New Report Finds Four Forces Will Shape the Future of Mobile Banking

- Governments, industry can make choices to increase financial inclusion in the next decade


The growing use of branchless banking, including mobile phone banking, is inevitable in most countries. But it's far less certain whether large numbers of the unbanked poor will use these alternative channels for financial services beyond payments, such as savings and credit. So says "Scenarios for Branchless Banking in 2020," a new report from CGAP, a microfinance group based at the World Bank, and the U.K.'s Department for International Development (DFID).UK Minister for Trade and Development Gareth Thomas today said:

"The fact that many of the 2.7 billion people who currently don't use a bank will have access to branchless banking methods such as mobile phones and the internet by 2020 is a huge step towards financial inclusion for people in developing countries.

"The poor are kept in poverty when they are financially excluded. This means they lack safe places to save money, the opportunity to invest in their future and cannot reduce the risk of their savings being lost in natural disasters.

"As this report shows, governments and the private sector both have a huge role to play in ensuring investment is made to deliver technology-based financial services to billions of poor people."

The report sets out four scenarios on the future of branchless banking. In all four scenarios, the adoption and use of branchless banking services is forecast to be higher in 2020 than it is today. But in two of the scenarios, bursts of rapid acceleration are followed by periods of falloff or flatter growth.

"Mobile banking pioneers give us hope that millions of poor people, especially those living in rural areas, finally might be served by the banking system. That said, new business models and partnerships that provide

the right incentives to banks and banking agents are vital if we are to move beyond simple payments and transfers to being able to offer other basic banking services, especially savings, that poor people need and want," said Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO of CGAP.

The report is the product of a six month scenario-building project that engaged nearly 200 leaders from the fields of technology and finance from more than 30 countries.
Snapshot of Branchless Banking Today

- Financial inclusion is growing in most countries. This is often as a result of the expansion of conventional banking channels, such as branches and automated teller machines (ATMs);
- Bricks-and-mortar growth is inherently limited by its cost.

Branchless banking presents a cheaper option but has only modest reach To date in most countries;

- Where branchless banking is occurring, several of the following factors are usually at work: (i) industry belief in future profitability; (ii) enabling regulatory change; (iii) a dramatic fall in connectivity costs; (iv) the creation of cash-handling agents using existing networks; and,

- Current hype about the potential of branchless banking is running ahead of reality. Massive sustained success in reaching the poor requires more accurate insights on poor people's financial needs and adoption behaviour. This is only now starting to become available.
Four Forces Shaping Branchless Banking for 2020

- Demographic changes -- including a greater number of younger consumers coming into the market and greater mobility at least within countries -- will be favourable for the adoption of branchless banking;

- Activist governments will play a greater role as regulators of the financial sector, providers of social safety nets, and providers or encouragers of the rollout of low-cost bank accounts and financial infrastructure. This expanded role may be helpful for financial inclusion;

- While security concerns about cash crime will continue to drive the adoption of electronic transaction channels, the rise of electronic crime will affect consumer confidence and test the risk management of
financial providers; and,

- Internet browsing via mobile phones will reduce costs of financial transactions and enable new players to offer financial services.

CGAP and GSMA researchers have found that across Africa, Latin America and Asia, the number of people who do not have a bank account but do have a mobile phone is set to grow from 1 billion today to 1.7 billion by 2012. These "unbanked mobiled" individuals represent a compelling market opportunity for service providers.
Notes to Editors

The report will be released today at DFID in London. There will a live webcast on the CGAP Technology Blog from Washington D.C. on Dec. 1. Learn more at http://technology.cgap.org.
The CGAP Technology Program is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

CGAP is an independent policy and research centre dedicated to advancing financial access for the world's poor. It is supported by over 30 development agencies and private foundations who share a common mission to alleviate poverty. Housed at the World Bank, CGAP provides market intelligence, promotes standards, develops innovative solutions and offers advisory services to governments, microfinance providers, donors, and investors. More at http://www.cgap.org.

The Department for International Development is the UK Government's department that manages Britain's aid to poor countries and works to get rid of extreme poverty. You can find out more at www.dfid.gov.uk/ .

DFID recently launched a Facilitating Access to Financial Services through Technology (FAST) project to support the introduction of "branchless banking" to mass-markets in developing countries, such as Kenya, Tanzania, Pakistan, Nigeria, India, Bangladesh and Ghana. Pilot projects will be evaluated by teams of finance and technology experts and where appropriate help and promote increases in scale or spread to different countries.

Trolley Manufacturer Among First Companies Raided for Software Piracy in Police Initiative for Creative Economy

Police officers this week intensified their efforts to reduce software piracy with a series of raids of companies accused of using unlicensed software. Police officers commented that this effort aligns with the “Creative Economy” strategy currently being promoted by the Thai government.


In the first raid of this new enforcement effort, a Chonburi-based manufacturer of airport trolleys, shopping carts, pallets and other metal products was found using unlicensed design software in the operation of their business. The software is valued at 1.2 million baht. The company’s registered assets are more than 50 million baht.

Also in Chonburi, an engineering firm that is part of a global corporation, was allegedly found with unlicensed design software valued at 290,000 baht. This company’s assets are registered at more than 200 million baht.

Members of the Economic and Cyber Crime Division (ECD) are geared up for additional raids of companies for which there is evidence of software piracy. Raids are scheduled almost daily, and should extend through the end of the year.

“Over the last month we have reviewed 1,000 investigations in which various business organizations are accused of software piracy, and now we are conducting raids against many of these companies,” said Police Colonel Sarayuth Pooltanya. “Monday was the beginning of what we see as an intense period of enforcing intellectual property rights.”

Commenting on the cases, Thai police officials say they will continue to track down violators of the Thai Copyright Act B.E. 2537 with diligence—no matter the size of the alleged infraction.

“Any business organization that uses unlicensed software is at risk of being raided for violation of the Thai Copyright Act B.E. 2537,” said Pooltanya. “The only way we can reduce Thailand’s software piracy rate is by diligently following up on complaints and taking enforcement actions against those companies who are violating the Thai Copyright Act B.E. 2537. We are confident that by aiming to reduce software piracy we can make a positive contribution to the progression of Thailand’s Creative Economy strategy.”

The ECD has made a significant impact in reducing Thailand’s software piracy rate of 76 percent. In each of the last two years, Thailand’s software piracy rate has fallen by two percent annually, a significant drop when compared to the reductions achieved in other countries during the same span of time.

Those who report the use of unlicensed software by calling 02-714-1010 or by reporting it on line are eligible to receive an award of up to 250,000 Thai Baht. The identity of the caller is protected. More information is available online at www.stop.in.th.

MADOFF'S JEWELLERY, FINERY TO BE AUCTIONED

       the trappings of Bernard Madoff's once luxurious lifestyle - jewels, furs and expensive trinkets - will be auctioned on Saturday in New York to benefit victims of Wall Street swindler.
       The catalogue contains almost 200 lots reflecting the gaudy life enjoyed by Madoff and his wife Ruth as a result of his decades-long, multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme.
       That includes no less than 17 Rolex watches, diamonds, fur coats, Hermes and Louis Vuitton handbags, crocodile-skin belts, golf clubs and numerous items of jewellery.
       On a more personal note, there will be a blue satin Mets baseball team jacket emblazoned with "Madoff" on the back. Estimated price: $500-$720 (Bt16,650-Bt24,000).
       The Madoff name appears on many other goods, ranging from beach boards to personal stationary.
       Gaston and Sheehan auctioneers are handling the sale at a Sheraton hotel in New York, but the goods were seized by the US Marshals Service to raise compensation for hundreds of investors cheated by Madoff.
       Pre-auction estimates by Gaston and Sheehan predict sales of about $500,000.
       Properties, including a Manhattan penthouse and Palm Beach retreat, have also been seized. A Long Island beach getaway sold for $8 million.
       Madoff, now serving a 150-year prison sentence for fraud, claimed just before his arrest last December to have been managing $65 million. However, much of that appears to have comprised fraudulent funds.
       The court-appointed liquidator says that investors lost $21.2 billion cash.

