On May 10, Nonthaburi Provincial Court sentenced two defendants in the case of famous Thai actress “Tangmo,” Nida Patcharaveerapong, who drowned after falling from a speedboat, but ordered them to three years on parole.
Thanupat Lerttaweewit, or “Por,” the owner of the speed boat, and helmsman “Robert” Paibul Trikanchananan were found guilty of carelessness, which resulted in Tangmo’s death by drowning in 2022. After pleading guilty in the Criminal Court on March 2, 2023, they were also found guilty of operating a boat without a legal licence.
Tangmo’s mother, Por (right), and Robert (left) give an interview after the verdict.
Defendants 1 and 2 received a 50% reduction in penalty as a result of their confessions. Por would have been imprisoned for 2 years and 9 months and fined 64,000 baht, while Robert would have been imprisoned for 2 years and 2 months and fined 54,000 baht, but the punishment has been wait for 3 years each.
The court gave the two defendants one year to report to the probation officer four times and to report to and get training at the Nonthaburi Provincial Court’s psychosocial therapy clinic during that time.
Tangmo Nida died on February 24, 2022, after falling from a speedboat into the Chao Phraya River. Her body was discovered two days later, and the Royal Thai Police determined that there was no foul play in her death, but charged six persons for “recklessness” and complicity in her murder.
Panida Siriyutyothin
Panida Siriyutyothin, the late Tangmo’s mother, expressed relief today that the two men will not be imprisoned. Both have been looking after her for the past year and three months.
The verdict of the court shows that justice has already been served. She is satisfied, not because of the money they have paid her, but because the two defendants feel guilty and the cure is completed. She has forgiven them, as they thanked her.
After finishing the press interview, they all posed for a group photo in front of the cameras. Mrs. Panida hugged Po and Robert as well, and the two men bid her farewell.
Mr. Methee or Boss Chinnapa and Ms. Wantanee or Dear Tipprawej
On 10 May, in Room 802 of the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road, the judge delivered the verdict in the Mae Manee Ponzi scheme case, black case number 167/2563, with Prosecution 1 as the prosecutor. The accused were Ms Wantanee or Dear Tipprawej and Mr Methee or Boss Chinnapa, the husband and wife and a group of nine others. They were jointly accused of defrauding the public through a loan scam.
The case occurred between 9 March 2019 and 30 October 2020, and the nine defendants worked together to deceive the public about computer systems by manipulating or falsifying computer data to entice people to save or invest with the promise of higher returns than usual.
In reality, it was just a ploy to obtain the assets and gold values of the deceived victims. The scam caused a total loss of 1.37 billion baht to 2,533 people.
Ms. Wantanee, or Dear Tipprawej, posted her photo to promote her luxurious lifestyle.
The defendants dishonestly took the above money for their personal benefit and borrowed money from more than 10 lenders, with a total loan amount of at least 5 million baht each, which did not come from financial institutions as defined in the Financial Institutions Interest Rates Act.
The acts of all nine Ponzi scheme perpetrators are criminal and include various offences committed in all districts and areas of Bangkok as well as in other provinces.
The court held that both the first and second accused committed different offences depending on the charge and they were convicted of the most serious offence of defrauding the public through fraudulent loans. The total number of cases was 2528, with 5 years imprisonment for each count, this gives a total of 12,640 years imprisonment.
The two defendants admitted their wrongdoing and received a reduced sentence of 5,056 years and 15,168 months. However, the law provides that an accused cannot get more than 20 years imprisonment. The court sentenced both to 20 years imprisonment and ordered them to repay the money with interest to the victims.
However, the third to ninth accused did not have enough evidence against them and were acquitted.
E. Jean Carroll, center, walks out of Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
NEW YORK (AP) — A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.
The verdict was split: Jurors rejected Carroll’s claim that she was raped, finding Trump responsible for a lesser degree of sexual abuse. The judgment adds to Trump’s legal woes and offers vindication to Carroll, whose allegations had been mocked and dismissed by Trump for years.
She nodded as the verdict was announced in a New York City federal courtroom only three hours after deliberations had begun, then hugged supporters and smiled through tears. As the courtroom cleared, Carroll could be heard laughing and crying.
