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Villagers torch garbage truck
Staff Reporters
Villagers from Nong Pakbung lost patience over continued
official inaction regarding their objections to a garbage separation plant
in their area and set up a roadblock on Sunday night, netting a 10-wheel
truck and trailer loaded with Chiang Mai rubbish. This incensed the
villagers so much, the garbage truck ended up as a funeral pyre.
The original purpose of the roadblock was to prevent
trucks and trailers loaded with garbage from entering the private garbage
separation plant in their village. However, three of the trucks slipped past
the blockade and managed to dump garbage in plant. The last truck was then
torched by the protesting villagers, who by this time had fire in their
eyes.
The police and firefighters who arrived on the scene were
pelted with stones and at least 10 were hurt. The plant is now under guard.
However, Maj-Gen Prathom Aksornsri, the owner of the
plant, is now less sanguine and the owner of the destroyed truck has asked
Chiang Mai police for protection as he wanted to move his remaining trucks
and a backhoe out of the offending garbage separation plant. He claimed the
damage to his truck was about three million baht.
Pol Col Atthakij Kornthong, deputy commander of Chiang
Mai police, said police have been assigned to protect the plant.
The Doi Tao district chief, Surapol Sattayarak, said he was awaiting an
answer on the garbage issue from the tambon administrative organization of
Bong Ton.
Crowds flee
in panic from suspected bomb
Nopniwat Krailerg
A bag suspected to contain a bomb was found on June 20
in front of Fun Sabai dentist clinic next to Suriwong Plaza near Thapae
Gate. As the clinic’s owner, Somreudee Wongwiratnukit, is the wife of
highway police superintendent the police really rushed to the scene with
Pol. Maj. Gen. Jiroot Prommobone, Chiang Mai Provincial Police commander
leading.
As the usual ghoulish onlookers were pressing in,
officers had to clear the scene as they examined a black leather bag on
the stairs in front of the clinic. The officers suspected a grenade so
they called Pol. Capt. Ekapan Pongpuan, head of Explosive Ordnance
Disposal (EOD), border patrol police to examine the bomb.
Having checked the bag by x-raying, the officers
discovered strong reflections and therefore decided to use a high
pressure water pump to explode the bag — which was found to contain
only three bricks.
Possible coercion or chaos creation was suspected by
police conspiracy theorists but the clinic owner said she had no conflict
with others and it might be a simple misunderstanding and someone has now
lost three pet bricks.
Police vow to nail monk killer within two weeks
Nopniwat Krailerg
Police vow to arrest a prime suspect in the murder of
Phra Supoj Suwachano, abbot of the Mettadhamma Buddhist forest sanctuary in
Chiang Mai, within two weeks when more solid evidence is found.
The abbot was hacked to death in the compound of his
Buddhist center on Friday June 17 but his body was only found the next day.
Police said possible motives for the murder included his
discovery of illegal logging, encroachment on the center’s forest land,
and the monk’s allegations of irregularities in some government projects.
The Development Network, a conservation body, claims that
the motive for the murder was the monk’s conservation of 700 rai of forest
land that was wanted by an influential person. The monk and others were
being continuously harassed to leave the land and there were five cases
pending judgment in the court.
Pol. Lt-Gen. Panupong Singhara na Ayutthaya, chief of
Police Region 5, said police investigators were handling the case with great
care to make sure innocent people would not end up behind bars. Police have
so far interrogated four people, all of them villagers living near the
Buddhist centre in tambon San Sai, Fang district.
Pol. Lt-Gen. Chamnan Ruadrew, deputy chief of Chiang Mai
Police, said it was also possible Phra Supoj was murdered because of his
writing about alleged irregularities in some government projects.
Paiboon Muangsuwan, a 59-year-old Ban Huay Ngu villager
close to the abbot, said he believed Phra Supoj was killed because he had
tried to protect the center’s forest land.
A group of people, led by a man identified only as
Narong, had made repeated attempts to force the monk to sell the land, he
revealed. He told reporters of a physical attack made on the monk in 2003
when he refused to sign a certain document, Paiboon said.
Fang Police had sought a warrant for the arrest of Narong
in connection with an attack on Paiboon before the murder of Phra Supoj.
Paiboon said that several other groups of influential
people, including local politicians and border patrol police, were
interested in land, but the group led by Narong was the most violent, he
said.
