Gambling website rap
crime: Two women were nabbed and charged with running gambling websites during a police raid on a condominium in Huai Khwang district yesterday.
Only one of the two women was identified -- the 28-year-old Kalayakorn (surname withheld). The raid was led by the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) which traced the online gambling operations to the 22nd floor of the condo. The gang allegedly opened the casino websites under the names of Sk88Sky and DVA24 which offered wide-ranging betting games.
The cash used in gambling was transferred through Thai-registered commercial banks. The gang has around 50 million baht a month in circulation.
Leopard skin bust
Tak: A Myanmar national was arrested and charged with illegal possession of the skin of a protected clouded leopard in Phop Phra district yesterday.
The man, identified as Ong Chid, 26, was riding his motorcycle when he was stopped by tourist police on the Ban Chong Kab-Phop Phra Road. A search uncovered the leopard's skin along with a bag containing what appeared to be the cat's bones. They are estimated to have a street value of 1.5 million baht.
The suspect was charged with possessing a protected animal's carcass without permission and illegal entry. He was handed over to the Phop Phra police for further legal action.
Three killed in canal crash
NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Three people were killed and two others injured when their pickup truck skidded off a road and plunged into a canal in Non Daeng district early yesterday.
The incident took place on Prathai-Non Daeng Road in tambon Sam Phaniang, said Non Daeng police, who were alerted about 3.40am. Officers and rescue workers from the Hook 31 rescue team found an Isuzu pickup truck with Yasothon licence plates in the roadside canal.
They found two injured women trapped inside. They were sent to hospital. Three other people on the front seat were dead. They were driver Nara Sihaprom, 49, Hongthong Na-ngam, 43, and 13-year-old boy Rachata Saensuk, all natives of Kud Chum district of Yasothon.
The two survivors told police that all were relatives. They had travelled from Bangkok to attend a funeral rite in Yasothon. Upon reaching the spot, where the road was under construction, the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to plunge into the roadside canal.
Govt lauds relief schemes
economy: The government has claimed success at boosting people's spending through its many relief programmes.
Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, the government spokesman, said yesterday relief programmes such as the half-half scheme (Khon La Krueng), relief for state welfare cardholders, e-vouchers (Ying Chai Ying Dai) and relief for people with disabilities, have boosted spending by about 119 billion baht with 40 million participants.
Correction
In the story "Govt ramps up reopening plan" published on Page 1 yesterday, the report incorrectly mentioned that people who had earlier left Thailand to visit any of the 46 countries but who stayed there less than 21 days will not be quarantined and will not be required to have health insurance cover of US$50,000.
In fact, only Thai nationals who had earlier left Thailand to visit any of the 46 countries but stayed there less than 21 days will not be required to have health insurance cover of US$50,000. The story also incorrectly said these no-quarantine measures were to apply to arrivals on chartered flights at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui, U-Tapao and Buri Ram airports.
In fact, it should read: These no-quarantine measures apply to arrivals by flights at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui, U-Tapao airports and chartered flights at Buri Ram airport. We regret the error.