Pol.Gen. Pongsapat
Pongcharoen, director of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), also told the press that
no trace of any illegal drug was found in young actress′s body according to the lab result. He said
his agency is no longer treating the 16-year-old starlet as a potential drug abuser.

With
legal requirement lifted, Khaosod can now report that the young actress in question is Ms.
Sutatta Udomsilpa, better known to her fans as Pan Pan. Khaosod was previously barred from
identifying her by real name due to the publishing regulation which prohibits identifying underage
criminal offender.

Pan Pan is currently best known for her role in Hormones, the
series about group of teenage students coping with various adolescent issues, including the more
controversial actions like having sex and smoking in school.

Such frank portrayal instantly
distinguished Hormones, which is aired weekly on a cable channel, from the largely
conservative mainstream media in Thailand. Perhaps not surprisingly, move does not come without
controversy. A member of the media regulatory board expressed his wish to censor the show on the
ground of inappropriate content.

For now, though, Pan Pan is battling a different kind of
controversy – out of the silver screen. She has not spoken to the media ever since a photo
purportedly showing her taking meth makes an O-shaped mouth to the camera surfaced on the internet,
and her father confirmed the photo′s authenticity in a press conference.

She did not speak
to the press throughout another press conference convened by Labour Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung
neither. In that press event, she appeared with her father, Mr. Surasakdi Udomsilpa, flanked by Mr.
Chalerm and Pol.Gen. Pongsapat.

Mr. Chalerm told the press that ONCB has invited Pan Pan for
medical check-up at Rama IX Hospital to test for drug, and the lab result showed no residue of
methamphetamine in her body system.

We can now conclude that Nong Pan Pan was never
involved in narcotics, Mr. Chalerm said, adding that the controversial photo might have been
doctored. 

As for her father admitting that his daughter did take drug, Mr. Chalerm
hypothesised that Mr. Surasakdi was shocked and confused by the photo, so there might have been some
miscommunication.

Mr. Chalerm did not allow the reporters to ask any question, nor let them
talk to Pan Pan and her father during the press conference. The young actress herself cried silently
with her head bowed down throughout the event. Mr. Surasakdi escorted her out as soon as the press
conference was finished.

Before getting in his car, however, Mr. Surasakdi said to trailing
reporters that he insisted on what he initially told the press. He repeated apology to the public on
behalf of his family.

I have always taught my daughter: we can lie to everyone, but we
cannot lie to ourselves, Mr. Surasakdi said emphatically.

The internet is still buzzing with discussion
about the strange turn of event, especially on the unexpected appearance of Mr. Chalerm who – as the
Labour Minister – has no visible connection to the scandal. Many questioned why he suddenly brought
Pan Pan and her father to the press conference and gave an account that completely contradicts with
Mr. Surasakdi.

Mr. Chalerm has been known as loud and incoherent, and he sometimes speaks to
the press in a manner that, for some, resembles an intoxicated individual. His poor handling with
sensitive issues, like the Southern Insurgency, is rumoured to have convinced Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra to demote him from Deputy Prime Minister to the relatively low profile post at
Ministry of Labour.

Receiving report about a shooting at Nun-Ngone restaurant in Mueang District, the police
arrived at the scene to find the dead body of Ms. Thidarat Kosuto, 25, a waitress at Nun-Ngoen
Restaurant.

Gathered at the scene were her sisters and co-workers, who also lived in the
residence close to the restaurant. The told the police that  Mr. Somboon Boonnum, former
boyfriend of the victim, had murdered her.

Ms. Thidarat’s sister told police that her sister
and Mr. Somboon recently broke-up and Mr. Somboon tried to get back together, but Ms. Thidarat had
always insisted on the breakup.

On the night the incident took place, Mr. Somboon came to
talk to Ms. Thidarat as usual, and no one took much notice, according to witnesses. They all went to
work, and left Ms. Thidarat talking to Mr. Somboon outside the residence.

