CHONBURI – On December 28, at 4:30 p.m., Sattahip police officers were alerted that a Frenchman was acting strangely. He injured himself inside the house, which is located at Village No. 9, Bang Saray Subdistrict, Sattahip District, Chonburi Province, so they rushed there to join the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation officials and the Sawangrojanathammasathan Foundation Rescue Unit.
Mr. Stephane, 51 years old and of French nationality, was walking around with a sharp knife at the time, pendant on his own chest, and yelled for the police to leave the house.
Officers tried to negotiate with him for two hours until he regained consciousness and calmed down. He let his wife and son speak to him until he was able to regulate his emotions. The officers then returned to their respective forces.
Mr. Stephane, 51 years old and of French nationality, was walking around with a sharp knife at the time.
The Frenchman’s wife stated that her husband was stressed since the money in the house was insufficient. He had requested her to bring the house to the bank to mortgage it and take out money to spend, but the process had to wait for the bank to approve it, which took approximately 3-4 months, giving her husband distress.
She had witnessed him using marijuana before that incident, and he had then asked her to get goods for the house. When she returned, she discovered her husband stabbing himself with a knife. She was concerned that he was in danger, so she requested assistance from the authorities.
PHUKET – Mr. Fedor Kondrakov, 42, of Russian nationality, filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Commission after being seriously injured while playing on a water slide at a popular waterpark in Phuket Province.
Through a translator, he stated that on November 10, he went down a major slide at the waterpark. There is no sign declaring the order or any particular warnings near the entrance point to the water slide, so he approached the lifeguard, who advised him to “just fold your arms across your chest.” There were no additional instructions.
Mr. Fedor Kondrakov, filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Commission
But then he rolled down the water slide, crashed into the water’s surface, and was injured. The water park staff called an ambulance to transport him to Bangkok Hospital in Phuket for treatment.
According to the medical team, two of his vertebrae were damaged and required emergency surgery, and he had to recover at the hospital for 7 days after surgery, followed by another 7 days at a hotel in Phuket. The surgery and medical bills totaled more than 800,000 baht, and he paid for them with health insurance and personal accidents. He will have to have surgery again in 9 months, and he has no idea how much the surgery will cost.
A Russian visitor presents an X-ray film showing that two of his vertebrae were damaged and required emergency surgery.
After the incident, this well-known Phuket waterpark had not gotten in touch with him. Even during his recovery, he never had any staff visitors. As a result, he intended to file a complaint with the House Consumer Protection Committee in order to seek compensation. He hopes that this case will teach tourists to be more cautious when playing on dangerous equipment. He doesn’t want anything like this to happen to anyone else.
Mr. Naphol Boriboon, representative of the advisory group to the Chairman of the House Consumer Protection Committee, stated that he would bring up the complaint as an important agenda topic for the Consumer Protection Committee’s meeting to consider helping this tourist further.
BANGKOK – The Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra Foundation, in collaboration with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Ministry of Culture – Department of Cultural Promotion and B. Grimm Group Ltd. – will present a concert starting at 8:00 pm on the 7th of January at the Thailand Cultural Centre as part of celebrations for HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, whose birthday is on the 8th of January.
This auspicious occasion will mark the start of the 2024 season and is a chance to celebrate the generous patronage of the esteemed Princess.
Performing at the event will be German-Canadian cello soloist Johannes Moser and South Korean conductor Sunwook Kim, alongside the RBSO, to play Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor and Tchaikovsky’s captivating Symphony No. 1 in G minor, popularly known as Winter Daydreams.
Johannes Moser
Johannes Moser, born in Munich, began studying the cello at age eight and became a student of David Geringas in 1997. He has performed with renowned orchestras worldwide, including the Berlin Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, and London Symphony.
Moser has received several awards; he was the top prize winner at the 2002 Tchaikovsky Competition and received the Special Prize for his interpretation of the Rococo Variations. In 2014, he was awarded the prestigious Brahms Prize. He received the ECHO Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year award in 2008 and 2017. He is recognised for his efforts to expand the reach of the classical genre and his passionate focus on new music.
Johannes Moser
Sunwook Kim’s career highlights include performances with prominent orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Berliner Philharmoniker. In addition to solo concerts, Kim’s conducting repertoire includes the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra (Budapest), the Georges Enescu Philharmonic and Filharmonia Śląska (Poland), the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Seoul Philharmonic.
