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Controversy hits provincial election as candidates accuse one another of illegalities
Preliminary results make Pinyo Thanwiset unofficial winner
Staff
Reporters
Election time in Thailand proves to be a bane for
Pattaya’s entertainment industry, and following last weekend’s
provincial election, the likelihood of going through it yet again is a
possibility, should the allegations prove true and find that iron clad
election laws have been broken.
Election
staff sort and count the ballots in last Sunday’s election. Preliminary
results have Pinyo Thanwiset winning the PAO presidency, but one of the
other candidates suspects all might not be as it seems and has asked for an
investigation.
Ballots opened last Sunday morning throughout the
province to elect a chairman of the Provincial Administration Organization
(PAO) and provincial council members. The polls opened at 8 a.m. on Sunday
and closed at 3 p.m., during which time 771,555 registered voters had the
opportunity to decide who would represent them in the provincial government.
At press time, figures released from the electoral office revealed that just
over half turned out to vote in Chonburi to select from a field of 36
candidates from 10 districts, of which Banglamung is one.
In accordance with the guidelines, ballots were to be
sent to the election monitoring headquarters within an hour of the polls
closing, but nothing goes that smoothly and the ballot box from Banglamung
arrived some hours later.
 A
citizen enjoys her right to vote, and casts her ballot for provincial
president.
At around 4 p.m. Saowaluk Suriyathip, candidate no. 1 for
president of the PAO, made a formal complaint to the Banglamung police
station that she had seen a vehicle belonging to previous PAO president and
current election frontrunner, Pinyo Thanwiset, No. 3, near a ballot location
close to Wat Thamasamakee. Saowaluk suspected impropriety. She then copied
the police statement and handed it over to the election monitoring
committee.
Pinyo Thanwiset, who is also the provincial
representative for Banglamung, has held the position of PAO president for
the last six years and is currently under the Thai Rak Thai party banner as
well as being backed by high profile provincial figurehead, Somchai
Khunpluem, Saensuk mayor during his time in office.
A preliminary vote count was available on Monday,
revealing that Pinyo had received 206,479 votes. His nearest competitor and
provincial senator Utai Pimjaichon had received 107,071 votes.
At the other end of the scale, Pisute Pitarnusorn was
counted as having 17,667 votes while Saowaluk Suriyathip’s figure was not
available at press time.
Pinyo’s campaign slogan over the years has been,
“Together we are one”, and has served him well. Apparently it is still
working for him, as he is accumulating numerous awards and successful
projects under his belt.
Saowaluk Suriyathip was the first female senator to
represent Chonburi and her slogan in this election was, “Chonburi has
progressed but can be better, good management for the people.”
The decision appears to have been made, but its legality
remains to be seen. Pattaya and the remaining districts could see another
round of temporary prohibition should the election be re-run, pending the
outcome of an investigation.
Official police reports revealed that lawbreakers selling
alcohol or opening entertainment venues numbered 52 separate cases in the
province, each perpetrator facing jail terms and/or fines from 10,000 to
50,000 baht.
Pattaya will experience her own set of elections on March 27 with the
city’s nightlife being shut down from 6 p.m. on Friday March 26 till
midnight on Saturday March 27.
Pattaya Music Festival kicks off this weekend
Security personnel doubled
for the event
Veerachai Somchart
One of the most popular annual events in the city, the
Pattaya Music Festival will kick off on stage one, North Pattaya for a
3-day musical fiesta, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to the city.
A cornucopia of fun, gaiety and great music has made this event a
world-class tourist draw.
The 40 million baht budgeted for the festival is also
being used to double security personnel from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 amid
fears that violence may erupt among youths.
Almost 1,000 security and safety personnel will
maintain a close eye on the throngs of people throughout the event,
checking for weapons and illegal substances.
Pol. Lt. Col. Sakrapee Preawpanich, deputy
superintendent of Pattaya police station said local agencies and
volunteers will strictly enforce the law over the festival, paying special
attention to the North Pattaya stage on opening night when popular Thai
bands Loso, Silly Fools and Micro Band are scheduled to play. 200 officers
will be on standby.