E. Jean Carroll, second from right, arrives at Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in New York. A jury in New York City is set to begin deliberations in a civil trial over Carroll’s claims that Donald Trump raped her in a luxury Manhattan department store. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Jurors also found Trump liable for defaming Carroll over her allegations. Trump did not attend the civil trial and was absent when the verdict was read.
Trump immediately lashed out on his social media site, claiming that he does not know Carroll and referring to the verdict as “a disgrace” and “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.” He promised to appeal.
Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, shook hands with Carroll and hugged her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, after the verdict was announced. Outside the courthouse, he told reporters the jury’s rejection of the rape claim while finding Trump responsible for sexual abuse was “perplexing” and “strange.”
“Part of me was obviously very happy that Donald Trump was not branded a rapist,” he said.
He defended Trump’s absence, citing the trial’s “circus atmosphere.” He said having Trump there “would be more of a circus.”
Tacopina added: “What more can you say other than ‘I didn’t do it’?”
In a written statement, Kaplan said the verdict proved nobody is above the law, “not even the president of the United States.”
Carroll, in her own statement, said she sued Trump to “clear my name and to get my life back. Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”
In this image taken from video released by Kaplan Hecker & Fink, former President Donald Trump answers questions during his Oct. 19, 2022, (Kaplan Hecker & Fink via AP)
It was unclear what, if any, implications the verdict would have on Trump’s third presidential bid. He’s in a commanding position among GOP contenders and has faced few political consequences in the wake of previous controversies, ranging from the vulgar “Access Hollywood” tape to his New York criminal indictment.
His GOP rivals were mostly silent after the verdict, a sign of their reluctance to cross Trump supporters who are critical to winning the presidential nomination. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, one of the few vocal Trump critics in the race, said the verdict was “another example of the indefensible behavior of Donald Trump.”
Carroll was one of more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment. She went public in a 2019 memoir with her allegation that the Republican raped her in the dressing room of a posh Manhattan department store.
Trump, 76, denied it, saying he never encountered Carroll at the store and did not know her. He has called her a “nut job” who invented “a fraudulent and false story” to sell a memoir.
Carroll, 79, sought unspecified damages, plus a retraction of what she said were Trump’s defamatory denials of her claims.
The trial revisited the lightning-rod topic of Trump’s conduct toward women.
Carroll gave multiple days of frank, occasionally emotional testimony, buttressed by two friends who testified that she reported the alleged attack to them soon afterward.
Jurors also heard from Jessica Leeds, a former stockbroker who testified that Trump abruptly groped her against her will on an airline flight in the 1970s, and from Natasha Stoynoff, a writer who said Trump forcibly kissed her against her will while she was interviewing him for a 2005 article.
The six-man, three-woman jury also saw the well-known 2005 “Access Hollywood” hot-mic recording of Trump talking about kissing and grabbing women without asking.
The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll, Leeds and Stoynoff have done.
The verdict comes as Trump faces an accelerating swirl of legal risks.
He’s fighting a New York criminal case related to hush money payments made to a porn actor. The state attorney general has sued him, his family and his business over alleged financial wrongdoing.
Joseph Tacopina, former President Donald Trump’s lawyer, speaks to reporters as he leaves federal court in New York, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Trump is also contending with investigations into his possible mishandling of classified documents, his actions after the 2020 election and his activities during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump denies wrongdoing in all of those matters.
Carroll, who penned an Elle magazine advice column for 27 years, has also written for magazines and “Saturday Night Live.” She and Trump were in social circles that overlapped at a 1987 party, where a photo documented them and their then-spouses interacting. Trump has said he doesn’t remember it.
According to Carroll, she ended up in a dressing room with Trump after they ran into each other at Bergdorf Goodman on an unspecified Thursday evening in spring 1996.
They took an impromptu jaunt to the lingerie department so he could search for a women’s gift and soon were teasing each other about trying on a skimpy bodysuit, Carroll testified. To her, it seemed like comedy, something like her 1986 “Saturday Night Live” sketch in which a man admires himself in a mirror.
But then, she said, Trump slammed the door, pinned her against a wall, planted his mouth on hers, yanked her tights down and raped her as she tried to break away. Carroll said she ultimately pushed him off with her knee and immediately left the store.
