Drivers warned of foraging herd
Prachuap Khiri Khan: Drivers heading to Pala-U waterfall on Pusai-Saiane Road in tambon Huay Satyai of Hua Hin district are warned to be aware of roaming elephants in the area.
Mana Permpul, chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park, said yesterday that a herd of eight elephants have been spotted foraging near the road over the past few weeks.
Drivers are advised to remain in their vehicles upon spotting the herd, refrain from attracting the attention of the giants by taking photographs or sounding their car horns.
"It is important to keep a minimum distance of at least 50 metres from the elephants," he said.
Cops nab man in violent smoker hunt
KHON KAEN: A Vietnamese man wanted for a vicious assault on a woman who reprimanded him for smoking in the lobby of a block of flats in Nonthaburi was arrested on a train while heading out of the country yesterday.
Lung Van Chuyen, 30, was apprehended on the Bangkok-Nong Khai train at Khon Kaen railway station in Muang district about 3.30am, Pol Col Samphan Lueangsajjakul of the tourist police said.
The arrest followed a Facebook post by user Mikke Minne, showing a drunk man hitting a woman who reprimanded him for smoking outside his room at the flats in Bang Yai district of Nonthaburi on Dec 4. The post was supported with surveillance camera footage. The woman, who works in the office, filed a complaint with Bang Yai police and the Nonthaburi Court later issued a warrant for his arrest.
19 Chinese workers busted
Surat Thani: 19 Chinese construction workers have been arrested for illegally working in the country on tourist visas.
The arrests were made after police inspected the documents of 43 construction workers employed by TCW Construction Development Co, in Koh Samui.
Out of the 43 workers, 24 workers from Myanmar were found to have legal documents that allows them to work in Thailand. However, the workers from China were caught with only tourist visas on their passports.
"The inspection is a standard immigration security measure designed to prevent illegal migrants from violating Thai laws," Immigration Police said.
Those arrested have been blacklisted and will be deported.
Toll fees waived over New Year
transport: Fees will be waived for motorists using the Bangkok Expressway Highway 7 between Bangkok and Chon Buri, and the Bangkok Expressway Highway 9 Kanchanaphisek Outer Ring Road, from Dec 27 to Jan 3, the cabinet agreed yesterday.
In explaining the decision, a representative of the cabinet said the eight days of no highway tolls was being presented to the public as a New Year's gift while also offering benefits such as eased congestion, less pollution, and saved energy. The Transport Ministry estimates that nearly 5.3 million people will use the roads over this period, or just over 660,000 per day on average. If those numbers prove accurate the ministry will surrender 156 million baht in lost toll fees.
Warrant sought for diamond geezers
theft: Police have sought court approval to arrest a 59-year-old man and two accomplices for the theft of a 10-million-baht diamond from a gem-broker who took it to a shop in Bangkok's Bang Rak district on Tuesday.
Pol Lt Chanachart Charoenphol, deputy investigation chief at Bang Rak police station, filed a request at the South Bangkok Criminal Court for arrest warrants for Pipatpongpat Suksawatpipat and two others.
The heist occurred at a shop on the first floor of a four-storey commercial building on Si Phraya Road around 3pm on Tuesday. A man police believe to be Mr Pipatpongpat had lured an Indian gem broker to the shop, which he had arranged to rent only the previous week. Jain Vaivphav, 44, and a Thai friend arrived with a 10-carat diamond they reportedly had advertised for sale over the web.
After seating them in the shop, the man said he wanted to examine the stone in natural light. He walked outside the shop, then closed and locked the door behind him and took off.
Mr Pipatpongpat has a criminal record and has changed his name four times, police said.
