BANGKOK — Four days before lottery draw, tickets ending with the number “29” are flying off the shelf because of their association with Thai junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who recently became the country’s 29th Prime Minister.

In some provinces, the price of lottery tickets ending in “29” has been driven up to 500 baht per ticket — a steep increase from the usual price of 90-100 baht, and certainly higher than the junta's recommendation of 80 baht per ticket.

Some vendors said they have already sold out all the tickets ending in "29," even though the next round of lottery draw, 1 September, is four days away.

"I ran out of those tickets many days ago," said Amphai Kanchanarak, a lotto seller at a market in Ubon Ratchathani province.

Chatri Khun-in, a vendor who sells lottery tickets in Chiang Mai province, said that the numbers 21 and 60 are also highly sought after by lottery veterans because Gen. Prayuth was voted into the office as Prime Minister on 21 August and born on 21 March, making him 60 years old. 

The craze has also sent a wave of panic across the Kingdom's underground lottery industry, which is even more popular than the state-owned lottery system.

One underground lottery coordinator in Surat Thani province told Khaosodthat all major dealers in the province have already stopped selling the "29" tickets because they are convinced the number will be drawn, which would force them to make a massive payout to their buyers.

"We are really surprised that the number has so many buyers. So, many big hands decided to stop taking the bets early. Usually, they only stop taking the bets on the day of the lottery draw," said the coordinator, who asked not to be named.

Lottery enthusiasts also rallied around numbers associated with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra when she was in office, convinced that she has a supernatural ability to hint at winning lottery numbers.

However, many lottery veterans say they are more confident about betting on numbers that correspond to Gen. Prayuth because they believe the lottery system under the Thailand’s military regime will be rigged to produce numbers that reinforce the Gen. Prayuth’s charisma. 

Since staging a military coup on 22 May, the junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has ruled Thailand with undisputed authority. The NCPO has outlawed criticism of the regime, banned public protests, censored the media, and issued legal orders at will.

"Gen. Prayuth's number is the biggest number in years," said Mr. Chatri, a lotto vendor in Chiang Mai province. "Because he is the supreme sovereign authority. The new director of the Government Lottery Office is also a military officer. That makes Gen. Prayuth's number the biggest trend in many years."

Mr. Chatri added, "Right now, all the underground dealers are too scared to take bets anymore. Those who do just told their buyers that they will only pay out the rewards in half. It shows the power of Gen. Prayuth's number."

Officials at the Government Lottery Office dismissed speculation that Gen. Prayuth will somehow influence the outcome of the next lottery draw. They insisted that the lottery draw equipment is up to international standards and that every step of the draw procedure is transparent and observed by high-ranking officials. 

Col. Winthai Suvaree, spokesperson of the NCPO, said he was disappointed by lottery vendors who used the craze around Gen. Prayuth's lucky number to greatly increase the price of their tickets.

"The Government Lottery Office has been asking for cooperation from vendors not to sell lottery tickets at an inappropriate price, but some sellers still sell them at a price much higher than [acceptable] rate," Col. Winthai said.

The spokesperson also advised buyers to "exercise their good judgment" before they decide to spend large money on lottery tickets.

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BANGKOK — Four days before lottery draw, tickets ending with the number “29” are flying off the shelf because of their association with Thai junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who recently became the country’s 29th Prime Minister.

In some provinces, the price of lottery tickets ending in “29” has been driven up to 500 baht per ticket — a steep increase from the usual price of 90-100 baht, and certainly higher than the junta's recommendation of 80 baht per ticket.

Some vendors said they have already sold out all the tickets ending in "29," even though the next round of lottery draw, 1 September, is four days away.

"I ran out of those tickets many days ago," said Amphai Kanchanarak, a lotto seller at a market in Ubon Ratchathani province.

Chatri Khun-in, a vendor who sells lottery tickets in Chiang Mai province, said that the numbers 21 and 60 are also highly sought after by lottery veterans because Gen. Prayuth was voted into the office as Prime Minister on 21 August and born on 21 March, making him 60 years old. 

The craze has also sent a wave of panic across the Kingdom's underground lottery industry, which is even more popular than the state-owned lottery system.

One underground lottery coordinator in Surat Thani province told Khaosod that all major dealers in the province have already stopped selling the "29" tickets because they are convinced the number will be drawn, which would force them to make a massive payout to their buyers.

"We are really surprised that the number has so many buyers. So, many big hands decided to stop taking the bets early. Usually, they only stop taking the bets on the day of the lottery draw," said the coordinator, who asked not to be named.

Lottery enthusiasts also rallied around numbers associated with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra when she was in office, convinced that she has a supernatural ability to hint at winning lottery numbers.

However, many lottery veterans say they are more confident about betting on numbers that correspond to Gen. Prayuth because they believe the lottery system under the Thailand’s military regime will be rigged to produce numbers that reinforce the Gen. Prayuth’s charisma. 

Since staging a military coup on 22 May, the junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has ruled Thailand with undisputed authority. The NCPO has outlawed criticism of the regime, banned public protests, censored the media, and issued legal orders at will.

"Gen. Prayuth's number is the biggest number in years," said Mr. Chatri, a lotto vendor in Chiang Mai province. "Because he is the supreme sovereign authority. The new director of the Government Lottery Office is also a military officer. That makes Gen. Prayuth's number the biggest trend in many years."

Mr. Chatri added, "Right now, all the underground dealers are too scared to take bets anymore. Those who do just told their buyers that they will only pay out the rewards in half. It shows the power of Gen. Prayuth's number."

Officials at the Government Lottery Office dismissed speculation that Gen. Prayuth will somehow influence the outcome of the next lottery draw. They insisted that the lottery draw equipment is up to international standards and that every step of the draw procedure is transparent and observed by high-ranking officials. 