Varsity lecture held on "ya ba" charge

       A computer-engineering lecturer at a university was arrested in a sting operation and found with 40 ya ba tablets in Chiang Mai's Hang Dong district, police said yesterday. Provincial Police Region 5's Drug Suppression Unit arrested Sutthichat Pattarakul, 31, on the charge of possessing ya ba for use and sale to youngsters. The sting operation was launched after acquiring convincing information of his alleged drug dealing, police said. An undercover officer set up an appointment to buy ya ba from Suchrat yesterday at 1am. When he showed up to deliver the drugs, police arrested him.
       Suchart reportedly told police that he took ya ba to relax and to stay awake late every night to repair computers as a side job, said Pol Lt-Colonel Manit Janthanupongsa of Hang Dong precinct. Suchart told police that he sold ya ba to his younger acquaintances only occasionally.

Magnificent seven

       In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
       Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
       Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
       Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
       Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
       The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
       The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
       Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
       The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
       The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.

AFTER THE BOMBING, DRUG ADDICTION STRIKES GAZA

       Abu Ahmed lived through last winter's Gaza war in a daze.Though the district where he lives was invaded by Israeli ground forces and came under heavy fire, including the use of white phosphorus shells, he felt little fear.For by then, the 45-year-old unemployed father of 10 was popping tablets of the painkiller Tramadol to feed an ever more dangerous habit."Of course you care about the children but [with the drugs] you forget about yourself," he explains."You feel less frightened."
       Manufacturers warn the maximum daily dose of the synthetic opioid should be no more 300mg per day; Abu Ahmed was taking as much as 800mg - in the grip of an addiction that has rapidly spread throughout Gaza over the last two years. As the population struggles to cope with Israel closing their home to the outside world, the sometimes violent power struggles between Fatah and Hamas, and then the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead,the Tramadol pills - smuggled in through tunnels from Egypt - have provided a wel-come escape from reality. Mental health professionals say there has been a rise in the drug's usage in Gaza since the war.
       The Hamas authorities have tried to crack down on it, but the drug's severe withdrawal symptoms means it is a seriously hard habit to break. Hasan Shaban Zeyada, a senior psychologist at the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) is convinced that many of the psychological problems underlying the addiction are "the consequence of living in this situation - the siege,internal division and the war".
       Abu Ahmed used to have a good job as a driver. But like an estimated 100,000 other Gazans he lost it when Israel imposed its blockade after Hamas seized control of the strip from Fatah in June 2007."Before the war the situation was so hard. There was no work, plus I had to take care of 11 people,including my wife. All people could do was sit around in the street and drink tea or coffee."
       Depressed and suffering from headaches,he was offered a Tramadol pill by one of his friends. Several of them were using the drug for its supposed power to improve sexual performance, but for Abu Ahmed it was just a way of relieving the strain of life."When I took it, I felt very relaxed," he says.
       But Abu Ahmed soon became hooked.Supplies of Tramadol had surged after Hamas militants blew a breach in the southern wall between Gaza and Egypt in January 2008."You could get it at pharmacies and there were people selling it on the street," he says.He quickly graduated from taking one pill a day to three or four and then, though he could ill afford it, as many as eight.
       A combination of a doubling in price to about 185 baht for a strip of 10 tablets and a Hamas edict (belated and far from effective)that pharmacies should not sell the drug without a prescription persuaded Abu Ahmed that he had to stop."I tried to get away from it but I couldn't. I had a headache, pain in every part of my body. I had to go the bathroom every 10 minutes. I was sweating. Then you take one pill and you feel better of course."
       It was about six weeks after that that Abu Ahmed, who has a history of drug abuse with hashish, turned, on the advice of a friend, to the GCMHP, the pioneering Palestinian organisation started in 1990 and still directed by the territory's leading psychiatrist and civil society spokesman Dr Eyad Sarraj. With the help of counselling from the group's trained therapists, as well as controlled and decreasing doses of alternative drugs like Avitan, he has stopped taking Tramadol. At the height of his addiction, Abu Ahmed was going without eating for up to three days and his weight dropped to 58kg. Now it is back up to 85kg.
       "They [the GCMHP] made me feel I was in safe hands," explains a grateful Abu Ahmed,adding that the agency arranged for food aid for his family while he was recovering."They showed respect. And they came to my house to tell my family how they should cope with me when I became nervous and angry."
       Yet for all its high professional standards,the organisation cannot help more than a minority of addicts. Although some unofficial estimates put the number of drug addicts as high as many thousands, the GCMHP's Mr Zeyada, who trained at Tel Aviv University,will not, as a scientist, hazard a figure. But he says there is a shortage of mental health provision in Gaza and that "GCMHP cannot take responsibility for the whole community".
       Although there has been improvement in mental health awareness in the territory,many residents in socially conservative Gaza baulk at the idea of seeking treatment for psychological problems."The level of stigma is so high," he explains. Instead, many patients go to their GPs reporting physical problems like headaches, back or abdominal pain, and the doctors,"because of a lack of knowledge about psychological disorders", simply prescribe analgesic drugs - of which Tramadol is a prime example - and "after a while the patients become addicts or abusers".
       Operation Cast Lead has been over for nine months, but the return to a state of siege, with unemployment at a record 45%,has left a sense of "helplessness and powerlessness" among residents, compounded by the fact that there is no guarantee the war will not be repeated.
       For women, the sense that they exist only to serve their children and husbands makes them especially vulnerable to depression and the use of medication like Valium and Xanax. For men, the feelings of powerlessness and loss of masculinity are all too often caused by an inability to protect their children in war or provide for them in relative peace."For a father who cannot fulfil the basic needs of his children it is not easy, especially in a society like Palestinian society," says Mr Zeyada.
       Many young people, he adds, are also vulnerable."They don't have hope, they cannot do anything for the future. They are disappointed, depressed, helpless and powerless. They can't find a job, they can't plan for the future, or [afford to] get married."

Clampdown on illegal software use

       At least 1,000 companies are being monitored for potential software copyright infringement by the Thai police in a nationwide drive to reduce license violations by corporate end-users.
       Officers from the Economic and Cyber Crime Division said the 1,000 investigations are being conducted based on information suggesting companies have violated the Thai Copyright Act. This information has come from a collection of tips, some anonymous, typically from sources within the targeted companies.
       Leads are also being shared by the Business Software Alliance, which runs a toll-free hotline number and a website for informants to report the use of pirated and unlicensed software in businesses.Other software developers also provide police officials with leads and tips about potential offenders.
       Police then review and verify any evidence received. If they believe they have a case, police officials then obtain search warrants and conduct raids of company premises.
       "Business organisations will have to ensure that they are compliant with the Thai Copyright Act," said Police Colonel Sarayuth Pooltanya, deputy commander of the Economic and Cyber Crime Divi-sion (ECD).
       "On October 26 we will begin raiding companies based on our information about software piracy taking place."
       August marked one of the ECD's most successful months, with 15 raids netting 54.5 million baht worth of bootleg software. Raided companies came from a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, real estate, automotive,shipping, design and engineering.

MAN TO DIE FOR UIGHUR BRAWL

       One man was sentenced to death and a seocnd handed a life-prison term over a factory brawl in southern China that sparked deadly unrest in the northwest Xinjiang region, authorities said yesterday.
       Nine others were given jail terms of five to eight years for their role in the fight in Guangdong province in June that left two Uighur men dead, a statement on the website of the provincial high court read.
       The brawl erupted between members of the mainly Muslim Uighur minority and Han Chinese workers at a Hong Kong-owned toy factory over Internet rumours about an alleged rape. A subsequent protest by the Uighur community in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi ahainst the factory brawl descended into violence on July 5, with at least 197 people killed, most of them Han Chinese, according to the government.
       A Han Chinese man, Xiao Jianhua, was sentenced to death after the court accused him of being the instigator of the factory fight, linciting his co-workers to join in and stopping medical workers from treating the injured.
       The statement said Xiao and his accomplices used tools such as iron bars to beat the Uighur men, killing the two workers, seriously injuring three others and slightly hurting six.

Thai brothel tale haunts minister

       France's culture minister, already under fire for defending Roman Polanski who faces sex charges, has been attacked for his memoir which describes sex with Thai brothel "boys".
       Frederic Mitterrand, the 62-year-old nephew of late president Francois Mitterrand,wrote a book described by its publisher as a "novel of autobiographical inspiration" in which the first-person narrator recounts sexual adventures with Thai boys.
       "At a time Mitterrand:when France Memoir attacked is engaged with Thailand to fight against the curse of sex tourism, here we have a government minister who himself explains that he is a consumer," opposition Socialist Party spokesman Benoit Hamon said.
       The far-right National Front Party called for Mr Mitterrand's resignation, saying his 2005 book La Mauvaise Vie The Bad Life )had left "an indelible stain on the government".
       The passages in The Bad Life that have sparked controversy deal with the hero's visits to brothels and boy bars in Southeast Asia.

