Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) and Turkish Airlines signed an MOU to move towards a joint venture operations agreement between the two airlines in Istanbul. This is a significant step to enhance the cooperation between the flag carriers of Thailand and Türkiye.
Istanbul is situated strategically to act as a hub between Asia, Europe and Africa as Turkish Airlines offers unrivalled connectivity to all over the world from its home base of İstanbul Airport.
THAI will introduce daily service to Istanbul from its hub of Bangkok in December, where it will strengthen the position of THAI as the gateway carrier to Thailand the Asia Pacific region and Australia. Furthermore, this partnership will promote tourism between Thailand (66 Million population) and Türkiye (85 Million population).
THAI and Turkish Airlines will work towards joint venture operations to maximize the synergies that this strategic partnership offers to both airlines. The executive teams together with the CEO’s of both companies committed to this enhanced partnership in a meeting held in Istanbul on the 2nd of August.
The collaboration will provide an unrivalled choice of destinations in Europe and Asia for passengers of THAI and Turkish Airlines.
Chai Eamsiri, THAI CEO, said: “This cooperation would enhance the efficiencies of THAI and Turkish Airlines in terms of connectivity and route network. Our customers will be able to conveniently travel between Thailand and Türkiye as well as on to Europe and other points in Asia, making full use of the extensive networks offered by THAI and Turkish Airlines.”
Bilal Ekşi, CEO of Turkish Airlines, commented on the importance of the cooperation with THAI and said: “This agreement represents an important milestone for the cooperation between Turkish Airlines and THAI as it brings together the rich cultural heritage of Türkiye and Thailand.
This collaboration will enhance connectivity between the two regions, provide seamless travel experiences, and offer passengers a wider range of destinations and services through both airlines’ networks.”
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About Turkish Airlines
Established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines has a fleet of 425 (passenger and cargo) aircraft flying to 344 worldwide destinations as 291 international and 53 domestics in 129 countries. More information about Turkish Airlines can be found on its official website www.turkishairlines.com or its social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
About THAI
THAI, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Thailand founded in 1960 and one of the founding members of Star Alliance, operates flights in 57 destinations in 19 countries with a fleet of 67 aircraft. For more information, please visit thaiairways.com, or Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram: Thai Airways.
A new satellite terminal, SAT-1, is part of the Phase 2 development project of Suvarnabhumi Airport, with an investment of over 39.76 billion baht. It covers an area of approximately 200,000 square metres and is designed to handle 15 million passengers. It will open on September 28, 2023.
This will increase the airport’s capacity from 45 million to 60 million passengers per year, as Thailand experiences an increasing number of tourists and flights each year.
SAT–1 is part of the Phase 2 development project of Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Krit Kijmanawat, CEO of Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited, welcomed Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha and his team for a tour of SAT–1 at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Samut Prakan Province, on August 7, 2023.
The site features impressive architectural elements, including a pair of metal elephants and swans and a Buddha image from Pha Sorn Kaew Temple in Phetchabun Province. The group also looks at Runway 3 on the western side of SAT-1.
General Prayut Chan-o-cha and his team take a tour of SAT-1 at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The Prime Minister’s team tested the Automated People Mover (APM) system, an automated train that will transport passengers between the main terminal and SAT–1. A soft opening of this service is planned for the end of September, with full operations scheduled to begin in 2024.
Regarding progress on the construction of Runway 3 on the west side of the airport, the 4,000-meter runway is currently 73 percent complete and is expected to be finished in September of this year, allowing full operations to begin in July 2024. This expansion will increase Suvarnabhumi Airport’s capacity from 68 flights per hour to 94 flights per hour.
The Prime Minister’s team tested the Automated People Mover (APM) system.
Based on data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, foreign tourist arrivals totaled 15.3 million in the first seven months of 2023, with Malaysia remaining the top source of tourists with 2,445,950 visitors, followed by China with 1,852,446 visitors.
