Coss

Vet: I could have helped with rampaging cow

 

By Anne-Marie McDonald

6:18 PM Monday Aug 24, 2015

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11502184

 

 

Police had to shoot a cow after it rampaged through a Wanganui town this morning. PHOTO: Wanganui Chronicle / Bevan Conley

 

Wanganui veterinarian David Rankin said he could have assisted police in dealing with a cow on the loose in the town this morning.

 

The cow was shot at least nine times after running along Puriri St and Alma Rd, charging at people, including a person on a mobility scooter.

 

Mr Rankin said he condoned shooting the cow if it was distressed and a public danger.

 

"But the welfare of the animal should have been taken into consideration," he said.

 

"If I had been called, I could have assessed the cow and decided what the best option was."

 

Mr Rankin said he was used to dealing with large animals, and was also a registered gun holder and an experienced hunter.

 

He said if the animal had been distressed it would been all but impossible to use a tranquiliser dart on it.

 

"We do dart large animals, but when they are calm and contained. When a large animal like a cow is distressed, a sedative doesn't work because the animal is so worked up.

 

"It would have required a dose so large that it would have been a threat to its life."

 

Readers on the Wanganui Chronicle Facebook page were keen to express their opinions on the incident.

 

Jess Jones wrote, "So sad - if they hadn't have startled it so much with their sirens it probably would've returned back quite happily or at least been contained easier. The police were too trigger happy, and in a public area and my son's kindergarten there as well. Anything could've happened."

 

Jodie Frew said the incident was "appalling".

 

"They didn't wait for back up try to round it up to try and get it into Gonville Domain. The cop [was] jumping in and out of his car and firing and then chasing the bloody thing with his loaded gun whilst traffic was still coming, and kids out and about for school! Totally irresponsible of the police."

 

Edward Minnell was more sympathetic to the police's situation: "I have been on the receiving end of a pissed off cow. Luckily I am big and was able to take a knocks. Any child would have died. 11 shots is a bit poor to down a cow but shooting it was best. Once they get riled up then they can get quite nasty."

 

Jessica Fawcett said it was "better to have a dead cow than a dead person".

"Cows are big dangerous animals when they want to be," she said.

"North Korea is now threatening the United States with all-out war. You can see they're stepping it up. In fact, they released 10 more photos of Kim Jong Un looking through binoculars." –Jay Leno

 

"Japan and South Korea are on high alert after North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket. Both countries are surprised by North Korea's successful launch, but definitely not as surprised as North Korea." –Jimmy Fallon

 

BANGKOK — Amidst dire economic news exacerbated by the recent bomb attacks in the capital city, the Tourism Authority of Thailand today reported some positive news, declaring a huge spike in candlelight-vigil-based tourist arrivals.

 

“Since the dreadful events of Monday, the country has seen a major upturn in arrivals of international visitors who are seeking vigil-type recreation,†said TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasrani.

 

“If this trend continues, we think it may offset some of the other tourism cancellations and help support the Thai economy.â€

 

According to numbers released by the TAT, a survey of weekly tourism numbers showed that candlelight-vigil tourists are up to 75 for the year, a nearly 8000% increase over the annual average of 0.97.

 

While this number is a small fraction of the nation’s annual 19 million international arrivals, the TAT remains optimistic that the rate of growth can prove significant.

 

“Candlelight vigils are a growing sector in the travel and tourism industry,†said TAT deputy governor Pensuda Priaram. “With the increase in social media and digital communication, almost every natural disaster, terror attack, industrial accident, and plane crash results in a series of vigils.â€

 

Pensuda pointed out that after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, that country enjoyed a 4000% upturn in candlelight-vigil-based revenue in the following year.

 

“Thailand can’t afford not to get in on this lucrative industry,†she said. “And this week’s events show that we are well positioned for growth.â€

 

International analysts, however, remained skeptical that the rise in tragedy-mourning tourists could significantly offset the kingdom’s other economic problems.

