City council looking for help in high places

Petition Prime Minister to help expedite wastewater treatment plant

Members of Pattaya’s city council have petitioned Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai to try to get his help in bringing construction of the wastewater treatment plant to a speedy conclusion.

Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat and council members Sutham Phanthusak, Ms. Sophin Thapppajug and Ms. Panga Vathanakul co-signed the document, dated August 12, 1999, addressed to Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and Dr. Athit Urairat, the Minister of Science and Environmental Technology. The letter identifies the city’s concerns over the delays in construction of Pattaya’s 1.8 billion baht wastewater treatment facility. The letter also states that more delays in construction would be detrimental to the city’s tourist industry.

City council members met with the Sam Prasit Company to tryi and motivate the company to expedite the completion of the wastewater treatment project. Sam Prasit say they need more time, so the city council is petitioning the Prime Minister for his help.

Pattaya City received government approval to go ahead with the construction of the water treatment facility in March 1992. The project received top priority.

The Pollution Control Division of the Ministry of Science and Technology contracted the Sam Prasit Company Ltd. to carry out the construction of the facility, including the laying of water pipes.

The contract stated that the project was to be completed in June of this year. However, the project is still not even close to being completed.

The Sam Prasit Company is defending the delay, claiming they have not been able to obtain the machinery required to run the facility.

The Sam Prasit Company also says there have been other minor problems that have slowed progress. They have even asked for the contract to be renewed or extended for an additional 18 months (until December 2000).

This latest delay has prompted city officials to petition the Prime Minister with their concerns.

City officials feel the Sam Prasit Company has not lived up to their agreement and have no justifiable reasons for the delay.

The local administration appropriated a large sum of money (1.8 billion baht) to support the wastewater treatment project to clean up the polluted water in the area. The project is viewed as a way of demonstrating the city’s efforts to clean up the environment in order to attract more tourists to the area.

City officials have been concentrating a lot of time and energy on making improvements to the city. Using funds donated by the local business community, the local roads are being beautified, there have been clean up projects, and the Central Pattaya Road project completed to be used as an example for other roads.

The city has also been working hard to publicize all the improvements to overseas travel agents. They have especially been portraying and promoting the water treatment facility as one of the many positive changes in Pattaya. If the wastewater treatment project is not completed soon, the city expects to lose a lot of anticipated tourism revenue.

The document requested the Prime Minister to step in and issue directives so the concerned parties involved can make the water treatment facility operational by the end of this year (1999).

Battling the baht bus problem

Phone numbers given to report incidents

Not all baht bus drivers are bad. However, the ones that are have become such a nuisance, they are amongst the most common complaints made by tourists visiting Pattaya.

Pattaya’s city fathers are once again looking into the problem and attempting to find ways to combat it.

Problems most frequently heard about baht bus drivers are overcharging, not taking passengers to desired drop-off points, parking in unauthorized areas, erratic parking, impolite mannerisms with passengers, and taking advantage of tourists.

All together there are more than 600 baht busses operating in the area. Jamlong Sukphrom is in charge of the baht bus cooperative, but is unable to control the large number of vehicles.

One solution proposed to help alleviate baht bus problems is a public relations campaign to urge the public to report any improper behavior encountered with baht bus drivers. Anyone experiencing a problem should note the vehicle number, the time and location, then report this information to either the: Chonburi Transportation Office: 277467; Pattaya City Mayor’s Office: 429270; Pattaya City Manager: 429216; or the Banglamung District Baht Bus Cooperative: 221271 or 423554.

Swiss tourist has brush with death

Drugged and stabbed by a katoey

Swiss tourist Franco Vanol, age 47, was found unconscious in his hotel room in the early evening hours of August 10th. He had been stabbed in the chest and drugged. Evidence suggests the perpetrator may have been a transvestite.

The hotel cleaning lady alerted police after she was unable to gain entry into the room, as it was chained locked from the inside. Prior to that, Franco had not been seen for two days.

