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PAD and UDD join hands to honor HM the King
Rival
political groups reconcile in a ceremony
to honor HM the King in Mae Hong Son on June 9.
Khajohn Boonpath
After witnessing the reconciliation talks in Pai, red and
yellow shirt leaders in Mae Hong Son’s capital organized an event to honor
His Majesty the King at Wat Chongkham temple in the Muang District of Mae
Hong Son.
This was the second time this Northern province has seen
leaders of the two rival groups reconcile. Leaders in Pai agreed to drop
political rallies and work together to restore Pai’s economy the week
before.
On June 9, UDD chairman in Mae Hong Son Prayong Wongtapha,
PAD Chairman Narong Sithiwej, accompanied by about 30 people from both
groups, took part in a ceremony to honor HM the King. Col Prasith
Kaewkamnerd, the officer in charge of the 7th Infantry
Regiment’s special task force witnessed the event with about 30 soldiers.
Prayong Wongtapha of the UDD in Mae Hong Son said that
everybody can have different ideas, but they must be united and harmonious
to benefit the whole nation, and here in Mae Hong Son both of these groups
have lived together and worked together for a long time before the troubles
started.
Narong Sithiwej of the PAD added that they had strived
for support of the nation, religion and the King for a long time as well,
“This is a good sign and good start that both sides joined hands and worked
together. We are hoping this will spark people to work in harmony and unity,”
he concluded.
Military officers acted as mediators between the two
groups to work towards reconciliation. There were reports that some hard
line members of the Red shirts that did not attend the event, while most of
the yellow shirt group joined the event in large numbers.
Chiang Mai Deputy Governor garners promotion
Pairote Saengphuwong, Deputy Governor of Chiang Mai has
been promoted by the Ministry of Interior to be the acting Governor of
Chumporn Province in the South before retiring.
Pairote Saengphuwong, Deputy Governor of Chiang Mai
Pairote’s key role in preventing the Red shirt protestors
from burning down Chiang Mai City Hall and his mediating abilities with the
Red shirts were an important component in the promotion. The Ministry of
Interior said his work as Deputy Governor could be a model for the younger
generation. Deputy Governor Pairote, who assumes his new job on June 12,
said that he would perform his duties to the best of his ability. The Deputy
Governor of Chumphon, Warakarn Yokying, will take over the position of
Deputy Governor in Chiang Mai. The Chiang Mai Mail would like to offer their
congratulations to Deputy Governor Pairote and wish him well on his new
endeavor.
Natural Agriculture opens green waste recycling plant in Mae Taeng
Mr.
Manoonsak Tanthiwiwat, Managing Director for the FIO,
Mr. Flavio Milan, First Secretary for the Swiss Embassy in Bangkok,
and Amornphan Nimanant, Governor of Chiang Mai cut the ribbon
to open the processing plant in Mae Taeng.
Shana Kongmun
Natural Agriculture, a Swiss-Thai company headed by
Uraiwan and Jacques Cavin, opened their new processing plant in Mae Ho Pra
in Mae Taeng District on Saturday, June 5. Governor Amornphan Nimanant was
on hand to open the new plant.
Specializing in the production of organic fertilizers and
mulches from leftover wood chippings, food waste, green manures and animal
manure (elephant, cow and horse), the plant is still awaiting organic
certification.
Sunchai Viravan of UnionFresh2003 is one of Natural
Agriculture’s happy customers. A producer and exporter of fruit, mainly to
Japan, his company has found the process offered by the Cavin’s invaluable.
The leftover wastage from the fruit is sent to Natural Agriculture for
recycling instead of adding to landfills, and they in turn then buy the
organic fertilizer to provide to their contract farmers and orchardists.
Jacques Cavin enthusiastically propounded on the benefits
of the process, stating that if everyone recycled their green waste instead
of burning it, it would have a major impact on Chiang Mai’s pollution
problems. Mr. Manoonsak Tanthiwiwat, Managing Director of the Forest
Industry Organisation (FIO) in the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment was another enthusiastic proponent of the green recycling. The
plant is in partnership with the FIO, which, in the past ten years has
planted 100 million trees, and has 100,000 hectares of teak forest in
Northern Thailand.
