Anything & Everything About Thailand

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Thursday 9 March 2006 :-

Men lobbed firecrackers into Chai-anan's house

Two men on a motorcycle on Thursday night lobbed expoding firecrackers into residence of Chai-anan Samudavanich, who led the rally for a royal-appointed prime minister.

Police said there were three rounds of explosions but reported no injury. The explosions took place at around 9.15 p.m.

The police also inspected a cardbox left at his residence for fear that it could be a bomb.

Chai-anan's residence is inside Vajiravudh College in Dusit district. He is headmaster of the college.

Chainan said the attack is believed to be just a threat, without intention to harm any one and he did not think he needed more security.

Chai-anan is one of the leaders in a joint effort to rally for caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to resign in order to pave way for the constitution amendment and fair election.

He and several other elites just recently submitted a petition to HM the King to ask for a royal-appointed prime minister.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Thursday 9 March 2006 :-

Opposition takes fight to TRT in letter

The three main opposition parties, Democrat, Chat Thai and Mahachon, yesterday released one million copies of their open letter rebutting allegations raised by the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party.

"The ruling party spread false information relating to the opposition's boycott of the April 2 snap election," Democrat deputy leader Jurin Laksanavisit said yesterday.

The Thai Rak Thai Party's move was a malicious attempt to project the election boycott as condoning dictatorship when the opposition parties were, in fact, trying to expose the flawed leadership of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Jurin said.

"The opposition will ask the Election Commission to caution the ruling party about [engaging in] political frame-ups," he said in reference to the Thai Rak Thai ads placed in major newspapers on Wednesday.

The open letter contained four key points: Thaksin's flawed leadership - dubbed "Thaksinism" - public measures against illegitimacy, circumstances leading to the election boycott and whether such a boycott harms democracy.

The opposition argued that Thaksin had called the election in order to escape public scrutiny of his ethical standards relating to the Shin Corp sell-off and his self-serving abuse of democratic principles.

The Constitution grants leeway for election boycotts and the opposition decided to opt out of the electoral process as a means of peaceful resistance to Thaksinism. Voters can exercise their choice by casting either a "no vote" ballot or voting for one of the candidates, it said.

Chat Thai deputy leader Nikorn Jamnong said the ruling party colluded with small parties to avoid having to meet the requirement that lone candidates must garner 20 per cent of votes in a constituency.

In the South, the Democrats' backyard, small parties fielded candidates in every constituency even though they have few party branches in the region, he added.


Yossawadee Hongthong
The Nation

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RATCHABURI, March 10 (TNA) - Thailand's medical and public health experts are preparing measures for the nation to prevent a possible outbreak of human influenza over the next couple of years.

They are also working out measures to contain the disease from a wide spread in case that the feared outbreak really takes place in the kingdom.

The experts use the country's central province of Ratchaburi as a model to conduct research to prevent and control the feared outbreak of human influenza, as the province is a national centre for poultry and cattle raising businesses, according to some experts who revealed the move to local journalists Friday morning.

The experts said there is a possibility that Thailand could be affected by a new global outbreak of human influenza, which, according to past records, could take place once in every about half a century.

The last global outbreak of the human flu, dubbed the "Spanish Flu" occured in 1918, with a large number of Thais falling victims of the disease, they noted.

If there is a new global human flu outbreak, in a worst case, they projected, about 40 per cent of Thailand's total population could be infected with the disease, with more than 260,000 of the victims possibly succumbed to the disease and passing away.

In a best case, on the other hand, they said, about 10 per cent of the country's total population could be victims of the disease, with a death toll of around 60,000.

The experts are seriously finding ways to prevent a feared mutation of the H5N1 avian flu virus strain as an approach to prevent an outbreak of human flu in the country.

They cautioned that a spread of human flu would be easier once the H5N1 virus mutates to be able to contract between poultry and pigs or other mammal animals. (TNA)--E002

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BANGKOK, March 10 (TNA) – Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Dr. Somkid Jatusripitak on Thursday viewed the Thai stock market remains attractive among foreign investors despite political uncertainties.

