Missing debt
Written by changthai11 on Thursday, September 25th, 2008
In Brief
Missing debt
POLITICS: A 100 million baht debt is missing from the assets declaration by Chinicha Wongsawat, daughter of Prime Minister Somchai, Senator Ruangkrai Leekijwattana yesterday told the
dhNational Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC).
He said the People Power party MP breached asset reporting requirements after she won the Dec 23 general elections.
The loan was taken out from Bannapot Damapong, a stepbrother of Khunying Potjaman Shinawatra, wife of Thaksin Shinawatra.
Ms Chinicha said earlier the debts were taken out to fund various businesses. Her mother is Mrs Yaowapa, a younger sister of Mr Thaksin.
Ms Chinicha declared assets of 287 million baht, after subtracting 229,546 baht in an overdrawn bank account, and 74 million baht worth of bank loans and other debts, amounting to 743,766 baht. Ms Chinicha declined comment.
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Film shot legally
CENSORSHIP: The Japanese director of the film that was pulled from the Bangkok International Film Festival yesterday denied his movie was shot illegally in Thailand.
Junji Sakamoto, who directed Children of the Dark, said he and his producers applied for a permit to shoot the movie early last year, but the Film Board turned them down. The producers then entered a joint venture with a Thai company, and that qualified them to shoot the movie here.
”We just want to address the issue,” the director said. ”We are very sorry that the Thai public didn’t have a chance to see the film.”
Children of the Dark was withdrawn when festival organisers found it contained sensitive content about actual child prostitution.
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No park rental plan
ENVIRONMENT: Natural Resources and Environment Minister Anongwan Thepsutin denies plans are afoot to allow businesses to rent areas in seven marine national parks for tourism development.
Developers want to build five-star hotels and upgrade tourism activities in the parks, in the five southern provinces on the Andaman coast.
”I’ve never heard that,” she said. ”We’ve never considered leasing land to the private sector.”
However, she admitted the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry wanted to see more participation from businesses and civic groups in helping officials manage the parks.
The parks are Similan and Khao Lampi-Hat Tai Muang marine national parks in Phangnga, Sirinat marine national park in Phuket, Noparat Thara-Phi Phi islands and Lanta marine national parks in Krabi, Hat Chao Mai marine national park in Trang, and Tarutao marine national park in Satun.
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Thai murdered
SWITZERLAND: A 30-year-old Thai woman was found dead in a forest in Switzerland on Monday, a month after she was reported missing, the Foreign Ministry said.
The body of the Trang native, whose name was not released, was found in Thurgau canton after passers-by found her clothes strewn on the ground nearby.
The victim reportedly worked for a Zurich escort agency and was reported missing on Aug 28, the ministry said. The alleged killer, a 41-year-old Swiss man, was a known client of the woman. He had previously been jailed for eight years for rape and violent assault.