His early life involved starting piano lessons at age three, giving a debut recital at ten, and winning the Leeds International Piano Competition at age 18 while studying under Dae-jin Kim at the Korea National University of Arts.
The controversial Satan-look-alike statue of Kru Kai Kaew was finally removed from the facade of the Bazaar Bangkok Hotel, Ratchadapisek, Bangkok, on December 28, 2023.
BANGKOK – The giant statue that caused a stir in Bangkok in the middle of the year when it was unable to cross the pedestrian bridge on Ratchadapisek Road on August 9 drew people’s attention to the “Kru (Guru) Guy Kaeo”, who is revered by some people as a bearer of hope and a lucky charm.
But at the end of the year, before December 30, Kru Guy Kaeo and other statues were removed from the facade of The Bazaar Bangkok hotel.
The installation of the Kru Guy Kaeo statue was an attempt to create a selling point for the hotel in the Ratchadaphisek area in the hope of attracting people to worship the sacred objects. The removal of the statues was also for business reasons.
The worship of ‘Kru Guy Kaeo’ has become trending.
The removal on the morning of December 28 was chaotic for 30 minutes when Mr. Thepparit Pansook, managing director of Kru Guy Kaeo, confronted the lawyer of Bangkok Night Bazaar Co, Ltd, the owner of the land, for refusing to remove the statues.
The statues were moved out when the lawyer of the new hotel management stated that the area of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) could not be leased. Therefore, the old management’s leasing of the area was not possible.
The statue of Kru Kai Kaew was removed from the courtyard in front of the Bazaar Bangkok Hotel, Ratchadapisek, Bangkok, on December 28, 2023.
Later, Mr. Pairoj Thungthong, Managing Director and major shareholder of Suan Lum Night Bazaar Ratchadaphisek Co, Ltd, held a press conference and stated that the installation of the Kru Guy Kaeo and other statues was done as part of the company’s reorganization plan at the bankruptcy court headed by Mr. Charn Tulyaphisitchai. The company’s board of directors did not agree with this.
The company’s board of directors then filed a lawsuit with the bankruptcy court alleging that the transfer of the land in front of the hotel to the statue for subletting was in breach of the SRT lease agreement and that there were also irregularities in Mr. Charn’s management.
The statues of deities were also removed from the hotel.
As a result, the court ordered the reorganization plan to be annulled and allowed Mr. Pairoj’s management took over the company on November 30, 2023. Mr. Charn was removed from all positions and paid a fine of 1,330,000 baht to the SRT. In addition, the installation of the Kru Guy Kaeo and other statues was also in violation of Bangkok’s laws. After this, there will be a civil lawsuit seeking additional damages.
Mr. Pairoj said the new board agreed that the statues had to be removed because Chinese tourists and people in the neighborhood were afraid. Unlike when the hotel put up cute-looking dinosaur statues that were a symbol to Chinese tourists and called the hotel “Dinosaur Hotel”
“We must remove all Kru Guy Kaeo statues because this is a hotel, not a shrine to black magic,” he said.
he statue of Guru Kai Kaew and 7 other statues have been removed from an open-air site to be placed temporarily behind the hotel Thursday, December 28, 2023.
A New Year Day ceremony at the "death railway" in Kanchanburi province.
BANGKOK – The Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Thai Chambers of Commerce, in cooperation with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), are preparing a new project to promote secondary cities with economic potential in terms of trade, investment and tourism to become major cities.
The final outcome is that 10 provinces from all 5 regions were jointly selected for the pilot promotion, namely Phrae, Lampang, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Phanom, Sisaket, Chanthaburi, Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Trang.
Although some provinces that are already major cities, such as Kanchanaburi, are of the opinion that the existing economic potential should be further expanded.
Couples marry underwater in Trang province.
The project is to be launched in January 2024. Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin will chair the press conference. This is in line with the government’s policy to promote tourism in order to bring the potential of all provinces to the global stage and stimulate the domestic tourism market.
The policy has four aspects: 1. promoting tourism in secondary cities, 2. promoting Thailand as a year-round high season destination, 3. accelerating the development of information services for tourists, and 4. increasing tourist spending per trip and increasing the length of stay to encourage tourists to stay longer. These are all important challenges for the revitalization of the tourism sector.