He conceded securities trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) looks bearish now with the SET index sliding continuously as foreign investors have sold shares heavily upon concern over the current political situation.

However, he said, the stock prices are usually up and down.

More importantly, Thailand has already weathered the economic crisis that led to a continued plunge in the SET index.

So, he believed the Thai stock market remains of interest to the foreign investors and would recover soon.

Anyhow, he added, whether the market would turn bullish or not depends on investors' confidence.

[U-Need]

By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : The Singapore Embassy in Bangkok has reiterated the country's stand on the sale of Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings.

The embassy said the deal was purely commercial, one conducted in the private sector and not between governments.

Some 500 protestors marched outside the embassy in Bangkok to demand the cancellation of Temasek Holdings' purchase of Shin Corp.

In a written response to a letter by Thai opposition People's Alliance for Democracy, the embassy added that Temasek Holdings makes its own investment decisions and that the Singapore government does not interfere in its business and operations.

It also said that Singapore companies doing businesses in Thailand are required to observe the laws of Thailand.

Meanwhile, Thai Senator Kraisak Choonhavan is supposed to have sent a letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, appealing for the Singapore government to reconsider the deal.

In response, the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Singapore said it was unable to comment on this as it has yet to receive the letter.

It added that it would be strange if the contents of the letter had been divulged to the media before the addresses received them.

Thai telecom giant Shin Corp was founded by the Thaksin family, and its tax-free $1.9 billion sale of shares had sparked controversy.

Protesters accused the Thaksin family of selling national assets, including satellites and communications networks, which had received government concessions.

- CNA /ls

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SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Singapore's DBS Bank, a unit of DBS Group Holdings (D05.SG), has delayed plans to increase its stake in Thai Military Bank, the Business Times reported Friday, quoting sources.

The sources said an announcement of DBS increasing its stake in Thai Military was close to being made but that has been delayed by recent events, the newspaper reported.

Thailand has been plunged into political turmoil with the main opposition parties boycotting elections called by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The newspaper said Thai Military Bank is looking to raise fresh funds from the market soon and DBS Group would have liked to have used this opportunity to increase its stake in bank, but such plans could now be off because of the political events unfolding in Thailand.

Opposition to Thaksin has increased since the announcement of the sale of the controlling stake of Thaksin's family in Shin Corp (SHIN.TH) to Singapore's state investment company, Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd.

DBS currently has a stake of around 16% in the Thai lender.

[U-Need]

400 words
13 March 2006
Thai News Service
English

Section: Corporate News - After selling 20 per cent more petrol in the past 18-24 months, Caltex Oil (Thailand), a subsidiary of US-based Chevron Corp, is introducing a hi-tech petrol to capture a bigger slice of the local market, The Nation reports.

The new fuel has been sold in the US for 30 years. Thailand is the first country in Asia to sell it.

Techron is a special petrol that contains compounds that effectively clean deposits in critical parts of a car's engine such as fuel injectors and intake valves. The company promises better combustion and energy saving with the fuel.

Because many motorists are expected to buy it, the firm is "optimistic there'll be growth", he said.

"We aim to be the No 1 player in Thailand's gasoline market," said Ralph Perry, Caltex country chairman.

With an 8-per-cent share of the local market, Caltex ranks fourth among retailers. PTT Plc controls the lion's share of the market.

Caltex is a Chevron retailing unit of, which through its takeover of Unocal's business in Thailand, became the country's largest producer of oil and natural gas.

Caltex has set aside more than Bt100 million to market Techron, atop a Bt4-billion programme it launched two years ago to improve services at its stations.

Perry said Caltex did not have a fixed forecast about how the new fuel would boost its market share.

Techron will be sold at the same price as Octane-91 and Octane-95 and Gasohol 95. Fierce competition won't allow the company to sell its fuels at prices that are higher than its peers.

Despite reports of lower petrol consumption as oil prices surge, Perry considered Thailand a market worth investing in.

Caltex recorded higher sales in the past few years despite not adding to the 435 stations that it operates. It has no plans to open more. Instead its hopes the new fuel and improved service will spur growth.

