HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Motorcycle helmet thefts

Re-fuelling operations

Crack down on creeps

Becoming apparent that tourism, certainly from Europe, is not wanted

Clubs are not public places

First dual pricing, now dual standards, what next?

Father Ray - My Guiding Light

Are very rich leaders out of touch?

Motorcycle helmet thefts

Dear Editor;

Having read Robert Anderson’s letter last week regarding the social order campaign moving in the wrong direction, I discovered yesterday that that is not the only campaign with unwanted side effects.

Much as I agree with the sentiment that all motorcyclists and passengers should wear crash helmets to reduce the number of head injuries incurred in road accidents, has anyone stopped to think what happens after a motorcyclist has been stopped and fined?

That’s right - he heads down to a big shopping center, not to buy a helmet, but to steal one from the vast array on offer in the motorcycle park outside. I know because I lost two last night having parked in the “secure” parking lot.

When my Thai girlfriend approached the security guard about the theft he gave the usual shrug and “mai pen rai” and offered the consolation that lots of helmets are stolen from the park every night so we weren’t the only ones! He also suggested that to prevent such a theft we should have deposited the helmets with him for safekeeping - can you imagine the pile by the entrance?

As this big shopping center is clearly aware of the problem, wouldn’t you have thought that a responsible store would actually take some sensible steps to try to prevent the thefts?

I know where I won’t be doing my shopping in the future!
Graham
Naklua

Re-fuelling operations

Dear Mailbag Editor:

I have noticed for quite some time now, on a daily basis, the practice of re-fuelling boats from a truck on the southern portion of Beach Road. It appears that Pattaya City Hall either doesn’t know or care about this practice.

The usual method is a truck carrying several thousand litres of fuel, stopping in the west lane of Beach Road, and filling 20 litre jugs of fuel for tour and fishing boats. I believe the truck belongs to a major Thai oil company, but cannot tell for sure from the markings on the truck.

Having worked for several major oil companies in several countries for nearly thirty years, I feel I may be able to help the City of Pattaya realize some of the dangers and shortcomings involved with this practice.

Any time fuel is pumped, transferred, moved, etc., it should only be done when the person in charge of that operation is in full control of the situation. At present, there is an unqualified person, with no uniform, no safety gear of any kind, including fire extinguisher on the truck, trying to satisfy a bunch of boat owners who want their fuel at a minimum of inconvenience to them.

There is no safety barrier of any kind around the truck, or flashing warning lights of any kind.

I do not know the condition of the truck itself, or hoses etc., as I was reluctant to get too close to the truck and filling operation.

I have witnessed people involved in the transfer of this fuel smoking cigarettes, so they are obviously very poor choices for this task.

The very real possibility of someone tossing a lit cigarette from a passing bus or car also underscores the inability of the oil company person to control the situation.

Another terrible possibility is of someone driving in the west lane of Beach Road and not seeing the fuel truck for whatever reason, cell phone, falling asleep, etc., and crashing into the fuel truck. The fact that nothing has happened so far is only pure luck.

Reputable oil companies spend tens of millions of dollars a year ensuring that situations like this are minimised, but this fuel company is obviously betting that it is cheaper to ignore the potential problem and not find a safer place to sell their fuel.

The boat owners are also unqualified to be transferring fuel this way, and pose a hazard, not only to them selves but passers by and businesses on Beach Road. It would be very easy for 1 jug to catch fire, detonate the rest, and start the truck on fire, causing a massive explosion. Anyone who has worked in oil/gas production operations and has taken courses in professional fire schools knows how easily an uncontrolled situation can get totally out of hand. The fact that these people are using plastic jugs, and not using a proper grounding strap, also underscores their lack of knowledge. Tests done by major oil companies have shown that certain types of plastics can promote static electricity, and therefore, metal cans with proper grounding straps should be used.

There are other safety deficiency issues involved with this operation, but I will not go into all of them.

One other related note: The practice of pickup trucks laden with 15 - 20 jugs of fuel and parking across the beach sidewalk should also be halted, many of the same actors are involved with this dangerous practise.

