Government eyes again focus on U-tapao Airport

They diverted the funds to upgrade U-tapao Airport’s safety requirements for landings and take-offs. The funds will also be used to upgrade the facility to handle up to 1,000 passengers. The facilities at U-tapao can now only handle from 400-500 passengers, most of whom arrive on chartered flights from Taiwan, Russia and European countries.

U-tapao currently lacks a sufficient number of check-in counters, x-ray equipment and luggage conveyors, and the runway lighting system is in need of upgrading. Other improvements are needed to get passengers conveniently to and from the terminals, which has always been hectic, especially during the tourist high season.

The Chairman of the Standing Committee on Tourism of the House of Representatives Santsak Ngarmphiches was reported as saying the 200 million baht was just the initial budget to start the improvements. He said that other allocations will follow.

The planned improvements are expected to turn U-tapao into an international commercial airport with the upgrades hopefully completed within one year.

Santsak said the private sector and the city administration in Pattaya, in conjunction with the TAT, has been pushing to make the improvements for the past 2-3 years, but due to budget constraints the results were never realized.

Santsak also referred to a 1997 agreement among the ministers to develop areas along the Eastern Seaboard which included plans for improvements at U-tapao. The plan calls for turning the area into a production and transportation center (Global Transpark).

The agreement also included community social and environmental developments, and human resource developments at a cost of 3,600 million baht. However, the economic situation caused the budgeting office to opt for improvements at the Nong Ngu Hao Airport in Bangkok, while all along U-tapao was in close proximity, and with improvements, capable of handling increased numbers of passengers and cargo for a long time to come.

Mistaken identity leads to bomb scare at Susie Massage Parlor

Water filter causes woman to panic

A young female employee at a beer bar located downstairs from the Susie Massage Parlor in Soi 4 uncovered a large cardboard box containing heavy, scary looking items. With no one around that was aware of the contents, the young woman panicked. What exactly caused her to suspect a terrorist attack or some opposition having ill intentions is unknown, but the conscientious girl contacted the police to report a bomb had been found.

A box containing a water filtering system caused a young woman to panic and call in the bomb squad.

Pattaya police officers responded to the call in the early evening of 15 June and cleared out the girls working on the second floor massage parlor before carefully approaching the container. The box was addressed to a person named Mr. Wisit from the Function Trading Company in Bangkok.

Two police officers opened the container to find a collection of unrecognizable cylindrical objects and other instruments. At first they were puzzled and unsure as to what they were inspecting. However, closer inspection revealed that the box contained a water reverse osmosis filtering system and the police officers were able to relax.

Officers eventually found out that the owner of the Susie Massage Parlor, “Daeng”, ordered the filtering system, which was sent by mistake to the parlor rather than to his home. An absent minded employee at Susie’s signed for the container when it was delivered and just left it on a nearby table where it was discovered by the jittery bar worker.

Counterfeit passport ring broken

Three arrested, forgery equipment seized

Three Middle Easterners were arrested last week in Pattaya for counterfeiting and selling passports. The three men, all with their own false identification, were eventually identified as Ali Alfahad Ki, age 52 from Iraq, Sabah K Alhelfi, age 49, also from Iraq, and Abrihim Ayoub Hamid, age 26 from Sudan.

Ali Alfahad Ki, Sabah K Alhelfi and Abrihim Ayoub Hamid were arrested and charged with counterfeiting and selling passports.

Immigration Police Headquarters had uncovered information indicating the gang was operating inside Thailand, faking passports. Pattaya’s Immigration Police initiated an investigation on June 12 after being notified that the gang was last reported to be in Pattaya.

The investigation led police to the Marine Bar Plaza in South Pattaya where the three men were selling falsified passports and visas.

Immigration Police tracked the gang and eventually found all three in the Marine Plaza Hotel parking lot. None of the three were able to produce any identification, so police escorted them to their hotel, where a search produced four fake passports.

A subsequent search of a safety box at My Office located next to the Marine Bar turned up 20 other falsified passports and the gang’s equipment used in forging the documents. Included were a number of rubber stamps, inks, magnifying glasses, an electric iron, over 200 pictures of foreigners and other documents. The passports were from Portugal, Iraq, Iran and India.

Ki, Alhelfi and Hamid were arrested and later confessed to forging passports and visas, which they sold for prices ranging from 20,000 - 50,000 baht.

Monk found dead at Chaiyamongkol Temple

Phra Sombun Atharo, age 39, a Buddhist monk from Kanchanaburi Province, was found hanging from the stairway in the Chaiyamongkol Temple storeroom at approximately 8.30 pm on 14 June.

