Mr. Wirapol Sukpol, previously known as Luang Pu Nen Kham, is believed to be residing
in Laos, where he reportedly dressed himself up as a monk again.

Police
officers said the gas is also sold to foreign tourists in other tourist attractions such as Patpong,
Pattaya, Samui Island, and Pa-Ngan Island.

According to Dr. Boonchai Somboonsuk, Secretary of
Food and Drug Administration, the gas may carry fatal side effects, as it reduces oxygen in one’s
blood system. The inhaler may faint or death after breathing in too much Nitrusoxide, he
said.

The gas, which had been widely used in dental operation before it was banned by the
Ministry of Public Health, is catagorised as illegal drug, and requires certification for those who
wish to sell it.

Police officers added they are currently searching for 2 main agents who
supplied the gas and the balloons to vendors in many tourist areas.  

By region, 75 percent in the
central region people are using smartphones, 68 percent in the northern part, 67 percent in the
southern part and lastly, the northeast part, is the least smartphone-covered region – account for
64 percent.

Previously, the commander of the technology crime suppression division of the
Thai police told the press the force would like an access to chatlogs of potential lawbreakers in
order to monitor their activities, raising protests from civil rights activists and much of the
general public.

Where the Sky Meets the Sand (Fah Jarod Sai), set in a
fictional Arabic country, depicts Muslims inaccurately, according to Muslim Group For Peace, which
demands the show to be axed.

Mr. Palagorn Somsuwan, an executive director of Channel 7,
insisted that the drama is based on a novel that simply uses elements from Arabic culture, and the
show did not portray a Muslim society in any way.

Nevertheless, he said, he and other
executives have instructed the drama producers to re-examine what contents might be inaccurate and
offensive to the Muslim audiences. The producers will also meet with a representative of the Muslim
community in Thailand to discuss the matter, Mr. Palagorn said.

Mr. Siam Sangwaributr, one of
the producers of Where the Sky Meets the Sand, expressed his surprise that the drama would attract
accusation of insulting the Islamic faith, because he had submitted an English translation of the
entire script to the Egyptian Embassy and the Egpytian cultural agency before the team started
filming in Egypt.

The Egyptian authorities did not raise any objection to the script, Mr.
Siam said, but he offered his apology to the Muslims who were offended by the TV
drama.

Asked if she thinks the scene in which her character, Kachfiya, was beaten by her father led
to perception that Islamic culture tolerate domestic abuse, Ms. Morakot replied that physical abuses
occur in many societies, regardless of religion.

Contacted by Khaosod, Mr. Sayan Sukchan, a legal adviser
to the Muslim Group For Peace, stressed that Where the Sky Meets the Sand portrays an Islamic
country even though it did not explicitly state so. He pointed to clothes worn by the characters
that resemble Muslim way of dress as an example.

Mr. Sayan listed the scenes that, he said,
contradicts the teaching of Islam: when the king seized a woman to be his concubine by force, when
the unmarried protagonists touched and kissed each other, and when a character gave an amulet to
another character.

He was also offended by the scenes showing a character prostrating on the
ground to salute the king and the dancer girls danced sexily in the palace.

He admitted that
he had not read the novel, which lends contents to the TV drama, but he said it did not matter
because he producers cannot claim they want to stick to the novel. The Koran has been written over
1,000 years ago. Won?t they consider that as the more important book?

Vendors at the market said fewer tourists arrive at the island, which is located
just several hours of ferry ride away from Baan Pe. Uncle Nong, a seafood vendor at the market, said
he usually earned 6,000-7,000 baht a day selling food at his shop, but that has slowed to 1,000 a
day.

I have never seen anything like it in 30 years that I spent in Baan Pe, he said,
adding that many tourists refused to eat the seafood in the market, fearing that they are
contaminated by the oil spill.

Aunty Surie, another seafood vendor, also lament about sharp
decrease in her business, and criticised the authorities for helping the fishermen but ignoring
merchants along the shore like her.

The media is to blame, Aunt Surie charged, saying that
the news reports about the oil spill greatly exaggerated the effect of the spill. The impact only
rests at Ao Phrao, she said, referring to the hardest-hit beach in Koh Samet, other areas have no
problem. Seafood here is safe to eat. Why doesn?t the media report about that?

