Thailand – 120,000 Cambodian migrants flee Thailand after coup

Via: Coconuts Bangkok

More than 120,000 Cambodians have fled Thailand to return home in the past week, fearing a crackdown on migrant workers after last month’s military takeover, an official said on Sunday.

The mass exodus of labourers – who play a key role in Thai industries such as seafood and agriculture but often lack official work permits – comes amid a junta warning of arrest and deportation for illegal foreign workers.

“They’re returning en masse like a dam collapsing. They’ve never come en masse like this before in our history,” Kor Sam Saroeut, governor of the northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey where the main border crossing is located, told AFP by telephone.

Around 122,000 Cambodian migrants have returned from Thailand in the last week after being transported to the border by Thai military trucks or making their own way, he said late Sunday.

“They said they are scared of being arrested or shot if they run when Thai authorities check their houses,” Saroeut added. “Most of them went to work in Thailand without a work permit.”

But two days later the Thai foreign ministry dismissed “RUMOURS” the army was deporting Cambodian labourers and later Sunday released a new statement citing spokesman Sek Wannamethee as saying: “No crackdown order targeting Cambodian workers had been issued by the NCPO (junta body).”

As a result of the rumours, “Cambodian illegal workers have reported themselves to the Thai authorities for being repatriated voluntarily to Cambodia,” the statement said, adding that Thai immigration officials had provided transport for them. (NOT RUMOR!)

More than 12,000 migrant workers crossed the border into Cambodia on Sunday alone, according to Saroeut, who expects many more to make the journey over the new few days.

Thousands were sheltering from the rain at local Buddhist temples and a market as they waited for transport to their home provinces.

Cambodian authorities have arranged nearly 300 cars and military trucks to ferry workers home from the Aranyaprathet-Poipet border checkpoint but many would have to stay near the site overnight until transport became available, Saroeut said.

At the smaller border checkpoint of Boeung Trakuon, south of Poipet, around 1,000 Cambodian men and women walked across the border with heavy bags and children in tow, said a local journalist.

Sirichan Ngathong, a spokeswoman for Thailand’s army which seized power in a coup on May 22, had said Wednesday the junta viewed illegal migrants as a “threat” and they faced arrest and deportation.

http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2014/06/16/afp-120000-cambodian-migrants-flee-thailand-after-coup

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Personal thought:

I haven’t read anything similar as to whether this is affecting the Lao and Burmese. If the crackdown becomes more widespread, I believe this will have a dire consequence on the Thai economy.

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‘Right Next Door’ – Cambodia Image Gallery

Via: First Time User

– photo by Vo Anh Khanh

‘A Cambodian guerrilla is carried to an improvised operating room in a mangrove swamp in this Viet Cong haven on the Ca Mau Peninsula, 1970’

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See more photos of Cambodia, HERE:

http://firsttimeuser.tumblr.com/tagged/Cambodia

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Air Asia: Bangkok to Siam Reap, Cambodia (999 baht – $32 USD)

Via: Coconuts Bangkok

AirAsia will soon begin flights from Bangkok to Siam Reap a route that has long been dominated by Bangkok Airways.

The budget airline’s entry into this market comes with an impressive promotional one-way fare of THB999 ($32), which will likely kick off a price war between the low-cost carrier and it’s more established competition.

Technically AirAsia is advertising a THB79 fare, but as you’ve probably surmised that’s simply too good a deal to exist. In addition to the fare itself, there’s a fuel surcharge of THB220 and an airport tax of THB700.

The extra taxes aside, THB999 is still a great deal for a Bangkok-Siam Reap flight and far more reasonable than a comparable Bangkok Airlines flight, which currently runs at THB6600.

AirAsia said that the promotion is available only for the first 8,000 seats. Once the promotion is over tickets will run about THB3,000. ($1oo USD – STILL CHEAP!)

http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2013/07/16/airasias-new-flights-siam-reap-kick-rockbottom-thb999-fares

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related post:

‘(1 of 2) Air Asia Flight Attendants’

http://seattle98.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/air-asia-flight-attendants/

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Thailand to extradite British man on RAPE CHARGE

Via: Straight Times

A Thai court on Wednesday approved the extradition of a 67-year-old British charity organiser wanted by Cambodian authorities on a rape charge.

David John Fletcher, who ran a CHARITY for CHILDREN in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, was convicted in absentia for RAPE of a 17-year-old Cambodian girl. He was sentenced in May 2011 to 10 years in prison.the E

Fletcher was arrested in Bangkok in 2010 after fleeing from Cambodia. A Thai lower court approved an extradition request in 2011, but Fletcher appealed.

On Wednesday, a Thai Appeals Court judge denied the appeal, saying Fletcher’s prosecution did not violate human rights principles.

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/se-asia/story/thailand-extradite-british-man-rape-charge-20130710

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Good riddance, ass-hole!

