Thailandtilac: Ιουνίου 2011

Δευτέρα 20 Ιουνίου 2011

Κυριακή 12 Ιουνίου 2011

Israeli Life-sentenced Criminal Arrested In Thailand

An Israeli life-sentenced criminal who fled to Thailand twelve years ago, is now found living in Bangkok with a Thai wife and two children.

Bangkok, 31 May 2011 [PDN]: Pol. Maj. Gen. Tanapol Sontet, (Commissioner of Patrol and Special Operation Division); Pol. Col. Wiwat Kumchumnan and his team along with Kaki O-Bek (The Israel Police Chief of Asia Pacific) arrested Ben David Levy, 41 on Tuesday in an apartment room 406 of Public Mansion in Din Daeng District, Bangkok.
Ben, an Israel national was accused of robbery and murdering two people in Belgium before fleeing to Thailand twelve years ago.
Gen. Tanapol said the order to arrest Ben was given by the National Police Officer in a joint investigation with the Embassy of Israel.
Ben-David received double life sentence in Belgium for the murders in 1992. He served seven years of his sentence.
On 29 September 2003, during a short release from prison, he fled to Thailand with a fake passport under the name Dimitry Milev of Maldives national.
According to Gen. Tanapol, the Israel suspect had been living in Bangkok for the past twelve years with a Thai wife.
Based on their investigation, the suspect’s wife, Buakaew Junreung said she was introduced to Ben by a friend 12 years ago.
They have been living together with their two children while selling bags and watches at Suan Lum Night Bazaar for a living, Buakaew told the police.
Bauakaew added she was oblivious to her husband’s past criminal record as he had always been a quiet man.
The Israeli Embassy in Thailand was also involved in the arrest in cooperation with Thai police force.
Ben- David is expected to be extradited back to Israel.

Pork and Eggs – Too Expensive Says Thai PM

The trade cost of pork and eggs in Thailand is potentially set to drop over the next few months as Thai Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, authorised the Commerce Ministry to begin plans to reduce prices without having a direct and severe impact on farmers.

The Prime Minister spoke with the ministry about the possibility of reducing eggs by a minimum of 20 satang each. Pork, he said, should also be cheaper as the raw material costs for producing pork can be slashed without affecting the farmers.
More and more suppliers of pork and eggs have been entering the market, making it likely that prices are going drop as the year rolls on.
As of the 18th of May, The International Trade Department reported the price of eggs at approximately 2.90 baht each in varying sizes and roughly 3.30-3.40 for an individual size three egg. However, the ministry’s price recommendations were 2.90 baht an egg, and 135 baht per kilogramme of red pork meat.
Earlier this year, many businesses were allegedly in talks with the ministry to increase the market value for up to eleven products, including batteries, soybean oil, tyres, electrical wire, palm oil, soap, fertilizer, monosodium glutamate, steel and fresh milk.
To date, only four of the eleven products were given permission by the ministry to boost their prices – soybean oil, fertilizer, fresh milk and palm oil.
Price adjustments are likely to be made to five more products due to higher costs of raw materials. The ministry reported these to include an increase of 37-90% in raw material costs for steel products, 15-27% for batteries and 51-70% for electrical wire. The most dramatic increase was for the price of raw rubber for tyres, which went up by 169%, leaving a 42% increase for tapioca.
By : Kyle Pala

Cambodia slams Thai ‘spy’ arrests

PHNOM PENH, June 11, 2011 (AFP) - Cambodia has accused Thailand of "deceitful fabrication" after Thai police arrested three men on suspicion of spying near the neighbours' disputed border.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia wishes to assert that the above fabrication is only a pretext to justify future aggression against Cambodia,” said a foreign ministry statement released on Friday.
Thailand and Cambodia are locked in a bitter dispute over their shared border that has seen 28 people killed in two outbreaks of fierce fighting this year, and the row has since moved to the United Nations’ highest court.
On Friday Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the alleged spying activities were unacceptable and accused Phnom Penh of “violating Thai territory”.
One Thai, one Cambodian and a Vietnamese man were picked up in Thailand’s northeastern Si Sa Ket province on Tuesday evening carrying maps with military facilities marked on them, according to Thai police.
The suspects have denied they were spying in the area, the officer who made the arrest told AFP.
Cambodia said it “categorically rejects this deceitful fabrication by the Thai authorities and prime minister, intending to mislead the public and malign Cambodia”, adding it had no need to spy.
Last month the country launched a legal bid at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague seeking to force Thailand to pull troops from a disputed strip of land near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple.
The court ruled in 1962 that the temple itself belonged to Cambodia but both Phnom Penh and Bangkok claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) patch of nearby territory.
In April Cambodia asked the ICJ to clarify its initial ruling.

