(21 October) Police have arrested a woman who allegedly burned down 42 houses following a heated argument with her husband.

The big fire, which burned down 42 houses in Ajnarong Slum in Klong Toey district, Bangkok, was reportedly caused by a woman who was furious at her husband, said Tha Ruea police yesterday.

According to Pol.Lt.Gen. Khamronwit Thoopkra-chang, Bangkok Police Chief, the fire was reported to have occurred from house No. 29 in the congested area before spreading to dozens of neighbouring houses. The incident affected 92 households, and caused at least 401 injuries .

Fortunately, nobody died in the fire.

The police then issued arrest warrants against the woman and arrested her on Monday.

The suspect, Ms. Chantana Patcharasopit, was walking with her husband, Mr. Somphon Khamindra, at the mall when police made the arrest. She promptly confessed to the crime, and stated that she was having a personal argument with her husband at the time.

The suspect said she burned some clothes inside their room and continued arguing with her husband later.

Tha Ruea police is scheduled to investigate the incident further.

Correction: The original version of this article referred to the ?401 injuries? as ?401 casualties?, as the word casualty does not necessarily indicate a death. However, the term has caused some confusion and has since been changed.

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(21 October) Flooding in Nakhon Ratchasima province has threatened numerous historical artefacts stored in Phimai National Museum.

The rising level of Mun River prompted the museum staff to evacuate the national treasures, some dating more than 1,000 years, to higher grounds.

The staff were forced to rely on rudimentary equipment to keep the artefacts safe, such as wrapping the stone statues and tablets in plastic bags.

The water level above Phimai Dam had also increased 5 cm on Monday as officials were urged to keep the watergates open to release approximately 22 million cubic metre per day.

On Mitrapap Road in Sun Noen district, flash flood hit the area and caused a gridlock on the road′s in-bound route. However, as of today, our correspondent reported that some of the traffic has resumed, after the water level on the road dropped to 15 cm. 

(21 October) Local hospital in many provinces have been overwhelmed by fireworks-related injuries and deaths during the End of Buddhist Lent celebration throughout the weekend.

The Lent, also known as Buddhist Rainy (Vassa) Season, required monks to reside in their monasteries for three months. The traditions are believed to date back to Lord Buddha′s instruction that the monks should not venture out of their abodes during the rainy seasons lest they damage local crops and hurt the small animals.

In present days, the End of Buddhist Lent is celebrated with religious ceremonies and fireworks, which have caused many injuries and deaths annually, despite a legal restriction on fireworks.

Loy Kratong Day, celebrated in November, is also associated with large number of fireworks-related casualties. As for this year, local hospitals in Udon Thani have received 63 firework explosion victims, 53 of them is still waiting for further diagnosis.

In the neighbouring Amnat Charoen province, at least 11 people were sent to the hospitals due to firework accidents in the province, said Mr. Songkiat Lektrakul, director of Amnat Charoen Provincial Hospital.

Many victims of the firework explosion are school kids, he added. Reportedly, a group of children tried to ignite a firecracker before putting the firework in a glass bottle, but it prematurely exploded. This explosion alone injured 6 children.

In another case, Mr. Wanchai, 30, told doctors that he blew up a ping-pong firework in his hand, a grave injury that might cost him fingers, doctors said. Another man, Mr. Bancherd, 46, also took his son to the hospital after many parts of the boy’s body was burned by firework explosion.

A firework explosion also killed a man at Wat Pang Phak Hee temple in Mae Chan district, Chiang Rai province, after the man attempted to launch a faulty homemade firework.

According to witnesses, the victim, who is later identified as Mr. Ekkachai Maneerat, 19, was severely  injured by a firework he made. Reportedly, a crack on the tube caused an explosion and destroyed the man’s left hand, left arm, chest and face.

The man died shortly after the incident, despite the efforts of the monks and novices to save his life. Mr. Ekkachia′s body has been arranged for autopsy, the police said, adding that they have also found other equipment for firework crafting at the scene.

Police across the country said they had been trying to cope with the situation and arranged patrols around the various vicinities. However, the attempt to curb on the illegal selling of fireworks appeared to be unsuccessful, as many vendors simply ignored the restriction on flammable substances.

Nevertheless, senior police officers insisted that those who violated the law will soon be arrested.

Meanwhile, in Lampang province, fire fighters rushed to control a fire in Mueang district, after a one-story house which had been storing firework equipments exploded into huge blaze.

