BANGKOK — Soldiers were forced to assist police in stopping a fight between rival groups of emergency responders in Bangkok early Sunday morning.

The incident followed a brawl that broke out several hours earlier between staff from Romsai and Por Tek Tung Foundations on Suwinthawong Road in Nong Chok district on 3 January. 

According to Panawuth Chu0sook, a 23-year-old member of the Por Tek Tung Foundation, his team was racing to assist victims injured from a fight in the area when a pickup truck driven by staff from the Romsai Foundation crashed into their vehicle. 

Panawuth said the Romsai rescue workers shouted “foul language” at the Por Tek Tung staff, leading to a fistfight between the two groups.

While a team of Por Tek Tung workers brought the victims from the original fight on 3 January to the hospital, Panawuth and over 50 others from Por Tek Tung went to Lam Pak Chee Police Station to file assault charges against members of the Romsai Foundation.

However, rescue workers from Romsai also showed up at the station to file their own assault charges against Panawuth and his team members. 

Sarawuth Chit-amphai, a 21-year-old worker with Romsai, told reporters that it was Por Tek Tung staff who attacked his team with "axes" and other weapons. 

Tension at the police station soon escalated, with members of the rival groups trading insults and threatening to start another round of fighting. Police were eventually forced to request support from a nearby military unit to contain the situation.

Five soldiers arrived to separate the two groups, and after four hours of negotiation the two sides agreed not to press charges against each other, and left the police station. 

Vicharn Tansuriyawong, the secretary-general of the Romsai Foundation, said the brawl broke out because of a "misunderstanding" about which areas the two groups were supposed to cover.

"There will be a meeting, an inspection of emergency medical equipment, and clear explanation about the areas of their responsibilities," Vicharn said. "All Foundations will now only take orders in their operation from [the state-operated] Erawan Centre to prevent any further conflicta when they help wounded victims."

He added, "If there is another brawl or fight, a committee will be set up to identify the perpetrators and expel them from the Foundations."

Most victims of accidents and crimes in Thailand are handled by emergency responders who belong to local foundations and charities. Nicknamed the "Body Snatchers," these rescue workers often race to reach crime scenes before their rivals because some groups are paid based on the number of "cases" they send to hospitals.

The rivalry sometimes turns deadly. On 2 December last year, a Por Tek Tung worker was shot dead allegedly by a Romsai Foundation staff during a street fight in Bangkok.

Nipon Thongpradit, a member of Por Tek Tung Foundation, told reporters that hospitals pay other rescue workers "500-1,000" baht per each "case," but that Por Tek Tung Foundation does not collect "case fees" for its services.

"We have clear documents waiving any payment from Erawan Centre, because we don't want any reward for our works," Nipon said. 

BANGKOK (DPA) — Thai authorities told the public Monday not to worry if they see tanks rolling into Bangkok later in the week.

Army officials told reporters that the army was merely moving equipment into the capital Thursday for its children's day exhibition.

Tanks, armoured personnel carriers and helicopters from various military bases will be transported into Bangkok for the Saturday event.

Army officials told dpa on Monday that this was not a signal of a another coup but an annual event organized by the military.

The military took power in a bloodless coup in May, placing tanks and armoured vehicles at key intersections throughout the city to maintain order.

CHONBURI — Thai and Norwegian business owners have raised nearly 100,000 baht to assist 48 HIV positive patients facing eviction from their homes in Chonburi province.

Bibi Michaelsen (name transcribed from Thai text), 33, presented the money to representatives of the Glory Hut Foundation in Banglamung district yesterday. Michaelsen and his group also donated 10,000-baht worth of food products to the patients. 

A group of Norwegians and Thais present a donation to representatives of the Glory Hut Foundation in Banglamung district, 4 Jan 2015.

Michaelsen, who owns a Thai restaurant in Norway, said he started raising money for the Glory Hut Foundation after he heard the news that local residents voted to kick the charity out of their village last month. Residents of Lang Nern village told the charity that the presence of HIV patients in their community has affected land value and business. 

"So, my friends and I in Norway and Pattaya [a popular resort town in Chonburi] raised the funds for the foundation," Michaelsen said.

The donated money rings in at exactly 99,999 baht, Michaelsen said. He added that both Thai and Norwegian business owners contributed to the fund. 

"I want to tell Thai people that they should understand and sympathize with HIV patients, so that they can happily co-exist in society," Michaelsen explained. 

