Category: The Bangkok Post

In the trial over the fatal shooting of former Cambodian MP Lim Kimya, the victim’s wife on Tuesday demanded the maximum penalty against the defendant.

Ana Lim Ani, the French wife of the 73-year-old politician, appeared in court as the plaintiff in the case. She detailed her loss to the court.

Lim Kimya was allegedly shot by Ekkalak Phaenoi, the defendant, in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district on Jan 7 of this year.

A section of Charoen Krung Road near the Electricity Authority in Bangkok suddenly subsided on Wednesday morning and the road has been partially closed to traffic.

The road surface collapsed around 10am on Wednesday.

A video posted by the Ruamkatanyu Foundation’s Bang Phongphang unit shows a significant depression in the road surface, raising concerns about safety and disruption of traffic flow in the busy area. The collapsed section is several metres long.

Rescue teams from the Charoen Krung emergency centre and other agencies were rushed to the scene to evaluate the damage, implement traffic control measures and prevent further accidents.

The cause of the collapse was still being investigated.

Motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible and use alternative routes until repairs are completed and the road fully reopened.

The incident follows the recent major subsidence on Samsen Road outside Vajira Hospital.

Carrying on with some basic ‘easy to understand’ golf rules that we all need to know well. To correctly drop a golf ball, you must release the ball from your hand at knee height, allowing it to fall straight down without touching your body or equipment before hitting the ground. The ball must then land and come to rest within the defined relief area for that required situation. Should it bounce away from the dropping area you can try two more times. If still unsuccessful — you can then place the ball. If you drop the ball incorrectly, you simply must re-drop it without penalty, but you incur a penalty if you play the ball from a wrong place after dropping it.

In golf, a ball is declared “lost” if it’s not found within three minutes of starting a search for it, or if it’s hit out of bounds. The consequence for a lost ball is stroke-and-distance relief: you must add a one-stroke penalty and replay your previous shot from where you hit it last by dropping another ball, as near as possible to the original spot. You can avoid this by playing a provisional ball if you suspect your ball may be lost or out of bounds. But remember you must tell your playing partners before playing it.

When starting a hole, generally the player with the lowest score on the previous hole plays first. After starting a hole, the ball farthest from the hole is usually played first. However, to avoid slow play the Rules of Golf allows you to hit out of turn if the situation makes sense and is safe to do so.

Out of Bounds: Following on from last week where I mentioned that you could throw into a water hazard a caddie and receive no penalty for doing so. Many of you have asked me if this rule would also apply to a playing partner? — the answer is ‘Yes’ so have no fear of incurring a penalty shot if you have someone in mind.

University students now have a unique opportunity to take part in an exciting international youth camp in Thailand. PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Company Limited (OR) is officially accepting applications for the ‘OR Seeding the Future ASEAN Camp 2025’, set to take place from 23 to 28 November 2025.

This initiative aims to empower young ASEAN leaders through immersive learning in business, marketing, and technology, guided by experts from OR and its affiliates. Beyond technical knowledge, the program emphasises critical thinking, emotional intelligence, personal growth, and cross-cultural collaboration. Participants will form lasting bonds with peers from across the region, promoting diversity, inclusion, and sustainable leadership.

A total of 50 outstanding students from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and the Philippines will be selected. All expenses, including travel, accommodation, and meals, will be fully covered.

Eligibility Criteria:

Be a current undergraduate or graduate student between 18 and 24 years of age.

Be a citizen of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar or the Philippines, and currently enrolled in a university in one of these four countries or in an accredited university in Thailand.

Have a good academic record, good conduct and strong English communication skills.

How to Apply:

Application Period: 18 September – 15 October 2025

Submit a self-introduction video (max. 2 minutes) answering specific questions provided by the program

Post the video publicly on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok using the hashtag #ORSeedingTheFuture2025

Include the video link in the application form and submit via the Facebook Page: ORSeedingTheFuture

The list of selected participants will be announced on 27 October 2025 via the same Facebook page.

Don’t Miss This Transformative Experience!

Expand your horizons, exchange ideas, and connect with inspiring young leaders from ASEAN. For full details and application guidelines visit: Facebook Page: ORSeedingTheFuture

Thailand is expected to welcome 200,000 Chinese tourists during the Chinese eight-day Golden Week holiday, a 24% year-on-year decrease, with revenue projected to drop 17% to 9.1 billion baht despite growth in outbound travel from mainland China.

Outbound bookings for the holiday this year surged 28% year-on-year, while international seat capacity rose by 10% to both short- and long-haul destinations, according to ForwardKeys, an air traffic data company.

The growth in travel demand was attributed to visa-free entry to many countries and depreciation of the yen.

The most popular destinations remained in Japan, with Osaka and Tokyo reporting increases of 66% and 24%, respectively.

Many large cities in Southeast Asia reported upticks for the Golden Week holiday period, led by Ho Chi Minh City with a 71% increase, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi at 66%, Denpasar at 61%, and Singapore at 18%. No Thai city made the top 10.