In July, China overtook Malaysia as the top source with 409,327 visitors, while Malaysia had 341,236. South Korea was third with 150,089 visitors, followed by India with 127,344 visitors and Vietnam with 121,705 visitors.
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City doctor was charged Monday in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of at least six women, including several patients who were drugged, filmed and assaulted during appointments at a prestigious local hospital, prosecutors said.
Zhi Alan Cheng was arraigned Monday on charges of sexually abusing three of his patients at New York-Presbyterian Queens hospital and raping three other women inside his apartment in Queens, New York. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The 33-year-old gastroenterologist was terminated from his hospital job in December after his arrest for allegedly raping a female acquaintance in his Queens home. At the time, the woman told authorities she had discovered videos of Cheng abusing her and multiple other women.
As investigators searched his home and devices, they uncovered a trove of video evidence showing the doctor abusing women inside his home and workplace, according to the new indictment.
The footage showed Cheng groping three hospital patients, including a 19-year-old and a “seriously ill” 47-year-old, prosecutors said. All of the women appeared to be unconscious during the abuse, suggesting Cheng used anesthesia to sedate them, according to court documents.
Multiple types of liquid anesthesia were recovered from his home, alongside recreational narcotics such as cocaine and ecstasy, the court documents say.
An attorney for Cheng did not immediately return a request for comment.
In a statement, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said the evidence pointed to “a serial rapist, someone willing to not only violate his sacred professional oath and patients’ trust, but every standard of human decency.”
The arrest follows the sentencing of another doctor in the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital system, Robert Hadden, a gynecologist who allegedly abused 245 women over the span of two decades. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June.
Cheng’s alleged abuse took place over a much shorter period of time, between 2021 and 2022. But prosecutors said they had additional evidence to suggest that Cheng assaulted other women at different locations in New York City, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Thailand, although he has not been charged in connection with those incidents.
Angela Karafazi, a spokesperson for New York-Presbyterian, said Cheng’s alleged conduct was “a fundamental betrayal of our mission and our patients’ trust.”
The hospital intends to review its patient safety policies and implement additional training for all employees, she said.
The gunman shot himself to death at the shack after killing his wife's family members on August 7, 2023.
Domestic violence rocked Thai society once more on August 7, when a gunman shot four members of his wife’s family, including two boys who died in their school uniform, before fleeing and shooting himself within Soi Chaengwattana 6, Bang Khen Market Subdistrict, Lak Si District, Bangkok.
Somchai Kaewkomol, a 54-year-old gunman, shot and severely injured his 59-year-old mother-in-law, Sopha Chansoda, while she was selling lottery tickets at the Nicknak market.
Somchai then went straight to the Baan Suan Ratchathani condominium, headed upstairs to the wife’s room, and shot two of the wife’s children. A 7-year-old boy died while still wearing his school uniform, while a 9-year-old boy suffered significant injuries. Then Somchai fired Ms. Tawee Sinma, his wife’s sister, who was 60 years old, to death. They were all shot in the head.
Somchai then headed down to a shack in front of the condo and shot himself to death.
The gunman went straight to the Baan Suan Ratchathani condominium and shot two of the wife’s children.
According to officers at Thung Song Hong police station, Somchai worked as a motorcycle taxi driver and had lived with the woman, who already had five children, for roughly two years. The woman wanted to split up and cut off all communication with Somchai a month ago, which upset him. Somchai asked his mother-in-law for his wife’s address and shot her when she didn’t respond.
Sopha died later at the hospital, as did the 9-year-old boy, who was initially seriously injured.
Violent acts and murders of women driven by male jealousy remain commonplace in Thailand. However, there is a lack of clear campaigns and consistent statistics derived from daily police records or concrete legal action against perpetrators. The available statistics are mainly based on reports from selected women’s organizations, which rely on news from the mainstream media.
According to the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation, which collected data from media reports on domestic violence in 2021, 52.4 per cent of cases were found to be domestic incidents resulting in death.
