Tragedy:Phaholyothin jumper

[Medic1669]

Regarding to 2Bangkok's withness report, Death on Rachada <http://www.2bangkok.com/news05q.shtml#death>, i'm sorry to say that the delay between the time of an emergency occurs and the time of EMS ambulance service system is activated happens all too often. Why?

We have "EMS system" (or prehospital care, or emergency ambulance unit, or paramedic whatsoever you call it) commaned and controlled by Narenthorn Center, Ministry of the Public Health. In this center, we have a jointed network of emergency ambulance service run by government and private hospitals. In Bangkok, we have about 20 hospitals that have ambulance and equuipment required to be able to do EMS calls, and we devided Bangkok in to zones to minimize reponse time. Narenthorn center has 50 phone lines and quite a sophisticated communication system, including GPS ambulance tracking. But the general thai public normally don't know the number to call, but most of the police and rescue foundations know.

I think it's such a huge gap between EMS system that is quite well functioning, though in early stage, and the education of the general public. Maybe 2Bangkok should start researching this topic and educate the number to the public which is important stage of saving life.

In the case reported in 2Bangkok, I have looked into the database of EMS system at http://ems.narentorn.or.th and found its case report that it took only 8 minutes between the time that the request is issued to the Narentorn Center and the time of EMS unit arrival to the scene. If the guy knew the number to call for EMS right away, his friend might have survived. Since it took a long delay of 20 minutes from the time of the stabbing until the request for ambulance from police took place.

The number to call for ambulance in Thailand is 1669. Please don't dial 191, they have information overloaded and sometimes don't even bother to relay this kind of information to 1669 center!!

[The Enforcer!]

Thanks - in 20 years I never knew that!

The Enforcer!

[White Nancy]

Now that IS useful information - easy to remember too, as it's one number away from a certain French beer!

[admin]

A reader asks: "There has been a lot of articles on the net about people (including a farang) being murdered by motorcycle gangs on Sukhumvit and an upsurge in voilence against farangs generally. I have seen nothing in the Thai or international press or heard from anybody who knows anything about it. Is this just a few bloggers letting their imaginations run wild?"

[The Enforcer!]

Now that IS useful information - easy to remember too, as it's one number away from a certain French beer!
The French make beer?

The Enforcer!

[White Nancy]

"The French make beer?"

I never said it was good!! :D

Having lived on Sukhumvit Soi 5 on and off for four months, I never witnessed, saw or heard of any anti-farang violence.

[gwmss15]

As per the front page there was a huge fire on the weekend

Does anyone know what burnt to the ground. was anyone hurt from this fire? as the story on the front page juts show the pics from a distance and no story as to what happened and there seems to be no story in the bangkok post or nation about it.

anyone with information please post it in this topic

thanks for your help

[Aristotle]

Please help the people on Taiwan.
Sign this petition.

http://www.petitiononline.com/migrants/petition.html

Late on Sunday August 21, 2005 a violent riot erupted by more than 1,600 ethnic, migrant workers building a mass transit railway project in Kaohsiung Taiwan.
Workers set fire to their dormitory in southern
Taiwan, burnt cars and hurled rocks at police after
some were apprehended.
There are estimated between 300,000 to 500,000 migrant workers on Taiwan many of whom are tricked into working on Taiwan with offers of lucrative jobs only to find themselves as slaves to "contractors" and "agents" on Taiwan.


Below is a petition the the Director General Juan Somaviaf of the International Labour Organization to immediately take appropriate actions to investigate the ongoing atrocities being perpetrated by the Taiwanese against ethnic minority workers on Taiwan.

http://www.petitiononline.com/migrants/petition.html

"To: The Honorable, Director General Juan Somaviaf of the International Labour Organization

We, the undersigned organizations, institutions, churches and individuals appeal to the Director General Juan Somaviaf of the International Labour Organization to immediately take appropriate actions to investigate the cause of the most recent violent riot by ethnic, migrant workers that erupted late on Sunday August 21, 2005 by more than 1,600 migrant workers building a mass transit railway project in Kaohsiung Taiwan.
We demand that Council of Labor Affairs Chairwoman Chen Chu (闡腑) be removed and expelled from that position for her gross dereliction of her duties. Specifically to timely investigate and provide appropriate assistance to the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers currently in the Taiwan area.
We are appealing to the Director General Juan Somaviaf of the International Labour Organization to investigate the current maltreatment of migrant workers in the Taiwan area and to refer said findings to the International Court of Justice.
We call for the formation of an independent oversight institution composed of migrant workers in the Taiwan area to take positive actions to prevent further violence as well as extend free, timely, appropriate and full assistance to all distressed migrant workers.
Labor standards for migrant workers in the Taiwan area fall below the
minimum standards of basic labor rights in terms of freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, equality of opportunity and treatment, housing, facilities for recreation, cultural expression and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of work related issues.
We seek the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labor rights for all migrants in the Taiwan area. The decision to migrate, in the same way as the decision to authorize or not to authorize migration for employment is an rational decision, based on knowledge of the conditions of work and life in the areas of employment and is needed to remedy general or sectoral labor shortages.
Provisions for the protection of migrant workers do, themselves, have effects on the protection of the entire workforce that in protecting migrant workers against exploitation and stipulating first and foremost the principle of equality of treatment, followed by equality of opportunity and treatment with non migrant workers.
The powers that be, in the Taiwan area fail to implement instruments and fulfill their obligation to apply, without discrimination in respect of nationality, race, religion or sex, to immigrants lawfully within Taiwan area.
We demand the protection of human rights for all migrant workers and an end to state sponsored discrimination, contemporary forms of slavery, indentured servitude and forced labor in the Taiwan area.
Director General, the time to act is now. Migrants' rights are human rights!