Pattaya City does not need another disaster, and Pattaya City Hall should stop these practices immediately.
Regards
Stan Cennon
Pattaya

Crack down on creeps

Dear Editor:

As a follow-up to my stray dog letter on Aug 8th I applaud the city for rounding up stray dogs, getting them spayed, neutered, vaccinated and then turning them over to the shelters. But we’re back to my original question: What can de done about those creeps who breed, sell and buy dogs and then turn them loose to the streets?

Stray dogs don’t come out of the sky and they will continue to be with us until there is a major crackdown on those jerks who caused this problem in the first place.
Sincerely,
Eric Bahrt

Becoming apparent that tourism, certainly from Europe, is not wanted

Dear Sir;

About eighty eight per cent of customers who were enjoying their evening at the disco on Third Road are now possibly going to be penalized for their freedom of enjoyment and spending their money there (if my maths is anywhere near correct).

While shutting a venue may be justified to hurt the owner with loss of earnings, it does nothing for the tourist who has paid good money for a holiday, to find that the entertainments are off limits because the locals cannot be controlled by their own or are in breach of their own law. It is to be presumed that if there were no ‘farangs’ here, then there would be no breach of the law by the locals.

What impression about returning for a further holiday will these tourists have formed? It is becoming apparent that tourism, certainly from Europe, is not wanted. With long stay tourism costs having increased dramatically from visa increases, the tourist is finding this holiday to be expensive without enjoyment that is more than readily available elsewhere, cheaper.

Perhaps the reason for the increase in visa charges was to subsidise the tourist industry for these losses of income and the large discounts that have been offered to other Asian countries?
Or am I being too much of a pessimist?
‘More disillusioned’

Clubs are not public places

Dear PM;

Over the past year I have been reading about this place/concept/idea of the ‘public place’. What I keep reading about is that clubs are raided because there are displays of nudity in a ‘public place’. And why is the naked body so offensive anyway? Sex and nakedness are the most natural things on this earth and are our most powerful drives and those forces that try to suppress this ‘natural expression’ will reap a bitter harvest, i.e. a repressed society = rape/crime/bad mental health. (I suggest the Pattaya councillors visit Amsterdam on a fact-finding mission.)

I am sorry if I sound absolutely stupid but I always thought a public place meant in public, i.e. in the street, a park, the beach, Big C, etc.

These clubs are ‘not’ public places they are ‘private’ clubs for adults to sit and relax and watch some harmless entertainment. I think the present government has got the concepts of public and private mixed up. Children or the under aged are not allowed in these clubs and the ‘public’ cannot just wander in off the street and look round. So these clubs are not ‘public places’.

This is harmless fun so stop harassing these people and spend some money on putting up ‘public’ toilets and showers on the beach, so that people don’t have to reveal themselves to the ‘public’ when they want to go to the toilet in the sea.
James

First dual pricing, now dual standards, what next?

Editor,

I have just read with utter disbelief the story of the police raid of a sex show in North Pattaya and the fighting with Chinese tourists that resulted.

Why were the tourists just herded back onto the tour bus and allowed to merrily go on their way, presumably to the next stop on their organised sex tour? Can you imagine what the response from our local constabulary would have been if the audience had been a combination of British, German, French tourists and residents, the local monkey house would have been bursting at the seams, large fines and deportations would have followed along with apologies from the embassies of the participants involved and rightly so.

So why the softly softly approach to the Chinese? Is there a government directive to the police on this matter, and why at least was a large fine or the licence of the tour company in question not suspended for funding and encouraging these shows in the first place? It’s funny, I don’t recollect seeing such tours advertised by the companies that I used to travel with from the UK. So, first dual pricing, now dual standards, what next?
Gary Marshall
Soi Khao Noi

Are very rich leaders out of touch?

Editor;

It was I remember a young lady from France who said on being informed that the people had no bread, replied, “So let them eat cake” - and I believe paid the price!

Being rich has its problems, being very rich and responsible for the livelihoods of because the powerful person is intrinsically bad, but because the common touch is lost.

I am of course referring to the social order campaign which only affects people at the lower end of the scale, and the tourists, who can fortunately vote with their feet.
Andrew Longfellow
Santa Cruise

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