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[halfway inn]

Sterilise dogs, end the meat trade



BANGKOK: -- Many of your readers will not be aware of the despicable trade in dog meat from Thailand to neighbouring countries like Vietnam and Laos that has been going on for a number of years.

We would like to bring attention to what we call this "trade of shame" and to the work of the Soi Dog Foundation (SDF), a voluntary organisation based in Phuket that has been undertaking to try and stop this trade, as well as our sterilisation programme to reduce the number of dogs on the streets.

The task is gigantic. For example, after recent interceptions there were over 5,000 rescued dogs in Nakhon Phanom, Khemmarat and Buriram livestock shelters.

Today the figure is down to 4,400 with around 20 dogs dying per day, according to staff on site.

The traders had kept them hidden in the jungle for days, crammed into cages without food and water, so most of the dogs are sick and not well enough to be vaccinated.

Although doing their best for the dogs, the Department of Livestock Development has no budget for them, and the fund set up by the Governor of Nakhon Phanom province in August 2011 has now run out of money.

Soi Dog Foundation is currently providing food, vaccines (over 2,500 sent to Nakhon Phanom this week alone at a cost of nearly Bt250,000), and other drugs and even financing the construction of additional shelters at Buriram.

However it is costing well over Bt1 million per month to support the dogs, and donations are desperately needed. Please visit www.soidog.org to learn more and donate today.

If your readers are able to offer one of the dogs a home, SDF will transport the dog to Bangkok with the support of Nok Air, and de-sex and vaccinate it free of charge.

Many of the dogs are stolen pets. Prior to SDF's involvement, over 70 per cent of intercepted dogs died from starvation, disease or injury.

On May 17, SDF sent a team of vets to Khemmarat to de-sex all remaining unsterilised dogs there.

Pet owners should be aware that gangs are now travelling across Thailand snatching pet dogs in addition to carrying out the old-fashioned method of purchasing unwanted animals in exchange for plastic buckets from poorer areas of the country.

No penalties have ever been imposed on the traders who are making millions of baht per year from what is an unimaginably inhumane trade.

The dog meat trade and eating of dog meat is abhorred by the vast majority of Thais, and the multi-million baht industry based on incredible cruelty is run by, in effect, a criminal mafia.
 
Despite this being open knowledge, the Thai authorities appear unable or unwilling to halt the dog meat trade at its source and thereby prevent this suffering from continuing.

Regarding sterilisation as a means of controlling animals, SDF this week reached the significant milestone of sterilising its 50,000th animal since starting in late 2003.
SDF also operates in Bangkok and through mobile clinics in southern Thailand with a target of sterilising 15,000 animals per year.

The foundation hopes at its current rate to have sterilised around 100,000 animals in about three years' time.

The current mobile clinic programme on Phuket, working closely with the province's local authorities, aims to have the island's stray population under control in two years and to continue the province's rabies-free status.

SDF is discussing with the Department of Livestock in Bangkok introducing a national programme based on SDF's activities on Phuket.

Thailand has pledged to eradicate rabies by 2020 in accordance with Asean agreements.

John and Gill Dalley are the founders of the Soi Dog Foundation.

John Dalley,
Gill Dalley
Special to The Nation

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Είδηση-σοκ: Συνέλαβαν Βρετανό Στην Ταϊλάνδη που μετέφερε ψημένα ανθρώπινα έμβρυα για τελετουργία μαύρης μαγείας

 
http://www.iefimerida.gr/news/106158/%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%B4%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B7-%CF%83%CE%BF%CE%BA-%CF%83%CF%85%CE%BD%CE%AD%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%B2%CE%B1%CE%BD-%CE%B2%CF%81%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%BD%CF%8C-%CF%80%CE%BF%CF%85-%CE%BC%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%AD%CF%86%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%B5-%CF%88%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B1-%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B8%CF%81%CF%8E%CF%80%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%B1-%CE%AD%CE%BC%CE%B2%CF%81%CF%85%CE%B1-%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85%CF%81%CE%B3%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%8D%CF%81%CE%B7%CF%82

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Penitent Romanian hacker aims to protect world's ATMs



VASLUI, Romania (Reuters) - Valentin Boanta, sitting in his jail cell, proudly explains the device he has invented which, he says, could make the world's ATMs impregnable even to tech-savvy criminals like himself.

