Thailand English-language News For April 3, 2017

In the April 3, 2017 edition of Newsline, presenter Cholaphansa Narula tells us about:

• Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has filed a lawsuit against the Thailand Revenue Department (TRD) and individual officers in response to its attempts to claw back some Bt17.6 billion (US$513.269 million*) in unpaid taxes it says it is owed from the 2006 sale of Shin Corp., to Singapore state-owned holding company Temasek Holdings. Deputy prime minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said the lawsuit is not of concern to the government as these tactics are common when people are accused of tax fraud. The officers had followed standard procedures, he sad.

• A revised draft anti-corruption commission bill is expected to provide the National Anti Corruption Commission (NACC) with the tools and powers it needs to perform its work effectively. The revised law will give the NACC the power to instigate corruption inquiries itself, or recruit responsible agencies or individuals to investigate matters on its behalf.

• The government has ordered all hospitals nationwide to follow new regulations issued by the Ministry of Public Health guaranteeing all citizens free emergency medical care at the nearest facility for the first 72-hours following injury.

• Up to 15 million people are expected to identify themself as low-income earners between today and May 15 as the government registers those entitled to assistance measure. To qualify for government help applicants need to be a Thai citizen, be aged over 18-years, not own land in excess of 25sq. wah (100sq.m), be unemployed, and have earned less than Bt100,000 ($2,916) last year.

• Officials from the Bangkok Metropolitain Administration (BMA) have inspected flood control work in Phra Nakhon district.

• Security officials in several provinces have introduced road safety and crime combating task forces and measures ahead of the Songkran holiday next week. In the Southern Thailand province of Yala the provincial Land Transport Office (LTO) has teamed up with 18 vehicle testing stations to provide free motor vehicle safety checks through to April 24, traditionally one of the most deadly seven days on Thailand’s roads.

• Thai consumers are expected to spend Bt854 million ($24.643 million) during next week’s Songkran festivities, with the director of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (OSMEP), Salinee Wangtan, saying the country’s network of 148 Pracharat Suk Jai shops selling a range of One Tambon One Product (OTOP) goods at PTT gas stations countrywide hope to capture some 10 per cent of this. The location of all Pracharat Suk Jai shops is now available via Google Maps.

• NBT takes a look at the Supreme Renewable Energy Co., biomass power plant in the northern province of Chiang Rai which is using corn cobs as a means of producing electricity and to reduce environmental pollution. The company is the only biomass power producer in Chiang Rai which sells electricity back to the grid.

• The Tourism Authority of Thaialnd (TAT) expects the number of inbound Chinese tourists in the second quarter of 2017 will meet its target, despite Chinese tourism numbers falling 2 per cent in recent months.

• and more.

*At current exchange rates

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Newsline is a daily Thailand English-language news and current affairs programme produced by the National News Bureau of Thailand (NNBT) under the Thailand Government Public Relations Department (PRD) for *NBT World, the NNBTs 24/7 English language television service delivering Thailand government news and information to the Thai, Asean, and wider Asian communities via cable and satellite. It is also available via android and iOS apps.