Narong is apparently a former army captain and close aide
of Maj. Chalermchai Matchaklam, who was sentenced to death for the murder of
Yasothon governor Preena Leepattanapan at a Bangkok hotel on March 4, 2001.
Central government fixes prices
Chiangmai Mail Reporters
The director general of the Department of Internal Trade
has told businessmen to hold the price of goods firm for another three month
period. The last restriction will end on June 30.
A
consumer goods shop in Chiang Mai.
However, the department will consider individual products
which need to be increased in price because of higher capital costs spent on
raw materials.
The director general said businesses would be fined at 12 times the cost
of the goods if government officers found any price increases and they could
be prosecuted if it appeared deliberate.
Aspiring Chonburi cheerleader in coma
Local cheerleader contest to go on
Nopniwat
Krailerg
Supatra Mahaudome, 17, freshman of Burapha University,
Chonburi suffered an accident on June 20 while practicing a cheerleader
dance with her team. She is presently in a coma and is being treated in
Chonburi Hospital.
Cheerleader
athletes who will attend the To Be Number One Cheerleader Thailand
Championship 2005.
Despite this event perhaps making the public think that
cheerleading is too dangerous, the cheerleader competition in Chiang Mai
“To Be Number One Cheerleader Thailand Championship 2005” will still go
ahead on June 29.
Adisorn Soodi, vice president of the Cheerleader
Association of Thailand told Chiangmai Mail that the competition would be
held as scheduled, as it was to encourage healthy youth and to support
teamwork, including avoiding drugs.
This kind of competition had been held for eight years
without any accidents occurring. The association has made a floor area of 12
x 14 meters that is sufficient to accommodate 20 persons and doctors and
nurses would be in attendance.
He added that the accident happened in Chonburi because
they lacked experience and there was no expert staff taking care of the
contestants.
“Most of the competition tumbles in Chiang Mai are easy and basic and
not too risky ... the athletes have practiced for not less than two months
with the advice of experts, therefore the competition is not at risk,”
Adisorn said.
Mae Hong Son calls for tunnel through mountain to Chiang Mai
Saksit Meesubkwang
Poonsak Soonthornpanichakit, Mae Hong Son Chamber of
Commerce president, bemoaned the fact that the government had adjusted fuel
oil prices upwards to 20.04 baht for diesel, 23.09 baht for benzene 91 and
23.99 baht for benzene 95 at PTT gas stations in Mae Hong Son.
This affected travel costs fees both by air and land, and
flight tickets from Mae Hong Son to Chiang Mai now stand at 970 baht, an
increase from the previous of 100 baht. He added that the higher fuel oils
prices also influenced product prices causing hardship to residents.
The government should approve funds for developing a
shorter route from Mae Hong Son to Chiang Mai on highway numbers 108 and
1095. One project that the chamber would like the government to consider is
to construct a tunnel from Mae Hong Son through Tambon Huay Poo Ling passing
Tambon Wat Jan and Samoeng to Chiang Mai.
The government had mentioned this project in 2004 and
this route could reduce the hardship suffered by citizens and it would be
worthwhile in supporting future border trade and tourism. He would like the
government to pay as much attention to Mae Hong Son people as he does to
other provinces.
Appeal for freedom for Aung Sun Suu Kyi
Nopniwat Krailerg
A number of organizations, including the Chiang Mai
Network for Peace Organization and the Organization of Burmese Friends
gathered on June 19 to appeal for freedom for Aung Sun Suu Kyi on her 60th
birthday, being Burma’s democratically elected leader but still held under
house arrest.
They wore local costumes, calling for peace in front of
Nong Buak Had Public Park in Muang Chiang Mai.
Pranome Somwong, leader of Chiang Mai Network for Peace
organization, revealed that the activity was joined by 60 members of each
organization, representing Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s age, asking for freedom to
celebrate her birthday, instead of cutting a cake.
A “Key for Peace” offering was made by people writing
messages on old keys appealing for peace that would later be sent to Thai
and Burmese artists to create peace artworks.
900 million baht budget designated for the Hang Dong-San Pa Tong city bypass
Saksit Meesubkwang
As if the present traffic jam solutions were not causing
enough problems to traffic with dormant road works, the Department of Rural
Roads, Ministry of Transport, now proposes a new route to bypass the city
via Baan Toongsiaew and Baan Hang Dong in San Pa Tong, Chiang Mai, a
distance of 13.8 km. This road is supposed to ease traffic jams in the city
of Chiang Mai, but only time will tell.