In all there are 19,000 petrol stations around the country.

But stiff competition led to a net loss last year as its profit margin shrank to 50-60 satang per litre.

Perry hopes the margin will increase to Bt1 per litre this year.

He also said he expected a positive performance this year though consumption should stay flat.

[U-Need]

722 words
13 March 2006
Thai News Service
English

Section: Commentary - The Nation - Thailand has achieved much in advancing women's status in society, but so much more still needs doing.

International Women's Day is being celebrated throughout the world on March 8. Therefore, this is a good time to reflect upon the advancement of women, particularly in regard to their empowerment and participation in the political, economic and social spheres, as well as upon their remaining obstacles to progress with which all societies must deal. Women have an indispensable role in their families and communities, indeed in society as a whole, but their contributions often go unrecognised, even by those who benefit from them, including other women.

In all too many societies, outright oppression of women continues to be perpetuated in the name of religion, culture or tradition. The most basic principle of human rights, that all human beings are created equally and with dignity, has not yet become universally accepted - let alone equal opportunity and legal protection.

Looking back over the past several decades, it may be true that women have come a long way, but there remain great disparities in the pace and scope of progress among different countries with different levels of political, economic and social development. And within societies, too, such progress can be decidedly uneven, depending on economic and social standing or the religious milieu in which women find themselves.

As for the status of women and gender-related issues in Thailand, although we as a society have achieved dramatic advancement over the years, there is much still to be done. In comparison with other countries that have comparable levels of economic and social development, our Kingdom may indeed be doing quite well in taking care of a significant half of our populace. One of the most recent advancements in women's status here is the right to retain their family name after marriage. But still there are circumstances in which many women and girls continue to be subjected to varying degrees of degradation, cruelty and dehumanising exploitation.

There is no lack of effort to promote women's advancement in this country. The 9th National Economic and Social Development Plan, covering 2002-06, seeks to enhance women's participation at all levels of decision-making, promote equality and social protection, increase the impact of the mass media in promoting women's issues and develop organisational and administrative managerial mechanisms for such issues.

Out of a total population of some 65 million, slightly more than half is female. Yet the proportion of women in the political field is much lower than it should be; only about 10 per cent of the country's parliamentarians and holders of high public office are women. Our country needs to do much more in the political and public arenas, perhaps by developing more systematic collection of data and introducing quotas and targets for the number of women in public service and holding elected office. As it stands now, women's issues are rarely ever raised, let alone discussed by male-dominated legislatures.

Although the Constitution has enshrined equal rights for both women and men from all social and economic backgrounds, our criminal law still does not provide for the punishment of husbands who rape their wives. The commercial exploitation of women and underage children in the country's sex industry also continues to give the lie to Thailand's supposed commitment to improving the status of women.

The dire and persistent poverty in neighbouring countries, as well as in Thailand's own countryside, has contributed to problems with people-trafficking and the modern slave trade, one of the worst crimes against humanity. The government has implemented a range of measures to combat the problem, albeit with limited effectiveness, due to widespread corruption among our law-enforcement officials.

This state of affairs should serve as a constant reminder that progress in women's rights is everyone's business, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religious creed or social custom. The biggest challenge is compelling whole societies - men and women, young and old - to shake off their apathy, engage in public debate and become inspired to take both personal and collective action to combat ignorance, prejudice and unthinking adherence to religious and social customs that keep women down.

[U-Need]

343 words
13 March 2006
Thai News Service
English

Section: Corporate News - Love it or hate it, Bangkokians will find it harder to avoid watching iTV from now own, The Nation reports.

The channel on March 7 announced it had made a deal with five partners that would air its news service in public places.

The partners are VGI Global Media, which has 56 plasma televisions at the BTS skytrain stations; How Come Entertainment which has 108 "transparent screens" in MRT's subway; POV Media Group, which has 124 monitors in elevators at 11 office buildings; Take a Look, which has Asia's largest LED billboard at Central World Plaza; and Matching Studio Plc, which has "moveable LED" screens at Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery, and Siam Centre.