Police and hotel management forced entry into the room and found Franco lying naked on the bed with a three inch long stab wound in his chest. He was immediately brought to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital emergency room.

Franco’s responses to treatment led doctors to suspect he may have been drugged, so they pumped his stomach clean.

Back in the hotel room, detectives found broken glass scattered on the floor and smeared blood in the bathroom. Over 1,000 baht was still on the bed table and a hand-held phone and a CD player were lying on the floor next to the bed. Police also found a bottle of drinking water and a water glass with un-dissolved crystals in the bottom of it. All items were collected as evidence for analysis.

Hotel management told police that Franco checked into the hotel on August 3rd. He was scheduled to check out on August 6th, but he extended his stay. They said he brought transvestites to his room daily.

A weak description of the female impostor was given to police identifying a slender, dark complected person dressed in female attire.

Franco’s condition has improved but he is still unable to respond to police questioning. Police assume he was still able to defend himself before being stabbed and the drug taking over. He was also capable of chaining the door after to his guest’s departure and in a frightened state, too weak to contact anyone for help, the drug put him out for two days. Police hope that after he comes around he will be able shed more light on the attack.

Swedish tourist found dead in hotel room

Reime Agne Torvald Levi (sic), age 36, from Sweden, was found dead in his South Pattaya hotel room last week, apparently the result of a suicide. Police found Levi hanging from a length of steel wire around his neck. The wire was attached to a fixture on the wall. A shirt was wrapped around the neck under the wire.

No other wounds were found on the body, which was transferred to the Nitiwed Institute for autopsy.

The hotel cleaning lady told police she tried to enter the room after knocking but didn’t receive a reply. She attempted to enter the room with her pass key, but the door was bolted from the inside. She peered in through the window and could make out Levi’s hanging body, so she immediately notified the management.

The apparent suicide is presumed to involve a Thai girl whose picture, torn into four pieces, was found on the table. No other information was made available.

Immigration nabs criminal Korean couple

Husband and wife allegedly swindled 15 million baht

A Korean couple was arrested by Immigration police last week for their alleged involvement in a 15 million baht swindle in Korea.

Pattaya Immigration officers had received a request from the Korean government asking for assistance in arresting the two Korean nationals, wanted for criminal activities in Korea. The document identified Mr. Kim Won Je and Mrs. Soon Ok Kim Shin as being wanted for a swindle involving 410,000 USD (around 15 million baht).

Immigration officers located the husband and wife team where they opened up a Korean BBQ restaurant near the entrance to the Town in Town Hotel.

Mrs. Soon Ok Kim Shin, age 40, was arrested as she was opening up the restaurant. Mr. Kim Won Je, age 45, was found sound asleep on the third floor of the restaurant. Both were taken into custody.

The husband’s passport was about to expire on August 25th, and his wife’s passport had already expired on June 1st. Aside from the restaurant business the two were also coordinating golf tours in Pattaya.

The Korean embassy was notified and the Immigration Office is waiting for embassy officials from Korea to escort both individuals back to Korea to stand trial.

Tourist projects to center on handicapped and elderly

City could receive 113 million baht from OECF

TAT Director Seri Wangphaijit identified two projects to promote tourism in Pattaya. The first has been dubbed the Handicapped Conveniences Project and the second, the Pattaya Tourist Service Center Project.

The projects, it implemented, would make Pattaya more accessible to the handicapped and would ease visa restrictions and promote discounts for visiting senior citizens.

The TAT is also offering to arrange for experts to assist in the two projects, as it deems them important to upgrade Pattaya to international standards.

If certain conditions are met in implementing the two projects, Pattaya City could receive 113 million baht from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) from Japan to support the projects.

TAT Director Seri Wangphaijit

The Handicapped Conveniences Project would provide specified parking for handicapped persons, handicapped ramps for wheelchair access, touch sensitive walkways for blind persons, and rest room facilities equipped for the handicapped.

TAT Director Seri asked Pattaya hotels to give special consideration to the proposal, especially to the areas of restrooms and convenient access to rooms.

