Category: The Bangkok Post

Cyber police have arrested 186 people and seized 228 firearms, 1,294 rounds of ammunition and an improvised explosive device in a nationwide crackdown on illegal online gun trading.

Pol Maj Gen Thinnakorn Rangmat, deputy commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, said on Wednesday the operation involved searches at more than 200 locations, including 16 key targets across 12 provinces, as police targeted people suspected of illegally selling, possessing or modifying firearms through online platforms.

The seizures included 194 unregistered firearms and 33 registered firearms, along with 27 firearm components and the improvised explosive device.

Police traced suspects through Facebook, Shopee and LINE groups. In one case, officers identified a Facebook account advertising firearms in public groups. They arranged a purchase, leading to the arrest of a 41-year-old man in Chachoengsao with a .380-calibre semi-automatic pistol and two .38-calibre rounds.

A follow-up investigation led to the arrest of another man, who was allegedly selling two short-barrelled 20-gauge shotguns and a round of ammunition.

In Udon Thani, police arrested a 27-year-old man suspected of selling unregistered firearms and modifying blank guns to fire live ammunition. Five unregistered firearms and 72 rounds were seized.

The bureau’s fourth division arrested 32 people and seized 43 firearms and 79 rounds. Police traced one suspect through Facebook posts showing firearms and shooting videos before obtaining a search warrant for his home in Suphan Buri. Officers seized nine firearms, all with possession licences, for further examination.

The fifth division reported 33 arrests and seized 40 firearms, including one military-grade weapon, 563 rounds and one firearm component. One 28-year-old suspect in Saraburi was arrested with an unregistered Uzi 9mm submachine gun, one round of ammunition and 13 methamphetamine tablets.

Pol Maj Gen Thinnakorn warned that illegal firearm sales, possession, modification and carrying could lead to criminal offences and contribute to violence. He urged people to avoid buying firearms online and comply with firearms laws.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Wednesday backed legal action against those responsible for leaking documents from an investigation into alleged collusion in the 2024 Senate election.

His comments followed Justice Minister Pol Lt Gen Rutthapon Naowarat’s admission that a Department of Special Investigation (DSI) report on the case had been leaked and subsequently disclosed by the opposition People’s Party (PP) and the iLaw group.

Mr Anutin said unauthorised disclosure of official records is an offence and the agencies concerned had filed a complaint with police. An investigation would determine how the documents were leaked.

Asked whether the leak was intended to undermine the government, the prime minister said: “It is clearly not done with good intentions.”

An Election Commission (EC) source said the commission and DSI are tracing the source of the leaked documents and will take legal action if wrongdoing is found.

Disclosure of investigation documents could violate Section 41 of the organic law governing the commission, which carries a maximum prison term of five years and/or fines up to 100,000 baht.

The source said the move is necessary to protect the confidentiality of criminal investigations.

The controversy followed a forum organised by iLaw together with the PP, former Senate candidates and academics to discuss alleged collusion in the Senate election.

At the forum, participants cited information from an investigation by the EC’s 26th inquiry panel. The report recommended action against 229 people over suspected collusion in the Senate election.

Supachai Jaisamut, chairman of the Bhumjaithai Party’s legal affairs team, on Wednesday questioned whether the documents had been disclosed lawfully, whether they were complete and who had verified their authenticity.

He also questioned why those releasing the information focused on the findings of the 26th panel without giving equal attention to the opinion of the EC’s 36th panel.

PP leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut on Wednesday defended the disclosure, saying the public had a right to know the truth if the information was accurate, regardless of where it came from.

Mr Natthaphong also said the EC is expected to decide whether to refer the Senate election case to the Supreme Court on Friday.

Earlier this week, the PP said it would present more evidence of alleged collusion at a forum on Saturday, while raising concerns that the EC might take action against only eight people despite the alleged fraud involving a wider network.

Nearly 200 projects worth more than 57 billion baht have been proposed by five southern border provinces ahead of next week’s mobile cabinet meeting in Hat Yai district of Songkhla.

The proposals from Songkhla, Satun, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat comprise 199 projects, with preliminary funding requests to be submitted at the mobile cabinet meeting in Songkhla on Sept 1, says a Government House source.

The proposals were reviewed at a preparatory meeting on Tuesday chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

Mr Phiphat said the proposals were preliminary and would be screened further by a joint public-private committee next week before being submitted to the cabinet. The government would approve only projects that are ready, cost-effective and beneficial to residents, he said.

Songkhla submitted five immediate projects worth 50 million baht covering the economy, tourism, culture, transport and disaster prevention, as well as 26 policy proposals seeking 35.06 billion baht in government support.

