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https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Yakuza-leader-arrested-in-U.S.-for-drugs-for-missiles-plot?utm_campaign=GL_JP_update&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NA_newsletter&utm_content=article_link&del_type=4&pub_date=20220408090000&seq_num=8&si=44594 Yakuza leader arrested in U.S. for drugs for missiles plot Surface-to-air missiles to Myanmar to be paid for with heroin and meth Four men were arrested in New York in a sprawling drugs for weapons scheme. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Justice) JACK STONE TRUITT, Nikkei staff writerApril 8, 2022 07:13 JST NEW YORK -- A yakuza leader and three Thai associates have been arrested in New York for allegedly conspiring to obtain surface-to-air missiles for groups in Myanmar using narcotics as a payment, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday. A Drug Enforcement Administration investigation led to the arrest of Takeshi Ebisawa of Japan, dual U.S.-Thai citizen Suksan Jullanan and Sompak Rukrasaranee of Thailand on April 4. Somphop Singhasiri of Thailand was arrested on April 5. "The drugs were destined for New York streets, and the weapons shipments were meant for factions in unstable nations. Members of this international crime syndicate can no longer put lives in danger and will face justice for their illicit actions," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a news release. The four men all face a maximum of life imprisonment for charges relating to international weapons and narcotics trafficking. Ebisawa, a leader within a Japanese transnational organized crime syndicate known as yakuza, has also been charged with money laundering. The DEA investigation into Ebisawa's connections to narcotics and weapons trafficking had been ongoing since 2019 and spanned the globe. DEA offices across six countries and three continents were all involved, as was law enforcement in Japan, Thailand and Indonesia. Ebisawa with a rocket launcher at a February 2021 meeting with undercover agents in a warehouse in Copenhagen. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Justice) U.S. officials allege that Ebisawa, Jullanan and Rukrasaranee conspired to broker the purchase from an undercover DEA agent of American-made surface-to-air missiles and other weaponry for multiple ethnic armed groups in Myanmar. The arms were said to have been taken from American military bases in Afghanistan. Ebisawa and Singhasiri, for partial payment of the weapons, then allegedly conspired to sell 500 kg of heroin and 500 kg of methamphetamine meant for distribution in New York. "The expansive reach of transnational criminal networks, like the yakuza, presents a serious threat to the safety and health of all communities. Ebisawa and his associates intended to distribute hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine and heroin to the United States, using deadly weapons to enable their criminal activities," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in the news release.

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/thailand-opts-for-bankruptcy-court-with-thai-airways-rehab-plan-instead Its the beginning....

Heey all Any difference in quality between the 2? I cannot seems to find thai made Primacy 4 (235/55/18). Was offereed the chinese made option. So at a dilemma. Anyone can suggest or feedback?

Man in Thailand has 4 wives who don’t mind sharing A Thai man has four wives who don’t mind sharing him with each other. His first wife says she's proud of him.Happily ever afterAccording to Malaysian Chinese news site, the husband initially went viral on the Internet for having three wives. Perhaps not content with a crowd, the man recently gained a new wife. Polygamy, which is having more than one husband or wife, has been banned in Thailand since 1935. That particular ruling means only his first wife, Waraphon Pruksawan, is legally married to him. Despite this, all the children born to him and his other ‘wives’ take his surname. First wife proud of him Pruksawan said it is better for her husband to be open about his relationships with women, rather than having an affair behind her back. She also asked netizens to not worry about her. She added that before Pruksawan takes on a new wife, he has to get her permission first. Saying that she married him not for money, but because they have been through a lot together, Pruksawan said “the entire family loves one another”.