Last month, staff at the Glory Hut Foundation said they were unable to move out of Lang Nern village because they lacked sufficient funds.

"We simply don't have the funds to move anywhere else," Chanchanok Khamtong, a spokeswoman for the charity, was quoted as saying by DPA. "We're not disturbing the villagers. We just want to help care for our patients."

Thailand has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Asia, partly due to the widespread practices of unprotected sex and hypodermic needle drug use. According to the Bureau of Epidemiology, more than 1.2 million people in Thailand are living with HIV, yet only 250,000 patients are being treated for the disease. The kingdom sees around 10,000 new cases of HIV per year.

An international survey commissioned by US-based Planned Parenthood Foundation in 2011 shows that up to 62 per cent of young people in Thailand have unprotected sex with new partners. 

BANGKOK — Thailand’s national anti-graft body is finding it "difficult" to bring charges against those responsible for the deadly crackdown on protesters in 2010 because of security officers' role in the violence, a spokesperson said yesterday.

"When the prosecutors were compiling the case, they didn't say security officers were related to them [the crackdown deaths]," said Vicha Mahakhun, spokesperson of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). "But when the matters arrived in the court, the court says the deaths were caused by actions of the security officers."

Since there is evidence that points to the involvement of authorities, the NACC has to identify the exact individuals who gave the orders that led to those deaths, while also "giving fairness" to the security officers, Vicha explained.

"The autopsy shows so many twists to the story. We have to summon more witnesses in the cases related to the court inquests … which are the security officers," he said. 

According to the NACC spokesman, the cases will be completed "by early this year."

Troops clash with protesters in Bangkok on 19 May 2010, the final day of the military crackdown.

The crackdown in 2010 came as a response to tens of thousands of Redshirt demonstrators who descended on the capital city and occupied Bangkok’s financial districts to demand a fresh election. 

More than 90 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the military operation that lasted from April to May 2010.

Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban, who authorised the crackdown, have claimed that shadowy "terrorists," not security forces, were responsible for the deaths. 

However, court inquests over the recent years have identified military forces as responsible for many of the deaths caused by the crackdown, including a soldier who was reportedly killed in a "friendly fire" in April 2010. 

The Division of Special Investigation (DSI) filed murder charges against Abhisit and Suthep for the deaths, but the Criminal Court  threw out the case in August 2014 on the grounds that the former leaders should be charged with "abuse of power" instead of murder. The court also claimed that it had no jurisdiction over the case, passing responsibility over to the NACC.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch condemned the ruling as a “serious setback for accountability efforts in Thailand” and “an affront to basic justice and international law.”

"We have not formally charged anyone," Vicha said. 

Suthep and Abhisit at the Criminal Court in Bangkok on 28 July 2014.

Many families of the 2010 crackdown victims were upset by the ruling in August, and Redshirt activists have voiced concern that the prosecution of the two former Democrat Party leaders will be further delayed because of the NACC's alleged hostility to the Redshirt movement. 

In contrast to the drawn-out inquiries into Abhisit and Suthep's role in the 2010 violence, the NACC has actively pursued corruption and abuse of power charges against Redshirt-allied politicians, such as former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. 

Keeping up with the trend, Vicha confirmed yesterday that despite a lack of progress in the 2010 inquiry, a case has been formally filed against leading members of a former Redshirt-backed government for cracking down on Yellowshirt demonstrators in 2008 with tear gas and alleged police beatings.

According to the NACC, former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawasdi and his deputy at the time abused their power by ordering riot police to clear Yellowshirt protesters from the streets around the Parliament building. Two people were killed and many injured in the operation. 

"We have already filed the case with the Supreme Court's Division for Holders of Political Office," Vicha said.  

BANGKOK (DPA) – Severe weather warnings have been issued for Thailand's southern provinces as the remnants of tropical storm Jangmi approached the area, officials said late Saturday.

Residents in the southern provinces, already inundated by floods, were told by the Thai Meteorological Department on Saturday night to expect strong winds and heavy rains until Tuesday. 

Landslide and heavy sea warnings were also issued by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. 

At least 14 people have died and eight more injured due to flooding in southern Thailand this season. 

The floods have so far affected 1,415 villages causing the closure of 237 schools, 32 religious sites and 17 government offices.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has declared the region a disaster area. 

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