Sincerely,

The Undersigned "

http://www.petitiononline.com/migrants/petition.html


Links:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/08/22/taiwan.thaiworkers.reut/index.html

[ncr]

The Nation article (http://nationmultimedia.com/2005/09/26/national/index.php?news=national_18706581.html) again:

Vendor fires M16 at international school

Published on September 26, 2005

A food-stall owner opened fire on an international school with an M16 assault rifle early yesterday in what he said was just a way to vent his anger.

Tossaporn Boonchuay, 38, said he used the gun out of frustration after two city police seized his stall, which meant they took away his livelihood.

“He pleaded guilty and claimed he knew he did the wrong thing. Still, he told us that a gun was now the best way to justice,” Bang Pong Pang Police Station’s superintendent Colonel Chaowalit Manosamut said.

He said Tossaporn would be charged with unauthorised possession and use of a war weapon and war ammunition, and carrying a war weapon and ammunition in public places without sound reason.

According to police, Tossaporn was drunk when he dug out the assault rifle from where he had buried it behind Fortune Tower. He opened fire on an international school in Yannawa district at 3am and at least four of his bullets hit the school’s building.

He was later arrested inside Fortune Tower.

Tossaporn claimed he fired at the school to vent his anger after two city police officials seized his stall because he failed to pay them Bt500.

He said he’d run his stall in front of Fortune Tower for more than four years during which he had paid the city police Bt500 a month just like other stall owners. However, heavy expenses had left him unable to pay them in the past three months, which he believed was the only reason why they had seized his stall.

In 1989, Tossaporn robbed a bank with an M16 assault rifle – for which he served nine years and 11 months in prison.

********
And the reader's comments:

The building is Fortune Condotown 2 not Fortune Tower.
His stall was seized for continually impeding the public footpath in front of the building, as he well knew...
It’s obvious it wasn’t a dispute about 500 THB a month since he had just consumed more than 500 THB of booze… (He was also living in an apartment block where unfurnished units are 15 K+ a month.)
He was pissed off about the stall being seized, but the trigger was a fight with a farang in Bangkok Garden (above the school). The real reason was that he was out of his mind drunk, but he had to make up something more sensible...

******

Food vendors with automatic rifles living in 15K+ Baht apartments?
I bet he knows some "influential persons" (or is one himself).....

And I guess the police kept the M16 for him while he was doin' time and duly returned it to him when he left prison nine years later.....
:D :D :D

[GWR]

My information is that 20 adjoining houses have also been gutted. As is usual with Bangkok's chaotic markets, fire engine access is a total nightmare. There is a suspicion that New Year fireworks or firecrackers may have started the fire.

Big fire breaks out at Bobe wholesale market

A big fire broke out at a six-storey building which was part of the popular wholesale clothes market in Bangkok's Bobe area Friday night.

The fire broke out at about 9 pm and by midnight, some 50 fire engines could not put it out yet.

Firefighters could only try to contain the fire from spreading to nearby building, which are commercial and housing buildings.

The building was a deserted building located between the second and third bridges on Padung Krungkasem Road in Pathumvan district.

The building was occupied by clothes wholesalers, who also kept their goods inside the six-floor building.

The clothes became fuel, causing the fire to engulf the building quickly.

Deputy Bangkok Governor Wallop Suwannadee and Pathum district director Surakiart Limcharoen rushed to the scene to direct the fire fighting.

The Nation



http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30022922

Two fire fighters were injured after falling down from nearby buildings while using water guns to douse the fire. One of them suffered head injury while the other suffered broken right leg.

Fire police complained that that congested roads by vendors in the area caused fire fighters to reach the source of the fire too late, causing the blaze to engulf the entire building.


Some parts of the building also started to collapse after the blaze raged for two hours. Fire fighters inside the building were quickly evacuated when parts of the building fell down.


Chaiwat Nimitthongsak, a clothes vendor, said he saw a short circuit a bridge near Sirichai Wholsale shop and the shop caught fire, which quickly spread.


Woraphan Chiewsujin, 41, a resident of the neighbourhood, said the residents in the apartment building had deserted it for sometime because it had become too old and its condition had deteriorated badly.


The Nation


http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/12/30/headlines/headlines_30022923.php

[GWR]

The fire broke out at about 9 pm and firefighters backed up by over 50 fire engines took eight hours before they could put out the blaze at 4 am Sunday.