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry raised concerns about a proposed “Two Seas” tourism project involving boat trips to observe Irrawaddy dolphins, warning it could affect the marine ecosystem and the welfare of the dolphins. It asked state agencies to review the project.

Songkhla’s highway office also reported 133 urgent projects affected by flooding, 106 of which remain incomplete, and sought an additional 1.94 billion baht.

The meeting also approved additional funding requests for Songkhla, including 47 million baht for Hat Yai and Khuan Lang municipalities. Satun proposed 17 urgent projects and 11 policy projects, while Mr Phiphat suggested expanding the proposals to cover Manang and Thung Wa districts.

Yala submitted 10 ready-to-imple­- ment projects worth 338.15 million baht and four projects seeking 4.31 billion baht. Pattani proposed six projects worth 50 million baht, mainly involving flood prevention, drainage and water management.

Mr Phiphat asked Pattani authorities to work with the Marine Department to resolve issues surrounding a 400-million-baht Pattani River dredging project and prioritise projects before proceeding. Narathiwat proposed six ready-to-implement projects worth 404.79 million baht and eight policy projects worth 15.06 billion baht.

Lalamove Thailand says it is reviewing feedback from its drivers as part of ongoing efforts to improve its platform and better respond to the evolving needs of users and drivers.

On Aug 21, roughly 200 Lalamove drivers submitted a petition to the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry complaining of severe hardships caused by cuts in their delivery rates and what they described as unfair working conditions imposed by the platform.

In a statement to the Bangkok Post, Lalamove Thailand said it acknowledged the concerns raised by drivers.

“We respect their right to express their views, and we are reviewing their feedback as part of our ongoing efforts to improve our platform and better respond to the evolving needs of our users and drivers.”

The company said it remains open to providing further clarification and engaging in constructive dialogue with relevant authorities and organisations.

“We are committed to balancing the needs of our users and drivers. Our aim is to continue providing accessible and affordable delivery services for individuals and businesses, while creating opportunities for drivers to earn additional income,” Lalamove Thailand noted.

The company remains committed to its flexible operating model, which allows drivers to independently choose the jobs that best suit their preferences and circumstances, including the compensation offered for each job, said Lalamove.

This week the Electronic Transactions Development Agency said it will work with the DES Ministry to find a solution to the dispute, with a meeting expected next week to hear both sides before determining possible solutions.

Sport fans will be able to follow the competition and cheer on Thai athletes participating at the 20th Asian Games and the 5th Asian Para Games in Japan via digital TV channels and online platforms, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

Tourism and Sports Ministry, the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and the National Sports Development Fund, in collaboration with government agencies and private sector partners, announced their readiness to broadcast live coverage of the continent’s biggest sporting extravaganza next month during a press conference on Wednesday.

The 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya will be broadcast live from Sept 10 to Oct 4 via seven digital TV channels including NBT, T Sports-7, MCOT HD, ONE31, Monomax Sports, Thai Rath TV and PPTV HD, with daily coverage starting at 8am.

The opening and closing ceremonies, which will take place on Sept 19 and Oct 4, will be shown live on NBT, T-Sports-7, PPTV and AIS Play from 4pm onwards.

AIS Play will offer coverage of both tournaments, with the 5th Asian Para Games to be broadcast from Oct 18 to 24.

SAT Thailand Sports Nation, Stadium TH and The Standard Sport Facebook pages will provide additional coverage for the Asian Para Games.

Meanwhile, the second session of the Asian Games Meet the Press saw eight sports associations participating, with the golf body announcing a target of one gold medal, while the weightlifting team target 2-3 medals.

There’s also hope of a medal in 3×3 basketball and archery while shooting, skeet and padel teams aim to reach the finals and go as deep as possible.

The worlds of sweet and savoury have collided again. This time, KFC and Oreo are putting their unlikely partnership between two buns.

Called the KFC x Oreo Original Recipe Chicken Burger, the limited-edition creation combines KFC’s signature fried chicken with Oreo-inspired ingredients in a sandwich that sounds more like a dare than a menu item.

The burger features a crispy fried chicken thigh fillet and lettuce, topped with mashed potatoes mixed with crushed Oreo cookie pieces. The filling is then enclosed by two black, Oreo-flavoured buns designed to resemble the chocolate wafers of the iconic cookie.

Before the burger, the collaboration had already ventured into similarly unconventional territory. In July, KFC and Oreo released Original Recipe Chicken-flavoured Oreo cookies in China, replacing Oreo’s usual sweet creme with a savoury filling inspired by KFC’s famous blend of 11 herbs and spices.

