it may cause further damage.