• Published: 13/08/2012 at 02:33 AM
• Newspaper section: News

PHUKET : The Yingluck Shinawatra government must do a better job of rooting out people who encroach on forests - including "politicians of all parties" - if it wants to stay in office, the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission says.

PACC secretary-general Dusadee Arayuwuthi Sunday said illegal land acquisition is becoming widespread and state officials and politicians have been accused of being involved.

He said he will raise the issue for discussion when he meets Ms Yingluck Tuesday.

Australia's honorary consul in Phuket says many of the criminals targeting tens of thousands of Australian tourists are never brought to justice and some have official protection.

Larry Cunningham said he hoped today's sentencing of two Thai men over the stabbing murder of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith seven weeks ago would send a warning to Phuket's tuk tuk taxi drivers and jet-ski operators who rip off tourists, sometimes using violence.

“The major problem has always been the application of the law in Phuket where assaults continue unabated virtually every night and there are little or no arrests of the guilty parties, mainly because they have patronage protection,” Mr Cunningam said.

• Published: 7/08/2012 at 12:46 PM
• Online news: Transport

Any plan to use bomb detectors on public buses needs to be reconsidered as it would slow down services, Deputy Transport Minister Chadchart Sittiphan said on Tuesday.

"We need to thoroughly study the plan and assess the consequences first," Mr Chadchart said.

• Published: 10/08/2012 at 01:52 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Surasawadi has denied involvement in granting a resort operator permission to use land inside Thap Lan National Park.

Mr Plodprasop, a former director-general of the Royal Forest Department (RFD), also threatened to sue those who implicated him in the scandal.

The Pheu Thai deputy leader's remark came a day after the Central Administrative Court began hearing a case filed by the operator of Ban Talaymok Resort, which is located in the national park in Prachin Buri's Na Di district. The resort is seeking an injunction against further demolition or removal of assets.

US will send adviser to look into subsidy claim

• Published: 10/08/2012 at 03:23 AM
• Newspaper section: News

A top Commerce Ministry official says he is confident the US will find the rice-pledging scheme is above-board, despite fears that it breaches World Trade Organisation rules on export subsidies.

Yanyong Phuangrach, permanent secretary of commerce, said the Yingluck Shinawatra administration's rice policy is about "income support" and is not a "subsidy" for rice farmers.

His comments followed a report that the US Agriculture Department will send its international economist and agricultural adviser to Thailand to study the rice-pledging scheme on the grounds it may be distorting market prices.

Occupants of vehicles of any kind who drink alcohol during travel are now subject to six months imprisonment and/or a Bt60,000 fine, the Office of Alcoholic Beverages announced yesterday.

The penalties will also be imposed on drinkers in vehicles parked on sidewalks or shoulders of public roads, including sois, regardless of whether the vehicles are moving, OAB director Samarn Footrakool said.

Passengers of railbased transport who drink are not subject to the penalties, which took effect on Wednesday. Drinking occupants and drivers will be equally liable for such violations. "The only exceptions under this law are occupants of vehicles parked in front of their homes," he said.

Stop Drink Foundation director Theera Watcharapranee said the law would be helpful in reducing road accident casualties associated with drunk driving, but a limit or restriction on sales of alcohol during long holiday breaks would be more supportive of the law. New restrictions on consumption and sale of alcohol in factories will take effect 90 days from Monday's endorsement of a separate law.

With the continuing growth of online trading, more Thai enterprises are choosing to set up e-commerce businesses alongside their normal operations in a bid to reach more consumers both at home and overseas.

Deputy Commerce Minister Siriwat Kachornprasart said yesterday that the value of online trading in Thailand had grown significantly in the past few years, reaching Bt1 trillion last year. With more people having access to the Internet, the value is expected to grow by 20 per cent this year.

Thai enterprises have a bright future in the online trading world due as more and more people become familiar with Internet usage in their daily lives and become more confident in the trustworthiness of e-commerce, he said.

To promote strong growth, enterprises should not only focus on normal trading methods and also need to develop their business online, as such a strategy enables them to able to capture more customers both domestically and abroad, he added.

Siriwat said online business would also be a good starting point for Thai operators, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, when it comes to penetrating Asean markets, as electronic trading entails a lower operating cost than traditional business channels.

According to Business Develop-ment Department (BDD) data, 10,158 websites are registered for conducting e-commerce. The number is expected to increase by 20-30 per cent this year as more enterprises become aware of the benefits of online trading, Siriwat said.

To facilitate online business growth, the department also provides a "BDD Verified" guarantee for online operators that pass the necessary standard and prove their reliability.

The department yesterday also signed a memorandum of understanding with nine government and private agencies to facilitate e-commerce growth.

The memorandum was inked with Thailand Post, the National Science and Technology Develop-ment Agency, the Software Industry Promotion Agency, the Electronic Transactions Development Agency, commercial banks and software and Internet associations.

Burin Kledmanee, chief operating officer of Ready Planet Enterprises - an online-trading website developer - said more Thai enterprises opted to engage online trading each year as the Internet access rate continued to grow.

About 20 million Thai users currently access the Internet, a level that is expected to reach 30 million in the next couple of years, he said.

LOWER COSTS

Enterprises should focus more on e-commerce as it offers lower operating costs than normal trading, he said, adding that failing to do so would mean a lost opportunity to increase sales and promote their products to a wider range of consumers.

Watha Suteesopon, assistant general manager of Versa Retail, said online trading had increased the company's chances of reaching new groups of consumers in rural areas.

Since launching a website and e-commerce service seven years ago, the company's online sales have grown by about 100 per cent a year.

Nutchaya Kankang, in charge of sales and tour operations at Thai Activity, said more than 90 per cent of the company's clients were online customers.

E-commerce is the easiest and cheapest channel for promoting the company's products and reaching clients, she said.

• Published: 6/08/2012 at 11:03 AM
• Newspaper section: Asia focus

Myanmar has announced plans to build a new airport outside of Yangon as it looks to raise capacity to handle a surge in passengers flying on a host of new routes.

Yangon airport, with annual capacity of 2.7 million passengers, will handle about 3 million this year. Capacity will be lifted to 5.3 million before the new airport opens.

The government called for bids from private investors in Hanthawaddy International Airport on a site 77 kilometres northeast of Yangon in an announcement in the state press last Monday.

Phuket Workers Poorly Prepared for Shock of Jobs Competition

By Prasit Tarnsirisin

The hat worn by Ms Cardway is believed to have brought a comment from a tuk-tuk driver that triggered the altercation

Photo by Facebook

Phuket Tourist Tells of Boyfriend's Bashing in Patong

By Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian