The
best place to start would have to be the beginning. The front page headline
of Vol. I No. 1 on July 23, 1993 also signaled a new era in Pattaya Sports,
for it announced the birth of the Pattaya Marathon, which just so happens to
have run its 8th edition this past weekend (report on back page). The first
caption of our first front page picture told of how Nicodemus Ongeri from
Kenya won the first Pattaya Marathon after running a “grueling 42,195 kms.”
Grueling indeed, although he actually only ran a little over 42 km.
One million baht buried
treasure unearthed
The front page of Vol. I No. 7 showed a picture of
(still) well-known man about town Jan Olav Aamlid and told the story of how
a baht bus driver had driven off with Jan’s luggage in the back, luggage
that contained half a million baht worth of valuable coins and an equal
amount of foreign currency. After a manhunt that would have made any mystery
writer proud, police were able to track down the driver to Kamphengphet
where they eventually found the valuables buried in the jungle near the
driver’s home - but not before the driver had thrown a huge party in
Pattaya before his departure and another upon his arrival home.
Pattaya up in arms about
new hours regulations
“The Ministry of Interior has once again, in complete
disregard of the nature of the business of the resort, ordered that all bars
and places of entertainment in Pattaya shall close at 2:00 a.m.” read the
sub-headline on Vol. I No. 15. Sound familiar? That was back on November 12,
1993. One for the “some things never change” category.
Cleaning up the khlong
How
many people remember the klong that ran through South Pattaya, filled with
sewage, dumping into the bay near the Nang Nual Restaurant? Walking along
Pratumnak Road halfway between the VC Hotel and OD Bowl, crossing the bridge
that spanned the klong wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience. By the time
Pattaya Mail reached Vol. II No. 3 on January 21, 1994, the city finally
decided to do something about it. Although it took a few more years to
complete the project, today one wouldn’t even know it was there.
Child prostitution will be
stamped out, vows mayor
Vol. II No. 8 - February 23, 1994 - then mayor Aunupong
Udomratanakulchai told a conference of Thai and foreign journalists at the
Royal Cliff Grand Hotel, “That the service trade was being controlled and
that soon child prostitution in Pattaya would be eradicated”. Sadly, his
definition of “soon” might have been slightly different than most, as
over the years, and still quite recently, the news pages of Pattaya Mail
have seen a plethora of pedophile arrests. One can only hope that “soon”
gets here sooner than later.
New broom sweeps up
corrupt police
“No more corruption, no more “dark influences”,
says new Assistant Chief of Police in Pattaya” on March 9, 1994 (Vol. II
No. 10). Lt Gen Visuth Kittiwat, addressing police officers in Pattaya, went
on to say that, “A revolution must take place in the police system in
Thailand”. Hmm, perhaps another for the “some things never change”
category?
All agreed - Micro buses
in - baht buses out
This
repeating story first appeared on the front page of Pattaya Mail in Vol. II
No. 24, June 15, 1994. The then fledgling “Committee to improve public
transportation in Pattaya”, during their second meeting, “unanimously
decided that a mini-bus transportation system will be introduced and the
baht buses will be phased down”. We haven’t heard much more from this
“committee” over the years, but the plan makes almost an annual
appearance.
Pattaya police pooh-pooh
papa’s power
The “experts” discourage the use of alliteration, but
this headline, which appeared on the front page of Vol. II No. 30 on July
27, 1994 just seemed to fit. The story involved a young woman who ran a red
light and was pulled over by a low ranking officer of the law. Perhaps
trying to impress her juvenile male friends in the car, the woman attempted
to argue her way out of the fine, and pointed to a picture of her
“influential” father that had been taped to the windscreen of the
Mercedes (perhaps at this point we should refer to the March 9, 1994
headline above). The officer refused to be intimidated and ran her in. We
unfortunately don’t know how the arresting officer’s career progressed.
3 AM - Official
“ ‘Pattaya is a special city’: General Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh” told the public in Vol. II No. 34 on August 24, 1994. The
Ministry of Interior decided to extend the closing hours of entertainment
businesses from 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Somehow I don’t believe this is the
final word...
