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Twisted tales of blood and guts splattered the Thai-language dailies, but the political crisis was not overlooked.

The highest circulating paper, Thai Rath, led with an article about a young drug-pusher, armed with six handguns, trying to shoot his way out of a tight spot, actually a ditch by the side of the road, following a high-speed car chase. In spite of being armed to the teeth, the young drug-dealer came to the realisation that it was better to give up than go out in style.

The Daily News reported the discovery of a severed right arm at Hualampong Railway Station. No one seems to know how the arm, reportedly female, got there. Authorities believe it was detached from its owner five days ago, but the fact that nobody has reported losing an arm to any hospital or police station has left the authorities clueless as to what to do next.

Another Daily News story was about of group of Brazilian film-makers, a Thai katoey and Filipina porn stars caught in flagrante in a police raid. A front-page photo showed two ladies covering their faces and three Brazilian studs surrounded by the police officers who nabbed them. The newspaper referred to the very spicy moment as "achieving the pepper and ginger". The men, one of whom was wear a bath towel, didn't seem to mind having their faces photographed. Free publicity for rising young stars, perhaps?

Khao Sod ran an article about the sorry image of women and how they have been portrayed in television soap dramas. The paper pointed to a rape scene in "Dao Puen Din" ("Tainted Star"). The episode will be shown on Channel Seven. In spite of the fact that the actual footage has yet to be shown - soap scripts can obtained from certain dailies -omen groups are up in arms. According to Channel Seven, one way to decide on the issue is to take a vote. The public will have their say about whether they want to see the rape scene on television or have the script rewritten. It seems a moment of television truth for the Thai public is coming soon.

But in spite of the "pepper and ginger" episode and other spicy stories, none of the local papers overlooked the ongoing political crisis. As expected, they all ran stories about the disgraced former Cabinet minister Jakrapob Penkair turning himself in to the police to face charges of insulting Thailand's revered monarchy in a speech last year.

Another story no one overlooked was the pastry box stuffed with Bt2 million in cash that was sent to a Supreme Court judge. The case sparked widespread speculation about who might be attempting to bribe the court, which is considering cases against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the former Parliament speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat.