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.

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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Thai junta pressures Google, Facebook, Line to censor content

Thailand's junta is ramping up pressure on internet giants Google and Facebook — and the popular messaging app Line — to scrub the country's web of any content it dislikes, officials confirmed yesterday.

The military seized power in a 2014 coup and has launched the harshest rights crackdowns in decades, arresting critics, muzzling the media and banning political gatherings or protests.

The web, in particular social media, has remained one of the few avenues open to Thais to speak out — though not without risks. Prosecutions have soared with many arrested for online posts.

Junta officials are now seeking face-to-face meetings with major web companies to try and speed up how quickly they take down objectionable content.

 

Police Major-General Pisit Paoin, from the junta's committee on mass media reform, said officials would meet with Google, Facebook and Line over the next three months "to ask for their co-operation in dealing with illegal images or clips that affect security and the nation's core institution."

"There have been tens of thousand of the illegal posts over the past five years," he said.

Officials held the first of their meetings with Google recently. Minutes of that meeting were leaked last week by hackers and later published widely by local media showing Thai officials are pushing for big web companies to agree to takedowns without a court order.

Maj-Gen Pisit said large web companies have reacted with reluctance over the past five years to previous requests to censor content.

"We have received better response from Google in the US (since the meeting)," he said. "Now we plan on talking with Line and Facebook."

Globally, web firms must comply with local laws and routinely block content within that country if presented with a court order.

But the leaked minutes suggest the Thai junta want a far more lenient standard adopted.

In a statement Line said it "has yet to be contacted by an official entity requesting such censorship" but added that "the privacy of Line users is our top priority."

"Once we have been officially contacted, we will perform our due diligence towards the related parties and consider an appropriate solution that does not conflict with our company's global standards, nor the laws of Thailand," the statement added.

The Japanese company is by far the most popular social messaging app in Thailand and is even used by many government ministries and police stations to officially brief media.

Last week, a man was arrested for sharing a video allegedly mocking junta leader Prayuth Chan-o-cha with his friends on Line, suggesting the Thai authorities are already monitoring the messenger for content it disapproves of.

Facebook and Google have yet to respond to AFP's requests for comment.

Source: Coconuts.co

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Thai Junta announces 'Bike for Dad’ will not be a holiday

The Thai government yesterday shut down holiday excitement rumors percolating on social media, and announced that Friday, Dec. 11 would not be national holiday.

Despite the fact that the "Bike for Dad" cycling event to celebrate national Father's Day will be held on that Friday, the junta spokesman Weerachon Sukondhapatipak said that they have not even considered making Dec. 11 another national holiday in addition to the Constitution Day on Dec. 10.

The “Bike for Dad” cycling event will be held at 3pm on Dec. 11. While the route is still being decided, it is expected to take place on Ratchadamnoen and Yaowarat roads and the busy Ratchaprasong junction.

Good luck getting home from work, guys.

On Sunday, Aug. 16, the Bike for Mom event attracted approximately 40,000 cyclists in Bangkok alone to ride through a 42-kilometer route. The event was held nationwide where a total of 146,266 cyclists participated, setting the Guinness World Record for a mass cycling event.

Source: Coconuts

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Junta reminds landlords to report all foreign tenants to Immigration Bureau, #Thailand

A junta announcement last Wednesday reminding property owners to notify the Immigration Bureau of all foreign tenants within 24 hours ruffled feathers in Thailand’s expat real estate community, but the little-enforced law has been on the books for decades.

The National Council for Peace and Order’s televised address on Sept. 2 at noon requested “Homeowners and owners of hotels, apartments, and accommodation buildings where there are foreigners staying in the accommodation to inform officials at nearest immigration bureau or the local police station within 24 hours of the foreigner's arrival at the premises."

The announcement caused consternation in the Bangkok rental property scene.

“I hadn’t noticed Wednesday’s announcement on this so I’m in trouble for not reporting my own tenant,” an executive at Colliers International Thailand told real estate website Dot Property.

“This regulation has always been on the books but not enforced,” said Simon Landy, Chairman of Colliers International Thailand “In the wake of the arrest of the Erawan suspect in a rented apartment someone decided it should be enforced.”

The other real estate firms contacted were either “unaware of the announcement, or were not prepared to comment on it.”

It appears that the little-known-about law has been around for decades, but was only re-emphasized in the wake of the Erawan bombing.

According to the 1979 Immigration Act, “House owners, heads of household, landlords or managers of hotels who accommodate foreign nationals on a temporary basis who stay in the kingdom legally, must notify the local immigration authorities within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the foreign national.”

One official at the Government Contact Center told Coconuts Bangkok that the investigation into the bombing opened up the eyes of the government about how little the law has been enforced.

“The NCPO only encouraged landlords to notify the immigration office as accordance to the law," Yingsak Dechyuwawech said "After the bombing, authorities found out through investigation that many landlords do not report their foreign tenants."

NCPO commented on their televised address Wednesday that reporting foreign tenants was “another method of building security and promoting safety for tourists.”

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