NEWS

HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Uninvited guest gives housewife unpleasant surprise

Walking Street merchants complain to city hall

Ray Kelly to be deported

Body found on Pattaya Beach

Norwegian tourist robbed in hotel

Street Kids - Who’s to Blame?

Crazed tourist shakes up hotel staff

PBTA endorses new microbus system

The Millennium Bug - Do we have the correct insecticide?

Uninvited guest gives housewife unpleasant surprise

Slithered in escape rain

Police heard a rather timorous voice on the phone last week when Ms. Anchalee Srithong telephoned.

"S-snake in the house," Ms. Anchalee said many times. The officer, realizing Ms. Anchalee’s terror, gently coaxed her to tell him her address. During the conversation, most of the other officers quietly excused themselves and went to take care of important duties or have lunch.

n1.JPG (31198 bytes)Fearless Pattaya police officer Kittisak Yokanit rescues Monty the Python from the Srithong family, or was it the other way around?

The remaining officers formed a Herpetological Suppression Squad and went to root out the intruder.

Arriving at the scene, officers found the terrifying marauder was a whopping 1.20 meter long Python.

Getting a small tree branch, officers tried to push the slithery Monty out of the house.

Not yet "full", the serpentine desperado was not in the mood. Raising his head, he fought the officers valiantly with admirable strikes, thrusts and parries.

Finally, fearless officer Kittisak Yokanit of the Pattaya police donned a thick glove, grabbed the serpent by the throat, put him in a fertilizer bag and released him in the jungle in back of the house.

No charges were lodged against the snake as he had immunity from the law, due to being an endangered species. If he had been human, he would have been charged with trespassing, disturbing the peace and worst of all, resisting arrest.

Ms. Anchalee was lucky, as the snake was not dangerous to humans. The animal had apparently slithered from the forest, into an unused drain and into her house in an attempt to escape rain.

The Pattaya Mail would like to warn readers who live near forests or water to be sure that their houses are secure from such invasions. Other reptilian nasties, such as venomous Cobras and Bamboo Snakes are known to seek shelter in houses during the rains.

Any holes or open pipes should be plugged or securely covered.

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Walking Street merchants complain to city hall

Concerned over impact of improvements

The residents and merchants of the Walking Street complained to city hall last week, stating that they are worried about three eventualities which might be caused by the laying of the pipe necessary for the new wastewater treatment system.

At a meeting of the Pattaya city council on September 15th, the Board of Directors of the Walking Street posed three major questions/problems to the council, concerning the construction of the wastewater treatment plant.

n2.JPG (40905 bytes)Pipeline construction continues throughout the city, yet Walking Street merchants seem to be complaining the loudest about interruptions to their businesses.

1. Construction would cause the earth above the pipes to sink. Would the old pipes still be able to be used?
2. Cause the sidewalk to sink.
3. Vehicles are allowed to ply the street now. Would the street be closed to motor vehicles after the construction?

Pattaya Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat requested Mr. Santiphap Muangkhum, Head of the City Engineering Department, to answer the protesters questions.

Santiphap told merchants that the new Walking Street would be tile covered concrete in order to make the street more of a promenade. He said this would make the roadway more beautiful and the thoroughfare would be able to bear the weight of any vehicle using the street. The budget for the project is 1,900,000 baht.

Santiphap assured the protesters that the street would be up to standard and they need not worry about this. The company and the city told the worried residents that they were working as quickly as possible without compromising quality.

Santiphap said that when construction was complete, the street would be closed to vehicles following the original schedule.

Mayor Pairat suggested that the consulting company working with the construction company compile a detailed report for worried residents to ease their minds.

The mayor said that construction should cease on weekends and holidays so as not to have an adverse effect on tourism.

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Ray Kelly to be deported

Latest casualty in Ministry of Interior’s witch hunt

On September 21st at 8:00 p.m. Police Colonel Jiraphan Issarangkul Na Ayuthaya, Commander of Immigration for Pattaya, and a group of officers served Persona Non Grata papers issued by the Ministry of the Interior to Mr. Walter Raymond Kelly, 45, an Australian citizen, and took him to Pattaya Immigration Headquarters for questioning.

Kelly became the second expat in as many weeks to feel the wrath of the Ministry of Interior, the first being the now famous case of Wolfgang Ulrich, owner of the Bavaria House Restaurant.

Kelly was arrested and charged with opening and operating the Classroom and Misty’s a Go-Go bars, both of which allegedly engaged in flagrantly lewd and lascivious behavior.

Kelly was also charged with operating "beer bars" which provided women for prostitution. Kelly allegedly operated these establishments from "the back" using Thai nationals as "fronts".

The Ministry of the Interior therefore named Kelly on its list of "34 undesirables" and found it suitable that he be declared Persona Non Grata.

During questioning, Kelly told Immigration officials that he was married to a Thai woman, Ms. Kalya Phantsak, 43, from Nakorn Sri Thammarat. He admitted to opening the above venues but said that the ownership papers were all in his wife’s name.

He continued, saying that he and his wife had a son and if he were deported, he would not be able to see his son. He would make a request to re-enter the Kingdom.

When Ms. Kalya arrived at the Immigration Division and asked to post bail for Kelly, the request was denied. The Commander told her that she would have to make her request with the Ministry of the Interior.

Kelly was arrested for possession of cocaine in August of 1998. The case has yet to come to court, and Kelly is out on bail for this charge.

Kelly has been sent to Immigration Headquarters in Bangkok.

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Body found on Pattaya Beach

Police surmise he fell onto rocks

On September 18, a beach security guard found the body of 44 year old Austrian national Josef Tauferer, on Pattaya Beach.

At the scene, police found the body surrounded by avid onlookers. Police were able to identify the deceased man by a Pattaya International Hospital Registration card they found on the body.

Police found no signs of struggle, but there were many scratches on the body and the neck was broken, leading police to surmise that the Austrian fell from a high place onto rocks.

The security guard, Ongarj Narksrisukh, 32, was brought to the Pattaya police station for questioning. Ongarj, assigned to duty on Pattaya Beach, said he found nothing untoward until the last hour of his night shift. In the early hours of the morning, he found the body and reported it to police.

Police are conducting investigations to ascertain where the man was staying.
Officers sent the body to the Police Hospital for autopsy.

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Norwegian tourist robbed in hotel

Set up by bar girl

On September 19, Mr. Mehndi Moxie (sic), 41, was cut with a knife and beaten with sticks, pipes and a motorcycle helmet in his hotel room in Banglamung.

At the hospital, Mehndi told officers that he had gone out to a beer bar in South Pattaya where he met a young Thai woman named ‘Wee’. The woman struck up a conversation with him and suggested they go to his hotel.

Seeing that Wee was very attractive indeed, he thought ‘Why not’, and they left the bar.

Once in his room, four men burst in and began beating him with sticks and pipes. They also stabbed him once in the lower abdomen with a knife. The assailants took his 2 ounce gold chain and one ounce gold bracelet.

When Mehndi regained consciousness, the men and ‘Wee’ were gone. He crawled to the phone and called police. Police took the wounded Norwegian to the hospital for treatment.

Police theorize that this was a ‘set up’ with ‘Wee’ as the bait.

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Street Kids - Who’s to Blame?

by Mirin MacCarthy

A tragic story unfolded at the Street Children Seminar held at the Siam Bayview this week. This was the four year follow-up of a previous seminar, again organized by Hamish Richards, Chairman of Development Consultancy Services, investigating the plight of Street Children in SE Asia. The story is one of child trafficking, oppression, drug taking, prostitution, poverty and child labour.

In the words of one well-known speaker, Father Joseph, a Catholic worker in Bangkok’s Klong Toey, "Enough to break your bloody heart, Christ, who need’s this?" Fr. Joe is a humane concerned Priest of Irish /German descent who is acknowledged for his work with the poor, abused, and homeless kids in our capital city.

Although most people have heard of Father Joe with his renowned ability and flair as a bilingual speaker, and his habitual controversial comments, not many people in Pattaya understand the extent of this man’s involvement in fund raising, organizational work, and his acceptance of the many heartaches and headaches that working in the slums produces. However, this seminar was not just Fr. Joe’s story.

It attracted many other attendees, international and local. As the story unfolded, it became one of intrigue, danger and human suffering. In many ways, a blight on our collective consciences.

In spite of this and the pain involved for all the participants, the roll up read like a who’s who of Europe and Asia, with representatives from the European Union and the I.L.O.

A paper was presented on behalf of Nguyen Thi Hang, Minister of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs, of Vietnam. Amazingly, the only country to own up to this frightful problem and admit it was their own is Vietnam. The speakers who followed all had the same story to tell. An embarrassing one of shame, child torture, kidnapping, abuse, drug addiction, theft, prostitution and trafficking, illegal immigration and exploitation, not only in our own country but also in five other close ASEAN nations.

This issue is an enormously complex problem involving governments, N.G.O.’s, political, spiritual and societal collapse as well as the economic deterioration experienced by many SE Asian nations, including Thailand.

It became apparent that the Street Kid Syndrome will need a multilateral, multi-cultural approach to counteract a problem which appears to have no end in sight.

A further report on the seminar will be given in the Pattaya Mail next week.

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Crazed tourist shakes up hotel staff

A tourist from the Middle East ingested an unknown substance and became so agitated and noisy that Champ Hotel staff in Pattaya called police to subdue him.

During his arrest, he told police that he was ‘very important’. Isn’t everyone? This type of fuss makes extra work for police who not only must guard tourists’ safety but also control their unruly behavior.

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PBTA endorses new microbus system

Pattaya baht bus cooperative may be allowed to bid

The Pattaya Business and Tourism Association (PBTA) has endorsed the proposed new microbus system in Pattaya, they announced at a meeting last week.

The organization was hopeful it might solve the various problems associated with the current baht buses system.

PBTA President Suphadit Maneeratcharatsri stated that the Pattaya City Council had also approved of the idea in its meeting on September 1st. He said that the city council had suggested using air-conditioned microbuses, similar to those in Bangkok. He also said the city council had presented the idea to the Land Transport Authority of Chonburi, headed by Chonburi Governor Sujarit Pajchimanan. He told the PBTA that the Pattaya City Council had sent it to the Land Transport Authority so it could be published in the Royal Gazette.

The microbuses would ply three routes; one route would travel around the city, the second route would travel Soi Photisarn in South Pattaya approximately 3 or 4 months in the future. The third route would ply Soi Thepprasit and Pattaya Third Road.

In a reversal from the sentiments expressed by city hall, however, the PBTA stated they would give special consideration to the Pattaya baht bus cooperative to bid on the project. This would give the cooperative a chance to join with the microbuses in developing Pattaya’s transportation system. This would also lower the number of baht buses.

There are currently over 700 baht buses in operation and lowering the number would alleviate traffic problems. This would also prevent any problems which could arise between the two companies.

Suphadit said, "Don’t forget that the conditions in this matter are not easy because we have to do things step-by step and there are many other matters to work out. We don’t know who the investors will be but we must open the bidding to other people. We also have a lot of problems, such as the baht bus cooperative and the ever increasing numbers of baht buses. With both baht buses and microbuses on the street, there will be increased traffic problems. But we must realize that with only baht buses, the passengers have no choice as to what type of transportation to use."

Chanyuth Hengtrakul, Head of the Pattaya Media Association, said he did not agree with allowing the baht bus cooperative to bid on the microbus project. Other people from the private sector should be allowed to bid. Especially in the matter of investment in microbuses and lowering the number of baht buses, the person in charge must be someone with authority.

Somchai Khumpleum or ‘Kamnan Poh’ was suggested as a good choice to do this. He could be the president and others could buy shares in the company. He said that if more people used microbuses, fewer people would use baht buses.

The PBTA’s conclusion was that they agree with the microbus project and hope that the baht bus cooperative joins in solving problems thus: better service on routes down to the beach, improve the look of the baht buses, charge fair fares, drivers should be courteous and should obey traffic laws.

This would lead to fair competition and meet the public’s expectations and needs. Other people should be allowed to bid for shares in the company. The initial steps should be: set up a company, set up an administrative system and allow others to buy shares, meet the desires of the public by letting the two companies compete in a spirit of free enterprise.

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The Millennium Bug - Do we have the correct insecticide?

by Dr. Iain Corness

The British Chamber of Commerce Bangkok (BCCB) staged another of their popular Eastern Seaboard dinners last Friday. The Keynote Speaker was Alan Craig, MD of "Survive in Asia", who spoke on the Millennium Bug, also known as the Y2K problem.

Alan’s message at the commencement of the lecture was "Plan for the best, but prepare for the worst."

The worst possible scenario involves computer crashes which many believe would make the entire world as we know it come crashing to its knees. Predictions range from 29% of the Gross Domestic Product of the United Kingdom being at risk through to the failure of 62% of all small businesses.

There is no doubt in most business minds that the Y2K problem has to be addressed - but to what extent? Chase Manhattan Bank is spending upwards of $250 Million, whilst others are adopting a "wait and see" policy.

According to Alan Craig, management denial of Y2K will lead to delays and scape-goating, neither of which is particularly conducive to efficient organizations. He also believes there is a real problem with potentially fraudulent situations that can arise during computer malfunctions. He claimed that 60% of company fraud is carried out by managers within that company. A frightening statistic.

However, Y2K problems and results cannot be confirmed as yet, and much work is being done to make software Y2K compliant, so the end result defies prediction from this distance.

It is believed that good legal advice will be necessary to cover the aspect of "Duty of Care" and it will be important that contingency plans be put in place early on. Alan’s question to the BCCB group was really - how prepared are you? His exact words were "It isn’t too late! But it’s damn close!"

Undoubtedly there were mixed reactions in the audience, but there were no managers there who were unaware of the Y2K situation. Everyone must make their decision as to when and how they meet the Millennium Bug. For myself - I’m relying on "Shelltox".

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