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Tag: Thai

  • Thai Reformist Party may be dissolved after legal setback

    Thai Reformist Party may be dissolved after legal setback

    The party in Thailand that got the most votes in last year’s election might have to shut down because the court said its main idea is against the law.

    Move Forward is not in the government, but it promised to campaign to change the laws about speaking badly about the royal family. The court in Thailand found that this promise goes against the constitution.

    Anti-government laws are being used more and more to stop people from criticizing the government, activists say.

    The leader of Move Forward might not be allowed to be in politics anymore.

    Pita Limjaroenrat is a young politician who went to Harvard. People thought he was a big problem for Thailand’s king and the powerful military group. In 2023, he got a lot of people to vote for him by saying he would control their power.

    His efforts to become prime minister were stopped by the Senate, even though he was not chosen by the people.

    Last week, he won another court case trying to stop him from being in parliament. However, he and his party did not win the important second case on Wednesday for their main policy platform.

    The Constitutional Court said that Move Forward’s promise to change the law about insulting the king was like trying to overthrow the whole government in Thailand.

    The decision doesn’t come with a punishment right away, but many people think it will be used to shut down Move Forward and stop its leaders from being involved in politics for a few years.

    By making this decision, the court has basically made it impossible for the elected parliament to change the lese majeste law.

    Many people think the law in Thailand restricts freedom of speech and is too strict.

    Earlier this month, a 30-year-old man in Bangkok was sent to prison for 50 years for saying bad things about the Thai king.

    Since November 2020, more than 260 people have been accused of breaking the law. This date marks the start of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s rule.

    The Thai courts said that people are not allowed to talk about the powerful royal family.

    Four years ago, Move Forward’s old party, called Future Forward, was also shut down after doing surprisingly well in an election.

    The Constitutional Court’s action caused many student protests that lasted for months. The protesters demanded big changes to the monarchy, which had never been asked for before.

    Today, many protest leaders are being charged with breaking the lese majeste law and could go to prison for a long time.

    The court has also decided if it is legal to ask for a change to lese majeste.

    In November 2021, the court decided that three top activists who asked for changes in the monarchy during the protests of 2020 were secretly planning to overthrow the monarchy.

    It told them to stop and all three have been charged with many crimes since then.

    This new decision says that it’s not okay to propose any changes to the lese majeste law.

    Move Forward said it was the job of the elected parliament to check a law in the regular penal code. Thailand’s lese majeste law has been changed two times.

    Furthermore, during its election campaign, the party avoided supporting calls to completely get rid of the law, and instead only suggested making some changes to it. It received the most votes compared to other parties, so it had a strong public support for its proposed changes.

    The judges decided that Move Forward and its leaders did things that showed they wanted to get rid of Thailand’s democratic government, with the King as the Head of State.

    It told them to not do anything that showed they wanted to get rid of the law that protects the king, and they can only change the law in the right way, through the government.

    This means that the law could be changed by the government, but people can’t talk about it on social media or in public.

    With all the times in Thailand that political parties have been shut down and leaders banned from politics for not very good reasons, there will be a lot of pressure to do the same to Move Forward.

    Some people from Thailand will think that this was the main reason for submitting the petition to the court.

  • Two to face charges by Thai police after pet lion was seen driving in Bentley

    Two to face charges by Thai police after pet lion was seen driving in Bentley

    A lady was detained by the Thai police after her pet lion was observed riding around in the streets of Pattaya.

    A very popular video now shows a baby lion with chains on it sitting in the back of a white Bentley car with no roof.

    A man from Sri Lanka was taking the lion around, but he left the country. People think he is a friend of the woman, Sawangjit Kosoongnern.

    In Thailand, it’s okay to have a lion as a pet as long as you register it with the government.

    Officials in Thailand said Sawangjit said she bought the animal from a man in Nakhon Pathom province and he helped get it to Pattaya.

    But he didn’t get permission to transfer or own the animal, so it was illegal.

    She is in trouble for having a wild animal without permission. If she’s found guilty, she could go to jail for a year and have to pay a fine of up to 100,000 baht.

    The police wanted to charge the Sri Lankan man because he kept the lion in his rented house. But they couldn’t because he left Thailand. He was going to be charged for bringing a wild animal into public places. This can result in up to six months in jail and a fine of 50,000 baht.

    The person who sold the lion to Sawangjit will also be in trouble for taking the animal without permission.

    Authorities say there are 224 lions in Thailand that are owned legally.

  • Hamas hostages: Thai prisoners return to joyful families

    Hamas hostages: Thai prisoners return to joyful families

    Seventeen Thai people who were captured by Hamas for almost 50 days have been released and have come back to Bangkok.

    They have been released separately from an agreement that has already seen Hamas free 70 Israeli women and children.

