No Sommai replacement

General News - Saturday December 15, 2007

IN Brief

No Sommai replacement

POLITICS : Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont does not plan to replace Sommai Phasi, the deputy finance minister who resigned over a court conviction this week.

There is no need for anyone to take over the legal affairs and general administration of the ministry from Mr Sommai, Gen Surayud said.

Mr Sommai quit the cabinet earlier in the week after the Criminal Court handed him a two-year jail term for defaming a former deputy chief of the Thai Maritime Navigation Ltd (TMN) Thasphong Watchuprapha.

A case was filed against Mr Sommai in court in 2004 after he and four TMN executives suspended Mr Thasphong from duty.

The action followed an allegation against Mr Thasphong in an anonymous letter.

He said Mr Sommai abused his power by giving the order while he was still under investigation.

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PM plays down findings

ENCROACHMENT :Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has downplayed the findings of the National Legislative Assembly's police and human rights subcommittee which has ruled that his house on Khao Yai Thieng mountain in Nakhon Ratchasima does encroach on a forest reserve.

The subcommittee was not the proper authority and should not be looking into the issue, Gen Surayud said, adding that he would wait for a final decision from the Forestry Department.

He has said that he would return the land if the department found him to be in the wrong.

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Politician shot dead

SONGKHLA :A member of the tambon Kuan Lang Municipal Council was shot dead early yesterday, becoming the third local politician to be murdered in the last five years in the area, police said.

Aekanok Jantakan, 54, was gunned down by an unidentified man as he was taking shelter from the rain during his morning exercise.

The gunman fled on a waiting motorcycle, according to witnesses.

Police believe a political dispute was the motive for the murder.

Aekanok, also a former kamnan of tambon Kuan Lang, was elected to the municipality council in Hat Yai district last month.

In August, former head of Kuan Lang tambon administration organisation Chob Wongchana was also shot dead. His predecessor Sompon Sampanchit was murdered five years ago in a similar fashion.

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Court jails general

EMBEZZLEMENT :The Criminal Court in Dusit district has jailed Gen Panya Singsakda, former chairman of the Association of the Constitution for the People, for three years for embezzling almost 30 million baht from the Government Lottery Office (GLO).

The GLO gave the money to the association for use in its democracy promotion campaigns in 2005.

However, Gen Panya, also former adviser to former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, was found to have spent 29.9 million baht of the funds to buy vehicles for private use, according to the verdict.

He was released on bail and plans to lodge an appeal.

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Four districts still flooded

NARATHIWAT :Four low-lying districts of Waeng, Sungai Kolok, Tak Bai and Rueso in Narathiwat remained submerged in floodwaters yesterday.

The situation improved somewhat on Thursday, but worsened yesterday after heavy rains lashed the four districts again.

A large area in the province had been heavily flooded between Dec 7 and 13 due to the seasonal wet weather.

So far, 86 villages in 15 tambons have been swamped by waters from the overflowing Sungai Kolok and Sai Buri rivers.

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Fare rises put on hold

TRANSPORT :The Central Administrative Court yesterday issued a ruling putting on hold the proposed fare hikes for city and inter-provincial buses.

The case was brought to court by Boonchai Rungruengpaisarnsuk, head of a network opposing a rise in public transport fares.

He asked the court to consider the legitimacy of the planned fare increase, approved by the state central land transport committee.

The committee allowed the city buses, run by private concessionaires, to increase fares by 50 satang and the private inter-provincial bus operators to raise the fare by three satang per kilometre due to rising diesel prices.

According to Mr Boonchai, some inter-provincial bus operators have already increased the fare by up to six satang per kilometre.

The court said the hikes could not go ahead until a verdict on the case is handed down.

Bangkok Post