(18 April) Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra posted photos on his Facebook accounts detailing his recent trip to Myanmar. He said he traveled to the cities of Mandalay and May Myo after wrapping up his business visit in Hunan province, China.
Mr.
Thaksin also wrote that he met with army chiefs of Myanmar for traditional greetings on the occasion
of Songkran, which is known as Thingyan in Burmese.
(18 April) Trang police arrested 2 men for selling firearms and narcotics via their Facebook accounts.
Mr. Patompon Vimolmueng, 29, aka Grandmaster, Valley of Vice Men, and Mr. Jensakdi Yairak, 21, operated their business along the provincial border of Trang and Nakorn Srithammarart, police said.
The two allegedly posted pictures of themselves brandishing their goods, which include submacine guns and AK-47 assault rifles, as advertisements.
Drugs were also regularly sold.
The suspects reportedly confessed to charges laid against them.
Some of the sold firearms were used in committing crimes, police added.
(18 April) A man hanged himself to death in his residence in the province of Supanburi. Police found a handwritten note in his room, saying he committed suicide because he was drafted into the the army.
I picked a red card. I didn?t want to be drafted, the letter reportedly said.
His relatives said they did not find his death suspicious, but added that he was drinking and singing seemingly without worry during recent Songkran holiday.
According to Thai laws, all Thai males are required to register for 2 year service in the military, except those who went through 3 years military training during high school years and those deemed unfit for service by the army officials. In the selection process, red cards are mixed with black ones in a bowl in which all potential draftees must randomly pick up one. Picking up a red card sealed one′s fate as a draftee, while a black onemeans walking home free.
(16 April) A woman in Chonburi province suffocated to her death after she became stuck in a small hole on the ground while trying to pick up a group of puppies living with their mother in the hole.
Ms. Saipin Sangprakone, 43, was found dead in the 50 cm-wide hole. After removing the dead body, the police found a dog with its 7 newly born young ones in the bottom of the hole, and determined the cause of Ms. Saipin′s death as suffocation. The incident took place in the backyard of Ms. Saipin′s house in Banglamun district.
Ms. Saipin′s daughter told the police that she lived with Ms. Saipin at the place. She said couldn?t find Ms. Saipin when she came home and so went out looking for Ms. Saipin, until she found the motionless body of Ms. Saipin stuck halfway into the hole and immediately called police. Apparently Ms. Saipin tried to pick up the puppies but became stuck and suffocated in the process.
(16 April) As the chaos of Songkran is dying down, carwashers are raking in profits.
Many car owners are bringing their powder-splattered vehicles – works of Songkran water warriors – to the nearest carwash they can find on this last day of the long holiday season.
Our correspondent in the business district of Nakorn Ratchasrima province reported busy scenes of such carwashers handling the customers? dirtied cars.
Mr. Nattawit Pongsaktanathorn, owner of Ang Pao Car Care in downtown Nakorn Ratchasrima, said 80-90 cars are keeping all his employees busy today, whereas on usual days there would be only 40-50 cars to process. He expected to make 15,000 baht on this day alone.
Such an amount of work forced his shop to suspend all services other than carwashing, he said.
Mr. Nattawit also added a driving tip for Songkran next year: stay away from the waterfighters with "Dinsor Pong", powder made of calcium carbonate, as it will damage the color of your vehicle and will cost around 1,500-2,000 baht to fix it.
(16 April) Bangna Police arrested a suspect who confessed she stole 10 million baht worth of diamonds.
(16 April) Paanthongtae "Oak" Shinawatra, the son of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, posted a photo that purported to show a top ranking Democrat Party member during his trip to Hong Kong.
Mr. Thaksin has been hopping between his residences in the cities of Hong Kong and Dubai in past few years.
There has been a rumor on social network that Mr. Korn Chatikavanij, the former Minister of Treasury, secretly met with Mr. Thaksin in Hong Kong, presumably for a private cross-party negotiation. Mr. Korn′s wife, Worakorn, denied the rumor, insisting that Mr. Korn would only visit his archenemy “over my dead body”.
However, Mr. Paanthongtae wrote on his Facebook that Mr. Korn did travel to Hong Kong and posted the photo as an evidence. He also challenged Mr. Korn to clarify himself.
“If you can?t explain such a simple matter, please stay away from bigger things”, Mr. Paanthongtae wrote in his post, “Just say it straightforward: what did you do on that day in Hong Kong? Was it an intentional or an accidental visit? Why did you spend 2 hours waiting to meet someone, and did that person let you meet him?”
An example of such away-from-home Songkran celebration is the one held at
Tak Ku Ling Road Garden, in the district of Kowloon City, Hong Kong, an area well-known for a
sizable population of Thai nationals who settled in the special administrative region. Restaurants
and stores operated by Thais are common sight in the Little Thailand.
The annual event was
co-hosted by Royal Thai Consulate-General and Thai Regional Alliance in Hong Kong, and featured all
the trademark stuff one would expect to see in Songkran: a Buddha image shrine (pour water onto the
figure to ask for good luck), folk dancing, and – of course – waterfights.
Thais and
foreigners jostled under the constant barrages of waterfights, many faces pasted with the white
powder mixed in water – another omnipresent specialty of Songkran. Those without waterguns resorted
to using bottles and bowls of water to splash the (sometimes ice-cold) ammunition at their immediate
neighbors.
The festive, chaotic, and jovial atmosphere could easily rival Khaosarn Road, our
correspondent reported from the scene.
Apart from Tak Ku Ling Road, waterfights also broke
out in front of some Thai-owned shops in the vicinity.
(16 April) The Irish Times – A 29-year-old Irishman who was living in Australia has died while diving off the coast of Thailand.
Colin Callanan from Innishannon, Co Cork, drowned off the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand last Friday.
Mr Callanan, a father of one, was on a work trip on behalf of the Perth company AMS Service and Maintenance when he lost his life while diving in his free time.
Mr Callanan was hired by the air conditioning company three years ago. He previously undertook an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner having been based in Perth for the last six years. Prior to leaving Ireland he was employed at Eli Lilli in Cork.
Mr Callanan’s body has been recovered and the Department of Foreign Affairs is providing consular assistance to his family. He is survived by his six-year-old son Lee, who lives in Ireland, and by his mother Marie, father Donal, brothers Keith and Simon, and sisters Sarah and Julie.
(16 April) The final oral statement to the International Court of Justice in the Thailand-Cambodia legal fight over the surround area of Preah Vihear temple has started with the Cambodia side on April 15 2013 while Thai is expected to do on April 17.
The oral hearing set to take place during 15-19 April. The verdict is expected to be handed down 6 months from now.
Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said he is not worried after listening the Cambodia side for the hearing. He added Thai team has prepared rebuttals to every possible argument the Cambodian representatives were expected to make.
The minister also said PM Yingluck Shinawatra phoned him to commend him for greeting and showing friendship to Cambodia Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in the court.
Thailand does not dispute Cambodia′s ownership of the temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site that has seen deadly clashes along their joint border. But both sides claim an adjacent 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) patch of land.