“I always think back to why I walked in there to get myself in that situation,” she testified, her voice breaking, “but I’m proud to say I did get out.”
She never called police or noted it in her diary. Carroll said she kept silent for fear Trump would retaliate, out of shame and because she worried that people would see her as somewhat responsible for being attacked.
The jury awarded Carroll $2 million for Trump’s sexual abuse and $20,000 in punitive damages. For defamation, jurors awarded $1 million for Trump’s October statement, another $1.7 million for harm to Carroll’s reputation and $280,000 in punitive damages.
Tacopina told jurors Carroll invented her claims after hearing about a 2012 “Law and Order” episode in which a woman is raped in the dressing room of the lingerie section of a Bergdorf Goodman store.
Carroll “cannot produce any objective evidence to back up her claim because it didn’t happen,” he told jurors. He accused her of “advancing a false claim of rape for money, for political reasons and for status.”
In questioning Carroll, he sought to cast doubt on her description of fighting off the far heavier Trump without dropping her handbag or ripping her tights, and without anyone around to hear or see them in the lingerie section.
The lawyer pressed her about — by her own account — not screaming, looking for help while fleeing the store or seeking out medical attention, security video or police.
Carroll reproached him.
“I’m telling you he raped me, whether I screamed or not,” she said.
There’s no possibility of Trump being charged with attacking Carroll, as the legal time limit has long since passed.
For similar reasons, she initially filed her civil case as a defamation lawsuit, saying Trump’s derogatory denials had subjected her to hatred, shredded her reputation and harmed her career.
Then, starting last fall, New York state gave people a chance to sue over sexual assault allegations that would otherwise be too old. Carroll was one of the first to file.
_____
LARRY NEUMEISTER, JENNIFER PELTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK reported from New York.
The Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok (JCC) elected Mr. Noriaki Yamashita as new President for 2023-2024 at the Annual General Meeting held on April 28, 2023 at Centara Grand Hotel.
JCC is one of largest foreign business community in Thailand with more than 1,600 member companies (as of end of April 2023), with more than 60 years history since 1954.
Picture shows from left :
Treasurer :Mr. Takashi Toyoda
Country Head of Thailand and General Manager
of Bangkok Branch Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Vice President :Mr. Yoshihiro Sugeta
Managing Director Hitachi Asia (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
Vice President :Mr. Takeo Kato
President and CEO Mitsui & Co. (Thailand) Ltd.
Vice President :Mr. Hiroyasu Sato
President Mitsubishi Co., (Thailand) Ltd
President : Mr. Noriaki YamashitaPresident
Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd.
Vice President:Mr. Kozo To
President Sumitomo Corporation Thailand Ltd.
Vice President and :Mr. Kazuo Hidaka
Chairman of GeneralPresident AffairsCommitteeMarubeni Thailand Co., Ltd.
Vice President :Mr. Takashi Yoshida
President Itochu (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
Vice President :Mr. Bunsei Okubo
Head of Japanese Corporate Banking Bank of Ayudhya Public Co., Ltd.
Executive ManagingMr. Nobuyuki Ishii
Director :Executive Managing Director Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok
During this period, parents took their children to buy school uniforms and other necessities for school in preparation for the new semester which strart from May 15.
Parents may also bring gold or valuables to pawn or to sell in order to make money for their children. As a result of economic inflation, the cost of various items, including semester expenses, increases.
Parents took their children to buy school uniforms at shop in Sampeng Market, Bangkok.
Kasikorn Research presents its survey on families’ financial readiness for the school, which will open in the 2023 semester. A total of 10.4 million students (from kindergarten to high school) are expected to start school this semester, a 0.9 per cent increase from 2022.
68.5 per cent of parents said they were worried about family finances in the 2023 semester. The figure is slightly better than the same period last year as the economy has returned to normal and the tourism industry has gained momentum, leading to higher revenue in the service sector.
Some parents sell their gold in order to support their children financially.
The survey shows that the lower-to-middle income group (less than 40,000 baht per month) and those who have more than one child to study are most concerned about their financial situation. The majority of parents choose to save in order to spend money on their children.
The survey also found that spending on education has increased by 5 per cent compared to the same period last year, to a total of 28.5 billion baht. Some of the reasons are the increase in tuition fees and inflation in products.
