Benjamin Holse detained by Thai Police for Begging

BANGKOK – The Immigration Office will begin the process of deporting Benjamin Holse a German National  who was found enjoying the nightlife in Pattaya after begging for money on Bangkok streets.

Holse was described on social media as a poor man whose money and passport had stolen in Thailand and who ended up begging for money on Bangkok streets.

Lt-Colonel Arun Promphan of the Tourist Police Division said yesterday the German Embassy would be informed of the latest development and Holse would be deported.

Holse snuck away from a Bangkok hotel that a German foundation had arranged for him to stay in while waiting for the issuance of a passport earlier this week. The German initially claimed his passport was stolen.

Taxi motorcyclists in South Pattaya said yesterday they recognized Holse from his pictures in the news when he showed up on Tuesday night.

During his trip to Pattaya, many pictures of Holse were taken and uploaded onto social media

Holse was described on social media as a poor man whose money and passport had stolen in Thailand and who ended up begging for money on Bangkok streets.

Chumphol Thiangtham, chairman of Deutscher Hilfsverein Thailand eV, said on Sunday the German organization had approached Holse and offered him help before his case went viral on the Internet, but he turned it down.

Tourist police, after learning about Holse, then contacted Chumphol and asked him to help the German, he said.

The taxi motorcyclists in Pattaya claimed that Holse showed off more than Bt40,000 when they recognised him. “He also gave us money, telling us to get him some beer and some girls for him to sleep with,” one of the taxi motorcyclists said on condition of anonymity.

He claimed Holse did not like the girl they brought for him and decided to check out Pattaya Walking Street himself.

During his trip to Pattaya, many pictures of Holse were taken and uploaded onto social media.

Once again pictures of him created a stir, but there was no sympathy this time.

Thais are angry because it seems he preyed on their generosity.

A hotel employee in Pattaya claimed a drunk Holse called Thais stupid for giving him money.

Tourist police who accompanied Holse to a hotel in Pattaya on Wednesday night said the German had just Bt7,000 left.

According to the tourist police, Holse claimed he came to Pattaya to meet a friend but his friend did not show up.

 

Pattaya People News Video

Pornpimol Reu-opat was pushing a cart carrying her 22-year-old daughter along the highway

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BANGKOK – A 60-year-old homeless woman who was found walking for three days on a highway to Bangkok with her Down syndrome daughter received help yesterday after attention was called to her plight.

Pornpimol said she and her daughter were kicked out of their home

Pornpimol Reu-opat was pushing a cart carrying her 22-year-old daughter along the highway between Udon Thani and Khon Kaen provinces when reporters spotted her and brought the attention to her story.

Pornpimol said she and her daughter were kicked out of their home, which belongs to her dead husband’s family, so with no other hope she set out on a 527-kilometer walk to the capital, where she hoped to find help from long-lost relatives.

The mother and daughter arrived Bangkok today aboard a free train after reporters contacted the nearest train station. Pornpimol said she had previously tried to board a free train before deciding to walk, but officers did not allow her to take her daughter’s cart on board.

The two are now in the care of Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, who will find them a proper shelter and help search for their relatives, Khaosod reported.

“The organization will make sure they receive basic welfare. The mother will receive her first monthly cash support from the government in November while her daughter will continue to receive the disabled fund support,” said Ramrung Subansaeni, president of One Stop Crisis Center. “The organization will also contact a hospital to help with her daughter’s condition.”

But is the government’s help enough?

A senior citizen aged 60 to 69 receives THB600 monthly welfare support in disbursements which increase by THB100 every 10 years. Meanwhile, her daughter is receiving THB500 in assistance each month from the government to get by, according to Pornpimol.

By – Bangkok Coconuts, Khoasod

Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen of the Royal Thai Police said a reward of 700,000 baht (£13,300) – was being offered for information leading to arrests of the culprits.

KOH TAO – A reward of more than Bt 700,00 is now being offered in the murders of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, as Thai police bungle along trying to find the killers of two British tourists.

Now a group of Thais who had been playing football have become the latest to be questioned by detectives.

DNA samples have been taken from “more than eight” of the group who reportedly threw a party at the nightclub where the victims spent their final hours.

Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen said “We’re trying to narrow our inquiries and collect more evidence. We’re encouraging the public who may have information to come forward,” he said.

“We’re checking DNA but this is not the only thing we are looking at to prosecute the suspects.”

Thailand’s government says it will install more surveillance cameras nationwide and better lighting in major tourist areas after the murders of two British tourists on a resort island.

Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters Thursday he has ordered the Interior Ministry, Bangkok’s city government and police to install the surveillance cameras and improve lighting.

He said authorities are urgently investigating the case, which critics charge has been bungled by police.

The Bangkok Post reported “The police investigation into the murders of the two Britons has been going in circles, with many theories advanced and discarded, suspects named by the media and then cleared. Parts of the crime scene were trampled by rescue teams and reporters, and officers did not even search the rooms of the victims until two days after the event”.

Police so far have taken 209 DNA samples for testing, including 30 new samples, according to Pol Gen Jarumporn Suramanee, who is a top forensic expert. The results of 179 samples did not match those found at the crime scene.

Panya Mamen, chief of Provincial Police Region 8, said the results of another 30 samples could be available on Saturday night after tests at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok.

However, despite the vast sample collection, detectives have yet to identify the suspects. Their best clue is that more than one person was involved in the killings.

Pol Lt Gen Panya said investigators had narrowed down possible suspects to 20 and reiterated police were confident of success.

Deputy government spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkumnerd appealed to the public not to put pressure on investigators as all steps needed to be conducted thoroughly in order to prevent mistakes.

Phuket Police reported that Slavchev Tsvetozargev, 44, Nlk Valntinguenadiev, 42, and Yanev Tsvetannetorov, 42 will be held without bail until court proceedings.

PHUKET – Three Bulgarian Nationals have been arrested in Phuket for producing and using fake ATM cards and withdrawing about 170,000 baht from victims’ accounts in Phuket province.

Phuket Police reported that Slavchev Tsvetozargev, 44, Nlk Valntinguenadiev, 42, and Yanev Tsvetannetorov, 42 will be held without bail until court proceedings.

The Bangkok Post reported that the Phuket police said detectives and informants were deployed near ATMs in Phuket and they found Mr Tsvetozargev withdraw money from a Bangkok Bank ATM in front of a Super Cheap convenience store near Karon beach. The suspect made seven 10,000-baht withdrawals.

At an ATM in front of a FamilyMart convenience store near Banthai Hotel close to Patong beach, Mr Valntinguenadiev withdrew about 100,000 baht.

Mr Tsvetannetorov was arrested at another ATM in front of a 7-Eleven convenience store near Karon-Kata beach. The suspect admitted that he had installed a skimmer at the ATM to record the data of victims’ ATM cards for the forgery.

Local police are interrogating the three foreign suspects to expand their suppression of fake ATM crime in the resort island. A press conference will be held on Sunday for more details about the gang.

Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Panya Mamen has now reported that police investigators have obtained a key witness who said foreigner killed the two British tourists in Koh Tao island.

The Nation Online website quoted Pol Lt Gen Panya Manen as telling the online newspapers  today that the team of police investigators have met a key witness who claimed seeing foreigner killed the two tourists.

The Thai PBS News reported on its site that no further details were produced as to whether the witness is a male or female or the witness is a local or a foreigner, and how many were involved in the murder of the two foreigners.

But this latest disclosure, if confirmed, will be a significant turn of the probe which earlier focused only on locals  and migrant workers after DNA testing revealed the mixed semen found inside Ms Hannah Witheridge belonged to Asians.

More than 300 migrant workers and locals were rounded up to have their DNA samples tested. But none has matched DNA found in her body.

The disclosure of the key witness who the police still kept confidential would give new clue to the brutal murder of Ms Hannah and her friend David Miller.

Customs official Djarot Utomo said Peter Naumann, was arrested Friday after he arrived on a flight from Bangkok

BALI - Indonesian customs said Saturday they have arrested a German Hans Peter Naumann 48, for allegedly trafficking cocaine onto the resort island of Bali.

Customs official Djarot Utomo said Peter Naumann, was arrested Friday after he arrived on a flight from Bangkok.

Officers had Naumann X-rayed soon after suspecting something was hidden in his stomach, Utomo said.

Eleven white capsules filled with cocaine were found in Naumann’s underwear, and doctors found six others inside his stomach, all worth $65,000, Utomo said.

Police are still investigating and Naumann hasn’t been charged yet.

Indonesia has extremely strict drug laws and convicted smugglers are often executed. More than 140 people are on death row, mostly for drug crimes. About a third of them are foreigners.

Last year, a British woman was sentenced to death for smuggling $2.5 million worth of cocaine into Bali in her luggage.

A Continued examination at a nearby hospital and found the remaining six capsules in stomach actors, so a total of 17 capsules weighing 239 grams of cocaine.