I know this is a Singapore forum but as I live in Thailand I am wondering if it is appropriate to post about food in Thailand here. It could be Thai food, international food, my home cooking food in Thailand etc. I wish to also welcome anyone here to contribute your experience of Thai food in Singapore or anywhere. If anyone think its not appropriate do let me know. For a start here's one of my favourite Thai food khanom-jeen, had this last week near my office Khanom-Jeen is the white soft rice noodle in Thailand made from fermented rice so it has to be eaten fresh after its made if not will turn sour quickly and spoil. Khanom-jeen is usually take with Thai curry and most commonly with Thai green curry known as gaeng-keow-wan literally translated word by word curry-green-sweet or for our easy understanding sweet green curry, and in this case for chicken green curry we call it gaeng-keow-wan-gai, gai as in chicken. This is rural area so the simple and rural setup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOhpd-7LR2g&t=3s Besides making khanon-jeen-gaeng-keow-wan in very traditional taste the seller is also very sweet and cute so my favourite stall I can down 2 of her khanom-jeen any time Each is only 40 baht

Thai wedding interrupted as guest gives birth Feb 25, 2018 BANGKOK - A baby girl sprang a surprise on guests at a wedding in northeast Thailand when she was delivered during the ceremony on Saturday (Feb 24). Her mother, Ms Nattaporn Tesrit, who was a friend of the bride Mayuree Kumchanteuk, was nearly nine months pregnant when she attended the ceremony in Nakhon Ratchasima city's Sikhiu district. As the bride was waiting for the arrival of the dowry procession, Ms Nattaporn went into labour. Though shocked, guests sprang into action to help Ms Nattaporn and moved her under a tree. Rescue workers were called in to transfer her to a nearby hospital. But by the time they arrived, Ms Nattaporn was already in the process of giving birth. With the help of medical officers, Ms Nattaporn gave birth to a healthy baby girl weighing 3.2kg in the shade of the tree. The bride congratulated Ms Nattaporn and took a picture with the baby. Ms Nattaporn was later taken to a hospital for further medical care. Although the wedding ceremony was interrupted by the newborn, guests said they were happy to be present at the event. The birth of a healthy baby is seen as an auspicious sign in Thailand. http://www.asiaone.com/asia/thai-wedding-interrupted-guest-gives-birth?xtor=EREC-16-4[Emarsys_Newsletter]-20180226&extid=6934d0cfb7b252f1ae9f0dbddf5ff88ca8637e77

Hi, Anyone know if these front suspension parts for 2009 Japan built corolla are compatible with 2008 Thai built corolla sold here in Singapore. Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=899880863395767 apparently a dance craze in Thailand... or just some new spider monkey thing

BANGKOK—The office of Thailand’s attorney general on Friday said it intends to file criminal charges against former Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra for allegedly mishandling a multibillion-dollar rice subsidy program, potentially threatening the fragile calm that has largely prevailed in the country since a May military coup. The agency said that after consulting with Thailand’s anticorruption agency there was sufficient evidence to press criminal charges against the former leader at Thailand’s Supreme Court. Ms. Yingluck, the sister of populist billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra , who was ousted in a coup in 2006, could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years if she is convicted, a prospect that could infuriate her supporters who have largely kept a low profile since martial law was imposed, analysts and risk consultants say. Ms. Yingluck, 47, also faces possible impeachment as prime minister, despite being removed from office shortly before last year’s putsch for improperly transferring a senior civil servant. A verdict is expected later Friday. If Thailand’s military-appointed legislature votes for impeachment, Ms. Yingluck would be banned from running for any political office for the next five years, effectively sidelining the country’s most popular politician and hardening the fault-lines between Thailand’s civilian populist leaders and its conservative armed forces. Ms. Yingluck’s critics describe the rice subsidy as a reckless attempt to win over rural voters. It was introduced after Ms. Yingluck’s landslide election win in 2011 and involved buying rice from farmers at as much as twice the market price and then stockpiling harvests in the hope of steering global prices higher. The program fell apart when rival exporters such as India and Vietnam increased their shipments to the global market, driving down prices and leaving Thailand with paper losses of more than $15 billion. Ms. Yingluck in her final appearance before the legislature Thursday defended the program as a means to lift incomes in agricultural areas. “It gives farmers the opportunity to have a better life like everyone else,” she said, adding that barring her from politics is a violation of her basic rights and freedom. The attorney general office’s move and the impending impeachment decision aren’t expected to prompt mass protests, at least not yet, Bangkok-based consultancy PQA Associates said. Gatherings of five or more people are outlawed under martial law and the armed forces have been aggressive in breaking up fledgling protests in recent months. The legal cases against Ms. Yingluck, however, risk chipping away at the veneer of neutrality that junta leader Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has tried to erect since seizing power, although he has denied trying to sway any verdict against Ms. Yingluck. At the least, PQA Associates said in note to clients, the cases “will be a further setback to the regime’s legitimacy and could portend a return to civil unrest over the near and medium term.”