The fire caused about ten trains at the Hua Lampong Bangkok Railway station, which is near the market, to be delayed from 8 pm Saturday until 3:30 am Sunday.

The building was a deserted apartment building located between the second and third bridges on Padung Krungkasem Road in Pathumwan district.

Fire engines could not enter small roads to reach the building directly so they used cranes to douse the blaze. Firefighters also used smaller fire trucks to reach the scene.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/12/30/headlines/headlines_30022923.php

[GWR]

The article says 90 buildings, but it would be strictly more correct to say 90 'rooms', as a 'room' is equivalent to one shophouse frontage and some of the 'companies' would have had more than one shop front. 50 fire tenders were called to the scene: -

Bo Bae declared danger zone

Parts of Bo Bae market, arguably the country's largest wholesale garment market, were declared a danger zone by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) after more than 90 buildings were damaged by a fire that raged for eight hours on Friday night.

Apirak Kosayodhin, Bangkok governor, said Saturday during an inspection of the scene that he was afraid some of the buildings might collapse.

"No one is allowed to enter the damaged areas," he said.

The fire started on Friday night and was not brought under control until dawn Saturday. One building collapsed Saturday morning as flames broke out again in some areas.

Apirak said that about two rai of the 6.25 rai market was destroyed, and 150 shop owners were affected.

The Nation



http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30022949

While posting the total has risen to 95 'rooms' and 44 street stalls: -

Vallop Suwandee, the deputy governor, said the areas would be left to cool down, after which engineers from the BMA's Public Works Department would inspect the area to determine whether damaged buildings should be demolished.

He said that besides the buildings, 40 street stalls and 55 houses in the market were destroyed.

Apirak denied claims of shop owners that the BMA had dragged its feet in extinguishing the fire, as the BMA wanted to remove the shops from the areas. He said the area's narrow streets and the Padung Krung Kasem Canal prevented fire trucks getting close to the blaze.

"The burnt areas are not those that are in dispute with the BMA. The damaged area is in Pathum Wwan district, while the disputed area is in Pom Prab Sattrupai district," Apirak said.

Interior Minister Aree Wongsea-raya visited the scene and asked shop owners not to rush to the conclusion that the fire was an act of arson. He said the cause of the blaze was under investigation. He said the Depart-ment of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation had a Bt50-million relief fund to help those who lost their properties and livelihoods.



http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/12/31/headlines/headlines_30022967.php

[GWR]

Not surprisingly with such a large fire, it hasn't been completely doused just yet: -

Fire rekindles at Bo Bae wreckage

Fire rekindled Sunday morning at a building which has been destroyed by a massive fire Friday night.

A fire engine was dousing the area, which smokes reappeared, and 10 other fire trucks were put on standby.

The Nation



http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30022977

[GWR]

This article really says nothing about the isses involved. Stallholders want to take up their usual roadside pitches, but Bangkok Metropolitan are trying to keep them out of some areas because of safety concerns with the shells of burnt-out buildings. The stallholders have no where else to go and are unable to generate any income. That's the nub of it, but I suspect that there are plenty of other issues too. No one seems to have made any connections with the bombings, I note: -

Police, city officials clash with Bo Bae protesters


Some 100 city law enforcement officials backed up by 500 policemen confront vendors of the Bo Bae market to pressure them to stop their road blocking.

The city officials and policemen were deployed to the scene at Kasutsuek Intersection at 8:30 am after Bo Bae vendors started blocking the road along the Padung Krungkasem Canal since Thursday night.

Pol Col Wanich Surakhonchai, commander of the Metropolitan Division 6, asked the vendors to stop blocking the road as it caused traffic snarls in nearby area.

At 10 am, the protesters agreed to allow the traffic on the Wisut Kasat Bridge to resume but they remained occupying parts of the road.

At 10:30 am, Col Kampanart Ruttadis, deputy commander of the First Infantry Division, and three officers arrived at the scene and asked the protesters to stop blocking the road, but they refused.

During the confrontation, the protesters threw water bottles against city officials.

Three protesters were arrested. One of them jump-kicked a city official.

Some 30 commandos armed with shield and batons confronted the protesters during their attempt to break up the protest.

The Nation



http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023348

[GWR]

Police Friday arrested 26 Bo Bae Market vendors for leading the protest that blocked traffic and caused disturbance.

The protest dragged on from Thursday's night to early before it was broken up by police at 1:30 pm Friday. After the protest was ended, city officials managed to demolish footpaths along the roadsides where the protesters earlier put up vending stalls.

Metropolitan Police Division VI deputy commander Colonel Supisal Pakdeenarunart said the 26 suspected protest leaders would be charged with illegal gathering attended by more than 10 people, blocking traffic, causing disturbance, obstructing officials' duty and refusing to obey the officials' orders.

If convicted, they faced up to three years in jail.

The arrests took place after the protest turned violent with demonstrators hurling abuses, water bottles and chairs against police officers.

Female commander police officers were deployed to arrest the violent female demonstrators.