Thapanee Kiatphaibool, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said Chinese people began entering Thailand for the holiday on Sept 26 and will continue to take trips until Oct 8, taking advantage of the country’s visa exemption scheme for convenient family travel.

However, the number of Chinese arrivals is expected to decline by 24% from 262,001 in 2024, with revenue down 17% from 10.9 billion baht as confidence in safety remains a roadblock, she said.

Other countries offer better value, particularly Japan, where the average cost of travel has fallen by 15% due to the weak yen, while some routes in Singapore and Malaysia have prices that are 6% cheaper year-on-year.

South Korea recently launched visa-free privileges for groups of three people entering via tour companies registered with the South Korean government.

Due to the longer Golden Week holiday period this year, which runs from Oct 1-8, a number of Chinese had opted to venture to Europe, resulting in 110% growth in Chinese tour groups to France, Switzerland and Spain.

South Africa, which offers an e-visa for Chinese tourists, also recorded 30% growth during this period.

Ms Thapanee said Chinese tourists are expected to stay for 6-8 nights on average in Thailand and spend 6,600 baht a day.

Seat bookings during the holiday still rose by 5%, most of which came from Beijing (20%), Guangzhou (18%) and Chengdu (10%), while the second-tier cities that generated the most tourists for Thailand included Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Xi’an, Xiamen and Chongqing.

Ms Thapanee said there would be at least 30 chartered flights touching down in Thailand during the week, mostly from the second-tier cities where the Thai government has already launched its subsidy campaign.

Vantive Healthcare (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a vital organ therapy company with a 70-year legacy of kidney care innovation, has been named as one of Asia’s most outstanding employers, receiving two prestigious HR Asia awards in 2025: ‘Best Companies to Work for in AsiaS’ and ‘Most Caring Company’.

The awards recognise Vantive’s workplace culture of Care, Trust, Innovate, and Own It, and the company’s Mission to extend lives and expand possibilities.

Mr. Paul Uthaichalanond, General Manager of Vantive (Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar) said: ‘Vantive’s Thailand team is proud to create an inclusive workplace where our employees are inspired to improve people’s health and well-being through innovation and compassion. These awards celebrate our Vantive people and the culture we have built together. When employees feel valued and supported, they are inspired to deliver their best every day, making a difference far beyond the workplace’

The HR Asia awards evaluate organisations on culture, employee engagement, and turning their values into action. Vantive received the ‘Best Companies to Work for in AsiaS’ and ‘Most Caring Company’ for its policies and programs that create an environment where employees are motivated, empowered, and inspired to innovate.

The company’s culture of engagement was awarded for strengthening collaboration across teams, enhancing patient care, and supporting research and community programs.

Vantive was also recognised for its commitment to helping employees grow professionally and personally while making a lasting positive impact for patients, care teams and the community across Thailand.

Living the Culture Every Day

Vantive’s culture is built on four pillars: Care, Trust, Innovate, and Own It. These values guide the actions, decisions, and initiatives of Vantive employees.

Over the past 12 months Vantive’s Thailand team has delivered corporate social responsibility programs, where employees can volunteer to support community causes they are passionate about, as well as the annual Vantive Thailand Family Day, which celebrates employees’ families, and the annual Charity Run to raise money and awareness for kidney patients.

The company fosters open dialogue and formal programs such as ‘Coffee Chat with General Manager’ that give employees a direct line to the company’s local leadership, and forums that encourage honest feedback.

Myanmar refugees living in nine border camps will be allowed to work legally in Thailand for the next 12 months Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday, sending a message to Cambodia that Thailand does not need its recalled workforce.

The prime minister said that from Oct 1 Myanmar refugees were allowed to work outside their camps for one year.

In allowing this, Thailand complied with humanitarian principles and opened opportunities for refugees who obeyed regulations and laws and could be helpful, he said.

‘For those who disagree with our regulations and conditions, these regulations cannot be eased. This is sending a message to the country that has problems with us that it cannot assume we will be short of labour or workers,’ Mr Anutin said, in a clear reference to Cambodia.

He gave an assurance that employers would provide working Myanmar refugees with standard welfare and access to provident funds in accordance with labour laws.

‘These workers will be protected because they are legitimate workers,’ the prime minister said.

The permission to work applies to Myanmar nationals in nine refugee camps in four provinces. They can work in 43 provinces in the North, the Central Plains and the East, he said.

According to the Ministry of Labour three of the camps are in Tak province, four in Mae Hong Son and one each in Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi. There are 42,601 registered refugees of working age.

The border conflict with Cambodia led to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Cambodian workers. It was reported they were pressured by their homeland to return or lose their property in Cambodia.

Although the border remains closed, many Cambodians have tried to sneak back into Thailand in search of work.

SYDNEY – Australian Rules football has started games with a centre bounce for more than 130 years, but from next season it will be ditched because umpires are finding it too hard to master the skill.

The country’s most popular spectator sport, similar to Ireland’s Gaelic football, traces its roots back to 1858 when spherical or oval balls were first used.