VIETNAM – The members of the International Mekong River Commission and members from Asian countries, held its first national preliminary consultation seminar in Can Tho yesterday to assess the impact of the construction of the Don Sahong hydropower plant on the Mekong River in Laos.

Speaking at the seminar, Nguyen Thanh Hai, head of the Office of the Southwest Steering Committee, said the hydropower plant would have a negative impact on the Mekong River, especially fish migration routes along the mainstream of the river.

The members of the International Mekong River Commission and members from Asian countries were evaluating the construction of the dam to ensure that it would improve the environment and enhance development, he added.

Le Duc Trung, head of the Office of Mekong River Commission, said the seminar aimed to report on objective scientific research on the Don Sahong hydropower dam construction, especially its impact on fisheries, water, sediment and people’s livelihoods in the region.

After receiving reports from the Secretariat, the International Mekong River Commission Cooperation Committee, and Viet Nam Mekong River Commission Cooperation Committee, Viet Nam plans to organise further consultation seminars for scientists and localities, particularly those in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces, according to Trung.

Also speaking at the event, Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent expert, said the Mekong River was one of the world’s greatest rivers with essential resources for the region, maintaining the livelihoods of millions of people.

Thus, the decision on hydropower development on the Mekong River mainstream must be based on serious research and proven technologies, as well as consultation with affected governments and communities, he added.

However, most of the reports and analysis about the environmental impact of the project were insufficient and incomplete, he said, adding that the risk of the impact was high. The measures to mitigate the impact have not been proven in an environment with such biodiversity like the Mekong River, Thien noted.

According to research from the Viet Nam Mekong River Commission, the hydropower projects on the mainstream Mekong River have affected the quantity and quality of water, sediment, navigation, agriculture, biodiversity, fisheries and economy in the Mekong Delta.

Speakers also discussed challenges facing the Mekong Co-operation projects, and solutions for sustainable development as well as quality of research work in the region.

In June, Laos announced its decision to have the Don Sahong project undergo a Mekong River Commission consultation process.

The process requires Laos to hold an intergovernmental consultation before proceeding with the dam and conduct and share studies on the project’s environmental and social impact. The process will take at least six months to complete.

With a designed capacity of 260 MW, the Don Sahong hydropower plant is expected to be built on Dong Sahong River, a mainstream branch of the Mekong River, which is around three kilometres from the Cambodian border and 420 kilometres from Viet Nam’s border.

He said that the duty to turn Thai youngsters today to be good citizens is not confined to just teachers but everyone in the society.  He added that the country would prosper with stability and recognized by the international community if Thai youths today become good responsible people in the future.

The above statement was made by General Prem at a scholarships and rewards presentation ceremony held on Saturday in Nakhon Ratchasima.  Also presented at the ceremony were Lt-Gen Charnchai Phuthong, commander of the Second Region Army, governors from 19 northeastern provinces, businessmen and other officials.

Altogether 1,857 scholarships worth 5.2 million baht were presented to students from poor families but with good grades and behavior from Prem Tinsulanonda Foundation.  Also 96 rewards were presented to winners of project presentation contests.

Government should also compensate the price difference to farmers owning less than 40 rais of land and strictly set standard for rice moisture measurement meter and provide financial supports for their rice production.

The call was proposed during a meeting between assistant  to the Commerce Minister Patamapong Patompat  and  five farmer groups to discuss relief for rice  farmers now suffering from price falls.

Ravee Rungruang, chairman of the Thai Farmers Network, called on the commerce ministry to buy rice with moisture content up to a maximum limit of 15 percent at the price of 10,000 a ton,  a level they find profitable, as the farmers now get only 6,000-7,000 baht a ton.

He said the government should also compensate the price difference to farmers owning less than 40 rais of land and strictly set standard for rice moisture measurement meter and provide financial supports for their rice production.

Department of Internal Trade Director-general Chintana Chaiyawannakan, meanwhile, encouraged the farmers to try to find their own solutions to save production cost and make more profit, not just demanded the government to pay 10,000 baht.

Prof. Nguyen Thi Lang, a Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute breeder, holds up a sample of a new rice variety being developed in Vietnam. CIAT/Georgina Smith

VIETNAM – Flooding in the lower Mekong Delta is becoming more intense, frequent and complex to control due to climate change, say researchers. The 17 million farmers living on the Delta in Vietnam’s southern-most tip – where 60 percent of the country’s rice is produced – need solutions.

As the government contemplates costs of up to $2.1 billion to protect crops and people from weather extremes and salt water intrusion, rice researchers are trying to equip farmers with more robust rice varieties.