The protest, attended by about 2,000 people, started since 7.30 pm Thursday as vendors on footpath along the Padung Krungkasem Canal in the heart of Bangkok were unhappy that seven of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) garbage trucks and toilet trucks parked at the same footpath.

The trucks were parked there following a big fire in the Bo Bae Market on December 29.

The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023370

.....

Sak Silapacharoenporn, one of the vendors, complained that he had operated his stall on the footpath for more than 20 years and never had any conflict with previous Bangkok governors.


"BMA has told us to relocate to another spot. But that spot is crowded and I will be asked to pay Bt200,000 and Bt300,000 for the lease there. How could I afford it?" the 52 year old vendor said.


Kriang sae Tang, a clerk for one of the stalls, tearfully said that she was going to lose her job now that her employer did not have any space to operate the stall.

"Why did the authorities do this to us? We have already suffered a lot. There's a big fire and now there will be no more stalls for us," she said.

[Baton Rouge]

Another 22 teachers short! Is Thailand churning them out so quick that it hardly matters? 'Cos that's the way folks act!

What do you reckon of this kind of accident? I've been on a couple of 'Rot Tua' bus tours over the years, and I count myself lucky. The drivers were a bit gungho on the flat, but were obviously sensible enough to realize that they lacked experience of really serious hills - and so slowed right down and proceeded with some caution. But it is a bit alarming when a driver meets another bus on a tight bend and the co-driver has to jump out with a large scotch to prevent the bus rolling back. I've seen this even with brand-new buses.

I have a feeling that there are some routes, like the ones around Chiang-Mai, where only local drivers with well-maintained machines should be allowed to operate. Particularly on the sort of cul-de-sac routes that really climb right up into the mountains: -

22 teachers killed in road accident in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai - A chartered bus taking teachers from Chanthaburi to Doi Inthanon Mount plunged into a river, killing 22 of them and injuring several others.

Police said the accident occurred at 9:30 am on a road in Tambon Pamiang of Chiang Mai's Doi Saket district.

Police said the bus was climbing the mountainous road and lost control at a curve and overturned before plunging into the river.

The 13 teachers died inside the bus and the rest later at hospitals.

The injured teachers were rushed on helicopters to nearby hospitals.

The bus was charted to take teaches from eight schools in Chan Thaburi for a field trip in Chiang Rai and the bus left Chiang Rai at 7 am to take teachers to tour Doi Inthanon.

The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30024560

[GWR]

Lost mum found after 25 years

76-year-old woman reunited with her kin after a life of begging and poverty

True life is often stranger than fiction. An elderly woman was yesterday reunited with her family 25 years after taking a wrong bus that led her into a life of poverty and confinement.

Jaeyaena Beuraheng, 76, was tearfully reunited with relatives yesterday at Phitsanulok's Wang Thong social service centre.

Twenty-five years ago, Malay-speaking Narathiwat resident Jaeyaena thought she was boarding a bus bound for Narathiwat from Malaysia.

Not being able to read, write or speak Thai, she did not know the bus was headed for Bangkok.

When she arrived in the capital, she tried to get back to the South but compounded her crisis by taking a bus to Chiang Mai instead.

There she spent the next five years begging.

She was arrested in 1987 and has been in the social service centre since then.

Yesterday "overjoyed" relatives arrived in Phitsanulok after a 25-hour journey to take Jaeyaena home.

Her youngest son Mamu, 35, said through a translator that he was 10 when his mother disappeared after going to visit her husband across the border.

Mamu and his seven brothers and sisters searched in vain for years in Thailand and Malaysia until they were told Jaeyaena had been run over by a train in Yala.

They continued to make merit for her every year.

Earlier this month, three students from Mamu's neighbourhood training at the Phitsanulok social service centre - Nuriyanee Waekeuji, 20, Sumaiya Sawaeko, 19, and Arsor Rormeudee, 19 - met Jaeyaena. They photographed her with their mobile telephone and sent the picture to Mamu.

"I was shocked and overjoyed when I saw the picture. It was certainly my mother. I remembered her face, even though I've not seen her for 25 years," Mamu said.

Staff at the centre had for years assumed Jaeyaena was Mon or Shan. The three Narathiwat women were the only ones who had been able to communicate with her.

It was only then that Jaeyaena's tragic story emerged, centre manager Jintana Satjang said.

Manaschai Ananta
The Nation
PHITSANULOK

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/06/national/national_30026065.php

[GWR]

A family of five were killed inside their house in Bangkok's Klong Tan district early Tuesday morning, police said.

Police were alerted at 7:30 am of the deaths of a couple and their three children inside a two-storey house on Soi Pattanakarn 40.

The maid of the house alerted police of the killings.

The father was identified as Boonchai Surawutthipong and the mother as Penpimol.

Their two girls - Nathtanan, 17, Nathtama, 15 and their boy, Phanit, were also shot dead.

Police said the father apparently killed his children and his wife before killing himself.

The Nation



http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30026098

[GWR]

An indebted father apparently shot dead his wife and all three children before committing suicide inside their luxury home.

All five members of the family were found dead in their beds yesterday morning without any trace of a struggle.

