NEWS
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Beach Road to become Saturday Night Walking Street

Grover Tailor recites “influential” name to gain extension

2nd Road changeover to one-way a hit - in more ways than one

Temple land in South Pattaya under dispute

Cabinet increases VAT refund rate for foreign tourists to boost tourism

Baht bus training to become mandatory

Thai minister orders nightclub shut after finding used condom

Thailand to use lethal injection for capital punishment next year

Oman gang charged with selling cannabis to tourists

Speeding van rear-ends 10-wheel truck and explodes into flames

Live sex show busted in North Pattaya

Remains of abducted bank employee discovered by young boy

Koh Chang tourism to be linked with trips to Cambodia

Beach Road to become Saturday Night Walking Street

Beginning Feb. 16 - no motor traffic from 1.30 p.m. until 1 a.m.

The provincial government plans to extend Walking Street at least 2 kilometers up Beach Road on Saturday nights, beginning February 16.

If the plan reaches fruition, motor vehicle traffic will be prohibited from 1.30 p.m. until 1 a.m. every Saturday. The street will then be set up as a street fair, with food stalls, entertainment booths, exhibitions, and cultural shows.

Gov. Chadej Insawang announced that under a new plan, Walking Street will be extended at least 2 km down Beach Road every Saturday night beginning in February.

Rental vehicles, beggars and walking vendors would also be prohibited. The project is being modeled after the street fair on Bangkok’s Silom Road.

The governor of Chonburi, Chadej Insawang announced plans for the project at a Pattaya City Hall meeting he chaired on January 10. Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat, members from the private sector, city and district police and related offices, and the director of the TAT central region area 3 office, Manit Boonchim attended the meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister Pitak Intrawitayanunt first suggested the idea during his recent visit to Pattaya. Pitak thought the area on Beach Road from Central to South Pattaya Road was ideal for turning into a bazaar type atmosphere similar what is done on Silom in Bangkok.

Manit Boonchim, director of the regional TAT office in Pattaya, agreed with the concept, and added that the fair should be kept to a theme relevant to the fishing industry and seaside communities in the area.

Governor Chadej said the main points to be maintained during preparations for the weekly fair would be minimizing support costs while promoting tourism and presenting the “one tambon - one product” project as one of the primary attractions.

Local police representatives were not overly receptive to the plan, however, especially the Pattaya traffic police. Traffic police chief, Police Maj. Somchai Pongsai, said parking and traffic congestion would certainly result from the weekly fair, which would require added support.

He also said that at the close of each Saturday night, it would be important for the equipment on the street to be removed before the following morning in order to avoid any inconvenience.

The planned project will get underway with a special night themed “Magical Wisdom of Thailand Fair in Pattaya”, which will include traditional Thai entertainment, Muay Thai boxing, a rice exhibition premiering the strain of Jasmine Rice, type 105, that was cultivated in the Chonburi area, and other regional entertainment from all over Thailand.

The Minister of Interior, Purachai Piumsombun, has been invited to preside over the opening ceremony.

Manit Boonchim, director of the regional TAT office in Pattaya, also announced other upcoming events scheduled for Pattaya as part of the TAT’s promotional theme for 2002, “Thais Touring Thailand”. A “Music and Sports Week” is scheduled for March, the Songkran Festival in April, a seafood and fruit festival in May, the Pattaya Marathon in July and the Pattaya City Carnival in November.


Grover Tailor recites “influential” name to gain extension

City grants him 60 more days to remove offending edifice

The city and province remain determined to remove a section of Grover Tailors on Walking Street, but Harbree Grover has decided to dig in and barter for time.

Officials from the provincial litigation enforcement office, accompanied by legal representatives from the city, revisited Grover Tailors on January 10, taking measurements of the building and spray painting the borders of areas they want to be removed.

Grover Tailor is one of the now-infamous 101 businesses in South Pattaya slated for demolition to make way for city renovation plans.

The tailor shop was issued a court order identifying a 3.5 meters x 16 meters section of the 3-story structure to be removed. But the owner of the tailor shop, Harbree Grover, adamantly protested the decision. He alleges the demands contained in the provincial court order were complied with over 10 years ago, thus providing him with the legal right to retain the extension.

