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People show unity in paying homage to HM King Chulalongkorn
Many
Pattaya dignitaries laid wreaths in front of the monument to HM King
Chulalongkorn, Rama V.
Suchada Tupchai
The people of Pattaya gathered in unison at 8 a.m. on
October 23 to mark King Chulalongkorn Day. Banglamung district chief Vorawitt
Saisupatphol and a large group comprising government officials, state
enterprise employees, village headmen, local leaders, students, schoolchildren
and the general public participated in a wreath laying ceremony in remembrance
of the King, one of Thailand’s greatest and most beloved monarchs.
King Chulalongkorn, the son of King Mongkut and Queen
Thepsirindra, was born on 20 September 1853. He was crowned King on 1 October
1868, becoming Rama V, the fifth monarch of the Rattanakosin era.
He was a great reforming King, bringing advances to the
system of government and to many other aspects of Thai society such as banking,
electricity, water, medicine, public health, transport and communications, the
postal service, telecommunications, education, literature and foreign affairs.
He also abolished slavery. Thailand was brought to a level on a par with other
civilized countries and as a consequence retained its independence from
colonialism.
King Chulalongkorn passed away on 23 October 1910 aged 58 years and after 42
years on the throne. His death brought great sorrow to the Thai people. On this
day each year the Thai people participate in wreath laying ceremonies
throughout the country.
Long weekend brings long traffic tailbacks
Police say no serious traffic accidents as visitors flood into city
Suchada Tupchai
This year’s Chulalongkorn Day fell on Sunday so the
government declared Monday October 24 a recovery day to give people the
chance of a long weekend to relax and enjoy themselves.
Pattaya’s long Chulalongkorn weekend started on
Friday evening when tourists began streaming in and headed straight for
the main attractions, Pattaya Beach and Jomtien Beach. This brought heavy
traffic congestion to the roads, especially Sukhumvit, Central Pattaya
Road, Beach Road and Jomtien Beach Road. On Sukhumvit Road traffic police
had to close off many U-turn points to facilitate traffic flow into
Pattaya. Traffic jams stretched back kilometers on many roads.
One traffic police officer looking after Central Pattaya Road said,
“The long weekend has brought many visitors to Pattaya and most of the
visitors are those living close to Chonburi, such as Bangkok. We have to
put more officers on the roads to facilitate people coming in. Today the
traffic is really congested and traffic police are trying their best to
keep it moving. At some points traffic flow is very slow but there have
been no serious accidents.”
Concerned residents raise complaint about dangerous junction
‘Traffic police only there to look for trouble’
Suchada Tupchai
Pattaya Mail reporters on 18
October went to survey the intersection between Thepprasit and Thappraya
roads, on the main route leading into Jomtien Beach, after receiving a
complaint from members of the public calling themselves “Good citizens
that want Pattaya remembered with fondness by tourists”.
The
South Pattaya Thepprasit-Thappraya Road intersection where accidents occur
frequently.
In a letter to the press the group stated that the reason
for their writing was to urge concerned government agencies to carry out
their duties because the public is greatly inconvenienced by the constant
failure of the traffic lights at the intersection. When the lights are in
operation, traffic police officers are seen carrying out their duties
diligently, but when the lights fail there are no traffic police officers in
sight. This creates havoc for the many vehicles in the area, especially in
the morning and the evening rush hours and is the cause of a lot of
accidents.
Reporters went to the intersection during the morning
rush hour and there were no police officers present. It was nerve wracking
to watch, especially as it was raining. Once the rain had stopped and the
roads had dried up they were covered in a layer of sand demanding even more
care while driving.
Upon interviewing road users, one motorcycle driver said
that he called this intersection ‘’the test of the will” as it is like
a fight to get through and accidents occur frequently. It is a rare
occurrence to see a traffic police officer. When you do see officers around
they are only there to give out tickets for traffic regulation violations,
like failure to wear crash helmets. Sometimes the police box is turned into
a rest area for pedestrians. “It doesn’t create a good image,” said
the motorcyclist.
On enquiring with the Traffic Police Division our reporters were told
that there are many thunderstorms at this time of the year causing traffic
light failures at many locations. It is also the tourist season and the
traffic police have to oversee the busiest roads. It may be that they are
unable to cover every location, resulting in public dissatisfaction. Police
request that drivers proceed slowly and do not violate traffic regulations.
Garbage trucks will be checked as more complaints come in over waste disposal
Ariyawat
Nuamsawat
The matter of garbage collection raised its head again at
a council meeting called by Tawit Chaisawangwong, city council chairman, in
his capacity as president of the cleanliness and environment committee.
More complaints have been received from tourists and the
public about Pattaya’s disorderly waste disposal practices and failure to
collect all waste. Only waste already in waste bins is collected which
causes inconvenience. Most of the waste collection trucks seep liquid waste
on the roads causing putrid odors, especially along Beach Road.
Councilor Sanit Boonmachai said that he sees the problems
described on a regular basis and has taken photographs. The public has
complained about the problem continually, he said. Sanit said that he
understands the difficulty of remedying the problem because Pattaya’s
waste totals 300 tons per day which makes it difficult to gather it all up.
However, the responsible agencies should improve their systems.
Mrs Wannaporn Jamjamras, director of the Department of
Public Health and Environment, has promised to improve the situation. All
waste disposal trucks will be checked and any that are leaking will be
repaired and fitted with rubber pipes.
Householders, the public and business owners are asked to separate their
waste into dry and wet categories and not mix wet waste with dry. They are
also asked to place their waste in closed plastic bags to ease the work of
the garbage collectors.
Sign of the times as Immigration
Police prepare to move to new building
Suchada Tupchai
Pattaya Immigration Police proudly affixed the signboard
to their new office on Jomtien Second Road, opposite the Revenue Building,
with a ceremony on October 18 purposely planned for the auspicious time at
the end of Buddhist Lent.
 Pol
Col Ittipol Ittisarnronnachai, superintendent of Pattaya Immigration, is
very proud of the new office.
Superintendent Pol Col Ittipol Ittisarnronnachai said
that the office would become operational at the end of this year or the
beginning of next.
Pattaya Immigration Department has been at its present
location in Soi 8 since 1983. This location is now inconvenient as it is in
a narrow soi and surrounded by beer bars that in turn create a bad image for
visitors. Further, there is insufficient space for parking. The current
office is only around 200 sq m in area whereas the new office will be 600 sq
m with parking for between 20 and 25 cars.
The new office will serve as a head office and an issuer of visas but
investigations and subjugations will still be carried out at the old office
because its location is convenient to liaise with other police departments.
Bay Watch
Time to tackle the manhole cover thieves
Ariyawat
Nuamsawat
Traffic accidents caused by missing manhole covers are far
from unusual. But when they do occur, which agency takes responsibility? This
is a pertinent question because the offended party has to pay for repairs to
his car or motorcycle, and very often faces medical expenses too.
Theeraporn
Panya points to the gutter that her car fell into on Pattaya Second Road.
City hall has become aware of this problem and called a
meeting between relevant agencies. It was decided to offer rewards of tens of
thousands of baht for the arrest of the thieves that were going about
stealing Pattaya’s manhole covers. But not a baht has had to be forked out
in reward money because no one has been caught.
Pattaya’s manhole covers are still disappearing from the
city’s main thoroughfares. Surprising when one considers how many people
use these routes. Grids covering drainage gutters are missing all along Beach
Road and Pattaya Second Road, and cars fall into them on a regular basis.
Motorcycles suffer the same fate with many drivers seriously injured. Some
sections of roads have no streetlights, which makes it even more difficult to
see these traps.
Pattaya’s city council and the police must resolve the
problem jointly. It may seem to be only a minor problem to some, but
Pattaya’s tourism industry could suffer through a reputation for lack of
safety to life and property.