 

“Vigil tourists are only low- to medium-spenders,†noted CNBC travel analyst David Weisenhunt. “They tend to buy T-shirts and candles, and flowers too, but not much on bigger-ticket items like expensive meals or hotel suites.â€

 

Weisenhunt estimated that in order for the rise in such tourism to compensate for the weakening baht and loss of manufacturing export revenue, Thailand would need 4,500,000 candlelight vigil tourists between now and January.

 

“There’s only one event I can think of that would attract those numbers,†he noted. “And I’m not allowed to even say it.â€

 

link

Technology failure hindering Bangkok bombing investigation

 

 

Mourners place incense, candles and pour water at the base of the Erawan Shrine to commemorate the victims of the Bangkok bomb attack, a week after the deadly blast.

 

Up to 75 per cent of the security cameras were broken along the getaway path taken by the main suspect in last week's deadly Bangkok bombing, Thailand's police chief says.

 

The revelation is a major obstacle to an investigation that has only fuzzy images of the still-unidentified man.

 

Investigators are trying to "put pieces of the puzzle together" but have had to use their imagination to fill holes left by cameras that failed to record his movements, said national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung, openly frustrated as he spoke to reporters one week after the blast.

 

"For example, the perpetrator was driving away - escaping - and there are CCTV cameras following him. Sometimes there were 20 cameras on the street but only five worked," Somyot said.

 

"Fifteen were broken, for whatever reason, they didn't work."

 

"The footage jumps around from one camera to another, and for the missing parts police have had to use their imagination," he said. "We've had to waste time connecting the dots."

 

Another challenge is that investigators lack sophisticated equipment like police use on the popular TV crime series "CSI" to render blurry video clear, he said. "Have you seen 'CSI'?" Somyot asked reporters. "We don't have those things." ( my comments - Really? CSI is real? you're expecting to have a computer nerd look at a computer screen for a few seconds and give you an identity and full Bio of the Perp?")

 

One week after last Monday's bombing at the capital's revered Erawan Shrine, which left 20 people dead and more than 120 injured, police appeared no closer to tracking down suspects or determining a motive for the attack.

 

At 6.55pm on Monday, a crowd gathered at the shrine in central Bangkok and observed a minute of silence to mark the moment the bomb exploded.

 

Chanting Buddhist monks led prayers as onlookers held lit candles to commemorate what authorities have called the deadliest attack in modern Thai history.

 

Police have faced criticism for sending mixed messages and stating theories as fact, only to later retract them, adding to the confusion at a time of public concern.

 

Grilled about what progress has been made in a week, the police chief said that basic questions about the suspect's identity and whereabouts remain unknown. Asked if he is still in Thailand, Somyot said, "I don't know."

 

"I still believe he is in Thailand because I have no evidence to confirm otherwise," he said. Over the weekend, police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri said he suspected the man may have left the country.

 

Police have released an artist's sketch of the suspect who was seen in security camera video from the open-air shrine leaving a backpack at a bench and walking away 15 minutes before the explosion.

 

A separate camera showed the suspect, wearing a yellow T-shirt, on the back of a motorcycle taxi leaving the site.

 

"We only have those pictures," said Prawuth, the police spokesman. "The problem is the pictures aren't clear."

 

Police have questioned a motorcycle taxi driver believed to have driven the suspect away. The driver told police the man handed him a piece of paper saying "Lumpini Park," the city's largest park, which is near the shrine.

 

But none of the security cameras worked along the route to the park, Somyot said.

 

Police have tried to chase a report that after the suspect got off the motorcycle at the park, he went into a nearby hospital and changed into a grey T-shirt, Somyot said.

 

"We went to see if this is true and checked the CCTV cameras at Chulalungkorn Hospital. But we found that all the cameras were broken," he said, laughing nervously, and asking for understanding because police had been working nonstop and were tired.

 

"Since the bombing, we've barely slept," he said. "We're doing the best we can."

 

On Friday, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said he had received offers of assistance from the US Embassy in Bangkok to help track down suspects and had assigned his deputy "to cooperate on borrowing equipment that includes facial-recognition technology."

 

However, Prayuth ruled out working with US investigators, insisting Thais can do the job.