Moments later, they
heard a gunshot, they said, before they saw Mr. Somboon fleeing the scene on his
motorcycle.

The staff later called the ambulance to rescue the woman, but it arrived too
late. Ms. Thidarat passed away with the big wound on her chest, caused by a shotgun.

The victim, Mr. Jatupol Rathaworabuth, 22, was later sent to Khonkaen hospital, but
died before she can get a medical help.

Mr. Jatupol’s family told the police that the
victim, who preferred to be called by her nickname Belle when she was alive, went out on the night
before the incident with 4 other friends she met at a beauty school. Friends of Ms. Belle said that
they went to 99 Pub, but left later without her.

The police eventually found traces and asked
for arrest warrant of Mr. Anuchit Meetan on charge of muder. Mr. Anuchit was arrested
today.

The suspect confessed to the crime, telling police that Ms. Belle asked for a ride
home on the night from the nightclub. Mr. Anuchit, his friend and Ms. Belle then reportedly got on
his motorcycle, with him sitting in the middle.

He said that Ms. Belle was trying to flirt
with him and kept touching his penis while they were riding on the motorcycle. Enraged, Mr. Anuchit
asked his friend to stop the motorbike, and told Ms. Belle to get off before shooting the victim in
the head with a pen gun he carried with him.

The Thai police have shot Malay
teachers, who would take responsibility?, ask white banners hung along 3 major roadways in the
province – a favourite way of communication by the shadowy insurgents who are thought to be
advocating an independent state in the region populated by Malay ethnics.

2
police officers and 1 other teacher who was travelling with Ms. Nusyahan and Ms. Nayiha were also
reportedly injured by the explosions. They are currently staying in hospital.

Accounts of
what really happened differed even among the Thai officials.  Spokesman of the local detachment
of Internal Security OperationsCommand (ISOC) said the explosion killed the 2 teachers who were
riding in a separate vehicle.

However, one of the injured police officers painted a
different picture. After the explosion, he said, the car driven by the teachers drifted into the car
of police officers, causing much panic among the officers. The officers then reportedly shot their
firearms in directions.

The officers also fired at the car where the 3 teachers were driving,
the injured policeman said, because one of his colleagues thought the insurgents were hiding in the
vehicle.

The injured officer insisted nevertheless that no bullets hit the teachers? car. He
said the bullets made damages in some buildings but did not make a scratch on the teachers,
stressing that they were killed by the insurgents bomb attack.

To complicate the
matters even further, Mr. Aphinand and a number of high-ranking officers later met with
representatives of communities in Janae District where he apologized to them about the 2 teachers?
death, explaining that the police officers resorted to firearm by instinct in the moment of panic
and that they did not intend to shoot at the teachers.

Local officials told our
correspondent that they have been doing public relation works in order to gain understandings from
the public. The autopsy also reported that the body of the victims do not have any single shots from
police ammunition, according to the officials.

The incident appeared to contradict the
ceasefire agreed between the Thai authorities and the National Revolutionary Front (BRN) that is
supposed to last throughout the Ramadan season.

The police were called to investigate the
scene at a farm house in the middle of a rice field in Muaeng District, where the body of Ms. Lamai
Baanburi, 27, was found on the floor. Her forehead, her back, and her right arm bear gunshot wounds.

20 metre away from the house, police officers found the body of Mr. Chonchai Kampo, 26,
hanged to the ceiling of an indoor chicken pen. A ladder was found nearby. His dead body smelt of
alcohol beverage.

Mr. Ken Kampo, 60, father of the dead man, told police his son worked as
construction worker. Mr. Ken said Mr. Chonchai was married to Ms. Lamai, with whom he had a 10-year
old and a 5-year old son.

The couple lived in that farm house for some time but they often
argued with each other, Mr. Ken said, and Mr. Chonchai often beat her when he was drunk. Ultimately,
2 months ago Ms. Lamai left her husband and took their younger son with her, according to Mr.
Ken.