Wonder whether it is true? http://www.chiangraitimes.com/briton-neil-hartley-recants-his-living-hell-in-a-thai-jail.html PATTAYA – Neil Hartley a British National who was held in a Thai prison for three years, after admitting offenses linked to a pharmaceuticals website selling Viagra and steroids, Neil Hartley, 61, was arrested in November 2011 at a beer bar complex in central Pattaya. He claims a Thai lawyer told him if he pleaded guilty he would be fined – but instead he was thrown in jail for three years. He was advised to admit purchase, concealment and distribution of illegal narcotics, import-export violations, pharmaceutical-license offenses and working without a work permit. Mr Hartley, who was sent home to Heysham on a flight to Manchester last Saturday, said: “There is so much corruption over there. “I went to Thailand to work with a friend, who was running a website exporting pharmaceuticals all over the world. He had been running it for six years. “I only helped with e-mails and orders. I was a scapegoat. The Thai police visited the man who ran the website and demanded thousands of pounds. “When he did not pay them, they arrested me two weeks later, while he was out of the country. “I was on remand for a month, then went to Pattaya Court, and the judge jailed me. There was nothing I could do, I was in chains and leg irons. “The British Embassy did not help me.” Reliving the moment he was sent to prison he said: “It was all men and ladyboys. “I was thrown in a van with around 60 prisoners. The guards would hit people with sticks if they said anything. They are animals. “When I arrived at the prison, Nong Palai, my cell was 10 yards by five yards, with 85 criminals inside, including murderers. There were around 1,500 people in the prison. “It had bars at either end and a concrete floor where we had to sleep. If you wanted bedding you had to pay for it. “There were two British men in when I arrived; they had stolen whiskey from a supermarket. Within a week one was dead, beaten to death.” Neil added: “The ladyboys were kept separately from us. They made a tent out of sheets and would sell sex to the prisoners at weekends so they had money to buy cigarettes. “When my mum sent me money I bought 15 blankets to stitch together to make a makeshift bed, and paid for better food – although it wasn’t much better than what we were getting. I lived on tinned sardines but at least you knew they weren’t contaminated, otherwise you got a chicken’s foot, or cold rice. “They threw us out of our cells from 7am. There was just a yard to go in. I saw a Thai man stabbed with a sharpened iron bar.” At 4pm, Mr Hartley says he and the other prisoners were put back in their humid, stinking cells. He said: “You had to pay for a bed space with cigarettes. There was a hole in the floor for a toilet – shared by all of us.” One doctor visited the prison twice a month, but Neil was unable to get medication at first without a passport as it had been seized. He said: “I thought about ending my life, but just got on with it.” Mr Hartley, who formerly worked at Pines Lakes leisure complex near Carnforth, took up the ‘job’ in Thailand when he was made redundant from Pontins. He is virtually blind in one eye, with untreated cataracts in the other. His tearful 90-year-old mother, who lives in a static caravan in Heysham, said: “He’s the only thing I have in the world – and I’m the only thing he has in the world. “This last three years has been terrible. “He says the bed I have given him was paradise compared to what he is used to. “When I first saw him I walked past him twice, I did not recognize him. He is seven stone.” His friend Peter Rowley, who used to work with him in Carnforth, picked him up from the airport after Thai authorities set him back to Britain on his release. He said: “People need to be told about the corruption over there, it is unbelievable.” A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are aware of the arrest of a British national
on November 4, 2011, in Pattaya, Thailand and provided consular assistance.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5IARDXFRdM

