Briton and German arrested for smuggling illegal drugs in Bali airport

BALI: Indonesian customs officials said they have captured two foreigners accused of attempting to smuggle drugs onto the tourist island of Bali.

A German man is escorted by customs officers in Bali 

Customs chief Himawan Indarjono said British resident Adam Scott and German Siegfried Karl Achim Ruckel were arrested before the end of last month at Bali's Ngurah Rai airport.

He said officers seized a jug with 655 Diazepam tablets, otherwise called Valium, from Mr Scott, a computer analyst who arrived from Bangkok on Jan 24. The amount, which was not reported on his customs declaration, was judged to be more than he needed for personal use.

He said Mr Scott is suspected with damaging the Customs and Psychotropic laws, under which he could face up to 10 years in jail and a fine of $22,000 if discovered guilty.

Another customs official, Husni Syaiful, said Mr Ruckel arrived two days later from Doha and had 7g of heroin, 0.2g of amphetamine and 15.3g of morphine.

In the event that discovered guilty, Mr Ruckel could face up to a death sentence and a fine of up to $730,000.

Indonesia has extremely strict drug laws and convicted smugglers are some of the time executed.

Eighteen convicts, mostly foreigners, have been executed under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who took office in October 2014 and declared a war on illegal drugs.

More than 150 individuals are currently on death row, for the most part for drug crimes. Around one-third of them are foreigners.

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TAT: Tourist flocking to Pattaya

Around 8 million visitors went to Pattaya in the first half of this year, putting the resort city to top last year's total, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). 

Russian tourist in Pattaya

Suladda Sarutilavan, the TAT Pattaya office executive said, the number of guests was up 5% on last year during the first six months, at around 8 million. 

Visitor spending during a similar period was 110 billion baht, 15% more than in the first two quarters last year, she said. 

Ms Suladda expected the number of vacationers and their spending in 2017 will surpass a year ago's figures. "The mid-year figures were an encouraging trend," she said. 

A year ago, 13.7 million visitors went to Pattaya, spending 200 billion baht for accommodation and different activities during their stay.

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Foreigners represented 65% of all travelers a year ago and localS 35%. China guests dominated at 2.54 million, followed by 800,000 Russians, 600,000 Koreans, 400,000 Indians and 400,000 Germans. 

The number of travelers gather to Pattaya should keep on increasing as transport networks promote the city in years to come, according to the tourism official. 

The government is promoting U-tapao airport as another entryway toward the eastern areas and will build a rail link between U-tapao and Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports. 

A ferry service has been launched, linkiing it over the Gulf with Cha-am in Phetchaburi, and another sea link will join Sattahip in Chon Buri and Koh Chang in Trat.

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/in-thailand/1324275/tat-tourists-flocking-to-pattaya-outlook-is-good

Thailand and Malaysia is considering building a border wall

Thailand and Malaysia is considering plans to build a wall along their shared outskirt, a day prior to Malaysian Leader Najib Razak is set to meet his counterpart in Bangkok.

Along the 640km Thai-Malay border human trafficking and the smuggling of drugs and weapons are among the transnational crimes that have thrived.

Malaysian Prime Minister on the left and Thai Prime Minister on the right

 Mr. Najib is to meet Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on an official visit that will concentrate on security participation and investment. 

The wall is on the plan for the meeting, said a Thai foreign ministry official.

Foreign ministry spokesman Chinawut Setawat said at a regional meeting in Vientiane, "It will be on the agenda during Najib's visit, but it will not be the biggest item on the agenda."

"It is still at the memorandum of understanding phase," said Colonel Yutthanam Petchmuang, a spokesman for Thailand's Internal Security Operations Command.

Mr. Najib's visit takes after three deadly bomb attacks in southern Thailand over the previous month, including a wave of bombs in tourist towns in August that Thai police have connected to Muslim separatists working in the country's south.

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Smuggling of weapons, drugs and illegal oil has been a site in Thai-Malay border. After taking power in a May 2014 coup, Thailand's junta promised a "zero tolerance" policy of human trafficking and launched a nationwide crackdown on vice and crime.

In January 2004, a shadowy separatist uprising by ethnic Malays reemerged in Thailand, after simmering for decades. From that point forward, 6,500 individuals have been slaughtered, says Deep South Watch, a group that monitors the violence.

Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat were once part of a free Malay Muslim sultanate until they were attached by Thailand in 1909. 

Two issues specifically have spurred the interest of Malaysia and Thailand in building a border wall, said Srisompop Jitpiromsri, director of Deep South Watch.

"The first is to stop the flow of illegal goods, whether it is petrol, drugs or human trafficking." 

"The second reason is that insurgents operating in Thailand regularly cross the border and use Malaysia as a safety base."

However it remains unclear how far the wall will reduce crime.

"There are still many logistical issues to address before building the wall," Mr. Srisompop said. "It's a tremendously long area."

Five virgins compete in the hope of becoming a 'Goddess'

At a sacred shrine in central Nakhon Sawan province in Thailand, a large crowd gathered to watch five beautiful young virgins of Chinese descent contends in a traditional contest that relies only on pure luck.

The winner gets the opportunity to be "worshipped" by the whole city. 

Tassayaporn Wongsaksirikul this year's Guan Yin Goddess winner

The hallowed ceremony was held at Nha Pha God-Goddess Shrine in Nakhon Sawan municipality to choose a young virgin to represent Guan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion.

It is part of the preparations for the well known Chinese New Year celebrations at Pak Nam Pho in this central province which is heavily populated by Thais of Chinese descent. 

The ceremony is to find Guan Yin and also the celebrations has been passed down through generations. The yearly grand festival will be the 101st year of the celebration and will last for 12 days from Jan 21 to Feb 1.

The five virgins are the finalists from 20 candidates ages 16 to 20. 

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For selection, the candidates required luck only, just as they have for a hundred years. All they needed to do was toss a couple of wooden bars in front of Pak Nam Pho God-Goddess three times.

At the point when the bars hit the ground, the winner twice needs one wooden bar facing up and the other facing down. The third toss she needs both pieces facing down. 

The current year's Guan Yin winner is 16-year-old Tassayaporn Wongsaksirikul, who is in Matthayom 4 in a local school.

The ceremony is viewed as holy by Guan Yin worshippers who believe the winner is specifically chosen by the Goddess. The winner's prize is the belief that she and her family have been given good fortunes and are blessed to play the part of Guan Yin.

Tassayaporn will dress as Guan Yin when she joins a parade to be held around town on Jan 30 and 31.

Her father, Narong, said his family worships the Goddess and everyone was happy with the result.