The tragedy took place as breadwinner Boonchai Surawuthipong, 49, was clearly worried that his debtor would harm his children.

In one of the notes he left, Boonchai said a man called "Choosaeng" had ordered a mafia gang to abduct his children in a bid to demand repayments.

Boonchai also left a suicide note: "Dad and mom, I am so sorry for causing you problems all along. I have made several wrong decisions. I am so sorry that I haven't repaid you for what you have done for me. Now, I've decided to take my family with me because of debts."

According to police, Boonchai borrowed Bt800 million from a bank to expand his factory many years ago. Later, he needed a further Bt130 million and Choosaeng offered to help him secure the loan for a service charge of at least Bt4million.

Boonchai obtained the loan but had yet to pay Choosaeng any of the money.

"We are going to do a background check on Choosaeng," said Police Colonel Charn Saengsiangfa, a superintendent at the Metropolitan Police Division.

At the time of Boonchai's death, his luxury mansion had just been completed and still needed some more interior decorating. Many luxury cars were parked inside the compound.

All three children of Boonchai and his wife Penphimon, 40, had studied at Bangkok Patana School.

They were five-year-old Panich, 15-year-old Nattamon, and 18-year-old Nattanich.

The bodies of Boonchai, Penphimon and Panich were found in the same bed. Nattamon and Nattanich died in their own beds in two different bedrooms.

Servant Poon Chanhom, 50, said he and a housemaid immediately alerted police after finding the whole family dead.

Poon had worked for Boonchai for a long time, first as a driver then as a handyman when his sight deteriorated.

"My employer was a good, kind-hearted man," Poon said.

According to Poon, Boonchai used to operate a small perfume-oil factory. Buoyed by bright business prospects two years ago, Boonchai decided to buy a 20-rai plot of land and built a large factory and a luxury house.

The house was only just completed and Boonchai took his wife and children to live there two weeks ago.

Bangkok Patana School manager Pornpimon Charoen said she knew all three of Boonchai's children.

"But we never knew about their family's financial problems," she said, adding the family was never late in paying tuition fees.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/07/headlines/headlines_30026198.php

[GWR]

300 Bangkok slum houses burnt down

A huge fire swept through a squatter community in Klong Toey early Tuesday morning, causing some 300 families to be homeless.

The fire started at 1:15 am and burnt down some 300 houses in about 4-rai area in the Soi-1 Klong Toey community on At Narong Road before being contained.

A resident was slightly injured, police said.

Police said the fire started from the house of Kitti sae Lim and he would be taken for questioning.

His neighbours alleged that he set fire to his house following a quarrel with his wife. The neighbours said the man became angry after finding his wife sleeping with another man in his shanty house.

Fire fighters backed up by some 30 fire trucks took about three hours to control the blaze.

When the fire was ranging on, explosions of cooking gas tanks were heard now and then.

Fire trucks found it difficult to reach the fire scene because the part of the At Narong expressway was occupied by many vehicles left parking there.

They had to use long hoses from the trucks to douse the fire.

Some trucks went up on the expressway to douse the fire from the above. Two lanes on the expressway were closed to traffic.

The Klong Toey district office put up temporary shelters for the homeless families to stay inside the compound of the Klong Toey flat.

District officials said each family would receive a primary compensation of Bt3,000.

The Nation


http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/13/headlines/headlines_30026720.php

[GWR]

The author of the report (some way below) failed to point out that it is not unknown for such kidnap victims to be tossed overboard to drown if their abductors think they are no longer of any use.

I'd like to add something to this report, because I have a feeling that Padungsak is alluding to something else here too. We've all heard rumors of kidnappers trawling the N and NE for the harvesting of body parts, but I have yet to see reports on the following in the media. Of course, such reports need to be handled with a degree of skepticism.

It appears that many parents in Songkhla and other southern provinces are going around warning each other to keep a closer eye on their children's vacation time and free-time leisure activities. Rumor has it that vans have been seen trawling some streets for children to kidnap, and that some people have narrowly avoided this fate for their children by creating a community hue-and-cry whan such vans and suspicious individuals have been spotted. This is, of course, pretty much just rumor; but the high number of disappearances cited (below) may suggest that it is not entirely unfounded. Rumor also has it that such kidnaps have become more common since the southern unrest flared up. It is implied that Muslims could be behind such kidnaps, and that some of the victims may have sold into some sort of slavery and converted to Islam. This is said to be part of the strategy of some insurgents in the deep south to drive Buddhists off land that they believe was once the natural property of Muslim villagers.

So there we are! I imagine that most people reading this will greet this report with complete disbelief. That was certainly my initial reaction. But I note that a lot of local people are in earnest about this, and that the figures quoted (below) may suggest that some such kidnaps may have taken place.

But perhaps this is another example of the extreme paranoia being generated in the deep south and neighboring provinces by the insurgency. It also appears that many people believe that the government is conspiring to hush-up such kidnaps. (The motive perhaps being to avoid any mass Buddhist exodus.) And it's a given that the terrorists are continually trying to intimidate both Buddhists & Muslims with any means to hand. It is, of course, inevitable that such paranoia and superstition will thrive in a society where the elite have often sought to keep the majority of the population deliberately ill-informed.

