HUMAN RIGHTS defenders are calling for an end to capital punishment for women as a next step forward to achieving the universal abolition of death sentences in Thailand.

A public forum hosted by the Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) on Monday discussed a proposal to ban the death sentence for female inmates in Thailand, and concluded that executing women is not only ineffective in suppressing crimes but also contributes to additional social problems.

Assoc Professor Gothom Arya, director of Mahidol University’s Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, has pushed for the abolishment of capital punishment for all convicts, but acknowledged strong public opinion in favour of retaining the sentence.

A gradual step-by-step approach to abolition would better suit the country, Gothom suggested, adding that it is more practical than going against majority public opinion and abolishing it in one move.

“Thailand has already abolished death sentence for pregnant women and youth, so it appears the next step would be to officially end the execution of female convicts,” he said.

“We need a new round of legislative reforms that abolishes the execution of women, just like our current law prohibits the execution of pregnant women and youth.”

In addition to an active campaign for legislative reform, he emphasised that human-rights defenders must work on raising public awareness so society can understand the flaws of capital punishment.

Though the execution of women is not common in Thailand – with only three female convicts executed since 1932, with the last being put to death 19 years ago – it is believed neither male nor female convicts are safe from capital punishment under the current political climate.

Last year Thailand was on the verge of being recognised for not carrying out a death sentence for 10 consecutive years. Despite capital punishment still being meted out by judges, no convict had been put to death in Thailand since 2009. However, this record was broken when the authorities executed a 26-year-old male convict on June 18, 2018.

Most countries have stopped carrying out the death sentence. The UCL has been campaigning against capital punishment, as this unacceptable practice is in direct conflict with the basic principles of human rights. The group said Thailand will ultimately find it impossible to go against the global trend.

Also, the UCL noted that putting female convicts to death has proved to be ineffective in maintaining justice in society and has led to tougher social problems.

Angkhana Neelapaijit, a National Human Rights Commissioner (NHRC), noted that studies on the statistics and backgrounds of female prisoners in Thailand have found that most were sentenced for crimes related to domestic violence and narcotics.

“These crimes were not caused by personal wickedness. Instead, these women were forced by the circumstances, their environment and problems in our social structure to commit these crimes. So killing these women will not solve the problem,” she said.

Hence, she said, the authorities should change their attitude toward the corrections system and prioritise treatment for the wrongdoers and turn them into good citizens, instead of punishing them severely for their crimes.

Human-rights lawyer Natthasiri Bergman emphasised that many women behind bars were breadwinners and mothers, so locking them away or putting them to death greatly affects their families.

Natthasiri also cautioned that keeping these women away from their children forces the young ones to grow without maternal care.

“The impact from the absence of a mother is significant, and can contribute to more crimes, violence and other social problems in the future,” she added.

Source: The Nation

 

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Thai media has reported on the arrest of a US man of Pakistani origin who was reported to the authorities by parents of a child in Lam Lukka, Pathum Thani north of Bangkok. 

The parents said he raped and molested their child.

The man – named only as Mr John, 46 – denies everything saying he has a Thai wife and child and has lived in the kingdom for 20 years.  He has come face to face with immigration chief Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn who has told the family not to be concerned – bad people will be prosecuted and thrown out of Thailand.

Sanook reported that the Lt General went to Lam Lukka police station yesterday to interview Mr John.

The suspect denied raping a child who was his student. He said he had lived in Thailand for two decades getting visas supported by marriage to a Thai national and having a Thai child. His wife is a nurse.  He said that he was a Doctor of Psychology employed as an English teacher. Sanook said he was a Pakistani but by the suspects own admission he is a US national who was born in Pakistan.

In a video posted to Facebook Lt Gen Surachate said that there are many good English teachers and religious teachers but that some bad ones slip through the net.

He said that he was determined to root them out, put them through the courts then deport them.

A warrant was issued in this case after an investigation. Sanook reported that the police have evidence of multiple crimes committed by the suspect. Details of that assertion were not given in the report.

Surachate added that he would like the parents to know that the suspect would face the full force of the law in this case.  An accompanying post that went with the video on the Immigration site on Facebook gave a stark warning:

“We welcome all people who respect and marvel at Thai nature and Thai culture. But we will not tolerate criminals coming here”

Source: Sanook

A Pattaya business and tourism leader has implored his compatriots not to rip off visitors. 

And he has reminded Thais to be good hosts if they want to see tourism improve.

Ekkasit Ngampichet was speaking to Pattaya News about plans for the year ahead.

But amid the figures and projections it was his stark message to operators and locals in Pattaya that stood out:

The president of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association said: “Be good hosts and don’t take advantage of visitors”.

Bangkokians were greeted by thick smog on Monday morning forcing a lot of them to wear facemasks to prevent inhaling the dirty air.

People wearing masks became a common sight in inner areas of the capital today.

The pollution continued to remain at harmful levels for the fourth straight day today [Monday] and the situation was likely to remain critical for at least another month due to weather patterns, experts said.

This was not regular winter fog but a deadly cloud of fine dust particles and other air pollutants, according to China-based air-pollution monitoring website http://aqicn.org.

The site reported that the PM2.5 air-quality index (AQI) in Bangkok this morning reached a peak of 183, an unhealthy level, while some areas such as Bang Khen district were at hazardous levels, with PM2.5 AQI at 396.

The site forecast that Bangkok would face harmful levels every morning for the rest of the week because there was little wind.

Source: The Nation

Sanook reported that the scheme to be able to show details of a Thai driving licence on your phone starts tomorrow. 

From 15th January it will be unnecessary to carry the regular plastic licence with you if you have applied for the Electronic Driving Licence.

This can be shown to the police and would be useful in the event of an accident.

Information on the digital licence includes allergies, blood type, illnesses, rights to use hospitals, person to contact in an emergency, location and tracking information.

Anyone with an old licence can now apply for the new EDL at Department of Land Transport offices nationwide said chief of the DLT Pheerapong Thawornsupacharoen. It is also available for those seeking a licence for the first time.

Those with both car and motorcycle licences were eligible.

Source: Sanook