Boating tragedy results in one death

Taiwanese tourist drowns off Larn Island

Taiwanese tourist Mr. Su Pei Yu was pronounced dead on arrival at Pattaya Memorial Hospital just before noon on 17 January. The 30 year old tourist drowned when the banana boat he was riding capsized off Larn Island.

Su Pei Yu’s girlfriend, Miss Hong Chu Mai, told police that Yu and some of his friends had been riding on a banana boat for about 20 minutes when she observed the towing speed boat take a sharp turn causing all the passengers on the banana boat to be thrown into the water.

She said that everyone on the boat was wearing a life preserver, including her boyfriend. But it apparently didn’t help, as Yu may have somehow been caught and held underwater. The young driver of the speed boat attempted CPR on Su Pei Yu, but he didn’t respond and others had to help transport him to the hospital.

The tour group had visited Larn Island with the “New Golden Tour Company”.

Miss Hong Chu Mai, still in tears, said she couldn’t understand what happened to her boyfriend, as he was wearing a life vest like the others.

Police arranged for Su Pei Yu’s body to be transferred to the Nittiwed Forensic Center for further examination.

Hot & Cold Bar busted

Three “showgirls” arrested

Pattaya police were on a routine security patrol in the area of South Pattaya just before midnight on January 20, randomly investigating different establishments in the entertainment area. The patrol ended in Soi Post Office where police officers entered the Hot & Cold Bar, just in time for the show.

Nantiya Wapite, Yomrydee Singthong, and Thongdee Sudtadiri were arrested for dancing nude at the Hot & Cold Bar on Soi Post Office.

The embarrassed officers quickly arrested Nantiya Wapite, age 22, Yomrydee Singthong, age 20, and Thongdee Sudtadiri, age 20, all three of whom were dancing nude. After the girls were told to dress, all three were taken into the station where they were brought before the officer on duty.

The girls received a tongue lashing from the officer on duty, who was intent on embarrassing the young women into realizing how others view their behavior.

The three girls said they receive 500 baht per day to dance at the bar, and disrobing in front of the customers brings in good business.

The three girls were each fined their day’s pay and released with a warning.

Local police rescue kidnap victim

Break up Singapore kidnapping ring

Pattaya’s police pulled off a daring rescue of a young female kidnap victim, and with the help of law enforcement from Bangkok, were able to arrest four Singaporean suspects. Their reputed gang leader, however, is still at large.

24-year-old Zhang Yuhong, a Chinese singer at the Nasa Garden Caf้ in Bangkok, was set free from her captives on January 20th. Miss Zhang had been held in captivity for over 2 weeks. Her kidnappers were asking for US$1.5 million ransom.

Singaporeans Shi Zhong Wei, age 26, Henry Tanaik Hwa, age 23, Daniel Goh Soon Par, age 27, and Tony Thien Boon Ping were arrested for kidnapping. A Thai woman was also arrested and questioned.

Pattaya police were mobilized on January 20 after Bangkok police informed them that the gang of kidnappers was holding Miss Zhang hostage in Pattaya. Miss Zhang was kidnapped on 6 January from her hotel in Huay Khwang, Bangkok.

The kidnappers had contacted what they thought was one of Miss Zhang’s relatives, asking for the ransom to be electronically transferred into a Kasikorn Thai Bank account in Central Pattaya, where a Thai woman would receive the ransom. However, they had actually contacted an undercover Bangkok police officer posing as the relative.

Pattaya police burst in a rescued kidnap victim Miss Zhang Yuhong. This exclusive photo shows Police Lt. Col. Chachawan Phisuttiwong assisting Miss Zhang Yuhong at the moment of her rescue.

The information was passed from Bangkok Police through the Chonburi Provincial Police Commander who organized the Pattaya Police into action.

Undercover police officers were waiting at the Kasikorn Bank, preparing for the pick-up, when a Thai woman escorted by a foreign man entered the bank to make a withdrawal from the designated account.

Police arrested the two on the spot, ushered them to the station and interrogated them separately. The man was identified as Shi Zhong Wei, age 26, carrying a Singapore passport. The Thai woman was identified as 23-year-old Wadsana Srisuwan from Sakon Nakhon, who was working as a go-go dancer in South Pattaya.

A search of Shi Zhong Wei’s possessions produced a rental agreement for a house in Suk Sabaii Villa. A squad of officers went to the address, while other officers questioned Wadsana. The young dancer maintained her innocence, claiming Shi Zhong Wei bought her out of the bar the previous night and later said he needed to use her account number to receive money transferred from relatives in Singapore.