Leader of Bhumjaithai Party Anutin Charnvirakul, left and Leader of Pheu Thai party Chonlanan Srikaew smile during a press conference announcing coalition party at Thai Party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI — Thailand’s populist Pheu Thai party announced Monday that it will form a coalition with a party from the outgoing military-backed administration to try to end nearly three months of political deadlock after the progressive party that won national elections was excluded from the formation of a new government.
Thailand has struggled to break the impasse and select a new leader after the progressive Move Forward Party became the surprise winner of the May elections but was blocked by the conservative elite from taking power.
Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat had assembled an eight-party coalition with 312 seats in the 500-member lower house. But under Thailand’s military-enacted constitution, a new prime minister must receive a majority in a vote by both the elected House and 250-member appointed Senate, selected by a previous military government. Pita’s initial bid last month fell short by more than 50 votes, largely because only 13 senators backed him. He was barred from a second attempt the following week when Parliament voted that he could not be nominated again.
Pita Limjaroenrat, right, the leader of Move Forward Party and top winner in the May’s general election, reacts during vote counting at the Parliament, in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Members of the Senate said they opposed Pita because of his party’s call for the reform of a law that makes it illegal to defame Thailand’s royal family. Critics say the law, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, has been abused as a political weapon. The Senate’s members, like the army, see themselves as guardians of traditional royalist values.
Pheu Thai, the second biggest party in the eight-party coalition, took over the lead role in forming a government after Move Forward’s two failed attempts. It said last Wednesday that Move Forward had been excluded from the coalition because its platform to reform the royal defamation law made it impossible to rally enough support from other parties and the Senate.
Pheu Thai on Monday said it will try to form a government with the Bhumjaithai Party, which finished third in the election with 71 seats in the lower house. Together with Pheu Thai’s 141 seats, the two parties hold 212 seats.
Leader of Bhumjaithai Party Anutin Charnvirakul, left, and Leader of Pheu Thai party Chonlanan Srikaew greet each other after a press conference announcing a coalition party at the Thai Party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. The populist Pheu Thai Party on Monday announced it will assemble a coalition with the Bhumjaithai Party from the outgoing administration to solve the months long political deadlock. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Bhumjaithai, which is known for cutting deals with parties on both sides of the political divide, was part of the outgoing military-backed coalition government of Prayuth Chan-ocha, who as army chief toppled a Pheu Thai government in a coup in 2014 and returned as prime minister after 2019 elections. Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul serves as deputy prime minister and minister of public health in Prayuth’s administration.
Anutin’s most prominent legacy as health minister is removing marijuana from the country’s narcotics list, leading to an explosion of shops selling cannabis around the country.
Anutin said at a news conference with Pheu Thai on Monday that Bhumjaithat has agreed to join the coalition under the conditions that the royal defamation law will not be amended, and that Move Forward will not be a part of the government.
Chonlanan Srikaew, Pheu Thai’s leader, said the two parties will invite other parties this week to join them in forming a government.
“We need support from all sides because the problems that the country and the people are facing right now are severe. The longer the delay is, the more damage it will cause,” Chonlanan read from a joint statement by the two parties.
Chonlanan said a Pheu Thai-led government will propose a new draft constitution because the current charter enacted after the 2014 military coup is the main factor causing the current political crisis and a reason why the coalition with Move Forward failed.
Security guard stand guard in front of Thai Party headquarters after protester spray demand Leader of Pheu Thai Party Chonlanan Srikaew resign at the party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A plan by Parliament to vote for a new leader last Friday was derailed after the Constitutional Court said a day earlier that it needs more time to deliberate on whether to accept a petition from the state ombudsman on the legality of Parliament’s earlier vote to block Pita’s renomination, and will meet again Aug. 16 to decide on the matter. The House speaker then postponed the vote pending the court’s decision, since the court could order the vote to be suspended until it issues a ruling.
Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties affiliated with ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire populist who was ousted in a 2006 military coup. Thaksin has said he plans to return to the country in the coming weeks following years of self-imposed exile to escape a prison term in several criminal cases which he has decried as politically motivated.
Although Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai were on opposite sides of the political divide during the last government, Anutin said he never said that the two parties could not work together and called for a compromise.
“Now it’s the time that the country needs a government. The country needs to move on, so we have to finish all those disputes,” he said. “You don’t want to see the country continuing in factions like this. If there’s a chance, we can unite together and move on. We have to do it for the sake of our country and the people.”
Thai Scouts honoured the national flag on August 7, 2023, while attending the 25th World Scout Jamboree in the Republic of Korea. (CREDIT: NSOT Facebook page)
During the evacuation of 36,000 scouts from the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea’s southwestern county of Buan as Tropical Storm Khanun was coming, 80 South Korean scouts left the Jamboree campsite because of another controversy involving a Thai male scout.
These South Korean scouts have also blamed organisers for mishandling an alleged sexual crime involving a male Thai scout leader who snuck into the women’s shower room on Wednesday. The Thai scout leader was reportedly given “a simple warning” by the Jamboree Organising Committee. The police and the organising committee said that the sex crime allegation had yet to be confirmed and was still under investigation.
Attendees of the World Scout Jamboree prepare to leave a scout camping site in Buan, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023 (Na Bo-bae/Yonhap via AP)
Atthaphon Sangkhwa-si, the Permanent Secretary for the Education Ministry, said that the ministry sent people to coordinate with the Thai Embassy in Seoul to get the Thai scout leader out of the camp and put the new leader in charge instead. The minister also sent South Korea an apology letter.
Suthin Kaewpana, secretary general of the National Scout Office, said that the accused was a senior scout commander in charge of a group of nine scouts who left Thailand on July 31 and arrived in South Korea on August 1. Since then the Thai Scout crew worked all day to set up the tent in extreme heat.
“At 5 a.m. on August 2, the accused was in a hurry to take a shower and overlooked the sign for the women’s restroom on the opposite side of the room. He sang while having a bath, which the South Korean Scout leader noticed and reported to security,” said Sutin.
Attendees of the World Scout Jamboree cool off with water at a scout camping site in Buan, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. (Choe Young-soo/Yonhap via AP)
Even though the 4th sub-camp executive committee determined that the incident was caused by a misunderstanding and was not intended to be insulting, the Korean scout leader reported the incident to local police, which made headlines in major media outlets such as the Korea Herald.
“At around 5 a.m., the male Thai leader followed our female adult leader to the women’s shower room. After being caught at the scene, he lied, claiming that he was there to take a shower,” Kim Tae-yeon, leader of the North Jeolla Province Scout Association, told the Korea Herald, adding that about 100 people had witnessed the scene.
Kim lashed out at the Jamboree Committee for not taking proper measures such as separating the accused perpetrator from the scouts and protecting the victims. Kim said his association had reported the case to the local police.
British scout members gather to leave the World Scout Jamboree campsite in Buan, South Korea, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. (Kim Joo-hyung/Yonhap via AP)
Kim Hyo-jin, the head of the Jeonbuk Police Agency’s Women and Youth Investigation Unit said police had yet to confirm whether the Thai leader had a sexual intention when entering the shower room. “We are investigating whether other allegations such as forcible entry can be applied (to the case).”
Choi Chang-haeng, secretary-general of the Jamboree Organizing Committee, said that the Safe From Harm Team, which was dispatched from the WOSM, has conducted an investigation and concluded that the incident was caused by “cultural differences.” Choi and the Jamboree Committee didn’t elaborate on what the “cultural differences” were.