If anyone thinks it is easy to spot a hole in the road where a manhole
cover or grid is missing, then take the case of a recent victim, Ms
Theeraporn Panya. Theeraporn was driving her Mitsubishi Lancer along Second
Road. She slowed down to park outside Massic Travel when her front left wheel
fell into a gutter where two grid covers were missing. She hadn’t seen the
trap. And that happened in broad daylight.
No go for new traffic light system
Ariyawat
Nuamsawat
A review of Pattaya City’s traffic system has been
ordered after the recently installed traffic lights on Sukhumvit Road were
found to be causing more woes than they were preventing.
Councilor Sanit Bunmachai in his capacity as president
of the board of administration and public order called a meeting of
relevant organizations to unravel the chaos that the lights are causing.
 City
councilor Sanit Bunmachai in his capacity as president of the board of
administration and public order called a meeting of relevant organizations
after it was found that Pattaya’s new traffic system was a disaster.
Sukhumvit Road has been widened because of the
increasing traffic flow and new traffic lights have been installed here as
well as at intersections with various sois to allow drivers entering them
to do so more conveniently. But at Soi Nernplubwan, cars that are not
entering the soi are forced to wait at traffic lights instead of being
allowed to drive straight on, thus wasting their time and causing
tailbacks.
In a preliminary measure to remedy the situation
additional traffic police officers from Banglamung and Pattaya police
stations are being posted at the main areas of congestion during rush hour,
and volunteer police officers are helping at Soi Nernplubwan.
Shop owners in the soi have also been asked to park their vehicles in a
more orderly manner, and stricter measures are going to be implemented
against traffic regulation violators.
Drug addicted son beats mother who couldn’t pay for his fix
Boonlua Chatree
A son who forced his mother to pay him up to 1,500 baht a
day to feed his amphetamine addiction beat her up when she said she didn’t
have the money.
 Aek
Phromsena would beat his mother if she couldn’t come up with enough money to
pay his drug addiction.
Police were called out in the early hours of October 10 to
a domestic incident at Soi Nacha, in Nongprue, where neighbors had reported a
youth assaulting his mother.
They found 23-year-old Aek Phromsena swinging his
45-year-old mother, Mrs Somkit Phromsena, about by her hair. Somkit pleaded
with the officers to take her son to the police station and test him for drug
toxins, saying that he was ill and suffering from an amphetamine addiction.
Police took him for a urine test, which turned out purple.
Aek admitted that he had been taking ya ba for a long time. He was taking
three pills a day to feed his addiction, which cost him 1,500 baht. Police
charged him with taking a class 1 drug, and he will be sent for
rehabilitation.
Somkit said that she had suffered for her son for a long
time. She earned 200 to 300 baht per day through her laundry service and had
been paying for her son’s addiction. On occasions he would ask her for 1,500
baht, which, if she didn’t have, her son would proceed to beat and kick her
and sometimes smash up plates and dishes.
She said she was afraid to sleep in the house for fear that
he might kill her. On this occasion the neighbors could stand the scenes no
longer and called in the police.
Somkit said she doesn’t have the heart to press assault charges against
her son. All she asks is that police send him for rehabilitation treatment.
Bottom line for man beaten up and then charged with assault
Boonlua Chatree
A man who was severely beaten by residents told police that
he had inadvertently brushed a woman’s bottom with his hand but that the woman
had screamed out that she was being assaulted, hence the attack.
Police had been called out on October 12 to LK Plaza in South
Pattaya, where they found Kittiphong Traisup, 23, a resident of Phetchabun,
sitting on the floor with his head bowed. He had an open wound on his head, his
right eyebrow was split as were his lips and nose, and his face was covered in
blood.
Kittiphong told police that he was watching a football match
with locals on the balcony of LK Plaza. When the match ended he ran down the
stairs and out of the building. In doing so his hand accidentally brushed a
young woman’s bottom. He thought nothing of it and kept on running, but he
heard the young woman screaming. A moment later a gang approached him and
proceeded to kick and punch him.
Police questioned Miss Supisara Phantawatt, 28, who told the
officers that she was not watching the football match. As she was walking past
the restrooms Kittiphong dragged her into the restroom and grabbed her around
the neck with the intent to commit an indecent act. She fought back, managing to
free herself before Kittiphong ran off out of the building. She screamed for
help to catch him, which locals did, leaving him in the state he was now.