Pattaya police stormed the house at Suk Sabaii Villa, arrested three other men from Singapore, and found Miss Zhang Yuhong handcuffed to a bed. Her wrist and ankles were restrained and her eyes and mouth taped shut. Once she realized rescue was in progress she burst into tears and then fainted. Police took her to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital.

The three men arrested at the house were identified as Henry Tanaik Hwa, Daniel Goh Soon Par, and Tony Thien Boon Ping.

From the rented house, police confiscated 47 passports from various countries, 25 rubber stamps for processing visas in different countries, 6 date stamps and 50 passport envelopes. Police also found two sets of handcuffs, 90 rounds of .380 ammunition, four ghost masks, two pairs of gloves and three bottles of methyl alcohol.

Police interrogated the four men separately and later learned that the gang leader, Michael Stew, age 30, also from Singapore, had evaded capture.

The men are being charged with holding an individual hostage, demanding ransom, falsifying documents, illegally possessing ammunition and for physically and mentally abusing Miss Zhang.

Doctors at the Pattaya Memorial Hospital said Miss Zhang’s condition is improving and she will be fine, although she requires hospital rest after the ordeal and is weak from not eating for the past five days. A female police guard was put on duty at her hospital room and police are continuing the search for the gang leader.

Illegal tour company busted

3 foreigners arrested

Three foreigners were arrested last week for operating an illegal tour company from their rented apartment on the 1st floor of the Pattaya Hills Resort off of Pratamnak Road.

Police arrested company owner Valentin Miloutine and his two employees, Joel Bertrolo and Alexander Kruschev.

The three were operating the B.M.C. Marketing Company (Thailand) Ltd., an illegal tour business. None of the three had the required work permits or documentation approving the business.

The three had turned the three rooms of their apartment into a filing room, a customer receiving room, and a room for viewing videos of world wide tourist locations.

Kruschev’s job was to introduce the videos and explain the travel and hotel costs. Bertrolo was allegedly in charge of marketing and office management.

The three men confessed to operating the business for the past month without the required approvals. All three were charged accordingly and transferred to the Pattaya police station for further disposition.

Russian tourists flocking to Pattaya

Escaping the cold at home

Russian tourists are flocking to Pattaya through U-tapao Airport, escaping the long, cold winter nights back home.

Arrival figures are up, and estimates have it that from now through March 2000, over 6,000 more tourists from Russia will visit Pattaya, bringing in an estimated 600 million baht.

Heading back to Russia - Russian tourists bundle up their purchased items to take home.

Visitor surveys show that Russian visitors are saying Pattaya is a favorite spot because of its many conveniences, including many hotel accommodations and tourist attractions. The most popular tourists attractions have been Nong Nooch Village, stage shows and the many temples.

Inexpensive living, friendly people, good weather and the natural beauty in the area are all part of the attraction, the tourists say. They also like the shopping, and purchase many electrical items to take back with them.

Paying respect to teachers

Annual Teacher’s Day (2000) celebrated

Banglamung Vocational College celebrated Annual Teacher’s Day (2000) at their conference hall on January 16. On hand to honor the kingdom’s educators were Minister of Education Somsak Pridsananantakul, Bang Lamung District Chief Vichien Chawalit and Bang Lamung District Education Officer Suranit Ajaryt. Over a thousand educators from district area schools attended.

District Chief Vichien opened the “Teacher’s Day 2000" ceremony by presenting awards to recognize exceptional teachers during the year.

Over one thousand teachers from district schools participated in annual teacher’s day celebrations at Banglamung Vocational College on January 16.

Minister Somsak then gave an address, proclaiming, “educators must possess the heart and soul of a teacher, with proper behavior, setting the example for others to follow”.

Bang Lamung Education Officer Suranit reiterated the Education Minister’s words, acknowledging the government’s appreciation of the teaching profession and stating that teaching is a major factor in the nation’s development.

Suranit described the importance of the nation’s educators, especially during the current economic situation, stressing that teachers must, “work to extremes, make sacrifices to continually improve their own knowledge and abilities, and maintain moral integrity to set an example for society”.

The ceremony began at 9.00 a.m. with ritual ceremonies performed by nine Buddhist monks. Bang Lamung District Chief Vichien then led the crowd of teachers and honored guests in a minute of silence to observe and honor former teachers.

In the afternoon, the teachers competed against each other in a number of athletic events and ended the day’s activities with an evening dinner party.

