People watch at the site where trains that derailed, in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
BALASORE, India (AP) — The train derailment in eastern India that killed more than 300 people and injured hundreds more was caused by an error in the electronic signaling system that led a train to wrongly change tracks, India’s railways minister said Sunday.
”Who has done it and what is the reason will come out of an investigation,” Ashwini Vaishnaw said in an interview with New Delhi Television network.
The explanation came as authorities worked to clear the mangled wreckage of the two passenger trains that derailed Friday night in Balasore district of eastern Odisha state, in one of the country’s deadliest rail accidents in decades.
People look at the photographs of the passengers who were traveling in the trains that got derailed for identification in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
The Press Trust of India news agency earlier reported that preliminary investigations revealed that a signal was given to the Coromandel Express to enter the main track line but the signal was later taken off. The train entered another line, known as the loop line, and crashed into a goods train parked there, PTI said.
Fifteen bodies were recovered on Saturday evening and efforts continued overnight as heavy cranes were used to remove an engine that had settled on top of a rail car. No bodies were found in the engine and the work was completed on Sunday morning, said Sudhanshu Sarangi, director-general of fire and emergency services in Odisha.
The accident occurred at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on the modernization of the British colonial-era railroad network in India, which has become the world’s most populous country with 1.42 billion people. Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents occur every year on India’s railways, the largest train network under one management in the world.
A person watches from the balcony of his house at the site where trains that derailed, in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Chaotic scenes erupted on Friday night as rescuers climbed atop the wrecked trains to break open doors and windows using cutting torches to try to save people who were trapped inside the rail cars.
Modi visited the crash site on Saturday to examine the relief effort and talk to rescue officials. He also visited a hospital where he asked doctors about the treatments being given to the injured, and spoke to some of the patients.
Rescuers work to take out the body of a victim of passenger trains that derailed in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Saturday, June 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Modi told reporters he felt the pain of those who suffered in the accident. He said the government would do its utmost to help them and strictly punish anyone found responsible.
Ten to 12 coaches of one train derailed, and debris from some of the mangled coaches fell onto a nearby track. The debris was hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite direction, causing up to three coaches of the second train to also derail, said Amitabh Sharma, a Railroad Ministry spokesperson.
A woman cries while looking for her husband who was traveling in the train that derailed, in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Sunday, June 4, 2023.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
In 1995, two trains collided near New Delhi, killing 358 people in one of the worst train accidents in India. In 2016, a passenger train slid off the tracks between the cities of Indore and Patna, killing 146 people.
Most train accidents in India are blamed on human error or outdated signaling equipment.
More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day, traveling on 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of track.
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Rafiq Maqbool reported from Balasore and Ashok Sharma reported from New Delhi.
A censor notice on True Visions cable TV. Photo: Thanyarat Doksone / Twitter
While one junta-appointed senator after another takes turn to publicly announce they would not vote for Move Forward Party PM candidate Pita Limjaroenrat as the next PM due to the party’s pledge to reform the lese majeste law, two troubling issues related to the law itself surfaced over the past week.
On Tuesday morning True Vision, Thailand’s premier cable TV operator, censored a special interview in Pita conducted by the BCC. The issue of the monarchy was among the questions asked by BBC chief Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head, a long-time journalist based in Bangkok who knows full well about the sensitivity of the monarchy issue and the law. Yet his carefully-scripted interview did not escape the wrath of True Vision’s “censor staff” who took turns monitoring foreign news agencies’ reports on Thailand and censored anything related to the lese majeste law or mildly critical to the monarchy.
“And we have to ask … would True censor us if we were interviewing Prayut?” Head asked on Twitter Tuesday.
The BBC is not alone, CNN, ABC Australia, France 24, and Al Jazeera were among those routinely censored by True Vision when it comes to mildly critical news about the Thai monarchy. This is privatized censorship as the “censor staff” were openly hired and paid by True Vision, which is part of Thailand’s largest conglomerate, the CP Group. Their hiring advertisement from April 2020 was posted by critics online after the BBC fiasco and it partly stated that censor staff must possess good command of English and “good attitude,” whatever the latter means. His or her task is to censor anything taboo, against the lese majeste law from not just news reports about Thailand but also talk shows (yes, at least one foreign talk show mocked the Thai king).
