Monday 2 November

From 1 November, Thai banks must run extra checks on cash deposits of five million baht or more in a day at branches.

Governor Vitai Ratanakorn said the aim is to tackle illicit funds and improve transparency, in line with the Bangkok Blueprint for Fraud-Resilient Financial Services, drawn up with the IMF and World Bank Group.

Bank of Thailand rules from 1 April already required ID and a stated purpose for withdrawals of that size; the new notification extends checks to deposits and exchanges.

How far a bank digs depends on the customer’s risk profile. It may ask where the money came from and what it is for, and request documents. Transactions that look unusual must be reported to the central bank, and banks are told to keep inconvenience to customers to a minimum.

Industry Minister Varawut Silpa-archa has suspended new industrial-waste plant licences and ordered inspections of 3,049 licensed waste factories.

The freeze covers waste treatment and disposal plants in factory categories 105 and 106. Varawut said protecting people who live near such plants is the ministry’s main priority. Public opposition to waste and e-waste facilities has been strongest in eastern Thailand.

Inspectors will also check ownership, shareholders, possible nominee arrangements and imported-goods customs declarations, working with the Commerce Ministry, the Department of Special Investigation and the Anti-Money Laundering Office.

Criminal cases and asset seizures may follow where offences are proven.

Shrapnel from Myanmar military airstrikes on a Karen National Union position damaged 17 buildings in Sop Moei, Mae Hong Son, officials said on 1 November.

Bombs fell across the Salween River from Ban Mae Sam Laep, and the blasts shattered windows, damaged roofs, cracked walls and brought down ceilings. Shops along the river closed and activity at the pier was disrupted. Residents had been warned of a possible attack along the Salween on 31 October, without a location.

The local council has prepared three evacuation sites for Thai residents and people fleeing Myanmar. Its chief urged the government to talk to Myanmar and called for bomb shelters. The Thai military assessed five shrapnel fragments as coming from bombs of 500 pounds or more, and the Air Force sent two F-16s to monitor the border.

The Meteorological Department expects thunderstorms, gusty winds and hail across upper Thailand, including Bangkok, on 5-7 November, then heavy rain in the south.

The unsettled weather reaches the Northeast first, then the North, Central region, Bangkok and the East, with isolated heavy rain. In the south, heavy to very heavy rain is forecast for 7 to 9 November. Forecasts this far out can shift.

Mariners are told to avoid thundershower areas. The department’s 24-hour line is 1182.

Police seized 90 cannabis gummies from a Bangkok shop on 1 November after a Chanthaburi family of three was hospitalised.

The Central Investigation Bureau, with the Food and Drug Administration, raided the Pathum Wan shop under a court warrant. The gummies were advertised on social media, and an employee told officers the shop had run for about a year and sold to Thais and foreign tourists. The seized products had no Thai-language labels or food registration numbers, according to reports.

The gummies go to a laboratory to check THC and CBD against legal limits, which could bring further charges. Police cite selling controlled herbs without a licence (up to one year in prison, a 20,000-baht fine or both) and selling mislabelled food (a fine of up to 30,000 baht).