“Stage 2, near Soi 4 and 5 will have approximately
135 officers and in Bali Hai where stage 3 is set up, approximately 105
people will be stationed there to ensure everything goes smoothly. We have
also engaged the local crime prevention volunteers and military personnel
from Sattahip to boost numbers and provide needed back up,” said Pol.
Lt. Col. Sakrapee.
“We will keep the peace, whatever it takes, and
everyone will be on the lookout for weapons, arguments and fights. The
prime minister has ordered officers around the nation to reduce youth
violence and since the beginning of the campaign, Pattaya police have
already confiscated 760 illegal items and weapons,” added the deputy
superintendent.
Traffic control over the weekend is also receiving
specific attention due to not only the number of vehicles and people in
Pattaya but the fact that some sections will be closed to traffic from
early afternoon till after midnight when the day’s program is complete.
Pol. Maj. Somchai Phongsai, head of Pattaya traffic
division, said North Pattaya Road from Soi Petrakul down to the Dusit
corner and along Beach Road to Central Pattaya Road will be closed from 5
p.m. to 1 a.m. over the weekend, and the free bus service will be also be
placed on hold to prevent potential problems.
Niti Kongrut, TAT Central Region 3 director added that
the MCOT Radio station on Pratamnak Hill has agreed to cooperate this year
by broadcasting the program of events and news on the event.
“In addition, the Rungruang Co. Ltd. will provide
extra services from Bangkok to Pattaya at both Ekamai and Morchit stations
through the night,” commented Niti.
Phisit Boonchuang added that the organizing company, in
conjunction with the provincial authorities and the TAT, has been
constantly promoting the event.
“This year will be different with the addition of the
Bali Hai Pier venue featuring Jazz music as a special attraction for the
foreign community. There are also 35-plus booths offering music with the
appropriate copyright licenses. I don’t want to see anyone offering
pirated materials; this would damage the image of not only the city but
also the festival. Pattaya City must take control of this matter and
ensure that the rules are followed,” concluded the deputy governor.
City Health Department hosts foot massage training
Organizers tickled with progress
Suchada Tupchai
The city health department joined with private
enterprises recently to provide training to the region’s massage community
in an effort to raise practitioners’ skills and knowledge standards. A
four-day training course on foot massage was the second in a spate of
education courses to boost standards within the growing industry.
Students
learnt the traditional prayer to prior to commencing their training, a
ceremony traditionally performed prior to treatment.
Thai massage and foot massage is becoming increasingly
popular among residents and tourists, and according to statistics many
people working in the business have had little or no formal training, a
situation that the local authorities have sought to rectify through free
courses.
Wannaporn Jaemjumras, director of Pattaya’s Health,
Hygiene and Environment Department, said the free courses are aimed at
educating attendees on traditional values and history of the art of massage
as well as the skills and technique required to perform effective
therapeutic treatments, ultimately benefiting the community at large and the
tourism sector.
Students received a certificate of completion at the end
of the course and will have to carry out a formal case study to graduate.
Bigger and better Naklua Rice Harvest Festival planned
Traditional themes and ancient rituals to be featured
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
This year’s Naklua Rice Harvest Festival, which takes
place over the Songkran period, will be bigger and better than ever, say
event organizers. Committee members are planning to turn the annual festival
into a major event, drawing large crowds.
 Director
Piamjantr Ankananavin, executive manager and acting head of the regional
education office chaired a meeting at city hall to discuss this year’s
Naklua Rice Harvest Festival.
The Rice Harvest Festival and the local Songkran
activities, or “Wan Lai”, are set to return to their origins, as
traditional activities and ceremonies will be given top priority. Extra
activities featuring cultural shows are planned to attract more residents
and tourists to the Naklua event - especially staged to provide a joyful
atmosphere.
The Rice Harvest Festival has been a part of the
provincial culture in many parts of the country for generations. Farmers
present offerings and gifts to the deities for a successful harvest season
and pray for bumper crops in the next.
