HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Just one word for Public Works

Saddened by reports of street crime

Real Estate Broker Association of Thailand does exist

Quality visitors wanted in Thailand?

Dual pricing, practice or policy?

Umbrella of Dreams

Just one word for Public Works

Dear Sir,
I have just one word for the Pattaya City Council: ExpansionJoints.

It is sad to see such otherwise well constructed features as the beach sidewalk and the new pier already suffering significantly from thermal stress. This will only get worse over time, and will require preliminary replacement of both.

Depending on the design, it may be possible to retrofit with adequate expansion joints, which might reduce further deterioration, and to repair the damage done already. This should the responsibility and expense of the original designer and / or builder.

Otherwise a new pastime for Pattaya might be to pop down to the new pier around mid day on the hotter days of summer, with a camera and tape measure, to see how high the tiles jump.

Yours, etc,
Cracking up in Pattaya
(Name & Address Withheld)

Saddened by reports of street crime

Editor;
I am saddened by the recent reports of street crime on the Beach Road walkway, after dusk, largely perpetrated by ladymen. It seems that things have taken a turn for the worse in Pattaya.

I myself have been the victim of ladymen crime, but a few years ago it was altogether a different matter. A man was typically approached by two or three ladymen and one of them would grab your arms and thrust them upon their (silicone) bosom, whilst another would grab your orchids, whilst one or another of them would ‘dip’ you, for your wallet. It was never violent, just cunning and rather like a scene from Oliver Twist. The worst outcome would be the loss of an evening’s ‘drinking money’.

Alas now, ladymen have turned violent, preferring to disable their prey by vicious assault and battery. Often in groups of three or more, they target a lone male and beat him to the ground and relieve him of his wallet.

Just recently I witnessed such an incident, which thanks to the quick response of nearby tourists was halted before it became serious. It appears that now ladymen will stop at nothing.

This is a family newspaper and I hope it will forgive me the following euphemism; that on the Beach Road, many ladymen are openly ‘gobbling’ for a living. It was only last week I witnessed a foolhardy tourist, copulating with gusto, a ladyman in the relative shade of the beach, whilst his mobile telephone rang out with the tune: ‘Scotland the Brave’.

Such behaviour is not what Pattaya should offer, this behaviour is base, it is lewd, it must be stopped. It offends the eyes of men, women and children, it corrupts, and is a visceral poison, surely we can dig deep, join hands, come together and unite against this cesspool of filth that is set to envelope us all, unless we do we shall be drowned and consumed in this fetid quagmire.
Yours sincerely,
Ignatius Riley

Real Estate Broker Association of Thailand does exist

Dear Sir,
I write in response to an article published in the December issue of another local publication. We, along with a great number of other real estate agents, advertise said publication, so I will not embarrass the editor by asking him to print this in his publication. I therefore resort to the ‘good ole Pattaya Mail’.

The author states in his article that there is no governing body, voluntary or otherwise, for real estate agents in Thailand. Sir, you should read my website. S.C.R.Homefinder has been a member of the Real Estate Broker Association of Thailand for over a year. Our staff have been on training courses and passed qualifying examinations with two of our staff coming first and second in a class of over 200, it so happens that as you read this they will have been back to Bangkok on upgrading courses.

The Association has a strict code of conduct and persons or companies not following that code are immediately expelled from the Association. It is also a fact that within two years every real estate company and individual broker will have to be licensed by the local authorities. This includes Jack & Jill with a pickup and a mobile phone.

Regarding the lack of control over developers and builders, the author has a genuine point and I sympathize with anyone who has suffered financial loss with a substandard property. It is our company policy that we do not list any property or development that we would not feel comfortable living in ourselves. This of course has cost us business but the upside is that we rarely get complaints from clients.

Whenever we list a property or deal with a developer we ask for the title deed (Chanod). If it is not forthcoming we do not list the property. Once received, our legal people check at the land office to ensure the seller is the true owner or is properly empowered to sell on the owner’s behalf. We also check for liens, loans or ties to the property and rights of access are secure. Loans or liens are not usually a problem as long as the outstanding debt is not greater than the value of the property (negative equity). With new developers we carry out at least twelve site visits checking the building quality prior to putting their properties on our books. If we don’t like what we see we don’t list them. It’s as simple as that.

Sincerely,

Paul Davies, general manager, S.C.R. Homefinder Co., Ltd.