I keep telling people that if they believe these rumors that they need to seek the maximum of publicity for them. The reaction is always the same. "We have to be careful, as the terrorists may attack us next". I say, "Well, there are covert ways in which you can publicise these things"; but it appears that even that is too much of a risk-take. (I also hope that if these rumors are put in print, it could give the authorities the opportunity to scotch the more ludicrous claims.)

I am told that some people who already know these rumors are extremely careful only to communicate it explicitly to those who they believe will use the information in a responsible manner. To that large section of society that they consider too feckless to employ this information discretely, the approach is to blame the disappearances on common criminals. This has the effect of alerting poor parents to the possibilities of kidnap, without that dangerous 'M' word ever being used.

Kidnap gangs a real danger to youths, parents warned

Labour Protection and Welfare Department chief Padungsak Thephasdin na Ayutthaya Wednesday warned parents nationwide of kidnapping gangs during the school break.

Seven hundred and seventy five children under 18 have gone missing in the past three years and most disappeared during the summer break according to the Royal Thai Police report, he said.

Last year alone, 82 children were reported missing and from last October to this March a further 14 children "had disappeared", he added.

Padungsak urged parents to watch out for criminals among the crowds and to tip off police about any suspicious incidents. He also asked people witnessing child labour abuses to call the Labour Ministry at 1506.

Padungsak cited a case of two young male teenagers from Buri Ram on their way to look for construction jobs in Bangkok, but were drugged in the toilets at Mor Chit bus station. They later regained consciousness on an offshore fishing boat and were told they had been sold for Bt10,000 each and to work without payment for seven months, he said.

In the end, the department helped them out and got the Social Development and Human Security Ministry to give them assistance money Bt1,900 each. The pair returned to Buri Ram where the labour office provided them with vocational training.

The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30032123

[GWR]

I don't know if the previous definition of missing also covered cases where there was some evidence that a kidnap might have taken place:

The sooner report on child missing, the better

Prompted by a recent case, the Social Development and Human Security Ministry called on Saturday for an exception to the law requiring parents to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing child to police.

Deputy Minister Poldet Pinprateep said if parents immediately alerted authorities when they found that their children had disappeared, there was a greater chance of success in searching for them and bringing them back safely.

He said he was discussing this matter with police and they agreed to allow this early reporting of missing persons in the case of children. - The Nation.



http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/04/21/headlines/headlines_30032364.php

[ncr]

Happened yesterday, but wasn't mentioned anywhere on 2B yet.

Talat Thai is a giant wholesale market close to AIT/Thammasat Rangsit, east of Phahonyothin Road.

Gunman Runs Amok (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/05/24/headlines/headlines_30035032.php) - The Nation, 24 May 2007

Enraged loner and gun enthusiast kills three, injures seven in two-hour clash with police, guards at Pathum Thani market

A bloody two-hour gunfight between an enraged gunman and scores of police officers at an open market on the outskirts of Bangkok ended yesterday in the death of four people, including the attacker. Seven others were injured, some of them seriously. Kiartipong Meksawat, 21, armed with an AK47 assault rifle, went on a shooting spree just before dawn yesterday after stabbing to death a security guard, Sa-ard Khamsri, at the Thai Market in Pathum Thani's Klong Luang district. Police said Sa-ard became Kiartipong's first victim after he questioned whether Kiartipong was the rightful owner of a motorcycle parked at the entrance of the market.

Moments later, the shooting spree began as police arrived at the crime scene to investigate an incident that soon became even more bloody than they initially anticipated. Market women and wholesale buyers ducked for cover as gunfire was exchanged between the young man and police. A durian seller, On Thongsuk, 46, and Pol Sergeant Issara Maneesaeng, were the gunman's next victims, while a pickup truck driver Theerayuth Sri-ariyakul, 30, who refused to give the gunman a lift, was shot and wounded. A motorcycle taxi driver, Prasert Wabanthap, also took a stray bullet in his right leg.

Kiartipong was running for cover when he shot at Issara, hitting the officer in the head. Several others - including Pol Lt Col Ritthinan Puipanthawong, who was also injured - scrambled to get away from the hail of fire. Doctors at the Thammasat Hospital in Rangsit sub-district performed surgery to remove the bullet from Ritthinan's stomach. He was later transferred to the Police Hospital in Bangkok, where he was put in the intensive care unit. During the gunfight, Pol Private Virote Boonlawong was hit in the leg and stomach. Doctors said he is still in a critical condition as the bullets hit main blood vessels.

Two hours after the stabbing incident at Soi Aiyara 1/1, not far from where the first victim lay dead [This refers to an info box summarising the events, which is not included in the online article --- He did not shoot his first victim, a security guard, but rather stabbed him to death, and then went to retrieve his gun from a bag he had left under a tree. The guard had wheeled away a parked motorbike; Kiartipong angrily stormed the office to claim the bike, but refused to identify himself; the guard then called two policemen for assistance, and when they started to search him for weapons, he went berzerk.], Kiartipong was finally shot dead by police. Initial investigations provided a glimpse into Kiartipong's personality. It is known that he meditated, visited temples, yet also owned handguns, loved to play violent video games, read 'Guns and Ammo' magazines and had no friends except his sister, who visited him regularly. "He was a loner," said Metropolitan Police Area 2 commander, Maj-General Amnuay Nimmano.

