SURAT THANI — Authorities on the southern island of Koh Tao have promised to enforce safety regulations after a British tourist was severely injured by a boat’s propellers while she was diving off the coast of the island two days ago.

The boat’s rotor almost severed the 20-year-old woman’s leg, but rescue workers swiftly brought her to hospital on Koh Samui island, where she is now recovering.

The incident has spurred local police to inspect boat companies and diving instructors on the island to ensure that they are meeting safety standards and possess proper licenses, said Pol.Lt.Col. Thanakorn Pattananankaew, an officer of Tourism Police on the nearby Koh Samui island, which also oversees jurisdiction of Koh Tao. 

He also advised tourists to only dive with companies that are properly licensed, such as Scuba Shark, the outfit that the British tourist was with at the time. 

"That way, if unexpected incidents happen, the instructors can rescue you and solve the problems in time," said Pol.Lt.Col. Thanakorn.

The officer said he visited the tourist at the hospital today and was told she is in a safe and stable condition.

"They spent many hours operating on the bones in her leg," Pol.Lt.Col. Thanakorn told reporters.

Meanwhile, Pol.Lt.Col. Napha Senathip, an officer at Koh Tao Police Station, said Boonrord Klubnak, the 60-year-old driver of the boat who fled the scene after hitting the tourist, is now under arrest and being interrogated by police.

He said police are waiting to speak to the tourist and receive medical records about her injuries before formally charging Boonrord with a crime.

"Nevertheless, the driver confessed to the crime, and he is willing to compensate the victim because his boat has accident insurance," Pol.Lt.Col. Napha said.

Koh Tao is a popular diving spot for foreign tourists in the Gulf of Thailand. However, the idyllic resort island has made national news several times in the past year because of unusual deaths of foreigners.

In September 2014, two British tourists were found murdered on Sairee beach. Two Burmese migrant workers were arrested after a controversial police investigation, and are awaiting trial in prison on charges of rape and murder.

A Norwegian tourist was also killed near Koh Tao island in December 2014 after a boat turbine struck his head while he was diving in the sea. 

Speaking to reporters today, the island’s mayor said he does not think the latest incident will affect tourism, but vowed to tighten safety measures. 

"The boat owner has already taken his responsibility for what happened," said Chaiyan Thurasakul. "As for measures to guarantee safety for divers and tourists, we will hold a meeting to find ways to take care of their lives and properties. Once we have conclusions, we will impose them on all diving instructors, in order to prevent this kind of incident from happening to tourists ever again."

BANGKOK (DPA) — The numbers of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh trying to reach other South-East Asian countries by boat has reduced significantly since the beginning of a regional crisis last month, a monitoring group said Wednesday.

Some 5,600 migrants have either landed in the destination countries of Indonesia and Malaysia or returned to Myanmar, according to Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project, which campaigns on behalf of the Rohingya ethnic group in Myanmar.

Most of the boat migrants are ethnic Rohingya, who say they suffer persecution in Myanmar, or Bangladeshis who are often considered to be economic migrants.

"It is difficult to estimate how many migrants are still at sea," she said, "but the numbers are not large."

"There's been no new departures in the last several weeks since the crisis started," Lewa added.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which was the first major body to put a figure on the number of migrants at sea last month, saying it was more than 8,000, refused to speculate on how many people might still be on boats.

The numbers are "difficult" to gauge, spokesman Joe Lowry said.

A recent mission by the United States to search for remaining boats has not found any refugees.

Official numbers from Malaysia and Indonesia indicate that less than 3,000 have landed since early May, with the majority – 1,700 people – having arrived in the Indonesian province of Aceh.

Since May 20, when the governments of both countries agreed to let some 7,000 people come ashore, no new boats have been spotted, officials said.

The Myanmar navy brought over 700 boat migrants back to shore a week ago, but did not specify whether these were Bangladdeshis or Rohingya.

Meanwhile the Thai navy clarified earlier statements that its humanitarian mission in the Andaman sea was due to end later Wednesday.

The amphibious assault vessel HTMS Ang-Thong, currently serving as a command and control ship in the Andaman sea, would continue its mission to provide humanitarian assistance to any refugees it finds until ordered otherwise.

Navy spokesman Captain Benjamaporn Wongnakornsawang said that a decision on continuing the mission would be made in the coming days by relevant government officials.

"Until then we will continue serving the mission," he said.

(Reporting by Cod Satrusayang)

BANGKOK — Police have charged a Royal Household Bureau official with defaming the monarchy by allegedly claiming his close ties to the royal family for personal gain.

The 53-year-old official, Montri Sotangkul, has been charged with violating Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, a law known as lese majeste, which criminalizes insulting the Thai King, Queen, Heir Apparent, or Regent. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. 

Montri is also a former executive board member of the state-owned petroleum giant PTT, said Pol.Gen. Somyot Pumpangmuang, commander of the Royal Thai Police. 

According to Pol.Gen. Somyot, Montri claimed close relations with "the higher institution" – a euphemism for the monarchy – in order to become a board member of two state enterprises, including PTT, and secure the rights to buy and sell land in Bangkok.

"I have sent a letter to Royal Household Bureau requesting them to hand over Montri to police for legal prosecution," Pol.Gen. Somyot said. 

The Royal Household Bureau manages affairs related to the Thai monarchy. 

A photo of Royal Household Bureau official Montri Sotangkul (C) and former Princess Srirasmi (L) provided by the Royal Thai Police.

