Martial Court extends detention of ex-education minister

BANGKOK, June 6 (TNA) - The Martial Court has approved a 12-day extended detention of former education minister Chaturon Chaisang, from June 9-20, 2014, after his first 12-day detention period expires on June 8. The Martial Court gave the permission for the second-time detention of Chaturon on Friday morning, as requested by the military prosecutors, reasoning that interrogations of witnesses need more times. However, the Martial Court gave its permission for Chaturon to proceed with a judicial process to seek his temporary release on bail. Thitima Chaisang, Chaturon's younger sister, told journalists that she had visited her brother and found that he was in good health. Thitima said her brother did not report to the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) as ordered, after it staged a coup on May 22, because he wanted to display that he opposed the coup. In another development, a combined security force of soldiers and police, on Thursday night, apprehended Sombat Boon-ngamanong, an accused organiser of anti-coup flash mobs in Bangkok, in Pan Thong District of Chon Buri Province in the Thai East. Sombat, who is also facing lese majeste charges, had not reported themselved to the NCPO, as ordered, and had gone into hiding. Sombat had, nonetheless, worked online to organise and support anti-coup protests in the capital, urging people to come out to show their opposition to the military junta. (TNA)