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Meanwhile, the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol, announced that tourism increased sharply in almost all groups of tourists between 18 and 24 December 2023, due to the consecutive holidays on Christmas Day.
A total of 796,808 foreign tourists arrived in Thailand, an increase of 120,303 from the previous week or 16.6 percent. The cumulative number of foreign tourists from 1 March to 24 December 2023 has also exceeded 27 million.
The increase in tourists during the Winter Holiday period at the end of the year in Europe resulted in a total of 796,808 foreign tourists entering the country in the past week.
The top five countries of origin for foreign tourists were Malaysia, China, Russia, South Korea, and India. The number of tourists from Malaysia, India, Russia, China and South Korea increased by 35.34 percent, 12.03 percent, 7.50 percent, 7.16 percent and 6.22 percent respectively compared to the previous week.
BANGKOK – One day after the Supreme Court of Justice of a Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions dismissed the charges and quashed the arrest warrant against the former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra related to the transfer of Mr. Thawil Pliensri from his post as Secretary General of the National Security Council in 2011, Yingluck’s lawyer has talked about it in detail.
Winyat Chatmontree, the lawyer for former Prime Minister Yingluck, posted a message on his personal Facebook page on December 27 about his client’s victory in the third court after many people had questions about why she was acquitted after two previous courts, the Constitutional Court and the Administrative Court of Thailand declared her guilty.
“The criminal liability requires both an act and an intent, and the charge of breach of office specifically requires a particular intent,” he said, following the Court’s political office holder section, which said the transfer wasn’t unusual.
Winyat Chatmontree, the lawyer for former Prime Minister Yingluck (centre)
Winyat added that the Supreme Court had to carefully examine and evaluate the evidence from the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation to establish the facts and ensure that there was clear evidence to convict the accused.
Two important legal aspects play a role in the different outcomes: 1. legal process and 2. the intent of the law. These two factors influence how courts interpret and justify their decisions.
On May 7, 2014, the Constitutional Court found Ms. Yingluck guilty of unlawfully removing Thawil, and filling his post with one of her allies in 2011.
The complaint had been filed by senators who said Yingluck’s party benefited from improperly transferring her national security chief in 2011. She argued it was a routine transfer.
Winyat personally believes that the Constitutional Court can rule based on the law, but also takes into account the political context of the time.
Former premier Yingluck Shinawatra accepts flowers from her supporters on Aug.1, 2017 outside the Supreme Court in Bangkok.
He went on to explain that the Constitutional Court’s 2014 ruling only obliged Yingluck to resign as prime minister. In his view, the court’s reasoning for finding her guilty of interference was merely a supporting rationale or justification for the judgment.
He added that in some previous important cases, the courts accepted evidence from the investigation and trial, unlike the Constitutional Court where the defendants used favorable rulings to defend themselves in court.
The complaint was filed by senators who said Yingluck Shinawatra’s party benefited from improperly transferring her national security chief in 2011. She argues it was a routine transfer.
“However, the Constitutional Court considers the rights of the people under the Constitution, while the courts of justice judge criminal liability based on a clear criminal act in order to convict or acquit.”
Winyat also pointed out that a violation of public law does not always constitute a criminal offense. They must be separated from each other. To be guilty of an offense, there must be clear criminal liability and all the elements of the offense must be met.
Some administrative or political acts may not be criminal offenses because they are not committed intentionally or with specific intent. For example, if an official issues an administrative order that does not comply with administrative law, this is not automatically a criminal offense. Otherwise, more than half of the civil servants in the country would be in prison.
Miss Yingluck was retroactively impeached on January 23, 2014 by the junta-appointed National Legislative Assembly, which voted overwhelmingly to ban her from politics for five years for allegedly failing to stop corruption in her administration’s rice-pledging policy.
She has fled Thailand since August 25, 2014, when she failed to appear in court, which sentenced her to five years in prison for corruption that occurred under her watch. She stayed and travelled with former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, her brother, and communicated with her supporters via social media.
When Thaksin returned to Thailand on August 22, 2023, Yingluck did not come home with him. She sent off her elder brother from Dubai to Singapore before Thaksin boarded his private jet to Thailand.