Harbree Grover (center), owner of Grover’s Tailor, and government officials look over documents pertaining to a section of the tailor shop the government says is illegal and needs to be removed post haste. Grover was given another 60 days to remove the offending edifice.

On December 20, provincial litigation enforcement officials and city officials showed up at the tailor shop with a demolition crew prepared to start dismantling the offending edifice. However, Grover Tailors was spared on December 20, and given a short reprieve while details in the court order were clarified.

When officials revisited the tailor shop on January 10, Grover continued to protest the court order and in support of his defense he told them he bought the building and eight adjacent rooms from Somchai Khunpluem (Kaman Poh), the mayor of Saensukh Municipality.

It appears his ploy worked, as he was given an extra 60 days to remove the part of the building in dispute. However, city officials threatened to return to court if Grover doesn’t remove the section on his own within the 60 day period.


2nd Road changeover to one-way a hit - in more ways than one

Traffic flows smoother, but some minor accidents reported

Traffic now flows relatively smoothly northward along Second Road, thanks to the January 15 changeover making the thoroughfare into a one-way street. But the 9 a.m. changeover did not go off completely without a hitch.

The city extensively publicized the event over the past few months. Banners and signs were posted in strategic points along the road, and police from city hall and traffic divisions were posted in various places along the route. But either not everyone got the message, or there were a few who felt themselves to be above the law, as a number of minor accidents were witnessed throughout the first day.

Many of drivers who insisted on attempting to travel in the wrong direction were redirected by police, and many other potential collisions were avoided.

2nd Road is now one-way all the way to the Dolphin Roundabout in North Pattaya, but not everyone got the message, as can be seen by this pickup truck trying to go the wrong way near the Central Road intersection. Imagine his surprise when traffic coming through the lights headed straight for him. The cop to the right is about to set him straight, though.

Over the next few days, police will be issuing warnings to violators, allowing for enough time to get everyone acquainted with the new system. After that time, officials feel that the problem will be diminished, and that posted signs along the route should be enough to inform former visitors to the city who might not have heard about the changeover.

After the first 10 days or so, the city’s traffic reorganization committee will assess the traffic conditions.

Early reports from the scene have indicated that the changeover has at least initially been successful. Former bottlenecks caused by buses entering tourist attractions and entertainment venues in the north have been alleviated.

A new traffic light at the roundabout in North Pattaya is also helping smoothen the changeover, although nighttime traffic entering Pattaya from Naklua is reportedly experiencing delays. “Traffic heading south on Naklua Road is backed up past Wong Amat from the new traffic light at the Dolphin Roundabout,” our man on the scene, Peter Malhotra reported at press time.

There is a chance that the changeover could be temporary. Pattaya’s deputy mayor, Nirand Watanasadsathorn, and the city traffic police inspector, Police Maj. Somchai Pongsai, announced that the one-way change on 2nd Road will be re-evaluated after the first month. If need be, it will be reverted back to its former two-way status, said the deputy mayor. But both Nirand and Police Major Somchai were confident that the new direction would be a success, and by the end of the month the improvement should be evident.


Temple land in South Pattaya under dispute

City says its public domain, temple says its theirs

Perhaps inspired, or discouraged, by the ongoing saga of the 101 businesses in South Pattaya, city officials are now evoking tougher policies towards encroachment on land considered to be under public domain throughout the city. No one, not even religion, is escaping their vigilance.

In the latest addition to the saga, city authorities are disputing property claimed to be owned by Wat Chaimongkol. The temple grounds cover about 30 rai of land that extends to the middle of 2nd Road.

The first area in question is the land adjacent to the Wat on which 20 or more shops and buildings have been built, the owners of which are renting space from the temple abbot. The second section of land in dispute is located opposite the Wat along South Pattaya Road towards the beach where more buildings and businesses are situated.

The city says that all these buildings along Second Road, from the “old” Mike’s Shopping Mall back to the South Pattaya Road intersection, and down South Road towards the beach, were built without authorization and wants them torn down. Wat Chaimongkol, meanwhile, says they were built on land belonging to the temple and should be allowed to remain in place and continue to pay rent to the temple.