U-tapao opens VAT Refund Office for Tourists

Must make claim within 60 days

The VAT Refund Office at U-tapao Airport was opened last month to promote tourism to Thailand and Eastern Seaboard provinces. The promotional idea offers tourists leaving Thailand a refund for items purchased at participating stores. The items must be identified with a “VAT Refund for Tourists” marking.

Other airports offering the VAT refund for tourists are Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, and Phuket.

The VAT refund is only for foreigners residing in Thailand for less than 180 days. Other restrictions prohibit airline employees from claiming the refund, and departure must be from one of the five airports listed above.

Tourists wishing to claim their tax refunds must obtain tax forms from the authorized VAT store where the merchandise was purchased at the time of purchase. Claims must be made prior to leaving the country and within 60 days of purchase.

Tourists can receive VAT refunds in cash (Thai baht), money drafts, or have the amounts transferred as credit into credit card accounts. Drafts and transfers incur a small commission fee.

Business owners interested in more information about joining the network of participating stores offering the VAT refund to tourists can contact the VAT Refund for Tourist Center: (02) 272-9387-8, 272-8195-8 or call the VAT Refund for Tourist Office at U-tapao Airport (038) 245-966.

Rayong port of entry statistics recorded during November-December 1999 showed 8,182 visitors from Russia, 390 from Finland and 350 from Sweden with smaller numbers from other countries. Tourists arriving in Thailand through U-tapao do so on chartered flights.

Agreement bans use of children in war

Child Labor News Service

Geneva: After six years of negotiations, governments today finally agreed to ban the use of children under the age of eighteen in armed conflicts. The treaty applies to both national armies and rebel groups.

The terms of the treaty were fought tooth and nail until the final day of discussions. In a significant shift, the United States agreed for the first time to end the deployment of under-18s in combat. According to Human Rights Watch, “The accord marks the first time the United States has ever agreed to change its practices in order to support a human rights standard.”

Jo Becker, the steering committee chair for the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, said, “This is a great advance for children around the world. When backed by political and public pressure, this treaty will help stop the appalling use of children as soldiers.”

The Coalition expressed disappointment, however, that the agreement failed to establish eighteen years as the minimum age for voluntary recruitment.

“The best way to ensure that children are not used in war is to ensure that they are not recruited in the first place,” said Becker. “Unfortunately, many governments based their positions on narrow military interests, rather than the best interests of children.”

The Coalition also noted that the agreement creates a double standard by prohibiting all recruitment of children by non-governmental armed groups, but allowing government forces to recruit volunteers as young as sixteen.

The Coalition recognized several governments for their strong efforts to achieve a prohibition on any recruitment or use of children in hostilities, in particular, Switzerland, Belgium, Uruguay, Portugal, Sweden, Guatemala, the Czech Republic and Ethiopia.

The treaty is an optional Protocol to the nearly universally ratified Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention generally defines a child as any person under the age of eighteen, but it was adopted in 1989 with the lower age of fifteen as a minimum for recruitment and use in hostilities. The protocol was drafted to address this anomaly in child rights standards. The treaty will be open for signature and ratification after adoption by this year’s UN General Assembly.

The Coalition estimates that over 300,000 children under the age of eighteen are currently being used in armed conflicts in more than thirty countries around the world. The Coalition pledged to monitor compliance with the treaty, to campaign for broad ratification, and to continue pushing for a higher enlistment age in countries that currently recruit under-18s.

U.S. Embassy consular officer to visit Pattaya

Consular Officer Paul O. Mayer from the U.S. Embassy, Bangkok will visit Pattaya on February 8, 2000. His visit will provide the opportunity for Americans residing in the area to obtain a number of consular services without having to travel to the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. The officer will be providing services at the following times and location:

- Tuesday, February 8, 2000 from 08:00 to 12:00 a.m. and from 13:00 to 16:00 p.m. at the Merlin Hotel, 429 Moo 9, Pattaya Beach Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi, Tel. (038) 428-755.

Below is a list of services that will be provided during this visit:

- Extra passport pages

- Passport applications (be advised, however, that new passports must be picked up at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok - they cannot be sent via mail)

- Notarials, including affidavits required by the Thai government for marriage, driver’s license and certain types of visas

- Registration with the U.S. Embassy

- Information on application procedures for Thai citizens seeking U.S visas (note that applications must be submitted at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok)

Please note that U.S. law requires a $US55 (or Thai Baht equivalent) fee for each notarial service provided. Passport applications cost $US 40-60.

For further information please contact the American Citizen Services office at 02-205-4049.

Copyright 1999 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.