"From your home [to work], while riding the BTS and subway, or going up in elevators, or when you go shopping, you won't be missing important news," said Songsak Premsuk, iTV's managing director.

Songsak said the pact that was inked on March 7 would increase the number of iTV viewers by 100,000.

iTV, however, will not charge money for its news and with only some exceptions, like at monitors in MRT stations, will not air commercials.

"Media is not confined to TV, radio, and newspapers. We're moving out to reach more consumers," he said.

The partners will incorporate iTV news with other shows and advertisements.

To service the new businesses, iTV has formed an "e-news" unit to provide a menu of news selections for its partners.

"Our goal on March 8 is for the e-news unit to stand on its own feet. In the next 2-3 years, I believe the new media will boom, he said.

But will consumers spurn watching iTV at home if they are constantly bombarded all time?

Songsak said he did not expect the expansion to hurt its broadcast income.

"I'm not worried. It's better if our iTV brand becomes stronger [as a result]. People will like us even more," he reasoned.

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, March 10 (TNA) – The Stock Exchange of Thailand has insisted it is unable to instruct Shin Corporation Public Company Limited to clarify rumors over a cancellation of Shin share sell-off, saying the deal is a responsibility of shareholders, not the listed company.



The SET move came after Korn Jatikavanich, deputy leader of the Democrat Party, called for SET and the Securities and Exchange Commission to instruct persons concerned in the sell-off of Shin shares to clarify the rumors on the possible deal collapse,



Senior Executive Vice President Suthichai Chitravanich said SET is not in a position to instruct a purchaser or a seller of Shin shares to do that because they have a status of shareholders, not the listed firm.



As well, should SET ask the company to make an inquiry with the purchase or seller, it would have the same answer that it is the responsibility of the shareholders.



Mr. Suthichai said he personally viewed the Shin Corp deal would not collapse because persons involved had already done transactions and settled payment.



Should the deal do collapse, he said, parties concerned would definitely file a suit.



He also ruled out a possibility of a cancellation of a tender offer of shares of Shin Corp and its subsidiary Advanced Info Services Public Company Limited although the payment of the tender offer would be made on March 14.



He said the tender offer of the shares is part of the legal process and its offer period had already been completed. (TNA) – E005

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Friday 10 March 2006 :-

3 Thais make billionaires' list

San Francisco - Bill Gates increased his fortune by some 400 million dollars last year to about 50 billion dollars, according to the annual rich list published Thursday by Forbes magazine.

But the Microsoft founder is facing increased competition as the list grew to a record 793 billionaires, up 15 per cent from a year ago, with rising numbers of the super rich coming from India, Russia, Brazil and the Middle East.

Here are Forbes' three Thai billionaires, with their rank on the list, and value:
214. Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, Thailand, 61, $3.2, alcohol
292. Chaleo Yoovidhya, Thailand, 74, $2.5, Red Bull
317. Dhanin Chearavanont and family, 66, $2.4, agriculture

The magazine estimated the combined net worth of the world's billionaires at 2.6 trillion dollars and said that the increase was largely due to soaring stock, oil and commodities prices.

Gates was followed on the list by investor Warren Buffett at 42 billion dollars, Mexican industrialist Carlos Slim at 30 billion dollars and Sweden's Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad at 28 billion dollars.

Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal was fifth at 23.5 billion dollars, followed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen at 22 billion dollars and French luxury goods king Bernard Arnault at 21.5 billion dollars.

Saudi business magnate Prince al-Waleed bin Talal al-Saud had 20 billion dollars for eighth place, followed by Canadian publisher Kenneth Thomson at 19.6 billion dollars and Hong Kong property magnate Li Ka-shing at 18.8 billion dollars.

"Why is this list growing?" asked Forbes chief executive and editor-in-chief Steve Forbes, himself a billionaire. "The global economy has been growing the last two years at rates not seen since World War II, fuelled by a commodities boom with a whiff of inflation."

India's magnates experienced the highest growth, adding 10 names to the list for a total of 23. With a combined net worth of 99 billion dollars, the group passed the 67 billion dollars net worth of Japan's 27 billionaires, for the largest concentration in Asia.

