Normally serene Thailand has been on edge since a rogue soldier went on the rampage in a northeastern city this month. Killing 29 people in a shooting spree that ended in a standoff with police at a shopping mall.

Ten days later, a man walked into a clinic in a busy Bangkok shopping mall and gunned down his ex-wife. He then fled the scene and was later arrested.

The killings, along with several other high-profile gun crimes, have called attention to the high rate of gun ownership. Even though the number and rate of gun killings has drifted downward in recent years.

Thailand had about 10 million privately owned firearms in 2016, according to Gunpolicy.org, or one for about every seven citizens. Of those, about 4 million were illegal.

Thais complained on Twitter about their disappearing sense of personal security. With one user, @KMoungdee posting guidelines for an active response to a shooting.

“I can’t say whether Thailand has a gun problem, but it certainly has a gun culture,” said Michael Picard, Research Director of GunPolicy.org of the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health.

“Guns are idolized as symbols of power and privilege, as they are expensive and not easy to legally obtain.”

Gun-related crimes are falling

violence is high compared to some of Thailand’s Southeast Asian neighbors, it has been declining for several years. Thailand had 1,034 gun homicides in 2016, down from 2,234 in 2012. Malaysia counted four in 2016, while the Philippines had more than 7,000 in 2011, GunPolicy.org’s latest data shows.

While overall gun violence may be declining, a feeling of insecurity has been growing in Bangkok.

Days after the mass shooting in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima on Feb. 8 and 9, a Bangkok man sent his neighborhood into panic by firing off dozens of rounds in a commercial neighborhood near a university, even though no one was hurt and the man was arrested.

In January, an elementary school teacher robbed a gold shop at a mall in Lopburi province, about two hours north of Bangkok, killing three people, including a two-year-old boy.

“Many commentators have lamented the rise of urban violence as Thailand’s metropolitan areas grow. It is possible that urban crime is increasing while other causes of gun-related homicides are falling,” Picard said.

Gun Ownership laws in Thailand are seen as strict. Possession of an illegal firearm carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 20,000 baht ($640).

However, enforcement is a challenge based on illegal firearms in circulation, corruption in the security sector and new channels for buying guns online.

“An emerging means of acquiring illegal firearms in Thailand is through social media platforms,” Picard said.

“This has made it even easier to acquire an illegal firearm, as essentially anyone can do it as long as they have an internet connection and a bank account.”

Gun Ownership in Thailand promoted in Facebook

A secondhand .38 Smith & Wesson can be found online starting at 20,000 baht, according to Reuters.

Legally obtaining a firearm in Thailand is about a three-month application process. With the provincial department and a fee of around 1,500 baht, an Interior Ministry official said.

Most of the gun-related crimes in the last two months, including the mass shooting, were carried out with licensed guns.

But authorities say that gun-related crimes only gained attention because they occurred in close succession.

“Gun-related crimes have not increased,” Deputy police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen told Reuters.

“There are crimes that involve no weapon, and crimes that involve knives, guns and batons and they all can kill people. It’s just that the (gun-related) incidents have been happening around the same time.”

By CTN News

 

---

 

Thailand’s current barricade against the spread of Covid-19 takes the form of two-stage screenings for the virus in eight provinces and ramped-up checks on Thais returning home from countries and territories where it’s been found, the director of the Disease Control Department said on Wednesday (February 19).

Sopon Iamsirithaworn said many returning Thais have been conscientious about making sure they are not infected after travelling abroad.

He pointed out that the number of Chinese tourists coming to Thailand has dropped by 90 per cent, bringing a corresponding plunge in the risk of the virus spreading here. 

“But screenings will continue, to make sure we’re as safe as possible,” Sopon said.

Asked about a rumour that the Health Ministry might be “hiding” cases, since the virus has spread fast in Hong Kong and Singapore while remaining stable in Thailand, Sopon insisted that all the details being shared were true. 

“We really have found no new infections recently, even though we’re screening more people.”

The Nation News

 

---

 

The Thai economy in 2020 would expand at a much lower rate than previous forecast and way below its full potential, mainly due to the combined impact from the coronavirus outbreak, delay to enactment of the Annual Budget Expenditure Act and drought on a large number of businesses and employment, according to the minutes released today by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Thailand.

On February 5 ,  the committee  voted unanimously to cut the policy rate by 0.25 percentage point from 1.25 to 1.00 per cent, in a bid to shore up the economy.

Regarding exchange rates, the committee said although the Thai baht depreciated somewhat in recent days , it remained potentially inconsistent with economic fundamentals. During  inter-meeting period, the currency depreciated against the US dollar. The baht also depreciated against regional currencies as reflected by a decline in nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) despite its high level compared with that in the past. The recent  depreciation was mainly a result of  investors’ concerns over the softening outlook of  the Thai economy,  from both domestic and external prespectives , as well as the Bank of Thailand’s relaxation of foreign exchange regulations to facilitate capital outflows. 

Investors started to view that the baht could depreciate after a substantial appreciation last year, the report said. 

Meanwhile, a divergence in the trends of the baht and the prices of gold, a safe-haven asset, was more prominent amid the  coronavirus outbreak ,  reflecting a diminishing safe-haven status of baht-denominated assets from the investors’ perspective, according the central bank.

In an interview, Kobsidthi Silpachai, head of capital markets research at Kasikornbank told the Nation that the baht is currently 5.6 per cent overvalued.

While the country would have lower current account surplus this year, it still remains high, he said. Kasikornbank has lowered its projection of current account surplus to US$33 billion this year, down from the previous forecast of $33.8 billion, he said.

He said imports was  still falling faster than exports, resulting in a continuous  surplus of the current account, the  main factor behind the baht’s appreciation.

The weighted- average interbank exchange rate was Bt 31.187  per dollar  at the close of trade on February 19, according to the central bank.

Many research houses have revised downward their economic growth forecast to below 2 per cent rate this year.

TheNation

 

---

 

Buyers flocked to Chevrolet showrooms on Wednesday to snap up models sold at discount prices after General Motors decided to withdraw from Thailand by the end of the year.

Outlets selling the iconic American brand were thronged by potential buyers on Wednesday after the sale began — with some models going for less than half price. The new Captiva 1.5 LS Turbo, for instance, was offered at 499,000 baht — down from 999,000 baht. The price of the Colorado Trailboss MT 2WD was reduced from 859,000 baht to 655,000 baht.

The Captiva SUV is one of the best-selling Chevrolet models in the country.

“The Bang Jak showroom has temporarily stopped selling the Captiva. We will inform you if more become available,” the dealer in Bang Chak area posted in a Facebook message.

Surat Chunaka, a sales manager at a dealer in Pattaya, said he was no longer accepting orders for the Captiva. But other models were available, he said, adding the showroom sold more than 100 cars on Wedneday to both Thai and foreign customers.  ฺBuyers have to make a deposit to reserve a car and then pay the balance on the day of delivery.

The sales campaign follows the decision by GM to stop selling Chevy in Thailand and sell its Rayong factory to the Chinese automaker Great Wall by the end of this year. About 1,500 workers will be unemployed after the American company closes down its Thai operations, along with those in Australia and New Zealand.

GM Thailand posted a message on its Facebook account saying services would continue as usual for the time being, without specifying when they would cease.

Titikorn Lertsirirungsun, manager for Southeast Asia at research firm LMC Automotive, has said GM would provide maintenance services for local Chevrolet owners for the next 5-10 years, depending on the stock of spare parts.

Bangkok Post

 

---

 

A careless driver ended up in a ditch driving through barriers into a water-pipe construction zone in Huay Yai.

  

The white Mazda 3 suffered major damage in the Feb. 15 crash but the driver was unhurt.

Part of Soi Chaiyapruek 2 is dug up and closed off to allow for installation of new water-drainage pipes. Somehow the driver went right through the barriers into the ditch.

She blamed it on the construction crews and said the road should have been patched up more quickly.

 

pattayamail.com

 

---

 

A man accused of shooting dead his ex-wife and wounding another woman at a cosmetic clinic inside a shopping mall in Bangkok on Tuesday has been arrested.

Danusorn Numcharoen, 28, was taken into custody about 4.30am on Wednesday in tambon Huay Mae Phiang of Kaeng Krachan district, Phetchaburi province, by Phayathai and Metropolitan Division 1 police under a court warrant.

On Tuesday afternoon, a man walked into The Icon Clinic on the fourth floor of the Century The Movie Plaza and shot dead Piyanut Chatthai, 28, an employee. He opened fire with a handgun, hitting Piyanut in the head and the body.

Another woman, Wilasinee Teepan, 29, was also hit and seriously wounded in the calculated attack. She was rushed to hospital. A video of the cold-blooded shooting from the clinic security camera was later posted on Youtube.

Mr Danusorn was brought to Bangkok for legal action. He was charged with premeditated murder, attempted murder, having a firearm in possession without permission and carrying the firearm in public without reason.

Police said he confessed.

Thai media reported that the suspect left four hand-written letters in his Bangkok room. In one of the letters, he told police not to hunt down him. He promised he would not shoot anyone except himself, but he wanted to take another life first (her lover).

He said he was sorry. He promised he would end his own life in two days. He appealed police to take care of his mother. He asked for time.

Bangkok Post

 

---