Pol.Gen. Somyot added that Montri is a part of the royal entourage of former princess Srirasmi, an ex-wife of Thailand's Crown Prince who announced her resignation from the Royal Family in December 2014. She stepped down amidst a scandalous string of lese majeste charges against members of her family, including her brothers, sister, parents, and uncle. 

All of them are now serving time in prison.

"What Mr. Montri has done, he has done on his own, and it is something related to the the former Royal Consort," Pol.Gen. Somyot said today, referring to ex-Princess Srirasmi.  "It is not related to, and it is not something Mr. Montri has done for Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. Let me insist again: His Royal Highness is not involved or aware or related to what Mr. Montri has done."

Pol.Gen. Somyot also told reporters that Srirasmi personally appointed Montri to her entourage, and that the Crown Prince was not involved in her decision. 

The palace scandal exploded in November 2014 when Sriasmi's uncle, former Central Investigative Bureau chief Pol.Lt.Gen. Pongpat Chayaphan, was charged with running a massive crime syndicate and using the Crown Prince's name to further his riches.

In response, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn stripped Srirasmi's family of the royally-bestowed surname Akharaphongpreecha, forcing them to revert back to their "commoner" surname, Suwadee, on 30 November. 

Less than two weeks later, on 12 December, the Royal Household Bureau announced that Srirasmi had resigned from her status as a member of the Thai Royal Family. She moved out of the Crown Prince's palace in Bangkok to live with in her parents’ home in Ratchaburi province. She has not been seen in public since 13 December. 

Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and Srirasmi were married in 2001. They have one 10-year-old son. 

Speaking at the press conference today, Pol.Gen. Somyot said a preliminary investigation suggests Montri is also related to the alleged criminal ring run by Pol.Lt.Gen. Pongpat, but more investigation is needed to confirm the link. 

BANGKOK — Thailand's military government has approved an amendment to the interim charter that would no longer require newly-appointed Cabinet ministers to take an oath before the Thai king.

The proposed amendment would allow officials to swear the oath in front of the Heir Apparent or other representatives appointed by King Bhumibol.

The 87-year-old king's son, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, 62, is the current designated heir to Thailand's throne.

Per tradition, Cabinet ministers and other high-ranking officials, such as judges, are required to take the following oath of allegiance shortly after assuming office: 

"I, (name of the declarer), do solemnly declare that I shall be loyal to the King and shall faithfully perform my duties in the interests of the country and of the people.  I shall also uphold and observe the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand in every respect."

The Cabinet also approved another amendment that would give the Election Commission up to 45 days to organize a referendum on the junta's new constitution after it is approved by the National Reform Council.

"I expect that the referendum will take place around late January or early February [2016]," said Visanu Kruengam, deputy Prime Minister.

The Deputy Prime Minister added that other questions may be included in the referendum, such as whether junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha should stay in power for two more years. If approved, the measure would further delay elections – tentatively slated for September 2016 – for two more years.

"There may be a question of whether the government should stay on for two years, but it has to be approved by the [interim] parliament first, and it also has to be approved by the Cabinet," Visanu said.

The amendments passed by the Cabinet yesterday are expected to be finalized by the junta’s interim parliament by July, Visanu said. At least 111 votes in the 222-member body, formally known as the National Legislative Assembly, are required to approve the amendments. 

BANGKOK — A television production company has forced four employees to resign for harboring "political attitudes and agendas" that did not correspond with the network's policies.

In a statement provided to Matichon, Dreamteam Network confirmed that the four employees were asked to leave because they joined a pro-democracy rally on the one-year anniversary of the coup on 22 May 2015.

"We do not want our staff to commit any action that may violate peace and order of the country, which may also affect the company," said Dreamteam Network, which produces television shows and documentaries for a number of stations, including Matichon TV, which belongs to the same company that owns Khaosod English. 

"The staff who were dismissed joined the activities on 22 May," the statement said. "Their actions violated the company's policy, so we asked them to resign."

The 22 May 2015 rally was organized by student activists in downtown Bangkok to protest the military junta that seized power one year earlier. Police forcefully broke up the demonstration and arrested 33 people.

According to Dreamteam’s statement, the four former employees have been financially compensated in accordance with national labor regulations. 

The company also denied having "any attitude that leans toward or favors any political side. We give [the staff] freedom to think differently, we do not restrict opinions of the staff, as long as the staff do not commit any action that potentially affects the laws and reputation of the company." 

Political activities and public protests have been banned in Thailand for the past year by the junta that seized power from a democratically-elected government on 22 May 2014. Violators of the ban, including four students who organized last month’s anniversary demonstration, have been sent to stand trial in martial court, where they face up to one year in prison.

One of the four ex-employees, Chumaporn Taengkliang, told Prachatai news that she and two other Dreamteam staff attended the rally but were not detained, while the fourth, Anucha Rungmorakot, was arrested and released with other protesters on the following day.

She added that her bosses had previously warned that the company was unhappy with the group’s involvement in anti-coup activist networks.

The employment termination letter Chumaporn received, which she provided to Prachatai, said the company had concluded that her political agenda “may cause disputes or various problems that may affect reputation and credibility of the company.”

"Therefore, the company can no longer trust you to continue working with the company, and deems it appropriate to terminate employment with you," the letter said.

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is serving as both junta chairman and Prime Minister, reminded the public in a speech yesterday that protests will not be tolerated under his rule. 

"Have you forgotten how this government came to power? And how much power we have?" he asked. "Is it because I have been too kind? Is that why there have been demands to give back freedom?"

He added, "I am not democracy. We are walking toward democracy. Don't mix them up together. They are totally different issues."