BANGKOK: -- Police have arrested an American man for sex crimes allegedly committed in the United States and Thailand.
Thomas Andrew Erickson, 47, who is also known as Andrew McLean or Barry
Stewart, was nabbed in Samut Prakan while in possession of fake US and
British passports.
Central Investigation Bureau acting chief Lt-General Prawut Thawornsiri
announced Erickson's arrest yesterday. "On September 15, US authorities
alerted us that an American had fled to Thailand to avoid arrest related
to sexual and physical assaults," Prawut said.
After learning that the US has already revoked Erickson's passport,
police also learned that a jewellery shop assistant in Bangkok's Bang
Rak district had lodged a complaint against Erickson in early 2011 over
an alleged rape and attack that left her seriously injured.
Prawut said that after having a brush with the law here, Erickson had
used a fake British passport to secure a teaching job at a famous school
in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
"He later moved to the Rangsit area and then Prawet area, doing a brief
stint as an English-language teacher," the senior officer said. "He also
worked as a freelancer for a media firm via an Internet-based contact".
Prawut said Erickson opened a language school behind Khon Kaen
University. "Based on our inquiries, he assaulted many victims in
Thailand," he said. "Some victims were lecturers at famous private and
state universities. These victims came to him as they wanted to improve
their English skills. After the assaults, they did not lodge complaints
because they felt humiliated."
He said Erickson had bipolar disorder.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Vietnamese Fishing Trawlers Apprehended In Thai Waters
First Naval Area Command deputy chief of staff, Captain Samreung Janso, said the trawlers - identified as CM 99518 TS , CM 91550 TS , CM 91551 TS , CM 91718 TS , CM 91685 TS , CM 91360 TS , CM 99833 TS - were found to contain hundreds of sea snakes along with some squid and were towed to the Royal Thai Fleet's pier for Sattahip police to proceed with legal action.
Samreung said 60 Vietnamese trawlers have been caught so far for intruding into Thai waters. He said they hunted for sea snakes to export to China at the lucrative price of Bt500-Bt1,000 per snake, while some hunt for squid, as dried squid could be sold at Bt800-Bt1,000 per kilo.
Stateless Children Still Living In Limbo, Unsure Of Future, And In Fear Of Security Personnel
A 17-year-old Sangkhla Buri-born Karen girl named Thida will graduate from Mathayom 6 in four months and she wants to become a nurse so she can treat villagers.
But her pursuit of higher education may go unfulfilled, as her parents' four applications to gain her Thai nationality have failed.
Being stateless poses financial obstacles because, although universities have a stateless quota, the students are not entitled to money from the Student Loan Fund while business operators cannot hire them.
An 18-year-old Mon girl named Tukta wants to be a teacher for underprivileged kids and is in the process of her fourth application for Thai nationality.
Tukta said her stateless status meant she lived in fear of security personnel.
"When we go to city, people without Thai ID cards get stopped. Lucky, I wear a student uniform so they didn't stop me," she said.
Photchanee Saichompoo, a teacher at the school, said: "If they [stateless children] graduated with a bachelor's degree, they could use that to apply for Thai nationality as people who can bring merit to the country. But the path to that point is very slim."
Thida said her parents would have to pay Bt20,000 in "tea money" for her to have a chance of getting Thai nationality, but there was no guarantee she would.
The National Statistical Office's population and housing census in 2010 found that there were 5,346,592 children aged up to six in the country and 136,942 of them were without Thai nationality.
Surapong Kongchantuk, a human rights lawyer for the Lawyers Council of Thailand, said stateless people applying for Thai nationality are made up of two groups - children born in Thailand to stateless or migrant parents and those who live here but were not legally certified.
The second group included minorities living on the border whose identification cards started with a six or a seven, Surapong said, adding that people whose identification card starts with 0 were not entitled to Thai nationality.
This means both Thida and Tukta can apply for Thai nationality because they were born in Thailand but they have encountered delays and corruption.
Surapong said state officials and local administrative bodies often wrongly believe it is illegal to grant Thai nationality to aliens but not giving Thai nationality to someone who qualified for it was also illegal - that was negligence in performing their duty.
Udom Sitthisuksa School director Pongsakorn Pulsombat, a member of a
committee that screens applications for nationality in that area, said this process needed to be thorough and evidence needed to be verified.
Pongsakorn said some stateless people supposedly had a private hospital certify their birth but the year of birth didn't match an applicant's year of birth.
He would push for children at his school to get nationality but it depended on the evidence. He said that after Thailand ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992, public schools nationwide introduced a policy in 2005 to give stateless children equal entitlement to the per-head subsidy, lunch and the tuition fee.
Pongsakorn urged people should have at least one nationality so as to receive protection under the state and basic rights as a citizen. "The nation's component - besides territory, sovereignty, etc - also includes the population and the birth rate is on the decline, so that's food for thought," he added.
Pongsakorn said a stateless child who graduates from Mathayom 6 should be considered for Thai nationality and that would solve the problem.
"I personally think Mathayom 6 graduation confirms that the child is responsible, knowledgeable and thus deserves an educational opportunity. They can be good citizens for the country," he said.
Former CIB Chief Taken To Remand Prison
Former Central Investigation Bureau chief Pol Lt-General Pongpat Chayaphan was sent to Bangkok Special Remand Prison yesterday after the Criminal Court rejected his request for temporary release on bail.