Russia added seven new members to the list for a total of 33, with a total net worth of 172 billion dollars, up from 91 billion dollars a year ago.

Brazil doubled its number of billionaires to 16, while in the Middle East and Africa, including Turkey, there were 56 billionaires, up from 29 last year. Among the strong performers were Turkey with 21 billionaires, up eight from last year, and Saudi Arabia, whose 11 billionaires were worth 68 billion dollars, compared to 42 billion dollars for its seven billionaires a year ago.

Other notable appearances on the list were oil mogul and Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, whose 18.2 billion dollars saw him jump 10 places to 11th in the global ranking.

"Why is the list growing? The answer is an obvious one - the global economy is growing," said Steve Forbes.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Friday 10 March 2006 :-

Big facelift for Suan Siam : Renovation, new Thai cultural area planned

Amornphant Nakorn-Suan Siam, the operator of Suan Siam amusement park, plans to raise Bt2 billion to finance renovations to the 27-year-old amusement park and to create a Thai cultural area called Siam City Walk over the next few years.

The company is also aiming to be listed on the stock exchange in 2008 when the investments take effect and its annual net profit rises above Bt100 million, said managing director Chaiwat Luangamornlert.

He said the company posted a Bt40-million net profit last year, partly due to receiving debt forgiveness worth Bt2 billion from Bangkok Bank.

It has appointed Globex Advisory and Prudent Siam Securities as financial advisers to help raise Bt600 million to renovate the park's rides and new zones. This is a part of the planned Bt2-billion investment.

At the beginning of the year, Suan Siam - in Min Buri on the outskirts of Bangkok - opened two new attractions: a "Big Double Shock" ghost house and a Jurassic adventure park, as well as completing renovations to its water park.

Chaiwat said the next step was to create an aquarium stocked with a variety of fish in natural settings and a Phra Aphai Manee water park. The park's 22 rides will gradually be replaced with new rides, to be imported from Japan and the United Kingdom.

By renovating the 48-hectare park, Chaiwat expects to see a dramatic increase in visitors within two years, from the current average of 1,000 visitors a day to 2,000 on working days, 5,000 on Saturdays and 10,000 on Sundays. The proportion of foreign tourists is also expected to rise from 10 per cent last year to 30 per cent next year by cooperating with travel agencies.

Meanwhile, the company expects a 30-per-cent jump in revenue and a doubling of net profit to Bt90 million this year, Chaiwat said.

To build awareness of the amusement park's new look, the company plans TV and radio ads as well as attaching leaflets to consumers' receipts for electricity and telephone payments. Its advertising and marketing budget last year was Bt20 million.

To finance Suan Siam's makeover, Amornphant Nakorn-Suan Siam is considering three options: selling long-term tickets for amusement park enthusiasts, bank loans, and debentures.

The company expects to pay back the debt before the end of 2008, at which time it plans to list on the stock market and attract funds from public investors.

Apart from raising Bt600 million to renovate the rides and feature zones, it plans to find another Bt1.5 billion to create "Siam City Walk", an area reflecting Thai culture.

Chaiwat plans to retire from the company's board this December and has appointed his four children to manage the amusement park.


Nitida Asawanipont
The Nation

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Saturday 11 March 2006 :-

Thaksin's son fined B5.98m by SEC : Panthongtae charge at lower end of scale

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday fined Panthongtae Shinawatra 5.98 million baht for violating disclosure and tender offer regulations related to his shareholdings in Shin Corp from September 2000.

Mr Panthongtae, 27, the only son of caretaker prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was fined 3.32 million baht for two counts of disclosure violations and another 2.65 million for one violation of tender offer rules.

Regulators said he had failed to properly report his total shareholdings in Shin, both directly and indirectly through Ample Rich Investments, a firm set up in the British Virgin Islands by his father in 1999.

Mr Thaksin transferred control of Ample Rich to Mr Panthongtae in 2000.

The fines are well under the maximum penalties that could have been imposed. Under the SEC Act, disclosure violations are punishable by jail sentences of up to two years, with fines of up to 500,000 baht and additional fines of up to 10,000 baht per day.