Court orders were issued on December 4, 2001 giving notice to dismantle and remove a number of the buildings within 30 days. However, more than 50 business people have called for city hall to be more compassionate to their predicament, but as to date, the orders still stand.

In their defense, Wat Chaimongkol has produced a document dating back to 1955 when permission was given to construct 2nd Road which at that time ran through temple grounds. Another document produced by the Wat dates back to 1956 which describes the landowner, a Mr. Chaliang Nawapol, representing the temple and the temple inauguration in 1937.

However, the city mayor said regardless of what evidence the temple produces, the matter boils down to the shops and other buildings not having proper authorization to build and set up business on these locations.

A tougher stance on squatters and illegal structures is already in force. The city is presently engaged in moving people off from locations where slums have developed and fire hazards and sanitation have become a problem.


Cabinet increases VAT refund rate for foreign tourists to boost tourism

The maximum amount of value-added tax returned to foreign tourists at the Bangkok International Airport will be increased from B10,000 to B30,000 per tourist, to boost local tourism, according to a senior Finance Ministry official.

Supharat Kavanakul, director-general of the Department of Revenue, said that the cabinet at its weekly meeting approved a plan to increase the maximum VAT rate returned to foreign tourists.

The move, proposed by the Revenue Department, is part of the government’s tourism promotion measures aimed at boosting the number of tourist arrivals in the country, he said.

The cabinet also approved a measure to increase the number of spots at Bangkok International Airport where tourists can cash in their VAT refunds. Currently, tourists can only get their VAT refunds in Terminal II at the airport, but under the new measures, additional VAT refund counters will be set up in Terminal I.

To encourage more shops in Bangkok and its peripheral areas to join in the VAT return program, the cabinet also endorsed a proposal from the Revenue Department to lower the amount of registered capital required of shops wanting to take part in the program from Bt five million to Bt two million, Supharat said.

Promotional campaigns will be jointly organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Thai Airways International Plc. (THAI), and will also be launched on international flights to publicize the VAT return program.

Supharat said that the cabinet also approved a proposal to lower the revenue tax rate of foreign actors and actresses working for foreign film teams using Thailand as their location, from the maximum progressive rate of 37% to only 10%.

The move was aimed at boosting production of foreign films in the kingdom, which the government believes will help boost the country’s tourism revenues, the Revenue Department chief said. (TNA)


Baht bus training to become mandatory

Point system for violations also being introduced

Under a new initiative by the city government, all baht bus drivers will be required to take a training course before they are issued a license to operate. The regulation will only apply to potential new drivers.

The 700 - 1,000 baht bus drivers currently operating in the city will be trained over time at a rate of about 300 drivers per month. The training is to continue until all drivers in the Pattaya Baht Bus Federation have completed the course of instruction.

Pol. Maj. Somchai also said that, starting last Wednesday, January 16, baht bus drivers violating the “embarking/disembarking stop signs” will be ticketed.

Police also plan to implement locally the country’s new traffic violation point system. Drivers accruing excessive violations (points) would result in having their driver’s license confiscated.


Thai minister orders nightclub shut after finding used condom

Phuket (AP) In his latest strike against slack morals, Thailand’s crusading interior minister ordered a discotheque shut after he found a used condom under a table during a surprise inspection, an official said Tuesday.

Minister Purachai Piumsomboon stepped into the Dance Fever nightclub on the resort island of Phuket late Thursday and noticed a young man and woman scrambling up from under the table. The condom was found in that place later.

A member of the minister’s entourage, who did not want to be named, told The Associated Press that more used condoms were found in the nightclub’s toilets.

The minister was furious and ordered the club immediately closed for permitting indecent behavior on the premises, the official said. The couple were fined for performing a lewd act in public, he said.

Panaddha Disakul, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said Purachai instructed senior officials on Monday to close down any entertainment venues where such obscene behavior took place.


Thailand to use lethal injection for capital punishment next year

Officials expect Thailand to be ready to use lethal injection next year, according to a radio news report.

The director-general of the Department of Corrections, Siva Saengmanee told reporters that preparation was underway, including legal procedures, and he expected the new method of execution of prisoners would be used next year, said a Radio Nation news report.