Death to the death penalty

       Late last month, on a quiet Monday afternoon,warders locked down Bang Khwang prison and prepared for two executions. A pair of convicted drug dealers, Bundit Charoenwanich,45, and Jirawat Phumpruek,52, were given one hour to contact their families, eat a last meal and make their peace in this world. Then they were taken to the execution room and injected with a series of drugs, the last of which ended their lives.
       It was the first time in six years that authorities had ordered an actual execution. They should be the last such prisoners to die by execution. It is time that Parliament and the government end all use of the death penalty.
       There are several problems with judicial executions,and no acceptable advantage. Carrying out a death sentence always risks the chance of killing the wrong person. Police, prosecutors and courts are dedicated and efficient, but not infallible. There have been plenty of wrongful convictions over the decades of Thai justice.If even one death sentence is wrongfully carried out,the death would be on the conscience of the nation. A wrongful conviction already takes months or years from an innocent person's life. Nothing could be worse than taking his or her life.
       The main reason to abolish the death penalty for terrible crimes is that it brings no true result. Justice and punishment, in the form of imprisonment, parole or work programmes, are meant to prevent further crime. To an extent, they work. While many criminals continue their ways after release, others "go straight"so that they can live freely, without worry about being imprisoned. Crimes are prevented daily by the presence of police and the courts, as would-be robbers, speeders,thieves and others stick to the law in order to avoid punishment.
       Study after study over the past 50 years has proved that the death sentence is no deterrent to the terrible crimes it punishes, such as drug trafficking, premeditated murder, violent and sexual abuse of children. While proponents of the death penalty argue facetiously that execution will assure that such criminals do not carry out their acts again, there are many ways to assure that.Indeed, no rational person would accept the end of the death penalty without parallel assurances that such violent acts against society can be punished by true life imprisonment, without early release.
       Abolishing the death penalty in Thailand will be an unpopular act by the government, without doubt. Even in advanced Western countries, the majority of citizens always have opposed the abolition of the ultimate penalty. Yet such abolition around the world, from Canada to Cambodia, and from Austria to Australia,has never caused an upsurge of any kind in capital crimes. If anything, the threat of lengthy, even lifetime incarceration seems to be a greater deterrent than the former death penalty. Indeed, in recent cases in the United States, federal prisoners in so-called Supermax prisons have sued the government against their lifetime sentences under harsh, maximum security rules.
       The only remaining argument in favour - that it provides an emotional release of sorts for victims and a horrified public - is unacceptable. Justice is not a form of vengeance, like some feel-good ending to a movie. Law and punishment are serious matters.
       Last year, a majority of the United Nations General Assembly voted for the first time to oppose the death penalty. For now, the government should order a true moratorium banning more executions, pending a rewrite of the criminal code to ban the death penalty altogether.

Teacher-pupil lesbian affair ends with jail

       A teacher at a private school who said she was "pressured" into a lesbian affair by a 15-year-old pupil,was jailed for 15 months yesterday.
       Music teacher Helen Goddard,26, of Greenwich, southeast London, pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual activity with the girl between February and July,earlier this year.
       Southwark Crown Court heard how Goddard, who was nicknamed "the Jazz Lady", befriended the youngster as they met for coffee after lessons.
       Their relationship eventually became sexual, a development the youngster's parents condemned as a "complete betrayal" of trust.
       The five-month affair included an overnight stay at her home and a romantic weekend in Paris, the court heard. Their forbidden trysts remained a secret until someone sent the school an anonymous tip-off about their relationship.

Man grows ganja on middle of highway

       A man has been arrested for allegedly growing marijuana on the dividing strip of a major highway in Greece.
       The 35-year-old was apprehended when he arrived by car to tend his "farm"in the middle of the six-lane highway connecting Athens to the northern port city of Thessaloniki.
       Police said he had been harvesting 42 marijuana plants, some of which had reached a height of 1.8m, around 70km south of Thessaloniki.
       Officials also discovered a small quantity of marijuana in his home.
       The plants were uprooted and confiscated by police.
       The man is due to face charges before a public prosecutor.

Carer jailed for sex attack

       A carer at a former children's home was jailed for two years yesterday for sexually attacking teenage girls, the Press Association reported.
       Gordon Wateridge, nicknamed "the Perv" by his victims, carried out the attacks in the 1970s at the Haut de la Garenne children's home in Jersey.
       The 78-year-old, described as a "persistent sexual bully" during his trial last month, was found guilty of eight charges of indecent assault and one charge of assault at Jersey's Royal Court.
       Youngsters sent to the home were vulnerable and suffered from a variety of problems. But Wateridge, then in his 40s, failed in his obligation to look after them, the court heard.
       He would grope girls' breasts, kiss them on the neck and, in one instance,forced his hand inside a victim's underwear.
       Wateridge, who was born in Croydon,south London, was the first person to be charged in connection with a historic child abuse investigation on the island.
       One victim repeatedly broke down in tears in court as she recalled how Wateridge would regularly lean out and grab her and other girls as they walked past the home's snooker table.
       The woman, who was taken into the home after her father unexpectedly died,said Wateridge would push her on to the snooker table and grope her breasts and inner thighs.
       "It wasn't right ... I was a girl of 13 or 14, he was a big man, I would be shouting at him to stop," she said.
       Passing sentence yesterday, Judge Christopher Pitchers said:"What he did was rightly described in the trial as sexual bullying." It was true, he added, that the acts carried out by Wateridge were at the "lower end" of the sentencing guidelines.
       He said:"They were vulnerable because they were children and because they were placed in the home without the support of a loving family. They were entitled to expect care, love and kindness but in fact they received sexual bullying and unkindness."

Illegal stimulant upgraded to type-1 drug

       The Food and Drug Administration has reclassified the illicit stimulant dimethylamphetamine a type-1 drug in an effort to arrest its growing popularity.
       The stimulant is related to methamphetamine but has a reduced effect.
       The addictive drug was previously classified a type-2 drug, which carried a jail sentence of up to 20 years under the Narcotics Act for anyone caught smuggling it. The smuggling of type-1 drugs carries the death penalty.
       The FDA has upgraded the classification of dimethylamphetamine to match methamphetamine, mainly due to the increase in smuggling of the drug.
       The suggestion to elevate its classification to type-1 was made by the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, FDA secretary-general Pipat Yingseree said.
       "We have to keep seeking ways to stamp out new trends in the smuggling of drugs," he said.
       "Drug dealers were switching from trading in methamphetamine to dimethylamphetamine mainly because of the lenient penalties."
       Mr Pipat said the drug's mild effect,compared with methamphetamine, also enabled dealers to sell more.
       Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai has approved a ministerial regulation classifying dimethylamphetamine as a type-1 drug.
       Its enforcement is expected to take effect within 180 days after its publication in the Royal Gazette, he said.
       Kobkul Chantavaro, an adviser to the ONCB, said traces of dimethylamphetamine have occasionally been found in ice, or crystal methamphetamine.

Foreigners accused of B50m jewellery theft

       Three foreigners have been arrested and accused of stealing diamond jewellery worth 50 million baht from an exhibition in Bangkok at the weekend.
       The three suspects allegedly stole the jewellery from a booth at the 44th Bangkok Gem and Jewelry Fair held at the Muang Thong Thani convention and exhibition centre on Saturday.
       They are Daransa Waren Singh Ca-manro,22, of Peru, and Matinev Alexis,29, and Borotiros Casanida Jinee, 54,both of Mexico.
       Officers from Provincial Police Region 1 took the three into custody in Pattaya yesterday as they were about to return a car to a rental firm.
       A police source said the three colluded with two others to carry out the theft from Aphiwat Tiyasuksawat,25.
       The theft allegedly took place as Mr Aphiwat was away and only his mother,Sopha, was staffing the booth.
       The stolen items included 60 diamond rings,10 pairs of diamond earrings, eight bracelets and five diamond pendants.
       The suspects, who were found carrying fake passports, entered Thailand from Malaysia through Sadao district in Songkhla province.
       The other two suspects were seen boarding a bus for Sadao in a bid to flee into Malaysia with the jewellery, police said.

