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  NEWS

HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Pattaya gets new fleet of fire trucks

Two elephants born October 1

Drug agent arrested with 600 methamphetamine pills

Customers steal new motorbike from hired driver at gunpoint

Bangkok police officer's unruly behavior lands him on opposite side of the bars

Nightspots behave for new governor's tour

New governor of Chonburi introduced at city hall

Siamese twins, separated, but need help

Scores of people show for Kamnan Poh's 64th birthday

Pattaya gets new fleet of fire trucks

Chakrapong Akkaranant

Pattaya City’s firefighters are now better equipped to handle emergencies. On October 3, a new fleet of fire trucks arrived in Pattaya.

Included with the new equipment are eight vehicles with various fire-fighting capabilities. The new fire trucks were requisitioned from the Ministry of Interior, at a cost of B171.3 million. The civilian disaster prevention office in the department of local administration under the ministry of interior was instrumental in acquiring the fleet of fire and rescue vehicles to reinforce the fire fighting capabilities in Pattaya.

Two of the eight vehicles have cherry picker baskets capable of extending up to 68 meters. They both also have large water tank capacity, and each cost B68.7 million. Two additional fire trucks cost B5.7 million each, and two water transport trucks with 10,000 liter capacity cost B3.1 million each.

Also in the inventory is two 45 KVA mobile generator vehicles with flood light capabilities costing almost B5.2 million each, and two fully equipped emergency rescue vehicles at a cost of B2.9 million each.

The costs for the new fleet also included the training of 30 fire fighting officers in Pattaya to become fully knowledgeable in the use of the various equipment during emergency situations.

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Two elephants born October 1

Vichan Pladplueng

The Pattaya Elephant Camp and Ban Thin Chang Thai both welcomed baby elephants into the world on the same night.

“Phang Wong-ngeun”, age 15, gave birth to this healthy female.

Around 2.00 a.m. on October 1, the first of two elephants was born at the Ban Thin Chang Thai in Soi Chaiyapruk. Tha Sarangam, the 50-year old mahout of the mother and baby elephant, proudly told reporters on the following morning how he had mated the 14-year old mother named “Phang La-ongta” with a 30-year old bull elephant also residing at Ban Thin Chang Thai named “Plai Buaban”. La-ongta carried the baby elephant for almost 22-months and completed a safe delivery producing a healthy female specimen.

Just one hour following the birth at Ban Thin Chang Thai another elephant was born at the Pattaya Elephant Camp located a little further down Sukhumvit Road. “Phang Wong-ngeun”, 15-years-old, gave birth to another healthy female.

The news of two baby elephants born on the same night created a big stir at both businesses.

Currently, the elephant birth rate in Pattaya is averaging 2-3 per year.

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Drug agent arrested with 600 methamphetamine pills

Vichan Pladplueng

Prayun Chuaysri, a 45-year old man from Udorn, was arrested on the evening of September 30 with 600 methamphetamine pills in his possession.

Police finally got Prayun Chuaysri after months of surveillance.

Pattaya police deputy superintendent Pol. Lt. Col. Sakrapee Phiawphanich said Prayun’s activities were under surveillance but he was able to allude police by changing vehicles and often changing his address in Pattaya. Close monitoring of his movements finally resulted in an arrest.

The arrest was made in Soi Roilang off of the Pattaya-Naklua Road where Prayun was waiting in a Toyota sedan to deliver the drugs to other agents for further distribution in Pattaya, but he ended up selling to undercover police officers.

Prayun’s remarks were similar to many other drug agents taken into custody: blaming the nation’s depressed economy and only low paying jobs available as the reason for entering the drug trade. Prayun was charged with possession and distribution of illegal narcotics carrying class 1 penalties.

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Customers steal new motorbike from hired driver at gunpoint

Vichan Pladplueng

Residents in the area of Soi Nong Krabok in Moo 11, Nong Prue contacted Banglamung police at around 2.30 a.m. on October 4 reporting screams for help heard in the neighborhood.