Apinan Porananon, head of Department of Rural Roads
Chiang Mai, said that initially, the route would be constructed along an
irrigation canal in San Pa Tong and Hang Dong districts, but the canal
irrigation ended at Baan Nam Bo Luang, therefore the department expanded the
route from the starting point to Baan Toongpang in San Pa Tong, at kilometer
34 on highway 108. It is planned to construct four lanes, linking with a new
Pasang-Ban Toongsiaew road that ended at kilometer 13 beside the irrigation
canal.
Residents are all 100 percent in agreement with the
project and want it built as soon as possible, but they suggest that the
department build an effective drain alongside the route because water would
flow from the west into the Ping River now obstructed by the new route, a
factor possibly forgotten by the engineers. The design will be finished in
November and a 900 million baht budget will be sought.
However, before constructing the road, the department
will need to purchase Longan orchards owned by 10 farmers because the route
passes over their land. This may, as a bonus, reduce the subsidy that is now
being paid to these over-producing farmers, now that they are being undercut
following the FTA with China.
Manoon Sangpleong, assistant manager of the environment
study said that to select the route it was necessary to consider
engineering, social economics and environment. The engineering aspect should
design the route away from communities and use as few curves as possible to
save natural resources.
Mobile cabinet in Phayao considers human trade
Chiangmai Mail reporters
Human trafficking was one of most important aspects being
considered by the mobile cabinets in Phayao. It has become a great problem
in Chiang Rai and the nine northern provinces with girls being smuggled in
from foreign cities and towns and even from the hills, to be transferred
both abroad and around Thailand.
Girls are being smuggled from China, Burma and Laos to
send on to other countries. The trade affects Chiang Rai as it was trying to
make the province a door to Lanna culture for international visitors, and
not an open door for traffickers.
Free trade between U.S. and Thailand
Saksit Meesubkwang
On June 17, the US Embassy in Thailand with Chiang Mai
Chamber of Commerce organized a seminar entitled “U.S.– Thailand free
trade agreement” at the Imperial Mae Ping Hotel Chiang Mai. The American
ambassador to Thailand, Michael B. Smith, and former deputy trade delegate
of the U.S., chaired the seminar, attended by 80 participants.
US
Consul General to Chiang Mai Bea Camp and American Ambassador to Thailand
Michael B. Smith at the FTA seminar.
Ambassador Smith said that the seminar was to give
information and exchange opinions, as several sectors had not fully
understood the free trade agreement and that the fourth round between U.S.
and Thailand would take place mid July, 2005 in U.S. He said that it would
be beneficial for both countries to cooperate in trading in future if the
negotiation was successful.
 The
FTA seminar
The first act after successful negotiation would be to
reduce obstructions to trade in both countries and to boost community level
economics. It would also be more convenient for local business to market and
distribute their products in the U.S.
The ambassador added that fear of competition was one of
the big problems causing free trade negotiations to break down, as people
were afraid of change due to a lack of experience as they never traded in
this way. Thirty years ago China was confronted with this kind of
fearfulness with the result that it was the thirtieth U.S. trading partner
but, after it had opened its doors to free trade, China became a great
trading partner.
“However, we must realize that the free trade will not
succeed if private sectors are lagging. To build up free trade with any
country, the U.S. does not concentrate on big or small countries but pays
attention to raising the ability level and efficiency of businessmen. The
U.S. does not only negotiate with Thailand but with other countries such as
Singapore and Japan also,” the Ambassador added.
He continued, “The negotiation in mid July is to concentrate on Thai
product copyrights, e.g. software and music and the most important copyright
that will be negotiated is Thai Jasmine rice Khao Hom Mali.”
Mudslides still causing concern
700 villages to get warning sirens
Nopniwat Krailerg
A survey of risky areas in the province reveals 694
villages in Chiang Mai are at risk from mudslides. In response, the Office
of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Chiang Mai is getting ready to
prevent disasters of this kind during the rainy season.
 Wassana
Wapinanan, acting for head of Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
Chiang Mai.