Rice farmer Ho Thai Benam’s crop was hit by disease earlier in the year. “I have children studying in the city and with low rice productivity I don’t have enough money for their tuition,” she said.

She is looking for rice that is disease-resistant, high-yielding and fetches a good price, she said. After a workshop in her community about improved rice varieties, she selected new seeds that should help her protect her crop from disease and flooding, and boost yields.

She is among hundreds of farmers targeted by an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research-funded project investigating challenges facing farmers including lack of suitable rice varieties resistant to flood and salt water tolerance.

Climate Change Affecting Land Use in the Mekong Delta: Adaptation of Rice-based Cropping Systems (CLUES) is led by researchers at the International Rice Research Institute and part of global efforts to tackle climate change in the region under the international agricultural research group CGIAR’s Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

RICE TO BEAT EXTREMES

Using a scientific process known as marker assisted back-crossing, researchers identified favorable traits in well-adapted rice varieties, such as high yield, and combined them with other favorable traits to create hardier rice varieties.

In total, 36 single and multiple crosses have been made to combine ability to withstand being submerged and salinity tolerance with high grain quality. So far 2,768 kilograms of the new seed have been released to farmers.

Professor Nguyen Thi Lang, at the Delta’s Cuu Long Rice Research Institute, explains: “We release the improved rice varieties to local breeding and agricultural extension centres, which multiply and provide them to farmers in their areas.”

According to Ngo Dang Phong, a coordinator of CLUES, “flooding and sea water intrusion are two of the biggest threats to rice producers in the lower Mekong Delta.”

It is projected that by 2030, salt water could contaminate 41 percent of the Delta.

Such changes “threaten farming and social systems now more than ever,” he added.

CLUES researchers have mapped hot spots of flooding and salinity intrusion, and assessed the impact of infrastructure development on the lower Mekong River since 2011.

They have advised farmers to intercrop rice with crops like cucumber, which cope well with different soil types, have low water requirements and grow quickly, to provide income between crops.

Experiments on different management techniques also revealed that alternatively flooding and draining fields can slash water use by about 20 percent and save irrigation-associated fuel and labor costs of about $120 per hectare. The changes also can cut methane emissions from continuous flooding rice production in half.

Such climate-smart practices are more realistic than just switching crops, which is not an option for many farmers like Ho Thai Benam. Rice has been grown for generations and is a central food security crop and export earner in Vietnam, fetching around $2.9 billion in earnings in 2013.

Thai Net-citizens are using Social Media on their Phones and Computers to Mock the Police Investigation – File Photo

KOH TAO –  Thai netcitizens have started to mock a bungled police investigation into the murders of two British tourists in Koh Tao Thailand by uploading a series of tasteless snaps online.

He told how he was approached by two men at the nightclub where Hannah, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and David, from Jersey, had been before they were beaten to death on a beach.Terrified Sean, who has been ruled out as a suspect by the police, said: “They just said to me: ‘It was you who killed them. You’ve got two people’s deaths on your hands.

“‘You’re going to hang yourself tonight and we are going to watch you hang. You will die tonight.’ So I just ran.”

Thai police investigating the murder of two British tourists said on Sunday that they were no closer to an arrest as frustration grows over the lack of a breakthrough.

Some have criticized the investigation saying that the crime scene was not sealed off quickly enough and that potential suspects were allowed to leave the island.

Their investigation descended into further farce as Thailand’s top police officer blamed social media for his force’s failure.

Police General Somyot Poompanmoung said online attention to the case had “obstructed the investigation and confused investigators”.

By Ed Riley

BAD TASTE: Pictures posted online include mocking the tool used to kill the two Brits, a garden hoe [SOCIALMEDIA]

 

DRAGGING COUNTRY DOWN: Sean McAnna in drag has been ruled out as a suspect [SOCIALMEDIA]

 

BEACH MURDERS: Local Thai villagers have been mocking the police investigation into the Brit beach murders [SOCIALMEDIA]

He burned their bodies using newspaper as fuel

CHUMPHON – The Royal Thai Police have arrested a drug addicted father who was  responsible for the murder of his wife and his 12 year old daughter in Samut Sakhon

Police returned to the scene of a grisly crime today with the father who admitted to killing his wife and daughter in their vehicle along Rama II Road before setting it afire with their bodies and then fleeing.

Police said Rames Rattana, 37, stabbed his wife and 12-year-old daughter to death in a yaba-fueled frenzy on Saturday while they were driving to Bangkok from their home in Chumphon province.

