Is this man really fit to be called a general?

Re: "Seh Daeng 'sneaked' into Cambodia to see Thaksin", November 17.

I read with utter incredulity, this front page article. While it is one thing to have some naive, nondescript and insignificant junior officer going AWOL to chase Thaksin's coattails halfway round the world for flagrant personal gain, it is quite another having a two-star general leave the country, contrary to Thai Army regulations, illegally enter Cambodia, be in cahoots with the Cambodian Army once on Cambodian soil, climb over fences, and then blatantly deny he was there, and then claim that the picture of him cheerily grinning with the prime minister of Cambodia and a convicted criminal who is evading Thai justice was not him but just a lookalike - before coming to his senses and telling the truth.

What does this tell us of the quality of general rank officers in the Thai Army? What does this tell us of the understanding of acceptable behaviour by senior Army officers? What does this tell us about the Thai Army? I am not Thai, so I will refrain from passing detailed judgement, but I am aghast.

JOHN SYMONS

BANGKOK

Greedy rich will always steal from the poor

Re: "Appalling conditions for Singapore's maids", Letters, November 18.

Thanks for publishing the letter from Jim Ellis regarding the deplorable exploitation of domestic helpers in Singapore. My grandfather used to say, "The poor steal when they are hungry and the rich steal because they are greedy." Singapore is by far the richest area in Asean but finds it necessary to steal from poor Filipina maids. It's just as it always used to be. I'm certain the Singapore Embassy is already writing a letter to you stating that all this is . . . blah, blah, not true, blah blah. The only more culpable people for the desperate situation of those maids are Filipino politicians, a bunch of incompetent, greedy and corrupt fellows who have run their country to the bottom of the scale in Asia from a top position 30 years ago.

JOHN FALLOW

BANGKOK

'Joke' spy charges would be laughed out of court

Cambodia's spy charges against Thai engineer Sivarak Chotipong are so flimsy, I wonder why they were even brought. He allegedly obtained Thaksin's flight plan for the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh. But any aircraft flying any substantial distance in any country must file a flight plan with the authorities, or risk being forced down - and, in fact, Thaksin did file such a plan with the Thai authorities. So, Sivarak is charged with stealing non-confidential information that the alleged victim, Thaksin, gave to the alleged mastermind, the Thai government. Wow! What a plot, worthy of "Mr Bean" or the "Three Stooges".

In any crime, the likely perpetrators are those who would benefit from the act. Picture Hun Sen's buddy asking a big favour of him, i.e., freeing the engineer "even though the charge is real" (Thaksin's words). Since the charges won't hold up in any court worthy of the name, Hun Sen readily agrees, only because Thaksin and he are eternal friends.

So, who benefits? Would Thaksin be party to drumming up false charges against a fellow Thai for his own benefit? How cynical of me. But wasn't Thaksin convicted of stealing from the public coffers - that is, from your pockets and mine, including those of the red shirts? What's a false charge compared to gross larceny?

BURIN KANTABUTRA

BANGKOK

Anti-smoking brigade: stop flying now

Re: "Try banning pollution in cities, too", Letters, November 17.

John Arnone rightly highlights hypocrisy in his reply to the letter "Airport smoking rooms a hazard to travellers" (November 16). Never mind banning airport smoking rooms. Let's ban airports completely so that those smugly self-righteous non-smoking travellers will no longer be able to pump into the air the billions of tonnes of pollution that flying generates.

JOSEF ESSBERGER

BANGKOK