Now, the brands have reversed the equation: instead of making a cookie taste like fried chicken, they are making a chicken burger taste – and look – like an Oreo. Or something like that.

The KFC x Oreo Original Recipe Chicken Burger will be available in KFC restaurants across China on August 28. For now, the collaboration remains exclusive to the Chinese market, with no international release announced.

The Constitutional Court will rule on Sept 28 on whether barcodes and QR codes printed on ballot papers used in the Feb 8 general election breached constitutional protections for secret voting.

The case stems from 22 complaints received by the Ombudsman alleging the Election Commission (EC) violated voters’ constitutional right to a secret ballot by designing and printing ballot papers containing barcodes and QR codes.

The petitioners argue the codes could be used to trace individual voters and determine how they voted, meaning the ballot was not genuinely secret.

The Ombudsman asked the court to rule on whether the ballot design was consistent with several constitutional provisions, including those concerning rights and freedoms, elections and the duties of the EC. The court began hearing five witnesses on Wednesday.

EC Chairman Narong Klanwarin attended the proceedings as an obser­ver.

The witnesses included officials and representatives involved in the production and administration of the ballots, including senior EC officials and executives from TKS Technology Plc and Chan Wanich Security Printing Co.

The EC was also allowed to demonstrate the process for storing ballot papers. At the request of the EC chairman and the company that printed the ballots, the court suspended live audio and video broadcasts of the hearing.

The court said public disclosure of ballot security measures could undermine safeguards against counterfeiting and fraud, potentially affecting the integrity and stability of elections.

Those attending the hearing were therefore prohibited from disclosing information obtained during the proceedings to outsiders. After the hearing, the court said it was necessary to inspect evidence at the ballot storage facility in Bangkok.

Two Constitutional Court judges and officials responsible for the case will conduct the inspection from 10am on Thursday.

The inspection will cover ballot papers, ballot stubs, unused ballots, electoral rolls and equipment used in the Feb 8 election.

The parties may attend, but those who fail to participate at the appointed time will be deemed not to object.

Thailand has the world’s highest usage of Google’s Gemini Nano Banana for image generation, indicating a high level of creativity among Thai users. However, the country still lags behind its neighbours in using AI to boost productivity and economic value.

Saruj Thipsena, country manager of Google Cloud Thailand, said the finding came from the recently released Gemini Report for Southeast Asia 2026, which highlights Thailand’s strong creative economy and the “super creative” nature of Thai users.

“Thailand has the highest usage of Gemini’s Nano Banana for generating images in the world, even exceeding India. That is the level of creativity Thai people have,” Mr Saruj said during a panel discussion titled “Rebooting Thailand’s Future: Digital, Data and the Next Growth Catalysts” at Thailand Focus 2026.

However, he said Thailand was clearly behind neighbouring Singapore in using AI for work, including data analysis, streamlining workflows and improving efficiency and productivity, or what he described as “AI at Work”.

Mr Saruj also highlighted how Vietnamese users are making clever use of AI.

“People in Vietnam use AI very cleverly. They use AI to bridge the language gap between Vietnamese and English to support their work and businesses,” he said.

Thailand, meanwhile, has good digital infrastructure that is developing rapidly, along with strong momentum in technology adoption, particularly in daily life, he said.

“The challenge is how do we capitalise on this infrastructure and people’s readiness and deliver high value from technology. That is where the next curve that Thailand is going to be.”

Mr Saruj said the value of AI came from three main areas: its ability to process data more effectively than humans, its capacity to streamline and transform business processes, and its potential to distribute knowledge to people and businesses.

“With AI and digital technology, data silos are no longer a challenge. The biggest challenge is now on the business side, not the technology side,” he said.

“Technology is beyond ready, but businesses need to have the right mandate to drive technology adoption,” he said.

Mr Saruj also said technology was creating a more equal playing field.

“Three years ago, if you wanted to prototype an idea, you might have had to take six months to develop software to support it. Now, six weeks is too long to test your idea.”

Teeranun Srihong, chairman of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency, said Thailand had made significant progress in digital infrastructure and high-speed networks, describing them as a “digital highway” that was sufficiently developed to attract major global cloud service providers, or hyperscalers, to invest in the country.

However, Thailand ranked 37th out of 70 countries in the International Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) digital competitiveness ranking, while ranking 29th in technology and infrastructure. This shows good infrastructure alone is not enough to strengthen competitiveness, he said.

Thailand needs to accelerate the application of data and increase investment in AI, as AI is becoming a critical technology affecting productivity, Mr Teeranun said.