“Report to on-air staff to cut the signal immediately,” was a specific part of the job description as advertised although sources say they delay any news broadcast by around five minutes to make sure nothing critical got out. When censorship happens, the True Vision TV screen turns almost blank except for a large text with the message “Program will resume shortly.”
Applicants must be no older than 33. A foreign follower on social media asked me what happened at the age of 34? Hmm… that is intriguing. Do people become insubordinate and inquisitive when he or she turns 34 or too morally troubled by the fact that this is a job that graphically undermines rights of access to critical information about the Thai monarchy?
Yes, people can access YouTube and the news agencies’ own websites and watch it themselves, thus bypass the routine censorship by True Vision so this is less about efficacy but more about True Vision, and the CP Group, demonstrating their utmost loyalty to the throne or at least thwart any possibly allegation by others that they are allowing their own TV to become a launching pad of an attack or critical portrayal of the monarchy. Thus this is possibly more about True Vision, and the CP Group, saving its own skin and its businesses – disregarding whether they are true loyalists or not.
In exhibition 2, a letter announcing a disciplinary probe against a deputy governor of Lampang province for alleged “liking and sharing” of anti-monarchy Facebook content of French anti-Thai-monarchist Yan Marchal was leaked. Marchal, formerly a long-time resident of Thailand, was declared a persona non grata two years ago for his social media videos mocking the Thai monarchy.
In the leaked letter, posted by exiled historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a six-person investigating committee was set up by the Interior Ministry against Deputy Lampang governor Chamlak Kanpetch. The letter signed by Interior Ministry Permanent Secretary Suthipong Chulcharoen, dated April 3, stated that Chamlak was accused of behaving “inappropriately for a senior government official.”
I rang Chamlak on Thursday and he said the leaked letter was authentic. He was still a deputy Lampang governor as well. The deputy governor told me he told the committee was framed by a nemesis, a local elected politician, whom he busted for possession of an illegal land deed and swear he is a most loyal subject of His Majesty the King.
Chamlak said he merely clicked to “follow” Marchal’s Facebook page in order to monitor what is happening so preventive measures against anti-monarchy elements could be formulated. To prove his loyalty, Chamlak added that he had ordained three times as a monk to accrue merit for the late King Rama IX when the latter was ailing.
“My loyalty is above my life … I can die on behalf of His Majesty if required,” Chamlak stressed to this writer on the phone. The fact that an investigation was launched reminded me of the Inquisition during Medieval Europe, however. If you are a senior official, who have to believe, be faithful to the monarchy, or at least appear to be so.
Was Chamlak telling me the truth or was he just trying to save his own skin as he could not possibly admit he is a big fan or Marchal?
Alexander Makarov, 45, was at Nai Thon Beach on June 3, 2023.
Two days after the first Kazakh tourist drowned in Phuket Province, a second Kazakh tourist drowned on Saturday, June 3.
Some tourists still went swimming in the sea at Nai Thon Beach, Moo 4, Saku Subdistrict, Thalang District, even though there were weather warnings and red signs put up by lifeguards.
Alexander Makarov, 45, was washed away by the sea and went missing for a time. When he showed up, he was choking on water and unresponsive. Lifeguards and tourists rushed him to Thalang Hospital, but it was too late.
Artur Iskakov, a tourist from Kazakhstan who was 24 years old, drowned on June 1 at Kata Beach in the Karon Subdistrict.
In both cases, officials worked with the embassy to make sure the bodies were brought back to religious rituals.
Artur Iskakov, 24, a tourist from Kazakhstan, drowned on June 1 at Kata Beach.
On June 3, 2023, the Thai Meteorological Department issued an advisory for strong wind waves and heavy to very heavy rains: The rather strong southwest monsoon prevails across the Andaman Sea, the South, and the Gulf.
The rather strong wind forces the wave up to 2-3 meters high in the upper Andaman Sea and more than 3 meters high in thundershowers while the waves in the lower Andaman Sea and the upper Gulf are likely about 2 meters high and more than 2 meters high in thundershowers.
All ships should proceed with caution and keep off thundershowers. Small boats in the upper Andaman Sea keep ashore lasting June 6, 2023.
Rescuers work at the site of passenger trains accident, in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Saturday, June 3, 2023. (AP Photo)
NEW DELHI (AP) — Rescuers waded through piles of debris and wreckage to pull out bodies and free people on Saturday after two passenger trains derailed in India, killing more than 280 people and injuring hundreds as rail cars were flipped over and mangled in one of the country’s deadliest train crashes in decades.