A worker at
the Baan Pe piers estimated that around 1,000 tourists took the ferry from Baan Pe on typical
weekends, but nowadays fewer than 300 tourists show up. Most of them are foreigners, he
said.

He also blamed the media. They are scared by the news you report.

Aunty Surie
agreed with the worker, telling our correspondent that while Thai tourists are scared of the oil
spill, foreign tourists keep coming.

However, a reporton
the New York Times revealed that, despite rescue operations by the Thai authorities to clean up the
oil residue and assure the public that all is well, the environmental impact on Koh Samet is far
from over.

The report says even the water around Ao Phrao is declared unsafe by the Thai
authorities, after several politicians swam in the sea to prove their point that tourists can be
merry again at the beach.

Ms. Pongpen Ruengweerayut, Vice Governor of the Bank of Thailand
(BOT), also said that capital outflows had triggered national currency weakening, not only in
Thailand, but also in other countries in the region. Theoretically, if the Baht value fluctuated
rapidly, the BOT would intervene with the exchange rates.  

According to Mr. Kittirat,
Thailand holds 170 Billion USD (approximately 5440 billion baht) in its reserve, and another 3
trillion baht to support the economic liquidity. The money, which can be pumped into the economy to
stabilize exchange rates and interests rates, if the BOT needs to.  

Around 700-800
fish are ill, officials said, and they were floating very still in their ponds. The officials told
our correspondent the fish started to fall ill since Wednesday, and 2 of the fish had died
since.

Later, officials from Department of Fisheries had inspected the ponds, and indicated
that the fish suffered from several infections. The team then dropped some medicine into the
water.

But some staff and visitors to the Parliament think something else is at work here.
They suspected that the fish are ill because the House of Parliament hosted the long-lasting
Parliamentary meeting for several weeks.The fish are sick of politics to death, one of them
said.

Mr.
Wirapol Sukpol, formerly known as Luang Pu Nen Kham, is currently in hiding after his luxurious
lifestyle was reported in the media – including a spectacular video showing him on a private
jetplane – and the DSI found traces of potential money laundering and other frauds committed by him
and other members of the sect.

Mr. Wirapol was also accused of sexually assaulting a woman
who was a minor at the time. The 24-year old woman said her 11-year old son was fathered by Mr.
Wirapol. The DSI added that allegation to the arrest warrant on the former monk.

Mr. Tharit
Pengdit, the Chief of the DSI, said Mr. Wirapol would certainly face a legal prosecution, as DNA
test from his saliva indicated that his DNA matched the boy claimed to be his son.

Dr. Anake
Yomchinda, the Director of Central Institute of Forensic Science, said that the DNA test was
performed on the sample of Mr. Wirapol′s saliva, which had been left on a cigar end, allegedly
passed on to one of Mr. Wirapol′s former spiritual followers.

The DNA test bears an accuracy
of 99.99999%, Dr. Anake added.

Mr. Tharit said the evidence would help the DSI to achieve an
extradition of Mr. Wirapol from the country he is believed to be hiding.

It is not clear
where Mr. Wirapol is. Media reports have previously indicated that he was in the US, but the DSI
later said he was in Laos and was ready to surrender to the Thai police. That never
happened.

Additionally, the DSI is gathering information to prosecute Mr. Wirapol for fraud,
after nearly 50 people claimed they had lost money to the ex-monk in total of approximately 100
million baht, according to Mr. Tharit.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sukij Poonsrikasen, the lawyer of Mr.
Wirapol, said Mr. Wirapol insisted that he will soon give himself in. However, Mr. Sukij added that
if Mr. Wirapol decided to prolong the case, he would stop representing Mr. Wirapol.

Mr. Sukij
also raised concerns that the cigar end used for the DNA test may be false evidence, as it had been
given to the police from Mr. Songkran Atchariyasap, a leader of a group campaigning for Mr.
Wirapol′s arrest.

Our correspondent had also contacted Ms. A, who alleged that she gave birth
to Mr. Wirapol’s son 11 years ago. Ms. A told our correspondent that she was not surprised to hear
such result, as the child was a son of hers and Mr. Wirapol’s.