PATTAYA — On August 4, 2026, Chinese national Mingchen Sun was sentenced to 46 years in prison after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a cache of military-grade weapons, C4 explosives and signal-jamming equipment in Pattaya.

The Pattaya Provincial Court delivered its ruling on Sunday in the case against Mingchen Sun, who was charged with unlawfully possessing firearms, ammunition, explosives, military equipment and radio communication devices.

Police seized the items on May 8, including Glock 9mm pistols, M4 and M16 rifles, ammunition, magazines, C4 high explosives, bomb-making components, bulletproof vests, radio signal jammers and communication devices.

Sun admitted all charges during the trial. The court found that the offences involved multiple violations of the firearms, military equipment control and radio communications laws. While his guilty plea was considered beneficial to the proceedings, the court said the scale and nature of the weapons cache posed a serious threat to public safety and national security. It reduced the sentence by one-third before imposing a total prison term of 44 years and 24 months, equivalent to 46 years.

A second defendant denied the charges. The court temporarily removed that case from its docket, giving prosecutors 15 days to file a new case and ordering the defendant held in custody pending further proceedings.

The court also ordered the confiscation of all seized items, including firearms, ammunition, explosives, body armour, chemical-protection masks, signal-jamming equipment, remote-control transmitters and other military gear.

On August 4, 2025, at the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road, Min's lawyer Tanakorn Waekwari attended a scheduled witness examination for the DigiCon case. Min did not appear in person, exercising her right to request a closed hearing to allow her to continue her normal life.

Waekwari explained that Min is not stressed by the proceedings and wishes to return to normal work and entertainment projects. He stated that Min understands the case details and cooperates fully with her legal team, but the current phase involves the court's witness examination process, with 100 prior hearings scheduled and expected completion by late 2570 (2027). The defendant is calm and simply awaits the process to conclude.

Regarding Min's defense, Waekwari maintained that she consistently testified she acted only as a presenter for DigiCon company for just over a year. He emphasized that the facts cannot be altered and can only be proven through evidence presented to the court. Both Min and co-defendant Sam-Yuranun Pommontri requested closed hearings; Sam was not present but had her legal team attend. Waekwari stated that Min sends her regards to the media and hopes to resume her normal entertainment career. Witness examination continues with the next hearing on August 21 and additional sessions expected into 2570, with approximately 90 more hearings scheduled to conclude by late 2570.

Dr. Sirikarn Unsongkran, president and rights holder of Miss Earth Thailand and Mister Earth Thailand, held a press conference for this year's pageant and acknowledged that she had to remove her IV line to attend. She recently recovered from a critical illness that pushed her into a coma-like state and requires ongoing treatment with up to 20 injections. Despite these challenges, she affirmed her determination to proceed, saying her heart remains fully committed to giving the current title holders an honorable farewell.

When asked about the extent of her preparation despite her illness, she replied: "I've removed my IV line to hold this pageant. Once it's finished, I'll go back and have the IV reinserted—that's fine. My duty is to ensure there are no more patients added to this world. I want to be the last patient on Earth. Everything stems from food, air, eating habits, and lifestyle. We must use our free time productively and exercise, but things aren't balanced. There are problems in agriculture, industry, and our environment has suffered. What I can do is ensure our future generations have good health, which is why we must hold the Miss Earth pageant. We need to find people to help save our world."

When pressed on whether her illness would affect the pageant, she acknowledged it might have some impact, as she must continue receiving medication and further injections. However, she expressed her strong desire to win the major crown for Thailand, as the pageant has produced Fire crowns for three years now and it's time to bring home the Earth crown.

She noted that while juggling work and illness is difficult, sponsors—both loyal ones and new ones—continue to support the mission. She expressed gratitude that they understand her core objective: to find beautiful women and men who possess good physical and mental health and who are givers rather than takers.

When asked if she had considered not holding the pageant this year due to her illness, she revealed that she originally planned to simply select delegates to send abroad instead. However, the current title holders—five men and five women—needed a proper and dignified farewell ceremony, especially since the men's group was the first-ever cohort and the women performed their duties excellently the previous year. She felt obligated to organize the event so they could step down with honor.

Asked if she had ever felt discouraged, she admitted she had grown disheartened, particularly in the early stages of her illness when her body wasn't responding well to treatment. She suffered from drug allergies, rashes, jaundice, poor appetite, and insomnia—a severe decline in quality of life. She struggled with the idea of asking others to dedicate themselves to the pageant while she couldn't fully commit in return.

The National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) has officially joined the China-BRICS Strategic Innovation Incubation Platform (SIIP) network, aiming to strengthen innovation ...

Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn led senior officials from Thailand's Transport Ministry to Moscow on August 3, 2025, to sign a transportation cooperation memorandum with Russian Transport Minister Andrey Sergeevich Nikitin. The agreement establishes a framework for bilateral transport cooperation and grants Thailand access to Russian knowledge, technology, and international transportation standards.

Ratchakitprakarn stated that the signing represents part of Thailand's long-standing relationship with Russia, building on Prime Minister Anuthit Charnvirakul's June 2025 visit. The goal is to modernize Thailand's transportation infrastructure, particularly rail systems, smart transport, autonomous technology, water transport, and aviation, while developing skilled personnel to meet future mobility demands.

The cooperation covers seven key areas: transport infrastructure development; multimodal transport connectivity; personnel training and professional development; academic and research collaboration; satellite technology for transport; and transport security and safety standards. By embracing international best practices and adapting them to Thailand's context, the initiative aims to enhance passenger and freight transport efficiency, reduce logistics costs, and strengthen Thailand's competitive position in regional transportation.

At 11:00 a.m. on August 4, police received a report of a death in a rental room in Chiang Kham District, Phayao Province. Officers, rescue workers, and a duty physician responded to the scene and found the room locked from the inside. After breaking down the door, they discovered the body of Sitthichai, age 43, a former deputy district chief of Chiang Khong District in Chiang Rai Province, who had faced charges for forging 467 government identity documents.

The deceased was found lying on the floor beside a bed with his feet resting on the bed edge. Tape was discovered sealing the entrance and kitchen door. Officers also found three telephone numbers written and placed on a table near a stove. No signs of physical assault were found in the surrounding area.

According to investigating officer Pol. Maj. Thanad Chumamanao, the room showed no signs of a struggle, and both entry and exit doors were sealed with tape. The room owner reported that the deceased had spoken by phone with his mother before his voice changed, and later when the mother called back and received no answer, she contacted the landlord, who discovered the body. Police believe the stress stemming from the forgery case involving over 467 forged identity documents, combined with his dismissal from civil service, may have been the cause. Further investigation with relevant parties is planned.