Suspicious driver meets deadly end
Udon Thani: A 60-year-old British man was killed when his car rear-ended a truck while fleeing a police search in Udon Thani's Muang district late on Thursday night.
Following the crash, police found several plastic bags containing a variety of illegal drugs in his possession.
Before the fatal crash, a patrol police unit had spotted a Honda car parked along a local road in Ban Nong Sai village in tambon Nong Nakham around 9pm on Thursday. The door on the driver's side was open.
When police officers started walking over to investigate, the driver began acting suspiciously. The man quickly closed his and drove off on the Udon Thani-Sakon Nakhon road, said Pol Lt Col Pattanawong Chanphon, deputy superintendent for crime suppression at Muang police station.
Motorway 9 toll fee postponed
Traffic: Tomorrow's scheduled roll-out of toll fees for the southern section of the Outer Ring Road motorway Phra Pradaeng-Bang Khunthian has been postponed until further notice.
The Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) reported yesterday that they had received orders from Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith to halt the fare enforcement.
Deputy permanent secretary for transport, Peraphon Thawornsupacharoen, said yesterday that enforcement of a toll fee has to be formally announced and publicised to motorists so that they may make the necessary adjustments.
Originally, a fee of 15 baht for four-wheeled vehicles, 25 baht for six-wheeled trucks, and 35 baht for trucks with seven wheels or more was planned for this section of the Outer Ring Road, also known as Motorway 9.
Mr Peraphon said the Department of Highways has until next week to report back to the Ministry of a new planned fare enforcement date.
Dead migrant's family gets B5m
labour: The family of a Thai worker who died of a heart attack last year in Singapore was awarded compensation of S$204,000, or almost 5 million baht, Thai labour authorities said.
Labour Minister Adul Sangsingkeo, who presented the damages to the family of Pongsak Meetaem, said the deceased was awarded the money in the wake of an investigation by authorities in Singapore that determined he had died as a result of his work.
Pongsak, a native of Nakhon Si Thammarat, was employed by RCL Ship Management Pte Ltd. He died on Aug 10. The cause of death was given as acute myocardial infarction.
Pol Gen Adul called on Thai workers to seek overseas employment legally to ensure their rights and welfare benefits are protected.
Cops nab cable for copper thieves
crime: Four people were arrested for allegedly stealing communication cables for copper in Nakhon Phanom's Renu Nakhon district that caused millions of baht in damage, police said.
Weerasak Phuthawong, 28, Naret Sornram, 33, Watchara Patsamran, 25, and Supakit Srisombat, 19, were caught while cutting the telephone cables in the district.
Seized from them were communication cables worth about 100,000 baht, a pickup truck and a motorcycle.
Police said the suspects, who targeted isolated communities, cut down communication wire, extracted the copper and sold it to scrap dealers for 150 baht per kg. Surasit Rattanapan, a TOT official, said the thefts had caused millions of baht in damage as it had seriously disrupted telephone and internet services.
Water diverted following rains
weather: Authorities are diverting water out of Nong Han Lake in Sakon Nakhon, the province's major catchment area, to accommodate for additional runoff from the Phu Phan mountains following heavy downpours in recent days.
Water levels in the lake have reached 176.86 million cubic metres or 66.2% of its capacity. Three sluice gates have been opened to divert water out of the lake at 98 cubic metres per second to the Kam river in anticipation of rain in the coming days.
According to irrigation officials, Nong Han Lake is one of three major water catchment areas. It has a storage capacity of 952 million cubic metres.