 

The attack has raised concerns about safety in the capital, which attracts millions of tourists, and has left the city on edge.

 

Police have responded to several calls in the past week about unattended bags which turned out to be false alarms, and have tried to reassure the public and international community that Bangkok is safe.

 

On Monday, police said a worker digging at a construction site found a grenade buried in the ground and a police explosives squad was sent to defuse it. The grenade was found in a residential area far from the city centre.

 

Police Lt Sakon Rungkiatpaisarn said the grenade appeared to have been buried for a while and authorities "do not think it has anything to do with (last Monday's) bombing."

 

http://www.stuff.co....g-investigation

Ahh yes, but I'm dim you see.

Photoshopped, note Pope's lower right (his lower right) chest has turned into female torso. Maybe hot is catching....

A rampaging cow has been fatally shot by police in Whanganui.

Police were called to a report of a cow on the loose in Puriri St about 7.45am on Monday.

The animal was considered a risk to the public, and was shot...............

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/71387855/cow-shot-in-whanganui-street

"Coss, are you searching for TV series with nudity?"

 

No, but I'm going to revisit Game of Thrones now, at least the first series. I was told it was good when it came out, but when I watched it on free to air, I didn't think much of it. I then saw one episode that was not edited for public TV. There was of course much more nudity. The lesson for me, was that there is an amazing amount of plot that gets cut out of shows, because the broadcasters are scared of naked folk, this can ruin the story line.

 

Another advantage of this Android TV box I've got, is that olden shows are easily accessible, i.e. Black Books.

Black Sails, 20 years before Treasure Island. Great Pirate goings on. Interesting and engaging plot. TV series I and II.

 

My only complaint is that there's so much shagging by the good looking participants, that in order to preserve historical accuracy, i.e. no contraception, the female actors would have been pregnant most of the time, they're not, they're shagging most of the time, luverly.

 

Not quite as great as Vikings, but a very close second. Well worth a watch.

And if you want a good read on Kim Jong Un, read this http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/02/kim-jong-un-north-korea-understanding

 

A teacher addresses elementary school students in Wonsan, Kangwon province, North Korea, Dec. 16, 2011.

 

North Korean authorities have stepped up their surveillance of citizens believed to be drug users by interrogating their children in schools, employing an old reviled method of weeding out drug users that had been discontinued by former leader Kim Jong Il, sources inside the country said.

 

“Security officials in charge of schools are intimidating and interrogating elementary school students to investigate drug offenses, and their parents have been immensely shocked about it,†a source in South Hamgyong province told RFA’s Korean Service.

 

During one such period of intensive investigation of local drug use, a security official in Sapo district of Hamhung, capital of South Hamgyong province, drew pictures of paraphernalia for injecting drugs on the board in an elementary school and asked the seven-year-old students in the class what they were, the source said.

 

The security official from the country’s state security department, which is similar to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, recorded the names of all the students who responded with “konapal†or “koggiri,†Korean slang words for drug paraphernalia. He called them up one by one to ask them how they knew the names of the items, the source said.

 

As the security official cajoled and threatened the students into giving him information, many of them admitted that their parents used drugs. Their parents were then arrested on drug offenses, the source said.

 

The state security department’s use of children to crack down on adults has infuriated many citizens, sources said.

 

“All residents in people’s units are forced to anonymously turn in materials relevant to drug offenses,†a source in North Hamgyong province told RFA. “Kim Jong Un’s regime has resurrected the method of investigation which [former leader] Kim Jong Il suspended because of worries about public disaffection.â€

 

“Now anonymous investigations are only focusing on drugs, but they likely can be extended later,†the source said. “North Korean residents are at odds, suspecting each other because of the anonymous investigations of drug offenses.’

 

“The state security department has taken the lead in instigating social conflicts,†he added.

 

State security agencies under former leader Kim Jong Il employed such methods to try to eradicate drug smuggling into the isolated country.

 

Authorities ordered citizens to anonymously write the wrongdoings of their coworkers or members of people’s units, a state control mechanism that consists of 20-40 households, using various techniques to solicit information, including the intimidation and conciliation of children.