A fellow monk found the body hanging from a length of yellow robes around his neck which were attached to the stairs above.

When police arrived, a group of monks were assembled staring at the hanging body. The initial examination of the body found no other injuries and the death is presumed to have occurred around five hours earlier.

Police investigators were told Phra Sombun was suffering from a mental disorder and was often seen walking about in an agitated state claiming that someone was out to kill him. Due to his constant display of fear, others avoided him.

The monk who discovered the body said he was searching for Phra Sombun intending to discuss his problem with him, after having seen him earlier in the day in an agitated condition.

It was reported that Phra Sombun had received treatment for his disorder in the past but his paranoid behavior would often take control of him. His symptoms were similar to those displayed by methamphetamine addicts.

Personnel from the Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation transferred the body to the Police Forensic Lab for official examination.

Negligence results in death of Danish boy

Faulty electric lamp causes electrocution

Twelve-year-old Kasper Kirchbecker, on holiday from Denmark with his parents, was electrocuted while playing at the sea-side swimming pool of the Golden Cliff House at South Pattaya at around dusk on Friday, June 16.

The young schoolboy was tragically killed in the latest episode of an ongoing saga of negligence and haphazard management endemic in certain sectors of the hotel and tourist industry.

James Grunwell, who lives in Thailand, was playing with Kasper at the time and was more fortunate. He survived with injuries.

The parents of both boys were sitting on the balcony overlooking the pool when tragedy struck.

It appeared that there had been a faulty electric light which had been left un-repaired and a rain storm, common at this time of the year, caused the fatal short circuit.

According to one witness, incompetence greatly aggravated the problems. Kasper and his father were supposedly taken to the Memorial Hospital in a mini-bus; instead, the driver left the stricken child at a small clinic.

The witness, finding the rest of the families totally disoriented, standing outside the hotel, took them down to Pattaya to follow the mini-bus to the Memorial. One of the group saw the mini-bus stopped outside a small clinic in South Pattaya. On entering, they found the boy - apparently unattended - and the witness immediately rushed father and son to the Memorial Hospital. But too much time had been lost and Kasper was presumed dead on arrival at the Memorial, some 25 minutes after his electrocution.

The hotel’s approach leaves a number of questions to answer. The first - and most obvious question - is why was a faulty fitting left un-repaired and exposed, especially near water? Why did not the management call an ambulance immediately? Why was there no attempt on behalf of the hotel to assist the parents? Why were there no emergency precautions?

The bereaved family is shattered and James’ mother, Bea Grunwell, is quite sure that if more children had been at the pool that day, others would have died too.

The next day, it was ‘business as usual’ around the hotel’s swimming pool.

Beach vendors balk at 500 baht monthly fee

Deputy Mayors Niran Watanasadsathorn and Wutisak Reumkijakarn and city council members met with a large group of beach vendors this month as part of the continuing action to organize the nearly 400 vendors on Pattaya, Larn Island and Jomtien beaches.

The vendors along the beach pay the city a license fee of 500 baht per year for a 7x7 meter area and 1,000 baht per year for a 7x14 meter area. The city is proposing for the first time a monthly fee of 500 baht. The idea upset most of the vendors, who said that their profits are minimal and the monthly fee would be unfair.

Some vendors have set up on land that rents or leases out at 100,000 baht. The most expensive area is located at the Dongtan Curve. The proposal was argued back and forth with some mention of considering a reduced fee of 300 baht for some locations.

The city is still involved in collecting a consolidated list of names of all authorized vendors with licenses. This has been complicated due to a number of licenses having been transferred into different names. The city environmental and sanitation department will maintain the list and issue license approvals, working in conjunction with city excise collectors.

The two deputy mayors let it be known that the city was not yet impressed with the progress made in organizing the three beach areas. Recently held meetings issued instructions to have unnecessary items removed from the streets overnight. They pointed out that litter and trash still collects day after day presenting an unacceptable appearance for a city trying to improve its tourism image.

Present conditions violate agreements made on 14 February 2000, and Niran announced that new city inspections will be conducted. All vendors will be required to produce their inspection results before the Environmental and Sanitation Department renews anyone’s license. The inspection also includes looking for disease carrying animals such as stray dogs and rats, in addition to orderly appearances and other sanitation requirements.

Deputy Mayor Niran later disclosed that even though the city’s plan to collect the 500 baht monthly fee will probably not be realized, at least there would be a degree of control over the 400 vendors.