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Thailand – Pet Rescue Fighting the Illegal Dog Meat Trade

Via: City News

CityNews today received information about how Thailand Pet Rescue are working in hard to stopping the trade of dog meat. Panaree Cotchacote and her team of volunteers from Thailand Pet Rescue (TPRC) rescue dogs everyday from certain death – but there’s evidence thousands of dogs are slipping into the illegal dog meat trade because authorities aren’t enforcing the law.

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Panaree knows that the few ‘lucky ones’that survive the journey are often tortured before they are killed. Traders believe that meat is more tender if more pain is inflicted.

But border provinces can put a stop to the “disgusting” dog meat trading by enforcing the law. That’s why Panaree has started a petition asking Governors of Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon to stamp out the illegal trade.

In just over two weeks, more than 3,000 people have signed Panaree’s petition -click here to add your voice.

Last year, the former Nakhon Phanom Governor implemented a successful crackdown fining local officials who didn’t enforce the law. But the new Governor let trade run rampant again. Panaree has witnessed first-hand the notorious Ban Phaeng border pier packed with dogs crammed in chicken cages.

When she has gathered 5,000 signatures, Panaree will deliver her petition to the Governors directly. With so many voices behind her, she is confident her trip will get media coverage the Governors can’t ignore.

She asks you to sign now, and share the petition with your friends and family, before more dogs are killed.

http://www.chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?id=688

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related post:

‘Thailand – Illegal transnational do trader caught – 700 dogs rescued’

https://seattle99.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/thailand-illegal-transnational-dog-trader-caught-700-dogs-rescued/

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Thailand – Illegal transnational dog trader caught, 700 dogs rescued

Via: Pattaya Daily News

An illicit transnational trader was arrested by a Mekong Riverine Operation Unit in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom, rescuing 700 dogs which were bound for Vietnam.

LCDR Kritsana Choosai, chief of a Mekong River patrol unit in Nakhon Phanom, led officials to intercept a white six-wheel truck with Sakon Nakhon-registered license plates on Nakhon Phanom-Ban Phang Road.

There were 77 cages with a total of 700 dogs loaded on the truck.

The driver, identified as Mr Salut ‘I like poodle, with my noodle’ Kotetakok, 43, was arrested and taken in for questioning.

Nakhon Phanom provincial livestock chief Pairat Pathumsuwan has coordinated with related agencies to distribute the dogs to different locations to avoid overcrowding situations, otherwise the dogs may develop infection or die.

Mr Pairat said that the Nakhon Phanom Animal Quarantine Station was now overcrowded with dogs, as there were 773 dogs in custody after an earlier arrest on July 25, where 548 dogs were rescued from a trafficking ring and sent to the station, and the TOTAL stood at 1,321 dogs.

If 700 dogs were added to this station, that would be more than 2,000 dogs, where the capacity of the facility was only 800-1,000 dogs, he said.

He said that taking care of the rescued canines cost some Bt10,000 a day  ($320USD).

Mr Pairat said that dog smuggling was also a problem as dog meat was still popular in some countries and illegal traders were continually trying to smuggle dogs into these countries (Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia).

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2012/07/29/illegal-transnational-dog-trader-caught-in-nakhon-phanom-700-dogs-rescued/

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personal thought:

It might be my imagination, but it seems to me, I see fewer soi ‘street’ dogs around Chiang Mai of late.

pity

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WARNING! – S.E. Asia – Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Via: The Nation

A Ranong Public Health official yesterday urged the province’s childcare facilities, in particular 13 centres caring for 3,000 Myanmar pre-schoolers along the border, to watch out for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).

Dr Thongchai Kiratihattayakorn said Thai authorities were worried because HFMD outbreaks had been reported in many provinces as well as in neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, where 40,000 patients and 18 deaths were found.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/HFMD-warning-to-Ranong-pre-schools-30186186.html

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UPDATE:

Via: Thai Visa

“Thai Health Ministry: Number Of Hand, Foot And Mouth Disease Patients Rises To OVER 12,000“

Read more, HERE:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/569877-thai-health-ministry-number-of-hand-foot-and-mouth-disease-patients-rises-to-over-12000/

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UPDATE:

“More than 381,000 infected in Chinese outbreak”

Read more, HERE:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/15/more-than-381000-infected-in-chinese-outbreak/

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reference:

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a human syndrome caused by intestinal viruses of the picornaviridae family. The most common strains causing HFMD are coxsackie A virus and enterovirus 71 (EV-71)

HFMD usually affects infants and children, and is quite common. It is moderately contagious and is spread through direct contact with the mucus, saliva, or feces of an infected person. It typically occurs in small epidemics in nursery schools or kindergartens, usually during the summer and autumn months. The usual incubation period is 3–7 days.

It is less common in adults, but those with immune deficiencies are very susceptible.

