This week: sushi fraud, entry easing, university weed and a massive fish
Sushi chain fraud arrest
Police arrested the owner of the Daruma Sushi restaurant chain at Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday for alleged public fraud following the closure of its outlets soon after the sale of discount vouchers.
Metha Chalingsuk denied the charges and explained that his business had gone broke through lack of cashflow because of Covid.
Daruma Sushi had offered e-vouchers for a salmon buffet at a steeply discounted 199 baht, from 499. Salmon lovers snapped up the offer, but shortly after, all 27 branches of Daruma Sushi closed their doors.
Police believe as many as 10,000 people were drawn into the alleged scam and that total damage could exceed 100 million baht.
Entry gets easier
The unpopular Thailand Pass registration and Covid-19 insurance requirements will be lifted for all people arriving in Thailand from July 1.
Arrivals will only need to show their vaccination certificates or Covid-19 test results.
Face masks will not need to be worn in open-air places or at work where masks were not normally required.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, however, is still clinging on to his emergency decree, which has been extended 18 times in two years despite the drop in Covid cases and easing of restrictions.
Cannabis banned at universities
The sale of food and drinks with cannabis as an ingredient and recreational use of the plant are now banned in universities.
The de-listing of hemp and cannabis from the government's list of Category 5 narcotics took effect on June 9, allowing a roaring weed trade to flourish at dispensaries and pop-up cannabis trucks.
People under the age of 20 are not allowed to purchase cannabis.
Massive stingray caught
A stingray caught in the Mekong River is believed to be the world’s largest freshwater fish.
The ray, hauled out of the Mekong in Cambodia, measured four metres in length before it was returned to the river. And at 300kg, it was 7kg heavier than a Mekong giant catfish caught in Thailand in 2005.
Threats to the Mekong ecosystem, including dam construction, overfishing and climate change, mean big freshwater fish populations are generally in decline.
The stingray was fitted with a tag enabling scientists to track it for up to one year.
