Another bad baht bus experience

Dear Sir,

It was with great interest that I find that I read your article last week concerning Baht Bus Drivers. I have had no problems with taxi drivers until yesterday. On August 23, at approximately 6 p.m. I stood on Beach Road and Soi 5 and hailed taxi number 367. Taking the taxi to the Royal Garden Plaza, with the intention of eating at Sizzlers, I got off and gave the driver 5Baht.

He demanded more money. Since I speak enough Thai to get by, called out the number of his cab- sarm-hok-jet and told him I would contact the police. He took out a large flashlight, got out of his cab and threatened me - that is, he was going to use the flashlight as a club.

I could have easily decked him, but since my flight was on August 25, I didn’t want to be bogged down with any legal matters that arose; so I walked away.

I went to the Tourist Police, told them what happened and gave them a description of the driver, a slightly built man, 5 feet tall wearing glasses. They were very nice - they took me down to cab number 367, but I don’t think they grasped the real gravity of the matter of him threatening physical harm.

I have been coming here every summer for the past eleven years; I was here when the only movie theater was the big screen at the Marine Bar. I was here before the Royal Garden was established and before the Big C was built. I have seen the mayor do a wonderful job improving Pattaya. I have enticed many of my friends from New York to come half way around the world to vacation here. I have told everyone I know in America how wonderful Pattaya is. However, my last impression, after spending 55 days of vacation here, is of a crooked Baht Bus Driver of Taxi 367 who was dangerous enough to use a flashlight as a weapon. I will have to rethink whether or not I will be coming back next summer. I wonder how many other people has this bus driver threatened? How many other people has he dissuaded from returning to Pattaya?

Sincerely,
Richard Celino

They’re only children!

Editor;

(I am writing) In response to the schoolteachers and pedophiles who have molested kids in Thailand.

I am deeply disturbed by what is going on in Thailand. I think Thailand is a very beautiful country because the people who live there make it so. What’s going on there now is a tragedy and must be stopped. Apparently, some foreigners go to Thailand to abuse children because they seem to think that Thai parents don’t love their kids. The molesting and exploitation taking place in Thailand shows no respect to these parents. Children are the treasures of any country. They are literally scarred for life when some adult misleads them to believe certain things and then manipulate them into compromising situations that they don’t understand is wrong. Because I visit Thailand regularly and have close friends who reside there, I know that things are hard for Thai people. However, this is no reason for foreigners to go there to buy children and exploit them, or anyone for that matter.

I read the Pattaya Mail weekly and although I hear about these incidents through media coverage, I never hear what happens to pedophiles that commit these awful crimes. I think the media widely publicized the consequences of those illegal acts and how swift the law can be to offenders, foreigners who go to Thailand to prey on these innocent treasures might think twice if they knew the stiff penalty of the law.

I am not just another American trying to solve the problems of another country here - child molestation happens allover the world, not just in Thailand. But for some reason, foreigners seem to think they can go to Thailand and buy anything they want, including children. This is wrong. I hope the Thai authorities get a handle on this problem and make good examples of the people who commit these atrocities. I think these criminals should be humiliated and exploited for who and what they are. Additionally, the nature of their crime and what happens to them for their bad deeds and wrong doings should be heavily publicized.

If foreigner wants to be involved with children in Thailand, they can help them in positive ways, not degrade or abuse them.

Ray Foster
USA

Referring again to a sad situation

Editor;

Referring again to the sad situation concerning foreign visitors coming to Pattaya intending to sexually abuse minors, I too am unaware of what becomes of the mentally deficient persons after being apprehended by police exposing the behavior considered to be immoral the world over. I can only assume that some of what I hear is true, whereas, the accused pay their way out and are banished from Thailand with their visas being non-renewable. I trust this is being done and if so fine, their future requests for visas to Thailand should justifiably be denied. I have also been told that some countries have the individuals picked up by authorities as soon as they arrive back home and prosecuted in their own courts, as should be.

For countries that do not get involved with the offenders when they return back home there may be internet browsers in the general vicinity of the offender’s home reading the article from the Pattaya Mail Newspaper on the world-wide-web. Those readers may be clever enough to assist their governments, if not already involved, by contacting the responsible agencies who can insure the disturbed offenders are not engaged in any type of employment involving young children, such as teaching.

Possibly the respective embassies residing in Thailand are informed, one way or another, and co-ordinate this procedure routinely. If not, I suggest they get informed and go one step further and put restrictions on the offender’s passports so the disturbed individuals can be maintained in their native countries prohibiting them from going to any other foreign country exploiting children with their sick desires. Additionally, after being notified, the offender’s future activity should be constantly monitored by their hometown authorities, whether they spent time in jail for the offence or not, because this type of crime is non-repayable to society.

Mr.Boonsiri,
Retired

Kitty Hawk Visit

Hi,

I am glad that you were able to make a visit to the USS Kitty Hawk while they were in Pattaya, but I would like to point out one thing that I believe you were not aware of. You made the following statement at the beginning of your article: “The Pattaya Mail team last week paid a visit to the Kitty Hawk - the only non-nuclear operated ship of 12 US aircraft carriers, and the oldest active ship of the US Naval Fleet.”

The Kitty Hawk is in fact the oldest ship in the US Navy, however, it is not the only “non-nuclear” carrier. There are the USS Constellation (CV-64) and USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) still in the active fleet. I am currently in the US Navy and I just finished a tour on the USS Kitty Hawk and I have served on the USS Kennedy also.

I really enjoy the Pattaya Mail and I think you do a really good job bringing the news to us that have interest in Pattaya, as I am a home owner there and I like to keep up with the news. I also have Thai friends here in Yokosuka that go to your sight and see what is happening at home!

Thanks again and have a great day,
V/R, Roy Rommelman

Response to Alan Smith

Dear Sir,

In response to your correspondent Alan Smith, referring to my letter published in Pattaya Mail of 12th August, Thai Farmers Bank already implemented the policy of giving only 1% interest to foreign passbook savers last month, and I gathered from the branch managers of three other leading banks that they were “considering” implementing this policy also, permission for which was granted by the Central Bank of Thailand to all local banks some three months ago. (But as they hadn’t yet done so when I wrote my letter - and indeed, still haven’t as yet - I was reluctant to name them: mustn’t upset the phuyai...)

While it is true that passbook savings at all banks automatically receive interest due (typically twice a year at the end of June and December as I stated), fixed term deposits at, again, TFB, are credited on the contracted maturity date, but do not roll over automatically unless you go into the bank on that date and inform the staff you wish; a) to update your term deposit, and; b) renew it - as I discovered from personal experience, sir, when I erroneously assumed this would happen automatically to my own fixed-term account at TFB. In the interim, the term deposit earns only passbook savings rates.

In view of Mr. Smith having mentioned maintaining an account at Krung Thai Bank, it will be interesting to see what policy changes will occur at that institution next month when a new board is appointed to replace the 9 out of 10 Directors (including the Chairman) who were allowed to resign on August 24th as a result of the damning report on that bank’s “interesting” past lending practices and management methods. Perhaps in light of the ir enormous and potentially crippling Non-Performing Loans, that bank cannot yet afford to risk chasing away foreigners’ deposits...

Sincerely,
Leslie Wright

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Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek.