On April 28, 2025, Assistant Professor Dr. Prinya Thaewanarumitkul from Thammasat University's Faculty of Law announced a groundbreaking initiative to address Thailand's problem of poverty-driven incarceration. He revealed that four inmates have been helped through a new work-release fund program, with all four securing their freedom on this date.

According to Prinya, Thailand currently imprisons people unable to afford court-ordered fines at a rate of 500 baht per day. Despite legal provisions allowing community service as an alternative to jail time, most courts reject these requests, resulting in approximately 40,000 to 50,000 people imprisoned annually simply for being poor. This prompted Prinya and his law students to establish a fund that pays inmates' fines upfront while providing job placement opportunities. Once inmates earn enough through work to repay the fund, their debt is considered settled.

At the Central Pathum Thani Detention Facility, four willing inmates were selected for the program with fines totaling 98,500 baht (ranging from 12,000 to 30,000 baht each, equivalent to 24 to 60 days of confinement). Prinya personally funded the payment this morning, and the facility has now processed the fine payments through their originating courts. All four inmates will now work with partner organizations including Tatchon Dee Project, Mirror Foundation, and Thammasat University to earn back the funds.

This marks the first initiative in Thailand enabling inmates imprisoned purely for financial hardship to work their way to freedom. Once the four inmates complete their work obligations and repay the fund, Prinya plans to use the recovered money to assist other willing inmates in the same manner.

Leveraging BCI technology connected through TRUE's digital ecosystem and network to revolutionize physical therapy and rehabilitation services. Bangkok, April 27, 2025 – TRUE Corporation's Research and Innovation Center announced a collaboration with OYMotion, a global leader in neurotechnology innovation, to develop Neuro AI Technology aimed at elevating physical therapy and rehabilitation practices. The initiative combines Thailand's leading medical expertise with Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology integrated with AI and data analytics platforms to control intelligent prosthetics and devices through TRUE's network, converting "thoughts" into "commands." This stimulates neural circuits to command muscle movement, enabling faster brain learning and recovery compared to traditional physical therapy. The innovation alleviates pressure on scarce physiotherapy specialists and reduces treatment costs in the public health system – a critical barrier to continuous rehabilitation access for patients, particularly those with cerebrovascular disease and limb mobility deficits such as stroke patients or those with movement impairments, restoring movement freedom and improving quality of life.

The collaboration optimally combines both organizations' strengths: OYMotion's advanced expertise in decoding neural signals from brain wave sensors and muscle signals, integrated with TRUE Corporation's digital ecosystem, AI technology, and Data Platform, connecting signals and data through TRUE's network to transmit commands from patients' brains to robotic devices or prosthetics for precise movement resembling natural limbs.

Neuro AI Tech has been developed to benefit Thai people and society across four dimensions: 1) Patients receive faster and more accurate care and rehabilitation, boosting motivation for health recovery and enabling near-normal daily life resumption; 2) Medical personnel can analyze brain function data to customize treatment for individual patients, reducing care and therapy burdens and enabling doctors to focus fully on complex diagnostics; 3) Hospitals can expand patient care and services at scale while maintaining nursing care quality standards; and 4) Driving Thailand's public health system forward, establishing new standards for rehabilitation and functional recovery, equipping medical professionals with tools to advance specialized expertise for optimal treatment outcomes.

Akracha Panjvinin, Head of TRUE Corporation's Research and Innovation Center, stated: "This collaboration with OYMotion reflects TRUE Corporation's commitment as Thailand's leading telecom-technology company to continuously create innovation, believing that powerful technology is technology that creates positive value and tangibly improves people's quality of life. Through this collaboration, TRUE Corporation's Research and Innovation Center has built an innovation ecosystem integrating Thailand's leading medical institutions and medical personnel expertise with OYMotion's expertise, Neuro AI technology, and digital infrastructure to serve patients."