Mr. Ken said on the night before the crime, Mr. Chonchai called Ms. Lamai, inviting her
to stay over and discuss their relationship.

Many on Thai social network have been sharing a photo
purportedly showing burned remains of banknotes found inside the charred bus, with the face of His
Majesty the King virtually untouched by the blaze.

The photo claimed that everything in the
bus caught fire except these 7 banknotes that bear His Majesty the King′s face, and encouraged
members of the public to share the photo to spread story about the miraculous event. A variation of
this photo earns 100,000 likes on its Facebook page.

His Majesty the King appears on the
front of every banknote type, and 1,000 baht banknote features Him on both sides of the note.

Many Thais revere His Majesty the King to the point of religious zeal. It is not uncommon to
see portraits of His Majesty the King adorning the walls of residence or in public transports like
religious icons, as many people worship and pray to the portraits, believing that they possess
supernatural quality.

This is not the first time portraits of His Majesty the King are
claimed to be fire-proof. Similar claims were made in several house fires incidents in the past, but
the association of the miracle with one of the worst bus accidents in many years – in which 15
people were thought to be burned to death – drew sharp rebukes from many internet users.

Some Facebooks wonder aloud why the miracle did not extend to survival of the victims on the
bus, while others criticize those who posted the photos of seeking attention and Likes for their
Pages.

Mr. Somsak Jiamteerasakul, the academic well-known for his outspoken criticism of
ultra-royalism in the kingdom, wrote on his Facebook that how the miracle manages to distract many
people from the real sorrow of 19 deaths illustrated how arbaric these individuals
are.

The monk, once known
as Luang Pu Nen Kham, was stripped of his monkhood by Buddhist officials after he was alleged of
possessing luxurious items such as mansions and sports cars – the sort of luxury denied to monks
under Buddhist doctrine.

The secular authorities also claimed to have uncovered millions of
baht in the ex-monk′s bank account, co-owned by his core followers, which are suspected to be part
of money-laundering scheme.

Additionally, The court has recently approved an arrest warrant
on the ex-monk, now known as Mr. Wirapol Sukpol, as requested by the Division of Special
Investigation (DSI). The Division has charged him with frauds and sexual abuse of an underage
individual.

However, Mr. Wirapol has not been in Thailand since the scandal erupted, and he
is thought to be currently residing in the US. The DSI has vowed to have him extradited to Thailand
and said they are cooperating with the American authorities on the matter.

Back in Thailand,
his followers attempt to salvage the reputation of their embattled spiritual leader, appearing on
press conferences almost on daily basis to counter the allegation made by the DSI. Their latest
press conference focused solely on a photo – surfaced on the internet a month a go – that purported
to show Luang Pu Nen Kham sleeping next to a woman.

Buddhist monks in Thailand are not
permitted to touch a woman – let alone sleep with them.

Mr. Suri also said
that the woman seen in the photograph was the one who claimed to have a son with Mr. Wirapol, and
the same woman DSI cited as the victim of Mr. Wirapol′s sexual abuse, but he could not remember
where the photo were taken.

He vowed that he is willing to cooperate in the DNA test to prove
that the boy is his own son, not his brother’s.

Mr. Sukhum Wongprasit, the follower who has
been essentially serving as Mr. Wirapol′s spokesman, added that Mr. Suri and Mr. Wirapol would hand
in all the information to Public Complaint Centre at the House of Parliament very soon.

Mr.
Sukhum declared that Mr. Wirapol will return to Thailand on 31 July to fight for his
name.

The DSI remains unconvinced. On the same day, Pol.Col. Chatchanand Metheedharmapon said
in a press conference that the DSI has found 6 spots which denote the difference between Mr. Suri′s
face and the person who appeared in the photo, such as his ear, nose, and mole.

Pol.Col.
Chatchanand said comparison between Mr. Wirapol and the sordid photo produces many striking matches,
therefore confirming its authenticity.

He said Mr. Suri and his family will be summoned to
talk with the DSI about the photo, and warned that if they would face charges if they give false
information.