This week: eased rules, a mother's pimping, water splashing and airport chaos
The end of Test & Go?
The government will consider scrapping the Test & Go entry scheme and Thailand Pass registration as it aims to rescue the stagnant tourism sector.
The Tourism and Sports Ministry and the Tourism Authority of Thailand will put forward a proposal for the cancellation to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on April 22.
If approved, from May 1 tourists would be able to enter the country using vaccine passports instead of having to wait 3-5 days for their documents to be approved, as required by Thailand Pass.
RT-PCR tests on arrival for foreign visitors are also expected to be replaced by antigen tests from next month.
Mother caught selling young girls for sex
Three women have been arrested on charges of enticing teenage girls into prostitution, one of them the mother of one of the girls.
They were arrested in Saraburi and Chiang Rai.
The mother's job was to take the girls to service customers.
The three suspects allegedly took 300-500 baht each time from money the customers paid for the girls.
Three girls had been lured into prostitution by the suspects, who told them they would be working selling goods online.
The girls had been taken to stay in a room in Saraburi and were forced to provide sex services for customers every day. If they resisted, they were intimidated or assaulted.
Water splashing upsets Prayut
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has told Phuket's governor to remind tourists of the Songkran water-splashing ban after some visitors joined a water throwing party on Tuesday.
Foreign and Thai tourists were seen throwing water in Soi Bang La at Patong Beach during the evening.
The prime minister ordered the governor to visit tourist areas to inform visitors about the ban.
People who break Songkran rules could face up to two years in jail, a maximum 40,000 baht fine or both.
Chaos at Suvarnabhumi
Suvarnabhumi airport has added more hotel counters for inbound passengers after reports of chaos in the arrivals area.
The move followed complaints by airport users on social media, with pictures showing frustrated passengers searching for the names of their hotels.
According to one Twitter post, when passengers complained to hotel staff, they told them to complain to Airports of Thailand.