After an argument with his wife Orawan Rattana, 37, police said Rames attempted to stab her with a knife but instead stabbed his 12-year-old daughter as she attempted to shield her mother’s body. As Orawan got out of the car to escape, Rames chased after her and stabbed her to death.

Turning back to his injured 12-year-old girl, Rames reportedly told police he decided to kill her too because he did not know how to rescue or seek treatment for her.

After that, Rames put burned both bodies in the vehicle before fleeing.

Arun Rattana, 17, an older daughter who refused to go on a trip with her family, said her father was a drug addict and always had hallucinations that his family wanted to kill him. They had tried to seek treatment for Rames, but he could never be helped.

The relatives are grieving their loved ones’ tragic deaths, Thairath reported.

Meanwhile, In the Bangkok post, a 19-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly killing a four-year-old boy in a fit of rage after he broke his brand new tablet computer.

The suspect allegedly confessed during police interrogation that the victim angered him after he dropped a new tablet, which his father had just bought for him last week. The tablet hit the ground and broke. He took the boy to a palm tree plantation behind the school, assaulted him 15 times about the head and torso and threw his body in the pond.

The teenager has been charged with assault causing death, Pol Col Chokchai said.

Prayuth, 60, who led a coup in May, presided over a lavish military parade on Monday marking his retirement as commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army

BANGKOK -  Thailand’s army chief prime minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, hands over command of the army this week to a trusted ally and steps into civilian politics as head of a government likely to soon face pressure to turn around a sputtering economy.

Prayuth, 60, who led a coup in May, presided over a lavish military parade on Monday marking his retirement as commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha prays before a military parade marking his retirement as commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in Nakornnayok

Prime Minister Prayuth will remain leader of the junta, the National Council for Peace and Order, and the military’s grip on power will remain rigid.

Prayuth’s replacement as army chief, General Udomdej Sitabutr, is a close confidante and his appointment signals the dominance of an army faction that both he and Prayuth belong to known as the “Eastern Tigers” – a clique of arch-royalists known for their animosity toward former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Nevertheless, Prayuth’s mandatory retirement raises the possibility that his influence could begin to ebb, especially if he ever fails to see eye-to-eye with his successor.

“The military clearly retains control but, as a retiree, Prayuth won’t have the same chain of command so this changes the dynamics within the junta,” said Gothom Arya, a lecturer in peace and human rights studies at Mahidol University.

“As of now there is some semblance of unity within the military but in the past there have been divisions and we may see a loosening of uniformity on some matters that could affect the stability of this government.”

Prayuth stood on a podium in uniform to observe a military march past that included tanks, motorcycles and a fly by at a military academy in Nakhon Nayok province, 106 km (66 miles) north of Bangkok.

The straight-talking general, known for his gruff exchanges with reporters, has already taken steps that democracy activists say are aimed at cementing the rule of the Bangkok-based royalist establishment in the face of an unprecedented challenge from the populist Thaksin.

Thailand has been bedeviled by turmoil for much of the last decade as the establishment struggles to retain its supremacy despite repeated election victories by the brash former telecommunications tycoon.

The May coup unseated a government led by Thaksin’s sister, Thailand first women prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra.

SLOW RECOVERY

Prayuth appointed a cabinet this month stacked with military figures and more than half of national legislature members are serving or retired military and police officers.

On Friday, the junta approved a 250-member council to draw up reforms and approve a new constitution, main steps in a plan for a general election late next year. Thaksin’s supporters fear the reforms will be aimed at ending his election wins.

But as his political plan unfolds, it is economic problems that might soon be pre-occupying Prayuth.

Exports in August fell by the biggest percentage since serious flooding in late 2011, data on Monday showed, confirming that a key economic engine is not firing.

Exports are equal to more than 60 percent of the Thai economy. On Friday, the central bank scrapped a forecast of 3 percent export growth this year and said it now expects no increase at all.

Anecdotal evidence shows that while exports are sputtering, another key growth engine – domestic consumption – is also not firing smoothly.

While six months of Bangkok street protests ended in May, when the army seized power, consumption was rebounding only modestly, economists say.

“It looks like the recovery is a lot slower than we expected,” said Kampom Adireksombat, a senior economist with Tisco Securities.

Economic problems plagued a military government set up after Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup, and his allies were able benefit in a 2007 election.

Thaksin, who has lived in self-imposed exile since 2008 to avoid a jail term for graft, has told his supporters to be patient.

By AMY SAWITTA LEFEVRE