A medical team was studying which chemicals should be used in the new lethal injection, he stated.

In other countries that use lethal injection, a mixture of three chemicals are used, including sodium thiopental, commercially known as sodium pentothal, which induces sleep; pancuronium bromide, which stops breathing; and potassium chloride, which stops the heart, according to news reports.

The Department of Corrections is also considering using pepper and garlic sprays, and rubber bullets during attempted jail-breaks, instead of guns, said Siva. (TNA)


Oman gang charged with selling cannabis to tourists

Four Oman men, two Thai women arrested

Boonlua Chatree

Four men from Oman were arrested from their room in Soi VC last week for selling marijuana to tourists in South Pattaya.

Harith Awadh Shaabayan, 32, Mohamed Zayidmu Barak, 27, Salim Mohamed Ahmed, 45, and Faisal Salame, 25, were arrested on January 9. One woman, Phlernpid Khuansam, 20, from Phrae was also arrested at the apartment.

Four Oman men and two Thai women were arrested for selling marijuana to tourists in South Pattaya.

The arrests were made as part of the governor’s initiative to crack down on foreigners suspected of involvement in illegal activities. Drug trafficking in Pattaya is being emphasized during the crackdown.

A team from the Foreign Crime Suppression Unit organized an undercover operation involving the purchase of 100 grams of marijuana using pre-recorded banknotes.

A woman, later identified as Siranee Kanthakham, a 21-year-old resident of Chiang Mai, delivered the specified amount of cannabis on the afternoon of January 9 to a location arranged in Soi 17. She was promptly arrested and taken in for questioning.

Siranee told police the marijuana was purchased in Chiang Rai at a cost of 10,000 baht per kilogram with money made available by the four Oman men, who were staying at Rompothong Court in South Pattaya. The marijuana was sold for prices averaging 3,000 baht for 100 grams, mainly to clients from the Middle East, Siranee said.

A sizeable force of police officers raided the room and found all four men inside smoking their merchandise.

Police confiscated 3,000 baht in cash, three mobile phones, and a plastic bag filled with nearly one kilogram of dried compressed cannabis.

All six suspects were charged with possession, use, and the distribution of a class 5 illegal substance.


Speeding van rear-ends 10-wheel truck and explodes into flames

Van driver burnt inside

Vichan Pladplueng

A speeding van slammed into the back of a 10-wheel truck on Hwy 36 and burst into flames, trapping and killing the driver inside.

It took firefighters over half an hour to bring the flames under control.

There wasn’t much left after this van rammed the back of a 10-wheel truck and burst into flames.

The charred remains or the driver were later identified as Mr. Wimol Sukcharern, 42, an employee with the Elastomix Company (Thailand).

A witness told police the van was traveling at a high rate of speed in the direction of Rayong. Ascending a hill, the van driver failed to reduce speed for a slow moving 10-wheel truck driving ahead in the same lane. The witness said that the impact of the crash made a deafening noise and the van immediately burst into flames.

Police assume the speeding van driver failed to see the slow moving truck due to poor visibility at that hour of the morning. Early morning fog most likely made conditions worse.


Live sex show busted in North Pattaya

Police recommend governor close the place permanently

Chakrapong Akkaranant

Pattaya tourist police raided a live sex show and arrested seven performers and the manager from at a recently opened venue in Pattaya Bazaar near the Dolphin Roundabout in North Pattaya.

Undercover police officers posing as tourists slipped inside the venue with a group of Chinese tourists. The police action was prompted by reports indicating lewd entertainment was the main attraction at the new establishment.

After watching seven performers perform, police busted a sex show in North Pattaya, arresting all seven performers and the venue’s manager. The show obviously did not receive good reviews from the police department. Everyone wants to be a critic ...

The undercover police officers watched as seven stage performers entertained a crowd of over 40 people with a variation of acts, exposing parts of the body that were a prelude to what was about to come.

At precisely 8.40 p.m. two of the seven performers on stage, later identified as Somkhid Boonwichit and Saisuda Marapa, began copulating in front of the captivated audience. The two undercover police officers, however, found fault with the audacity of the two performers and called an abrupt halt to the lewd display, revealing themselves and announcing the raid.