Traditional games and competitions in this year’s event
will include water boxing, a slingshot contest, sack races and a form of
snakes and ladders.
This year’s slingshot competition is expected to draw a large field of
competitors, as there are many prizes on offer for adults and children
alike.
Local press celebrates National Mass Media Day
Makes merit and engages in sports activities
Suchada Tupchai
National Mass Media Day, held annual on March 5, is when
members of the press gather together to celebrate their profession, which is
often fraught with the pressure of deadlines for print and airtime, and took
time out on March 6 to give back to the community within which they serve.
Members of
the local mass media began National Mass Media Day by donating food, clothing
and toys to the children at the Pattaya Orphanage.
Since the ‘official day’ fell on Makha Bucha, members of
the local mass media began their day by donating food, clothing and toys to the
children at the Pattaya Orphanage. The children and administrators were grateful
for the items received by members of the local media.
The afternoon was followed by a round of friendly sports at
the Banglamung School with the men playing a game of football as their female
counterparts battled it out on the basketball court.
Once complete, they then moved onto the Rugby Karakuju Club North Pattaya for
a party. The evening was a sponsored event, and the Pattaya Mail, Banglamung
Cable TV, Yodthong Sriwaraluk chipped in for the event, while management from
each organization were honored guests for the evening.
Local police deployed reinforcements over the election period
Hundreds of officers sent out
to keep the peace
Boonlua Chatree
Prior to last weekend’s closure of entertainment
venues for the provincial elections and in preparation for the city
elections, Pattaya police officers and crime prevention volunteers were
deployed to further scour the streets in an attempt to reduce the crime
rate during the quiet period.
 Pol.
Col. Kamolchai Tiengrungroj sends out his troops to keep peace in the
city.
Pol. Col. Kamolchai Tiengrungroj announced the
campaign to over 180 officers and volunteers before going on patrol. He
urged police to inspect every corner of the city and ensure public
safety. At the same time he urged that all motorcyclists wear their
helmets and turn on their lights for their own personal safety while
traveling within Pattaya.
A different sight this year was the addition of local officers
patrolling the streets from the four electric cars, recently donated to
the station by a local company.
Another world-first for Thailand as local coral preservation project receives a boost
Marine conservation project replenishes coastal reefs
Patchapol Parnrak
By the end of 2004 over 10,000 corals will have been
planted off the shores of Sattahip and surrounding islands as part of a
marine preservation project designed to restock and protect the region’s
natural resources. Recently, a small ceremony took place in Sattahip to mark
the next phase of the ongoing coral preservation campaign.
Navy personnel
and students join forces to ensure that the area’s natural resources are
sustained.
The price of tourism and exploitation finally took its
toll on coral reefs in Sattahip and surrounding islands as the local coral
population declined to catastrophic levels. Damage by careless divers,
unscrupulous people digging up the coral and selling it in the market and
dynamite fishing methods severely damaged this precious natural resource.
Now the race is on to return the coral reefs to their former glory.
The idea for restoration and preservation was the
brainchild of Prasarn Saengpaiboon from the Oceanic Science and Preservation
Foundation in Chantburi, and Damrong Supasit from the Plutaluang Science
Institute. The project began in 1994, starting off with a test nursery of 6
PVC sections containing 138 corals. The initial test phase was successful
and the number was increased to 500.
Last year local government departments, private
businesses and the Royal Thai Navy added their input to the project by
gathering divers from around the country, sponsored by Vinne Thai Plc, to
plant more coral in the water around Sattahip and local islands in the
Sattahip Bay area. The exercise not only produced additional coral colonies
but also encouraged residents and the fishing community to preserve this
natural resource.
Preservation of coral is linked to many economic sectors
from the fishing industry to the tourism industry. During the worst period
of reef destruction, the tourist sector suffered the most losses as the
beauty of the once magnificent coral reefs disappeared.
The project is continuing to prove successful with PVC piping being the
most cost and environmentally effective methods for coral planting, and is
another world-first in our own backyard, thanks to the idea of a few
conscientious people.
