reader Posted January 5, 2021 Posted January 5, 2021 From Bangkok Post Thailand's rice exports are headed for another gloomy year after sinking to the lowest volume in two decades in 2020, exporters said, as a global shortage of shipping containers reduce the prospects of increasing shipments. The cargo crunch is the latest woe facing the world's second-largest rice exporter. According to data from the Commerce Ministry on Dec 2, rice exports were 5.1 million tonnes through November 2020, down 28% from the same period a year earlier, on track for the lowest year since 2000. Rice exports are down because the strong baht, which has gained 11% against the US dollar since April, has made shipments uncompetitive versus rivals Vietnam and India. Official export forecasts have not been released yet, but two Bangkok-based rice exporters said they are expecting more pain in 2021. =========================================== Move along now; nothing to see here. Prawit: No gambling dens in Bangkok Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon says he doubts there are any illegal gambling dens in Bangkok, despite warnings by a senior health official that such premises pose a serious coronavirus threat. Opas Bhudachareon, head of Chulalongkorn Hospital's Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, said recently one Covid-19 patient there was linked to a gambling den in Bangkok. He further urged those who had visited the venue to be tested for Covid-19. However, Gen Prawit yesterday claimed there were no such illegal activities because the police had clamped down on them. "You must ask the doctor who provides this information," he said. "I don't believe illegal casinos are operating in Bangkok, but if the doctor knows about it, he can inform the authorities." ================================================= From Khaosod English Cops Say No Country Responds to ‘Boss Red Bull’ Extradition Call BANGKOK — Police on Tuesday said they are still working to bring back Red Bull heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya to face justice in Thailand for the fatal car crash in 2012, though the extradition attempt is going nowhere. Assistant national police commissioner Jaruwat Waisaya, who oversees the investigation into Vorayuth, said there have been no words from any of the 194 members of the Interpol since Thai police issued a request asking for information on Vorayuth’s whereabouts in October. “No one responded to our request,” Lt. Gen. Jaruwat said by phone. “I will ask investigators to send out another request next week. We can’t really push them since it’s the discretion of each country to act upon our request.” Thai police maintained that it does not know the whereabouts of Vorayuth, whose family co-owns the Red Bull energy drink empire. In October, reports emerged that Vorayuth was sighted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, though police still could not verify the claim. “We already asked UAE authorities for confirmation, but there’s also no response,” Jaruwat said. It has been three months since the Interpol issued the Red Notice for Vorayuth in September, which would supposedly notify police forces around the world to locate and detain him for extradition back to Thailand. The notice could not be found on Interpol’s public database as of publication time. An error message displayed on the website says “the Notices are currently unavailable due to technical maintenance of the system.” vinapu 1 Quote
vinapu Posted January 6, 2021 Posted January 6, 2021 15 hours ago, reader said: Prawit: No gambling dens in Bangkok we know already. And no prostitution either in case somebody asks reader 1 Quote
10tazione Posted January 6, 2021 Posted January 6, 2021 6 hours ago, vinapu said: we know already. And no prostitution either in case somebody asks I also thought gambling was completely extinct in Thailand at the moment where they fined the 4 ladies playing bridge in Pattaya a few years (?) ago... Quote
PeterRS Posted January 8, 2021 Posted January 8, 2021 On 1/5/2021 at 7:15 PM, reader said: Thai police maintained that it does not know the whereabouts of Vorayuth, whose family co-owns the Red Bull energy drink empire. In October, reports emerged that Vorayuth was sighted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, though police still could not verify the claim. “We already asked UAE authorities for confirmation, but there’s also no response,” Jaruwat said. It has been three months since the Interpol issued the Red Notice for Vorayuth in September, which would supposedly notify police forces around the world to locate and detain him for extradition back to Thailand. The notice could not be found on Interpol’s public database as of publication time. An error message displayed on the website says “the Notices are currently unavailable due to technical maintenance of the system.” What a fickle fable! An official request goes to the UAE and no reply is received? Who on this good earth actually believes that? As for the Red Notice, Interpol's own website states there are currently 62,000 valid Red Notices of which only 7,484 have been made public. So what the Thai Police are moaning about makes about as much sense as their stated intention all those years ago that this murderer would be brought to justice. Being the heir to one of the richest fortunes in the Kingdom, the police in Thailand will no doubt be receiving plenty of well stuffed envelopes to ensure he is never discovered. Quote
vinapu Posted January 8, 2021 Posted January 8, 2021 2 hours ago, PeterRS said: Being the heir to one of the richest fortunes in the Kingdom, the police in Thailand will no doubt be receiving plenty of well stuffed envelopes to ensure he is never discovered. one day he will... or his body Quote
reader Posted January 8, 2021 Author Posted January 8, 2021 This article is a month old now (Dec. 11) but it sheds more light on this case. From Bangkok Post 'Boss' outrage fires up again The "pass the buck" attitude of the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) in handling the hit-and-run case involving Red Bull scion Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya comes as no surprise at all to anyone. On Dec 9, OAG deputy spokesman Prayuth Petch-khun insisted public prosecutors cannot proceed with the indictment of Mr Vorayuth on drug charges until police actually arrest him and bring him to trial. The prosecutors are "duty-bound" to wait, he said. Technically, the deputy spokesman is not entirely wrong as arrests are the duty of the police. Yet such a passive statement is a disappointment. There are no signs that police can get hold of the runaway brat, who vanished from Bangkok in 2012 but keeps appearing in many places around the world, any time soon. The OAG's lacklustre response is a reminder of how the pursuit of justice -- as instructed earlier this year by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha -- in this crime which claimed the life of police officer Wichian Klanprasert still has a long way to go. The OAG is under criticism for allowing Mr Vora-yuth to exploit a technicality to drag out the probe by submitting a petition seeking fair treatment more than six times. In fact, both the prosecutors and police face "a crisis of faith" over their handling of the case. The last straw came when Nate Naksuk, then deputy attorney-general, decided to drop the reckless driving charge against Mr Vorayuth. The outrageous decision triggered public fury. Gen Prayut finally appointed former member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Vicha Mahakun to lead an independent panel to look into the irregularities. Gen Prayut vowed that justice would be done in this case. In early September, the panel's report recommended the government revive the case, as it found evidence of intervention by government officials, law enforcement agencies, public prosecutors, lawyers and witnesses. It's a pity the Vicha report has not been made public. Due to the government's intervention, the OAG made a U-turn, deciding to indict Mr Vorayuth on two charges -- reckless driving causing death, and cocaine use -- citing fresh evidence and new witnesses. Only Mr Nate, who has been appointed senior prosecutor at the OAG's Phra Khanong office, faces a disciplinary probe for his shameful decision to allow the wealthy man off the hook. But the investigation is continuing at a snail's pace. Apart from that, it's just business as usual, both at the OAG and the Royal Thai Police as seasonal promotions have been made in the past month and there are no signs that any wrongdoers will be held to account. It seems the two agencies are aware that public attention has faded in the wake of the political strife, so they have gone into inactive mode again. Quote