All seven performers were taken into the tourist police station for further investigation, along with the manager, a 28-year-old male resident of Bangkok identified as Awirud Saeyang.

Police learned that the business opened a few months ago and was still in the process of obtaining legal permits. The manager said initially the entertainment was simply music and dancing, but business was poor and management soon decided to offer something more daring that would attract customers. The show developed into the live sex on stage and business improved with the two main performers making 10,000 - 15,000 baht a month, the manager said.

He described having an arrangement with tour groups, mainly from China, charging 150 baht admission after verifying each customer’s passport. How the undercover police officers managed to make their way inside was not revealed.

Each person arrested was 18 years old or over and charged with participating in indecent activities in public and disgracing the culture and reputation of Thailand. Additionally, the report to the governor of Chonburi included a recommendation for permanent closure.


Remains of abducted bank employee discovered by young boy

Loan manager went missing last August

Boonlua Chatree and Vichan Pladplueng

A young boy hunting birds with a slingshot discovered the skeletal remains of Niwat Banchern, 38, in Moo 10, Huay Yai on the afternoon of January 8.

Niwat was previously employed as a loan manager at the Krungsri Ayuthaya Bank in Pattaya. Witnesses saw him being abducted by three or four men last August. Until the body was discovered, police had no further clues to go on.

The boy found the body in a thick, overgrown area near pineapple fields about three kilometers from Hwy 331 in Huay Yai. The boy reported his find to adults, who contacted Banglamung police.

The skeletal frame was clothed in a dress pair of dark colored slacks and a white long sleeve shirt with a necktie. The skull was detached from the rest of the bones and was lying about one meter away from where the clothed mass was found by the young boy. A pair of handcuffs were still on the wrists.

Police investigators extracted 700 baht from the pant’s pocket and a city bank credit card that identified the 38-year-old bank employee. A resident of Moo 8 in Huay Yai sub-district, his wife and other relatives identified his personal possessions but were no help in providing any motives for the abduction and murder.

Niwat was last seen on August 22, 2001, by a security guard at the Pattaya Krungthai Bank, who saw four unidentified men force him into a vehicle in front of the bank. A description of the vehicle was given to police but the guard was unable to get the license plate number and no other clues turned up until the body was discovered.

Police surmise Niwat may have been romantically involved with a female employee at the bank, Ms. Srirat Kaothanakij, although it seems she has a relationship with an influential suitor from Rayong.

The day following the discovery of the body, Ms. Srirat was called in for questioning by the district police homicide investigator, Pol. Lt. Col. Yongyut Chantrabut. She was questioned for over an hour, during which time she said she only had a brief acquaintance with Niwat, and that she left her accounting job at the bank to pursue a private business venture.

Niwat’s personal finances indicate he was deeply in debt, and may have been involved with a housing development project which, after gaining loans from the bank, went sour.

The cause of Niwat’s death is assumed to be strangulation. Niwat’s necktie showed signs suggesting it was used as the murder weapon.


Koh Chang tourism to be linked with trips to Cambodia

The government plans to develop Koh Chang, the country’s second largest resort island in the eastern province of Trat, as the Phuket of the East, and will link tourism in the island with trips to Sihanoukville and Koh Kong in Cambodia, according to a senior Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry official.

The beautiful Koh Chang Sea View Resort. The government wants to attract high-class tourists to the island and discourage “back-packers” from visiting the island. (Photo by Jimmy Little)

Director-General of the Royal Forest Department Plodprasop Suraswadi told reporters that under a master plan proposed by the Royal Forestry Department, Koh Chang would be developed as the “Phuket of the East”, Thailand’s newest potential tourist attraction.

“The move would be in line with the government’s policy to upgrade the resort island,” he said.

Premier Thaksin visited the island in October and was impressed by its beauty. He suggested that the island be developed as “the second Phuket”.

Plodprasop, who chairs a committee in charge of drafting the Koh Chang master plan, said that under the proposed master plan, first-class tourists would be the plan’s main target.

“If fully developed, the island is expected to generate huge tourism revenues for the country, as high-class tourists are the main target of the development plan,” he said. (TNA)