Tuition fees (excluding international schools) increased by an average of 4.8 per cent year-on-year, equivalent to 23.8 billion baht.
The cost of student uniforms and other school equipment increased by about 8 per cent year-on-year, equivalent to 2.7 billion baht.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, center, stands with other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to listen to ASEAN anthem during the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool)
LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders condemned an armed attack on an aid convoy that the regional group had arranged for displaced people in Myanmar, calling Wednesday for an immediate stop to violence and for the military government to comply with a peace plan.
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations convened in the picturesque harbor town of Labuan Bajo in southern Indonesia at the start of a two-day summit. Their host, President Joko Widodo, called for unity amid global economic headwinds and major-power rivalry that’s lashing the region.
The 10-nation bloc is also being pressed to address the crisis underway in member state Myanmar.
Over the weekend, a convoy delivering aid to displaced villagers and carrying Indonesian and Singaporean diplomats came under fire by unidentified men armed with pistols in Myanmar’s eastern Shan state. A security team with the convoy returned fire and a vehicle was damaged, but no one in the convoy was injured, state-run television MRTV reported.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., right, stands with other ASEAN leaders, listen ASEAN anthem during the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool)
Indonesia, which serves as ASEAN’s chair this year, had arranged for the delivery of the aid after a long-delayed assessment.
“We condemned the attack and underlined that the perpetrators must be held accountable,” the ASEAN leaders said in a joint statement Wednesday.
For the second year, the top general of member state Myanmar was not invited to the summit. He and his army forcibly took power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 in a power grab that degenerated into a civil strife in what has become ASEAN’s gravest crisis since its 1967 founding.
From left to right, Philippine’s President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and East Timorese Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak hold hands as they pose for photographers during the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Akbar Nugroho Gumay/Pool Photo via AP)
ASEAN leaders said they were “deeply concerned with ongoing violence in Myanmar and urged the immediate cessation of all forms of violence and the use of force to create a conducive environment for the safe and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogues.”
In an additional concern involving Myanmar, Indonesian officials said Sunday that 20 of their nationals, who were trafficked into Myanmar and forced to perform cyber scams, had been freed from Myanmar’s Myawaddy township and brought to the Thai border over the weekend. During the summit, ASEAN leaders planned to express their concern over such human trafficking schemes in a joint statement, a draft copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
Indonesian soldiers stand guard at Labuan Bajo bay ahead of the 42nd China Trade meetings in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
More than 3,450 civilians have been killed by security forces since Myanmar’s military forcibly took power, and thousands more remain imprisoned, said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which keeps tallies of casualties and arrests linked to repression by the military government.
In April, military airstrikes killed as many as 100 people, including many children, who were attending a ceremony by opponents of army rule, according to witnesses. Human Rights Watch on Tuesday described the strike as an “apparent war crime.”
Indonesia has considerably eased its fierce criticism of Myanmar’s military since assuming the rotating role as ASEAN’s leader. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said her country is taking “a non-megaphone diplomacy approach” to encourage dialogue and end violence, which are goals of a five-point peace plan Southeast Asian leaders negotiated with Myanmar’s top general in 2021.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, left, talks with his East Timorese counterpart Taur Matan Ruak during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Willy Kurniawan/Pool Photo via AP)
Under international pressure to do more to address the violence, ASEAN leaders stopped inviting Myanmar’s top general to their summits after the military seized power, allowing only non-political representatives. Myanmar’s military rulers have protested the move as a violation of the bloc’s non-interference policy.
In a post-summit communique to be issued by Widodo on behalf of the ASEAN leaders, they plan to renew a call for self-restraint in the disputed South China Sea, repeating language used in previous ASEAN statements.
“Concerns were expressed by some ASEAN member states on the land reclamations, activities, and serious incidents in the area, including damage to the marine environment, which has eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions, and may undermine peace, security, and stability in the region,” said a draft of the communique, which was obtained by the AP.
The leaders will also raise alarm over the trafficking of Southeast Asian workers forced to commit online crypto currency frauds.
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JIM GOMEZ and EDNA TARIGAN reported from LABUAN BAJO.
Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CP Foods) received the Global Good Governance Awards (3G Awards), receiving two awards: the 3G Best Sustainability Framework Award 2023 for its outstanding corporate sustainability practices and the 3G Best CSR Programme Award 2023 for its significant CSR initiatives that create value for the society and the environment.
The prestigious award ceremony was recently organized by the United Kingdom’s Cambridge IFA International Financial Advisory, at the Global Good Governance Summit 2023 which held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
CP Foods is awarded the 3G Best Sustainability Framework Award 2023 for establishing policies and strategies to promote environmental and social sustainability in order to consistently generate economic benefits, create value for society and the environment, and ensure food security. The company is committed to placing an emphasis on innovation development and the utilzation of technology in the food production process to move forward to achieving a Net-Zero emissions goal by 2050.
The 3G Best CSR Program Award 2023 was presented in recognition of CP Foods’ exemplary social responsibility commitments to conserve and restore ecosystem and biodiversity by implementing forest conservation and restoration projects, such as the CPF Rak Ni-Ves at Phraya Doen Thong Mountain Project and the CPF Grow-Share- Protect Mangrove Forestation Project.
The 3G Awards honored governments, businesses, and individuals from all over the world for their leadership in sustainable social responsibility and good governance practices. The winners were selected by the award committee at Cambridge IFA with prioritized transparency, social responsibility, sustainability, positive impact on the community, and innovation.
If you are planning to visit Phuket to escape the searing heat, we have some great suggestions to help you to chill! Don’t wait any longer – pack your bags and fly straight to Blue Tree Phuket where a complete range of activities boasting the slogan “Entertainment Hub, Thrill & Chill, Day & Night” is on offer to suit all ages and lifestyles. Whether you prefer thrills or just want to relax, you’re guaranteed a blast that makes the cost of admission more than worthwhile!
When you arrive at Blue Tree Phuket, first cool down and relax in the free areas (except for the Blue Tree Lagoon zone) and plan where you want to start playing. Here are some ideas to help you decide what will be the most fun .
For the thrill-seekers.
The most challenging and hottest activity is the “Superfly” where you soar through the air before plunging into the water on the longest slide in Thailand! There are four levels of challenges with heights ranging from 6-10 meters waiting to greet thrill-seeking visitors. If that’s not enough to get your adrenaline flowing, try the “Flyboard,” an extreme sport that will take you to the sky, soaring over the water while admiring the views of the Crystal Lagoon below. Still not satisfied? Test your courage by shooting down the “Zipline,” another sport that will take you across the shore while enjoying the stunning views from a high angle of Blue Tree Lagoon. When you reach the cliff, let your heart go and “cliff jump” facing the ultimate challenge with heights of 5 and 10 meters. Or if that’s still not enough, go “rock climbing” to increase your strength, then jump into the Crystal Lagoon to fully satisfy your adventurous spirit!
Next, take a break from the excitement and enjoy the beautiful panoramic view of Crystal Lagoon with some light activities such as “Paddle Board”. Then, get ready for some action with the sport of “Muay Talay” (Sea Boxing) as boxers flex their muscles and show off their skills. If you still have the energy, try the exhilarating “Skimboard”, a sport with small boards that allows you to glide on the shallow waters and practice various techniques to enhance your skills and increase the fun even more.
Now indulge in some chill activities…
If you’re not into extreme sports, there are plenty of cool and enjoyable activities to enjoy. For the active, there’s Padel Tennis, the hottest sport from Europe that is easy to play and suitable for all ages and genders on a standard court of 10×20 meters, Water Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Beach Tennis, Darts and Contemporary Dance Class. In the mood for just relaxing? Then watching Blue Tree’s Aquatic Shows featuring special performances from underwater diving teams, cliff diving, and the super-exciting Extreme Sports Champion Flyboard, which guarantees a thrill a minute!
If you prefer just some light exercise, Blue Tree Forest, a garden area of over 50 acres, is the place to enjoy mountain biking, disc golf, surf skate, the outdoor gym, and more.
Something for the kids too
Parents don’t have to worry because we have Kids Planet, a supervised kids club that takes care of children from 1.5-6 years old. Kids can participate in various skill-building activities under the guidance of knowledgeable and experienced staff who understand tiny tots. The staff have been trained to international standards based on cleanliness and safety.
