Confessed shoe thief gets 18 months

Supatpong Phosakha, 52, pleaded guilty to stealing 25 pairs of shoes from a floodhit police flat in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district on the night of November 8. The shoes, worth Bt6,120 altogether, belonged to Witoon Bamrungkul.

Supatpong was arrested the following day with a sack containing the shoes in his possession.

After convicting him, the Criminal Court commuted his threeyear term to 18 months in recognition of his confession.

This year, floods have ravaged dozens of provinces and Bangkok. More than 30 communities in the capital’s Khan Na Yow, Bang Khen, Bang Khae and Thawi Watthana districts were still flooded yesterday.

“We will have the whole capital dry before the end of this month,” Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said.

Sanya Sheenimit, who heads the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Department of Drainage and Sewerage, said the construction of a concrete embankment along Maha Sawat Canal would be completed quickly and that it would be 3 metres high, not 2.5 metres as initially planned. The barrier is expected to play a crucial role in preventing flooding in western Bangkok next year.

“The height of key roads in the western zone such as Phutthamonthon 3 Road will increase by between 30 and 40 centimetres, too, because these roads can serve as embankments,” Sanya said.

According to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, 621,355 floodhit families in 30 districts of Bangkok are eligible to claim Bt5,000 compensation from the government. To qualify, homes must have been flooded for more than seven consecutive days.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) is providing free counselling and free waterleakage checks at homes of flood victims in Bangkok and its vicinity.

“You can request help by calling 1125 round the clock,” MWA assistant governor Ulysh Makmaitree said.

The 24/7 Emergency Operations Centre for Flooding, Storms and Landslides said floods had ravaged about 12.61 million rai of farmland, 215,719 rai of fish farms, and 53,567 rai of crab/clam farms this year.