Category: The Bangkok Post

The Court of Appeal has rejected People’s Party MP Chonthicha Jangrewan’s petition against a two-year jail term for lese majeste.

The ruling was read out in the Thanyaburi Provincial Court, in Pathum Thani province, on Tuesday morning.

The court upheld the provincial court’s judgement and two-year prison sentence handed down in May last year.

Ms Chonthicha, nicknamed Lookkate, was convicted of violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code, known as the lese majeste law, and the Computer Crime Act. Prosecutors told the court she posted messages on her Facebook page criticising the monarchy on Nov 8, 2020, and presented evidence.

She was on Tuesday allowed bail to take her case to the Supreme Court and in the meantime continue to serve as a member of parliament, according to internet law reform group iLaw.

According to the prosecution, Ms Chonthicha’s posts insulted the monarchy, incited social conflict and threatened national security. Ms Chonthicha denied the charges, arguing that her actions were protected under the constitutional right to free expression.

This sentence would be served consecutively with a two-year sentence previously imposed for a 2021 protest speech criticising former premier Prayut Chan-o-cha, bringing the total prison term to four years and eight months.

A Thai Olympic Committee delegation has successfully negotiated the return of petanque to the 33rd SEA Games after urgent talks in France with the World Petanque and Bowls Confederation (WPBC) on Monday.

The breakthrough came after WPBC president Claude Azema had earlier ordered Thailand barred from staging petanque competitions at the regional games, citing irregularities by the Petanque Association of Thailand and the Sports Authority of Thailand’s (SAT) failure to comply with the federation’s ruling.

The dispute also led to Thailand being suspended from international competition.

Deputy Prime Minister Capt Thammanat Prompao, who oversees sports, intervened by directing the national Olympic committee to dispatch a high-level delegation to France.

The team — led by Olympic committee president Pimol Srivikorn, vice president Chaiphak Siriwat and Gen Mangorn Kosin — presented a formal letter pledging reforms and compliance with WPBC guidelines. The letter was co-signed by Thammanat and SAT governor Gongsak Yodmani.

Following the assurances, Azema expressed satisfaction and agreed to reinstate petanque as a medal sport at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand, scheduled for Dec 9-20, 2025.

Pimol hailed the outcome as a collective success, thanking Thammanat, Gongsak and the members of his negotiating team for restoring Thailand’s credibility.

“This is a victory for our athletes, for the Thai people, and for the country’s reputation in Asean,” he said.

The international petanque community was shaken earlier this month by an unprecedented decision from the WPBC to ban the sport from the 2025 SEA Games, following a governance crisis within Thailand’s national federation.

The exclusion of petanque from the 2025 SEA Games would have been a significant setback for Thailand, who have traditionally been a powerhouse at regional and international levels.

Thailand plans to finalise an agreement on reciprocal trade with the United States by the end of this year, according to Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun.

The two countries concluded a joint agreement on reciprocal tariffs on July 31, and now the government aims to finalise remaining issues including market access for goods, services and investment, she said.

Negotiations are expected to proceed cautiously to avoid negative impacts on domestic industries and markets, the minister said on Tuesday.

In addition, the ministry’s Department of Foreign Trade is now the sole agency to issue certificates of origin for exports to the US, applying artificial intelligence (AI) to verify product origins and taking strict precautions against document forgery.

Verifying the origin of imported goods is a key concern of the US, which suspects Chinese businesses of transshipping many products through other countries, especially in Southeast Asia.

Washington has threatened tariffs of up to 40% on goods that fail to meet local-content requirements, compared to he 19% rate it now applies on Thai goods.

To support exports, Mrs Suphajee said the government also wants to finalise free trade agreements with the European Union and South Korea during the new administration’s brief term.

The ministry also plans to explore new markets in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia.

Faster anti-dumping action

Discussing anti-dumping, anti-circumvention and safeguard measures, the minister said the ministry is streamlining the process by reducing the complaint-filing period from 4 months to 1 month, and using AI to analyse data, shortening the investigation period from 12 months to 9 months.

She said these steps protect trade interests and help Thai businesses counter dumping more effectively.

Regarding substandard imports and nominee businesses, Mrs Suphajee said the ministry had formed a joint committee with 16 agencies and collected 2.18 billion baht in value-added tax from small imports, deployed AI to monitor e-commerce and strictly cracked down on nominee businesses.

She said the ministry is supporting businesses in seven border provinces with Cambodia, offering measures such as low-cost Blue Flag fairs, expanded market channels through fairs in other provinces, online sales via Thailand Post and business matchmaking with logistics providers.

As well, the ministry is continuing with its consumer-protection campaign to require disclosure of medicine prices, allowing patients to purchase drugs outside hospitals, along with price controls for essential medicines and medical supplies.

To support rice farmers in the short term, the government offers credit for delayed sales to prevent a premature market glut, as well as credit support for agricultural cooperatives to collect and process rice, enhanced liquidity for rice traders to stockpile rice, direct financial aid of 1,000 baht per rai, capped at 10 rai per farm household, and other cost-reduction measures.

Mrs Suphajee said government is also expediting government-to-government rice sales, particularly with China, while also pursuing trade with Singapore, expanding rice exports to new markets such as Saudi Arabia, and promoting organic rice in Europe and jasmine rice in the US.

A British YouTuber was forced to seek hospital help after his Samsung Galaxy Ring’s battery swelled and trapped his finger just before he was due to board a long-haul flight in Hawaii. Airport staff insisted the ring be removed due to fire concerns.

Daniel, the owner of the tech channel ZONEofTECH, shared photos of a swollen ring on social media platform X, and his injured finger. The incident occurred shortly before boarding.

The bloated battery raised alarms among Hawaii airport authorities, who feared it could ignite during the flight. With the ring stuck tightly on his finger, Daniel had no option but to rush to a nearby hospital, where doctors finally managed to remove it.

Afterwards, he speculated on possible causes, pointing to extreme heat in Hawaii, repeated flights, or exposure to seawater. The latter appeared most likely, as salt water is known to corrode electronic devices.

Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is rated for water resistance up to 10ATM and IP68, but these standards do not cover saltwater corrosion, which experts warn can directly damage batteries and other components. The case raises questions about durability under real-world conditions.