 

During that time, only state security units organized by North Korean authorities applied such methods as a means of curbing social unrest and citizen antipathy towards the regime, sources said.

 

North Korea has in recent years grappled with a drug addiction problem among youth, workers and even police officers, with the powerful stimulant methamphetamine or “ice†as their primary drug of choice.

 

Long seen as a supplier of the highly addictive drug to China, North Korea experienced an influx of methamphetamines after its neighbor started cracking down on cross-border smuggling.

 

http://www.rfa.org/e...2015145631.html

Thai police used roti vendors as translators

By Michael Sainsbury

 

KOH SAMUI: -- Thai police used two Muslim Rohingya translators with a very poor grasp of the Thai language to interrogate two Rakhine men accused of murdering British backpackers, it was revealed in court yesterday.

 

One of the translators, Ko Ye, admitted to the Samui Central Court yesterday that he could not read or write Thai and barely understood the Rakhine dialect.

 

Under questioning from the defence, he said that he signed a statement confirming what happened in the interrogation even though he didn’t know what it said in Thai, and he wasn’t asked to sign it until a month afterward.

 

The two translators, both street roti sellers, were brought in by police after Ko Zaw Lin and Ko Wai Phyo, both 22, were detained on October 2, 2014. Ko Ye is from Surat Thani, while the other translator, Ko Kamar, is from Koh Tao.

 

The Myanmar migrant workers could face the death penalty if convicted of murdering David Miller, 24, and murdering and raping Hannah Witheridge, 23, in the early hours of September 15, 2014.

 

The trial is now in the third of its six weeks.

 

The defence maintains that the Rakhine natives are being scapegoated following a botched investigation that was rushed to clear Thailand’s marred image as a tourist paradise.

 

“The second roti seller has been on the stand today and it’s become very clear that he does not have much of grasp of Thai at all so we don’t understand how he could have translated for police,†Andy Hall, a British migrant rights advocate who is helping the defence team, told The Myanmar Times.

 

“As well there have been many police procedural issues exposed this week, including many inconsistencies in the timing of events around the arrest of the accused.â€

 

Police witnesses have contradicted each other about the times of various events, including the arrest of the men, the taking of DNA samples and the times of their initial confessions, observers at the court said.

 

On August 19, Bangkok solicitor Pittaya Yaipetch claimed he was present during the confessions but did not make a report of the event, despite apparently being an observer for the Thai Lawyers Association.

 

“The suspect told the investigating police officer that he was with the co-accused on the beach at about 3am when the victims walked past them. He said they went to a place further along the beach and started kissing,†said Mr Yaipetch.

 

“Zaw Lin said he hit Mr Miller with a garden hoe while he was lying on top of Ms Witheridge but the victim jumped to his feet and tried to fight [Zaw Lin] off. That was when he hit him again and he fell down.â€

 

Those confessions were allegedly obtained using the translation services of the roti sellers, but the confessions were later retracted.

 

Ko Zaw Lin and Ko Wai Phyo have accused both the police and the roti sellers of beating, stripping and blindfolding them.

 

The two Muslim men both denied using violence on the accused.

 

Mr Hall said that the accused remained upbeat during yesterday’s trial.

 

The mothers of the two men were present in court yesterday to witness the trial. The trial continues today.

Source: http://www.mmtimes.c...ranslators.html

Soi Zero was primarily responsible for my slide, into the depths of depravity and degradation, my, from then, life's work.

 

Think, an amateur Fiery Jack. Whom I gather, is trying to tone it down.

Thai TV news showed the PM offering a 1M Baht reward for info/capture of those responsible.

 

They also showed a doctored up picture of the person of interest...how they could make such a pic

from the grainy CCTV frames that they had...

 

Was an 'identikit' pic from police interviews with witnesses.

 

A picture of a person, especially one sought by the police, reconstructed from typical facial features according to witnesses' descriptions

Imitation Game - Benedict Cumberbatch, as previously posted here - a bloody good movie, worth every minute of watching. I hope Benedict gets some other good scripts. Well worth a watch.