K. Manusak told the gathered crowd that included the
First Secretary for the Swiss Embassy, Flavio Milan, Ben Svasti Thomson,
British Honourary Consul, Supajee Nilubol, Honorary Consul of Sweden, Mrs.
Junko Yakata, Consul-General of Japan, Boonchai Kidkarnklai, Managing
Director for Telewiz, and Bangkok Bank’s District President, Supaluck
Promkuntha, that “We should have this kind of factory all over Thailand”.
Mr. Jacques Cavin talked about the importance of
recycling green waste, especially to places like Chiang Mai that suffer from
the pollution caused by burning off every year. The plant can take wood,
leaves, rice straw, fruit waste, animal manure, in fact all sorts of
compostable material and has a production capacity of 10 tons a day,
currently producing around 5-6 tons. Sales of the finished product currently
run at around 50 tons a month but sales are expected to surpass 100 tons a
month by the end of the year and at that time the plant will expand its
compost storage area.
“We need help from the government however,” he said.
“They need to educate people about the importance of recycling. If everyone
recycled their farm waste and plant material the haze would be reduced.”
Mr.
Jacques Cavin explains the process to Governor Amornphan
and other guests at the opening ceremony for the plant on June 5, 2010.
Chiang Mai Night Safari brings in new executive board
The
Chiang Mai Night Safari’s new CEO, Dr. Sarawut (left) and his executive
team are introduced to partygoers at their Media Thank You event.
The Chiang Mai Night Safari introduced its new
executive board and staff at a party to thank the media for their help
in promoting the Night Safari on June 7. Dr. Sarawut Srisakuna, the
newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer of Chiang Mai Night Safari was
accompanied by his management team who organized the evening function to
introduce the media representatives to the new management.
“We want to work in close cooperation with the people
of Chiang Mai to draw more tourists to Chiang Mai, especially after the
difficulties of the economic recession and the recent political troubles,”
he noted. He added that they plan to work closely with the neighboring
Ratchaphruek Royal Park in developing marketing strategies to promote
the area.
“I will also work in cooperation with other PR clubs
and tourism associations so as to help promote Chiang Mai and the Night
Safari as an important tourist destination”, he continued.
Dr. Sarawut added that during this low tourist season
the Night Safari would launch road shows with the Tourism Authority of
Thailand at Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok in an effort to
bring more resident visitors to the City.
“We will have to give it our all,” he concluded.
Dr.
Sarawut presented the birthday gift of a giant gorilla and joined in the
crowd to sing Happy Birthday to Chiang Mai Mail reporter Jedsadapong
Wongkiew, whose birthday fell in the same day as the party.
Contest focuses on outstanding Thai developed software
(L-R)
Sanchai Chartbanchachai, Account Manager of Aware Cooperation Co.,
Ltd., Dilok Kunadilok, a committee member of the Association of Thai ICT
Industry, Pongsak Ariyajitpaisal, Manager of the Chiang Mai branch of
the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Public) (SIPA) announced the
Thailand ICT Award (TICTA 2010.
Jedsadapong Wongkiew
More than 500 software products have been submitted for
the upcoming 7th annual Outstanding Software Products
contest it was announced by the Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) on
June 9 at the Centara Duangtawan Hotel.
Pongsak Ariyajitpaisal, Manager of the SIPA Chiang Mai
branch and Dilok Kunadilok, a committee member of the Association of Thai
ICT Industry (ATCI) said that they are still receiving more admissions for
the contest which ends June 17, 2010.
The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology
(ICT), SIPA, and ATCI are running the Thailand ICT Awards (TICTA). So far,
this year, more than 500 entries have been submitted to the committee. This
year an additional category was added, the Farming category, for which the
winner will be awarded 100,000 baht and runners up will win 30,000 baht.
