More 'erection' games..

[LivinLOS]

Suspicious boat crash raises tensions in Chiang Rai
Influential kamnan missing in Mekong
source: Bkk Post

An influential kamnan with solid connections to the old power circles is missing after a suspicious boat crash in the Mekong river on Friday, raising concerns about rising tensions and possible confrontations in the province as election day draws closer.

Prasong Pongpanyayuen, 50, was in a long-tail boat heading from Laos back to the Thai side in Chiang Saen district, according to police.

Mr Prasong is alleged to have been carrying 20 million baht in cash when he disappeared in the river. The money is said to be for financing election campaigns.

The other passenger on board was Taiching sae Lew, 45, who runs a tea business in Mae Sai district.

As the long-tail boat reached the middle of the Mekong river, a 40-seater boat full of passengers rammed into it, knocking Mr Prasong, Mr Taiching and long-tail boat driver Manas Sutawong, 38, overboard. The boat sank.

Mr Manas, who swam to safety, told police he and the two men managed to stay afloat for 20 minutes. Mr Prasong and Mr Taiching then disappeared in the fast current.

Police said rescue teams were sent out to find the two men and retrieve the boat.

Suwan Prompanya, 42, the driver of the passenger boat, said he did not see the other boat in the fading light until it was too late.

After the collision, he steered his boat slowly to shore where he was taken into custody by police and charged in connection with the crash. Police said Mr Suwan did not have a boat driver's licence. Mr Manas admitted he did not switch on his boat's headlight.

Prasong: Carrying B20 million cash?

He said he was hired to shuttle Mr Prasong and Mr Taiching, who acts as an interpreter for Mr Prasong at a hotel and casino project in which he had invested in at Ton Pueng township in Laos opposite Chiang Saen district.

Pol Col Surachai Thienchai, the chief of Chiang Saen district police, said if Mr Prasong had cash with him it may have been much less than 20 million baht.

Police were investigating the cause of the boat crash, which was described as suspicious by some witnesses.

Mr Prasong is a well-known kamnan in Mae Chan district with close connection to Yongyuth Tiyapairat, the deputy leader of the People Power party (PPP), which maintains a strong grip on the political scene in Chiang Rai.

Mr Yongyuth, a former MP for Chiang Rai and a former cabinet minister in the Thaksin Shinawatra government, is thought to enjoy huge support in the province.

Amornpong Wichittakul, head of Chiang Rai election office, said his office would make inquiries about the allegation that a large sum of cash was involved.

He said he had received reports of huge amounts of cash being placed in casinos in neighbouring countries to be later smuggled into Thailand to finance vote buying.

Boontham Thipprasong, the vice-chairman of the Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce, said the circumstances surrounding the crash appeared rather odd.

The crash happened on a very wide section of the river and he was told there were only the two boats on the water at the time. He said he hoped the incident would not create any pretext for violence in the province.

"My wish is for the election to be allowed to take its course," he said.

Inwan Bangngern, the leader of the kamnan and village head association in Chiang Rai, said he was afraid to believe allegations that the crash may not have been an accident.

"Was this necessary? If the allegation is true, I think Chiang Rai will descend into chaos," said Mr Inwan.

A source said soldiers and the PPP remain at bitter odds with the party accusing soldiers of attempting to block its supporters from getting to election campaign rallies.

The source added that some local policemen who were transferred over their lack of political neutrality have aligned themselves with Mr Yongyuth.

[LivinLOS]

Thaksin to monitor Thailand elections from Hong Kong
Bangkok Post: 16 Dec 2007

Thaksin Shinawatra will be monitoring the Dec 23 election, possibly from Hong Kong, according to his legal adviser, Noppadon Pattama.

Mr Noppadon also hinted that Mr Thaksin could be arriving in Asia from the UK where he has been in self-imposed exile between Dec 19-20 and said that he will most likely choose Hong Kong as his base to monitor the election in Thailand.