She sent her best wishes on Christmas Day this year and noted that it is time to thank one another. On that day, Wissanu Krea-ngam, the former Deputy PM in charge of legal affairs, said if Yingluck wants to make an inquiry for a royal pardon, she has to become an inmate first before she could apply for it, and the clemency decision is a royal prerogative.
Miss Yingluck sent her best wishes on Christmas Day 2023.
The gunman fired four shots through the windshield of the car.
PHUKET – Mr. Alexander, a 53-year-old Russian, was arrested immediately when he arrived at Phuket International Airport, after the Immigration Police obtained a warrant for his arrest From Phuket Provincial Court since July 23 as a suspect in the attempted murder of 44-year-old Russian Dmitry Aleynikov before noon on June 7, 2023.
According to the investigation, Mr. Alexander hired Mr. Artur, a 48-year-old Kazakh man, to kill Mr. Dmitry due to a business conflict. Mr. Dmitry survived after being shot four times around his chest while parking his car in front of a cafe he regularly visits in the Laguna Phuket area.
Mr. Alexander was charged with causing others to commit crimes by using, forcing, threatening, hiring, persuading, or in any other manner using a firearm to shoot a person.
The Russian suspect of an attempt muder case, Mr. Alexander, was arrested immediately when he arrived at Phuket International Airport.The Russian man, Dmitry Aleynikov, was shot around his chest on June 7, 2023.
Mr. Artur was also apprehended at Phuket Airport on June 8 as a suspect in the shooting of Mr. Dmitry. He was charged with “attempted murder, possession of firearms, and ammunition without permission” on June 11.
An informant informed a police officer at the Phuket Immigration Checkpoint that Mr. Alexander would be visiting Thailand on Christmas day. As a result, they investigated the passenger screening system (APPS) ahead of time and learned that Mr. Alexander would fly to Thailand on Aeroflot Airlines flight SU274 from Moscow International Airport.
When the plane touched down at Phuket International Airport, Mr. Alexander was arrested and taken to the investigating officers of Choeng Thale Police Station in Phuket Province to be prosecuted.
Srettha Thavisin chairs the National Strategy Committee meeting on December 27, 2023, at the Government House..
BANGKOK – “The old generation must not steal the future from the next generation,” Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin said on December 27, 2023, during the National Strategy Committee meeting he chaired, saying Thailand’s 20-year strategy plan was too long and needed to be adapted to the changing world.
“Even five years is already too outdated,” he said, adding that the plan to attract more investors but the tripartite labour committee not raising wages was embarrassing.
It was reported that before the meeting, Srettha said the National Strategy should enable people to know the direction in which the country is heading and how to get there. He emphasized that it was good to have a plan. However, he did not believe that the plan should be set 20 years into the future, adding that 5 years was already difficult due to the changing world brought about by technology.
“The old generation must not steal the future from the next generation,” PM Srettha Thavisin said this during the National Strategy Committee meeting on December 27, 2023.
“I want the strategy to become more agile. It needs to be revised and adapted to the realities of the world. I need to put this issue in the hands of the committee to develop a proper working process that will bring the most benefits and adapt to the world and not block the future of the country. This is to pave the way for the next generations in the next 20 years,” Srettha said.
Srettha added that the Thai government talked to the investors 3 years ago but overlooked the wage increases, which is embarrassing. He added that there are a lot of new things that didn’t exist 3 years ago.
“When I go abroad, this is the topic I will talk about first. This is an example of the changing world. This is the beginning of the war for talent, where all companies and countries are trying to attract people with talent, and it’s also about geopolitics.”
After the meeting, when asked how the National Strategy could be changed as it was written in a way that is difficult to adapt, Srettha replied that there is room for correction.
CHIANG MAI – Russula pseudomodesta and Russula sribuabanensis are edible mushrooms that have long been used as wild food, but their scientific names have not been correctly identified.
A team of researchers from the Center of Excellence for Microbial Diversity and Sustainable Utilization, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, has discovered these two new Russula species (Russulaceae, Russulales) from northern Thailand.
The researcher team was led by Dr. Nakarin Suwannarat, Dr. Jaturong Khamla, Professor Emeritus Dr. Saisamorn Lamyong, and Dr. Soumitra Paloi, in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Samantha C. Karunarathna from Qujing Normal University in China.