Police took both parties to Pattaya police station for
further questioning. Supisara repeated her accusations and asked police to
charge Kittiphong with indecent assault. The police obliged.
On learning of the incident, Miss Piyawadee Saoton,
Kittiphong’s girlfriend, went to visit him. Kittiphong repeated his story to
her, from behind bars, that he had been watching a football match and after it
ended he ran down the stairs and out of the building. The stairs were narrow and
his hand accidentally brushed Supisara’s bottom. He failed to apologize so she
cooked up the indecent assault story and he was assaulted.
Piyawadee said that taking account of the assault and battery
and the mess her boyfriend is in, police are only listening to one side of the
story.
Rapist tricks Eurasian girl by stealing her cell phone and waiting for her to call
Boonlua Chatree
Receiving a report in the early hours of October 17 that
a girl was screaming for help in a deserted house behind Skaw Beach Hotel in
Soi 9 on Second Road, police rushed to the scene and surrounded the house.
A man was apprehended climbing out one of the windows of
the four-bedroom property. He was identified as Pradit (or Lock) Nikaji, a
21-year-old resident of Nong Jok, Bangkok.
Inside the house police discovered a 15-year-old girl
given the alias of Jane, lying on her back naked on a mattress, which was on
the floor in the room from which Pradit had climbed out of the window.
Jane told police that before the incident she had been
sitting talking among a group of friends and Pradit was present. After her
friends left she found that her mobile phone was missing so she called her
number. Pradit answered the phone and told her to wait where she was and
that he would bring it to her.
She waited at the entrance to Soi 9 and Pradit came and
took her to the deserted house to get the phone. On arrival she saw that the
house was dark and was about to walk away, but he dragged her in by her arm
and forced her on to the mattress. She tried to fight back and Pradit
punched her twice in the stomach then raped her, after which the police
arrived.
Pradit admitted the offense and told police that as he
was sat talking to his friends he became excited by the fact that Jane was
wearing shorts and that her legs were white because she was Eurasian. He
implemented his plan by stealing her telephone and waited for her to call.
After she called he tricked her into the house and raped her, intending to
give back the telephone once he had committed his act.
Police charged him with theft and rape.
Widow’s ghost blamed for death
of sleeping man
Boonlua Chatree
The mysterious death in Pattaya of an Udon Thani man has
prompted rumors that his spirit was taken by a widow ghost who had fallen in
love with him.
Officers from Pattaya police station were called out on
the night of October 15 by Ratthapong Bunserm, a 23-year-old vehicle paint
shop worker who said that a fellow worker had died in his sleep in a rented
room on Soi Kor Phai, behind the Green Roof Hotel.
At the scene police identified the dead man as Buntiam
Promsombat, age 31, of Banpue, Udon Thani. He was lying on his back wearing
shorts but no shirt. A blanket was draped over his feet and the TV and
electric fan were on. Police examined the corpse and found no trace of any
injuries, or any signs of a struggle in the room. The body was transferred
to Banglamung Hospital for a more detailed examination.
Ratthapong told police that he and the deceased were good
friends and that they often visited each other. On the day of his death the
deceased ate a meal of som tam and rice at about 6 p.m. and then said that
he wanted to take a rest. Ratthapong later went out for a walk and when he
returned he discovered that his friend was dead.
Crowds at the scene could be heard whispering that a
widowed ghost had fallen in love with the man and had come to collect his
spirit as he was sleeping. The men in the village have become afraid and are
tying threads around their wrists to protect them from other predatory yet
amorous ghosts.
End of Lent celebrated with boiled rice ceremony
Ancient Wat Maikatengaam follows centuries-old tradition
Suchada Tupchai
The last day of Buddhist Lent this year fell on October
19, and was celebrated according to the centuries-old tradition of the Tawo
alms presentation ceremony. The ceremony lasts for two days. On the first
day alms are presented in the morning along with “sankataan”, or
essentials. Merit making ceremonies are practiced at the temples and food is
presented to the monks. On the second day the Tawo alms or boiled rice
giving ceremony takes place.