Police searched his apartment and found two fully loaded AK47 magazines, 35 rounds of bullets for .22mm handguns, three knives and one samurai sword, ninja-style throwing stars, weapon magazines and combative computer games. Kiartipong was last seen leaving his apartment on his motorbike at about 9pm on Tuesday. Police found in Kiartipong's possession some tools, which they believed he used to steal motorbikes, a mobile phone, and three AK47 magazines. Police said they were not ruling out the possibility that Kiartipong may have been part of a gang behind a series of motorcycle thefts. Amnuay, who led the search, said Kiartipong had been renting the room for over a month. The rent was paid for by his sister, who visited him regularly. She accompanied the police during the search yesterday. Amnuay said Kiartipong's mother had married a foreign man and lived abroad. His mother sent him money regularly, he said.

The Nation

PATHUM THANI

[ncr]

More info from today:

Slain gunman 'was escorting 2 men' (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/05/25/national/national_30035133.php) - The Nation, 25 May 2007

Police probe witnesses to killing spree and find firearms material on computer

Police are looking into a potential lead that two men accompanied the gunman who killed three people and wounded nine others in a stabbing and shooting spree at a market in Pathum Thani on Wednesday. Provincial police chief Maj-General Praphan Phanikhom said yesterday it was possible that Kiartipong Meksawat, the slain gunman, was an escort for the two men, who might have been involved in an illegal deal at Thai Market. Quoting witnesses, he said the three men arrived at the market on a motorcycle which they later parked in a restricted area. Kiartipong began shooting when a policeman asked him for ownership documents as he was trying to collect his motorcycle, which had earlier been impounded by two security guards.

Praphan said that besides the AK-47 murder weapon with three fully loaded magazines, Kiartipong also had a set of skeleton keys on him. Police are also looking into links between the shootout and a recent increase in auto thefts at the market and nearby areas. Case investigator Lt-Colonel Thitichat Phanniam said police technicians found a large number of files containing information on firearms and explosives downloaded from the Internet in Kiartipong's computer, apart from his own logs containing details of his frequent target practice. Police are also contacting people whose numbers were stored in the gunman's mobile phone to get more information about him or the men seen with him.

Most of the nine people wounded by Kiartipong, including four police officers, are out of critical condition, except for Rangsan Wangjor, a security guard whom Kiartipong stabbed twice in the chest, and Theerayuth Sriariya, who was shot in the stomach. Meanwhile, Department of Mental Health director-general Dr Somchai Chakrabhan called on parents and family members not to neglect children or relatives with character profiles similar to that of the gunman. He said loners like Kiartipong needed to have family members associate closely with them in order to get them out of their own world as well as to keep check on whether they could potentially turn violent. The psychiatrist said children with aggressive behaviour could be rehabilitated and raised to become normal adults.

Sergeant Issara Maneesaeng, who was shot dead by Kiartipong, will be promoted posthumously to captain and his family will be given financial assistance. The wounded officers will also be promoted.

[Aquarius2007]

Hello, this is Aquarius2007. I hope to warn you people in Bangkok, Greater Bangkok and generally all throughout Thailand that I have premonitions that bad things are going to happen in your country.

I have no advanced notice from anyone. I am not a terrorist nor do I belong to any political groups (local or international.) These are just my thoughts...you would never believe me if I told you where I got my premonitions.

Anyway here are some scenarios that I think may happen, as well as Thai events that I think would be affected somehow:

1) The 2007 SEA Games are to be hosted by Thailand. such sports events have always had the potential to revive or boost the local economy. I think this 2007 up to 2008 something will happen to disrupt the Games, a major event that could have economic repercussions for Thailand.
2) The disturbing event will be furtively implemented. Maybe even this warning will not be able to prevent it from happening, because it will be so furtively done from start to finish.
3) The disturbing event has something to do with the marine area, the oceans and rivers.
4) The disturbing event has something to do with a pile - two piles to be exact. That could refer to an elevated structure like a building or a bridge that sits on piles, or concrete towers whose base sits at the bottom of a waterway. The piles could also refer to oil rigs in the ocean surrounding Thailand.
5) I suspect one pile is in Thailand and the other is in China - Beijing most probably. The Beijing pile could also be an oil rig.
6) The disturbing event will have something closely to do with the energy industry, mostly oil and gas and petroleum. This is particularly important because of Asia's needs for energy supplies, and even needs storage facilities for the energy such as oil and gas. It is important because the oil, gas and petroleum stores of the world are not fixed and we have no idea of how much of these fuel stores really exist at present - for all we know, there will be no more fuel by tomorrow.
7) There are two other events that are to be launched this December 2007. These are the Phuket King's Cup Regatta and the Laguna Phuket Triathlon. The disturbing event may have effects on both of these.
8) Accdg to the Harry Reid elastic rebound theory, fault lines cause earthquakes w/c in turn cause tsunamis. In 2005, the Marui fault in Thailand exhibited at least 10 low-magnitude earthquakes. In 2006, there was the Surat Thani tremor which originated along the Ranong fault. It is a proven fact that earthquakes in Japan became more common following the 2004 tsunami.
8) I suspect that the drive to search for more oil in Thailand (particularly in the Gulf of Thailand) may have undermined the geologic structure of the crust beneath the country and surrounding it. A lot of onshore and offshre exploration for oil and gas have been done and are still continuing in the Gulf of Thailand recently.
9) More of the Thail geologic structure could have been weakened due to the fast-paced development and initiation of construction projects. In turn, more development causes more human usage of underlying groundwater from the water table. When the groundwater has been depleted, this weakens the geologic structure surrounding the water table.