There are three main categories in the TICT contest;
student, general public and agencies or organizations. Admissions for the
contest will be ended on June 17, first round selections will be announced
on June 22, with second round selections announced July 8 and the final
round will be judged the first week of August. Awards will be presented on
August 20 at the TICTA Night 2010 party.
The APICTA (Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Award) contest saw
70 entries with 21 winning submissions. Most of the submissions for the 17
categories were from Thai students. APICTA winners from Thailand will be
sponsored for travel and accommodation during their trip to attend the
APICTA 2010 contest to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 10 this
year.
For anyone who interests in the contest, could ask for
more details at In house Agency Co., Ltd on Nanglinchee road, Nonsee,
Yannawa district, Bangkok Tel. 0-2285-3400-1 fax 0-2285-3118. www.ticta.net
Chiang Mai businesses work together to find solutions
Nopniwat Krailerg
Business owners, tourism organizations, hoteliers and
other agencies met on June 5 to work out solutions for the current tourist
crisis hitting Chiang Mai. Led by the Chiang Mai Tourism Business
Association together with the Tourism Association of Thailand (TAT), the
Provincial Chamber of Commerce, the Thai Hotels Association and other groups,
they worked together to find solutions for the tourist guides, hotels, and
other local businesses facing hardship after the recent political turmoil.
They will work with the SME Bank to fast track loans for
struggling local businesses. A clinic has been organized by the SME Bank,
Chiang Mai and the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association to advise local
business owners on the guidelines for applying for loans at the bank. The
clinic will be held June 20 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Suriwongse
Hotel.
The Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association loaned money
to 86 area businesses after the airport closure in 2008 and expect to aid
more this time.
Vorapong Muchaotai, Secretary and Chairman of Marketing
Development and Promotion of Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association said
they have organized several road shows to promote Chiang Mai; the TAT Phuket
Road Show to Chiang Mai) on June 18 at Rati Lanna Riverside and Spa Hotel,
and then TAT Chiang Mai Road Show to Phuket in August. Road shows will be
also held in Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore, China and India this
year.
Additionally, many events have been scheduled in Chiang
Mai; the Chiang Mai Super Grand Sales to be held from July 1- August 31, the
Travel Trade Show with 300 – 400 tour operators from Asian countries
expected, as well as the Asia Tourism Golf & Travel Mart which will be held
in September. The Chiang Mai & the North Tourism Conference (CTF 2010) will
take place in November with 300 tour operators worldwide invited to attend
the event.
3 Mae Jo University students
beat classmate to death
The
three suspects were brought in by Mae Faek police
to re-enact the murder of Thaweesapt Chompoochit.
Nopniwat Krailerg
Three Mae Jo University students lured a classmate out to
a field on the pretense of buying drugs, beat him to death and stole his
money and car.
Chiang Mai Provincial police chief Pol Gen Maj Sommai
Kongwisaisuk accompanied the by officers from the Mae Faek police station
announced the arrest of three suspects in the June 6 murder of Thaweesapt
Chompoochit.
Mr. Passakorn or Pe Sodsri, 22, a resident of Tambon
Samranraj, Doi Saket, Mr. Watcharapong or We Boonrat, 19, a resident of
Tambon Chorlae, Mae Taeng district, and Mr. Rattikorn or Kuad Charoon, 23, a
resident of Tambon Krood, Phun Phin District, Surat Thani were charged with
beating Thaweesapt to death. They had contacted Thaweesapt on the pretense
of buying drugs from him after meeting him at a welcoming party for new
students to Mae Jo University. They told police he was a drug dealer in the
Mae Jo and San Sai areas.
The group went to a field in Mae Faek in San Sai to pick
up the drugs that were hidden there. It was then that Watcharapong and
Passakorn killed Thaweesapt by hitting him with gardening implements while
Rattikorn stood guard. They then stole 200,000 baht in cash and his Toyota
Fortuner. The pawn shop operator they sold the truck to tipped the police
off to the crime.
Police have charged the three men with murder and robbery.
