July 2012 : Constitutional Court Ruling: Section 291 Amendments Constitutionally Section 291 amendments constitutional Court adjourned Red Shirts bail hearing 2013 Budget reduced Supoj’s Bt. 64 million to be confiscated Senate to consider Suthep’s constitutional violation Panel to select Flood Management Companies Supreme Court to consider Thaksin-Krung Thai case Senate speaker disqualified Ombudsman dismissed complaint about Yingluck’s hotel visit Economy slowdown in June National reserves increased Deficit rose to Bt. 3279 billion Couples to file separate tax returns Diesel tax reduction re-extended First-car policy extended Mae Wong Dam protest goes to court Thai rice export suffered South suffered 85 violent incidents in July Section 291 amendments constitutional On 13th July 2012, the Constitutional Court ruled that the contentious constitutional amendment bill is constitutional. The Court rejected the petitioners’ allegation that the bill breached Thailand’s Constitution. The verdict said, " there is no sufficient evidence that the Pheu Thai party is seeking to overthrow the constitutional monarchy." The verdict added that Parliament could amend the constitution, but not completely rewrite it. The Constitutional Court advised the government to hold a referendum should it wish to rewrite the Constitution. The ruling Pheu Thai party has been pushing for the bill that revises Section 291 of the Constitution to allow an assembly to rewrite Thailand’s Constitution. The bill was on its way to the third and final parliament reading when the Constitutional Court blocked the session scheduled for1st June. Court adjourned Red Shirts bail hearing The Constitutional Court applied for the revocation of Red Shirt bail on the basis that some people had breached their bail conditions by protesting against the Constitutional Court’s decision to rule on the constitutional amendment. They also threatened judges and their families. On 23rd July, the Criminal Court adjourned the session to consider whether to revoke bail on the 19 Red Shirts including JatupornPrompan to 9th August and on another 5 Pheu Thai MPs to 29thNovember after Parliament had adjourned. The five are KorkaewPikoonthong, Karun Hosakul, Wipootalaeng Pattanaputai, WengTohjirakarn and NattawutSaikua. Followingthe violence in April-May 2009, all were charged with terrorist offences and subsequently granted conditional bail. The application to revoke bail was brought by the Secretary-General of the Constitutional Court, Chawana Trimas. 2013 Budget reduced On 27th July, the Budget sub-committee of the House disclosed that the sub-committee had reduced the proposed budget for 2013 by Bt. 20.599 billion before forwarding it to the House for a first reading on 9th August. The second and third readingsof the Budget Bill are expected between 15th and 17th August. NACC to investigate in bomb detectors purchase The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) speaker, Klanarong Chantik, said that the commission resolved to appoint 11 working groups to investigate the purchasing of Alpha 6 and Gt 200 explosion detectors. Previously, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) found that the devices were purchased by state agencies at different prices, from many suppliers and without checking prices as required in codes of practice. The matter came into light when the Crown Prosecution Service in England prosecuted the supplier of GT200 devices, Jim Macgregor, on six charges of fraud. The devices were sold to several countries in the Middle East, Mexico, China and Thailand. Supoj’s Bt. 64 million to be confiscated The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) unanimously found that former Transport Permanent Secretary, Supoj Saplom, had breached Section 80 of the Anti-corruption Act and forwarded its decision to the Attorney General. If the court finds him guilty, Supoj’s asset of Bt. 64 million could be confiscated. On 11th November 2011, Supoj’s house was robbed and he reported a loss of Bt.5 million cash, which was said to be a wedding gift to his daughter. Later, offenders were caught with Bt.18 million cash and they testified that they took a total of Bt. 200 million and the missing money is still with the other fugitive offender. As the amounts were much higher than what was on his reported list of assets, required by all senior civil servants, the NCCC asked Supoj to explain the difference. Being unable to, he was accused of being extraordinarily rich and will be prosecuted according to anti-graft laws. Senate to consider Suthep’s constitutional violation The NACC decided to submit another case, this time to the Senate. It concerns former Deputy Prime Minister, Suthep Thuagsuban, who is accused of breaching Sections 268 and 266(1) of the Constitution. On 25th February 2009, while Deputy Prime Minister, Suthep sent a formal letter to the Culture Minister asking him to appoint a Democrat MP and 19 others to work in the Culture Ministry. Despite the letter being immediately withdrawn, it was an interference with the work of civil servants, violating the constitution. Suthep is no longer in the Cabinet so can no longer be impeached, but if 3 out of 5 of the Senators find him guilty, he could be stripped off his House seat and face political ban for 5 years. Panel to select Flood Management Companies On 24th July, the Cabinet appointed a panel to select private sector companies to propose turnkey flood management projects worth Bt. 300 billion. The President of the Water Management Committee will chair the panel joined by 10 state agency heads and 5 experts from the private sector. The panel’s responsibilities are: To select the most appropriate proposal for further development and construction of sustainable water resource and flood management facilities. To advise the Science and Technology Minister on the implementation of water management plan. Supreme Court to consider Thaksin-Krung Thai case On 25th July, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions accepted the Attorney General’s complaint concerning Thaksin Shinawatra and 28 other people over Bt. 8.5 billion fraudulent loan transactions by the state owned Krung Thai Bank. The first hearing is scheduled for 11th October 2012. Senate speaker disqualified The Criminal Court sentenced former Ombudsmen, Poonsap Piya-anan and Teeradej Meepian, to 2-year jailterms reduced to 2-year probationfor their roles in approving salary increases in 2004. The verdict means Teeradej immediately loses his current position as Speaker of the Senate, requiring a new