Showing 1 - 10 of 29
Failing the lecturers
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 20/11/2016
» At Thepsatri Rajabhat University, a lecturer was locked out of his office after exposing alleged corruption involving the budget allocated for a field trip. His three staff were moved to other roles, and this semester his classes were reduced until he had no students to teach. Nowadays he goes to the university in the morning and signs his name, fearful he will fail his performance assessment.
Hall heads for Paris but fight for rights goes on
News, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 13/11/2016
» When British migrant rights activist Andy Hall left Thailand last Monday after 11 years, he was facing three criminal and civil courts lawsuits. They followed a report he helped research information which accused companies of labour and human rights violations in the pineapple and tuna processing industries in Thailand.
When pigs fly
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 13/11/2016
» Sakaseam Sripolreun takes pride in the wild boars he bought three years ago from a poacher in Khon Kaen's Phu Wiang district. Said to be the most beautiful strain in Thailand with a large chest, elegant posture and slim face, they are highly resistant to diseases and can live on scrap fruit and vegetables, making them easy to raise.
An open road ahead
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 16/10/2016
» The Department of Land Transport is getting used to visits from people looking to invest in a driving school. A decade ago, there was only one private driving school registered under the department. But that quickly changed last year when at least one person visited every week to ask about the qualifications needed to open a school. The department now answers similar queries on a daily basis.
Forest clampdown hurts poor
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 11/09/2016
» For the past 39 years, Anutas Pleeta's family have made a living out of growing para rubber on their four-rai plantation in the southern province of Phangnga. By this time of the year, the trees would have been ready for tapping and Mr Anutas would have had more money to support his family of five, who currently live off an average income of 45,000 baht per year -- less than half the daily minimum wage -- from rubber grown on another six rai of land.
A forest becomes a battlefield
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 17/07/2016
» After completing his daily alms one morning in 2014, Phra Yo Kanhawlang went back to the monastery to find a letter offering 200,000 baht in exchange for leaving the forest. The monk was instructed to leave a reply in writing if he was to accept the anonymous offer.
Cat and mouse: Accused tiger trafficker slips authorities' net
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 26/06/2016
» It was the middle of a bright day in 2010 when the buyer set off in a truck with a cage on the back to pick up a tiger. In the northeastern province of Khon Kaen, he picked up two traffickers, and they drove two hours southwest to Chaiyaphum.
Monopoly money under a tax
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 24/04/2016
» Poom Prasit had been smoking the local Krong Thip cigarettes for the past 13 years. On the day of the announcement of the latest tobacco tax hike in February, however, he immediately decided he would switch brands. The next day, he bought a pack of SMS instead.
Secretly detained amid a fog of official denial
News, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 20/03/2016
» When more than 30 soldiers and police blocked the roads leading to Sarawut Bamrungkittikhun’s two-storey shophouse in Surat Thani, his neighbours were told an “influential person” was about to be arrested.
And that was the last time we saw him
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 28/02/2016
» On the morning of Jan 24, 28-year-old Fadel Sohmarn left his home on a Honda motorcycle to meet his bride-to-be, a teacher at Mohammadiah School.