They studied fungi of the genus Russula, which are ectomycorrhizal fungi with Dipterocarpaceae trees, at in the University of Chiang Mai and at the protected area of the Plant Genetic Conservation Project, MOPH-CU (Chiang Mai University Educational Center “Haripunchai”, Siri Buaban Subdistrict, Lamphun Province).
The researchers used a combination of morphological and molecular methods to identify the new species. Morphological studies were carried out using high-performance microscopy and cell drawings to describe the appearance of the fungi. Molecular studies included DNA sequencing of genes involved in protein synthesis, including the RNA polymerase II (RPB2) gene, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene and the large subunit (LSU) gene.
The results of the study showed that the two new species are distinct from other known species of Russula. They are also edible and have a distinctive aroma. Preliminary studies suggest that they may also have medicinal properties.
Russula pseudomodesta is found in the forest at the Chiang Mai University campus, while Russula sribuabanensis is found in a protected area near the Siri Buaban village in Lamphun province. Both species are found in mixed deciduous forests that are home to a variety of other plant and animal species.
The research findings are in line with the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 1: No poverty – Wild mushrooms can provide a source of income for local communities, helping to alleviate poverty, SDG 2: Zero hunger – Wild mushrooms can be a source of food, providing a source of protein and other nutrients.
The research also contributes to the growing knowledge of the biodiversity of mushrooms in Thailand. The findings of the research are also significant for the local community. The two new species of mushrooms are edible and have a distinctive aroma.
They are also sold at a high price of 150-200 baht per kilogram in the rainy season. This provides a source of income for local people and helps to support the local economy.
Actor Lee Sun-kyun gets off a car upon his arrival at the Incheon Metropolitan Police in Incheon, South Korea, Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023. (Son Hyun-kyu/Yonhap via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Lee Sun-kyun, a popular South Korean actor best known for his role in the Oscar-winning movie “Parasite,” was found dead in a car in Seoul on Wednesday, authorities said, after weeks of an intense police investigation into his alleged drug use.
Police and emergency officers initially found Lee in what they believed was an unconscious state in the car parked on a street in northern Seoul. Emergency officers later confirmed he was dead, according to Seoul’s Seongbuk police station.
Police had been searching for Lee, 48, after receiving a report that he was missing, Seongbuk police said.
Members of the Korea Crime Scene Investigation team investigate the scene where South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun was found unconscious in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. (Seo Dae-youn/Yonhap via AP)
They refused to provide further details including whether they had determined Lee killed himself. But South Korean media outlets including Yonhap news agency said that Lee’s family earlier Wednesday reported to police that he left home after leaving a message similar to a suicide note.
Lee’s body was later transported to a nearby Seoul hospital, according to Seongbuk police.
Lee appeared in “Parasite,” which won Oscars for best picture and three other categories in 2020. The class satire was the first non-English-language film to win best picture in the then-92-year history of the Academy Awards, and was the first South Korean movie to win an Oscar. In the film, Lee played the head of a wealthy family.
The film’s cast, including Lee, also won a Screen Actors Guild award for the best motion picture ensemble cast in 2020. He was nominated for best actor at the International Emmy Awards for his performance in the sci-fi thriller “Dr. Brain” last year, as well.
FILE – Lee Sun-kyun, from left, Kim Hee-won and Ju Ji-hoon poses for photographers at the photo call for the film ‘Project Silence’ at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, on May 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)
Even before “Parasite,” Lee had been a popular actor in South Korea for a long time. He rose to stardom for his role in a hit TV drama series, “Coffee Prince (2007),” and gained mainstream popularity with the medical drama “Behind The White Tower (2007),” “Pasta (2010)” and “My Mister (2018).”
Lee had undergone police probes into allegations that he used illegal drugs at the residence of a bar hostess. Lee filed a suit against two people including the hostess, alleging they blackmailed him. The investigation prompted extensive tabloid coverage. Lee insisted he was tricked into taking the drugs and that he did not know what he was taking, according to Yonhap.
South Korea has long had the highest suicide rate among developed countries. It has also experienced a string of celebrity suicides involving K-pop stars, prominent politicians and business executives. Experts say malicious and abusive online comments and severe cyberbullying were blamed for many of the celebrity suicides.