Additionally, there are many fun areas such as a large trampoline park, roller-skating rink, water park, climbing net, and various types of zip lines (Zipline), Ninja Warrior, and Tarzan & Jane zone in the Laguna area. These areas provide space for families, both children and parents, to have fun together with different kinds of slides.
Take a break and indulge in some delicious international cuisine…
There are plenty of options available when it comes to international food such as Bay Grill restaurant or a sunset drink at the Sunset View Tapas Bar. You can also try the Italian restaurant “Made In Italy”, and many more.
After satisfying your palate take a leisurely stroll to the Lifestyle Village Zone, which offers various lifestyle activities. Check-in and enjoy the beautiful tropical atmosphere, shop for trendy clothing, visit the relaxation massage shop, get your nails done, appreciate the art and paint on the walls, or take lots of photos at various attractions. available. Warning! The memory card may quickly become full!
Moreover, the Blue Tree Phuket – the ultimate entertainment hub – has a packed menu of entertaining activities every Saturday. Entitled “Wansao Picnic in the Park”, there is something for everyone including games, art workshops, markets, food stalls, movies and more.
With all that’s being offered at Blue Tree Phuket, it easy to understand how it lives up to its slogan of “Entertainment Hub, Thrill & Chill, Day & Night”. And these activities are just teasers for the complete fun experience. Stepping into Blue Tree Phuket is like entering into a new world thanks to its unique fun-filled activities. We promise you’ll have the time of your life so come and see for yourself.
For more information, please call at 076-602435 or click www.bluetree.fun/
The four individuals under investigation for possible involvement in the robbery of a Rolex specialty store in Tokyo’s upmarket Ginza shopping district are aged between 16 and 19 and were unacquainted with each other, investigative sources said Tuesday.
The four were arrested Monday after being spotted near a minivan apparently used to flee from Quark Ginza 888, where more than 100 wristwatches are believed to have been stolen earlier that day. Their arrest was not due to the robbery but for suspected trespassing in a nearby apartment building in Tokyo’s Minato Ward during their escape.
The Metropolitan Police Department have also confiscated smartphones owned by two of the four and are analyzing it to find out if the teens had been recruited for “yami baito,” literally meaning “dark part-time work.”
Another suspect in the robbery, which took place at around 6:15 p.m. on Monday, may still be at large, the sources said, after receiving eyewitness information that five people were spotted fleeing the scene of the crime.
One of the four in custody is 16, another is an 18-year-old high school student and the other two are both 19, the sources said. They are all residents of Yokohama, near Tokyo.
The sources said the high school senior denied trespassing in the apartment building, while the other three admitted doing so.
Some passersby appeared oblivious to the robbery, which took place at a time when the area was still busy with pedestrians.
Screen grab from video footage taken by an eyewitness shows three masked robbers fleeing a Rolex specialty store in Tokyo’s upmarket Ginza shopping district on May 8, 2023. (Kyodo)
“I thought there was a shooting of a movie. I initially could not believe it was an incident,” said a 35-year-old Tokyo man, who witnessed the masked individuals ransacking the store despite some people watching them from outside.
Eyewitness footage shows three masked individuals carrying what appeared to be crowbars, which they used to smash display cases before putting the luxury watches in black bags and fleeing in a waiting minivan. The video also shows passersby being verbally threatened as the robbers left the scene.
The police found the minivan about 3 kilometers from the store, the sources said, adding that it is believed to be a rental vehicle with a switched license plate.
They found and seized a black bag near the minivan containing around 30 watches and are confirming whether the watches are those stolen from the specialty store, the sources said.
The minivan’s bumper was damaged, suggesting it had been in an accident, the sources said.
The police said that a mask similar to those worn by the three people in the footage was also found in the area in Minato Ward where the four were apprehended.
As the four arrested wore different clothes from the three who broke into the specialty store, they may have changed their attire following the incident, such as while inside the minivan, the sources said.
None of the five sales staff in the store at the time of the robbery was injured.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his speech during the Victory Day military parade marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II in Red square in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 9, 2022. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday told his country’s traditional Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square that the West’s “untamed ambitions, arrogance and impunity” are driving “a real war” against Russia, while the Kremlin’s forces fired another cruise missile barrage at Ukraine.