Two pachyderm birthdays at
Kao Keow
Pattaya’s twin elephants “Jim and Jum” celebrated
their first birthday on the front page of Vol. II No. 36, September 7, 1994.
Sadly, nearly eight years later, they made the front page again in Vol. IX
No. 12, March 23, 2001, when the headline read, “Kingdom mourns as
elephant twin Jum dies”.
Mayor and Councillor
released on 5 million bail
Mayor
Aunupong Udomratanakulchai was nearing the end of his “term” in office
when Vol. II No. 52, December 25, 1994 hit the stands. The scandal involved
some 58 million baht “commissions and excessive profits” in the sale of
land to be used for the wastewater treatment plant. The mayor and a city
councilor were arrested after police found “sufficient evidence” in the
lawmakers’ homes. The bank account of councilor Aphiset Suksek’s driver,
who made a driver’s wage, somehow seemed to have grown exponentially. The
driver was also missing, and police feared he might have been dead.
Stop paying tax to City
Hall
The above scandal had its ripple effects, and
“disaffected city councillor” Sutham Phantusak, who “resigned in
protest” urged “civil disobedience” on the front page of Vol. III No.
6, February 8, 1995. It must have worked, for the very next week the front
page headline read, “City Hall short of promised funds for ITB
promotion”.
Phairat for mayor
“Rumours run rife around the city that the present
mayor, Aunupong Udomratanakulchai, will shortly be replaced by Phairat
Suthithamrongsawat, known as Hia Song.” Pattaya’s current mayor first
burst onto the scene on the front page of Pattaya Mail Vol. III No. 13,
March 29, 1995. The accompanying photo was “A recent picture of Hia Song
and Kamnan Poh”. It appears our mayor no longer goes by the name “Hia
Song”.
Crusading editor of Mail
brutally attacked
Who can forget the front page of Vol. III No. 15 on April
12, 1995? Our own Peter Malhotra was attacked by Austrian thugs Thomas and
Michael Kunz as he left the opening of a new city pub. The brothers Kunz
were later convicted and deported. The truth lives on, “despite powerful
influences that might be offended by such revelations”.
No gunmen in Chonburi
“Declares Governor Kanok Yasarawan...” on the front
page of Vol. III No. 22, May 31, 1995. Just a few weeks later, on July 5,
1995, the headline, albeit on page 3, read “Wealthy Pattayan slain”. The
story went on to say how “Gunmen shot dead wealthy Pattaya businessman
Korbchai Natsophon...” They must have sneaked into Chonburi without the
good governor knowing about it.
Pattaya’s Police Pimp
for Pederasts
“It has been revealed that Pattaya’s seemingly
inactive police force is not inactive all. In fact some of them are actively
engaged in the illegal activities they are sworn and paid to prevent,”
said the front page of Pattaya Mail on January 12, 1996 (Vol. IV No. 2). It
seems “Challee’s Bar”, which catered to “those who have a taste for
congress with underage children” was being run by a local cop and his
wife. They must have missed the former mayor’s speech back in February
1994, and the assistant chief’s speech in March 1994.
Tourists join bar girls in
mass protest
It seems the Ministry of Interior still couldn’t make
up its mind. When they decided that perhaps Pattaya wasn’t so special
after all, and they moved closing hours back to 1:00 a.m., the resulting
mass protest made the front page of Vol. IV No. 3 on January 19, 1996.
“Police were out in force... to attempt to control a near riot of owners,
operators, night workers and tourists...” who gathered outside the Grand
Sole Hotel.
Extortion conspiracy
rampant on Koh Larn
“Official guides and vendors co-operate to bleed
tourists” appeared on the front page of Vol. IV No. 8, February 23, 1996.
It seems a Chinese tourist was “threatened with death if he did not
comply” and was charged 2,500 baht for 15 minutes on a water scooter. And
still another for the “some things never change” category.
Dramatic arrest of escaped
drug convict
The arrest of the infamous drug baron “Red Rene”, who
had escaped two years earlier from a Denmark prison, made the front page of
Vol. IV No. 15 on April 12, 1996. His subsequent escape from a Chonburi
hospital, his re-arrest shortly afterwards, followed by his “pleas” to
return to prison in Denmark on account of the alleged mistreatment he was
receiving from local police kept our news pages full for quite some time, as
well as the pages of the international press.
