16 Myanmar workers rescued from Malaysian fishing boat

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Sixteen Myanmar migrant workers, including three minors under 18 years old, who were allegedly ‘sold’ to a Malaysia fishing boat in southern Thailand were rescued by Thai officials on July 13, according to a Thai-based migrant rights groups.

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 “We were asked to rescue migrants on July 8, and we spent about four days collecting information about the victims and their location. After that we asked Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation to help rescue the victims,” said U Kyaw Thaung, director of the Myanmar Association in Thailand (MAT), on Monday.

He said that initially 13 Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand were sold by a broker to the Malaysian fishing boat that had docked with fake documents at Naya Thiwa Port, Pattani province, in Thailand.

U Kyaw Thaung said each worker had paid 17,000 baht to the broker to find jobs in Indonesia, but the broker sold them to the fishing boat instead.

“When we asked the DSI to help save our workers, it asked for a recommendation letter from the Myanmar Embassy. They rescued our migrants on July 13 when we provided the recommendation letter,” Ko Shwe Tun Aye, chair of Migrant Workers’ Network in Phuket, said Monday.

He said the workers were rescued with the help of the Thai army.

According to MAT, they also rescued other Myanmar migrants, one aged 14 and two aged 17, who had been sold by another broker to the fishing boat on the day the rescue team reached them.

According to U Kyaw Thaung, the 16 Myanmar workers were to be sent to a fishing vessel in Indonesia. Fifteen of the victims are from Rakhine State and one is from Bago Region.

All the rescued victims are being held at a detention center, and Thai officials are planning to arrest the brokers for human trafficking.

Source - mmtimes

Temple deputy abbot Phra Thatthacheevo of using temple funds to trade in stocks

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Dhammakaya Temple deputy abbot fights charge

Pathum Thani-based Dhammakaya Temple deputy abbot Phra Thatthacheevo on Wednesday morning presented himself to public prosecutors of the Thanyaburi Provincial Court to fight the charge of violating a junta order to present himself before the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief. 

The embattled monk, who was accompanied by lawyers, refused to comment to media.

The DSI also accused Phra Thatthacheevo of using temple funds to trade in stocks – an alleged offence that could result in him being charged with abuse of authority under Article 157 of the Criminal Code.

Thailand - Monastic council likely to make decision on defrocking Phra Dhammachayo today

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Monastic council likely to make decision on defrocking Phra Dhammachayo today

THE SANGHA Supreme Council (SSC) is expected to issue a resolution today regarding the controversial monk Phra Dhammachayo.
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The honorary abbot of Dhammakaya Temple is facing charges of money laundering and accepting stolen items. 

Although he has already been stripped of his high monastic rank, he has not been defrocked.
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 The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) yesterday submitted a complaint concerning Phra Dhammachayo to the National Buddhism Office (NBO), urging it to take action against the embattled monk. 

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Help to save Naga Noi forest, Phuket

Naga Noi Island

THE DEPARTMENT of Special Investigation (DSI) is seeking a junta order in the hope that forestland on Naga Noi Island can be saved from bulldozers.

The island, which is part of Phuket province, is largely covered by large trees and is home to hornbills - a protected species.

The only local family on the island, the Hiranpruecks, reported this week to authorities and online communities that armed men were preparing to clear trees from a sizeable portion of the forest zone

The case has won much attention from the public, partly because Puri Hiranprueck is a well-known actor. His family owns 53 rai on the island and the rest has been described as forestland.

Pol Lt-Colonel Prawut Wongseenin, who heads the DSI Bureau of Consumer Protection and Environment Crime, disclosed yesterday that the department would ask Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya for help in seeking an order from the junta to block any bulldozing operations pending further investigation.

"We expect a response in the next couple of days," he said. 

 

 Hornbills

 

He added that initial investigation by the DSI showed that the firm preparing to clear trees on Naga Noi held illegal land-rights documents.

The justice minister is expected to ask Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to exercise his absolute power under the interim charter's Article 44 to stop the felling of trees.

"We will seek temporary protection for this zone," Prawut promised, adding that the DSI was working on having the DSI board declare this as a special case.

"Since we are still at this stage, we have not yet asked the Land Department to revoke the [alleged] illegitimately-issued land-rights documents," he added.

Prawut went on to explain that this case was not a dispute between Six Mountains Co Ltd, which says it has bought 24 rai on the island from previous owners, and the Hiranprueck family. "The land that the firm claims to own actually belongs to the state. It's a lush forest zone," he said.

Deputy Phuket Governor Chokdee Amornwat said provincial authorities had already looked into Hiranprueck family's claim, but found that the firm had valid land-rights documents.

"If these documents were issued illegitimately, then the authorities will have to launch an investigation and take the case to court. For as long as these documents are not revoked, their holders can still use the land," he said.

 

 Hornbills

 

Source: The Nation

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