Police officers investigating the report found Panya Tawong trussed up lying off to the side of the road with a pair of police handcuffs fastened to both wrists behind his back and both legs tied up with rope. He was still calling out for help when police officers approached, with his screams muffled from the jacket wrapped around his head.

As police removed the handcuffs and ropes, Panya explained his brand new motorbike was stolen. The information was immediately relayed to other police units in hopes of apprehending the bandits on the main roads.

Panya, a resident of Huay Yai Sub-district in Banglamung, told police how two Thai men hired him to drive them from in front of the World Gems Center on North Pattaya Road to an area opposite of Lotus Shopping Center on Sukhumvit for a fee of 80 baht.

Nearing the location he was told to enter Soi Nong Krapok where the two men had him stop. Panya said one of the riders withdrew a pistol and the other pulled out a knife. They forced him to give up his new Honda. He said they drove off after handcuffing and lashing his legs together leaving him screaming for help at the secluded spot in the middle of the night.

The two men were described as unusually tall with dark complexions and between the ages of 25 - 30 years old. Both remain at large.

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Bangkok police officer’s unruly behavior lands him on opposite side of the bars

Wirawat Deebunchai registered a complaint at the Pattaya police station at 3.50 a.m. on October 4, claiming a police officer, allegedly from Bangkok, physically assaulted him causing black marks and open wounds covering his body.

Wirawat told police he arrived at the Kamnan Pub in Soi 2 off of 2nd Road with his girlfriend earlier that night and a group of men were seated at a nearby table. Wirawat described how one of the men sauntered over to their table and in a drunken manner began making advances on his girlfriend, who tried to ignore the impolite advances.

When the woman refused, the man became angry and made a scene, alarming everyone inside the pub. Wirawat said he tried to intervene but the man withdrew a pistol and bashed him in the ear. He then continued beating him in a frenzied rage that ended with him firing four shots into the air and making threatening remarks.

Police investigated the incident and learned that the man identified by Wirawat drove off in a black Nissan truck with his friends. The vehicle was soon found parked in front of the Tropicana Hotel. All individuals associated with the vehicle were taken into custody, after local police found a 9-mm weapon, recently fired, and with a half-empty magazine inside the Nissan truck.

Pol. Lance Corporal Lerpongphan Buaphetch, assigned clerical duties at the Phrakhonong station in Bangkok, adamantly denied Wirawat’s charges. However, witness statements weighed heavily against him and he will now stand trial for charges of assault with a deadly weapon, illegally carrying a loaded weapon in public and discharging a weapon in public endangering the lives of others.

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Nightspots behave for new governor’s tour

Chakrapong Akkaranant

Chonburi’s new governor, Chaded Insawang, conducted a tour of Pattaya’s entertainment areas on October 4, sizing up the situation and taking a glimpse of what he was forewarned about prior to taking over the governor’s office on October 1.

However, Pattaya’s nightspots portrayed a good showing for the new governor’s nightspot tour, as he found no lewd shows, no underage patrons and no drugs, although 10 Russian females were arrested.

Russian females were arrested for working without permits and for their involvement with sexually explicit entertainment.

The provincial police commander Pol. Maj. Gen. Sene Khamthieng accompanied the new governor, as did the deputy governor and a group of officials, including Banglamung district chief Vichien Chawalit.

Following the governor’s introductory tour he expressed how grateful he was that no outlandish entertainment was encountered and he thanked the entertainment business community for uniting together and adhering to the minister of interior’s plan to establish social order.

The tour was more an inspection of the various types of nightlife in Pattaya, including beer bars, discos and go-go bars, specifically looking for violators allowing underage patrons inside and venues offering sexually explicit shows. As for drugs, the new governor said he thought it was better for police to conduct thorough investigations to expose drug-related crimes rather than conduct late night urine tests.

Governor Chaded said the main problem he anticipated was to do with businesses remaining open past the 2.00 a.m. closing time.

He also made a comment on the probable exclusions that would surely be possible once the final zoning plan was implemented, eventually allowing extended business hours. Although once zoning becomes official, he said any business located outside of the identified entertainment zone and violating the 2.00 a.m. closing time would be prosecuted on a case-by-case basis.

