Stories tagged with law
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Exploitation workshop held at Chedi Hotel
The unfortunate reality of sex tourism in Southeast Asia is only overshadowed by the strand that affects children. The longstanding issue of child sex tourism has been difficult to penetrate, but last week at the Chedi Hotel in Chiang Mai, a workshop was held entitled, ‘Sexual exploitation in Travel and Tourism’, to attempt to solve some of the most urgent issues.
The workshop was instigated by ECPAT, a Chiang Rai non-governmental organization that deals mostly with issues concerning child pornography, child prostitution and trafficking, along with Kuoni Travel Ltd. This workshop was the 5th of its kind in Thailand, with preceding events being held in Ko Samui, Phuket, Bangkok and Pattaya.
The head of Kuoni’s corporate responsibility Fausta Borsani and ECPAT’s Pravit Ekcharoensook played host at the event, with briefings on Thai law concerning the subject at hand clarified by Bangkok Royal Thai Police member Lt. Col. Panya Cheamted.
All parties admitted their disdain for the fact that Thailand was a premier global player in all three areas concerned, and that child pornography and child sex tourism are all too often directly linked. Various solutions were presented and all present hoped that headway could be made into the problem.
Posted by: DaveB on 03 Jun 2008, 19:57 -
Cockfighting in the spotlight
The Ministry of the Interior in Thailand has once again switched leaders, and as usual, palms have to be greased to keep the sport of cockfighting alive in its underground circuits. This time the animal rights organization that calls cockfighting barbaric and inciteful of violence, gambling and debauch, the Thai Animal Guardians Associations seeks to get to the Interior Minister before the cockfighters do.
Claims by the new interior minister that his aims are to clean up the streets and bring all activities under his eye within the scope of the law. This has given Thai AGA the impetus to call the minister out on allowing sport like cockfights to carry on.
Not only animal rights activists are speaking out against the sport, as the Ministry of Health have reminded the populous that avian flu can spread at events like cockfights, and in the last outbreak of avian flu, it was the fighting cock that carried the disease. Whether the long arm of the law or the briefcase under the table will prevail is anyone’s guess.
Posted by: DaveB on 20 May 2008, 19:56 -
German fugitive apprehended in Pattaya
A Hamburg native was picked up by Pattaya Police after it was found that he was on the lam from authorities in Germany for multiple accounts of credit card fraud. His arrest followed a coordinated investigation between Thai authorities, the German Embassy in Bangkok and the Hamburg Prosecutor’s Office.
40-year old Dirk Michelmann fled Europe after an arrest warrant was issued on September 14th, 2007. He gained entry to Thailand in January with a false passport and has been hiding out in a Pattaya guesthouse ever since. Police found Michelmann sitting in a beer bar adjacent to his accommodation last week and he was arrested in connection with 62 cases of credit card fraud, evading arrest in Europe and overstaying an already invalid visa in Thailand. Monies in excess of 6 million baht have been estimated to have been accrued through Michelmann’s illegal activities, and he now faces charges in Germany aside from his being blacklisted from Thailand under the 1979 Immigration Act.
Posted by: DaveB on 08 May 2008, 11:35 -
CM Police raid three drug houses
The local Police Departments in Chiang Mai and Lampang have seized three houses in the two areas of northern Thailand in connection with suspected drug baron Anant Salae, with a total property value of no less than 15 million baht. Salae himself was arrested in the Songkla province town of Hat Yai on April 30th, along with two men suspected of being his accomplices. Anant was found to be in possession of almost one and a half kilograms of heroin when police arrested the ringleader, which is now being held as evidence by Songkla Police until it is needed in future criminal proceedings.
Police have long suspected Anant was responsible for the trafficking of heroin and methamphetamines that would arrive in Thailand’s north from Burma for eventual distribution in the south of the country. There was much in the three houses that was seized in the raids following Anant’s arrest, including furniture, electronics and other household items. The investigation is ongoing and Thai police are attempting to locate other member’s of Anant’s gang.
Posted by: DaveB on 06 May 2008, 11:32 -
New drug war causes human rights concerns
It is well known that the northern Thai provinces were once notorious for opium production, and these days many farmers still use drugs as cash crops. Every year or so, the government of the Thai north’s biggest province, Chiang Mai, announces and implements a series of drug raids, seizing great amounts of drug crops, these days mostly marijuana.