Rain disaster prevention measurers have been installed at
50 points and warning equipment in 8 areas. These were in risky districts
such as Mae Chaem, Mae Ai, Chom Thong, Omkoi, Mae Wang districts and Mae On
sub-district.
This year, more warning equipment and rain disaster
prevention measurers would be installed at 13 points in 52 villages in
Chiang Dao, Wiang Haeng, Phrao, Chai Prakan, Fang, San Pa Tong, Mae Taeng,
and Omkoi.
This warning equipment includes sirens like a fire engine’s and can be
heard for three km. Residents could flee in time after hearing the sound, as
long as they don’t go looking for forest fires!
Will the last person to leave Chiang Mai please turn off the lights?
Nopniwat
Krailerg
If you see the street lights off, this may not presage a
blackout, but is part of the new government conservation policy. It is
predicted that this plan can save an immense amount of energy.
 Porntham
Yamploy, head of Chiang Mai Highway District 2.
Porntham Yamploy, head of Chiang Mai Highway District 2
(responsible for 2,000 km of routes in Chiang Mai province) said that to
conserve electricity it would turn off lights on less used traffic routes
after 10 p.m. every night. Intersections and main routes to important
destinations such as the airport would not be cut off.
San Kamphaeng-Chiang Mai culture route, set up with several hundred
lights, would also be turned off after 10 p.m., so bring your own candles
(and drive carefully, as it appears officials are trading in safety for
reduced energy use).
Fresh milk floods market
Chiang Mai PAO purchases five hundred
thousand milk cartons
Nopniwat
Krailerg
Thawatwong Na Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai PAO president,
distributed milk to five education areas in Chiang Mai, spending 3 million
baht on 500,000 UHT milk cartons from the Up North Dairy Cooperatives,
Chiang Mai. This was done to protect them from the competition with fresh
milk now flooding the market. The milk cartons were given to grade 5 and 6
students, as these two grades had not been given free milk before.
Thawatwong said that this was a temporary arrangement to
relieve hardship and to give students more healthy protein. He confirmed
that a 20 million baht budget would be approved to support education and
youth next year.
At present, nine dairy cooperatives in Chiang Mai are
able to produce eight tons of fresh milk per day, more than is required in
Chiang Mai. The cooperative hired a company to produce UHT milk despite
there being insufficient market to supporting existing UHT milk producers
and even though the PAO has purchased half a million UHT milk cartons, one
million two hundred thousand remain in the cooperatives’ stock.
Randy Pandy
Saksit Meesubkwang
The two pandas in Chiang Mai Zoo had their annual health
check and were inoculated on June 16. Sopon Damnui, director of the
Zoological Park Organization revealed that Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui were
healthy and had grown quickly compared with pandas in China. Chuang Chuang
was initially 15.01 kg before importation to Thailand but now he is 149.60
kg while Lin Hui had gained weight from 19.16 to 109.69 kg. At present,
Chuang Chuang is 4 years and 9 months and Lin Hui, 3 years and 8 months.
Zoo
staff distracts the panda to allow veterinarians a chance to inject vaccine.
He added that the male panda was ready for breeding
evidenced by his antics in the enclosure designed to attract a female but
Lin Hui, in a typical feminine fashion, ignored his wiles as she probably
had a headache. Chuang Chuang is learning the old adage “Where there’s a
will, there’s a won’t!”
It is thought that Lin Hui may be ready in May next year.
Chiang Mai Zoo would prepare expert midwives, bridal suite location and
equipment, such as candle-lit dinners to support the breeding process.
Sopon added that there were more examinations approved to
study the pandas, including hormone level checks, tests to show the ovaries
were working. These projects would help to predict the proper breeding
period. The two pandas were trained to follow keepers’ commands and have a
good relationship with them so it will be easy to effect the checking
process; however, the most important relationship will be with each other.
From October 2004 to this June 2005, 1.3 million people brought 56
million baht to the zoo and more visitors are predicted to visit them in the
future.
Old cans for new tickets at Chiang Mai Zoo
Nopniwat
Krailerg
Save your cans for a trip to the zoo! Chiang Mai Zoo
will give you an adult’s entrance ticket for 15 aluminum cans, or 10 for
children’s passes. The other four zoos in Thailand will do the same from
June 12 until July 11.
After the project, the zoo organization will transfer
the aluminum cans from the five zoos throughout the country to the
Prostheses Foundation of HRH The Princess Mother, to produce artificial
limbs for cripples under the care of the foundation.