CSD opens inquiry into missing pair

       Relatives of a businessman and a newspaper reporter in Nakhon Ratchasima have asked the Crime Suppression Division to investigate their suspected abduction.
       The disappearance of the pair is believed to be linked to a senior police officer.
       Ananwat Atthanapol,45, who is involved in a direct sales business, and reporter Naret Yuwarat are believed to have been abducted by their rivals in a court case.
       Mr Ananwat's nephew, Pasakorn Punnampet, said the people he suspected of abducting the pair might be connected with a senior police officer in the province who is involved in the case.
       The pair have been missing since Sept 9 after appearing at Nakhon Ratchasima Municipal Court where Mr Ananwat was facing an embezzlement charge,Mr Pasakorn said.
       Mr Pasakorn said he lodged a complaint with the CSD because he was unhappy with the progress of a previous complaint filed with police in the province. He said he suspected there might be irregularities in the case and wanted the CSD's help.
       The person who accused Mr Ananwat of embezzlement is reportedly a friend of a police officer with a rank of colonel in Police Region 3, covering the lower Northeast, according to the complaint.
       "My uncle [Mr Ananwat] had told me before his disappearance a senior police officer handling the robbery case threatened to kill him if he didn't submit to the charge," Mr Pasakorn said.
       Mr Ananwat made an appointment on Sept 9 with his lawyer at a shopping mall. While he went to withdraw money from an ATM, someone phoned him,and he left the mall.
       His lawyer said passers-by told him he was forced into a car by a group of men who looked like "plain-clothes police".

Meeting turns to mayhem as tempers flare

       A meeting on the reassignment of senior police officers has erupted into a heated argument, forcing its closure after just 90 minutes.
       Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who chaired the Police Commission's qualifications screening board yesterday in his position as acting prime minister, refused to allow the meeting to continue because of the arguments.
       Deputy police chief Priewpan Damapong said after the meeting the screening board members had been unable to reach an agreement on the reshuffle list.
       Other members of the board included Pol Gens Wongkot Suthep: No Maneerin, Wirot agreement Phaholwech,Chumpol Manmai, Jongrak Juthanond,Watcharapol Prasarnratchakit and Pateep Tanprasert.
       The meeting yesterday considered the reshuffle list of police generals below the rank of national police chief proposed by acting police chief Thanee Somboonsap.
       Pol Gen Watcharapol, who is also the police spokesman, said several Police Commission members suggested during the meeting that the reshuffle be considered after the government had appointed the new national police chief.
       He said the board members all had different suggestions and Mr Suthep adjourned the meeting after failing to arrive at a consensus.
       The Police Commission has yet to appoint a new police chief to succeed Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon,who resigned after the the National Anti-Corruption Commission charged him with criminal and disciplinary offences over the Oct 7 protest crackdown.
       Pol Gen Thanee, who is to retire at the end of this month, has been serving as acting police chief.
       Pol Gen Watcharapol said board member Pol Gen Pichit Khuantechakup, a police affairs expert, was the first to suggest that the reshuffle of
       the police generals be done after the appointment of the national police chief.
       Pol Gen Pichit's suggestion won support from several other Pichit: Supports board mempolice reshuffle bers including AttorneyGeneral Chaikasem Nitisiri, Pol Capt Purachai Piumsombun, Pol Lt Gen Amnuay Ditthakawee and Pol Gen Bunpen Bampen.
       Consequently, Mr Suthep decided to adjourn the meeting, Pol Gen Watcharapol said.
       Mr Suthep said all of the senior police officers had agreed the reshuffle should be concluded by the end of this month.
       But it did not matter if that could not be achieved, he said.
       Police sources yesterday speculated Mr Suthep had decided to adjourn the heated meeting because he and his allies were unhappy with the reshuffle list.

OKAY SOUGHT FOR MILITARY PURCHASES

       A request for a huge new defence budget for the Army and the Navy is being submitted to the Cabinet today for initial approval.
       In addition, the Royal Thai Police is seeking to buy 16,045 sets of antiriot gear worth Bt48 milllion, including 18,445 of a special type of rubber baton at Bt1,000 apiece.
       The Army wants to buy 1,474 2.5tonne Jeepstyled vehicles. The selected model, a Japanese brand, is priced at Bt3,388,500 apiece, totalling Bt4.99 billion.
       The Navy wants to enhance its antisubmarine capability, by modifying a model of a USmade sea helicopter and buying a number of sonar dip buoys at Bt989million, in a tiedover allocation for the next two years.
       In addition, three coastal patrol ships are being sought at a cost of Bt1.6 billion, also in a tiedover two year allocation.
       To keep paying for defence contracts, both past deals and those in the future, the Defence Ministry is asking for another Bt3.04 billion. Of the entire amount, Bt610 million will be spent this year, with the remainder in the next three years in tiedover allocations.