Boanta, 33, is six months into a five-year sentence for supplying gadgets an organized crime gang used to conceal ATM skimmers, which can copy data from an unsuspecting ATM user's card so a clone can be created.

He said he had started to make the devices for the sheer excitement of it and denies ever planning to use them himself, saying he only sold them to others.

Boanta says his arrest in 2009 and trial brought contrition, as he realized the impact of his actions and felt an urge to make amends.

It also brought the former industrial design student a flash of technical inspiration.

"When I got caught I became happy. This liberation opened the way to working for the good side," Boanta said.

"Crime was like a drug for me. After I was caught, I was happy I escaped from this adrenaline addiction," he said.

"So that the other part, in which I started to develop security solutions, started to emerge."

It was during his trial that he got down to work. The stage for Boanta's product pitch these days is the book-lined cell in the northeastern Romanian town of Vaslui he shares with five pickpockets and burglars.

"All ATMs have ageing designs so they are prone to vulnerability, they are a very weak side of the banking industry," he said.

"Every ATM can be penetrated through a skimming crime. My security solution, SRS, makes an ATM unbreachable."

Boanta says his "Secure Revolving System-SRS" can be installed in any ATM.

It allows the bank card to be inserted longer side first and then rotates it to prevent skimmers being able to lock on to the magnetic data strip.

The system returns the card to its user with a reverse rotation.

Outwardly it is a trapezoidal metallic box around 6 inches long with the card slot in the middle.

The SRS, funded and developed by a technology firm near Bucharest called MB Telecom, is patented and won an award this year at the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva.

The inventor and company are not yet saying how much it will cost, but insist it will be available soon.

"He fully deserves such recognition," said SRS co-inventor and MB Telecom president Mircea Tudor.

"He's taking part in improving Romania's image abroad and he'll surely join our team when released."

Romania has a deep well of technical expertise stemming from the time of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who backed computer research and technical education.

Digital piracy flourished after his violent overthrow in 1989, as people who could not afford proprietary products bought cheap copies instead.

Romanian hackers stole about $1 billion from U.S. accounts in 2012, according to the U.S. embassy in Bucharest.

A report by Verizon said Romania was the world's second-biggest hacking centre after China.

The FBI has even set up an office in Romania and helped to train specialist police agents.

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16TH CRISIS ANNIVERSARY

Asian Financial crisis and the lessons learned


Sawad: In hindsight, the biggest lesson was that if you borrowed in foreign currency, there would be multiple risk factors.

 Ex-steel tycoon recalls downfall on 16th anniversary of baht devaluation

On the 16th anniversary of the devaluation of the baht (July 2, 1997), which preceded the Asian financial crisis, former steel tycoon Sawad Horrungruang said, "Back then, companies in my area of business [NTS, NSM and affiliated firms] owed as much as US$2.7 billion to foreign and Thai creditors.

"The loans were denominated in foreign currencies, so the combined debt doubled overnight as soon as the baht was devalued, and then plunged from Bt25 to the dollar to more than Bt50 [debt jumped from between Bt140 billion and Bt150 billion].

"Back then, interest rates also jumped to more than 10 per cent and if you defaulted, the rate would shoot up to nearly 30 per cent.
The massive foreign-exchange losses and high cost of funds meant that it was impossible for any decent business to survive.

"In hindsight, the biggest lesson was that if you borrowed in foreign currency, there would be multiple risk factors.

In this era of globalisation, whatever happens in the US, Europe or elsewhere is going to effect businesses in Thailand.

"Another lesson for today's businessmen is that there is no genuine free and fair trade, and we must be watchful as far as non-tariff barriers [NTBs] - such as child labour and environmental issues - are concerned.

