Pallop Pinmanee

Inbrief - Murder hunt.
24 August 1999
Bangkok Post

Police are tracing creditors of a contractor who was shot dead in front of his children on Sunday.

Detectives are focusing on the debts of Saranu Detcharoenrungruang, 41, who was gunned down in his Mercedes Benz while taking his children to lunch in Chatuchak district.

Mr Saranu's death has been linked to the failure of his Nakhon Sawan Construction Co. Unable to repay a five-million-baht bank loan, Mr Saranu had to turn to individual lenders.

Among the lenders was a prominent politician who lent Mr Saranu two million baht and was not repaid.

Statues stolen

Eight priceless statues have been stolen from the storeroom of a wat, Chakkawat police were told yesterday.

The theft from Wat Chakkawat Rachathiraj Voraviharn was discovered after monks entered the store to renovate it and found the Buddha statues had disappeared.

Iron bars of a window were forced opened by thieves, said police.

Back to work

A former Third Army commander has been nominated to replace the defence minister's secretary who quit after a series of leaks.

Gen Surachet Dechatiwong na Ayutthaya, who retired in 1997, is to be proposed to the cabinet next month by Gen Wattanachai Wuthisiri, deputy defence minister, a source said.

Gen Pallop Pinmanee resigned after being reprimanded by Chuan Leekpai over the leaking of information used by some opposition MPs against the prime minister and defence minister.

Wage pressure

Labour groups are pressing for a minimum hike in the daily wage for the next calendar year.

The Labour Congress of Thailand said the increase has been proposed to the tripartite National Wage Committee. It pointed out that workers did not demand a rise for this year because of the economic crisis.

Lae Dilokvithayarat, of Chulalongkorn University, said lower business productivity should not be cited as the reason for ignoring the hike as the government must help the employers maintain income generation.

Staying on

Prosecutors will be able to stay on past retirement age under a bill being proposed to cabinet by the Attorney-General's Office to overcome a shortage of qualified staff.

Suchart Traiprasit, the attorney-general, said the legislation was modelled on a law which empowers the Justice Ministry to recruit retired senior judges to sit in the courts of first instance.

Mr Suchart said prosecutors were highly trained, valuable people and should not be be left unutilised. It would be a shame if they were hired after retirement by private firms and eventually work to defend their employers' interests, he said.

Burma clash

Mae Hong Son - Two Burmese officials were killed and two wounded during a raid on Shan State Army troops opposite Pang Ma Pa district, sources said yesterday.

The attack was launched against a military base 3km from the border and the casualties were sustained in an ensuing 30-minute clash.

The sources said Burmese authorities seized firearms and a list of drug traffickers and manufacturers who are thought to pay protection money to the guerrillas.

Mill project

China's plan to invest in a paper mill will be high on the agenda for President Jiang Zemin during his state visit to Thailand early next month.

Pongpol Adireksarn, agriculture minister, said Beijing has asked authorities to find a 200,000-rai site for the mill.

The ministry and other agencies have prepared information about investment opportunities on pulp and paper for Mr Jiang's visit on Sept 2.

Hat stand

Troops are to be asked if they support the army chief's proposal to make a slight change to military uniforms, a source said yesterday.

Gen Surayud Chulanont has ordered personnel staff to survey troops about his proposal to switch to black berets from forage caps.

Opponents say the berets, being made of wool, are not suited to a tropical climate.