Court allows police to detain Rakesh Saxena 12 days as requested

BANGKOK, Oct 31 (TNA) -- The court Saturday allowed Thailand’s police to further detain fugitive Indian-born ex-financier Rakesh Saxena for 12 days for further questioning regarding his alleged embezzlement which led to the closure of Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC) in 1995, two years before the Asian financial crisis hit Thailand and spread to many other countries in the world.

Guarded under heavy security by more than 30 police commandos, Mr Saxena was escorted from the Crime Suppression Division where he was detained since arriving in Bangkok late Friday following his extradition from Canada, to the Bangkok Southern Criminal Court as police sought court approval for his first remand.

The Court later remanded him in custody for 12 days while bail was rejected as there are more than 10 pending cases against him.

Mr Saxena was allowed to be sent for treatment at the jail hospital as requested by his lawyer.

Spokesman Pol Lt-Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen told journalists that police would question seven witnesses who had travelled to Canada and brought Mr Saxena to Thailand and said that he believed police could conclude their charges and forward them to the prosecutor on Monday.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday that legal action would be taken against politicians allegedly implicated in the embezzlement case.

In 1995, Mr Saxena, then treasury adviser of the BBC, allegedly colluded with Krirkkiat Jalichandra, then bank president, and was involved in setting up dummy loans and fabricating accounts to siphon millions from the bank, causing its collapse under US$3 billion in debts, along with nearly 60 financial institutions, leading directly to the 1997 financial crisis.

Mr Krirkkiat was arrested, tried and sentenced to 30 years in prison plus a fine of Bt330 million. (TNA)

PM vows to speed up development projects in deep south

SONGKHLA, Oct 31 (TNA) - Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the private sector in Thailand’s five southernmost provinces that the government will speed up various projects to develop the southern region.

Mr Abhist met business community representatives in the five southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Songkhla, Satun and Yala at a hotel in Hat Yai, Songkhla for first hand information from the private sector.

The business representatives called on the government to extend the terms of soft loans to help manufacturers affected by the violence in the south and the global financial crisis.

They also asked government to support development of logistics, the land-bridge linking between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, dual railway track development and the further development of the region’s tourism industry.

He promised to forward the 16 points proposal raised by the private sector in the southern provinces to the agencies concerned and the cabinet to speed up implementation.

Mr Abhisit also said that the government is improving operations of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC) and seeking more business community members.

Thailand and Malaysia are cooperating on a plan to jointly develop adjacent areas in southern Thailand and northern Malaysia, he said.

As for installing more CCTV for security, a project which has been delayed, the premier said the government is pressing to finish it soon.

The prime minister is trying to assure the business community in the south that the government had a development plan for the southern provinces and will speed up the projects to benefit the people in the region.

The emergency decree imposed in the four districts of Songkhla will be relaxed to improve the business atmosphere, a policy that will gradually extend to the three southernmost provinces, he said. (TNA)

Final Death Toll of Ketsana Raised to 35

Cambodian officials now estimate that Typhoon Ketsana claimed 35 lives and cost the country $41 million, leaving thousands of people homeless.

Hardest hit was Kampong Thom province, but 11 provinces in all suffered from the storm, which raged across the east and north of the country on Sept. 28.

Hundreds of homes were destroyed, and many people are now facing food shortages, the National Committee for Disaster Management said Friday.

The agency “will submit a compiled report of damage to the government to request assistance from the international community,” Nhem Vanda, first deputy president of the disaster committee, said.

The World Bank and the Japanese government have signaled a willingness to provide aid for victims of the storm, but they need a clear damage report from the government to proceed.

In Kampong Thom, the storm destroyed nearly 20,000 hectares of rice crop, as well as infrastructure, for a total of $17 million in damages, according to a preliminary estimate.

“I have worries for the destruction and damage of more infrastructure,” Som Sophath, deputy governor of the province, said. There, the storm killed 20 people, injured 14, and destroyed 109 houses, he said.

The German government will provide $280,000 in emergency assistance, Josef Fullen Bach, a government representative for Southeast Asian policy, told Finance Minister Keat Chhon on Friday.

The aid agency Oxfam last week estimated 20,000 people were in need of immediate emergency assistance.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam On, in a weekly government meeting Friday, encouraged government officials to travel to affected areas and help victims.