Ships to COUNTER smuggling, illegal fishing and pirates? Seems to me that might hinder the many lucrative activities that play a key part in the Thai economy... we can't have that!

 

I would'a thought that the subs would be ideal for smuggling.

Just finished Binge-watching the TV series Vikings. l, ll and lll. The whole thing reeks of good production - Metro Goldwyn Mayer - History Channel et al.

 

It is apparently based on real life, in part, some of the Danish Sagas, but ameliorated with Norwegian and Swedish themes, actual historical figures feature, the story telling has been well crafted. I'm a fan. I am waiting for the 4th series to eventuate.

 

Lots of blood, sex and mythology. If you have the opportunity, see the extended versions, some beautiful women sans kit.

Reflected last Saturday's result. Went out to the game. First time I had seen the All Blacks live. Great experience. This week will be tough for the Wallabies.

 

And it was, the ABs started, like they played the week before, but eventually they got the engine running. Now onwards, to the world cup and those pesky Frenchmen

12 August 2015

 

Author: Greg Raymond, ANU

 

In June 2015, several announcements suggested that Thailand would acquire three Chinese submarines for 36 billion baht (US$1.03billion). But by mid-July, Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon stated that the proposal would be deferred and subject to further review.

 

While some commentators were quick to surmise that US diplomatic pressure had been applied, it is equally likely that the causes were conservative military spending and a longstanding bias toward land forces.

 

 

It is tempting to view a submarine purchase primarily through a geopolitical lens, given the interest in Southeast Asia’s trajectory in an era of great power rivalry. Thailand is of particular interest because of its close and longstanding cultural affiliations with China, its clear discomfort with US criticism since the 22 May 2014 coup and its absence of territorial disputes with China. But in matters of Thai defence spending and arms procurement, there are other forces — unrelated to geopolitical alignment — that also need to be considered.

 

Many would see any submarine purchase as the military junta taking advantage of its position to increase defence spending. Historically, this is often correct. After the 2006 coup, the military’s budget jumped 47 per cent.

 

This would suggest that the 2014 junta is the navy’s best chance to obtain the submarines it has been proposing since the 1990s. It is waging a determined campaign to get the submarine purchase over the line. In response to the cabinet decision to defer the purchase, it released a nine page document explaining the need for submarines. The document cites Thailand’s reliance on maritime trade, significant maritime resources and the possession of subs by other ASEAN nations as reasons why the submarine purchase should occur.

 

But the Thai military can also be surprisingly tolerant of restraint in defence spending, especially during tough economic times. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Thailand was amongst the first to slash defence spending, which included cancelling a planned F/A-18 Hornet procurement. It was also one of the last countries to resume increasing its defence spending. One economic analysis some years later noted that Thailand’s defence budgets had fallen ‘disproportionately due to the slowdown in economic growth’.

 

And Thailand is facing a difficult economic outlook. Its competiveness in its traditional export strengths (such as rice) has been declining for some time, and it has suffered declining exports for three successive years. Tourism revenue has slumped since the 2014 coup. The economy is unlikely to grow by more than 3 per cent in 2015. This is forcing the government to consider increasing taxes, even to the point introducing a co-payment for the immensely popular 30 Baht health care policy introduced originally by the previous Thaksin government.

 

Unfortunately for the navy, financial conservatism will most likely affect its procurement proposals. The Thai navy occupies a subordinate position within the Thai military hierarchy, as the army has historically dominated Thailand’s military forces. The Thai army also continues to be the service that controls key political and official appointments. Many Thai prime ministers have been from the army, for example, but none from the other services.

 

As a consequence, the Thai navy has long struggled for resources and influence. This is partly due to the strategic prioritisation of the army, but it is also due to the lasting effects of inter-service rivalry and politicisation. In 1947 the Thai navy found itself on the wrong side of a domestic political power play. Navy elements had supported Pridi Phanomyong but were defeated by the army supporting Phibun Songkram, who later became premier of Thailand.