Making the case for the prosecution

       Public prosecutors who are under the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) play a very important role in the Thai judicial system, but not many people know much about their powers and responsibilities. The Public Prosecution Department (PPD) was established on April 1, 1893, as part of the Ministry of Justice. In 1991, the PPD was changed to the OAG and made responsible to the prime minister. The change in name reflects the broad duties of the office,which are not restricted to criminal prosecution.
       The 2007 constitution provided that the OAG become an independent organisation.To guarantee its independence, especially in case handling, the OAG was separated from the executive branch and now reports directly to Parliament.
       Kayasit Pitsawongprakan, director-general of the OAG's northern Bangkok Criminal Litigation Department, is a man with a very big responsibility, with more than 100 prosecutors and other personnel under his supervision.At any one time he has ultimate responsibility for the proper prosecution of hundreds of cases - some very important and often with political ramifications.
       Mr Kayasit joined the government service 37 years ago and has since held a number of important positions, mostly in the field of litigation. Despite the workload, he enjoys his job and looks forward to two more years in public service before his retirement.
       In an exclusive interview for Spectrum Mr Kayasit was more than happy to answer questions on a number of subjects - some regarded as sensitive - as put to him by Maxmilian Wechsler .What is the role of a public prosecutor in Thailand?We are the lawyers for the state, charged with protecting and helping the people. The role of the public prosecutor is not only to litigate criminal cases, but also to uphold the rights of the people.What is your responsibility?I have responsibility over the northern Bangkok area. Like the police, the Office of Criminal Litigation divides Bangkok into three areas - northern, southern and Thonburi - each with its own director-general. All prosecutors in Thailand are under the Office of the Attorney-General.What falls under your jurisdiction?I am covering criminal cases sent to us by the Metropolitan Police, the Crime Suppression Division and the Crime Against Children,Juveniles and Women Suppression Division.We are also in contact with the Special Branch and other police agencies. We don't handle drugs-related cases. These are under the responsibility of the Department of Narcotics Litigation, which covers all three Bangkok areas.What are the powers of the prosecutor?Basically, after the police complete their investigation, they send the case to the prosecutor, who will process and forward it to the court. We will look at the case and issue a prosecution order or direct the police to do some additional investigating or to examine a witness if we think that more evidence is needed.
       We can also issue a non-prosecution order if the evidence is not sufficient to prosecute and more can't be obtained.
       Furthermore, we can also summon police offices or witnesses to obtain more information. If the police cannot arrest a defendant,for whatever reason, and they have strong reason to believe he/she committed a crime,we can order them to make the arrest.
       The public prosecutor in Thailand cannot arrest anyone. This is the duty of the police.We don't have our own investigation team attached to our office either.Can you summon anyone to be your witness?We can summon only witnesses whom the police have already interviewed; we cannot approach those outside the police investigation.How powerful is the state prosecutor in Thailand?In comparison to the US, the prosecutors are more powerful there. Among other powers,they can investigate a case right from the beginning. For example, if a murder is reported,they can access the crime scene and begin an investigation right away. We can't do that here.How many cases did you prosecute in 2008?The Department of Criminal Litigation handled 16,605 cases.How many of the cases involved foreigners?Not more than 10%. Are the number of cases you are receiving from the police to prosecute going up or down this year?It is going up because the crime rate is increasing.What are the most common crimes you prosecute?In general, cases of larceny make up the biggest group, followed by assault and sexually related offences like rape and crimes against minors such as child abuse. We are also handling political cases. From what I have heard from my colleagues in the provinces, larceny is the most common crime there as well.What cases are the most difficult to prosecute?Forgeries of documents, including passports.They are difficult to prosecute because we don't have enough facilities to determine whether a document is real, counterfeit or altered.
       We have a police scientific department to do the job, but the quality of the equipment is not so good. Also, it is sometimes difficult to get evidence from nationals and officials of other countries.What is your relationship with the police?Our co-operation with Royal Thai Police is excellent. No complaints there.What has been your biggest case so far?There are many to choose from. However,one of the most important involves an attack against the property of the president of the Privy Council, General Prem Tinsulanonda,that occurred in July 2007. The Office of the Attorney-General has decided to prosecute this case, which involves 15 defendants from the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). We are waiting for them to report themselves to the police.
       Another big case is the incident where members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) entered the premises of the National Broadcasting Service of Thailand in August 2008. We will prosecute this case as well.According to media reports there has been an increase of lese majeste cases from previous years.Can you comment on this?
       Yes, there has been an increase in this type of offence, partly because of the progress in technology, as it is now very easy to post messages on the internet or to send an email.Do you think that the increase might also be caused by politicians eager to settle a score, using the lese majesty law as their political tool?I don't think so. Lese majeste is usually committed on a website, in an email or during a speech.Do you have the authority to close a website?No, we don't. This is the responsibility of the Information and Technology Department.What is acceptable to you as evidence when someone allegedly makes remarks that constitute lese majeste during a speech?The evidence is usually a tape recording or CD and will be given to us by the police.It is believed among the Thai public and foreigners that every lese majeste accusation has to be prosecuted and sent to the court. Is this correct? This is incorrect. We don't have to accept every case and we can also reject it if the evidence is not sufficient. This has happened on several occasions.
       A lese majeste case will not go automatically to the court. It is not fair that an individual has to go to jail just because they are accused of lese majeste. We have to look at the evidence.How many lese majeste cases are you handling now?The police have forwarded to us about 20 cases, all involving Thai nationals.What about the case involving the whole board of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT),who were accused of lese majeste recently?This case is still under investigation by the police and has not been sent to us yet.What is going on with the case against former Prime Minister's Office minister Jakrapob Penkair,who allegedly made a lese majeste remark during a speech at the FCCT in August 2007?This case is with us but we have not yet forwarded it to the court. He was due to see us on September 4, but his lawyer said that Mr Jakrapop couldn't make it as he was engaged in an important mission abroad. He should show up by October 7. This is his last chance. If not, a warrant will be issued for his arrest.Is it your own decision which lese majeste cases should be sent to the court?Every case, whatever the offence, is considered for prosecution not only by myself but by a committee set up by our department. We will look very carefully at the evidence.Have the police forwarded you reports on the cases involving the occupation of Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports by the PAD in 2008, and the attempted assassination of PAD co-leader Sondhi Limthongkul this year?Not yet. Those cases are still under investigation by the police.Why has it taken so long to send the reports?I can't say exactly, but the cases involve so many issues concerning the evidence. It is a time-consuming affair. The police must question many witnesses, for example. Therefore,the police have to be very careful about how they handle everything.Are you handling cases involving the murders of the Saudi Arabian nationals committed here during 1989?Some of these cases are under our jurisdiction,and some defendants have been sent before the court. In some of the cases we issued a non-prosecution order. But as far as I know,the government has decided to re-investigate the cases now handled by the Department of Special Investigations (DSI). Any prosecutions will be handled by the Department of Special Litigations.Is there any problem with corruption in your department?Not at all. Our personnel are well educated and carefully chosen to work as prosecutors.However, I must admit that there was one isolated case, but we dismissed that particular individual immediately.Are you aware of cases where an attempt was made by people with power to influence your staff in some way?We are not influenced by politicians, police or military people. We try to help and to protect the people and the victims.Can a member of the public lodge a complaint with you, for instance, when they can't get help from the police?No, we don't provide such a service.Is there any time limitation for the police on submitting a case to you?The criminal procedure under the law is that if the alleged offender is released on bail, the police have 180 days to submit the case to us.If the person is - for whatever reason - not bailed out, it depends on the type of case. If it is a serious offence - with a possible imprisonment of more than 10 years - the case must be submitted to us within 84 days. However, if the maximum sentence is under 10 years the police must submit the case within 48 days.What will happen if the police do not submit the case to you within those time periods?If the alleged offender is not out on bail the court must release him/her, but it doesn't mean the case is automatically cancelled. It means only that the police don't have authority to keep the alleged offender in custody.In the cases of Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports, the police have been investigating for more than 180 days?In these cases, we haven't started counting the days because the police haven't yet arrested anyone. Whenever they arrest someone then we will start counting. Theoretically the police can investigate a case for a very long time if they don't arrest anyone. The statue of limitations is up to 20 years before a case is dismissed. This, however, applies only to serious offences such as murder.What more powers would you like to have?We would like to have additional powers similar to the ones that the public prosecutor (district attorney) has in the US. For example,being involved in a case right from the beginning. I am talking only about important cases.
       Then we wouldn't have to wait until the police submit their report to us. Right now the police are doing everything.
       If, for example, we could have looked into the Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports cases and attempted assassination of Mr Sondhi right from the beginning, maybe there would have been more progress.
       "A lese majeste case will not go automatically to the court. It is not fair that an individual has to go to jail just because they are accused of lese majeste. We have to look at the evidence KAYASIT PITSAWONGPRAKAN, left

Ohio execution on hold after vein troubles

       US executioners couldn't find a suitable vein in which to inject drugs to kill a 53-year-old murderer,who then got a one-week reprieve from the governor so Ohio prison officials can figure out what to do.
       "This is unchartered territory for us,"prison spokeswoman Julie Walburn said of the difficulty in killing convicted rapist and murderer Romell Broom.
       Governor Ted Strickland issued the reprieve at the request of the prison warden overseeing the execution chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. Ms Walburn said prison officials would consult "several people" about how to perform Broom's execution, which by state law must be done by lethal injection.
       Broom is to be executed for the rape and murder of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton in Cleveland in 1984.
       It was not the first time Ohio has had difficulty executing a condemned man.
       In May 2006, Joseph Clark sat up to tell his executioners the drugs intended to render him unconscious were not working.

Militant arrested in pre-dawn NYC raid

       New York City police and the FBI raided homes in the borough of Queens early on Monday as part of an investigation that has tracked a man suspected of sympathising with al-Qaeda,officials said.
       Law enforcement officials provided few details, calling it part of an ongoing investigation by a joint terrorism task force, but members of US Congress briefed by the FBI said there was no imminent danger.
       Authorities launched the raids after a suspect they had under surveillance met with people in Queens, the ethnically diverse borough across the East River from Manhattan.
       Neighbours at one apartment building,where the home of five Afghan men was searched, described an operation in which heavily armed FBI agents arrived in unmarked vehicles and stormed the building early in the morning.
       "It was scary. I wasn't going to stop the FBI and ask them what was going on," said Melissa Khan,28.
       At another building, agents took away four Bosnians - a couple and their two adult children - from an apartment they have shared for three years, said an aide to City Councilman John Liu.
       At least two of the Bosnians appeared to have returned home by Monday night.A man who answered the door refused to speak to reporters.
       A neighbour said she believed a son of the couple, a student at Queens College, remained in detention.
       At the home of the five Afghanis, a man who identified himself as Amanulla Akvari, a 30-year-old taxi driver, said the FBI raided the apartment at 2.30am.
       He was brought in for questioning and released and said he had no idea why his home was targeted. He believed that one of his roommates was arrested.
       "[Investigators] are very good now at tracking potentially dangerous actions and this was preventive," said Charles Schumer, a US Senator from New York who was briefed by FBI officials.
       Peter King, a Republican congressman from New York who was also briefed,said the main suspect "was being watched and concern grew as he met with a group of individuals in Queens over the weekend".
       "There is very good reason to believe that there is a connection to al-Qaeda ...[officers] would not have moved as quickly as they did if they did not believe there was real potential," he added.
       The New York Times , citing a senior law enforcement official, said authorities had uncovered a small group who espoused a militant ideology aligned with al-Qaeda. Neither a specific plot nor a target of any planned attack had been detected, but their activities had aroused suspicion.

