Passage of Currency Amendments to be Delayed
16 August 2007

Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn has reportedly asked the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to postpone voting on the Currency Act Amendments pending efforts to educate the public. It is rumored that some NLA members have been spreading information that the amendments would allow the central bank to spend the reserves “in mischievous ways”. The Ministry of Finance, however, has stated that the main point of the amendments is to reduce the government’s burden in financing the Financial Institutions Development Fund debts which were incurred from the bailout of financial institutions.

Internal Security Bill Needed for Deep South
15 August 2007

Senior Army Advisors have reported that the Internal Security Bill is needed to help government authorities combat insurgency in the Deep South. According to media sources, the bill would permit military officers to “pursue the judicial procedure” against suspects in ways in which the Criminal Code does not currently permit.

FBA Withdrawn For Revisions
09 August 2007

The Minister of Commerce requested that the draft Foreign Business Act be withdrawn after the National Legislative Assembly voted for a “management control” version of the Foreign Business Act instead of the Ministry of Commerce’s version. The new amendments to the Foreign Business Act, introduced by NLA members, considers the overall management of a company when designating it as a Thai or foreign entity. After members of the NLA voted 76 to 64 in favor of the “management control” version, the Minister of Commerce made a motion to withdraw the Act for further amending. The management control amendments prevent foreigners from controlling Thai companies by defining company ownership in terms of management rather than share holdings, as in the current FBA, or shareholding and voting rights, as in the Ministry of Commerce’s version of the FBA amendments. According to media sources, the Ministry of Commerce will redraft the Foreign Business Act over the next few months before bringing it before the NLA.

Computer Crimes Act Goes into Effect
08 August 2007

The Computer Related Offenses Act went into effect on 16 June 2007. The Act specifies 12 general categories of computer related offenses and imbues the Minister of Information and Communications Technology, or an appointed representative, with the authority to prosecute Thai and foreign nationals who commit a designated offense from within, or in certain cases outside, the boundaries of the Kingdom of Thailand.

Many of the acts deemed offensive are related to attempting to obtain access to secured data in computer systems installed with access prevention measures. Persons who intentionally disrupt or damage the computer system or digital information of others may also be subject to prosecution, with the harshest punishments being doled out to persons whose actions are likely to cause damage to computer systems or data related to the security of the country or public safety.

The most controversial section of the act is generally regarded to be Section 14 which designates that persons committing one or more of the following five offenses will be punished with imprisonment not exceeding five years and/or a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand:

(1) Enters counterfeit or false information into a computer system in such a way that it will likely cause damages to other persons or the public.
(2) Enters false information into a computer system in such a way that it will likely cause damages to the security of the country or public disorder
(3) Enters information which is an offense of national security or an offense related to terrorism into the computer.
(4) Enters information which is of a pornographic nature into a computer system where it may be accessed by the general public.
(5) Publishes or disseminates information by computer with the knowledge that is information under (1) (2) (3) (4)

The Minister of Information and Communications Technology, or an appointed representative, must petition to the court before the dissemination of digital information may be blocked on the grounds that is a threat to national security or the morality of the public