Pattaya Pulchritude reigns
supreme
The front page of Vol. IV No. 39 on September 27, 1996
featured Miss Thailand World 1996 Cindy Burbridge and Mr. Thailand World
1996 Derek Sirisampan, both from Pattaya. However, apparently the headline
sent many of our readers scrambling for their dictionaries, as we received a
stack of “letters of complaint” over the next week or two.
Tourist drugging
approaches epidemic status
By
December 13, 1996, the problem of “working girls” drugging their
“johns” had become so acute that it not only made the front page of
Pattaya Mail (Vol. IV No. 50), but it was also dominating the foreign press
and was even being followed by CNN and the BBC. It all began when a brave
Korean tourist, unhappy with local police reaction, came to our office to
see if we could help. At that time, even we didn’t know how big a problem
it had become, so we ran the story on page 4. After the story ran, a few
more victims began to trickle into our offices, and before long the list
grew. With so many victims and so much press, the police finally went into
action and were eventually able to make arrests, including members of the
infamous “nipple gang”, and bring the situation under control, but not
before some of the victims were seriously injured.
Foreign suspects confess
to murder
Vol. V No. 11 - March 11, 1997 - Thomas Bauhofer and
Peter Gerd Bernert were arrested for the gruesome murder of German music
teacher Guido Raffenberg. Two other accomplices were arrested after fleeing
back to their homelands in Germany and Austria. The three had lured
Raffenberg to Thailand, took him to a “short time” bar, drugged him,
then drove him out into the countryside and murdered him by beating him with
a shovel. Trying to conceal the body, they then tried to burn it, but it
didn’t work, so the next day one of the accomplices (German Bochard
Roesler) returned to cut off the head, which he put in a bag, which he then
put in the basket of his Honda Dream motorcycle and drove around Pattaya
looking for a place to discard it. Bauhofer was later released on bail and
of course disappeared, only to be found later in Malaysia. When we last
checked (admittedly a long time ago) Bauhofer and Bernert were serving life
sentences in Chonburi prison. The bizarre “ending” to the story came
later that year when they wrote a letter to Pattaya Mail asking for our
assistance in generating a campaign to donate Christmas presents for them
and other foreign prisoners in Chonburi.
Bangkok “Commandos”
crash in Pattaya
Vol.
V No. 18 May 2, 1997 - Sent by the Prime Minister to “clean-up” vice in
Pattaya, Bangkok’s finest had a little trouble keeping out of trouble
themselves. It seems “Pol. Pvt. Itthipol Warayu (fitting name, i.e.,
“where are you...) assigned to the Pattaya vice purge, was relieved of his
car and gun by a woman he had spent the night with in a short time hotel.”
Apparently the diligent officer had fallen asleep after
“extra-curricular” activity and the woman went for a joy ride in his new
BMW cop car. And if that wasn’t embarrassment enough, “Three other Crime
Suppression officers became intoxicated, then drove their brand new BMW
(police car) at high speed through a red light, crashing into several
cars...” Not long afterward, the entire road show limped back to Bangkok,
their Pattaya vacation being brought to an abrupt halt.
Royal Jomtien Resort
Disaster claims 90 lives
Without a doubt the saddest headline in the eight years
of Pattaya Mail was printed on the front page of Vol. V No. 29, July 18,
1997. The negligent management of the hotel had padlocked fire escape doors,
and when a bottle of cooking gas exploded in the dining area, over a hundred
people could not escape the raging inferno and lost their lives. Almost just
as sad is the fact that those who were responsible are not only walking free
today, but blatantly ignored city regulations, went ahead and rebuilt the
hotel, and are now getting rich again on unsuspecting tourists who no doubt
know nothing of the tragedy.