 

Since then the navy has experienced only brief periods of prominence, such as during the 1990s. In the wake of the 1992 Black May massacre of protestors, the Thai army lost significant standing. As a result, maritime force development, strategy and priorities received an unusual degree of attention. The navy was allowed to purchase an aircraft carrier, the Chakri Naruebet and a few fixed wing strike aircraft. Plans for submarines and a further naval base were announced. But the 1997 financial crisis largely ended this golden period of expansion.

 

If Thailand does proceed with a Chinese submarine purchase, it would be sensible to keep in mind that Thailand has bought a considerable volume of arms from China — including frigates and patrol boats — over the years. The key factor here has been price. This underscores another longstanding characteristic of Thai defence policy: a presumption of ‘good enough’ in defence procurement. Thai defence objectives are generally to provide an armed force capable of offering a deterrent, rather than to develop a force with a significant capability edge.

 

Chinese submarines are not necessarily a geopolitical concern. Some Thais have started to register the tensions in the South China Sea as a long-term security issue, but most do not. Thailand has no direct stake in this dispute. But the military junta’s legitimacy is already wafer thin. It may be that the regime just considers the unpopular submarine purchase to be burning precious political capital for little reason.

 

Greg Raymond is a research associate at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, The Australian National University. His PhD thesis on Thailand’s strategic culture is currently under examination.

 

http://www.eastasiaf...marine-setback/

2 DAYS AGO AUGUST 12, 2015 11:16AM

Thailand has a serious gun problem. Source: AFP

RUNGRAT Rungsuwan was manning her small shop selling trinkets on a main tourist drag on the Thai resort island of Koh Samui when she heard a series of loud bangs.

“At first I thought they were firecrackers,†she said, as tourists in thongs and singlets filed past her storefront in the island’s ‘Fisherman’s Village’.

“But once people realised it was gunfire everyone panicked and started running. Some people came into my shop to hide.â€

It was early March and just metres away influential local businessmen Panas Khao-uthai lay dead, six bullets fired into his body at close range by two assassins who calmly unloaded their pistols in broad daylight.

For the holiday-makers forced to dive for cover that evening, the murder — which police say was over a commercial dispute — was a glimpse into a reality familiar to locals: the country’s deadly enthusiasm for guns.

Renowned to outsiders for its laid-back, welcoming vibe, Thailand is also a country awash with firearms where disputes are all too frequently settled with a bullet and a body.

Barely a week goes by without a new headline-grabbing killing, usually stemming from a humiliation — or loss of ‘face’ — over a personal or business dispute.

In one recent case, a woman was shot in the neck by an angry lover in a shopping centre, while another saw a man gunned down outside his Bangkok apartment block after arguing with a security guard.

In a third, a bus driver shot a passenger in the chest because his victim had repeatedly criticised his road skills.

As one western police officer stationed at an embassy in Bangkok said: “There is a real culture of guns in Thailand, it’s a military-style culture, a place of uniforms and male power.â€

There’s a culture of guns in Thailand. Source: Flickr

Gun culture

Assessing the precise fallout of the kingdom’s enthusiasm for weaponry is difficult.

The Thai government does not provide a specific breakdown for annual gun murders outside of the country’s deep south, where a local Muslim insurgency has killed more than 6400 in the last decade.

But the Gunpolicy.org website, an online database of global gun statistics run by the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health, believes Thailand has one of the highest gun homicide rates in Asia.

Firearms everywhere. Source: AFP

It estimates 3.48 murders per 100,000 people in Thailand, three times the rate of neighbouring Cambodia and on a par with the United States.

What is much clearer is the sheer number of weapons in civilian hands. According to the Interior Ministry, there are 6.1 million registered firearms in Thailand, a country with 67 million people.

GunPolicy.org puts the total number of firearms at closer to 10 million, once the thriving black market trade is counted.

Thailand police conduct a search during a raid on a suspect's house in Uthai Thani province. Source: AFP

As the US State Department’s Bureau for Diplomatic Security wrote in its safety report for overseas staff: “Thailand has a fervent gun culture on par with the United States and has become a world leader in firearms-related homicides.â€

But while the US has long experienced a passionate debate on gun control, Thailand largely greets the human toll of its firearms obsession with a collective shrug.

