Category Archives: Legal Matters
US Lawmaker ‘Adopts’ Jailed Vietnamese Journalist as Prisoner of Conscience
U.S. Congressman Alan Lowenthal announced on Friday that he has officially adopted Vietnamese journalist Nguyen Van Hoa, an RFA contributor jailed for seven years in Vietnam, as a prisoner of conscience under the Defending Freedoms Project, a project of the congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. Under the project, U.S. lawmakers work to raise awareness
Supreme Court dismisses Thai firm’s copyright claim over “Ultraman”
Thailand’s Supreme Court’s Division for Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade has rejected an appeal by a Thai production house, claiming copyright over movies about Japan’s superhero Ultraman. Mr. Sompo Saengduanchai, owner of Chaiyo Productions Company Limited, appealed the earlier decision of the Appeals Court, which ruled that Tsubaraya Productions Company Limited is the
AMLO is verifying reports of four Thai banks’ alleged role in suspicious transactions
Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) is in the process of verifying a report, by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), that four Thai banks have been involved in suspicious financial transactions, worth about 41.31 billion baht, over nearly two decades. Responding to the ICIJ report, AMLO Acting Secretary-General Pol Maj-Gen Preecha Charoensahayanont said today
Driver Killed After Crane Vehicle Overturned on Rail Bridge Over Laos’ Mekong River
A freak accident on an unfinished rail bridge over the Mekong River in Laos has killed a 43-year-old crane truck driver, whose body was discovered nearly 50 miles downstream from where his vehicle was found hanging perilously upside down over raging waters, RFA has learned. The accident occurred on Sept. 15 when the vehicle fell
Thai coconut milk cannery denies involvement in illicit drugs seizure in Australia
A Thai coconut milk cannery has denied any involvement in the smuggling of liquid methamphetamine into Australia, contained in cans apparently bearing the company’s brand name. In August, Australian Border Force officers inspected an airfreight shipment, containing 86 cases of canned coconut milk, after it arrived in Sydney from Thailand. A test on the liquid
Ex-Deputy Commerce Minister Banyin pleads guilty to kidnap and murder
Thailand’s former Deputy Commerce Minister Banyin Tangpakorn has reversed his not guilty plea and confessed to the kidnapping and murder of the brother of a judge who presided over a fraud trial in which he and three other people were accused of falsifying documents to transfer to their ownership shares, worth about 228 million baht,
Rights Groups Call For Release of Lao Blogger ‘Mouay’ On Anniversary of Arrest
Rights groups called on Laos this week to free a Lao blogger arrested a year ago and jailed for five years for criticizing the government’s handling of floods in a Facebook post, saying she did not deserve punishment for expressing her opinions online. Houayheuang Xayabouly, 30, also known by her nickname Mouay, was arrested Sept.
Illegal Plastic Waste Takes Many Routes to Southeast Asia
Interpol, the international police organization, says that criminal organizations have been illegally shipping waste to Southeast Asia. According to an Interpol report published on August 28, illegal waste shipments sent to the region have been increasing significantly for the past two years. The waste, much of it plastic, passes through “multiple transit countries” to camouflage
China Arrests Drug Traffickers Near Fiery Cross Reef in South China Sea
China has announced that its coast guard and an anti-narcotics unit conducted a rare drug bust in the middle of the Spratly Islands last month, seizing a ship and making six arrests, in the latest show of Beijing’s claim to jurisdiction over disputed waters in the South China Sea. China’s state media reported the bust