SEC authorities last month, however, said jail was highly unlikely in this case, given that the infractions were considered ''minor''.

Prasong Vinaiphat, an SEC deputy secretary-general, insisted yesterday that authorities had closely followed the law in considering the case.

Penalties were set by a three-person committee comprising Pol Gen Amnuay Petsiri, a deputy police commissioner; Somchai Sujjapongse, deputy director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office; and Samart Buranawattanachoke, an assistant governor of the Bank of Thailand.

''The SEC did not use emotions, personal feelings or social pressure in considering this case,'' Mr Prasong said. ''Our objective is to be fair to all parties, and the last name of the violator did not factor into our deliberations.''

Mr Panthongtae committed three violations of Sections 246 and 247 of the SEC Act on Sept 4, 2000 and Sept 9, 2002.

For violating section 246, for failing to disclose his total Shin shareholdings including those through Ample Rich, he was given a base fine of 127,500 baht and additional fines of 1,000 baht per day for the 3,197 days he was in violation of the law, which came to 3.324 million baht.

The Section 247 violation, for failing to submit a mandatory tender offer, resulted in a base fine of 200,000 baht and additional fines of 1,000 baht per day for the 1,966 days in violation.

Mr Prasong said the fines were appropriate based on past cases. Since 1999, the SEC has imposed fines in 23 disclosure cases, with the highest fine at 6.3 million and the second largest 1.2 million.

For tender offer violations, seven past cases had resulted in fines, with the highest one 824,000 baht.

''The penalty committee looked at the intention behind the violations. Mr Panthongtae in both cases reported his shareholdings, but the disclosures were incomplete,'' Mr Prasong said.

He added that for the tender offer case, Mr Panthongtae would have been legally required to announce a tender for Shin shares at just 10 baht par in 2000, based on the price at which he had acquired shares from his father.

''Even if Mr Panthongtae had made the tender offer, it is highly unlikely anyone would have accepted, given the difference with the market price. The overall impact on investors was limited,'' he said.

The case has proved highly controversial, with anti-government protesters and opposition politicians arguing that the Ample Rich transactions represented a significant violation by Mr Thaksin of constitutional regulations against business shareholdings by ministers.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to rally next week to call for Mr Thaksin's resignation on ethical grounds.

In late January, the Shinawatra family sold its 49% share in Shin to Singapore's Temasek Holdings for 73.3 billion baht, a deal that opponents say gives a foreign government entity control over national telecommunications assets.

Securities professionals gave mixed views to the outcome of the case.

Taweechai Tangthanasup, a vice-president for investment banking at Seamico Securities, said it was difficult to say what the appropriate penalty should be.

''Based on emotions, it is hard to say what is suitable. Many might feel that the fines are insignificant,'' he said.

Porntat Amatavivadhana, the managing director of Ayudhya Securities, agreed.

''The law is the law, and one needs to accept the judgment of the regulators,'' he said. ''Personally however, I believe the fine should have been higher.''

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Saturday 11 March 2006 :-

Activists savage B6m SEC fine : Panthongtae gets off too lightly, they say

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), former opposition MPs and lawyers yesterday denounced as inadequate the penalty imposed on the prime minister's son in connection with the sale of Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings, and said it set a bad precedent.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Panthongtae Shinawatra 5.98 million baht for violations of disclosure and tender offer regulations from September 2000.

Mr Panthongtae was found to have violated articles 246 and 247 of the SEC Act, which allow for jail sentences of up to two years, fines of up to 500,000 baht and additional fines of up to 10,000 baht per day.

Pibhop Dhongchai, a key leader of the PAD, said the relatively small fine imposed on Mr Panthongtae was a lesson about inequality and would further frustrate people. In other countries, a child of a national leader would not escape so lightly and the leader would not be able to remain in office, he said.

"But the standard of our society is not so high as that of other countries and our leader's standard is even lower than that of our society," Mr Pibhop said.