HFMD is not to be confused with foot-and-mouth disease (also called hoof-and-mouth disease), which is a separate disease affecting sheep, cattle, and swine (both are caused by members of the picornaviridae family, but are not trans-communicable between humans and livestock).

Read more, HERE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand,_foot_and_mouth_disease

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Cambodia – Troops fire on Bangkok Airways plane (See photo)

Via: The Australian

CAMBODIAN troops have fired shots at a passenger aircraft flying near the country’s disputed border with Thailand, believing it to be a spy plane (See photo).

“The Cambodian military fired because there was a Thai passenger plane – Bangkok Airways (See photo) – which could not land at Siem Reap airport because of bad weather,” said Thai deputy army spokesman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong.

“It was misunderstood by Cambodia to be spy plane (See photo),” he said, adding that no one was hurt in the incident near the northern Cambodian tourist destination of Siem Reap.

Cambodian military at the border – the site of deadly territorial clashes between the neighbouring countries last year – confirmed troops had opened fire at an aircraft.

“It was dark (See photo) so we could not see what type of plane it was. But it was circling many times and then our soldiers fired 18 shots from a machine gun, but it missed the plane because it was flying very high (See photo),” Commander Seng Phearin said.

“I think a passenger plane (See photo) would not fly around the border. We suspected it was a spy plane (See photo), so we fired to defend our airspace,” he said.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/troops-fire-on-bangkok-airways-plane/story-fn3dxix6-1226424925033

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Pattaya – Girl aged 14 was sold to a foreigner for 80,000 THB ($2,600 USD) by her stepfather

Via: Pattaya Daily News

Pol. Lt. Col. Kreetha Tankanarat, Deputy Superintendent, Pol. Lt. Col. Ormsin Sukkarnka, The head of Center of Protecting Children and Women and Subdue for Human Trade (CPCWSHT), Chonburi province, Pol. Maj. Kreangsak Boonprawat, Pol. Maj. Kingkaew Charoenpitakpracha, Inspector of Subdue work, Pol. Capt. Pemika Wiwattanapongpan, Ms. Sonthaya Maenpeun and Mr. Phalisorn Noja, the Director of the Center of Subdue of Human Trade were notified from Krajokngao foundation that a Cambodian guy forced his step children to be beggars and offered to sell his step daughter, age 14, nationality Cambodian to a foreigner for the price of 80,000 THB for sexual services and asked the officer to investigate and assist this girl.

The mother’s name was Mrs. Hen age 32 with her eldest daughter Orh (alias) age 14, her body had wounds all over, a boy Or (alias) age 10 had signs of being beaten with a broken nose, broken mouth and swollen body, another boy A (alias) age 15 months, was very thin and suffering from lack of food. Mrs. Hen said that at 5.40 a.m. on January 26, 2012 Mr. Jan age 40, nationality Cambodian, her husband and the step father of her children beat her and the children and took money from begging and had gone back to Cambodia already and forced her and children to continue to be beggars and forced her to try to sell her eldest daughter to a foreigner for 80,000 THB in order to buy land to build a house in Cambodia so she asked for assistance from the good people to notify Krajokngao foundation before she would be forced to sell her daughter.

After investigation, Pol. Lt. Col. Ormsin Sukkarnka said that initially the police had arrested Mrs. Hen age 32, the mother of 3 children in the accusation of escaping into town illegally and for her 3 children he let the officers to bring them to cure and take care of at the Home of Children and Family before following up to arrest Mr. Jan, the cruel step father to prosecute according to the law.

After they had been notified by the Krajokngao foundation, the officers found the mother with her 3 children begging money at second Pattaya Road Moo 9 Tambon Nong Preu, Amphur Banglamung, Chonburi province. The officers restrained them and brought them to the Center for Subduing of Human Trafficking at Banglamung police station.

Pattaya – 31 Khmer Beggars Including Babies Caught

Via: Pattaya Daily News

Pol. Lt. Col. Aroon Prompan said that he mobilized his teams to protect the tourists in Pattaya by order of the Pol. Maj. Gen. Adis Ngarmjitsuksri after he was notified that there were many foreign beggar gangs operating in Pattaya.

The beggars modus operandi, mothers carrying babies on the sidewalks of Second Road Pattaya.

At the crime scene they found many Cambodian beggar gang always with mothers carrying babies. The police arrested the whole bunch 31 beggars, divided to 15 mothers and 16 children age 1-10. Upon investigation it was discovered that all of them escaped to Chonburi province illegally from Cambodia.

They confessed that they escaped into Thailand via Sakaew international border and had begged at many locations in Pattaya.

The police believes that there must be a gang leader who brought them into Thailand.

Pattaya police will investigate all the beggars and prosecute them according to the law. Thereafter they will be sent back to the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia.

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2011/12/06/31-khmer-beggars-including-babies-caught-in-pattaya/

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