Taipei seeks return of Chen's millions

       Taiwan officials are seeking Switzerland's consent to return $21 million frozen in two bank accounts that a court said the island's ex-president illegally obtained and laundered.
       The Taipei District Court last week sentenced former president Chen Shuibian to life in prison for corruption. He was found guilty of embezzling $3.15 million (107 million baht) during his 2000-2008 presidency and receiving bribes worth at least $9 million, as well as money laundering and document forgery. Chen rode to power in 2000 on a promise to clean up corruption.
       The China Times quoted prosecutors yesterday who said they will send the court's verdict to Swiss judicial authorities with a request the money be returned to Taiwan's government.
       In 2008, Swiss authorities ordered the bank accounts of Chen's son and daughter-in-law, Chen Chih-chung and Huang Zui-jing, frozen on suspicion of money laundering.
       The court's verdict said the $21 million laundered abroad included money Chen and his wife had embezzled from a special presidential fund and bribes a Taiwanese businessman paid them in connection with a government land deal.
       The verdict said the couple instructed their son and daughter-in-law to deposit the money in accounts in Zurich-based RBS Coutts Bank AG and Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) SA.
       Chen and his wife have denied the charges, saying the money was left over from political donations.
       For the past year, the legal saga has riveted the island of 23 million people.
       Dozens of Chen supporters protested yesterday outside the residence of Tsai Shou-hsiun, the presiding judge in the graft case, saying the verdict was politically motivated. Some held signs bearing the Chinese character for "Shame".
       The protesters also said Chen was unfairly confined to jail during his trial.They pointed to a decision to change the three-judge Taipei District Court panel after it originally freed him on his own recognizance following his indictment last December. The new judges,led by Mr Tsai, accepted the prosecutors'argument that Chen was a flight risk.
       Taiwanese prosecutors are mulling more legal action against the island's former president and his wife.
       Investigators are examining Chen's alleged role in six more corruption cases,ranging from the embezzlement of secret diplomatic funds to taking bribes and money laundering, the China Times said.Chen insists the corruption charges are a political vendetta by the Chinafriendly Kuomintang government for his lifelong push to declare formal independence from China.
       Chen and his wife were ordered to pay a combined fine of T$500 million (518 million baht).

NEW YORK'S 400-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE

       The victim: John Colman. Not much is known about him,much less about his murder.His body was hastily buried and has never been found. A weapon was recovered, but it vanished.The only account of the crime is secondhand, pieced together from a few witnesses,some of whom might have harboured a grudge. The chief suspects were singled out because of racial profiling but were never questioned. No one was ever prosecuted.
       It was on Sept 6,1609-400 years ago when this, the first recorded murder in what became metropolitan New York, was committed. Colman was killed only four days after the first Dutch and English sailors had arrived.
       "There's a reason it's still a cold case,"said Detective Michael J Palladino, president of the city detectives' union, mulling the scant evidence that remains today.
       Some 300 people have been murdered in the city so far in 2009. Typically, half the homicides are solved in the first year and 20% the year after. Relatively few are solved decades after they occur, although some are.So it's about time modern police brains were brought to bear on the murder of John Colman. Some current and former detectives gamely agreed to apply their skills to the case during interviews.
       In addition to Mr Palladino, they were Joseph A Pollini, who commanded the Police Department's cold-case homicide squad and now teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and William McNeely, a Manhattan South homicide detective. A couple of historians were consulted to add context.
       The facts as they are known (maybe):Colman was an accomplished sailor, one of a handful of Englishmen in Henry Hudson's largely Dutch crew of 16. They sailed into New York Harbor early that September on the 85-foot-long Half Moon , searching for a northwest passage to Asia, and anchored somewhere between Coney Island and Sandy Hook.
       The only contemporary account of the murder was a journal kept by the first mate,Robert Juet (sometimes spelled Jouet and Ivet). His only sources were the four survivors of a reconnaissance mission that Colman had commanded, and their version was taken
       at face value. Mr Palladino saw a problem right there."In this day and age you wouldn't accept that as an answer,"he said."It doesn't seem that there was any intention to investigate."
       Sept 6 was a Sunday.After morning prayers,Hudson dispatched Colman and four Dutch crewmen in a 16-footlong shallop.They ranged as far as 18 miles past sweet-smelling flora to explore what may have been Kill Van Kull and Newark Bay, or even farther north.
       Two 40-foot dugout canoes approached, one with 16 Indians and the other with 14. The four Dutch crewmen later said they were "set upon". They were apparently unable to ignite a small cannon because of rain, but probably mustered enough firepower from muskets to frighten the Indians, the historians suggested. The Indians fired arrows pointed with sharp stones. Two crewmen were wounded.Colman, whose chest may have been sheathed in armour, was struck in the neck and bled to death.
       The survivors rowed for hours searching for the Half Moon . Finally, at 10am on Sept 7, they returned to the ship with Colman's body. He was buried later that day, either in Coney Island, Staten Island, Sandy Hook or Keansburg, New Jersey, at a spot that Hudson named Colman's Point.
       The confusion about a burial site created issues for Mr Pollini."We would have to try and find the body," he said.
       "Upon examining the body, we'd find out how exactly he was killed," Mr Pollini said."Was it an arrow the Indians shot, or blunt force by some sort of instrument that was made to look like an Indian arrow by one of the men on the ship who didn't like him?Two other people were injured. They would be key witnesses. We'd examine their injuries and see how they were inflicted. Everyone on the ship would have to be interviewed.Were there any disgruntled employees, any animosity toward him? Was this an opportune time to get rid of him?"
       Apparently none of those questions were asked in 1609.
       Circumstantial evidence suggests that the answers might have revised the record described by Juet and embellished by historians.
       "The many complaints Hudson and Juet made suggest that the Half Moon crew was a typical blend of sociopaths and working men," said Kathleen Hulser, public historian at the New York Historical Society.
       Juet, whom Hudson himself described as mean-tempered and whom one historian would call his "evil genius", later led a mutiny against Hudson.
       Colman had been recruited by Hudson,apparently as his second mate, after serving as a trusted boatswain on an earlier voyage.Unlike Hudson, he spoke Dutch, although,in a letter to his wife, he contemptuously wrote of the Dutch crew:"Looking at their fat bellies, I fear they think more highly of eating than of sailing."
       Only two days before the murder, in the crew's first encounter with the Indians along the river, some came aboard the Half Moon ,"seeming very glad of our coming", Juet wrote.
       Still, they were probably wary of the new arrivals. The Indians might have heard of Hudson's crew's actions a few weeks before in Maine where, Juet wrote, the crew dragged the Indians from their homes "and took the spoil of them, as they would have done us".Or perhaps they had heard of the explorer Samuel de Champlain's recent bloody encounter with Indians to the north.
       "It might have been retaliation, not aggression," Ms Hulser said.
       "I'm sure they were Indians," James Ring Adams, a senior historian at the National Museum of the American Indian, said of the perpetrators."That leaves a question: Was this a renegade band or another tribe possibly based on Staten Island or from farther north on the river?"
       Perhaps the two canoes were not a war party, but had approached the small boat offering help. Two nights later, according to Juet, Indians benignly came aboard the Half Moon to trade with the crew without betraying any knowledge of Colman's murder.
       "He was English, the crew was Dutch,"said Mr McNeely."You couldn't rule anybody out. We'd detain everybody, including the injured sailors. You couldn't just take the word of somebody else. They could say he was attacked by Indians; it would be easy to make that up. I don't know if that's racial profiling, but it's definitely scapegoating."
       Colman's murder inspired a poem by Thomas Frost:
       "Then prone he fell within the boat,A flinthead arrow through his throat!"Also, a mural in the Hudson County, New Jersey, courthouse in Jersey City.
       "They say a picture is worth a thousand words," Mr Palladino said.
       "If we could force that picture to talk, we could crack the case."