‘When you die, you die’

“No one has taken responsibility, no one has really taken up the issue,†lamented Kasit Piromya, a former foreign minister who believes tighter gun controls are needed, as well as an amnesty for illegal weapons.

The lack of outrage shown over gun murders, he believes is down to the concept of a karma.

“When you die, you die. It’s acceptance and resignation. We take death calmly as part of life,†said Kasit, who owns two registered pistols.

Renowned to outsiders for its laid-back, welcoming vibe, Thailand has its problems. Source: AFP

On paper Thailand has strict gun controls but the law is easily circumnavigated. The sheer availability of weaponry concerns Police Colonel Akaradet Pimolsri, the head of Thailand’s police commando unit, each time his officers hit the streets.

“I want every gun to be registered,†Akaradet of the elite Crime Suppression Division, told AFP at the unit’s Bangkok headquarters.

A key step would be for the government to set up a database containing the “ballistic fingerprints†of all over the counter weapons.

In late July, AFP accompanied Akaradet and 200 of his commandos on a dawn raid in Uthai Thani, a central province renowned for its crime syndicates.

Their target were two suspects in a 2011 gun murder in which a policeman was killed.

His officers took no chances, arming themselves with assault rifles, shotguns and body armour.

But by the time the convoy reached a series of mansions on the outskirts of town there was no sign of the main suspects — although 20 guns, ammunition and bullet proof vests were seized.

The killers are still on the loose, ready to be hired once more for a hit. Back on Samui, an island where tourism is a crucial mainstay, police also responded forcefully to the killing of Panas, arresting the alleged gunmen and conducting a series of raids that netted almost 100 weapons, Akaradet said.

At the streetside restaurant where the killing took place, the tables are filled once more with tourists oblivious to the violence that occurred there three months ago.

Laurent Haroutinian, the French manager of the restaurant where the shooting took place, said they reopened after just two days.

“It was the first time I saw anything like this,†he said. “And I hope it is the last.â€

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/a-bullet-and-a-body-thailands-troubling-gun-murders/story-e6frfq80-1227480014505

 

 

 

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's military-installed prime minister defended a new law that places tight restrictions on public gatherings and warned Thursday it will be strictly enforced.

 

 

Human rights groups have voiced concern about the Public Assembly Act, which took effect Thursday, and its stiff penalties. It is the latest restrictive measure to be put in place since the military ousted an elected government in a coup last year, following years of political demonstrations that led to violence and often paralyzed the country's capital.

Interim Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former army chief who organized the coup, said the law requires that protesters apply for permission from police for rallies at least 24 hours in advance. It bans all demonstrations within 150 meters (500 feet) of the prime minister's headquarters known as Government House, Parliament, royal palaces and courthouses unless a specific area has been authorized and designated by authorities. It also bars protesters from blocking entrances or creating a disturbance at government offices, airports, seaports, train and bus stations, hospitals, schools and embassies.

Thailand has had waves of massive anti-government protests over the past decade that spread to key government offices, Bangkok's central business district and major airports.

"This law will be strictly enforced to prevent the type of nuisance and violence that happened in the past," Prayuth told reporters. "It's not possible to have it all — happiness, equality, democracy — without giving us the tools."

The law details a variety of penalties, including up to 6 months in prison and a 10,000 baht ($300) fine for protesting without police permission and up to 10 years in prison for any disruption of public service, such as public transportation, telecommunications, water and electricity supplies.

Protesters who ignore police orders to leave a site could face up to a year in prison and a 20,000 baht fine, while protesters armed with guns, explosives or similar weapons could face up to 5 years in prison and a 100,000 baht fine.

The bill was proposed by the police department, approved by the military-installed Cabinet and won a unanimous 182-0 vote in the military-installed National Legislative Assembly before being published last month in the Royal Gazette, which decreed the law would take effect Aug. 13.

Human rights groups say the law gives broad powers to authorities to prohibit public assemblies on vague and arbitrary grounds.

"This law violates the rights of the people. We want this act revoked," said Nutchapakorn Nummueng, a representative of iLaw, a legal watchdog and rights advocacy group.

 

http://news.yahoo.co...-082320181.html