"In terms of transparency and disclosure of publicly traded firms, we used to remark a lot about Western regulations concerning such things [during the Asian financial crisis]. Then we witnessed the 2008 US sub-prime-mortgage crisis or 'hamburger crisis'," which exposed serious weaknesses in the Western system of corporate governance.

"So [the United States] did not follow what it had preached to Thailand back in 1997," when the Kingdom sought a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "After 1997, I was declared bankrupt, but as of two years ago, I am now officially cleared of bankruptcy.

"I'm now serving as chairman of Hemaraj Land's advisory board. Hemaraj and another firm, Sri Racha Harbour, survived the 1997 crisis because their foreign-currency loans were small compared with those of NTS and affiliated firms," now controlled by Tata Group of India.

"Another lesson for today's businessman is 'don't cheat'.

Even though my multibillion-dollar steel empire collapsed during the height of the crisis, I didn't flee, but helped creditors to try and rehabilitate the firm.

"At 72, I feel I can return to the world of business with some pride, because I know I didn't cheat.

" I also want to caution younger businesspeople to be moderate in taking risks. Greed leads to disaster, and prosperity has to come step by step.

"I was pushed into taking high risks back then, because of the need to modernise Thailand's steel-making industry with new technology costing billions of dollars in new investments.

The country needed higher-quality steel for high-rise construction and the automotive industry, so I jumped at the chance to take part in these multibillion-dollar ventures.

"At one point, I was compared to Prachai Liewpairat [former chief executive of TPI Group whose petrochemical empire collapsed during the 1997 crisis], but I think I have a rather different personality.

"Prachai, one of my acquaintances, is an intelligent person and so is his wife. Both did business together and could not accept the total collapse of their business empire overnight.
Prachai fiercely resisted ownership change, but in the end he had to accept it - a huge psychological challenge.

"For me, my parting comment is that the game is not over, but we should also remember that we can never lose and we never win."

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Bangkok Cabbie returns cameras worth THB600,000 to Dutch passengers



A Bangkok taxi driver is being praised for his integrity after he returned a camera bag, worth an estimated THB600,000, to Dutch passengers last night.

The driver, Nutdon Banlusuk, picked up three Dutch passengers from a house in the Bang Kho Laem district and drove them to Don Muang International Airport.

After dropping them off, Nutdon realized that the passengers left the black bag in the back seat of his car.

Don Muang police later contacted Nutdon and put him in touch with the passengers so as to return their belongings.

Dailynews

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FARMER CREDIT-CARD

BAAC credit-card scheme to be expanded to 4m farmers, with extra benefits
 
BANGKOK: -- The government plans to increase the number of credit cards issued to farmers to 4 million by September, broadening the range of farmers who can benefit from the scheme and including additional privileges for card users, such as yearly health check-ups, accident insurance and grocery purchases.

Deputy Finance Minister Thanusak Lekuthai yesterday said farmers' credit cards, which are issued by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), had until now been limited to rice farmers' purchases of necessities such as fertiliser, insecticide, seeds and oil.

Privileges under the cards are being expanded to annual health check-ups, accident insurance and the purchase of grocery items, while farmers of field crops other than rice, horticultural farmers and fishermen will now also be able to benefit, he said.

Farmers using the credit cards will be exempted from interest for the first five months, while those participating in the rice-pledging scheme will benefit from a low interest rate of 1.5 per cent for their repayments.

The BAAC will also increase to 10,000 the number of shops participating in the project.
Some 4,000 stores currently take part.

The new credit card will be officially announced on July 14 during a mobile Cabinet meeting in Buri Ram, he added.

In addition, the government will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Social Security Office on cooperation with hospitals to provide health check-ups service to holders of the cards.

The issuance of 4 million cards is considered sufficient to cover all of the BAAC's customers, Thanusak said.

Any new customers will immediately receive the credit card.

The bank also plans to increase the range of privileges even further, so that the credit card can be used for similar purposes to those issued by commercial banks.


The Nation

 

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It's time for quality foreign labours


Khun Chackraphan Suwannasarn

  Systematic and efficient screening process is a key to obtaining high quality foreign labours.

For years, Thailand has suffered from the shortage of skilled labours across various industries especially agriculture, fishery and construction.