Solve Cambodia's land crisis in courts, not with bullets

       WHEN POLICE opened fire on unarmed farmers protesting confiscation of their land in Siem Reap on March 22 this year, four villagers were seriously wounded. Luon Meng - shot in both thighs - will probably be disabled for life.
       Almost six months later, Meng's uncle is still pressing officials to explain why not a single charge has been filed against the police who fired on the farmers or those who ordered them to shoot.
       "Soldiers and police should use their guns to protect people, not shoot them," Meng's uncle - a Buddhist monk named Venerable Luon Savath - told me recently.
       Photographs and video footage that Savath and others compiled on the incident appear to show dazed and stunned farmers - some with gashes and gaping wounds - tied to poles after the shooting, which took place in the presence of provincial officials.
       According to eyewitnesses, the police immediately said that it was legal to shoot the farmers as long as they aimed below the waist.
       Instead of investigating the officers who shot the protesters, authorities arrested and jailed eleven of the farmers, who now await trial on robbery charges. This week the provincial court summoned for questioning three of the farmers who were shot - including one still in hospital, who had to be transported to court.
       The wounded men now face possible defamation charges, for daring to file a complaint about the incident with the Justice Ministry. Such is the nature of "justice" in Cambodia.
       Lawsuits against government critics are the latest in a series of well-worn - and abused - "legal" tactics used by officials and powerful people in Cambodia to silence dissent. Violence is the other tool.
       While the crackdown in Siem Reap was one of the most violent confrontations in a land dispute in Cambodia so far this year, it is no isolated incident.
       Cambodians across the country are increasingly losing their homes, land and natural resources on which their livelihoods depend to make way for commercial development, agri-business plantations, hydro-electricity dams and mining concessions. In Phnom Penh alone, at least 30,000 urban poor have been forced from their homes in recent years. More than 150,000 people nationwide are at risk of losing their land and their homes.
       When communities seek information about land confiscations and peaceful resolution of disputes, they are increasingly met with harassment, intimidation, arrest and violent evictions.
       Government officials often deploy heavily armed police and soldiers to force people off their land without court orders or any form of fair hearing for the owners or occupiers of the land.
       Authorities have arrested or jailed dozens of activists, often on spurious charges, for defending their land rights.
       Most of the Siem Reap farmers driven from their land in March had farmed those fields since the late-1980s. Under Cambodian law, this entitles them to the right to continue farming and eventually obtain title to the land.
       Most farmers in Cambodia, however, have yet to obtain formal titles, which often require bribes or political connections. The people now claiming legal "ownership" are well-connected businessmen with the means to call on virtually every state mechanism for support - courts, district and provincial officials, and finally, police and soldiers.
       Despite the government issuing more than one million land titles since 2002 in a World Bank-supported project, the vast majority of Cambodia's urban and rural poor have been excluded. A World Bank review of the US$24 million (Bt819 million) programme released this week called on the government to remedy the fact that "some land areas have been excluded from titling without clear criteria or explanation provided to the local communities".
       The urgency of Cambodia's land crisis prompted a rare public appeal recently from development partners. In July, the World Bank, the UN, the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission, the Swedish International Development Agency and several embassies called on the government to stop forced evictions until fair and transparent land dispute and resettlement mechanisms are in place.
       The Cambodian government has not only ignored such appeals, but rebuffed them.
       On Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced the termination of the World Bank's land-titling project. The reason, he said, was that the partnership with the World Bank was "difficult and complicated" and "had too many conditions".
       The government has become as impervious to the humanitarian appeals of its international donors as it is to the plight of its poorest citizens. But there is growing awareness among the poor of their rights under local and international law.
       On Thursday [Sept 10], farmers representing tens of thousands of people nationwide gathered in Phnom Penh, seeking responses to land rights complaints they submitted a month ago. Many of these people will now face threats to their personal security, as well as spurious legal battles that could land them in prison.
       Rather than filing lawsuits against or opening fire on land-rights activists, the government should resolve these complaints.
       Land disputes should be settled in an independent court, not by armed police and soldiers. Ownership should be determined by Cambodia's Land Law, rather than wealth and political connections. Until authorities can properly implement and respect Cambodia's Land Law, the government should enact a moratorium on forced evictions.
       The government should also ensure the safety of peaceful land-rights advocates such as Sovath, whose calls for justice have been met by threats and intimidation. Soldiers threatened to storm his temple to confiscate the video he compiled of the shooting and its aftermath.
       The Siem Reap crackdown caused villagers to go into hiding, fearful of being shot or arrested.
       "Many farmers fled, leaving their cooking pots behind," Savath told me. All they had was fear, frustration and empty stomachs. They struggled to hide from local authorities, police and soldiers, who neither respect nor fear the law or human rights because they have power."
       Unarmed farmers being shot and city dwellers being forced from their homes at gunpoint are grim reminders of the country's past under the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s. This is not what international donors have in mind when they make annual pledges to cover more than half of Cambodia's national budget.
       Savath laments the difficulties faced by landless villages throughout Cambodia: "Now when farmers raise their voices about loss of their land, they are threatened, jailed, or brought to court and sued."
       In his home province of Siem Reap, the situation has turned grim.
       "The farmers' paddy fields used to be busy," he said. "The sound was sweet and joyful with farmers singing, laughing and dancing to deal with the hard work. Now the fields are for weeping. They are grief-stricken places. This is because the rich have collaborated with the powerful to take the land."

Calderon removes his top drug war official

       Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Monday removed his attorney-general who had spearheaded the government's anti-drug campaign that has so far failed to defeat powerful cartels.
       Mr Calderon told reporters that Eduardo Medina Mora had resigned and would be replaced by a relatively unknown former law enforcement official. He gave no details about the reasons for the move.
       A crackdown by thousands of troops and federal police has been unable to bring warring rival mafias to heel.
       More than 13,000 people have died in drug violence since Mr Calderon took office in late 2006.
       He has staked his presidency on the war against the drug cartels and the US has backed him by promising $1.4 billion in aid such as training and equipment for Mexican security forces.
       But the drug cartels are killing about 20 people a day in Mexico, often after torturing them, and traffickers have infiltrated many state and municipal police forces.
       The outgoing attorney-general admitted "successes and errors like in all human endeavours" but defended Mr Calderon's campaign against drug gangs like the rival Sinaloa and Gulf cartels.
       "The historic decision to limit the power of criminal organisations with all the power of the state was fundamental for our future as a nation," Mr Medina Mora said. He will be replaced by Arturo Chavez, a former official with the attorney-general's office.

"Rumours" fuel needle scare

       China's troubled far-western city of Urumqi has spelt out potential punishments for spreading rumours after days of sometimes deadly unrest and panic about reported syringe attacks that fanned ethnic tensions.
       Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region,has been struggling to return to order after days of panic and protests over claims that Muslim Uighurs used syringes to attack residents, especially members of China's Han ethnic Chinese majority.
       Officials have said five people died in the protests, but they have not said how they died.
       Security forces used tear gas to break up a crowd of Han Chinese on Sunday,after a fresh needle scare near a wholesale market. Witnesses said three Uighurs were beaten.
       The government has cast the alleged syringe attacks as a separatist plot by Uighurs, who call Xinjiang their home-land. Many Uighurs resent government controls on their religion and culture,as well as the growing presence of ethnic Han Chinese.
       The Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday that Urumqi authorities said anyone found guilty of injecting others with dangerous substances could face a long prison term or even the death penalty.
       Authorities also warned residents they could be jailed for spreading rumours.
       "Those who deliberately concoct and spread false information about innocent members of the public being stabbed with needles" could be tried and sentenced to up to five years in jail, it said.
       The announcement appeared to be another step in government efforts to restore its authority in Urumqi, after thousands of Han residents took to the streets to demand the ousting of Wang Lequan, the Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang for 14 years.

Numbers game turns deadly

       Makers of fake car number plates in Songkhla are facing a crackdown on suspicions their plates are being used on vehicles connected to car bomb attacks in the far South, a security source says.
       Investigators have zeroed in on two fake plate makers in the commercial district of Hat Yai.
       Fake licence plates make it more difficult for police to track down the attackers.
       Many insurgents are reported to be hiding out in Songkhla's lower districts of Saba Yoi, Chana, Thepha and Na Thawi, the source said.
       They are believed to have fled from neighbouring Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani provinces to evade arrest after launching their deadly attacks, he said.
       A member of a police bomb disposal squad said a new pattern of attacks was emerging in which militants were preferring to target populated areas, often in town centres, using powerful bombs aimed at causing heavy casualties.
       The source said the aim was to gain maximum exposure and media attention.
       The rebels are using all sorts of tricks to get the job done. For instance, in one attack a militant pretended to drop a wallet connected to a bomb detonation cord.
       A passer-by picked up the wallet and triggered the bomb.
       "This is a new trick as we have never heard of or seen anything like this before,"the source said.
       In Friday's bomb attack outside a crowded restaurant in central Pattani,the source said the bomb was loaded on to a motorcycle-mounted pushcart popu-lar for moving goods around a market.No one suspected it carried a bomb. The blast killed a man and injured 29 others.
       The source said setting off "spider bombs"- or a handful of explosives connected to a single remote control device - was now quite common in the South.
       The current Muslim fasting period is marked by rising insurgent violence.
       The insurgents appear to have intensified their violence because it is easier to single out Buddhist Thais for attack during Ramadan as their Muslim neighbours are mostly indoors performing religious activities.
       Yesterday, in Pattani, a defence volunteer was shot and injured by a gunman at the Sue Dang School in tambon Troh Bon, Sai Buri district.
       Kampanart Songkaew,24, was attacked while he was guarding the school.The gunman fled when he returned fire.