Director Seri also referred to senior citizens as an important group of tourists. TAT has suggested to the Immigration Office to allow senior citizens to obtain one year visas, as many overseas senior citizens are here receiving their retirement pensions.

Director Seri also suggested that some of the 40,000 or more available hotel rooms in Pattaya should be giving special consideration to catering to this group. Statistics show that the senior citizen group is a large portion of the population and continues to grow in all the wealthier nations.

Currently there are on-going projects to create senior citizen centers in Loei and Phetchburi Provinces, and hotels in Chiang Mai and Pattaya are starting to afford conveniences catering to senior citizens and handicapped persons visiting Thailand.

Pattaya City Council is in agreement with the TAT’s proposals and all that remains to be done is the necessary paperwork stipulating the conditions required according to the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) from Japan.

The city council has rushed off a document to Mrs. Paweena Hongsakul, Minister attached to the Office of the Prime Minister in Charge of Tourist Affairs, requesting immediate action on initiating the projects.

Police tackle fuel smuggling problem

Train officers on illicit and mixed fuels

Police Department Commanders from the Tourist Police, Coastal Police, Highway Police and the Municipal Police attended a seminar at the Jomtien Welcome Hotel this month on the identification of illicit and mixed fuels.

More than 300 officers participated in the training, including individuals from the National Energy and Policy Committee Office, the Royal Thai Navy, Customs Department, Port Authority, and the Excise Department.

Deputy Director-General Pol. Gen. Sant Sarutanond referred to the illicit trade of fuels coming into Thailand as a major problem that has the ability to upset the stability of the country. The government has given the problem top priority and intends to put an end to the illegal trafficking of contraband fuels.

In the past, the problem was only confronted in coastal areas where illicit fuels were evading taxes and customs excise.

Currently, the illicit trade has escalated to the point where influential groups are bringing in chemicals as hydrocarbon solvents, which are not taxable. The illicit fuels are then mixed and taxes are reimbursed for exporting these fuels. However, the illicit mixture is not exported and is sold in Thailand.

The people involved in this type of crime are very skilled in the procedures; therefore, the seminar’s objective was to increase the knowledge of police officers in the techniques required to suppress the problem.

Shrimp Fest coming to Pattaya Beach

Promoting shrimp and seafood from September 24-26

The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry, in cooperation with the TAT, are arranging a Thai Shrimp Festival to promote both tourism and fish produce exports. The Shrimp Festival is scheduled for 24-26 September.

The festival will be held along a two-kilometer stretch of beach, probably in Central Pattaya.

Loads of shrimp and shrimp products will be on display and for sale at the festival, with other seafood as well. Popular beverage distributors will also be on hand, along with many foreign chefs in the area. Entertainment will be provided throughout the festival.

Pattaya Beach will come alive with the Thai Shrimp Festival from August 24-26th.

Visitors from all over the world are expected to turn out in large numbers along with many Thais from the various provinces. The shrimp festival is another way to promote the country’s activities and show visitors what Thailand has to offer.

The planning group has attracted the area’s highest ranking dignitaries, including Minister of Industry Suwat Liphataphanlop, Minister attached to the Prime Minister office in charge of Tourism Mrs. Paweena Hongsakul, Deputy Minister of Commerce Kornphot Adsawin Wijit, Deputy Minister of Communications Sonthaya Khunpluem, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Tourism of the House of Representatives Sansak Ngamphiches, Chonburi Member of Parliament Chansak Chavalit-Nititham, Mayor of Saensukh Municipality Somchai Khunpluem, and Pattaya Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat.

The Shrimp Festival is being sponsored by both the local business community and the local administration, including the local Fishing Department, Food Industry, the National Industry Assembly, the Processed Food Producers Association, Thai Airways Food Processors, the Thai Hotel Association and the Thai Shrimp Producing Association.

Copyright 1998 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
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Updated by Chinnaporn Sungwanlek.