This phenomenon consequentially spurs the influx of foreign labours from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh and Vietnam into the kingdom.

From HR management's point of view, foreign labours are a key resource that keeps the business alive and competitive in the ever changing market.

As a result, many entrepreneurs try very hard to seek only quality foreign labours to equip their workforce.

Khun Chackraphan Suwannasarn, Chief Executive Officer of Silver and Gold Management Co., Ltd., a leading foreign labour management company, revealed that since foreign labours are a crucial driving force in many manufacturing industries, sourcing and managing qualified workers have become an important issue in today's business operation.

"Nowadays businesses are more competitive. We must not overlook the fact that the quality of workers will reflect in all the products we make.

From SGMT's experience in labour management, I can assure you that systematic and efficient screening process is a key to obtaining high quality foreign labours. There are many important steps that have to be implemented carefully."

Surely this doesn't only mean legalizing your immigrant workers.

You have to properly manage their skills and talents to suit the various needs of your organization, essentially on the basis of "putting the right man on the right job."

"At SGMT, we work extremely cautious to handpick the most suitable foreign labours for our customer's needs.

Making sure that they entered the country legally with proper documents is just the first step.

Next, we test these foreign labours regarding their career aptitude, skills, expertise and personality.

Finally, they will be interviewed and evaluated individually to make sure that their personal records and work experiences are 100% verifiable.

Our customers can rest assured that they won't have to gamble their money with low quality labours or fall victim to fraud and falsification of records/documents."

"Furthermore, SGMT also provides orientation training for foreign labours by our specialized trainers.

These experts in basic skill development will help guide foreign labours in getting familiar with the company's rules and regulations, making them ready to start the job immediately."

In order to facilitate the import of high quality foreign labours, SGMT maintains a strong collaboration with government agencies, embassies and associations in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

These agencies also play an important part in the preliminary screening of eligible foreign labours.

"With over 30 years of experience in the business, SGMT has accumulated most suitable strategies and created the 'SGMT standard' which is proved to be highly effective in different situations.

These knowledge and experiences were handed down from the first generation executive (Khun Chackrit Suwannasarn) to me, the second generation," Khun Chackraphan added.

"The SGMT standard represents professionalism, commitment, trustworthy and consistency.

We work closely with our customers to make sure that their business goals are fulfilled.

We take care of our clients consistently throughout the contract, and provide them with legal advices and other labour relation services."

At present SGMT focuses mainly on importing labours from Vietnam and Bangladesh in compliance with the upcoming government's policy.

If you are interested in legal labours from both countries, feel free to contact us for useful information and preparation tips at:
tel.: 0-2509-3961-2 or e-mail: sales@silverandgoldthailand.com

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Tourists cancel booking for Koh Samet
 
KOH SAMET: -- The majority of tourists, mostly from Europe and China, have cancelled bookings for Koh Samet following the oil spill which affects only a tiny part of the island, said a business operator.

Pisanu Kemaphan, president of the Rayong accommodation club, said that the tourists show no confidence in the clean-up operations for the oil spill which has been reported worldwide.

"This will cause long-term damage," he said, urging all related government agencies particularly Tourism Authority of Thailand and the media to present good sides of the island.

He noted that 95 per cent of tourist attractions on the island has remained safe from the oil spill, which hits only a tiny part of the western shore.

The Nation

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Army Notifies Bangkok Of Impending Tank Maneuver



BANGKOK: -- The Royal Thai Army has confirmed it was about to roll tanks into streets of Bangkok, but don′t panic, it would be merely part of routine work, according to the statement released by the army.

 Apparently conscious of the rumour about possible military coup circulating around the country, the army took pain to announce in advance the plans of various armoured divisions to move their armaments for field work practice outside of Bangkok throughout the month.

 On 6 August, the 1st Division King′s Guard will move their armaments from 4th Cavalry Division in Dusit district to Phahonyothin Train Station, via Kiak Kai intersection route, the statement reads.The equipment will then be transported to Kanchanaburi Train Station.

 "The troop will come back to Bangkok with their armaments on 17 August via the same route," it says.

 Later, the army announced, the 2nd Chivalry Division King′s Guard will move their armaments back from the training ground in Lopburi Province to Phahonyothin Train Station on 9 August, before transporting the equipment to the barracks on Kiak Kai Road and Sanam Pao area.

 Another series of maneuver will occur on 19 August, according to the army. On that day, the Antiaircraft Division will transport equipments from their Pahonyothin Barrack to Kiak Kai Barrack by train, then continue toward Lopburi Province on army vehicles. The armaments is scheduled to return to Bangkok on 23 August.

 A spokeswoman of the military apologised for inconvenience that may occur from the transportation of troop and armaments.

“This is not a preparation for a coup d’état”, she said.

 As anti-government protests were set to take place in Bangkok and fears about possible unrest returned to the capital city, many are whispering that the military might take advantage of the situation and put an end to the elected government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, similar to what happened to her brother Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006.

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AUGUST 12, 2013

Landlords, websites to be targeted for pirated

The Intellectual Property Department plans to launch stringent measures to suppress the trade of counterfeit goods by introducing a punishment for landlords and websites that sell such items.

The Intellectual Property Department plans to launch stringent measures to suppress the trade of counterfeit goods by introducing a punishment for landlords and websites that sell such items.

The department has been conducting public hearings on the proposal. The final draft law should be completed next month before it is proposed to the Cabinet for ratification by Parliament.

Pajchima Tanasanti, director-general of the department, said it would seriously attempt to eliminate counterfeit goods from the country.

If landlords do not allow their trade, it will seriously limit the ability of illegal traders to sell their products.

The new law would encourage landlords to inspect their buildings and expel illegal traders.

It would target any building including department stores, as well as open-air markets.

Pajchima said her department had cracked down seriously on the sale of pirated goods but after traders had been caught, some got right back into business in the same places.

This was because landlords failed to monitor what was going on in their buildings.

If the new law is enacted, owners of buildings will have to cooperate with officials in suppressing intellectual-property violations.

Moreover, some websites have been found selling counterfeit brand-name clothes, handbags, watches and sunglasses.

The department will also stringently suppress such online violations, she said.

The department will ask Internet service providers to monitor each website closely for the sale of illegal goods.

She said the department was closely monitoring illicit sales on Facebook after finding that many traders had used that medium to deal in pirated goods.

The legal unit of the department is studying ways to punish those using social media for such activities.

Pajchima said the incidence of online goods piracy had increased rapidly.

Overall, according to the department, there were 5,191 cases of intellectual-property infringement, with 1.57 million items seized, in the first five months of this year.

The number of cases increased by 9.4 per cent year on year, while the number of goods seized dropped by 59 per cent.

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Bangkok university makes students wear anti-cheating helmet during mid-term exams


BANGKOK: -- In an effort to curb rampant cheating Bangkok's Kasetsart university has created an anti-deceit paper helmet for students to wear during their midterm exams.




The device, which resembles horse blinders made out of computer paper, was unofficially unveiled on an alumni Facebook page.

 Shortly after being uploaded the photo was quickly taken down, but not before a loyal Coconuts reader Thanut Udomhirun captured a screenshot of the helmets in action.

 Coconuts is still searching for more information on the helmet.

It's not clear how many classes use the device

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Soldiers! Trucking Firms Want You

BANGKOK: -- To combat a shortage of truck drivers, Thailand’s transport industry is enlisting government help to recruit young soldiers as they leave the army.

Land-logistics organizations say that the Southeast Asian country desperately needs 140,000 drivers, representing 15% to 20% of some 900,000 trucks registered to transport goods.

“We have a lot of trucks sitting in the parking lot but no driver,” said Soros Vatanasilp, director of the Land Transportation Association of Thailand, a trade organization.

The traditional method of bringing young drivers into the business—truckers’ passing on the keys to the younger generation in their families—has more or less collapsed in the past decade.

Younger men who spent their childhoods sitting with their dads and uncles in the truck are becoming more educated and choosing different careers.

So the industry is seeking help from the Department of Land Transport, the country’s transportation supervisory body, to come up with alternative ways to recruit and retain professional drivers.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 16-08-2013

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Foreign Teacher Scam in Thailand

FOREIGN TEACHER SCAM IN THAILAND – With the looming membership into the Asean Economic Community (AEC) Thailand desperately needs to educate its population with the skill of speaking the English language.

Whist other neighbouring nations long ago adopted the policy of teaching English in their schools Thailand’s nationalistic belief that English was not an important issue now leaves it in a precarious situation; for the Thai Government now fully realizes just how critical this element is to enable Thailand to compete on an international level with other AEC members.

The Thai Government, over the past 3 years, has continuously spoken of change in the education system and yet little has been achieved to advance the learning of the English language in schools.

Late last year the Thai Government announced measures to make special working visas for foreign nationals, whose native language is English, to come to Thailand and work in schools.

Nearly one year on and with the Thai Government pushing back its inauguration into AEC, little appears to have been achieved; leaving many to suspect that the Thai Government, come 2016, will again delay its presence in the AEC.

The official Thai slogan for Thailand, or at least one of them, is ‘The Land of Smiles’. Unfortunately it is nothing unusual to see this slogan twisted into ‘The Land of Scams’ as Thais are often accused of scamming foreign nationals out of their money.

With the education of paramount importance you might think that the Thai Government would do more to bring in foreign nationals and ensure that such an industry is tightly regulated so as to avoid abuse and therefore more bad press.

Unfortunately this doesn’t appear to be the case as one ‘Foreign Teacher Placement Scheme’ appears to be nothing more than another scam on foreign nationals and if such a practice is allowed to continue it will be little wonder that the Thai Government are unable to attract qualified English speaking teachers to teach in Thailand.

The teacher placement agency is that of ‘Smartkurve’ or as one of its other aliases ‘ESLThailand’, ‘MEPPLUS’, ‘Edknovate’ and ‘Axiom Recruitment’.

All are run by and individual known as Kirk Phatumanum who has built up the unenviable reputation of scamming foreign teacher which is so prolific that it has forced him to change the company name on several occasions.

In a recent investigation it now looks like Kirk Phatumanum now has yet another set of companies; including ‘Double Knowledge’ and ‘Quest Club’ but there might be more.

During our investigation we took at look at complaintsboard.com which details a number of very disgruntled, angry and disillusioned foreign teachers; all of whom have had dealings with Kirk Phatumanum and his scam.

We asked one inside source, a foreign teacher of his experience with Kirk Phatumanum:

“I had heard of him when I taught, and avoided him. During my teaching days I went to an interview with ESLThailand and during the interview I was asked by a staff member to write a lesson plan.

I was given a book that had SmartKruve written on it. I asked about it and was then put on a Skype call with Kirk. He could see, and record me, but I could not see him.

I told him that I knew who he was, and would be telling my friends about him. When I left the office he called me back on my cell phone and threatened me.

I went to the police station and spoke with an officer, who called him. I was told by the officer to not worry about it, so I left.

After leaving he called me back and told me that he had a ‘special relationship’ with the police and he could do, or have done, whatever he wanted, with impunity.

He has angered other teachers to the point that they have made it a mission to shut him down. I’m glad meebal.com is writing a piece on him, he deserves it and more people need to know about this scam.”

The scam appears to be an easy one in that Kirk Phatumanum puts up advertisements on Craiglist for English speaking foreign teachers.

It is often the case that foreign teachers are never provided with the proper documentation, which is a work permit, to allow them to legally work in Thailand.  Other areas of complaints from those having dealings with Kirk Phatumanum often revolve around the issue of not being paid.

Whilst Kirk Phatumanum is provided payment from the schools in which he has contracts the money often goes straight in his pocket and many foreign teachers have been fleeced out of their rightful salaries.

The scam appears to be like a revolving door in that one teacher is brought in, never paid, and then resigns without any form of payment and is then replaced with his next unsuspecting victim.