Think this case will become quite big worldwide. Some ethics issue. Who's wrong? Thai surrogate mother is believed to be very poor and took up the surrogate for the money. Now she is saddled with a unhealthy child. Australian couple is accused of abandoning the down syndrome child. They took the healthy one. Thai agency could also be faulted. World wide donations are coming in but how much can it help? http://www.smh.com.au/world/gammy-surrogate-mother-threatens-to-sue-australian-parents-20140804-1005fv.html Bangkok: The Thai surrogate mother of an abandoned baby boy says she will sue the Australian couple who left their son behind, challenging the child's father to appear with her on television. Pattharamon Janbua claims the biological father of the twins came to a Bangkok hospital after she gave birth six months ago and saw both children - the girl, whom he took home, and her brother, called Gammy, who has Down sydrome and is critically ill. But the West Australian parents have denied abandoning Gammy. The ABC quoted the unidentified father as saying a Thai surrogacy clinic doctor only told him and his wife about the girl.

Good evening guys and gals, Anyone have or know of any lobang for THAI wedding costume/gowns in Singapore? My friend looking for the traditional wedding costume for both bride and groom. Thanks in advance.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/thai-pm-forced-resign-over-abuse-power-064130824.html

Power lah! People's Power? Thai protesters occupy Finance Ministry in bid to oust government http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/25/us-thailand-politics-idUSBRE9AO03R20131125 (Reuters) - Anti-government protesters forced their way inside Thailand's Finance Ministry and burst through the gates of the Foreign Ministry compound on Monday, in an escalating bid to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The seizing of government buildings by protesters,led by the opposition Democrat Party, plunges Thailand into its deepest political uncertainty since it was convulsed three years ago by the bloodiest political unrest in a generation. The protesters' actions "threaten the stability of the government," Yingluck said in a brief televised address. The protesters accuse Yingluck of being a puppet for her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup and convicted two years later of graft - charges he denies. Thaksin lives in self-imposed exile but exerts enormous influence over his sister's government. About 1,000 protesters swarmed the Finance Ministry, filling its cavernous marble-floored halls and occupying six other buildings. Many gathered in first-floor meeting rooms, blowing whistles and laying out plastic mats for resting and eating. Occupying its grounds is symbolic, they said, of targeting the money at the heart of the "Thaksin regime". Staff left, moving into a parking lot before leaving. "I invite protesters to stay here overnight at the Finance Ministry," protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban told the crowd. "Our only objective is to rid the country of the Thaksin regime," added Suthep, a former deputy prime minister under the previous Democrat-led government. Yingluck, 46, was defiant, saying she would not step down. Her broad support in Thailand's vote-rich north and northeast - rural regions that are among the country's poorest - helped her win a 2011 election by a landslide, making her Thailand's first woman prime minister. That election was seen as a defeat for the traditional Bangkok elite of generals, royal advisers, middle-class bureaucrats and business leaders - a group that backs the Democrats and deeply mistrusts Thaksin and his sister. After two years of relative calm, tension between those factions is rising quickly, reviving memories of a tumultuous 2008 when anti-Thaksin "yellow shirt" protesters shut Bangkok's airports and held crippling rallies against two Thaksin-backed governments, which were eventually disbanded by a court. Although Thaksin or his allies have won every election in the past decade, the judiciary often undercuts him, illustrating how the billionaire former telecommunications tycoon and populist hero remains one of the most polarizing figures in modern Thai history. Since the 2006 coup, court rulings have removed two prime ministers, disbanded four parties, jailed three election commissioners and banned 220 politicians. The military will be watched closely. A major force in politics since Thailand became a democracy in 1932, the military has staged 18 coups - some successful, some not - and made several discreet interventions in forming coalition governments, almost all with the tacit backing of the royalist establishment that now reviles Thaksin. Yingluck said an Internal Security Act would be extended in Bangkok and some surrounding areas including in Samut Prakarn province, in which Bangkok's main airport is located. But she said the government would not use force on protesters occupying government buildings. The act allows troops to impose curfews, operate checkpoints and restrict movements of protesters. "GET OUT" There were almost no police at the Finance Ministry when the protesters swarmed in, witnesses said. "The government cannot use force at this juncture. If they do, they will lose immediately," said Boonyakiat Karavekphan, a political analyst at Ramkamhaeng University in Bangkok. "The government's only option now is to let the occupations happen and to refrain from touching the protesters." Suthep said the Finance Ministry would be a "second stage" in a protest that began on October 31 and had been mostly confined to Bangkok's historic quarter, where about 100,000 people gathered on Sunday. That was the largest demonstration since April-May 2010, when Thaksin's mostly rural "red shirt" supporters tried to bring down a Democrat-led government. Those protests were eventually quelled by a military crackdown in which 91 people, most of them Thaksin supporters, were killed. On Monday, the protesters began the day chanting "Get Out!" against the government as they fanned out to state offices, military and naval bases and state television channels. The tension condemned the baht currency to an 11-week low, down 0.4 percent to 31.97 to the dollar. Thailand's benchmark stock index lost 0.5 percent to its lowest since September 6, taking its year-to-date loss to 2.8 percent. The protests were sparked last month by a government-backed amnesty bill that could have allowed Thaksin to return without facing jail time for a 2008 corruption sentence. Although the bill has been dropped, the demonstrations have expanded into an all-out call for the ouster of Yingluck, who faces a no-confidence debate on Tuesday that she'll likely pass easily given her Puea Thai Party's parliamentary majority. She said the protests could hurt tourism and investor confidence and she would not dissolve the house. Suthep exhorted the crowd to also seize the government's Public Relations Department, a few blocks from the Finance Ministry. By afternoon, about 500 protesters were inside the grounds but not inside the building, which is controlled by the office of the Prime Minister. By early evening, they had also overrun the Foreign Ministry's compound. Thaksin won elections in 2001 and 2005 by landslides but corruption scandals steadily eroded his popularity among Bangkok's middle class. Yingluck's party received a blow last week when the Constitutional Court rejected proposals to make the Senate fully elected - a move that could have strengthened her government. Supporters of Thaksin and Yingluck gathered in a stadium at the opposite end of the city, about 15 km (9 miles) away. They say the court verdict is the latest attempt by anti-Thaksin forces to thwart the legislative process. (Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak, Aukkarapon Niyomyat, Viparat Jantraprap and Kittiphong Thaichareon. Writing by Jason Szep. Editing by Robert Birsel)

