On August 13, 2025, under the direction of Police Lieutenant Colonel Chalermchai Heumsawat, commander of Kathu Police Station, traffic police were conducting a discipline enforcement checkpoint at Four Corners intersection on Phra Barami Road in Kathu District, Phuket. While on duty, Sub-Lieutenant Sivayot Yodram, a squad leader at Kathu Station, spotted a black Honda motorcycle with Nakhon Sri Thammarat license plates heading toward Four Corners from Khao Phatongtung. The bike carried two foreign men—a driver and a passenger.

The officer signaled the motorcycle to stop for a license check, but the driver accelerated and sped through the checkpoint. Sub-Lieutenant Sivayot pursued on his own motorcycle past Four Corners onto Phra Phuket Kaew Road. Near Kathu Municipality building, the officer signaled again and ordered the bike to stop, but the passenger kicked Sivayot's motorcycle with his left foot, causing the officer to lose balance and crash. Injured but determined, Sivayot continued pursuit.

The suspect motorcycle was later spotted near a duty-free shop on Phra Phuket Kaew Road. The driver reversed and fled into The Valley housing estate before cutting in front of Sivayot's bike again, causing him to lose control and crash. Sivayot sustained injuries while his clothing, glasses, and motorcycle were damaged.

Despite his injuries, Sivayot remounted and followed to the end of the narrow soi, a dead end. He found the motorcycle abandoned and the two riders on foot near the estate entrance. Both were taken into custody.

The arrested men are Saeed Salem, 21, and Hammad Saaif, 20, both Emirati nationals. The driver and passenger were charged and informed of their legal rights before being brought to Kathu Police Station for processing and forwarding to investigators for further legal proceedings.

On August 13, senior police officials ordered a crackdown on online gambling promoters, particularly influencers posting hidden advertisements for illegal betting websites. Officers discovered that Suthida, known online as "Maprang," a 23-year-old influencer with over 280,000 combined followers across Facebook and Instagram, had been posting links encouraging football betting during the World Cup period. When summoned for questioning, she confessed to the charges, claiming financial desperation and an urgent need for money. She said she was hired through Facebook by an unnamed employer. The Don Muang District Court initially sentenced her to eight months imprisonment, but after she pleaded guilty, the sentence was reduced to four months and converted to four months detention. Police remain unconvinced by her testimony and have ordered investigators to expand the case to identify the betting operations and employers behind her. Authorities have also warned other online personalities to stop similar behavior, warning that cyber police will prosecute all offenders decisively.

Thailand is changing fast, and energy costs and trends are affecting everyone's life. Are you ready for the era of electric vehicles and new energy technologies transforming Thai society? Matichon invites you to hear firsthand answers from the country's top experts.

On August 13, Matichon Editorial announced plans for a major year-end seminar titled "New Energy for Thailand: Energy Transition and Betting on Thailand's Future" on Monday, August 26, 2024, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Infinity Room 1-2, Pullman King Power Bangkok. The event will bring together senior speakers and experts.

An exclusive speaker lineup will be led by Wattanapong Kurotwat, director of the Office of Energy Policy and Planning, who will unveil Thailand's Net Zero energy plan. Surojn Saengsanit, chairman of the Thai Electric Vehicle Association (EVAT), will address the future of electric vehicles. Executives from major corporations including Bangchak, Sansiri, and Gulf will explain digital-era energy and eco-friendly housing in accessible terms.

Key highlights include a special address by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Eknit Nitithanpraphas, and an in-depth panel discussion on small modular reactors (SMR) as a potential new hope for Thailand. The event will be hosted by well-known media personality Banchha Chumchaiwet.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has reiterated that the investigation into local government exam fraud will show no favoritism or connections, stating that anyone found guilty will face prosecution. Speaking in Nakhon Ratchasima on August 14, he addressed allegations circulated by the STRONG anti-corruption network page that claimed a Satun permanent secretary acted as a middleman in the cheating scheme. The PM confirmed that the Anti-Money Laundering Office, National Anti-Corruption Commission, and Royal Thai Police are coordinating their investigation. He stated that each agency will conduct its own inquiry before conclusions are drawn, and if wrongdoing is found, the case will be referred to the appropriate authorities for prosecution. "Whoever commits wrongdoing must face prosecution with no exceptions, no connections, no shortcuts, and no limits," the PM said, emphasizing that no high-ranking official is beyond investigation.