Since 1887, field umpires have been required to bounce the ball at the start of each quarter, rather than throw it in the air. A centre bounce after each goal was introduced four years later.

But mastering the skill has become a barrier for prospective umpires, according to Australian Football League (AFL) executive manager Greg Swann on Wednesday.

“The centre bounce has long been a part of Australian Football tradition, but as the game has evolved, there are several areas which will benefit from allowing umpires to simply throw the ball up at the restart,” he said in a statement outlining the change.

“Currently, umpire pathways are being narrowed by the requirement of the bounce.

“It is a difficult skill to execute, and we believe is preventing some of our best umpiring prospects from progressing any further in the AFL pathway despite having elite decision-making skills.”

The new rule will bring the men’s game in line with the women’s — the AFLW — where the ball has been thrown up rather than bounced since its inception in 2017.

Australian Rules is regularly played in front of packed stadiums, with 100,000 fans watching the grand final last weekend at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Brisbane Lions defeated the Geelong Cats to retain their title.

The Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) wants the new tourism and sports minister to increase funding for marketing, incentives and chartered flights so that Thailand can compete with neighbouring countries and attract at least 35.5 million foreign tourists.

Atta president Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn said that even though the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) subsidies for chartered flights and incentive groups are expected to draw 300,000 foreign visitors this year, the effort is insufficient to stimulate the tourism industry.

He said the association plans to ask Tourism and Sports Minister Artthakorn Sirilatthayakorn to allocate a greater budget to double these numbers, as Deputy Prime Minister Thamanat Prompow recently announced a goal of attracting 2 million Chinese tourists in the last four months of this year.

Mr Thanapol said Atta would also highlight critical issues such as tourists’ safety concerns and the lack of new manmade destinations and convenient facilities.

Atta also intends to encourage top-rank officials to attend roadshows or marketing trips overseas to promote Thailand and restore tour agents’ confidence.

The association held the Atta Travel Art Mice and Leisure 2025 event in Bangkok on Monday, joined by more than 670 buyers and sellers from across Thailand.

Atta expects more than 2,000 business matchings, generating roughly 500 million baht in transactions.

Tassanapong Phettrakul, assistant manager of Alcazar Cabaret Show Pattaya, said it would like to increase opportunities from Indian and domestic tourists, now that Pattaya is experiencing a decline in the Chinese and South Korean markets, which were typically the city’s top arrivals.

He said Alcazar Pattaya gained only 1,000 daily visitors on average, a decline from 1,800 in normal times.

He said he hopes the new government will improve Thailand’s tourism image and showcase unique products to visitors.

Surasak Tharapatn, group general manager of Panviman Group of Resorts, said the first priority for the government was to tackle the strong baht which pushes foreign tourists to other destinations, as the prices for similar hotels in Vietnam is now 20-30% cheaper than Thailand.

INDIAN OPPORTUNITY

In collaboration with the TAT, Atta also held a roadshow in the third quarter of this year, visiting Kochi and Ahmedabad in India.

Vathanachai Chatrirath, vice-president of Atta, said Indian tourists could be a potential market for Thailand due to its large population and growing middle class.

Indians’ average length of stay is seven days, with daily expenditure of 4,000-5,000 baht.

He said Indian arrivals could reach 3 million in 2026, rising from 2.2 million this year, as many airlines are planning to increase capacity.

Mr Vathanachai said some Thai carriers have switched their fleets from flying Chinese routes to India instead.

He said that the TAT holding a Diwali celebration in Thailand may not be the right tactic to lure Indian tourists since they typically preferred to stay with their families at home during the festival.

The authority should hire Bollywood stars or top-tier Indian singers to perform in Thailand, following the lead of Malaysia and Singapore, said Mr Vathanachai.

The Pheu Thai Party are urging Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob to take swift action against those he claims offered him 40 million baht a month to look the other way on online crime.

In parliament on the second day of the joint sitting, as Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government delivered its policy statement, Mr Chaichanok acknowledged his lack of political experience but vowed to take decisive action in tackling cybercrime.

During the debate, Pheu Thai MP Korkaew Pikulthong raised questions over the appointment of ministers linked to the Bhumjaithai Party’s (BJT) Buri Ram power base.

He argued that some lacked expertise, while others had tainted records, citing a corruption scandal in the Transport Ministry in 2011. Mr Korkaew further criticised the resurgence of call centre scams, which he claimed had been curbed under the previous Pheu Thai-led government.

In response, Mr Chaichanok recounted that shortly before taking office, he was contacted through a member of parliament by individuals who offered him 40 million baht per month in exchange for not pursuing action against call centre syndicates, online scammers and illegal websites.

The remarks quickly drew political fire. Danuporn Punnakanta, a Pheu Thai Party-list MP and party spokesman warned that if Mr Chaichanok failed to act, he could be accused of dereliction of duty.

“You started with bold claims, but if you let this go, people will see you as a minister who talks tough but delivers nothing,” he said.