Bay Watch
Songkran style sprinkler douses motorists
No, Songkran has not arrived early. The city’s recent placement of an
automated sprinkler system has proven effective maintaining plants and
shrubbery throughout Pattaya. However, three of them on Beach Road have
turned against motorists, spraying them with water as they ride past.
Whether it is the doing of some careless employee or a prankster is unknown
but the fact remains that water spraying into the faces of drivers, and in
particular motorcyclists, is a danger and may well cause an accident. Formal
complaints have been made to the authorities but whether something will be
done about remains to be seen.
Russian tourists robbed
in drive-by theft
Boonlua Chatree
Another snatch and flee theft spoiled the holiday of
Sveelang Mineeva and her husband Alexander, both from Russia, when a man on
a motorcycle rode past them and grabbed the woman’s handbag from the
basket of the bike they were riding along Beach Road near the Dusit corner
in North Pattaya on March 10. The bag contained cash, gold and credit cards.
Alexander and
Sveelang Mineeva’s vacation was ruined when ride-by thieves stole their
valuables.
The couple tried to catch up with the thief and chased
him for a distance before he disappeared in traffic. The victims then
reported the crime to Pattaya police. They told officers they had lost over
30,000 baht in cash and gold in the robbery. Police recorded details as
evidence in the case before continuing with their regular investigative
processes.
So common are such crimes in this particular location that a regular
patrol has been posted. When police are on duty there are no criminal
activities. But when the cops leave their post, the young hoods begin
looking for easy targets to mug.
Fourteen women rescued from prostitution ring
‘Sex prisoners’ were locked in rooms and physically abused
Boonlua Chatree
A combined effort from provincial, Banglamung and Pattaya
police led to the salvation of 14 women imprisoned in the Phandoll Karaoke
Bar in Nongprue. The operation followed a tip off from one of the girl’s
relatives which triggered an investigation. The owner fled the scene before
police arrived, leaving the housekeeper and the girls inside their rooms.
 Operating
on a tip from one of the victim’s relatives, police freed 14 women who had
been forced into prostitution in Nongprue.
Over 20 officers raided the karaoke bar at 2:30 p.m. on
Friday, March 12. Police stormed the premises finding little else than the
women who were present. Officers searched the 6 rooms - some of them were
locked - and they found Khamlar ‘Pen’ Suwannee, the bar housekeeper.
Officers ordered her to open the locked rooms where they found two
29-year-old women in bad shape. Both of them had been subjected to physical
abuse, had black eyes, were covered in bruises and locked in their room.
One of the women, Oahb (not her real name) said she had
been stuck in that hellhole for two months, each day forced into selling her
body under the threat of physical abuse by the bar’s minders.
Oahb said that she had arrived at the bar on a man’s
promise of regular work, but instead was forced to sell her body to both
Thais and foreigners. She said the owner, identified as Pacharapong
Lukengoh, 35, did not trust her and her friend and therefore kept them
constantly under lock and key. The other girls were apparently more trusted
and allowed to roam freely albeit under careful monitoring.
Oabh went on to say she and her friend Noo were let out
of the room during work hours and locked back inside after hours. During
that time she had managed to phone her older sister for help and she was
grateful when it arrived.
Police rounded up the women and took them to Banglamung
police station for further statements to be used in evidence against the
owner. They detained the housekeeper on charges of deprivation of liberty,
involvement in illegal prostitution and unlawful detention.
Police are still searching for the owner, Pacharapong Lukengoh, who will
face a tough penalty once caught. The case was reported to the governor’s
office whereby the venue will be closed and demolished.
Three robbed in separate incidents during juvenile crime spree
Police have hands full with increasing youth-related crime
Boonlua
Chatree
The continuing muggings and ride-by thefts are becoming
increasingly constant, leaving residents and tourists in a state of shock
and disgust at the activities of these armed delinquents.