The new governor asked to publicize the suggestion boxes that will soon be appearing around the city to collect public opinion on the MOI plan to restore social order. The yellow suggestion boxes will be affixed to electrical poles and identified as “Klong Purachai” allowing the public to submit their personal views pertaining to zoning and implementing social order.

As pleased as the governor was with the overall tour he once again reiterated his stance against any entertainment venue operating with sexually explicit shows. He also referred to 10 Russian females arrested for surreptitiously working without permits at the France Sexy Show on 2nd Road and asserted that each would be turned over to immigration police for deportation after recording personal data.

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New governor of Chonburi introduced at city hall

Expounds on policy, expectations and closing hours

Chonburi’s new governor, Chaded Insawang introduced himself at city hall and talked of Pattaya’s special status, how it is important to get the public involved in local government, and how different levels of government must work together.

The new governor, accompanied by deputies and close officials, was in Pattaya on October 8 to explain his views on various policies and interactions between the Chonburi government and Pattaya’s city administration.

Chaded Insawang took over the provincial governor’s office on October 1, exchanging positions with former governor Sujarit Pachimnan, who takes Chaded’s vacated position as director of the community development department in the ministry of interior. Sujarit had been Chonburi’s governor for 5 years.

Chonburi’s new governor, Chaded Insawang

Governor Chaded began by saying he hasn’t yet been in office long enough to expound on matters of policy and future direction concerning Pattaya, and that he would need to gain a more thorough understanding of on-going actions. However, he did address a few of his initial impressions.

Firstly, Governor Chaded said he feels that Pattaya’s special status doesn’t imply to the city’s budget of over 600 million baht, or the area governed, but instead refers to how that budget and area are administered. “The term ‘special’ and the status applied to Pattaya,” he said, “is directed at the method involved in administrating Pattaya’s government, which is in a constant state of change, requiring adaptability.”

“For example,” he said, “promoting tourism did not necessarily mean only striving to attract more tourists to Pattaya by any possible means whilst ignoring the negative impact, both immediate and on future generations. An alternative approach would involve the inclusion of positive social change that could not only improve tourist numbers but also have positive affects connected to every type of business.”

“Implementation of social order is only one part in the overall scheme to develop the tourist industry,” he added. “(Improving tourism) also includes improvements in areas such as sanitation, entertainment zoning, eliminating weapons in public, and integrating new technology.” The governor also said the use of closed circuit cameras to monitor traffic conditions would be a key asset to reduce crime.

Secondly, the new governor talked of the importance of public participation in government to establish positive social change. He said, “From here on it would not be entirely up to the ministry of interior, the provincial governor, the Pattaya city mayor or local politicians and police, but the public and private sector must get involved.” He was adamant that the public has an important role in deciding the future of the nation.

The new governor then stated that different levels of government need to work together. He said he was confident that he could work amiably and productively with everyone, no matter what office or department was involved.

Governor Chaded later met with local proprietors to address zoning and entertainment. He indicated that the MOI was close to completing the changes contained in the 1966 entertainment act associated with types of entertainment business not previously covered, such as beer bars, karaoke and specific types of massage venues.

He said the changes were in the last phase, and were waiting to go before the cabinet and parliament. He added that once they were in effect, it would be absolutely necessary to adhere to the laws as written.

He also said that it would be a mistake to think that the social reforms implemented by the MOI would be a single negative factor affecting tourism. He said that contrary to popular opinion in the nightspot arena, the social reforms being implemented could very well be a positive step in attracting more tourists to Thailand.

Chaded said the three main points continually advocated by Purachai Piumsombum, the Minister of Interior, could prove to be very positive factors in creating a more desirable and acceptable environment for tourists to enjoy during their holiday in Thailand. The main points are: eliminating drugs from nightspot premises, keeping the underage from entering such establishments, and eliminating lewd entertainment in these businesses, which, Governor Chaded said, “Could even prove to increase sales in the alcohol beverage industry.”

The new governor also stated that if entertainment businesses were to continue operating around the clock, the outcome would add to social problems and increase the number of crimes and drug related incidents.