Ceremony to commemorate the founding of Chiang Mai
Nopniwat Krailerg
On June 16, the Long Life ceremony was organized in
Chiang Mai at 10 points throughout the city, the Three Kings Monument, the
four corners and the five gates, as per the ancient Lanna ceremony, to bless
Chiang Mai and to encourage ethics and local wisdom, and to commemorate the
Chiang Mai city founders such as King Mengrai.
Kad Suan
Kaew Department Store attends city age prolonging ceremonies at Hua Lin
corner, collecting money from its staff to present to various temples.
The ceremony started with the presentation of breakfast
to the monks followed by Buddhist activities at the different points in the
city.
Nopburi Sri Nakorn Ping, or Chiang Mai, is 709 years old,
and was established by King Mengrai in cooperation with his friends
Sukhothai’s King Paya Ram Khamhaeng and Paya Ngam Muang, the Phayao King.
It was built between 1295-1296 to be the central city of Lanna Thai back
in our past, and is still the center of culture and tourism in northern
Thailand today.
Green bus company
to expand in the north
Nopniwat Krailerg
Thaipatanakit Transportation has run the green bus
service for almost 50 years and has now been granted a concession to serve
the eight northern provinces, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lamphun, Lampang,
Phayao, Phrae, Nan and Tak with green buses.
Somchai
Thongkumkoon, MD of Thaipatanakit Transportation and Wisanu Chaiwanitsiri,
deputy MD of IBM Thailand in a press conference.
There are 600 buses at present, carrying 1.8 million
passengers per year and the company is to fit its 20 new buses with 10
million baht of new technology, and a contract was signed with IFS, IBM and
Chi Chang Computer in January.
Somchai Thongkumkoon, MD of Thaipatanakit Transportation
said that the company has been using IT systems since 2004 with linked
ticket sale systems from the head office to 28 other branches in different
provinces and has a company website www. greenbusthailand.com offering
online reservations up to 60 days in advance.
“The green buses will allow business expansion for free trade bus
competition in countries in the Mekong River basin such as China, Burma,
Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam,” he said.
Some of
the 20 new buses.
German Swiss killing ruling on August 31
Nopniwat Krailerg
The judgment in the trial of Gordon Adrian Koschwitz, 33,
a German who allegedly killed Raphael Bauman, 33, his Swiss friend, is due
on August 31, 2005. His lawyer, a Chiang Mai resident and another friend
declares himself ready to defend him at no cost.
 Kiettisak
Phantawong, attorney-at-law dealing with Gordon’s case.
Gordon was apprehended in Chiang Mai on October 11, 2004
after having allegedly slain his friend in a private house in San Kamphaeng,
Chiang Mai.
A foreign witness said that the dead man was irritable
and aggressive. He had been introduced to Gordon by another Swiss man, and
later moved to stay with the suspect but died the next day.
Kiettisak Phantawong, International Legal Counselor
Office, and attorney-at-law, who is dealing with Gordon’s case, said that
he knew the German and, on the day the event happened, Gordon called him to
tell him that a man had died in his house. Kiettisak then informed the
police on his behalf.
He believes that the suspect did not kill the Swiss man
because if he had done so, he would have fled before telling others. There
was nothing at the scene indicating an argument or violence, but forensic
evidence is awaited and, if the evidence points to Gordon as the killer, he
could be sentenced to death.
“I am ready to testify to my foreign friend’s
innocence and willing to help him as best as I can, without any charge,”
the attorney proclaimed.
To a question regarding the background of the case, the lawyer said that
he knew Gordon used to be a Thai police informant about drug usage among
foreigners in Chiang Mai and the northern region. Gordon’s house had once
burned down and no cause was found, leading to police suspecting arson.
More hot air over hot air
Preeyanoot Jittawong
Chiang Mai air protection volunteer network group, led by
Dr. Duangchan Apawatcharoot Jareunmuang, organized a discussion on June 18
at Kad Suan Kaew Department Store on how to solve air pollution through
burning, and to seek the opinion of residents who are affected by air
pollution resulting from burning crop residue and garbage. The goal was to
also find a resolution that could be later applied as a policy to follow
through.
Chiang
Mai air quality discussion group at Kad Suan Kaew Department Store.