 Young
Buddhists at Wat Maikatengaam continue the centuries-old tradition of
presenting alms at the end of Buddhist Lent.
Pattaya Mail went out to take photographs of the
atmosphere of the boiled rice ceremony at Wat Maikatengaam, an ancient
temple located in Baan Puk sub-district of Chonburi. Here the old traditions
are still practiced. Some call it rice “luuk yon”. The alms are
presented in the early hours of the morning on this the second day to gain
merit for the giver and family.
The last day of Buddhist Lent falls on the 15th day of
the waxing moon in the eleventh month. The monks have remained in the temple
for a period of three months during the rainy season, and on this day they
perform the “sangkhakam’” rites, when all monks are allowed to discuss
each other’s behavior aspects.
Buddhists
make merit at Wat Maikatengaam.
The Tawo alms giving ceremony is performed on the first
day of the waning moon of the eleventh month, or one day after the last day
of Lent. Legend tells that the Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment and went
to heaven where he gave a sermon to his mother and stayed there three months
before returning to earth at Sangkassa Nakorn City. His followers were
waiting for him and presented the Tawo alms. The tradition has continued to
this day.
It is believed that the origin of the boiled rice tail
comes from the fact that some worshippers were unable to present alms as so
many were waiting for the return of the Buddha, so the people made boiled
rice and wrapped it in coconut leaves leaving a tail and threw it into the
alms bowl.
One believer who came to make merit at Wat Maikatengaam said, “I come
every year as I live nearby ... the temple is ancient and continues the
beautiful traditions.”
Police briefs
Drunken father leaves his
baby daughter alone on the beach
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Beach chair vendors near Soi 2 in North Pattaya alerted
police on October 18 when it was discovered that someone had left a baby
girl aged about six months alone on the beach. She was hungry and dirty, and
being cared for by members of the public.
The girl’s father was discovered nearby, drunk and
lying down, and incapable of making any coherent statement. Vendors and
visitors told police that the father had brought his child the previous
night and that the baby was still there the next morning alone and crying on
the beach.
Officials from the Social Welfare Division took care of
the baby. They thought it probable she had not eaten since the previous day.
The father was identified as Noi Wongsuwan, 37, from Srakaew. He was taken
to an office in city hall to sober up and the baby was transferred to the
Children and Family House in Banglamung district, to be cared for until the
father was able to take care of her himself.
Motorcyclists’ ride-by
theft ends in collision with 7-Eleven
Boonlua Chatree
Two thieves who snatched a gold chain from a foreign
tourist then attempted a fast getaway on a motorcycle came to grief through
prompt action from a senior traffic police officer.
The incident happened on October 18, when Pattaya police
station received a radio call that two men had snatched a 5-baht gold
necklace from a tourist and sped away from the scene on a blue-black Honda
wave motorcycle along Soi Buakhao, in the direction of Central Pattaya.
Police immediately set up a checkpoint and went in pursuit of the criminals.
The motorbike traveled to Pattaya Beach Road and turned
into the Hard Rock Hotel parking lot. Police arrested one of the men but the
other sped off in the direction of the Carrefour department store. At the
same time Pol Mast Sgt Dutsadee Chantarapitak, chief of the traffic group,
was in a white official car proceeding in the opposite direction. He
immediately turned the car to block the motorcycle’s way, and the driver
lost control and hit a 7-Eleven building. The police car was also damaged
when it hit an electric post in front of the store, suffering a broken
radiator, but no one inside the car was injured. Police arrested the
fugitive and found the gold chain in his possession.
Charan “Mee” Nancharoen, age 20 and from Nakhon
Ratchasima, and Panupong “Tuk”, age 25 and from Sukothai, were charged
with theft and evading arrest. Both stated that they were unemployed and
this was the reason for their stealing from foreign tourists and selling the
goods so they could send money to their families.
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