Col. Winthai Suvaree, spokesperson of the NCPO, said he was disappointed by lottery vendors who used the craze around Gen. Prayuth's lucky number to greatly increase the price of their tickets.

"The Government Lottery Office has been asking for cooperation from vendors not to sell lottery tickets at an inappropriate price, but some sellers still sell them at a price much higher than [acceptable] rate," Col. Winthai said.

The spokesperson also advised buyers to "exercise their good judgment" before they decide to spend large money on lottery tickets.

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BANGKOK — Thailand’s Criminal Court has dropped the murder case against former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban for their roles in a deadly crackdown on protesters in 2010, citing a lack of jurisdiction.

Mr. Abhisit and Mr. Suthep were charged with murder and attempted murder by the Division of Special Investigation (DSI) in 2011 for authorising a military crackdown on anti-government Redshirt protesters in April-May 2010. 

However, the court ruled today that any alleged wrongdoing or abuse of power by Mr. Abhisit and Mr. Suthep must be dealt with by the Supreme Court's Division for Holders of Political Office, as the two men were Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister at the time of the military operation.

The decision effectively ended all current criminal proceedings against the former leaders regarding the crackdown, which left over 90 people dead.  

The ruling also transferred authority to pursue the charges from the DSI to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), citing the latter agency's responsibility over charges related to abuse of power and negligence by political office holders. Mr. Abhisit and Mr. Suthep previously requested the court to appoint the NACC, not the DSI, as the prosecutor.

Denial

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

Troops were first sent to disperse the Redshirts on Ratchadamnoen Avenue on 10 April 2010, but failed to break up the protesters. Skirmishes between the military and armed militants allied to the protesters erupted in May, turning parts of Bangkok into a warzone, before the military launched a final push that ended the protests on 19 May 2010.

The violence claimed the lives of more than 90 people, including demonstrators, soldiers, rescue workers, bystanders, and two foreign journalists. More than 1,000 people were also injured in the crackdown. 

Mr. Abhisit and Mr. Suthep denied the murder charges, claiming that shadowy "terrorists" and not security forces, were responsible for the deaths. Commanders of the Thai military have echoed this account, including Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, chief of the Royal Thai Army who is now the current Prime Minister.

According to Human Rights Watch, Gen. Prayuth told the DSI in 2012 to stop accusing soldiers of killing demonstrators and not report publicly on the progress of its investigations.

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. 

Footage from journalists and bystanders at the crackdown also show members of the military shooting indiscriminately into the crowds of protesters. One notorious video clip captures a group of soldiers firing weapons into a Buddhist temple in central Bangkok, killing six, including three volunteer medics who were taking shelter inside the sanctuary.

'Double standard'

Today's decision by the Criminal Court is bound to anger many families of the 2010 unrest victims and supporters of the Redshirt faction, who have repeatedly accused Thailand’s judiciary system of harbouring a bias against members of their movement. 

In contrast to the drawn-out inquiries into Mr. Abhisit and Mr. Suthep’s murder charges, Thai authorities convicted 26 Redshirt demonstrators of charges related to the unrest in the first year after the crackdown. At least two Redshirt activists were jailed for 10 months before facing trials and never compensated for their time in prison even though they were eventually acquitted.

In addition, Thai courts and the NACC have swiftly investigated and punished pro-Redshirt politicians on other charges in only a matter of months.  

Since 2007, Thai courts have successfully disbanded two political parties and removed three Prime Ministers allied to the Redshirts. This spring, it took only one month for Thailand’s Constitutional Court to find former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra guilty of unlawfully transferring an official, a verdict that forced Ms. Yingluck to vacate her office.

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NARATHIWAT — Over 200 Thai Muslims departed for a religious pilgrimage to the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca today, despite ongoing tension between the Thai and Saudi governments.

A total of 577 pilgrims from Thailand’s three Muslim-dominated southern border provinces – Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani – are scheduled to participate in the holy pilgrimage this year, officials said. 

Islamic faith requires that all Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca, known as a "Hajj," at least once in their lifetime. 

Gen. Udomdej Sitabutr, sec-gen of the military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), presided over a ceremony that bade farewell to the pilgrims before they left Narathiwat Airport for Medina, Saudi Arabia this morning.

The trip is funded by the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC) as part of an effort to improve the relationship between Thai authorities and local Muslims in Thailand’s Deep South, which is home to a hotbed of Islamic insurgent violence that has killed more than 5,000 people in the past decade.

A number of Muslim leaders in Thailand previously expressed concern that Thai Muslims might be barred from taking up the Hajj due to a recent diplomatic row between Saudi Arabia and Thailand. 

Abdulelah Al-Sheaiby, the Saudi Arabian embassy’s Charge d’Affaires, was recalled from his post in July, four months after Thailand’s Criminal Court found five Thai police officers not guilty of abducting and murdering a Saudi businessman who went missing in Bangkok in 1990.

Mr. Al-Sheaiby's deputy, Abdulsalam Alenazi, told Khaosod English that the recall was ordered to express the Saudi government’s disapproval of the verdict and the court’s last-minute change of judges. He added that Saudi officials have not decided when, and if, Mr. Al-Sheaiby will return to Bangkok.

The Saudi government imposed restrictions on travel and business dealings between the two kingdoms in the 1990s to protest Thailand's stalling investigation into the abduction of the Saudi businessman, Mohammad Al-Ruwaili.

However, Mr. Alenazi, who is now serving as the head of Saudi Arabian Embassy in Bangkok, confirmed that the Saudi Arabian government will not alter the existing agreement between the two kingdoms that allows Thai Muslims to participate in the pilgrimage to Mecca. 

"Hajj is one thing that we don't touch," Mr. Alenazi told Khaosod English last week. 

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