In a recent spate of crimes on March 8, three people were
subjected to these unscrupulous actions. The first report involved
19-year-old Ratsiri Poonchai, who at 2 a.m. on her way home from work was
robbed by two men on a motorcycle, grabbing her handbag containing a small
amount of cash, personal and social security documents and cosmetics. The
crime occurred on Pattaya Third Road in front of the Paet Phan Roi Kaew
Restaurant. She described the thieves as two Thai men aged around 20 years
old and riding a gray-black Honda Wave.
Fifteen minutes later in South Pattaya, a Kuwait air
steward was enjoying the evening air during a walk when two men on a bike
approached him. The pillion passenger pulled out a gun and demanded money
before firing the pistol next to the man’s ear, then sped off.
Mishaal M.M.H Alotaibi lost 7,500 baht in cash, 100 USD,
25 Kuwaiti dinars, credit card and personal ID cards. He described his
attackers as around 20 years old riding a Honda motorcycle. Alotaibi took
police to the spot where the incident occurred and officers recovered a 32
mm shell from the roadside.
At 3.45 a.m. Yuparet Soontong was walking in Soi 10 when
a single youth on a motorcycle rode past snatching her bag containing a
mobile phone, personal ID and ATM cards before speeding away into the
darkness.
These are just 3 of the 5-7 occurrences that happen daily and mostly
after 2 a.m. Police appear to be able to little about the increasing number
of crimes affecting residents and tourists alike. How long before law
enforcement agencies begin a ‘real crackdown’ on theses young thugs
destroying what once was a relatively safe place?
Tourist Police arrest foreigner
with bogus travel documents
Boonlua
Chatree
An extensive investigation by Pattaya Tourist police led
to the residence of a Swiss national named Ha Minh Dung. They suspected the
man had entered the Kingdom under false pretences and requested a search
warrant from the provincial courts.
 Ha
Minh Dung was arrested and charged with illegal entry into the kingdom and
using falsified travel documents.
With warrant in hand, officers made their way to the
North Pattaya house where, in the driveway, was a brand new 7 series BMW,
Honda motorcar and a Carrison Sports car.
Upon entering the house police began their search,
finding title deeds to the land and house worth over 20 million baht and two
passports identifying the 33-year-old man as Ha Minh Dung from Switzerland.
There as also a British passport identifying him as Lee Win Fat, a British
National, with the latter noted to be fake.
Ha Minh Dung was detained and charged with illegal entry into the kingdom
and using falsified travel documents.
Police briefs
Boonlua
Chatree
Unidentified
body discovered floating in Pattaya Bay
Local fisherman working in Pattaya Bay discovered the
body of a man floating in the water approximately 1 kilometer off the
mainland. They immediately informed local police and brought the dead man
back to shore for officers to investigate.
Police inspected the body of the deceased, suspected to
be a foreigner, surmising that the man had been dead for approximately 30
minutes to 1 hour before being discovered. Initial examinations revealed
that the man may well have been killed prior to being dumped in the water
despite lack any further evidence of foul play.
The dead man was described as being between 35 to 40
years old, olive skin and fully dressed. Police took fingerprints before
releasing the body to the forensic institute to continue their
investigation.
Tourist police detain small time drug dealers in South Pattaya, as one
young woman plays ‘hide the drugs’
Pattaya Tourist police on patrol arrested four youths
aged between 17 and 24 for drug possession and use in Walking Street, South
Pattaya. Officers on regular patrol noticed the group of youths acting
suspiciously outside a hotel in Soi BJ. Among the group were 3 young women
and one in particular appeared agitated by police surveillance.
Officers moved in and searched the group but found
nothing out of the ordinary. Still suspicious, officers called for
assistance from female police to perform a body cavity search on the female
suspects. As a result, officers found a plastic bag containing 10
methamphetamine pills inside one of the women.
The four culprits, later identified as Wanpen Yoosuk, 20,
Chanida Sriwiset, 23, and Chaiyar Wallakorn, 17, were taken to Soi 9 for
testing. Each returned positive results for drug use.
They admitted to using and selling the drugs for a hefty profit per pill
but refused to reveal their source. All four were charged with use of an
illegal substance with intent to sell and are now awaiting legal
proceedings.
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