Why do I say Beijing is involved?
1) There are real fault lines in the Beijing geological territory. First there is the Babaoshan Fault which runs from Dahuichang to Shunyi. There are two other fault lines nearby as well which I have not been able to identify. Beijing Airport is at Shunyi.
2) The major earthquake of 1976 known as the Tangshan earthquake was the last major earthquake in the area.
3) There have been a lot of major construction projects in Beijing due to the upcoming 2008 Olympiad in Beijing. Could these construction projects have been a) built on fault lines, and b) undermined the geologic structure of the Beijing crust?

All I have is speculation. I could be wrong. Or I could be right.

[jpatokal]

All I have is speculation. I could be wrong. Or I could be right.
Or you could be smoking crack. :mad:

[Aquarius2007]

:) Hmm, no I prefer Marijuana actually. Crack shatters your brain.

Well, we'll soon see. I could be mistaken after all.

[GWR]

Thursday, December 20, 2007
Going out with a bang

YALA: The risk of being blown to smithereens has become an fact of everyday life for people in the Deep South as attacks by insurgents continue to occur on an almost daily basis.

However, the insurgents are not the only threat in such a weapons-saturated environment. Even close friends can be dangerous, as five young men found out when their friend in the Rangers paid them a visit on the evening of December 15.

Theeraphat Bunla-iat, 22, Jakraphong Nudang, 16, Kamolphan Thepsuk, 20, Phichet Ja-iat, 20, and Yingyot Srisuwan, 20, were sat chatting in their house in Yala Town when Rangers volunteer Prachaya Nawabut, their 25-year-old neighbor, stumbled in after an afternoon of drinking.

Obviously unsatisfied and seeking to add a bit of a thrill to proceedings, he pulled out an M26 grenade and began to play with it.

Drunkards and weaponry are always a potentially explosive combination, one best dealt with by a quick exit from the scene. Soon enough, the inevitable happened. The grenade fell from Prachaya’s hands, the pin remaining in his fingers.

With drunken desperation, Prachaya scrabbled on the floor to pick it up, but in his inebriated state was too slow. The grenade went off, taking both his hands with it.

His unfortunate neighbors, who just a few minutes before had been enjoying a civilized evening, were hit with a barrage of shrapnel; all five had to be taken to hospital for emergency treatment.

Prachaya, who took the brunt of the blast, died from his injuries.

There was no comment from his unit commander as to how volunteer soldier able to take a grenade out on the town with him.

Source: Khao Sod
http://www.phuketgazette.com/queernews/index.asp?ref=20071222113030

[GWR]

As one TV report put it: This is high season for Likae and there was no one left at home to initially fight the fire. That same fact meant there were no fatalities or injuries, however. It seems the performers of this highly traditional (but still highly popular) form of local opera lived in very traditional (but highly flammable) wooden houses:

26 December 2007
100 of homes destroyed in theatre community
At approximately 10 PM yesterday a fire ripped through the Chamlong Wit Pattana (จำลองวิทย์พัฒนา) Community, which is commonly called Trok Li-Kae (ตรอกลิเก ) meaning traditional theatre alley in Nakorn Sawan province. Over 50 fire trucks were dispatched to the blaze but they were proven ineffectual against the densely packed area of wooden houses.

Nakorn Sawan Governor Kawee Kittisathaporn (กวี กิตติสถาพร) traveled to the scene accompanied by police, military officials and other related authorities to give aid to citizens. The fire was finally subdued at approximately 3 AM this morning with 100s of homes destroyed.

Provincial authorities and organizations have set up relief camps to aid citizens who lost their home in the blaze but Mr. Kawee commented that luckily many of the residents were away performing so there were no injuries or fatalities. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire which they suspect can be attributed to a short circuit. Damage estimates range at 100 million baht.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter01

http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255012260003

[happytobehere]

There is a young women threatening to jump from one of the fancy overhead congestion signs between soi 19 and soi 21. She's been rocking backwards a forwards for a while.
The traffic is solid (a little more so than usual) heading north as police, firebrigade and ambulances are keeping the area beneath closed off and cushioned with glorified gym mats.
No photo as it seemed a fairly tasteless thing to do.