This discussion was attended by many who have been
blowing the air pollution trumpet call and they assert that air pollution
has caused Chiang Mai to have the greatest number of allergy patients in
Thailand because of dust, burning and intake of smoke.
Chiang Mai municipality declared itself to be very much
aware of those problems and was determined to talk more about punishing
vehicles carrying dirt and letting it blow in the wind and fall on the road.
Chiang Mai PAO and TAOs has already produced much hot air
about air pollution in the past and had held (generally unsuccessful)
activities designed to persuade people not to burn garbage. They also
cooperated with forest fire prevention centers to prevent forest fire in
‘at risk’ areas.
This latest discussion was, despite producing quantities of (recycled)
hot air, judged as useful to many residents despite the fact that prior
discussions had no appreciable affect on the problem.
Human trafficking is not so foreign
Part 1 of a 3 part series
B. Lomax
I am sitting in a semi-passable hotel room in Mae Sai,
Thailand, listening to the street noises below my window. I have emails,
photographs and a good book downloaded into my laptop. All are nice
distractions from Mae Sai, which is the border crossing between the
northernmost point in Thailand and Tachilek, Burma. I am in the Golden
Triangle, beautiful and mysterious, but I would rather be in any number of
other places tonight. I am waiting to talk to a young Tai Yai woman from
Burma, a victim of sex trafficking who wants to share her story. A friend
has arranged the interview. He is a tour guide, and he tells me that he sees
it all when he travels.
Shops in
the border town of Tachilek vending jade, sapphires, rubies, textiles, and
antiques from Burma.
During the day, Mae Sai is just another border town. A
four-lane road forms the main street into town and leads straight into an
imposing building surrounded by enormous gates. The river is behind the
building. This is the border checkpoint on the Thai side of the border.
Vehicles are driven on the left side of the road in Thailand, the right side
of the road in Burma, creating an interesting dance as cars and trucks enter
and emerge from the checkpoint driveway and change sides of the road. I had
lunch today on the river and watched the Burmese come into Thailand, the
Thais go into Burma and the Western tourists go both ways.
Shops vending jade, sapphires, rubies, textiles, antiques
from Burma and pearls from China line the main street and snuggle close to
the hotel where I’m staying. Plastic is sold as jade, glass as sapphires,
new as antique. Caveat emptor is the rule, but the real things are also here
in surprising abundance.
Like many border towns, there’s something sinister and
uncomfortable about Mae Sai at night. That’s when cars and trucks are
stolen and rafted across the river into Burma, and women and children are
bought and sold in Burma or China and walked through the river into the
brothels of Thailand and then often on to countries as far away as Malaysia,
Singapore, Israel, Japan, Australia and the United States. Drugs flow across
that river, too.
This is
the border checkpoint on the Thai side of the border. Vehicles are driven on
the left side of the road in Thailand, the right side of the road in Burma,
creating an interesting dance as cars and trucks enter and emerge from the
checkpoint driveway and change sides of the road.
The checkpoint at Mae Sai closes at 7 p.m. By 9 p.m., I
can see people wading into the water in Burma near the restaurant where I am
having dinner. Then I watch them emerge into Thailand further downstream. I
don’t have to be in Mae Sai to observe this. I could be in any number of
other towns in Thailand, Burma, China, Laos, Cambodia, or Vietnam. I could
be in any number of other places in the world, for that matter, and observe
illegal border crossings and human trafficking. But I live in Thailand, a
country identified by the U.S. State Department as a source, transit and
destination country for sex trafficking, and so I’m in Mae Sai.
Viewed strictly from a cost : benefit analysis, human
trafficking for sexual exploitation is the perfect business. The supply of
potential victims is constant, the cost of procuring them is low, and the
revenue is ongoing. Victims can be sold and resold until they are no longer
able to perform the acts expected of them by their customers, until they are
sick with hepatitis, AIDS or tuberculosis, until they are suicidal. Many of
them are ethnic minorities, stateless people with no citizenship in any
country who will have a difficult time re-entering the country of their
birth if they are trafficked outside of it. For an investment of less than
$1,000 in Thailand, the cost of advance money to the family, transportation,
bribes and the recruiter’s payment, a brothel owner in a neighboring
country can expect a return of $100,000 or more on his investment in a young
woman or girl. Poverty, hopelessness, war, and ignorance create the victims.
Greed, corruption, and contempt for human life perpetuate trafficking.
Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region has been
going on for generations. The borders between these countries are porous and
enforcement of immigration in and out is difficult at best, corrupt at
worst. No one I interviewed had personally experienced or observed violent
kidnapping. It exists, but seduction is the preferred method of recruiting
victims – money and the promise of a better life lure them from home to
the unknown. Many of them end up in foreign countries where their health and
safety are in danger. They are taken there illegally, their passports or
other identification confiscated by the traffickers and fake documents
issued. They are lured, deceived and kidnapped, they are held prisoner and
often beaten. Sometimes they are locked up, but usually they are imprisoned
by their own lack of knowledge of the law, culture, resources, and language
of the country. They become indentured servants, often told that they owe
their trafficker 40 to 60,000 baht before they will be returned home. They
have few choices at that point. Their family is often as poor as they are
but sometimes borrows the money from unscrupulous moneylenders. Then the
family, too, is indentured. Or the women work out their debt as prostitutes.
They have left poverty and despair behind only to find it again.
They have been trafficked.
Human traffickers using fake passports arrested
Nopniwat Krailerg
On June 16, Pol. Col. Pairote Praesakul, superintendent
of Chiang Mai immigration, reported the arrest of a human smuggling gang.
The day before, immigration officers arrested Jin San
Hua, 48, holding a Korean passport, traveling from Don Muang Airport,
Bangkok to Chiang Mai Airport. Her passport was found to be fake by a new
computer driven hi-tech machine that was introduced in cooperation with the
US to improve the system, and it was first installed at Chiang Mai Airport.
Her picture did not match the picture recorded in the computer, resulting in
her arrest.
The officers interrogated her, which led to the arrest of
three other Korean men. The gang leader was Kim Joong Sik, 65, found in a
guest house on Chang Moi Road. The officers also found several more fake
passports and other counterfeit documents.
Officers learnt that this gang was based in Beijing,
China, to smuggle Chinese into other countries, especially Japan, using
modified Korean passports and traveling from China to Thailand then flying
on to the third country.
Illegal immigrants from Burma apprehended in a hotel in Chiang Rai
Chiangmai Mail Reporters
A tip off led to the apprehension of 13 men and 20 women
between 20-40 years old in the Ma Ruay Hotel in Muang, Chiang Rai on June
17.
They had been charged 14,000 baht to be smuggled from
Burma, crossed the border near Mae Sai and were resting before being sent to
Rayong to work as fisherman.
The traffickers had claimed that they would receive
3,500-4,000 baht per each month.
Police are now searching for the gang arranging this
illegal traffic.
Mae Hong Son police look for drug dealers in Chinese Haw villages
Chiangmai Mail Reporters
Previously unsuccessful searches of Chinese Haw villages,
Baan Roong Aroon at Tambon Huay Pa, Baan Rak Thai, and Baan Mok Jampae at
Tambon Mok Jampae in Muang, Mae Hong Son were repeated, after further
reports of drug movements during the rainy season. Apparently, the villagers
wait until the police withdraw and then carry on smuggling as normal.
However, new reports indicated that several new houses
had been built with secret compartments and hollow spaces that could be used
to hide drugs. Other houses, previously the homes of dealers who had been
evicted, were once again occupied and the police were checking on the new
residents and a wary eye is being kept on these villages.
War on Drugs III ends in July
7.2 million baht, drugs and offenders seized
Nopniwat Krailerg
The records of War on Drugs III show that from April 1 to
June 16, 142 retailers and drug addicts with 38,000 speed pills were found
and 7,200,000 baht from 13 drug dealers was confiscated, according to Pol.
Col. Chamnan Ruadreuw, deputy commander of Chiang Mai Provincial Police.
Fourteen police stations set up almost a hundred
checkpoints, resulting in the apprehension of drug dealers and illegal
laborers. On June 16, 87 Burmese illegal immigrants were found, along with 8
weapons, 6 criminals, 1 motorcycle thief, 8 drug traffickers with arrest
warrants out against them and 16 drug addicts and drug possessors with 200
ya ba pills.
Pol. Col. Chamnan said that the officers would continue
to suppress drug wholesalers and retailers with names in the police black
list. He claimed that several drug dealers would be arrested before June 30,
the scheduled end of the third war on drugs.
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