Former Democrat list MP Kiat Sitthi-Amorn said the fine was the best-ever favour. Under the calculations of a Democrat working group following the issue, the minimum fine based on Mr Panthongtae's violations should have been 20 million baht, he added.

If he was found guilty of evading tax that should have been charged for his capital gain, the fine should have reached 30 billion baht plus a jail sentence of two years, he said.

"The SEC should be careful," he said. "The people in power today enjoy protection from the SEC. But when they are no longer in power, the SEC will be taken to task for dereliction of duty without anyone to protect it," Mr Kiat said.

Another Democrat, Kobsak Sabhavasu, said Mr Panthongtae might face a relatively small fine but those paid by his family as a whole for violations of SEC regulations had set a record in Thailand.

Mr Panthongtae's mother Khunying Potjaman had been fined 6.3 million baht, Mr Kobsak said, in reference to an assets concealment case in 2002. Other serious offenders had been fined only hundreds of thousands of baht, he noted.

But the relatively light penalty imposed on Mr Panthongtae would encourage politicians to conceal their assets because they now know that they can negotiate for the lowest fine.

"It is much more worthwhile to do wrong, confess the deed and pay a small fine," he said.

Korn Chatikavanij, deputy secretary-general of the Democrat party, said he did not mind the fine because he did not think Mr Panthongtae was the wrongdoer. Mr Panthongtae's name was only cited as an excuse, he said.

A lawyer who asked not to be named noted that a fine is the "minimum penalty for an offence". As such it "does not act as a deterrent".

Hence Mr Panthongtae was repeating an offence similar to the one for which his mother had been fined four years ago. And others would follow suit "because society has not been taught a lesson", he said.

The lawyer also criticised the SEC for limiting its investigation of Mr Panthongtae to questions of disclosure and tender offers. It had not looked into the reasons why violations related to these were committed, he said.

The SEC set this parameter because it comes under the Finance Ministry, whose Minister Thanong Bidaya is known to be loyal to Mr Thaksin, the lawyer added.

The Thai Rak Thai party yesterday circulated copies of a 44-page book to defend the Shin share sale to Temasek Holdings.

The book explains the widespread use as an offshore financial centre of the British Virgin Islands, where Ample Rich Investments was registered.

It also counters charges of tax avoidance by the Shinawatra family and allegations that the Shin sale was tantamount to selling national assets.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Saturday 11 March 2006 :-

Soft drinks 'a health threat' : Dangerously high levels of sugar found

Popular soft drinks sold in local markets have been found to contain dangerously high amounts of sugar which could cause lethal diseases such as obesity and diabetes, the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (THPF) has warned. Cha yen (iced milk tea) was the most risky soft drink as a 500ml bottle contained up to 31.25 teaspoons of sugar, said Sirikiat Liangkobkit, chief of the THPF's health risk reduction division.

According to health experts' recommendations, sugar intake should be below four teaspoons per day for children and six for adults.


The foundation recently inspected best-selling sugary drinks, such as green tea and carbonated soft drinks, and found that most of them had unacceptably high levels of sugar, said Dr Sirikiat.

''Considering the amount of sugar added to the drinks, the products have now become prime threats to Thai consumers' health,'' he said.

Dr Sirikiat called on soft drink manufacturers to cut the amount of sugar in their products to protect the health of consumers, especially children, who were already addicted to extra-sweet drinks.

''This is the right time to adjust the drink products' recipes and have them taste less sweet than before, because the sugar price has skyrocketed to over 17 baht a kilogramme. Cutting the amount of sugar will not only help the manufacturers reduce production costs, but also protect their customers from serious diseases caused by over-intake of sugar.'' The government on Tuesday raised the retail price of sugar from 13 baht a kilogramme to 17.25 baht. Soft drink manufacturers are expected to increase their product prices following the sugar price hike.

Dentist Chantana Ungchusak, who runs a campaign to reduce sugar intake among children, said consumers in developed countries avoided buying very sweet products as they were aware of how dangerous they were. ''Soft drinks and snacks manufacturers in the US are focusing on producing sugar-free products. They are competing with each other to use as little sugar as possible. Thailand should follow that step,'' said Dr Chantana.