Chiang Rai News

Laos Unveils Chinatown Market in Bokeo Economic Zone – Golden Triangle

Laos Unveils Chinatown Market in Bokeo Economic Zone

CHIANG RAI – Laos has opened a Chinatown market in Bokeo province near the lawless Golden Triangle in a bid to draw more trade and tourism to an area that already hosts a casino catering to Chinese clientele.

Funded by a group of Chinese firms, the market opened last week in Bokeo’s Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone to great fanfare with a ceremony in Tonpheung district attended by a number of Lao senior government officials.

People wait to catch a boat to a casino complex in Laos from Chiang Rai in Thailand

“The project is important for Bokeo as the investors are striving to turn this area into a trade and tourism hub,” Bounpheng Moulphoxay, Minister to the Government Office and National Committee for Special Economic Zones (SEZ), told RFA’s Lao Service.

“Hopefully, the success of the Chinatown will lead to the creation of a Lao ethnic and cultural center in the near future,” said the minister, who was in attendance at the market’s opening ceremony.

The Vientiane Times quoted Zhao Wei, the 61-year-old chairman of the SEZ committee and president of the Hong Kong-registered King Romans Group, which has led investment in the zone, as saying that the market will create essential commercial links between communities in the Golden Triangle.

“More importantly, the market will attract foreign traders as well as boost tourism in the area, thanks to efforts by the Lao government and line development partners to support the construction of the market,” he said.

Parts of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand make up the Golden Triangle region, a lawless area notorious for the production of narcotics sold by cartels throughout Asia.

Land concession

King Romans Casino Golden Triangle Lao

The Lao government has conceded to King Romans 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of land—3,000 hectares (7,410 acres) of which are dedicated to the SEZ—for 99 years, with the objective of promoting trade, investment and tourism.

The SEZ, which is tax exempt, began construction in the early 2000s and now includes an international border checkpoint and river port, the King Romans Casino, hotels, and the Chinatown market with as many as 70 restaurants and shops selling a variety of retail.

The SEZ appears to be targeting Chinese clientele and investors exclusively, with the new market sporting a show room filled with statues of soldiers—reminiscent of the terracotta warriors unearthed and on display in central China’s ancient city of Xi’an in Shaanxi province.

Senior company staff at King Romans Group said the market includes accommodation and various other facilities worth about U.S. $80 million.

The company has reportedly invested around U.S. $491 million in the first phase of the SEZ and plans to invest a total of U.S. $2.25 billion by 2020 in facilities that include a golf course, massage and karaoke parlors, and medical clinics.

Virtual impunity

The head of King Romans, also known as Dokngiewkham in Lao and Golden Kapok in Chinese, told the South China Morning Post last year that his company is “doing something for the well-being of the Lao people, helping them to improve their standard of living.”

The company constructed a 30-kilometer (19-mile) road to connect the SEZ with the Bokeo capital of Huay Xai and has spent millions of U.S. dollars reinforcing the river bank along the Mekong, on which it perches.

King Romans has also donated substantial amounts to schools in both Myanmar and Laos.

But reports say the company operates with virtual impunity in the region, creating a self-sustained enclave that has done little to benefit the local community.

Nearly all of the several thousand people living and working in the zone are from China, a key investor in cash-starved Laos and whose investments nearly match those from traditional ally and neighbor Vietnam.

The existing hotel, restaurants, shops, and currency used in the SEZ are all Chinese and the casino draws crowds mostly from China and Thailand, where gambling is officially illegal.

King Romans even employs its own guards to protect tourists from the dangers of the drug trade in the notorious Golden Triangle, though security issues are at least nominally handled by a handful of Laotian police.

Endorsing an entry stamp into foreign visitors’ passports is about the only remaining semblance of authority still exercised by the host Laotian government in the zone, according to reports.

The South China Morning Post in a recent report quoted King Romans chief Zhao as saying that the Chinese investors are firmly in control of the SEZ.

“We have 100 percent right to manage the zone,” he said.

Questionable funding

The investor scheme for the SEZ project remains opaque, the report said, quoting Thai businessman Pattana Sittisombat, president of the Committee for the Economic Quadrangle, as questioning where the money is coming from.

“I am absolutely concerned about the possibility that illicit funds could be attracted to this project, and that it could provide opportunities for money laundering,” he said.

A U.N. official with the Office on Drugs and Crime, speaking on condition of anonymity, echoed Pattana’s concerns, saying “the Golden Triangle SEZ may also attract some of the narcotics trade through Bokeo province and could also be an attractive venue for money laundering.”

Zhao has rejected the claims.

In January, the Vientiane Times reported that China invested nearly U.S. $4 billion in Laos last year, ranking it among the top three spenders in the country.

Citing Chinese Ambassador to Laos Bu Jianguo, the newspaper said that from January to November last year, the value of bilateral trade between the two countries reached about U.S. $1.5 billion, an increase of some 34 percent over the same period the previous year.

KING ROMANS IN LAO GOLDEN TRIANGLE

Chiang Rai News

Chiang Rai Man Kills Woman’s Infant Daughter When She Refuses His Sexual Advances

Police in Wiang Kaen District of Chiang Rai Province have arrested a 50 year old man after the threatened to rape a 20 year-old woman and the proceeded to murder her 2 and half month old baby.

Police with doctors from Wiang Kaen Hospital and the Chao Luang Wiang Kaen Welfare Association were summoned to the scene of the incident to a 2-story cement house, Village No. 2, Tha Kham Subdistrict, Wiang Kaen District of Chiang Rai

On arrival they found Ms. Chanikarn, age 20, in a state of distress crying uncontrollably beside her 2 and a half month baby girl (Linlada) that was dead on the floor.

After calming Ms. Chanikarn, the child’s mother, said that at approximately 2:30 p.m she was out to collect diapers that had been dried in front of the house, while her 2 and a half month old daughter was sleep on the ground floor of the house.

She said she was suddenly approached by a Mr. Lee, about 40 years old, who lived on the opposite side of the road. He came towards her and grabbed her arm and threatened her saying if she didn’t sleeping with him he will go and kill his daughter.

Miss Chanikan refused and ran away, then Mr. Lee then walked into the house and grabbed Ms. Linlada’s leg, smashing the child’s head against the cement floor of the house. The infant died immediately.

Mr. Lee then just walked away and returned to his own home, leaving Miss Chanikan and her dead baby.

When police went to Mr. Lee’s home he immediately confessed killing the infant and was taken to Wiang Kaen Police Station for further questioning. Under caution he told police that he was sexually attracted to Miss Chanikan‘s and when her husband leave for work he took the opportunity to approach her.

He said when he saw her husband leave he crossed that road and found Miss Chanikan in the yard alone, he then threatened her to sleep with him, saying he would kill her child if she didn’t have sex with him. However when she refused he flew into a fit of rage walked into her home and murdered he baby. He said he was out of control with rage.

After killing the infant he walk across the street to his home and waited for the police to arrive. The police have charged him with premeditated murder and attempted rape. He is being held without bail at the local remand center.

Meanwhile, Miss Chanikan and her family were preparing a religious burial ceremony for the child.

Other Chiang Rai News:

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Chiang Rai News

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

CHIANG RAI: Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

Pol. Gen. Kittirat Panphet, Deputy Commander and Director of the Police Crime Suppression Division, Assigned Pol. Lt. Gen. Thatchai Pitanilabut, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Police/Deputy Director of the Police Crime Suppression Division, has launched the operation ‘Bombing the Thieves’ Bridge’ in collaboration with the CAT Office, G., mobile phone network operators AIS DTAC TRUE NT, and local security agencies to cut the mobile phone signal and WiFi internet that criminals illegally use to deceive Thai citizens.

Pol. Gen. Kittirat Panphet, Deputy Commander and Director of the Police Crime Suppression Division

Pol. Lt. Gen. Thatchai stated that they will begin pressing the first action of the ‘Explosion of Thieves’ Bridge’ in Chiang Rai Province toward the thieves’ base of operations in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone.

The territory surrounding King Roman in Laos. King Roman is now a full-service entertainment destination with an airport that welcomes travelers from Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, he explained.

According to Pol. Lt. Gen. Thatchai, this operation will have no influence on honest people along the Thai border, and it will only target cyber criminals.

They will also increase the arrest and prosecution of unlawful service towers, such as SIM booths, which allow gangs register SIM cards to swindle the people. Dealing with criminal organizations of foreigners and Thais who band together to deceive and damage Thais.

Pol. Gen. Kittirat Panphet, Deputy Commander and Director of the Police Crime Suppression Division

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) suspended more than three million SIM cards on July 16 because the holders had not verified their identities with their mobile phone operators by the deadline, in accordance with the NBTC’s measures to combat alleged fraudsters’ mule accounts.

The names of the holders of 80 million mobile phone numbers used for mobile banking transactions did not match the names associated with the mobile banking accounts.

The NBTC would require mobile phone companies to authenticate SIM card holders and the names of their mobile banking accounts. The verification procedure is expected to be completed by the end of September this year.

In addition, the NBTC and Royal Thai Police have collaborated to combat illegal telecom towers throughout the country’s borders, disconnecting signals at 465 places, altering antenna direction at 470 towers, and dismantling antennas at 179 locations.

They are certain that the move will disrupt contact center gangs and other types of technology-based crime.

Other Chiang Rai News:

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Chiang Rai News

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

Police in Mae Chan, Chiang Rai, shot and killed a 28-year-old man who allegedly attacked a police officer with a machete. The officer was slashed in the right leg with the machete.

According to police, the culprit, known only as Mr. Toon, had been harassing local villagers in Mae Chan district, Chiang Rai, threatening them with a knife and using violet insults.

The village headman arrived on the scene to try to calm Mr. Toon, but he was shouting hysterically and taking swipes at him with the machete, so he contacted the police.

When the responding officer arrived at the site about 9 p.m., he attempted to calm the man, but he instead assaulted the officer, slashing his right leg with the machete. In self-defense, the cop had to fire his gun at Mr. Toon, striking him in the chest.

Mr. Toon and the policeman were taken to Mae Chan Hospital, where Mr. Toon died of a gunshot wound. Pol Sgt. Sutthikiat Phanomphraisakul was released from the hospital after receiving numerous stitches for his injuries.

Local police received a tip around 9.30 p.m. yesterday that a guy was causing mayhem in the village. When authorities arrived, they discovered 28-year-old Toon strolling along a public road, holding a large knife and threatening people. Mae Chan district officials attempted to contain the incident.

During a search of Mr. Toon’s home, authorities discovered methamphetamine consumption equipment. Locals told authorities that the man was addicted to Yaba (Methamphetamine) and an alcoholic.

The authorities are conducting an inquiry to determine Toon’s motivations and whether any underlying issues contributed to his violent outburst.