Picture this: an 82-year-old grandmother, viral on Tiktok, playing Roblox. Maybe you can’t, but you should.

A year ago, Sisamon ‘Lek’ Kepwai was feeling homesick, having moved away from home in Ratchaburi to Bangkok, as her grandchildren work in the city.

Back home, she operated a family restaurant with her daughter, making coffee and cooking food. This gave her things to occupy her day, and people to talk to, from breakfast to dinner time.

But after nearly five years in Bangkok, she was still longing for the connection that the capital cannot provide.

‘Here, I saw no people, only houses,’ said the grandmother, who lives in a housing estate. ‘My daughter felt lonely too but she occupied herself selling food on Grab. I helped her sometimes.’

Grandson Pansoon ‘Por’ Sritubtim, 27, takes up the story.

‘I saw my grandma just sitting alone and watching TV. I had nothing to do as well, so I asked her to take some pictures in Gen Z style and posted them on Tiktok,’ he said, explaining the beginnings of the @leksisamon TikTok channel.

The reception was unexpected. Just a day afterward, both grandson and grandma were taken back by tens of thousands views.

Pansoon then tried to pair his grandma with something that would create even more contrast in terms of the age gap. And that is where Roblox, the beloved kids’ video game, comes in.

Suddenly, hundreds of thousands of viewers were logging on to see grandma Lek playing Roblox. Talking to children in the video game also helped her with loneliness.

‘I have someone to talk to, and our conversations are enjoyable,’ she said. ‘When I’m alone, I think about how to progress in the game and what I need to do next. It keeps me from thinking about anything else. It eases my homesickness.’

Grandma Sisamon is now be able to play Roblox casually, but for someone her age who did not grow up with computers, getting into the online world was not easy.

She picked it up gradually, first watching her grandson start the computer for her before slowly working it out herself.

‘I played a game called ’99 Nights in the Forest’ and scored more than 500 nights,’ she said proudly, ‘but it took me many hours. It was difficult.’

Now, the @leksisamon channel has reached 400,000 followers on Tiktok, with more than five million likes. The kids in the housing estate also recognise and come to see her at home after school to play games with her.

Pansoon attributes both the success of the Tiktok channel and his grandma’s gaming skill to hers mentality.

‘She is open to trying new things, because she feels like she doesn’t have much time left before she passes,’ he said. ‘She will try anything. Try first. If it doesn’t work, just stop. If it works, keep going.’

Happiness at 82

Playing Roblox is vastly different from what grandma used to play growing up – throwing marbles, rope jumping and tip-cat.

Still, she strives to balance physical activities, light walking and stretching, with gaming.

She also always reminds her grandchildren in Roblox to be disciplined about gaming.

‘Listen to parents and study hard. You can play video games, but you also need discipline. Go to bed at 9pm because you have to wake up for school,’ the grandma advised.

Happiness at 82, she said, is to see her grandchildren have a stable job and harmonious family.

Looking to the future, Pansoon said he wants to portray the more authentic side of his grandma’s life as many fans still want to see who grandma Sisamon really is.

Reflecting on this year-long journey, he said the audience’s feedback has been outstanding.

‘Apart from helping grandma with loneliness, gaming has given her experience with video games and a better understanding of younger generations,’ he said.

‘It also helps bridge the age gap. Many problems in society are caused by different generations not understanding one another. By using video games as a medium, older and younger people can better understand each other,’ he concluded.

Bangkok United head coach Totchtawan Sripan is satisfied with the club’s off-season recruitment and is backing his team to do well in the upcoming Thai League 1 campaign.

Speaking ahead of the 2026-27 T1 season, which is scheduled to start early next month, the former Thailand midfielder said the new players acquired during the off-season have integrated well. “The new players we’ve brought in match the character of the team and can help in the areas we need to improve on. We’ve added quality players that can raise the level of the team so that we can compete for every trophy,” he said.

“The goal is to build on last season’s performance and get the team to perform well enough to qualify for the AFC Champions League next year,” he added.

“Adding foreign players has been satisfactory in terms of quality. I’m also happy with our existing players. We have an unlimited selection of quality Thai players to choose from for the three tournaments we will compete in the upcoming season. I am satisfied with the squad we have this year.”

Totchtawan also believes the title race will be wide open.

“With the 10 foreign player quota for each team and with up to seven foreign players allowed on the field, every team can field their own quality foreign players and it will be competitive,” he said.

“We place great importance on both the Thai League and the FA Cup while young promising players will have a chance to play in the Muang Thai Cup,” he added.

The Angels start season against Si Sa Ket United on Sept 5 at home.