Pi Securities Hosts First-Ever “Pi Gala Night” Emphasizing “Digital with a Human Touch” to Strengthen Customer Relationships
Tiwa Shintadapong Investment Guru Value Investor (left), Christopher Wong South East Asia Portfolio Strategist at Fidelity International (second from the left), Kavee Chukitkasem Head of Research at Pi Securities PCL (third from the left), Bob Wouters CEO at Pi Securities PCL (forth from the left), Tommy Taechaubol CEO at Country Group Holdings PCL (fifth from the left), Nattcharinphon Jesadapisit CCO at Pi Securities PCL (sixth from the left), and Chatchawan Sangpreedeekorn CMO at Pi Securities PCL (seventh from the left)
Bangkok, Thailand – 3 August 2023 – Pi Securities Public Company Limited, a financial services and wealth management leader, with over 50 years of expertise, proudly celebrates its first “Pi Gala Night” at the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at the Chao Phraya River. The event, themed “Unlock The New World, Unlock The Power Of Infinite Possibilities” is aimed at providing Pi’s premium customers with the latest insights into global and local Thai investment trends.
Esteemed industry experts, including Christopher Wong, South East Asia Portfolio Strategist from Fidelity International, alongside Tiwa Shintadapong (Sian Mi), a renowned value investor, and Kavee Chukitkasem, Head of Research at Pi Securities shared their views and recommendations with the audience. The experts elaborated on the global macro-economic trends shaping investment opportunities and what that means for Thai investors. The event’s emphasis on identifying growth opportunities for Pi’s customers and investors showcases the unwavering commitment to adding value through first-class advice. The overwhelming response from investors and attendees, totaling over 200 individuals, was a testament to the event’s success and relevance.
Mr. Bob Wouters, Chief Executive Officer at Pi Securities Public Company Limited, said “We are thrilled to host our first Pi Gala Night, a heartwarming celebration to express gratitude to our customers for their unwavering support. Today marks a significant milestone for Pi Securities as we unveil our highly anticipated digital trading app, set to launch this September. Embracing a “Digital with a Human Touch” approach, our app empowers customers with a diverse range of investment classes, reflecting our commitment to seamless digital technology complemented by personalized advice.”
British scout members leave the World Scout Jamboree campsite in Buan, South Korea, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. (Choe Young-soo/Yonhap via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will evacuate tens of thousands of scouts by bus from a coastal jamboree site as Tropical Storm Khanun looms, officials said Monday.
More than 1,000 vehicles will be used starting Tuesday morning to move 36,000 scouts — mostly teenagers — from the World Scout Jamboree in the southwestern county of Buan, according to Kim Sung-ho, a vice minister at South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
Most of the scouts, who come from 158 countries, will be accommodated at venues in the capital city, Seoul, and the nearby metropolitan area, he said. Officials were trying to secure spaces at government training centers and education facilities as well as hotels. Kim said it would take six hours or more to evacuate the scouts from the campsite, which organizers said will no longer be used for any event after they leave.
Officials at Camp Humphreys, a major U.S. military base 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of Seoul, did not immediately confirm reports that thousands of scouts from Sweden, Norway and Denmark were to be transferred to its facilities.
FILE – Tents are pitched at a scout camping site during the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, South Korea, on Aug. 4, 2023. (Choe Young-soo/Yonhap via AP, File)
The base is already accommodating hundreds of American scouts, who were moved over the weekend because of heat concerns as South Korea grapples with one of its hottest summers in years.
The announcement about the evacuations came after the World Organization of the Scout Movement said it called on South Korea to quickly move the scouts from the storm’s path and “provide all necessary resources and support for participants during their stay and until they return to their home countries.”
South Korea’s government did not immediately specify any venues where the scouts will be staying. David Venn, global director of communications for the World Organization of the Scout Movement, said it was still waiting for government officials to provide detailed plans.
Khanun has taken an unusual, meandering path around Japan’s southwestern islands for more than a week, dumping heavy rain, knocking out power to thousands of homes and disrupting flights and train services. On Monday afternoon, it had sustained winds of 108 kph (67 mph), with higher gusts, and was forecast to maintain that strength as it brushed Japan’s main island of Kyushu this week, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
South Korea’s weather agency reported that Khanun was expected to make landfall in South Korea on Thursday morning, potentially packing winds as strong as 118 to 154 kph (73 to 95 mph). Large swaths of the country’s south, including Buan, could be affected by the storm as early as Wednesday, the agency said.