Obviously the education establishments, where Kirk Phatumanum has contracts, are aware of the issue but many foreign teachers have expressed their anger that not only do the schools not take positive action they suspect the administrators are in on the scam; that is they are taking a cut from Kirk Phatumanum money making scheme.

Here are a number of other instances of the scam:

Foreign teachers not getting paid – complaintsboard.com

Foreigners speaking out about the scam – iformative.com

Foreign teachers warning others about the scam – exact-academy

The examples are just the tip of the iceberg and anyone thinking of becoming a foreign English teacher in Thailand should Google ‘Kirk Phatumanum’ or any of the companies first so as to realise the true nature of this scam and avoid it.

Another source told us;

“Kirk Phatumanum also purports to have a company in the U.S.A that deals with foreign teachers for Thailand. 

However people need to be aware that the Government offices in Minnesota recently verified that SMARTKURVE LLC (U.S.A) does not have a legal registered entity in the State of Minnesota or anywhere else in the United States of America.”

Victims of Kirk Phatumanum’s scam are spreading the word as much as possible and if the Thai Government fail to act this could well have a devastating effect on its ability to attract English teachers.

The Thai Government also needs to be fully aware that they are no longer able to suppress information on the internet and whilst they actively continue to block certain websites these are still available worldwide and therefore the message continues to propagate.

The issue here is a double edged sword for if foreign teachers are put off by scams, such as this, it will have a defined impact on the level of education.

On a wider issue the lack of education within the Thai population will not allow them to successfully compete with other AEC members it will ultimately have an erroneous impact on the Thai economy.


meebal

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Authorities Plan Turning Prison Into Transport Hub



Authorities plan turning Bangkok's Klong Prem prison into transport hub

BANGKOK: -- Finance Transport Kittirat na Ranong has announced a plan to develop a prison in northern Bangkok into a bustling transport complex.

According to the plan, Klong Prem Central Prison would become a hub for the planned monorail train routes linking Khae Rai district with Lam Salee.

The lines will be laid along Ngarmwongwan Road to Kaset Nawamin Road at the length of 21.9 kilometre.

 The project is expected to cost 45 billion baht, Prachachart has reported.

 As for the hub, it would include commercial assets such retail shops, a community mall, hotels, and serviced apartments, Mr. Kittirat said. Klong Prem Prison is sitting on an area of 5 million square metre.

 The Finance Minister, who also serves the Deputy Prime Minister, expects to rezone the areas.

The vicinity around Ngarmwongwan Road will become residential zone instead of the current governmental offices district.

 Governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA), Mr. Yongsit Rojsrikul, said that he wishes to create Transit Oriented Development, to develop the area at the train stations to increase profit for MRTA.

 The new monorail line will link to other lines under construction, e.g. Pink Line (Khae Rai - Meenburi), Red Line (Bangsue-Rangsit), Green Line (Mo Chit - Saphan Mai), Orange Line (Taling Chan - Meenburi), Yellow Line (Ladprao - Samrong).

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TAX FRAUD in THAILAND

DSI aims at cracking down on tax evasions

BANGKOK, 27 September 2013 (NNT)
 
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has offered a 1- million-baht bounty for anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest of 5 suspects in a tax evasion case that causes the nation 4 billion baht in damage.

DSI Director General Tharit Pengdit revealed that the five had fraudulently claimed tax refunds during the 2012-2013 tax year.

Two of the five suspects are the Saelok siblings who operate a second hand trading business, Mr. Werayuth Saelok also known as Thanayuth Donlathanakoset and Miss Saithan Saelok.

The other three are Mr. Surachet Maharamluk, and father and son Prasit and Kittisak Anyachote.

Mr. Tharit said that the DSI has initially coordinated with the Immigration Office in screening for the suspects, as the Saelok siblings have reportedly already fled the country and may currently reside in a neighboring country.

At the moment, the 3 other suspects are believed to remain in Thailand as their names have not been found on any normal channel of travelling out of the country.

The DSI Director General has assigned investigators to track down the wrongdoers, adding that a reward of 1 million baht per suspect would be handed out to anyone who can provide information leading to their arrests.


nnt