    The truce being extended gives us hope that the last nine Thai hostages will be released.

    Almost all of the kidnapped foreign workers were from Thailand. Israel hires around 30,000 people to work on farms, and they are one of the biggest groups of migrant workers there.

    39 people from Thailand were killed in an attack by Hamas on Israel on 7 October.

    Six people from Thailand who were taken captive were let go recently. They are now in Israel for a check-up with a doctor. However, the other people who were released are being taken home by the Thai foreign minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara.

    They got to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on Thursday evening. Some of their families were excited to see them.

    Chanapa and Sirirat Bupasiri left their village in the middle of the night to go to Bangkok for their brother Buddee Saengbun’s arrival.

    “We didn’t sleep at all,” Chanapa said to the media as she waited outside Bangkok airport. She said they knew Buddee was ok when they saw him on the news after he was let go last week.

    We didn’t know what happened to my brother. We tried a lot of things like Facebook groups and asking the department of employment for help. Some families heard about their loved ones, but we didn’t.

    She cried while smiling when someone asked her what she will do when she sees her brother again. (Give people hugs. ) “She said she wanted hugs and was crying. ” “One month and 18 days. ” can be rewritten as “49 days. ” “We have been keeping track of each day. ”

    The workers will go back to their homes after a short meeting with reporters. They will talk to the media and answer their questions. Many of them come from a poor area in north-east Thailand where people mainly grow rice. Many young adults leave this area to find better jobs.

    Older parents who cannot travel to Bangkok, or families who cannot afford the long trip, are waiting at home.

    “I’m very happy” Bunyarin Srichan is excited for his daughter Nattawaree “Yo” Mulka to come home. She was the only female Thai hostage taken by Hamas.

    She says they will have a big meal with fried pork and sticky rice. She also plans to have a small ceremony to welcome their loved one home and bring back their spirits after a scary experience.

    Yo’s boyfriend, who she met while working in Israel, was also taken by force, but was released with her.

    Bunyarin, who has been taking care of Yo’s two children, said her daughter used to call or message three times a day before she was kidnapped in the attack on October 7th. She sent half of her money to her mom every month, which was 25,000 Thai baht ($715; £560).

    Many workers borrow money to travel to Israel, so they can send money back to their families and pay back what they owe. Natthaporn Onkaew, 27, was let go on Saturday. He is the only one in his family who earns money.

    Two years ago, he got a job in Israel. He sent back around $800 to $1,000 (£630-£800) to his home every month.

    “I’m really glad that my son is coming back,” said his father, Thawatchai Onkaew, to BBC Thai. He also mentioned that his son had been calling home every day from the hospital after being released.

    The family is making his favorite food – beef salad – to welcome him home, and they are also having a party for him.

    Mr Thawatchai said that his son doesn’t want to go back to work in Israel because he is still very afraid.

    About 8,500 people from Thailand have been brought back to their country since the attack on 7 October. The BBC knows that some people have returned to Israel because they couldn’t find work and had too much debt.

    Many people have told BBC Thai about their bad working conditions in Israel. They say they have to live in dirty places, work too much, and don’t get paid enough.

    More than 14,500 people in Gaza have died from Israel’s bombing since October 7th, according to Gaza’s health ministry run by Hamas.

    Hamas stopped fighting for six days and let go 102 hostages in exchange for 210 Palestinian prisoners, including many women and teenagers, held in Israeli jails.

    The truce was supposed to end on Thursday, but it has been prolonged for at least one more day.

    Narissara Chanthasang feels better because her husband, Nattapong Pinta, is still being held by Hamas.

    “Heart hurt when I found out he wasn’t free,” she said. I will go to the airport when he comes back for sure. “Nothing can prevent me. “

  • Thai captives transported to medical facility in Tel Aviv

    Thai captives transported to medical facility in Tel Aviv

    More on the 12 Thai hostages that were just freed from Hamas custody in Gaza.

    According to Thai media, the hostages were being transported to the Shamir Medical Centre (Assaf Harofeh), which is located south of Tel Aviv in Jerusalem, after entering Israel through the Rafah crossing.

    They are expected to stay for 48 hours and receive medical attention there.

    According to an official briefed on the talks, they were released under a separate accord with Hamas mediated by Egypt and Qatar.

    The 12 Thai hostages, according to the official, were all men.

    More update on this story soon…

  • Thai employees discuss surviving Hamas bombings

    Thai employees discuss surviving Hamas bombings

    We have talked to Thai people who stayed in Israel and managed to survive the Hamas attacks on Saturday. Twelve people from Thailand have been murdered and another 11 have been taken by extremists.

    Workers at a farm in Mivtahim, a town close to the Gaza Strip, said that fighters shot rockets and attacked their farm early on Saturday.