Wife keeps husband chained
in shed for 40 years
Sounds like something straight out of the supermarket
tabloids, but in fact the story that ran on the front page of Vol. VI No. 2
on January 9, 1998 was true. We had pictures to prove it. The 70-year-old
man’s wife told reporters that the chained man was allegedly mentally ill
and violent, and that after unsuccessfully trying to get him treatment in
1956, in 1957 she finally had to chain him to the floor of a tiny shack near
the family house, where he remained for over 40 years, and in fact, might
still remain.
Bavaria House owner faces
deportation
The seemingly never-ending saga of one Wolfgang Ulrich
first appeared on the front page of Pattaya Mail Vol. VI No. 38, September
18, 1998. At that time he was one of the “34 undesirable foreigners” the
Minister of Interior wanted to banish from the country. It wouldn’t be the
last time he appeared on the front page. By August 4, 2000 (Vol. VIII No.
31), it appeared the saga was nearing an end when the front page headline
read, “Court orders Wolfgang Ulrich to return to Germany”. It seems it
may have finally come to an end on February 23, 2001 (Vol. IX No. 8) when
the headline read, “Ulrich ushered back to Germany” and the subhead
read, “Leaves town under cover of darkness”. Will this be the last we
hear of him? Time will tell.
Hotel fire flushes
embarrassed massage client
Vol. VII No. 26, June 25, 1999 - When the accounting
office of the VC Hotel in South Pattaya erupted in flames, “a tourist
enjoying a massage at the parlor upstairs ... in a hurry ran out of the
hotel with the massage girl. In the excitement, the two came out clothed in
a single towel and were greeted in the hotel downstairs by a throng of
bemused onlookers.”
Juvenile elephant
terrorizes elderly lady
One
of those “only in Thailand” stories appeared on the front page of Vol.
VII No. 36, September 3, 1999, when a baby elephant began terrorizing a
77-year-old lady. The little critter, who had been tied up with its mother
and left unattended a short distance away, escaped its bondage and was just
out to have a little fun. Happily romping around the woman’s yard, the
little elephant broke the family’s water jar, destroyed the rice bin,
demolished the outside kitchen and scattered the family’s laundry. The
woman’s granddaughter carried her grandmother out of the house for fear
“the elephant would bring the house down”. Police promised “a stern
warning would be given to the mahout and he will have to pay for
damages...”
Seven perish in massive
Thai Oil blaze
The front page of Vol. VII No. 50 on December 10, 1999
had an eerie picture of workmen in the foreground, a truly massive blaze in
the background, when fuel tank #3004 at the Thai Oil refinery in Laem
Chabang exploded. The explosion was so forceful it rattled windows in
Pattaya. 4,000 people had to be evacuated. Evidence later revealed that a
valve was not properly closed, and that the audio and visual alarms had
indeed worked properly in the control room, but no one was in the room to
see/hear them. Five employees were arrested for negligence.
No KGB here
Pattaya police superintendent Pol. Col. Pinit Chareon
announced on the front page of Vol. VIII No. 13, March 31, 2000 that there
was, “No foreign organized crime in Pattaya”, denying claims made by the
National Security Council Secretary General that “former KGB agents were
running illegal businesses in Pattaya.” Maybe he was right. Perhaps the
local “mafia” may have been running them out of town, for less than a
month later, on the front page of Vol. VIII No. 16 on April 27, 2000 the
headline read, “Chonburi named hit man haven”. The Assistant
Director-General of the Royal Thai Police Special Crime Suppression said
that this was “not true”, but he might not have been entirely convincing
when he went on to explain, “The definition of gunmen falls into many
categories, not necessarily hired killers”.
Mistaken identity leads to
bomb scare at Susie Massage Parlor
Vol. VIII No. 25 - June 23, 2000 - A young woman working
at a beer bar downstairs from Susie Massage Parlor found a cardboard box
containing “heavy, scary looking” items. For whatever reason, she
immediately feared the worse and called the police to report she had found a
bomb. Police evacuated the massage parlor and cordoned off the area before
slowly, cautiously, stealthily moving in on the - wait for it - water
filter. Is it paranoia if everyone really is out to get you?
Part
of the Pattaya Mail sales team was on hand to wish the best for the owners
of the new Warbler 2 restaurant.
