Thailand's criminal court has sentenced Bangkok businesswoman Wipaporn Songmeesap to seven years in jail for physically abusing and enslaving a 13-year-old maid. The verdict marked the first time in Thai legal history that the country's anti-slavery law has been enforced. The 13-year-old was made to work from 4 a.m. to midnight daily and was beaten with an iron rod, belts and a piece of furniture when she failed to perform her duties. After a year of unpaid labor, she was sent back to her home in Buri Ram with infected wounds on her head and back. Thai human rights groups pressed the case against Wipaporn, a mother of four, who listened to the verdict Tuesday with no show of emotion.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is reportedly planning to make a 92 million pound (5.9 billion baht) bid for the Manchester City football club in the English Premiere league. In 2004, Thaksin attempted to purchase a stake in Liverpool FC. Thaksin's bid will be made with business associates from China and the Middle East, according to website Hi-thaksin.net. The website also claimed that Mohamed al Fayed, the billionaire owner of London's Harrods department store and the Fulham Football Club, was involved in the negotiations on behalf of Thaksin.Sky News
AP
Thailand has rejected a U.S. offer of military assistance to help quell an insurgency in the country's Muslim-majority south. “[U.S. military assistance] is not necessary," said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont. "This is our own internal problem which we have to solve among ourselves. This is the problem where all Thais need to cooperate and participate.” His comments followed a Human Rights Watch report that argued the military-backed Government has stepped up its use of militias in a bid to solve the long-running insurgency, putting civilians at a greater risk of violence. Chulanont said his Government would act forcefully against militants but insisted that it would not use illegal methods in battling the terrorists.
AFP
AFP