Pongpat, who is at the centre of a high-profile police corruption case, was brought to the prison after the court agreed to a police request for him to be detained further, as part of the police investigation.
Corrections Department director general Witthaya Suriyawong said yesterday that the disgraced crime-buster would be treated in the same way as other inmates in the prison.
Pongpat looked visibly pale and weak when police brought him to the court yesterday for the proceeding. In seeking his further detention, police investigators said they feared that he might use his influence as a senior police officer to interfere with evidence and witnesses in the case.
To date, police have arrested 17 out of 22 suspects in the case, and they are seeking five others who are still at large. Two of those arrested have been released on bail.
Pongpat, his deputy Pol Maj-General Kowit Wongrungroj, and some other suspects in the case have admitted guilt during the investigation, including the charge of lese majeste, according to police.
Large amounts of cash and rare artefacts in possession of Pongpat and other suspects have been confiscated, as well as Buddha images and amulets, gold and wood.
Meanwhile, police said yesterday three of the safes confiscated from the houses of Pongpat's family members contained no valuable items, Royal Thai Police spokesman Pol Lt-General Prawut Thawornsiri said yesterday. He said it was possible that any valuables in the safes might have been removed before they were confiscated by police.
Also yesterday, police confiscated some 400 planks of coveted wood from a house in Nonthaburi whose owner is said to be a cohort of Pongpat in his ring, according to police.
In a related development, the royally-bestowed surname Akharapongpreecha has been cancelled and users have been told to change back to their previous family name, police said yesterday. Some suspects in Pongpat's case use this surname.
Prawut said that police would open three more safes, each 1.7 metres high, tomorrow - adding that they were confiscated from Pongpat's house in Chaeng Wattana. He is convinced that valuables will be found inside the safes.
Colonel Watcharin Phusit, who led to police raid on the Nonthaburi house, said that police confiscated all the wood planks and some contained Forestry Department stamp marks.
He said the owner was required to produce evidence to prove the wood was acquired legally.
Prawut said that police had received a letter from HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn's secretary informing them about the cancellation of the surname.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Thai PM Prayut May Discuss Southern Peace Negotiations With Malaysia's Najib
BANGKOK, Nov 24 : Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha might discuss the schedule and venue of the next round of southern peace negotiations with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak during the former's visit to Malaysia in early December.
Gen Prawit said that the discussion was likely as Malaysia offered to facilitate the peace negotiation. He also said that preparation for the peace talks was nearly completed.
He denied that ongoing violent incidents against innocent people in the far South were related to the upcoming peace negotiation with southern insurgent movements.
Gen Prawit said that they retaliated against the authorities' arrests of southern insurgents and raids in the South.
Actually the situation in the far South were improving and the authorities could maintain order and control the area.
Gen Prawit encouraged insurgents to enter into negotiations with authorities.
Early today a bomb was detonated near Ban Utae Buera-ngae School in Kapho district of Pattani province wounding two paramilitary rangers on patrol. They were on duty to protect local teachers.
Army Sergeant Found Dead In Phuket Tin Pond
PHUKET: -- Two dead bodies, one of them that of an armed soldier, were pulled from Phuket waters yesterday (November 23), one from a lake and the other from a canal.
The body of Sgt Jessada Suthon, 31, was pulled out of a tin mine lake behind Rock Garden Village on Thung Ka Rd at about 2:30pm Sunday (November 23).
He was spotted floating face-down on the water by a local resident. Authorities on the scene said they believed that Sgt Jessada, who was from Phang Nga province, had been dead for two days.
Pol Lt Col Kittisak Noopeung, Scientific Specialist of Forensic Office, said that on the body police found an 11mm pistol with two magazines, a mobile phone, cash and a car key – which was for a black Mitsubishi Pajero Sports car that was parked nearby.
A check revealed the vehicle was registered in Bangkok and owned by a woman. Inside the car, police found a bottle of brandy, a bottle of water, and strands of a woman’s hair.
Police are in the process of gathering more information, including searching through mobile phone records, for possible leads as to the cause of death.
Earlier on Sunday the body of a 30-year-old Thai man was found floating in the canal in Thalang.
A relative of Chanwit Pongpa, 30, discovered his lifeless body in the canal and phoned police. The 76-year-old relative told police she had last seen Chanwit the night before, drinking in front of her home with her husband.
The body had scratches on the wrist and a wound to the forehead. Emergency rescue workers say they believe the man died roughly five hours before the body was found.
Koh Chang Monk Hugging Foreign Babes To Be Investigated
KOH CHANG: -- A Thai friendly monk from a Koh Chang temple will be investigated by religious authorities for getting a little too friendly with female tourists.
Photos circulating online showing Phra Supoj of Khlong Prao Temple grappling two foreign babes upset locals on the island, who consider them obscene.
Koh Chang Sheriff Peera Iamsoonthorn said he’s ordered an investigation by the temple’s committee as the monk in question has departed on a temple visit in Nakhon Sawan province.
Village headman Nitikorn Kawirawan said he was upset by the leaked photos and called upon Phra Supoj to tell his side of the story. The monk claimed the tourists, Russian and Cambodian.
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