HOW JESSICA"S LAW TURNED ANTIOCH INTO A PAEDOPHILE GHETTO

       Antioch is one of the few places in California where convicted sex offenders can legally reside. Was the strain of monitoring them all too much for the local police? By Guy Adams

       They have called it scruffy, cheap and unloved. They have sneered at the wire mesh fences and unmowed lawns and the rusting trucks in almost every driveway.And in time, when the media writes the final chapters of the appalling story of Jaycee Lee Dugard, they may very well conclude that in Antioch, her story was simply an accident waiting to happen.
       A staggering 122 registered sex offenders live there, in a small, blue-collar city in northern California that has suddenly found itself at the centre of an international media storm.More than 100 of them -102, to be precise - live in the compact zip-code area containing the suburb that Jaycee Lee's alleged kidnapper,Phillip Craig Garrido, called home.
       Two convicted rapists reside on Vine Lane,the street next to Walnut Avenue where Jaycee Lee's imprisonment and sexual abuse went unnoticed for almost two decades. On Viera Avenue, less than 200 metres away, is the home of Henry Lee Mickens, a 46-year-old man who recently served time for "lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years".
       Dozens of other paedophiles can be found within walking distance. A mile and a half from Garrido's front door is Gragnelli Avenue,where the occupant of No 420, one Shayne Patrick Gaxiola, was convicted of molesting a 12-year-old girl and impregnating her in 1994,when he was aged 20.
       Gaxiola was also found guilty of giving marijuana to a string of pubescent girls. He then took indecent pictures of them. In 2000, three months after his release, he was sent back to prison for violating parole after being caught with cannabis and a stash of pornographic magazines.
       In a town full of such men, the activities of Phillip Garrido seemed simply to slip below the radar - despite the awful track record that has emerged since he and his wife, Nancy,were arrested and charged with 29 counts related to Jaycee Lee Dugard's abduction, imprisonment, and serial sexual abuse over 18 years (to which, it must be stressed, they have so far pleaded not guilty).
       Court papers released from Garrido's 1977 trial for the kidnap and rape of a young woman in Nevada portray him as a dangerous sexual predator. During a psychiatric evaluation, he admitted to using LSD and cocaine as sexual stimulants and said that he would often masturbate in public, by the "side of schools,grammar schools and high schools, and in my own car while I was watching young females".
       There is, however, no shortage of similar stories in Antioch. That is perhaps why, after Garrido was released in 1988,10 years into a 50- year sentence, he and his wife were able to slip virtually unnoticed into the fabric of this community, which stretches for roughly four miles along the Sacramento River.
       At first glance, Antioch may look like any other small American city. Its 100,000 residents are largely white and working class. Some work in industrial plants. Others are commuters, unable to afford the cost of living in the San Francisco Bay area. In keeping with most of California, about 10% are unemployed.
       Yet as police continue to investigate Garrido's past and look into potential links to 10 murdered prostitutes and three missing girls, the city is being forced to confront a grisly truth - for reasons largely beyond its control, it has become a paedophiles' ghetto.
       At fault are laws governing America's treatment of sex offenders, which control where they are allowed to live and how much information the public should be given regarding their whereabouts. These laws were passed with the laudable intention of protecting children. But their actual effect is open to debate.
       The most prominent is Megan's Law, which requires the public to be given access, usually via an internet site, to the names, addresses and "previous" of every man and woman convicted of a sexual offence. It is a wellintentioned exercise in open government. But in practice, critics say, it was introduced in such a way as to be of little help to anyone but the voyeuristic.
       "Thanks to political pressure, they made the criteria for including someone on the registry so wide that it has become totally ineffective," says Michael Risher, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union."It doesn't just carry details of violent rapists but also people who, say, lost their temper during a road rage incident and flashed at someone, or an 18-year-old boy convicted of statutory rape for sleeping with his 17-year-old girlfriend."
       In California, the Megan's Law website contains 90,000 entries. Given this extraordinary statistic, it isn't hard to see why the residents of Walnut Avenue - who had 121 other convicted sex offenders in their city to worry about - might have allowed a man with Garrido's dubious profile to pass largely ignored.
       The second group of laws that make Antioch a magnet for paedophiles governs where they are allowed to live. In California, as in many states, voters have in recent years endorsed Jessica's Law, which bans paedophiles from residing within 2,000 feet of a school or a park where children regularly play.
       This has driven sex offenders out of major cities and conurbations, where they have access to rehabilitation and treatment facilities, and into suburbs and secluded rural areas, where they don't. In some smaller cities, they have now become concentrated in such large numbers that parole and law enforcement officers are unable to properly vet them.
       This may explain why local authorities never noticed that Garrido was apparently keeping the kidnapped Jaycee Lee Dugard and her two small children concealed in the elaborate series of sheds and tents in his back garden.Thanks to the influx of offenders to Antioch frommajor cities, they were simply too overstretched to do their job properly.
       It may also explain - but not necessarily excuse - the fact that a police officer dispatched to investigate claims of children living in Garrido's garden in 2006 seemingly did not have either the time or the wherewithal to thoroughly research his suspect's background.
       "If you look at maps that show where offenders are actually able to live under Jessica's Law, there's almost nowhere in the whole of Los Angeles and San Francisco where they can now legally settle," Mr Risher adds."Everywhere is within 2,000 feet of a park or school.So they all end up in places like Antioch."
       Even police admit that this leaves them struggling to cope. Daniel Terry, from the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department,which oversees Antioch, has about 1,700 registered sex offenders in his jurisdiction. His station is responsible for about 350 of them,or "349 more than the number of detectives I have dedicated to monitoring these people".
       Speaking to the Los Angeles Times last week,he said that the region's concentration of sex offenders was "significantly higher" than other areas in California and the rest of the United States."This is the reality. These people are walking amongst us everywhere." Adding to his woes are wider problems in the cheap parts of Antioch where Garrido and many other convicted sex offenders live. In the ramshackle area around Walnut Avenue, petty theft is rampant, drug abuse endemic - the favourite local tipples are crystal meth and crack cocaine - and lawns are littered with junk.
       The city, which grew prosperous on the proceeds of the 1849 gold rush and then the steel mills and concrete factories that allowed it to ship the building blocks of San Francisco down-river during the early 20th century, is now among those caught in the storm of America's economic downturn.
       Nearly 2,500 homes, roughly 5% of the city's stock, are in foreclosure, with 699 new homes entering arrears last month.
       Property values have dropped 40% in the past year and unemployment is soaring. Garrido's bungalow, a four-bedroom home built on a large plot of land between the wars, is worth only $100,000.
       Against this background, and helped by laws that encourage ghetto-isation of sex offenders, it now seems that a man known as "Creepy Phil" by neighbours was able to take a little girl hostage, hold her for 18 years, father her two children, and even take them to community events, while barely raising an eyebrow.
       In January, Zion Dutro, a convicted child rapist who lived on Alpha Way, not two miles from Walnut Avenue, appeared in court to plead not guilty to performing rape, sodomy and "lewd acts" on at least eight small girls. He faced 21 counts; his wife, a co-defendant, faced four.
       In any other town, this kind of case would have sparked a mixture of shock and outrage that would be heard across the world. In Antioch, it merited no more than a few paragraphs in the local newspaper - a reaction which suggests that Jaycee Lee Dugard may not be the last grisly secret that the city reveals.The Independent

       SEX OFFENDERS' R REGISTER: MEGAN'S AND JESSICA'S LAWS
       MEGAN'S LAW requires the public to be given details sregarding the identity,whereabouts and crimin al record of convicted sex offenders living in their midst. It was named afte er the New Jersey schoolgi irl Megan Kanka, who was kidnapped, raped and kil lled by a serial sex-offender i in 1994. Today, it's being enacted to varying degre ees in every US state.Like any law passed in response to a public trag gedy,the law has been dubbed dknee-jerk by opponents,who say it encourages vigilantism and is an infringement on the civil liberties of ex-offenders.. A study last year conclude dthat the law achieved no odemonstrable reduction in child sex offences.
       JESSICA'S LAW prevents convicted sex offenders from living within a certain distance of schools,parks and other areas where children gather. It was first adopted in Florida in 2005 after nineyear-old Jessica Lunsford was snatched from her home, before being raped and murdered by a convicted paedophile. Today, a version is in force in 42 US states. Critics say it has made major cities off-limits to offenders, forcing some to declare themselves homeless, and ghettoising others. There is little evidence that it works. Many police forces say it has the opposite effect stretching resources and doing nothing to prevent paedophiles travelling to commit crimes.