Improvements will continue, and he said the monthly fees collected will be turned around in making beach area improvements. Vendors not complying to acceptable standards will be weeded out.

Fisherman finds body floating in the bay

Police ask for help to identify the body

A fisherman from Ban Rong Po found a corpse floating in Pattaya Bay on the evening of 13 June. After dragging the body to shore, he immediately reported the incident to the police.

The unidentified male corpse was only clad in a pair of dark blue trousers and the condition of the body indicated it may have been in the water for up to two weeks.

The fisherman finding the body told police he was on his way back to shore after a day out fishing when he sighted the object floating in the water and went to investigate to satisfy his curiosity.

Police investigators presume the death may have resulted in a dispute among fisherman, although the dark blue trousers are similar to the uniform worn by technical students. The body was transferred to the Police Forensic Lab for examination.

Anyone having any information pertaining to the incident or the identity of the man is encouraged to contact the Bang Lamung Police station.

Recent policy from the office of the Prime Minister directed provincial governments to hold monthly press conferences outlining government actions. The Chonburi administration opted to hold press conferences twice each month. Chonburi Governor Sujarit Pachimnan and leading officials held their second press conference earlier this month.

Chonburi Governor Sujarit Pachimnan held his second meet the press session.

The governor opened the conference with references to current on-going actions. He began with the government’s plan of decentralizing authority by delegating more power and responsibility to local levels of government, which includes cities such as Phuket and Pattaya in addition to municipalities and their sub-district administrations. The governor announced that its initial target for this year is to allow local governments to maintain 20% of collected revenue to be used for developing local projects at their own discretion. The amount is expected to continually increase with the next target of 35% identified for the year 2006.

In the past all revenues collected were directed to the centralized government where they decided what projects to support at local levels.

The Labor and Social Welfare Ministry is in the process of conducting inspections of the Labor Skills Development Project and the governor referred to a new minimum wage of 140 baht per day that is under consideration. The decision rests on economic data being collected from labor practices in rural areas and statistics pertaining to illegal foreign labor.

The governor commented on problems resulting from the many elephants migrating to the Chonburi area looking for employment and reiterated the government’s stance that city areas are considered inappropriate habitats for elephants. He referred to safety regulations and health standards being implemented to look after the welfare of the animals.

The Governor also implied that Chonburi is to become a major center for the staging of athletic events.

Other topics surfacing during the press conference touched on tinted vehicle windows, Euro 2000 gambling and sub-district election violations under investigation in Phanat Nikhom.

Pol. Col. Anant Jarernchasri, representing the Chonburi Municipal Police Departments, presented statistics on actions taken against Pattaya bars remaining open after 2.00 a.m. Between 1 April and 20 May, 101 violations were registered and 2-3 locations had continued operating after hours, thereby prompting orders to close down these businesses.

Another area of concern referred to complaints against traffic police harassing motorists for petty violations. Police departments are now required to have their officers meet every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month to receive legal guidance in the performance of their duties emphasizing service to their communities. A directive to relax the practice of setting up roadside inspections was also a topic of discussion.

A letter from concerned residents in Pattaya was received at the Crown Property Bureau identifying a foul odor emanating from black murky waters flowing onto the beach around hotels on the other side of Pratamnak Hill. The letter received the bureau’s attention and was subsequently brought to the notice of the city administration.

Crown Property Bureau officials, Mayor Pairat and city maintenance personnel inspect the foul water on the beaches over Pratamnak Hill.

Crown Property Bureau officials and pollution control experts who wanted to personally investigate the facts described in the letter accompanied Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat and city maintenance personnel to the shores located near the hotel. The letter’s description was found to be true with the foul smell still lingering in the surrounding air. The smell was traced to a water drainage pipe where a pile of garbage had collected.

The mayor’s response was to mount an immediate investigation on the same day, inspecting samples of treated wastewater from each of the 8-9 hotels and condominiums in the area of Pratamnak Hill. Other corrective measures initiated by the mayor include a survey of the connecting pipes to the water treatment facility located in Soi Wad Bunkajana Rama Jomtien and immediately replacing all unserviceable sections.

The Pratamnak Hill area is surrounded by a drainage ditch 80 cm wide and 60 cm deep that collects rainfall flowing into the ocean. According to City Maintenance Director Sittipab Muangkhum, the hotels and condominiums in the area have connecting pipes to the same rainfall drainage system. All wastewater is supposed to be treated to acceptable levels prior to being released into the system.