Community radio station dismantled under Emergency Decree
Supoj Thaimyoj
A combined force of Army and police pulled down the Rak
Chiang Mai 51 community radio station antenna on June 7 at the Grand Waroros
Hotel under the Emergency Decree.
At 10.30 a.m. Pol Col Yuthachai Puaprasert, the
superintendent of Chiang Mai Police Station, and Col Suebsakul Buarawong,
the operations division chief of the 33rd Military
Circle, Kawila Army Camp, led the combined force of more than 300 personnel.
The entrance to the Rak Chiang Mai 51 Group’s Community Radio Station based
at the Grand Waroros Hotel was closed and all the radio equipment was
confiscated. Riot police were deployed in case of difficulties.
Worrawut Rujinaphinant, alias as DJ Daeng Songkwae, a
representative of the red shirt group was a witness during the seizure of
the radio equipment along with some 20 other people gathered in front of the
radio station.
Most of the group expressed their dissatisfaction over
the o action against their radio station, shouted at the officials and then
let candles and incense sticks in a ceremony to curse the official, others
hit the Saengsieng gong commemorating the 100,000 votes Thaksin obtained.
Police informed the representatives of the Rak Chiang Mai
51 group that the order had been issued by the Center for Resolution of the
Emergency (CRES) under the Emergency Decree and that other radio stations
had already been dismantled; Yellow shirt radio station 89.0 MHz Wihok Radio
station led by Therdsak Jiamkitwattana and 105.5 MHz led by Mahawan Kawang.
Three more community radio stations are targeted for seizure as well.
Police uncover motorcycle theft ring at Lamphun pawnshop
Seated from left, Veer chat Chanboonruang, Anusith Solos,
Nutipong Mengthong, charged with the theft of motorcycles in Chiang Mai and
Lamphun.
Supoj Thaimyoj
Acting on a tip, Chiang Mai Police worked in conjunction
with Lamphun police to raid a pawnshop in Lamphun that was purchasing stolen
motorcycles. On June 10, Chiang Mai Provincial police brought in 3 men
charged with stealing motorcycles in Chiang Mai and Lamphun provinces.
The police identified the three suspects as Veerachat or
Nuek Chanboonruang, 43, Anusith or Jiab Solos, 30, and Nutipong or Kao
Mengthong, 33, all of Chiang Mai.
The police received a tip that Veerachat Chanboonruang,
the owner of the pawnshop, Nuek –Tukta Leasing) Shop in Pasak, Muang
District, Lamphun, purchased stolen motorcycles. Veerachat told the Lamphun
police that he bought the stolen motorcycles from Anusith and Nutipong for
15,000 baht a motorcycle. Police believe more than 20 stolen motorcycles had
been bought by the shop.
Police confiscated 47 motorcycles from Veerchart’s shop
for further investigation, they are being held at the Lamphun Muang Police
Station.
One of the recovered motorcycles had been stolen on June
9 from CM Computer Shop in Chang Phuak in Chiang Mai.
Monks’ quarters burgled
in Mae Faek
Supoj Thaimyoj
A couple was charged with burglary after forgetting their
mobile phone in the monks’ quarters they had robbed at Wat Buddha
Uttayarnphothinimit in Mae Faek. Chiang Mai Provincial Police arrested the
two suspects for stealing 52,500 baht, music players and sound amplifiers,
computers, Buddha images and necklaces from the temple in San Sai district.
On June 10, Pol Col Phanudej Boonruang, Deputy Commander
of Chiang Mai Provincial Police and Mae Faek police brought in two suspects;
Theerayuth Polkaset, 26, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat and Ms. Kesarin
Thongsawas, 20, from Phrao District in Chiang Mai.
Police were called to the temple on June 8 by the village
headman, upon arrival the temple abbot, Phra Khru Praphan Techapanyo, told
police that someone had broken his door, stolen 37,500 in cash from a
cabinet and also broke open the locked donation boxes to steal a further
15,000 baht.