US Citizen Jailed in Thailand Over Internet Outrage

A United States citizen was arrested and detained in Thailand last week after material appeared on his blog that was deemed offensive and insulting to the monarchy.

Lerpong Wichaikhammat, 54, also known as Joe Gordon was taken from his place of residence in Nakhon Ratchasima by the Department of Special Investigation and is currently being held at Bangkok Remand Prison with a denied request for bail.
The charges against Thai-born Mr. Wichaikhammat fall under lese majeste, which breaches section 112 of the Criminal Code as well being charged for subversion and uploading false information which violated the Computer Crime Act. Altogether, the charges could potentially add up to a 22-year jail sentence.

Mr. Wichaikhammat, who had been living in the USA for 30 years before returning to Thailand in 2009 for medical treatment, allegedly posted a link on his blog to ‘The King Never Smiles’, an unauthorised biography of His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, that is banned in Thailand. The book is perceived as critical of the Thai royal family and sparked flickers of unrest as the country prepares for the election on the 3rd of July.
The US embassy in Bangkok is said to be providing consular assistance to the man who, to this point, has denied charges against him.
“The United States Government strongly supports freedom of expression, and asks that the Thai Government provide Mr. Gordon (Lerpong Wichaikhammat) with fair treatment,” said Kristin Kneedler, the deputy spokesperson at the US Embassy in Bangkok. “We remain in close contact with Mr. Gordan and his family and we are providing consular assistance – as with all other United States citizens arrested abroad.”
“I cannot speak to exact legal details as yet,” she was quoted as saying when questioned as to whether the US Embassy intended to officially make a public statement concerning the situation. “But I will say that we are in the process of determining the nature of those charges.”
Mr. Wichaikhammat told a reporter from Prachatai online newspaper that he was having difficulties adjusting to Bangkok Remand Prison and that he was worried about the cleanliness of the drinking water.
The DSI are treating this as an “important case” but police have so far refused to divulge the details of the material posted by Mr. Wichaikhammat, although they have stated that the case contains three separate offences that allegedly “violate state security”.
Written by: Kyle Pala
Photo : ASTV, AP

Hermaphrodite Woman Seeks Corrective Surgery

A woman, who was born with both male and female sexual organs, underwent her third corrective operation in hopes of success after the first two surgeries failed.

Sirilada Kotpipat admitted “I have testicles and a clitoris but I don’t have a penis or a vagina,”
At birth, the doctor had identified Sirilada as a boy although her sexual organs were ambiguous.
“I was shocked when I saw her. I thought she looked a lot like a girl. But when we registered her birth at the age of six, the government determined that she was a boy. We had to agree”, Sirilada’s mother said.

“Deep down in our hearts, we wanted a son as well, so we raised her as a boy by dressing her in blue and bought her boy-toys”, the mother continued.
Regardless of how her parents had treated her over the years, Sirilada knew within herself that she was a girl. She attempted explaining to her parents about her gender but they refused to accept.
However, as Sirilada grew into a well-behaved and respectable child, her parents’ acceptance of her female characteristics also developed. They had learned to love her and were proud of who she was, more and more each day.
With the support of her parents, Sirilada decided to have an operation to remove her unwanted male organs. However, the first two transgender operations were unsuccessful.
On 12 June 2010, Sirilada was selected as an eligible candidate for a transgender operation in the First Free Sex Change Project.
According to the project’s committee, she was selected because her situation was unique and more important than others.

On 2 December 2010 Sirilada went to Bangkok for her third transsexual operation.
Sirilada said she was very worried as she recalled the pain that she had endured from the first two unsuccessful surgeries.
According to the surgeon, there were two major issues associated with Sirilada’s surgery. The first was her small vagina. The second was that the integrity of her skin had lost its elasticity caused by previous operations.
Nonetheless, Sirilada underwent her third operation as scheduled.
The surgery has left her with a long suture mark but Sirilada remains optimistic.
“After looking at the wound, I don’t think it will improve. The wound is full of stitches. But I’ll try to stay positive and overlook the stitches,” Sirilada comments.

Sirilada says that whether the surgery was successful or not, she will always be a female, stating that this would be her last operation.

Two months after her surgery, Sirilada returns to her normal life as a female although the operation was not as successful as she has hoped.
Sirilada is determined to find a job and save up money for her education. She accepts that she will face further challenges in life.
“Some people would think that I have fraud documents because I have Mr. as my title but look like a Miss,” she said adding that she would like to be either a man or a woman in her next incarnated life.
Although the operation did not change her physically, Sirilada is determined to change her mind mentally. She has learned to live a happy life, accepting who she is on the inside regardless of the outside.
Sirilada’s last wish is for other people to accept her and understand her situation without passing judgement based on her appearance.