"The main reason behind Mr Thaksin's decision to visit Asia is to listen to People Power party member Chalerm Yubamroong's speech on Dec 21," Noppadon said. "It's believed he will also inform the public when Mr Thaksin is due to return to Thailand."

In other developments, the PPP is moving ahead with election campaigning, making more promises to the people in the hope of winning more votes with just days left before the election. The PPP vowed to make tourism a top priority, promising to boost the tourism sector with a major cash injection as well as to set up a Tourism Bank for business operators.

"The coastline between Trat to Surat Thani provinces will be transformed into major tourist destinations comparable to the likes of Nice in France," said PPP member Plodprasop Suraswadi.

[LivinLOS]

Drugs for votes
source: Bkk Post

Fourteen kilogrammes of high-grade heroin smuggled into Chiang Rai were seized in Phrae on Saturday, with money from the sale of the drugs allegedly earmarked for use in electoral fraud schemes.

<<<This sounds like mud slinging to me.. No facts, no real info, just an allegedly !!!>>>

Two brothers, Pinyo and Vijit Thanakornsilp, were pulled over on the Den Chai-Uttaradit highway at a police-military checkpoint in Den Chai district. Police said they found 40 packs of high-grade heroin totalling 14 kilogrammes in their vehicle.

Police arrested the men, who allegedly confessed to having picked up the drugs from a trafficker in Chiang Saen district of Chiang Rai.

The heroin was to be delivered to customers at a farmer market in Pathum Thani.

Police investigators also seized 19,000 baht from the suspects and were tracing the origin of the heroin and trying to track down the gang distributing the drugs.

Authorities have set up roadblocks on highways linking Bangkok and the North to intercept and cut off supplies of drugs in the run-up to Sunday's general election.

Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said drug deliveries were expected to increase as the election approaches.

He said he has instructed that border patrols be stepped up to catch the smugglers.

Meanwhile, the search continued yesterday for missing kamnan Prasong Pongpanyayuen and businessman Taiching sae Lew, who disappeared in the Mekong river after a boat crash in Chiang Rai on Friday. The men are presumed drowned.

Mr Prasong has close ties with Yongyuth Tiyapairat, the deputy leader of the People Power party (PPP), who wields much political influence in Chiang Rai.

It was reported that some PPP supporters were suspicious of the cause of the boat crash, linking it to electioneering conflicts in the province.

Police have not established the cause of the collision, which involved a long-tail boat carrying Mr Prasong and Mr Taiching, and a larger passenger boat.

The two men were being shuttled back from Laos where Mr Prasong reportedly has interests in a hotel and casino project. Mr Taiching was his interpreter.

Surachai Thienchai, the head of Chiang Saen district police, denied reports that Mr Prasong was carrying up to 20 million baht in cash when he disappeared in the river.

It has been alleged that Mr Prasong was financing election campaigns in Chiang Rai, although the existence of the money has not been verified.

Pol Col Surachai said checks found Mr Prasong had about 300,000 baht in cash with him.

He said he believed there was a political motive behind the exaggerated amount of cash.

Pol Col Surachai, however, said relevant authorities were looking out for illegal cash entering the country from neighbouring countries before the general election.

Third Army commander Samrerng Sivadamrong, meanwhile, hit back at Mr Yongyuth's claim that soldiers have intimidated PPP candidates and its canvassers and tried to block the party's election rallies in Chiang Rai.

Lt-Gen Samrerng said security searches of houses did not focus only on PPP members, as has been alleged. In fact, soldiers had remained calm despite provocation by the party, the commander said.

Buasorn Prachamorn, a PPP party list candidate in zone 1, complained yesterday that a former Chiang Rai deputy governor had warned PPP canvassers to withdraw support from the party during a recent meeting which the deputy governor said was arranged at the request of the military.

Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra, the children of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, travelled to the North over the weekend reportedly to meet key figures of the PPP.

Mr Panthongtae was in Chiang Rai and his sister in Chiang Mai. Their trips were said to help the PPP boost its popularity.