    One person named Udomporn Champahom said that a Thai person who was with him got shot in the leg and is now getting better. The gunshot wound was described as being as big as a bottle cap.

    Someone else said “I was running and crawling under a truck when the shooter grabbed me and aimed their gun really close before shooting at the ground. ”

    The worker, who doesn’t want to give their name, was eventually able to get away.

    Around 30,000 people from Thailand are currently working in agriculture in Israel. Some of them, around 5,000, are specifically working near the Gaza border.

    Wanida Maarsa said that her husband Anucha Angkaew, who has been working on an avocado farm for almost two years, was one of the people captured by the militants.

    He was seen in a video that Hamas posted recently, but she hasn’t been able to reach him since Friday night. They last talked before she put their daughter to bed.

  • Israel strike results in 12 Thai deaths and 11 abductions

    Israel strike results in 12 Thai deaths and 11 abductions

    Twelve people from Thailand have died and another 11 have been taken by force in the fighting between Israel and Hamas fighters.

    On Monday, Thailand’s foreign ministry said that eight more Thai people were hurt.

    The government said that the air force is ready to bring its people back home.

    Around 30,000 Thai people are currently in Israel, doing jobs like nursing and construction. They are working with people from over 50 different countries.

    The Labour minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, said that around 5,000 Thai workers are in the area where fighting is happening. However, Israeli forces have started moving them to a safe place. He said that 1,099 workers have signed up to go back home.

    People who work on a farm in Mivtahim, a town close to the Gaza Strip, said that Hamas fighters came to their farm after rockets were shot in the early morning on Saturday.

    The Hamas fighters shot a rocket at us before attacking our farm. I had to quickly go and hide in my bedroom, Udomporn Champahom told the BBC on Saturday.

    Mr Udomporn was saved by soldiers from Israel after. He said that his friend from Thailand who was with him at that time is getting better from a gunshot injury on his leg that is as big as a bottle cap.

    Another worker from Thailand said to the BBC: “I was running and crawling under a truck, then the Hamas group pulled me out and aimed a gun at me from very close before shooting into the ground. ” This worker, who chose not to reveal their name, was later able to get away.

    Wanida Armasa told BBC Thai that her husband, Anucha Angkaew, had been working on an avocado farm for nearly two years. He was one of the people who were kidnapped by the militants.

    He was seen in a video that Hamas released recently. “She said that the person in the video is definitely him. ”

    I haven’t been able to reach him since 02:00 in Bangkok (19:00 on Friday in GMT). Ms Wanida said that she spoke to him right before our daughter went to sleep.

    Many countries, like the US, Nepal, and Germany, said that their people have either been murdered, kidnapped, or gone missing during the ongoing disturbance in Israel.

    One country impacted is Nepal, which said on Sunday that 10 Nepali college students had died.

    They went to Israel to work and learn new skills in farming company. An additional 265 students from Nepal are also working on different farms in Israel, and another 4,500 Nepalis are working as caregivers.

    The Israeli police told the Nepali Embassy that another person from Nepal is lost, and four others are hurt, with one of them being very hurt.

    India is trying hard to bring back its people from Israel.

    Media reports say that approximately 18,000 people from India are currently residing and working in the country.

  • Thai monks fail drug tests, leaving the temple desolate

    Local officials have reported that , a small Buddhist temple in Thailand has been left without any monks after they were all dismissed for failing drug tests.

    An official told AFP that four monks, including the abbot, tested positive for methamphetamine in the northern province of Phetchabun.

    According to Boonlert Thintapthai, the monks were then sent to a health clinic for drug rehabilitation.

    The raid coincides with a national campaign to combat drug trafficking.

    The monks were reportedly removed from the temple on Monday after police administered urine tests, which all four men failed. Officials did not specify what drew police attention to the temple.

    Mr Thintapthai told AFP that the “temple is now empty of monks and nearby villagers are concerned they cannot do any merit-making”.

    Merit-making is an important Buddhist practice where worshippers gain a protective force through good deeds – in this case by giving food to monks.

    But Mr Thintapthai said that regional officials had sought the assistance of the local monastic chief, who had promised to assign some new monks to the temple in the Bung Sam Phan district in a bid to address the concerns of worshippers.

    In recent years, methamphetamine has become a major issue in Thailand, with seizures of the drug reaching an all time high in 2021, according to the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime.

    The country is a major transit point for methamphetamine. The drugs flood into the country from Myanmar – the world’s biggest producer of methamphetamine – via Laos.

    The pills are then sold on the streets with a value of around 50 Baht (£0.47).

    Last month, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered a clampdown on drugs after a former police officer who had been dismissed from the force for methamphetamine possession killed 37 people during a shooting at a nursery.