Many years ago, i like to collect amulets. However, the hobby dies off after a few years. Recently i have a craze again. Bought an amulet and start to wear it again. Anyone here with the same hobby or pic to show ur precious amulet? I start off with mine 1st =)

Enjoy this trailer which i got from FB https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151468198026859

since i going bkk this friday for shiopping. recommend me some good thai songs to get "mood". So far i only found couple Pls dun OT my thread. tk yew

Any bro who is driving this 2 models can share how is the feel in terms of comfort, ,servicing, spare parts and reliability and fc too. Backside itchy, wifey already help to scratch but no use so only this 2 is in my list. Thanks all comments.

[laugh] LOL, them Thais damn creative! Enjoy this on a nice Friday!!!

how did they find this so-call 81 year old expert as a witness?? want to fight a multi-million dollar case, at least do more homework than using a photo from internet and a computer program...... [shakehead]

This stall used to be at Tyrwhitt Road near Jalan Besar but the coffeeshop has closed down. The stall has now moved to: 145 Upper Paya Lebar Road Serve decent thai food (pineapple rice, fried fish tom yam soup, etc) at reasonable price. For those who are patronised them and wondering where they have moved to. The boss uncle Ben and his wife are very nice people too. For your information.

Anyone came back from msia today using the NSHW around afternoon notice this Chinese convoy of 4 vehicle with one Thai vehicle towards sg direction. Hazard light all the way traveling on the overtaking lane at 110kph. Create quite a massive road hog. Will upload pic later when I have a pc.

Hi bros, Thought of going in JB tomorrow for some shopping and massage. Anyone know whether Thai odyssey got open tomorrow????

hi to all Thai Buddhist, normally what Thai Buddha amulet do you place in your car?