P.S. We are currently looking into the availability and feasibility of ‘new build’ insurance policies to cover the first 10 years of a home’s life.

Quality visitors wanted in Thailand?

Editor;
I recently received a letter from my bank, the H.S.B.C., and it is a circular to all its foreign customers. Basically it told me of the new rules, which do not any longer allow it to pay interest on savings accounts to even those with non-resident visas.

I and others will be staggered by this decision but more to the point where is the saved interest going?

I made a phone call to my account manager who speaks perfect English to ask the question but all she would tell me was that she could not do anything about it as she reeled off the pat phrases she had been briefed with.

So Thailand wants quality tourists it says. Presumably this means visitors with money who are only interested in enjoying themselves within the bounds of Thai law and culture which myself and my Western fianc้e who have lived here for three years is the bracket we fall into.

We have invested tens of millions of baht in our condominium and other personal assets also. We also kept a substantial sum of money in our Thai bank account ready for that rainy day.

Two or so years ago, ours and other foreigners cheque books were withdrawn making life here more difficult but by keeping half a million baht in our account we avoided bank charges and the small amount of interest we were paid made us feel that our money was at least appreciated.

At the same time as being informed of the new no interest rules we were also told that ours and others foreign accounts will now be subject to a 500 baht a month account management fee.

I suspect that the timing of all this may have something to do with Thailand paying off its I.M.F. loans earlier this year.

Maybe this has prompted the powers that be to take revenge on foreigners for the costs incurred in those loan repayments but surely it cannot be this simple.

All we have ever done as visitors to this fine country is to add to the flow of foreign currency, which is so much needed, we are told.

The first thing I did when I received the letter was to halt any further monthly foreign currency transfers into Thailand and will now run my account with little or no reserves. What’s the point - the account fees are the same regardless.

Can someone please tell me what we, as quality visitors, have done to merit this discriminatory treatment?

Many enquiring minds would love to know.

From a law abiding Western Couple living in Chonburi

Dual pricing, practice or policy?

Editor;
Dual pricing, practice or policy? Vietnam Airlines overtly charges foreigners more for internal flights than locals, it is therefore a policy. (Though it is due for change next year.) I have been charged extra to visit tourist venues in China; I have never heard anyone complaining about the above. If I may quote the Thai constitution, Chapter III, Rights and Liberties of the Thai People, Section 30:

“(1) All persons are equal before the law and shall enjoy equal protection under the law.

(2) Men and women shall enjoy equal rights.

(3) Unjust discrimination against a person on the grounds of the difference in origin, race, language, sex, age, physical or health condition, personal status, economic or social standing, religious belief, education or constitutionally political view shall not be permitted.”

That would seem clear wouldn’t it? Remember this applies to Thai people, Section 30 goes on to say:

“(4) Measures determined by the state in order to eliminate obstacle to or to promote persons’ ability to exercise their rights and liberties as other persons shall not be deemed as unjust discrimination under paragraph three.”

So, if the State so determines, then a Thai can exercise his “rights and liberties” to overcharge foreigners. Is dual pricing therefore a policy? Chapter V, Section 74 states:

“The State shall promote friendly relations with other countries and adopt the principle of non-discrimination.”

So it’s not a policy, but a practice, though dual thinking is as common in Thailand as dual pricing. I wont quote it, but Section 200, Human Rights, reinforces Section 74 to some extent.

If one had the time and money, one could, through a lawyer, take up the issue with the Ombudsman, who, if he thinks there has been a breach of the constitution, is obliged to take the matter to the Constitutional Court, who will consider the case “without delay”. (Section 198)

The irony is that most of those who complain about dual pricing do so because they cannot afford it, so would be unlikely to afford the legal fees. Alternatively, use that same time and money to visit some of the overcharged venues.

(I have literally quoted the translation of the Thai Constitution from the Office of the Council of State.)
Gwyn Parfitt

Umbrella of Dreams

Sometimes I think it rains too much
And things get extra wet
But I do not allow myself
To worry or to fret

Not just because I realize that
I cannot stop the rain
And that I know it does no good
To murmur or complain

But in the simple thought that if
I try to do my part
No flood can ever sweep away
The sunshine in my heart

No shower can extinguish faith
No deluge can deny
My happiness when all my hopes
Are reaching to the sky

And so I let the rain come down
And go my merry way
Enjoying all the sunshine of
The dreams that fill my day

By Phillip Webb Jr.

Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail
are also on our website.