Court orders closure of 72 websites

Court orders closure of 72 websites

Crackdown on online gambling and games

Published: 23/05/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: News

The Criminal Court has ordered the closure of 72 websites offering access to online gambling and games.
The court order follows the death of a 12-year-old boy who jumped from the sixth-floor balcony of his school building on Thursday after he was banned from playing computer games by his father.
Department of Special Investigation (DSI) deputy chief Suchart Wong-anandchai said under a May 19 order issued by the Criminal Court to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry, the agency was told to shut down 72 websites seen as encouraging people to place online bets or hooking them on computer games.
Pol Col Suchart, who also sits on the ICT's subcommittee on internet safety, said it was the first time that a court order had been issued in the country to close websites offering online gambling opportunities. But many have argued that the present legislation was not good enough to order the closure of any websites for such violations.
Some websites are rumoured to take in over 100 million baht from online betting a night at peak periods, causing huge economic losses to the country.
To prevent online gambling, the DSI, also a member of the internet safety committee, would notify all Internet service providers (ISP) across the country about the court order.
From now on any provider found to encourage or provide online gambling will not only face a jail term and a fine, but also have his/her ISP licence revoked by the ICT, he said.
Among the 72 websites facing closure are 368sb.com and 88suncity.com, both based in the Cagayan Special Economic Zone of the Philippines.
The Mental Health Department will send a team of psychologists to counsel and console the parents, friends and those close to the boy who took his own life.
Department spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin said those close to the boy at school and his parents, who were badly affected by his death, needed psychological help.
Pongsathorn Wattanabenjasopha, a Prathom 6 (sixth grade) student at the Sri Witthaya Paknam School, jumped to his death on Thursday after his father banned him from playing computer games.
Dr Taweesilp said the suicide rate was rising in the kingdom. The majority of those taking their own lives were mostly in the 30-40 age group, followed by teenagers aged 12-13.
There were several factors that drove people to commit suicide. Family problems topped the list. Other factors included physical and mental problems, economic hardships, poor income and unemployment.
Bundit Sornpaisarn, director of the Rajanagarindra Child and Adolescent Mental Health Institute, said the boy's suicide reflected that children who were addicted to games and had an aggressive mentality were more likely to commit suicide than others.
Parents need to instil a sense of discipline in children from a young age if such tragedies are to be prevented, he said.
Dr Bundit said people whose children were in their teens should use positive communications to deal with their child's addiction to online games. They should control their emotions and listen to their children's views, as that would bring positive responses, he said.

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