Police found a mobile phone on the floor, which led to
the arrest of the couple, a further suspect, Wanna Maisuwan, 36 of Nakhon
Sri Thammarat, Theerayuth’s uncle, was also involved in the theft but police
have not yet been able to apprehend him.
Police said the gang had been stealing valuables from public places
around town.
Chai Prakarn woman
arrested in drugs sting
Taying
Saeju, 27, was charged by the Chiang Mai and Chai Prakarn
police after a drug sting on June 9 in Chai Prakarn.
Supoj Thaimyoj
Chiang Mai Provincial Police arrested a woman in Chai
Prakarn on June 9 in a drugs sting with 42,000 yabaa tablets and 2.8 million
baht.
Chiang Mai and Chai Prakarn investigation police charged
Ms. Taying Saeju, 27, a resident of Nongbua in Chai Prakarn district, near
Chai Prakarn District Office after undercover police arranged a drug buy
with her. The police delivered the money to her at a restaurant on the
Chiang Mai - Fang road in Chai Prakarn and she arranged for the pick up from
her husband, Wasant Chairangsri, in front of the Uawitthaya School, Soi 2 on
the Chiang Mai-Fang road.
Wasant threw the drugs at the buyer as he drove his pick
up away, police were unable to catch him at that time, but Taying was
arrested for further investigation.
Software piracy raid against
manufacturer yields record haul
Thai police conducted one of the largest software piracy
raids on record this week, finding unlicensed software on 365 computers at
an Ayutthaya-based manufacturing and services company. The total value of
the unlicensed software is valued at nearly 10 million baht. The registered
capital of the company facing charges is nearly four billion baht.
Official records for the largest software piracy haul in
Thailand were not immediately available. But according to available
information, in 2002 a company in Thailand was raided by police for use of
unlicensed software on 300 computers.
The origin of this case began like most others, according
to police. Acting on the tip received from an anti-piracy hotline, police
investigated the company and collected evidence before conducting the raid.
The surprise raid resulted in a six-and-a-half hour audit of all the
company’s computers. Authorities found PCs containing unlicensed software
products developed by Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft, Solid Works and Thai
Software Enterprise, a Bangkok-based software development company.
“This is certainly among the largest software piracy
raids we have ever conducted in Thailand,” said Police Colonel Chainarong
Charoenchainao, Spokesperson of the Economic and Cyber Crime division (ECD).
“But this isn’t to say that suddenly large companies have become a target.
We investigate all types of companies. One commonality is that we have
received anonymous tips or legal complaints that these companies are using
unlicensed software, which is a violation of Thai law. The other thing
targets have in common is that we find substantial evidence that the law
with regard to intellectual property is indeed being broken. In other words,
any company that uses unlicensed or under-licensed software is a potential
target—no matter the size or scope of their business.”
In addition to the major raid in Ayutthaya, police have
been steadily enforcing the intellectual property rights of software
developers in an ongoing nationwide effort to reduce Thailand’s software
piracy rate of 75 percent. Police officers have made significant progress in
recent years, and say that steady, consistent raids are the most effective
enforcement strategy for reducing Thailand’s software piracy rates.
“We do not raid a company and then rest on the success of
the raid,” said Police Colonel Chainarong. “We tackle software piracy cases
every week and sometimes every day. The records will show that our efforts
to protect software copyright are constant. This is how we have found
success in reducing Thailand’s PC piracy rate in each of the last three
years — a rate of reduction that is among the best in Asia.”
Other recent police raids targets for software piracy
include seven large manufacturers, with registered company assets in the
range of multi-millions to billions of baht. These companies include a
stainless steel manufacturer, a medical equipment manufacturer, an auto
parts manufacturer, a precision parts manufacturer and a rubber products
manufacturer.
According to the copyright law of Thailand, executives of
companies found using pirated software are subject to a fine of 800,000 baht,
or a jail term of up to four years, or both.
Those who report the use of unlicensed software by
calling 02-714-1010 or by reporting it online are eligible to receive an
award of up to 250,000 Thai Baht. The identity of the caller is protected.
More information is available online at www.stop .in.th. (ECD Police)
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