The accident, which happened about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Kolkata on Friday night, led to a chaotic scene as rescuers climbed atop the wrecked trains to break open doors and windows using cutting torches to free survivors.
Rescuers work at the site of passenger trains accident, in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Saturday, June 3, 2023. (AP Photo)
About 900 people were injured in the accident in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, said P.K. Jena, the state’s top administrative official. The cause was under investigation.
At least 280 bodies were recovered overnight and into Saturday morning, Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of Odisha’s fire and emergency department, told The Associated Press. He said more than 800 injured passengers were taken to various hospitals with many in critical condition.
Army soldiers and air force helicopters joined the relief effort along with local authorities.
About 200 severely injured people were transferred to specialty hospitals in other cities in the state, Jena said. Another 200 people were discharged after receiving medical care and the rest were being treated in local hospitals, he added.
Rescuers work at the site of passenger trains accident, in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Saturday, June 3, 2023.(AP Photo)
“The challenge now is identifying the bodies. Wherever the relatives are able to provide evidence, the bodies are handed over after autopsies. If not identified, maybe we have to go for a DNA test and other protocols,” he said.
Rescuers were cutting through the destroyed rail cars to find people who may still be trapped. Sarangi said it was possible that people were stuck underneath but that it was unlikely they would still be alive. Late Friday, hundreds were trapped inside more than a dozen wrecked carriages as rescuers worked to pull them out.
“By 10 p.m. (on Friday) we were able to rescue the survivors. After that it was about picking up dead bodies,” he said. “This is very, very tragic. I have never seen anything like this in my career.”
Ten to 12 coaches of one train derailed, and debris from some of the mangled coaches fell onto a nearby track, said Amitabh Sharma, a railroad ministry spokesperson. The debris was hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite direction, causing up to three coaches of the second train to also derail, he added.
A third train carrying freight was also involved, the Press Trust of India reported, but there was no immediate confirmation of that from railroad authorities. PTI said some of the derailed passenger coaches hit cars from the freight train.
Bodies recovered from passenger trains lay at the site of an accident, in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Saturday, June 3, 2023. (AP Photo)
The death toll rose steadily throughout the night as footage showed shattered carriages that had overturned completely. Scores of dead bodies, covered by white sheets, lay on the ground near the train tracks as locals and rescuers raced to help survivors.
Teams of rescuers and police continued sifting through the ruins on Saturday morning as the search operation carried on, amid fears that the death toll is likely to rise further. Scores of people also showed up at a local hospital to donate blood.
The rescue operation was slowed because two train cars were pressed together by the impact of the accident, Jena said.
“We are cutting some portions of the (rail cars) and carefully searching for survivors,” he said, adding the search operation would likely conclude later Saturday.
Officials said 1,200 rescuers worked with 115 ambulances, 50 buses and 45 mobile health units through the night at the accident site. Saturday was declared as a day of mourning in Odisha as the state’s chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, reached the district to meet injured passengers.
Rescuers work at the site of passenger trains that derailed in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Friday, June 2, 2023. (Press Trust of India via AP)
Villagers said they rushed to the site to evacuate people after hearing a loud sound created by the train coaches going off the tracks.
“The local people really went out on a limb to help us. They not only helped in pulling out people, but retrieved our luggage and got us water,” PTI cited Rupam Banerjee, a survivor, as saying.
Passenger Vandana Kaleda said that inside the train during the derailment people were “falling on each other” as her coach shook violently and veered off the tracks.
“As I stepped out of the washroom, suddenly the train tilted. I lost my balance. … Everything went topsy turvy. People started falling on each other and I was shocked and could not understand what happened. My mind stopped working,” she said, adding she felt lucky to survive.
Another survivor who did not give his name said he was sleeping when the impact woke him up. He said he saw other passengers with broken limbs and disfigured faces.
The collision involved two trains, the Coromandel Express traveling from Howrah in West Bengal state to Chennai in Tamil Nadu state and the Howrah Superfast Express traveling from Bengaluru in Karnataka to Howrah, officials said. It was not immediately clear which derailed first.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his thoughts were with the bereaved families.
“May the injured recover soon,” tweeted Modi, who said he had spoken to the railway minister and that “all possible assistance” was being offered.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s railway minister, said a high-level probe would be carried out, as the political opposition criticized the government and called for Vaishnaw to resign.
Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents occur every year on India’s railways, the largest train network under one management in the world.
In August 1995, two trains collided near New Delhi, killing 358 people in one of the worst train accidents in India.
In 2016, a passenger train slid off the tracks between the cities of Indore and Patna, killing 146 people.
Most train accidents are blamed on human error or outdated signaling equipment.
More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day, traveling on 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of track.
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ASHOK SHARMA and KRUTIKA PATHI reported from New Delhi. Chonchui Ngashangva contributed to this report.
The Australian woman grabbed a bag of money in the bank.
Foreign scammers used a bank at a popular department store in Bangkok to steal, not rob, a lot of money.
Mrs. Jay, 28, and Mr. Joseph, 47, both Australian nationals, were arrested at the Thalang Police Station in Phuket for stealing 2.5 million baht in cash from a Chinese man at a department store in the Ladprao district, according to a press conference at Phaholyothin Police Station on June 2.
The Australian couple was detained.
A 35-year-old Chinese man named Gao filed a complaint on May 29 with a Phaholyothin Police Station investigator alleging that someone stole his money after tricking him online on May 28 by contacting him via the Telegram app and claiming to want to sell him digital currency.
The Australian man was arrested in Phuket.
A white foreign man who claimed to be the agent in charge of collecting the money welcomed Mr. Gao when he arrived at the bank. This foreigner allowed him to converse with a bitcoin merchant, who requested that he deliver money to the foreigner. The foreigner pretended to put an envelope of money in his backpack and place it on a chair next to him while waiting for a digital money transfer. The bag was then stolen, and the foreign man pretended he didn’t know where it was before fleeing.
The CCTV footage showed a white foreign woman picking up a bag of money and walking out of the bank, according to officers at Phaholyothin police station. They suspected this woman was a foreign man’s collaborator. They also discovered that the two had travelled to Thailand together.
The Australian woman carried the bag to the way out of the department store.
The following day, this pair met in front of a currency exchange business in Nana to convert their cash for digital currency. They later boarded a plane at Suvarnabhumi Airport bound for Phuket Province. The police then requested that the Phuket immigration officer arrest them.
Initially, police arrested them and sent them to Phaholyothin Police Station investigators for prosecution.
While the parents of a Thai woman who fled her abusive husband and asked for help at the Thai Embassy in Beijing but has not yet arrived in Thailand told the media that the family does not have 100,000 baht to cover the operation costs as they are impoverished, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified that the financial issue is not an obstacle but that they are waiting for the procedure from the Chinese authorities.
Amnat Phalapleewan, director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs, Protection and Welfare of Thai Nationals Abroad, said Nongnuch, who is considered a Thai person in need abroad under regulations, has received assistance.
The parents of a Thai woman gave interview in Udon Thani Province.
The department has already sent a letter to Nongnuch’s family explaining the situation and stating that it is in contact with the Chinese authorities to obtain the necessary travel documents.
“The Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing and the Thai Consulate General in Shanghai have continuously supported Nongnuch from 2019 to 2020 until the family reaches an agreement. If she wants to borrow money to return to Thailand, she can do so according to the regulations and repayment can be made later,” Amnat said.
Earlier, Nongnuch gave a video call interview to Khaosod Online in which she narrated her story. She said that after her marriage, she travelled to live with her Chinese husband. After two months, her husband changed and became violent. When she reported the incident to the police, they called her husband and asked him to reconcile with her. She was forced to return home with him.
Nongnuch videocalled from Beijing.
Afterwards, she was held captive and abused while she was forbidden to contact her parents and friends.
Later, her parents asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for help, and officials came to her husband’s house to look for her. Her husband allowed her to speak to her parents on the phone and confirmed that she was still alive. She took advantage of a moment when her husband was not paying attention and escaped by riding an electric bicycle from the house to Shanghai without a passport and without money.
She sought help from Thai friends. She had been working there for 5-6 months and had a few thousand baht in her possession. Then she approached the Thai Consulate General in Shanghai and asked for assistance to return to Thailand.
However, when her visa expired, she was referred to the Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing, which was closer to her husband’s house. The officials informed her that she would have to pay about 100,000 baht for repatriation, which she did not know where to get.
She now turns to the relevant government authorities for help in organizing her return to Thailand.
Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL. (CPF) and its business partner, Nichirei Fresh Inc., a leading Japanese seafood supplier, are committed to leveraging a socially and environmentally responsible food supply chain in response to consumers’ worldwide preference for products produced using environmentally and ethically responsible practices and procedures.
The two companies have recently launched the “CPF-Nichirei’s collaborative biodiversity and mangrove ecosystem protection” project to help mitigate the impacts of global warming, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs).
Mr. Motohiro Kiuchi, Group Leader Shrimp Group (Marine Products Procurement Group 2), Marine Products Division of Nichirei Fresh Inc., together with Mr.Winai Danvattana, Consultant for Shrimp Farm Business as Head of working group mangrove strategic plan at Trat province, and Mr. Sutee Smudraprabhud, CPF’s CSR & Biodiversity Stewardship Director, led volunteers from CPF and the community to cultivate 1,400 mangrove trees on 2 rai of coastal wetland in Tha Prig subdistrict of Trat province as part of the kick-off activity of this project.
They jointly grew variety kinds of mangrove trees include the Spurred mangrove, the Ceriops decandra, the Red-brown mangrove, and the Fish poison trees, etc.
Mr. Motohiro Kiuchi said that Nichirei is committed to conducting business ethically and responsibly, adhering to the “Circular Economy” principle throughout the supply chain. The company prioritizes sustainable partnerships that focus on the environment, human rights, and favorable working conditions.
This collaborative effort is consistent with Nichirei’s sustainability policy and aims to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs) and to help mitigate impacts from the climate change. Additionally, the company is aware that Japanese consumers are placing a greater emphasis on eco-friendly products.
“I’ve been to the CPF Grow Share Protect mangrove forest several times and am very impressed. I’m pleased that Nichirei initiated the mangrove forest conservation collaboration project with CPF. This joint effort promotes sustainable seafood sourcing and restores the mangrove ecosystem and coastal natural resources, both of which are essential components of the shrimp supply chain. As the market leader in Japan, Nichirei emphasized that growing mangrove forests is our mission to ensure the sustainable growth of the shrimp business,” said Motohiro.
Mr. Winai Danvattana stated that as the world’s leading food producer, CPF prioritizes resilient food security and is committed to sustainability in food production. In response to the global initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as the company is dependent on natural resources, we are emphasizing that every mouthful is meaningful and promoting sustainable consumption for a sustainable world.
In addition, we have consistently contributed to the growth of our business partners based on the commitment to safeguarding biodiversity and upholding the ecological balance in the long term.
“This collaborative effort demonstrates that two companies share a commitment to ethical and environmentally responsible business practices. Today’s global consumers seek out products derived from an ethical production process. This offers the company and its partners new opportunities for sustainable growth,” concluded Winai.
They would believe that having a drug party in China is really difficult. However, travelling to Thailand to have such a party may not be a choice either.
Pol. Col. Teerasak Chantarapiphat, Superintendent of the Youth and Women Welfare Centre, together with Narcotics Control Board officers raided an entertainment venue, Diamond KTV Bar, located at Meri massage parlour on New Petchaburi Road, Bangkapi Subdistrict, Huai Khwang District, Bangkok at 3 a.m. on June 2. The squad discovered 48 Chinese visitors, including 18 women and 30 men, who opened four karaoke rooms to party and take drugs.
During the investigation, the police found cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy, happy water and a lot of drug paraphernalia. The police seized everything as evidence and examined the urine of all the tourists.
Teerasak said that this entertainment facility will open KTV karaoke rooms for Chinese tourists. The service is offered from 10 p.m. till morning. This is a well-known place for drug activities among the Chinese. Thais are not allowed to enter this place.
This place usually serves high-income customers. The service charge for karaoke is 100,000 baht for 6 hours, from opening time until the next morning. Each room has its own DJ and has a service staff. The room must be booked in advance.
The bar is located inside Meri’s massage parlour, but the massage parlour is not in service. Customers had to walk through the end of the corridor to find the Diamond KTV Bar with LED lights decorated with astronaut dolls. There are a total of 8 suites arranged by numbers, which are room 801, 802, 805, 806, 803, 777, 888 and 999.
According to preliminary investigations, the four groups of arrested tourists were not from the same group and met by chance at a restaurant in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang District known as “Huai Khwang Province of China” or “Second China Town.” Following that, the guide recommended the location that sparked their interest.
The police took two weeks to investigate before the day of action. They found similar activities to those of the Jinling Pub arrested on November 26, 2022.