He reasserted the minister of interior’s statement requesting businesses in the entertainment and nightlife arena to wait for regulations on local zoning to become final. Afterwards, he said, it would be more feasible to pursue requests for relaxing hours of operation.

Governor Chaded said he anticipates the responsibility to insure no drugs, no underage and no lewd shows would switch from police agencies to proprietors themselves. The new governor said what he anticipates in the foreseeable future would be awarding certificates of honor to post at establishments operating in accordance with the law.

Businesses not complying with the new law could face closure of 30 days up to 90 days, being black listed on tourist lists and company chartered tours, and being publicized on various websites on the internet.

The governor pointed out that other changes with similar mechanisms were included making it clearly evident that competing for honorable awards in the long run would be more worthwhile.

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Siamese twins, separated, but need help

Operation incomplete, parents have no money

Boonlua Chatree

Sangthong Osopsri and his wife Laksana contacted Pattaya Mail requesting assistance in revealing their desperate need for help in ending the torture that their children have endured since birth.

Fourteen months ago Laksana gave birth to twins, Acharee and Akhana, who were joined at the bowels. Doctors in Chonburi were able to separate the two daughters but after 40 stitches each the surgery was incomplete, leaving the intestines exposed at the naval and requiring bowel evacuation from the same area.

Acharee and Akhana, joined at birth, need help to complete their separation operation.

The twins were crying when reporters arrived and the parents explained how the children lived in continuous pain from the long wounds that refuse to heal.

Sangthong, age 34, and his wife Laksana, age 33, related to reporters their life of poverty and described how they hardly make enough to eat each day, and said they can no longer bear the torture that their children must endure.

Their hope is that through gaining media attention, they might alert some official in a high enough place to come to their aid, such as Khun Sudarat Keyuraphum, the minister of public health. After seeing their children’s agony each day, they are no longer too proud to ask for help and are quite willing to accept help from anywhere.

When asked why they don’t take advantage of the government’s 30-baht health coverage plan Mrs. Laksana tearfully explained how both her and Sangthong were not Chonburi residents, excluding them from participating in the government health coverage plan.

The government plan stipulates the 30-baht authorization cards (gold cards) can only be obtained in the provinces where individuals are registered. Both parents are registered in Udorn, therefore, in order to seek medical assistance on the 30-baht plan they must return to Udorn and obtain the 30-baht authorization cards before seeking medical assistance, and only in that particular province.

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Scores of people show for Kamnan Poh’s 64th birthday

Vichan Pladplueng

Politicians and individuals from all over the eastern region started showing up early in the morning on September 30, bringing bouquets of flowers and gifts for wishing a happy birthday to Somchai Khunpluem (Kamnan Poh), the eastern region overseer and municipal mayor of Saensuk.

Chart Thai Party leader Banharn Silpa-archa was among the many who helped Kamnan Poh celebrate his birthday.

Among the many distinguished guests were Chart Thai Party leader Banharn Silpa-archa, and Prawat Uttamot, consultant to the Ministry of Interior. Many local politicians from the Eastern Seaboard area also attended, including Chanyut Hengtrakul, Chart Thai Party List member and personal consultant to the minister of science, technology and environment; Pattaya Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat and some city council members; Banglamung District Chief Vichien Chawalit; Chansak Chawalit-Nittitham and other Chonburi MP’s.

Following his young days as a crewmember on fishing boats and with only a minimal education, Somchai Khunpluem first started making his mark in the business realm by marketing fishing rights in Cambodian waters. He later turned to businesses on land, assessing construction contracts and associated concessions, steadily progressing until today having contacts with almost every business imaginable

Somchai and his wife, Mrs. Satil, have five children, four of whom are involved in politics at different levels. The eldest son, Sonthaya, is currently the minister of science, technology and environment, and he was previously with the ministry of interior. Withaya holds the post as secretary in the ministry of labor and social welfare. Their daughter, Miss Jiraporn, is the chairperson of Ban Bangsaen and Ittiphol is a Chonburi MP from constituency 5. Their 4th son, Narongchai, has not yet entered the political arena.

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Updated by Chinnaporn Sungwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.
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