Second Deportation Order Approved for Koh Samui Case

Thailand news today. Volcanic ash grounds flights to Jakarta. Another foreign resident faces deportation under Thailand’s new rules.

And a police officer finally surrenders. Closer to home in Pattaya, a brave 14-year-old saves her family while one badly parked car turns a 500 baht fine into a 3-hour early morning ordeal.

Volcanic Ash Grounds Flights to Jakarta

Thai Airways canceled flights to Jakarta yesterday as eight Indonesian airports remained closed because of volcanic ash from the erupting Krakatoa volcano. The airline cited passenger and flight safety, and Thai Airways is by no means alone with other carriers also canceling or changing services. Passengers holding tickets for Indonesia over the next few days are being advised to contact their airline or travel agent before heading to the airport.

Ash has blanketed Jakarta and several surrounding areas since the volcano erupted late on Friday, forcing airport closures for safety reasons and reportedly affecting around 170,000 passengers through canceled flights. So, if Indonesia is on your travel plans this week, it’s worth checking before you leave home.

Second Deportation Order Approved for Koh Samui Case

Meanwhile, Thai media is reporting that a second deportation order has been approved by the prime minister under Thailand’s recently introduced regulations. And once again, the case involves an expatriate on Koh Samui. The man is described as the French husband of a Thai woman and operator of a petting zoo, and his case is connected to the dispute which resulted in the first deportation under the government’s new procedures.

An Israeli man had earlier been ordered deported after being convicted of threatening the zoo owner following confrontations involving Israeli visitors. Now, the Frenchman himself faces deportation. He was separately convicted by a Koh Samui court of reckless driving offenses.

However, the Interior Ministry has also accused him of threats, harassment, assault, and behavior which endangered others and fueled racial and religious divisions. Like the Israeli national, the Frenchman has 7 days in which to appeal the deportation order. Whatever the eventual outcome of that appeal, the government certainly appears determined to demonstrate that its new deportation procedures have teeth.

Police Officer Surrenders After Hit-and-Run Collision

A police colonel has handed himself into police some 5 days after allegedly being identified as the driver in a hit-and-run collision which killed a 16-year-old. Thai media reports that the officer has expressed great remorse. Although there has been no explanation so far as to why it took 5 days for him to surrender, nor is there any word yet on the significance of blood tests taken after that length of time.

The accident itself was captured on CCTV and reportedly shows the officer’s Fortuner colliding with the motorcycle ridden by 16-year-old Kaopun before driving away without stopping to provide assistance. The officer has now been charged with two offenses and has confessed to the initial charges. He has also expressed a willingness to fully compensate and provide assistance to the teenager’s family.

Today, they held a ceremony to collect Kaopun’s ashes before scattering them at sea as they continue to call for justice.

Coach Overturns in Chachoengsao Province

In Chachoengsao province, around 30 passengers were injured after a coach carrying workers overturned yesterday morning. The single-deck bus was taking employees to work when the driver apparently took his attention away from the road and almost ended up in a canal. He initially managed to stop the vehicle before it completely went in.

Unfortunately, while attempting to maneuver the bus back out of the mud, he then lost control altogether. The coach overturned, leaving around 30 passengers injured. Rescue teams and local volunteers were quickly on the scene, and thankfully nobody was seriously hurt, although several people required hospital treatment.

14-Year-Old Saves Her Family From a House Fire

Meanwhile, closer to home in Pattaya, a 14-year-old schoolgirl is being praised after her quick thinking helped save her family from a house fire late on Sunday. The teenager was asleep when she heard popping noises and then smelled something burning. She went outside to investigate and discovered that a neighbor’s home was on fire.

Realizing the flames could spread through the adjoining terrace properties, she rushed back inside. She then quickly evacuated her 5-year-old brother, their 96-year-old grandmother, and six cats before flames could spread further. As the fire moved across the rooftops of the adjoining homes, firefighters tackled the blaze while families and neighbors watched from outside, wrapped in blankets.

Whatever investigators eventually discover about how it started, a 14-year-old girl waking in the night and having the presence of mind to get a 5-year-old, a 96-year-old grandmother, and six cats safely outside deserves considerable credit.

500 Thai Baht Parking Fine on Pattaya Beach Road

And finally, a warning for anyone who occasionally looks at a no parking sign on Pattaya Beach Road and decides it probably means everybody else. A South African man reportedly spent more than 3 hours trying to pay a 500 baht parking fine and have a wheel clamp removed from his car early on Sunday morning. Armed with his ticket, he initially went to the police station to pay.

Police explained that they hadn’t issued it, city hall had, so that was where he needed to go. Off he went to city hall, where the supposedly 24-hour service was temporarily unmanned. And so, a cheeky bit of illegal parking became a considerably longer wait than anticipated.

Eventually, he managed to pay the 500 baht, the clamp was removed, and he was finally on his way, which does rather demonstrate that sometimes the real punishment isn’t the fine, it’s the paperwork.