Army Conscription in Buriram. 7-10th April 2011.

[Prakhonchai Nick]

He has a waiver of conscription as he is studying English. Is this just a temporary waiver until his studies are finished?

[Dave the Dude]

Don't the prospective conscriptees have the option to join the monkhood for that same two-year period....??

In our village they have a 'lucky dip' of red and black balls picked out of a bag.
It was funny seeing a 'Rambo' type being picked as a monk and a slightly less gentle type going of to 'The War on Weeds'

[manupete]

17 suspects arrested in draft evasion case
BURI RAM : Police have arrested 17 people on suspicion of helping young men avoid military conscription.

The detainees, all of small build, alleged a "boss" from Udon Thani provided them with ID cards to doctor so they could take the place of prospective conscripts.

One suspect said the man who paid him was "an army officer with the rank of colonel".

It is believed the suspects operated across 10 provinces _ Nong Bua Lam Phu, Loei, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Nong Khai, Kalasin, Buri Ram, Nakhon Ratchasima, Surin and Chaiyaphum.

Buri Ram police arrested four youths, who had 14 fake ID cards, in Prakhon Chai district on Wednesday, as they were preparing for "conscription" the following morning.

The suspects, aged between 14 and 18, admitted they modified the genuine ID cards after being contacted by their boss in Udon Thani.

The four also had real Sor Dor 9 and 35 military service status documents.

None of them met the army's 160cm height and 76cm chest measurement requirements, which are the minimum for conscripts.

Another 13 suspects were arrested in Udon Thani's Muang district and Sakon Nakhon's Sawang Daen Din district, police said.

One of the suspects was identified as Thaksin Yani, 28, of Sakon Nakhon.

Mr Thaksin, who was preparing to work for his four "customers" at conscription centres in Loei, Nakhon Ratchasima and Nong Bua Lam Phu, told police he took the job after a wage offer by a man identified only as "an officer with the rank of colonel".

The suspects, each of whom allegedly worked for multiple draft dodgers, were given 100 baht to have their pictures taken.

On conscription day, each of them was paid 2,500 baht and then another 18,000 baht after they finished the job, said Pol Col Natthanon Prachum, chief of investigation for Provincial Police Region 4.

The police unit is now working with Udon Thani governor Khomsan Ekachai to try to uncover the military mastermind who is believed to be in Udon Thani.

Meanwhile, Provincial Administration Department chief Mongkol Surasatja is to meet with the Defence Ministry in a bid to halt the conscription scam.

He suggested the use of a computer database at the department's Civil Registration Division to help check identities of men ordered to report for conscription.

ID card forgery is punishable by a fine of between 10,000 and 20,000 baht or a jail term of between one and 10 years.

Those who allow their ID cards to be forged to avoid conscription also face a charge of being involved in making fake documents.