High waves caused by approaching Tropical Storm Khanun hit a port on Amami Oshima Island, Kagoshima prefecture, southern Japan Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (Kyodo News via AP)
The plans to evacuate the scouts were announced hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said he called for “contingency” plans, including relocating them to hotels and other facilities in the greater capital area.
The agency said the storm was about 160 kilometers (99 miles) east of Amami city on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu and moving gradually toward the north as of Monday afternoon. It warned residents in affected regions to watch out for mudslides, high winds and rough seas.
The storm has caused one death and 70 injuries on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, according to the country’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Due to the forecast of harsh weather in the region, West Japan Railway Co. said there was a possibility of suspending Shinkansen “bullet” train services from Wednesday night to Thursday morning.
Hot temperatures have already forced thousands of British and American scouts to leave the site, which is made on land reclaimed from sea. The British scouts were transferred to hotels in Seoul while the American scouts were moved to Camp Humphreys.
Hundreds of participants had been treated for heat-related ailments since the jamboree started on Wednesday. Long before the event started, critics raised concerns about bringing such large numbers of young people to a vast, treeless area lacking protection from the summer heat.
Geir Olav Kaase, leader of the 700-member Norwegian contingent, said Norwegian scouts had already started leaving the campsite on Monday evening to “avoid any chaos that may arise in the event of a joint evacuation.” Kasse said the evacuations were proceeding in “close cooperation” with the Danish contingent, but he did not specify whether the Danes have started to leave too.
“We do all we can to ensure that the scouts are safe and well, and that the transfer goes as smoothly as possible. We help each other and keep our spirits up,” Kaase said in a statement.
The Swedish news agency TT said some 1,500 scouts from Sweden will be relocated to Camp Humphreys along with Norwegian and Danish scouts.
Fishing boats are anchored at a port as Tropical Storm Khanun is forecast to hit the country’s southeastern region later this week on Jeju Island, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (Park Ji-ho/Yonhap via AP)
Kim Hyun-sook, South Korea’s minister of gender equality and family, said officials are trying to arrange new cultural events and activities for the scouts before they leave, including a possible K-pop concert at a Seoul soccer stadium on Friday to go with the closing ceremony.
“We don’t see it that way,” Kim said when asked whether the scouts’ departure from Buan should be seen as an early end for the jamboree. “We are creating new programs with regional governments away from the campsite, so it could be said jamboree is widening.”
Organizers earlier on Monday were scurrying to come up with plans to evacuate the scouts ahead of the storm’s arrival but weren’t committing to abandoning the campsite entirely.
Choi Chang-haeng, secretary-general of the jamboree’s organizing committee, said organizers have secured more than 340 evacuation venues, including community centers and gyms, in regions near Buan.
About 40,000 scouts came to the jamboree. About 4,500 were from the U.K., representing the largest national contingent, while about 1,000 were from the United States.
South Korea categorizes Khanun as a typhoon, defined as a tropical storm with winds stronger than 61 kph (38 mph). South Korea’s weather agency expects Khanun to weaken to a storm within the next five days.
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KIM TONG-HYUNG reported from Seoul. Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.
Koh Phangan police transported Daniel by boat to Koh Samui, on August 7, 2023.
Police in Koh Phangan, Surat Thani Province, continue to search for the Colombian body parts that a Spanish suspect confessed to throwing into the sea after discovering eight of them, including the skull, on August 6.
On August 3, the first body pieces of Edwin Miguel, a 44-year-old Colombian surgeon, were discovered in trash bags deposited on the cement yard at the Koh Phangan Municipal Solid Waste Disposal Centre. One day later, police found additional body fragments in the same location.