“Today civilization is once again at a decisive turning point,” Putin said at the annual commemorations celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. “A real war has been unleashed against our Motherland.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his speech during the Victory Day military parade marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II in Red square in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 9, 2022. (Dmitry Astakhov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Putin’s remarks came just hours after the Kremlin’s forces fired its latest barrage of cruise missiles at Ukraine, which Russia invaded more than 14 months ago in what it officially refers to as a “special military operation.”
Ukrainian authorities said air defenses destroyed 23 of the 25 missiles that were launched. The air force said in a Telegram post that eight Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from carriers in the Black Sea toward the east and 17 from strategic aircraft.
Putin has repeatedly framed the war in Ukraine as a proxy conflict with the West. The Kremlin’s official narrative of the war depicts an existential battle with the West, which in Moscow’s view is merely using Ukraine as a tool to destroy Russia, re-write its history and crush its traditional values. That version of events has dominated Russian state media coverage of the war.
Military vehicles move toward Red Square to attend a Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Putin praised soldiers taking part in the war in Ukraine and urged Russians to stand together.
“Our heroic ancestors proved that there is nothing stronger, more powerful and more reliable than our unity. There is nothing in the world stronger than our love for the motherland,” Putin said.
He blasted “Western globalist elites” that “harp about their exclusivity, pit people against each other, divide society and provoke bloody conflicts and coups, sow hatred, Russophobia.”
But there were signs the Ukraine war is taking a toll on Russia. Military analysts say the Russian military has struggled with ammunition supplies, troop morale and poor leadership and organization. The conflict largely became a war of attrition over the winter after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022 came up short.
Russian soldiers march toward Red Square to attend a Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
The parade this year appeared shorter and much more pared-back than usual. Only some 8,000 troops marched in Red Square this year — the lowest number since 2008. Even the parade in 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, featured some 13,000 soldiers, and last year, 11,000 troops took part.
Unlike in previous years, there was no fly-over of military jets, and less equipment was on show in the parade. The event, unusually, lasted less than an hour.
Russia also enacted a major security clampdown for the commemorations. Authorities curbed the use of drones and ride-sharing services in Moscow and even jet skis on the canals of St. Petersburg.
Bastions, Russian mobile coastal defence missile system launchers, roll during the Victory Day military parade at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9 to celebrate 78 years after the victory in World War II, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Russian media counted 24 Russian cities that canceled May 9 military parades — the staple of celebrations across Russia — for the first time in years. Regional officials blamed unspecified “security concerns” or vaguely referred to “the current situation” for the restrictions and cancellations. It wasn’t clear whether their decisions were taken in coordination with the Kremlin.
Last week, Russia was alarmed by two Ukrainian drones that in murky circumstances reportedly flew into the heart of Moscow under the cover of darkness and reached the Kremlin before being shot down. Other drones said to be fired by Ukraine have also hit Russian oil depots near the border.
Military vehicles move toward Red Square to attend a Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
The Immortal Regiment processions, in which crowds take to the streets holding portraits of relatives who died or served in World War II — another pillar of the holiday — have also been canceled in multiple cities. Some speculated, that the reason for this was not security but the fact that Russians might bring portraits of relatives who died in Ukraine to those processions, illustrating the scale of Russia’s losses in the drawn-out conflict.
The Red Square guest list was also light amid Putin’s broad diplomatic isolation over the war. Initially, only one foreign leader was expected to attend this year’s parade — Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov. That was one more foreign guest than last year, when no leaders went.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu salutes his soldiers as he is driven along Red Square in the Aurus Senat car during the Victory Day military parade marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II in Red square in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 9, 2022. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
At the last minute on Monday, officials announced that the leaders of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were heading to Moscow as well.
The cruise missiles directed at Ukraine were launched hours before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union’s executive branch, arrived in Kyiv.
Ukraine is keen to join the European Union, but membership has many requirements and is still a long way off. Ukraine is also hoping to join NATO, after moving close to the Western military alliance during the war with Russia.
In the latest help from a NATO member, the U.S. was expected to announce Tuesday that it will provide $1.2 billion more in long-term military aid to Ukraine to further bolster its air defenses.
Russian soldiers march toward Red Square to attend a Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