Jinling Pub was an entertainment venue in Bangkok’s Yannawa area. When authorities raided it in October 2022, it drew attention and made headlines. They’ve discovered a link between a call-center scam ring and Jinling Pub.
Chuwit Kamolvisit, a former massage parlour mogul turned whistleblower, claims Jinling Pub is a massive entertainment facility in Bangkok with a casino, VIP and karaoke rooms for drug usage, and prostitution. Chuwit also provided information to the authorities about purported Chinese triads operating in Thailand and using the Jinling nightclub as a base. In December, an arrest warrant was issued for accused triad chief Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant.
The Journal of Applied Science and Engineering Progress, published by the Department of Academic Enhancement, Office of the President and sponsored by KMUTNB, has been recognized for its exceptional performance at the TCI-TSRI Collaboration Project Conference held on May 26, 2023, at the Eastin Grand Payathai Hotel in Bangkok.
This journal, under the editorship of Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Suchart Siengchin, was awarded the Outstanding Performance Award, a testament to its continuous improvement and significant contributions to the field.
Since 2018, the Journal of Applied Science and Engineering Progress has received support from the TCI-TSRI Collaboration Project, and its quality has consistently improved. In 2019, the journal achieved another significant milestone by being accepted into the SCOPUS database. This recognition further reflects the journal’s commitment to excellence in scientific research and engineering advancements.
Also, the Outstanding Performance Award acknowledges the diligent efforts of the editorial team, authors, and reviewers who have contributed to its success. Under the leadership of Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Suchart Siengchin, the journal has become a reputable source of research in the field of applied science and engineering.
SPRC in corporation with Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate Office and Education Division, Map Ta Phut Municipality Organize “New Gen Stop Drugs” activity
Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited or SPRC carries on “Network of Youth Leaders Volunteer with Nong Star” project by organizing New Gen Stop Drugs activity. Pat, Power Pat joined the activity with other special guests to share experiences, inspire and provide intensive knowledge. The objective is to help vulnerable youth in Rayong communities to stay away from drugs, grow up with good quality of life and be a part of the development of the country.
This event was held at Bodithong Conference Room, Map Ta Phut Municipal Public Health Center Building, Muang Rayong, Rayong Province. Mr.Supoj Tor-ardharn, Deputy Governor of Rayong Province, presided over the opening with Mr.Chakaj Pattanasri, Director of Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate Office, Mr.Tawin Phothibuathong, Mayor of Map Ta Phut, and Mr.Pongkorn Chochuwong, General Manager – Operational Excellence, SPRC. A total of 50 junior high school students from Map Ta Phut Phanpittayakarn School, Rayong Wittayakom School Industrial Estate and Map Ta Phut Municipal School joined the activity as a network of youth leaders volunteers.
Mr.Pongkorn Chochuwong, General Manager – Operational Excellence, SPRC, said that “SPRC has organized “New Gen Stop Drugs”, a two-day activity on 30th and 31st May, 2023 under ‘Network of Youth Leaders Volunteer with Nong Star’ project, realizing that drugs is a serious threat to health and future of the drug addicts, especially for young people who play important role in the development of country. Our volunteers will act as mentors to monitor and help vulnerable youth in Rayong province to stay away from drugs, grow up with good quality of life and be a part of the development of the country.”
Mr. Pongkorn added that this training was supported by celebrities who shared their knowledge and experiences, as well as special guests who joined us to educate the youth volunteers and share their knowledge and understandings to help the youth of Rayong.
On the first day, the morning was a study trip at Huay Pong Open Prison, Rayong Province. The afternoon was the opening ceremony of the Youth Leadership Training Project, followed by knowledge and experiences sharing from “Worayot Boonthongnum” (Pat Power Pat) as a special guest.
Day two activities start with relationship building activities by Jam Bunjerd Team, followed by a lecture on “Drugs” by Pol.Lt. Songsak Tomkam, Deputy Inspector of Pak Nam Prasae Police Station, Rayong Provincial Police. Next is a brainstorming session for a project to carry on the commitment of “New Gen Stop Drugs” and come up with a project for the year. The last activity was a lecture to cultivate loyalty by Arom Kwanmuang, then, concluded with a certification ceremony for trainees with atmosphere of happiness and joy.
This is one of the activities for the society which SPRC is committed to support the participation of youth and build strong society and communities in Rayong.