Jiang, a 70-year-old from Shanghai, China, has developed a severe addiction to competitive live-streaming battles on social media platforms, known as "PK" (performer versus performer competitions). Within six months, she depleted over 3.3 million yuan (roughly 15 million baht) in family savings and personal pension funds by sending expensive gifts to her favorite streamers.

Her son Wang, who works in another city, had entrusted his mother with years of accumulated salary and bonuses due to her reputation for being frugal and responsible. However, when he returned home, he discovered the savings account was completely empty, household utilities remained unpaid, and even a minor 15-yuan electricity bill (about 70 baht) couldn't be settled. Shocked by the situation, Wang stated his mother's behavior was "more severe than drug addiction."

Since May, Jiang has been spending over 500,000 yuan monthly (approximately 2.3 million baht), continuously sending gifts ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 yuan each (9,000 to 14,000 baht) to support her favorite streamers in winning competitions. She explained that she became fascinated with the competitive system and wanted to help her preferred streamer win, leading her to impulsively send expensive gifts.

It took Wang several days to make his mother realize the severity of her actions. She had even considered using her next pension payment to continue the spending spree. Jiang expressed remorse, saying, "My son asked me how much a drug addict spends monthly. He told me I spend even more than that. I didn't realize it. All the money just vanished. I really feel sorry to my son."

When her savings dried up, Jiang attempted to contact the two streamers who received the most money, but they responded coldly with "little love, but lasting love" before disappearing. Wang subsequently filed complaints with consumer protection agencies and the streaming platform, though no concrete progress has been made to date.

International Entertainment – A heated dessert battle! The reality series Bite Me Sweet brings together five hot Korean stars and Chef Jan, Thailand's representative, to showcase world-class culinary skills.

During the recent Songkran period, Viu launched 'Bite Me Sweet,' a competitive dessert arena that pairs five of South Korea's hottest male celebrities with five leading female chefs from Southeast Asia.

The show is hosted by charming MC Yoon Shi Yoon, supported by five handsome stars: Lee Se-on, Song Seung-hwan, Cha Joo-wan, Bae Min-gi, and Lim Sung-kyun. They compete under the challenging 'Dessert Survival' format, inspired by Korean Snack Culture, with the ultimate prize of opening an exclusive pop-up store in Singapore.

Thai fans are rallying behind 'Chef Jan Nicha,' a world-class Thai pastry chef competing in this round. Chef Jan is an alumna of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, specializing in classic French pastry, and has trained under over 10 award-winning pastry masters and world champions. She has also collaborated with global fashion brands like Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) and Giorgio Armani on luxury dessert collections.

Follow the sweet journey in Bite Me Sweet, a 10-episode series airing in Thai subtitles every Friday at 9:00 AM, with two episodes per week on Viu.

Heavy backlash erupted online when the Phuket Times page shared images of foreign female tourists aboard a moving tuk-tuk on Patuk Road in Kamala subdistrict, Phuket heading toward the Kamala roundabout. The images show multiple foreign women engaging in inappropriate behavior by repeatedly removing their underwear and turning to expose themselves to vehicles following behind, disregarding the presence of other road users, tourists, and members of the public.

Social media commenters have flooded the post with critical reactions, with users calling for fines, deportation, arrests, and stricter enforcement measures. Dashcam footage from a vehicle following behind clearly captured the incident. However, there are currently no reports indicating that relevant authorities have launched investigations or taken action against those involved.

Public sentiment remains strong in calling for stricter measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring in major tourist areas.

BBC reported on April 28 that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov opened a memorial in Pyongyang to honor North Korean troops who died fighting in the Ukraine war. While official figures on North Korean troop deployments in Ukraine remain undisclosed, South Korean intelligence estimates over 15,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to assist Russia. These troops have been involved in operations to recapture areas of Russia's Kursk region in western Russia in exchange for food, money, and military aid, with intelligence assessments indicating approximately 2,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed in combat. Kim reaffirmed to Belousov that North Korea "will fully support the Russian Federation's policies in protecting sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security interests as always," adding that Russia "will certainly achieve victory in this sacred and righteous war."