A sign reading “No Flammable Substances” was posted in front of the building, which presumably stored the fireworks for sale during End of Buddhist Lent holidays.

Reports say firefighters took only 20 minutes to control the fire, but they were unable to save the building and some of the nearby houses. No report for injury or death was reported.

Ms. Boonphan Phewphan, 53, the owner of the building, said that she could not figure out any possible reason of the explosion, and affirmed that nobody was in the building during the time.

In 2011, Ms. Boonphan’s husband was badly injured in a similar firework explosion at the building, and later died at Chiang Mai hospital, prompting Lampang authorities to state that they would tighten the restriction on illegal storage of fireworks.

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(21 October) Hotel and restaurants in the popular tourist island of Koh Samet have complained that their businesses are still suffering from the oil spill crisis which hit the island′s picturesque beaches in July.

The business owners have also accused the PTT Global Chemical, the oil enterprise which operated the leaked oil pipeline, of coercing them into unfair settlements.

The oil leak in Gulf of Thailand had blackened stretches of the popular beaches in Samet, sending many tourists home in panic, although much of the damages had been addressed, according to PTT reports.

However, Mr. Pariya Tantakasem, the owner of a hotel in Samet Island, told our correspondent that his business is still in limbo despite the recovery effort and the compensation handed out by the PTT, which is partially owned by the Thai state.

Mr. Pariya said his hotel revenue has fallen by nearly THB 1 million from same period last year, resulting in only THB 2 million in September 2013, and half of that amount derives from PTT compensation money.

In comparison to last year’s THB 2.8 million revenue, Mr. Pariya said that the real earning for this year is much lower that it appears.

The hotel owner said that he is among the fortunate hotels receiving compensation from PTT, as he had spoken to representatives of other hotels which were refused compensation by the PTT.

"Presumably, their revenue is much less that what I have earned," said Mr. Pariya.

He also explained that the settlement made by PTT to businesses in Samet Island only cover their damage in the single month of August, while statistics show that the result from the incident remains harmful to their business in much longer terms.

"If PTT is sincere to the enterprises, it should take the leading role in monitoring the situation and help the entrepreneurs get through the compensation process," Mr. Pariya is quoted as saying.

He added, “I received several letters from tour agencies stating their concerns about their customers’ stay in Samet. They asked [my] hotel to add [free] lunch and dinner into the package, in order to persuade the visitors. However, in the end they decided to go somewhere else”

“I would like to ask PTT: is it my fault that we have to endure this situation?”

Meanwhile, Mr. Pitsanu Khemaphan, president of Restaurant and Hotel Association in Samet Island lamented that the islanders feel like they are slowly waking up from a nightmare.

The president concluded that during this time of the year, hotel reservations in the island should have reached over 80% already, as many tourists, especially from Scandinavian countries, would be flocking to visit the island during the High Season.

However, the booking from September to January 2014 still stays lower than 15% of full capacity, Mr. Pitsanu said.

According to Mr. Pitsanu, PTT has helped the businesses for only 30% of their income in August. But much of the enterprises on the island are still struggling to make ends meet, he sad, because their main target groups – the foreign tourists – have barely shown up at the island.

“PTT reserved 25% of the rooms in September, and 20% in October” said Mr. Pitsanu, “however, they forced several businesses owners to strike such deals with the condition that the businesses must not proceed with any further complaints or legal action against the PTT about the matters".

Mr. Pitsanu continued, “I wonder why PTT enforced such conditions, as no one knows whether the situation will get better after they had been settled. I think the offer is rather unfair and insincere. We [the business owners] will discuss the incident again, and see what options the majority is going with”.

In the aftermath of the oil spill crisis, PTT Global Chemical has been purchasing space and airtime in numerous Thai media outlets, including Khaosod newspapers, to broadcast extensive advertisements which claim that all is back to normal in Samet Island.

However, critics have accused the petroleum giant of using its well-funded public relations mechanism to refurbish its tainted reputation and to cover up the full extent of environmental damages causes by the oil spill.

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(21 October) Police in Chonburi province are searching for a prolific motorcycle theft gang in the region, whose victims include an American citizen.

The American, Bill, told Khaosod English that a group of thieves had broken into his apartment′s locked parking lot at Moo 6, Nongprue, Banglamung district, on the night of 27 September and proceeded to steal his Honda CBR250R. Another resident′s Kawasaki Ninja 250 was also taken away by the thieves.