A new war on drugs has been declared this year by Minister of the Interior Chalerm Yubamrung, and his policies are harsh. Some NGOs in the area have pressed authorities to abide by international human rights standards on their upcoming campaign, citing how the last raids under disposed PM Thaksin Shinawtra were criticized not only in Thailand but abroad for their inhumane blitzes of cruelty and intolerance.
A quote by the minister shows just how he plans to carry out his scheme, as he reports, “If drug dealers do not wish to die, they should change their ways. Whilst I am Interior Minister, drug suppression strategies will follow those used during former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s time in office. If this leads to the deaths of 3,000-4,000 criminals, then so be it. As to those of you in the opposition party, I will say that you care more about human rights than the drug problems in Thailand�.
Posted by: DaveB on 19 Apr 2008, 18:58 -
Investigation into Briton’s death ongoing
Investigations into the death of British tourist Mark Elliott in Chiang Mai late last month are still ongoing, but the cause of death seems to have been established by local doctors. The 34-year old Elliott arrived in Chiang Mai with his partner, 24-year old Claire Durie in the last week of March, intending to tour Thailand for their few weeks’ holiday. The couple checked into a guesthouse near Wat Phra Singh, and on the evening of the 20th, hit the town and began to drink heavily. The couple reportedly met friends in the Night Bazaar area, and the group met other friends at a bar.
As the revelry continued into the wee hours of the morning, the couple realized that they could not find their guesthouse. A security guard watching over a newly constructed building saw the state of the couple and offered them a finished room to sleep for the night. When Durie woke up, Elliott was dead beside her. When police and doctors from Maharaj hospital arrived, Durie told them that Elliott had suffered from a life-long illness that required medication, and had already been to Chiang Mai Ram hospital once before. It is that the drinking caused a relapse and cost Elliott his life. Information on the disease has not been released.
Posted by: DaveB on 16 Apr 2008, 18:59 -
Samui pilot avoids jail time for illegal flight
An Australian man who took off in a small Cessna plane from the Thai island of Ko Samui on January 22nd has avoided jail time for illegally entering Singaporean airspace on his flight. 59-year old Rhys Henry Thomas was charged 5,000 Singapore dollars for his crime, equivalent to USD$ 3,469.
This Monday Thomas pleaded guilty to illegally entering Singapore airspace on his flight from Thailand. He had not collected the required certificate of air worthiness needed to enter Singapore airspace, and part of the blame was placed on Australian authorities for not informing Mr. Thomas that such a document would be necessary if he planed to fly his own small planes around the regions of South Thailand or the Malay Peninsula.
Thomas’ flight was intercepted by two air force planes and he made a landing at Chengi International Airport in Singapore, holding up commercial traffic for 50 minutes.
Posted by: DaveB on 11 Apr 2008, 11:04 -
Small business speaks out against the chains
Small business owners in Thailand are concerned that their business are at risk form giant chain retail stores expanding all over the country and are prepared to march to the Commerce Ministry. They want to make sure they are protected from the blanketing effect of big western chain stores that drive the mom and pop shops out of business.
One small business operator told the media, "We don't know what the government's doing. But two months have passed and it hasn't made any move yet to revive the [first-ever] retail law to control the aggressive expansion of large, modern retailers."
The main aggressors in Thailand are Tesco Lotus, which seems to have control over most suburban city areas these days, as well as Carrefour. Ubiquitous 7-11 chains are still continuing to pop up in every imaginable place, which are putting pressure on local sundry shops that ensure the livelihood of so many families in Thailand.
Deputy Security General of the Thai chamber of Commerce Jit Siratranont said, "Without the city planning codes and the retail act, large enterprises will continue to cannibalise small minnows. The government should pay more attention to the act's passage as it would take more than three months to implement it afterwards."
Posted by: DaveB on 09 Apr 2008, 10:55 -
Thailand: New Cyber Law Due
The Information and Communications Technology Ministry of Thailand has bto date blocked more than 10,000 websites accused of carrying inappropriate materials. In near future, web site will not be blocked like this. A new law will come into effect under which any banning of websites will be done by court order only. The Nation has more detail.
Posted by: Watt on 03 Jul 2007, 14:21