Police continue to search for the Colombian body parts in the sea off Koh Phangan on August 6, 2023.
A 29-year-old Spanish chef, Daniel Jeronimo Sancho Bronchalo, had reported to the Koh Phangan Police Station on August 2 that Edwin Miguel, his Colombian friend had vanished. But later Daniel was detained on August 5 as the suspect of murdering and dismembering Edwin Miguel himself.
The Koh Samui Provincial Court issued a warrant for Daniel’s arrest on allegations of deliberate and premeditated murder as well as the secret burial, removal, or destruction of a body to conceal his death or cause of death.
Initially, Daniel denied the accusations, but later he confessed.
Initially, Daniel denied the accusations, but later he confessed. He claimed that when Edwin requested sex, he became enraged and punched him until Edwin tumbled over his head into the tub of water, fell unconscious and died.
After that, he took the body apart, put the pieces in a suitcase, and threw it into the sea. The rest is put in a black bag and thrown in the trash.
The police do not believe Daniel’s claim due to consistent evidence.
However, the police don’t believe Daniel’s claim because there is consistent evidence that he was well-prepared. For example, he urged Edwin Miguel who seemed to be his boyfriend of more than a year, to accompany him to the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan. Daniel booked a room at the hotel with Edwin’s credit card.
The Colombian doctor also invested in Daniel’s restaurant in Spain. Because of this, the police suspected Daniel had a financial motive for killing Edwin. It is currently in the process of contacting Edwin’s family.
At 4:30 p.m. on August 7, Koh Phangan police transported Daniel by boat to Koh Samui, where he was detained at the Koh Samui Provincial Court.
According to Associated Press, Daniel is the son of Rodolfo Sancho and Silvia Bronchalo, famous Spanish actors. Sancho’s uncle, Felix Sancho, told journalists in Spain that, “A little respect for the family is all we ask for, because this is so painful.”
FILE: The owners of the fire warehouse where the explosion occurred in the Muno community in Narathiwat province were sent from Songkhla to Narathiwat on August 5, 2023.
Police filed a lawsuit in Narathiwat court against the husband and wife, the owners of the fire warehouse where the explosion occurred in the Muno community in Su-ngai Kolok district, Narathiwat province. The July 29 explosion resulted in at least 11 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
On August 7, police officers brought Mr. Sompong Na Kul and Ms. Piyanuch Pheungwirawat to court for arraignment. The charges are negligent homicide of others, grievous bodily harm, endangering life or mental well-being, illegal possession or trafficking of fireworks, disobeying emergency orders, and unauthorized construction or alteration of buildings.
The couple were sent to prison after the court accepted the objection of the police to the bail since both were at risk of escape.
File: Mr. Sompong Na Kul and Ms. Piyanuch Pheungwirawat turned themselves in at Sadao Police Station on August 5, 2023.
The two had crossed the border to Malaysia and did not return immediately after the explosion. On August 5, they turned themselves in at Sadao Police Station, Songkhla Province, before being sent to Narathiwat. They admitted some allegations while denying others.
According to the police, both individuals showed signs of stress and anxiety, prompting authorities to increase surveillance to prevent self-inflicted injuries.
The area affected by the explosion on August 6, 2023.
Investigating officials said that additional suspects may be arrested. Meanwhile, internal investigations are underway into possible misconduct by police officers who exceeded their duties or accepted bribes. Progress has been made on both the conduct and disciplinary aspects of the case.
To provide financial assistance to the victims, compensation totaling nearly 6 million baht was granted to the families of the deceased in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance. In addition, more than 22 million baht was donated through Krung Thai Bank’s disaster relief account named “Muno Disaster Relief,” account number 905 366 1220.
Nevertheless, residents affected by the incident set up donation boxes in front of their homes to accept donations from Thai and Malaysian citizens who had traveled to assist. These donations, which include both money and food, are to be used directly and be helpful.
Residents affected by the incident set up donation boxes in front of their homes to accept donations.