In a CCTV footage provided by Bill, who has requested to be identified only by his first name, the group of suspects could be seen arriving at the scene on their motorcycles. One of the suspect, who appeared to be unaware of the CCTV, later removed his mask and showed his face to the camera as he and other accomplices slowly towed the stolen motorcycles away.

Bill added that he has contacted the police, but he has not seen any progress about the investigation.

Reached by our correspondent on the phone, Pol.Lt.Col. Thanadech Duangtapiyachai, an investigative officer at Nongprue Police Station, insisted that his force has been working very hard to identify the suspects behind the theft.

"We are very concerned. We don?t ignore these cases," said the officer.

Pol.Lt.Col. Thanadech also expressed his belief that the thieves might be teenage individuals who have been receiving orders for the expensive motorcycles from a foreign black market, as police in neighbouring districts have reported about the thefts in similar manners as well.

"We are working closely with other police stations to identify these suspects," Pol.Lt.Col. Thanadech told our correspondent, adding that the police in Nong Prue district have previously arrested 7-8 teenage suspects on the charges of stealing motorcycles in the area.

However, he said the images in the CCTV footage provided by the American are "too unclear" to help identify the individuals.

Nevertheless, those who may have the clues to the theft of the two motorcycles are encouraged to notify the local police forces.

Correction: Due to an editorial error, the original version of this article identified the owner of Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle as Bill′s tenant. The owner is in fact another resident living in the same apartment building.

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(21 October) Chiang Mai police have arrested a pair of teenagers who randomly hit an Italian passer-by with a shoe, and uploaded a video clip of the incident on the internet afterwards.

The two 16 year old suspects have been charged with causing physical and mental harms for the crime which allegedly took place in front of a gift shop called ?Freebird? in Mueang district in late September.The victim, an Italian national named Mark Monti, filed the report to Chiang Mai police on 20 October, claiming that the teenagers attacked him unprovoked, hitting him in the face with a sandal.

Police then quickly solved the crime, as they reportedly had possessed some information on the suspects prior to Mr. Monti′s report.

The accused admitted to their crimes, stating that they, along with two other friends, left their college that morning with the intention to ?find someone they could prank on?, police officers said.

They allegedly found Mr. Monti later and decided to attack him with the sandal as recorded in the video.

In the press conference announcing the arrests of the two suspects, Pol.Col. Aksorn Wongyai, Chief of the Chiang Mai police station, said the crime has damaged the good images of Chiang Mai city, a popular tourist destination.

According to Pol.Col. Aksorn, Mr. Monti did not initially wish to pursue legal charges against the teenagers in the first place. However, the video soon went viral on the internet and his friends started asking about the incident, causing Mr. Monti′s embarrassment.

He eventually sought police supports to arrest the suspects and demanded their apologies. The teenagers’ parents and teachers were also asked to acknowledge the suspects? actions, Pol.Col. Aksorn said, and Mr. Monti will not pursue any further action.

"We have contacted the teenagers? parents to inform them about their children′s action." said Pol.Col. Aksorn, "The case will proceed according to the legal procedures, and the accused should be fined no more than THB 500 each.

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(18 October) The Thai Royal Air Force have sent officials and equipment to help the Laotian authorities to salvage the Lao Airline plane which had crashed into Mekong River in Southern Laos earlier this week.

Officials said they were responding to a request from the Laotians.

The two countries are now collaborating in the search for the victims’ bodies. Thai officials have provided information, boats, and a team of frogmen along with other relevant equipment to the crash site.

Pol.Gen. Adul Saengsingkaew, Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, has led a team to Pakse district to help identify the bodies that had been found. However, it is reported that the bodies, which had been submerged in water for 2 days, might be very difficult to identify.

All 49 people on the doomed aircraft are believed to have died in the crash.

In the meantime,forensic teams in Thailand also reported to be stand-by if the Laotian authorities should make a request. According to the police, DNA matching process should take at least a week to finished, but finding the bodies of the victim may delay the whole process. Nevertheless, the police affirmed that the identification process will be in accordance with international guidelines.

Reports say that the requests for the fingerprints of the 5 Thai nationals on board have been made to the Department of Provincial Administration, along with dental profiles of the individuals.

Transport Minister,Mr. Chatchart Sittipan, wrote on his Facebook after visiting the crash site near Pakse in Laos that 17 bodies have been retrieved so far, but their identities remain unclear.

He said he had assured his Laotian counterpart, Mr. Sommad Pholsena, that the Thai authorities are fully committed to provide any assistance required by the Laotians.

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