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Thaksin’s daughter carries Shinawatra torch in Thai election

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the scion of Thailand’s political dynasty, seeks victory for the opposition Pheu Thai party.

After giving birth, she swiftly returned to the campaign trail, aiming to become Thailand’s youngest-ever prime minister. Paetongtarn faces the military establishment and the challenge of connecting with young voters.

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1 year ago

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BANGKOK, THAILAND –Less than a fortnight after giving birth to her second child, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the scion of Thailand’s most famous political dynasty, has a date with destiny.

As Thailand goes to the polls on Sunday, the 36-year-old hopes to deliver victory for the opposition Pheu Thai party — the latest incarnation of the movement founded by her billionaire father Thaksin Shinawatra.

Paetongtarn swiftly returned to campaigning after giving birth to her son on 1 May, albeit only by video link so far, as she seeks to become Thailand’s youngest-ever prime minister.

A political newcomer who until last year helped run the hotel arm of the ultra-rich family’s business empire, Paetongtarn is now the face of their latest battle against the military establishment that ousted her father and aunt from power.

Paetongtarn was a near-constant presence on the campaign trail before the birth of her son on 1 May, cheerfully glad-handing supporters at rallies in searing heat despite being heavily pregnant.

Two days after giving birth she presented her son to the media, hailing him as her “secret power”, and vowing to get back to the campaign trail.

On Friday she addressed hundreds of supporters in Bangkok by video link, urging them to bring Pheu Thai a landslide victory to thwart the military establishment’s attempts to keep the party from power.

Energy, youth

Paetongtarn, known in Thailand by her nickname Ung Ing, is the third child of Thaksin, a policeman turned billionaire telecoms tycoon who won two elections in the early 2000s before being ousted in a coup in 2006.

She grew up in Bangkok and studied hotel management in Britain, then in 2019 married commercial pilot Pidok Sooksawas with two glitzy receptions in the Thai capital and Hong Kong. The couple now have two children.

She shares her jet-setting lifestyle with half a million followers on Instagram, and her youth and energy put her in stark contrast to her main military-allied rivals — two strait-laced former army chiefs.

Often decked out in designer labels — or the party’s signature bright red — she has energised the Pheu Thai base, taking the Shinawatra brand to a new generation while endearing herself to older Thaksin supporters with regular expressions of filial devotion on social media.

Her charisma on the campaign trail has surprised some who had written her off as little more than a figurehead with the right name.

If successful, Paetongtarn will be the fourth member of the family to become prime minister after Thaksin, her aunt Yingluck and Uncle Somchai Wongsawat.

She will hope to avoid the fate of her father and aunt, ousted by military coups in 2006 and 2014 respectively, and her uncle, kicked out of office by a court ruling.

As well as the military, Paetongtarn faces a new challenge of her own, as she seeks to connect with young voters.

She faces a tough fight against a rival opposition outfit, the Move Forward Party, which has attracted many of those who took part in the 2020 pro-democracy street protest movement.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore hangs 14th drug convict since last year

Singapore executed Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted of drug trafficking, amid a resumption of executions in 2022. Another woman prisoner, Saridewi Djamani, faces execution.

Amnesty International urged Singapore to halt the executions, questioning the deterrent effect of the death penalty.

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1 year ago

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26 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore on Wednesday hanged a local man convicted of drug trafficking, officials said, two days before the scheduled execution of the first woman prisoner in the city-state in nearly 20 years.

Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted and sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking “not less than 49.98 grams” (1.76 ounces) of heroin, was executed at Changi Prison, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.

The 57-year-old was the 14th convict sent to the gallows since the government resumed executions in March 2022 after a two-year pause during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hussain’s previous appeals against his conviction and sentence had been dismissed, and a petition for presidential clemency was also denied.

A woman drug convict, 45-year-old Saridewi Djamani, is scheduled to be hanged on Friday, according to the local rights group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC).

She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, Djamani would be the first woman executed in Singapore since 2004, when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, according to TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws — trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or over 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the executions, saying there was no evidence the death penalty acted as a deterrent to crime.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

Singapore, however, insists that the death penalty has helped make it one of Asia’s safest countries.

Among those hanged since last year was Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked a global outcry, including from the United Nations and British tycoon Richard Branson, because he was deemed to have a mental disability.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore to execute first woman in nearly 20 years: rights groups

Singapore set to execute two drug convicts, including first woman in 20 years, despite rights groups’ calls to stop.

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1 year ago

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25 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore is set to hang two drug convicts this week, including the first woman to be sent to the gallows in nearly 20 years, rights groups said Tuesday, while urging the executions be halted.

Local rights organisation Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) said a 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of heroin is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday at the Southeast Asian city-state’s Changi Prison.

A 45-year-old woman convict who TJC identified as Saridewi Djamani is also set to be sent to the gallows on Friday. She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, she would be the first woman to be executed in Singapore since 2004 when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, said TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

TJC said the two prisoners are Singaporeans and their families have received notices setting the dates of their executions.

Prison officials have not answered emailed questions from AFP seeking confirmation.

Singapore imposes the death penalty for certain crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping.

It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

At least 13 people have been hanged so far since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the impending executions.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect or that it has any impact on the use and availability of drugs.

“As countries around the world do away with the death penalty and embrace drug policy reform, Singapore’s authorities are doing neither,” Sangiorgio added.

Singapore insists that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent.

— AFP

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