Thai actress cleared in 2.4 billion baht Forex-3D fraud caseLegacy Thailand’s Criminal Court has acquitted actress Savika Chaiyadej, her mother Sarinya and her brother Kittichet in the Forex-3D fraud case. The ruling, handed down yesterday, August 13, comes almost four years after prosecutors filed charges on August 18, 2022. The case, Black 853/2564, was brought by the Office of the Attorney General’s Special Case Prosecution Division 4 against Apirak Kotthi, two linked companies, Savika and her family, and others, totalling 24 defendants. The charges covered joint borrowing amounting to public fraud and offences under the Computer Crimes Act. Prosecutors alleged that between November 24, 2015 and September 8, 2020, the group deceived the public through the Forex-3D website and Facebook page, claiming a professional team traded client funds in the foreign exchange market and guaranteeing 100% of the principal with no losses. In reality, no trading took place. The court found the company had never been licensed by the Bank of Thailand, and that the scheme instead used new investors’ money to pay returns to earlier investors, a Ponzi-style structure, with a large number of nominee bank accounts used to obscure the money trail. About 9,822 people invested a combined 2.489 billion baht in the scheme. The court found that Apirak and the group’s core leadership had genuinely engaged in the deception. Five individuals were convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for each of the 9,822 counts against them, a total of 49,110 years each, capped by law at the maximum of 20 years served. The five are Apirak, platform programmer Supinyo Meesomprat, Apirak’s personal secretary Natthee (also known as Warit), records custodian Thassiwan Chantharanukul, and Apirak’s wife, Pakamon Seelun. Two companies linked to the case, RMS Family Co., Ltd. and Mee Dee Pay Co., Ltd., were fined a combined 4.911 billion baht. RMS Family is represented by Kittichet (also known as Sarayuth) Chaiyadej, Savika’s brother, in his capacity as the company’s representative; this is separate from his personal acquittal as an individual defendant. The defendants found responsible were also ordered to repay victims in full with statutory interest. For Savika, her mother and her brother, the court examined their financial records and found more than 40 million baht in circulating funds, along with a close relationship with Apirak dating from before the company was founded. Savika Chaiyadej | Photo via Thairath It concluded this was consistent with genuine investment returns and with Savika’s income as an actress, rather than a fabricated portfolio, and found no evidence the three had solicited others to invest. The court gave them the benefit of the doubt and acquitted them along with other unconnected defendants, acquitting 19 people in total. According to reporters in the courtroom, Savika, her mother and her brother embraced after the acquittal was read. One of the convicted defendants, the programmer, was reported to have cried after his sentence was read. Savika, defendant number seven, was free on 5 million baht bail during the trial, while other defendants were held in custody. She told a Thairath reporter after the verdict that she was relieved by the ruling, and said she would go to collect her mother and brother from prison. As of publication, no public statement has been issued by Apirak. Other defendants tied to the Forex-3D case have been tried separately, including singer Pattanapon “DJ Man” Kunchon and his wife, singer Sutheewan “Baitoey” Thaweesin, who were acquitted by the Criminal Court on December 26, 2024. That ruling is currently under consideration by the Appeal Court. The story Thai actress cleared in 2.4 billion baht Forex-3D fraud case as seen on Thaiger News.

At 6:00 a.m. on August 14, officers from Bang Bua Thong Police Station in Nonthaburi, along with rescue personnel from Bang Bua Thong Hospital, Bang Rak Pattana Municipality rescue, and volunteer medics, responded to a report of a covered pickup truck striking a monk crossing the road with critical injuries. The incident occurred on Bangkruay-Tha Rai Road near Chaiyamajuri Lane in Bang Rak Pattana Subdistrict, Bang Bua Thong District, Nonthaburi Province.

Rescuers found local residents performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Phra Phinit, approximately 65–70 years old, a monk from Wat Bang Phai, after he was hit by the white Isuzu covered pickup while crossing the street. Emergency responders continued resuscitation efforts before transporting him urgently to Bang Bua Thong Hospital.

Police located the white Isuzu pickup truck with visible damage to the front right corner parked nearby. The driver stated that when he reached the accident site, Phra Phinit had walked quickly from the left side to cross to the right, but crossed at such a short distance that he could not brake in time, causing the collision.

The abbot of Wat Bang Phai noted that Phra Phinit regularly walks his alms round alone from the temple at Bang Plu intersection and travels to nearby Rung Rueang 6 village, but expressed uncertainty whether this particular crossing pattern was his usual routine.

Police said they will review closed-circuit camera footage at the scene and conduct further questioning of the driver.