vote for a new Speaker. Ombudsman dismissed complaint about Yingluck’s hotel visit On 13th July, the Office of Ombudsman dismissed two complaints against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for behavior against political ethics and for conflict of interests. The Ombudsman found that she did not violate political ethics, as the House session that day did not discuss issues that required her personal attendance. He also considered that there was no conflict of interests in the project to reduce taxes for first-time homebuyers. Yingluck had previously resigned as an executive of SC Assets and currently holds 0.85 per cent ofthe company, well within the statutory limit that a Cabinet member cannot hold more than five per cent in a company. The Ombudsman also stated that there was no evidence of extramarital affairs during the Prime Minister’s visit to the hotel. On 8th February 2012, Yingluck was spotted visiting the Four Seasons Hotel during a House session, she later accepted that she met some businessmen privately, e.g.,a real estate developer, SethaTaweesin. Economy slowdown in June Senior Director to the Bank of Thailand, Methee Supapong, revealed that economic growth in June dropped to 4.3% from 6.7% in the previous month. Reduced exports particularly electrical equipment, electronic goods, chemical and plastic appliances suffered the effect of the European Union crisis. National reserves increased The Bank of Thailand revealed that as of 20th July, national reserves had increased by USD 300 million or Bt. 9,450 million to reach USD 1,750 billion or Bt. 5.548 trillion. Deficit rose to Bt. 3279 billion The Fiscal Policy Office revealed that state revenue in the first 9 months of 2012 totaled Bt. 1.44 trillion that is Bt. 503 billion higher than same period last year. However, total expenditure reached Bt. 1.72 trillion, or Bt. 313 billion higher, making a deficit of Bt. 2,870 billion and when extra-budgetary expenditure of Bt. 409 billion is added, the deficit is Bt. 3,279 billion. The government borrowed Bt. 2,320 billion to balance the budget, making a total deficit of Bt. 963 billion, so treasury reserves at June 2012 are at Bt. 4,240 billion. Couples to file separate tax returns The Revenue Department responded to the Constitutional Court order concerning the filing of personal income taxfor married couples. Starting from 1st January 2013, husband and wife can file their income tax return separately. It is anticipated that under the new system, the Revenue will lose approximately Bt.3 billion annually. Diesel tax reduction re-extended On 24th July, the Cabinet resolved to extend reduced excise duty for diesel for another 1 month or until 31st July 2012. First-car policy extended To assist manufacturers affected by the flood of 2011 and who cannot deliver new cars promptly, the Cabinet, meeting in Surin Provinceon 30th July, amended the First-car policy. A purchase order must be made before 31st December 2012, but delivery can be indefinitely extended. First-car owners will be reimbursed with a maximum of Bt. 100,000 excise duty after 12 months of purchase. Mae Wong Dam protest goes to court On 24th July, the Stop Global Warming Association Thailand filed a complaint to the Central Administrative Court asking the court to nullify the Cabinet's approval of the construction of Mae Wong Dam in Kamphaeng Phet province. The complaint, supported by about 160 environmental protection groups, will be filed against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the Cabinet, the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Director-General of the Royal Irrigation Department for alleged violations of the Constitution. Srisuwan Janya, the Association's President, said that the Cabinet agreed in principle on 10th April to construct the Mae Wong Dam, despite the project needing a prior Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA). Dam construction is one of 11 harmful projects that require an EHIA study and comments from the Independent Commission on Environment and Health, according to Section 67 of the Constitution. Mae Wong Dam is one of 21 dams, part of the government's flood management scheme, which has an overall budget of over 350 billion baht. If the dam is constructed, 13,260 rais of fertile forest inside the Mae Wong National Park will be flooded. The area is a part of the Thongyai-HuaiKha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries, a UNESCO world heritage site. The government said that the project would help the local people cope with drought and ease the effect of flooding. The Royal Irrigation Department expects to complete the EHIA this month. Thai rice export suffered The President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association,Ms. Korbsuk Iamsuree, said that during the first 6 months of 2012, Thailand exported 3.45 million tons of rice, that is only 45% of the same period last year. Higher domestic prices in Thailand benefit exporters in India and Vietnam whose exports have increased to 3.61 and 3.52 million tons respectively. The value of rice export in the first 6 months of 2012 is Bt. 71,438 million, also a decrease of 34% against Bt. 107,644 million in 2011. Korbsuk expected that another 3.05 million tons, equivalent to Bt. 50,000 million, would be exported in the next 6 months. If this target were achieved, total export for 2012 would be 6.5 million tons, against 10.65 million tons in 2011. The anticipated 6.5 million tons represents a decrease of 39%. India and Vietnam, however, are expecting to export 8 and 7 million tons respectively. The decline in Thai rice export pushes the country down to 3rd on the rank of rice exporters, after India and Vietnam. South suffered 85 violent incidents in July The Deep South Watch at the Prince of Songklanakarin University disclosed that between 1st and 31st July, there were 85 violent incidents in the southernmost provinces. They were classified into: 32 ambushes, 19 bombings, 7 obstructing state operations, 4 attacks, 6 arsons, 3 car bombs, 3 riots, 3 road blocks, 3 torching by explosives and 5 discarding corpses. The violence resulted in 42 deaths and 96 injuries. Of the dead there were 20 Buddhists, 20 Muslims and 2 non-identifiable, ofthe wounded 68 Buddhists and 28 Muslims. Out of the combined 138 dead and injured, there were 19 dead and 44 injured civilians, 10 dead and 33 injured military/police, 2 and 1 volunteers, 3 and 1 local leaders, 1 and 3 civil servants and the rest of 2 dead and 3 injured were categorized as alien, terrorists and youths under 15 years old.