NEWS
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Pattaya Mail named top newspaper in the Eastern region

Music festival will be no-alcohol zone in interests of public safety

Grandfather arrested for raping 7-year-old granddaughter

Immigration Bureau spot check nets Greek bank robber

Gay couple who murdered Frenchman were photographed by CCTV camera

Intended shooting victim saves own life by grabbing gun

Police meet the public to hear opinions and problems

Novices prepare for summer ordination

Casino study group will visit Macao later this month and report to parliament

City Scope

Top policeman inspects Walking Street

Union and management personnel trained on labor law administration

Fire breaks out at Khao Phech garbage dump

Fun in the sun with Vaseline fair set for April 29

German Ambassador pays first visit to Thai-German Institute

Pattaya Mail named top newspaper in the Eastern region

Eastern Mass Media Association award won for 8th consecutive year

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Pattaya Mail and its German-language sister publication Pattaya Blatt have won the award for Best Foreign Language Newspapers for News Presentation and Tourism Promotion in the East at the Eastern Mass Media Association’s annual awards dinner at Cholkanyannukul School in Chonburi last Friday evening. This is the eighth consecutive year that Pattaya Mail has won the award.

Eastern Mass Media Association President Padungsak Tantaravorasilp (right) presents a plaque to Wittaya Khunplome (left), deputy general secretary to the prime minister.
The announcements were held to coincide with National Mass Media Day and were made by association president, Padungsak Tantaravorasilp.
Guest of honor was Wittaya Khunplome, deputy secretary general to the prime minister, who presided over the opening of the event. Chonburi Governor Pisit Ketphasook presented certificates of honor to government and private sector organizations that have supported the association and also presented awards to members of the Eastern region mass media for 2006. The event was organized to raise funds for the media benefits fund and for charities.
Amongst the other award winners was Wittaya Yensabai, head of Pattaya Radio Communications, who won the award for Best Eastern Region News Administrator. Students of Cholkanyannukul School put on a special performance for the awards ceremony.

Wittaya Yensabai (right), head of Pattaya Radio Communications, accepts the award for Best Eastern Region News Administrator from Chonburi Governor Pisit Ketphasook (left).

Suwanthep “Tony” Malhotra, director of sales and marketing of Pattaya Mail and editor of Pattaya Blatt received the awards of behalf of managing director Pratheep Malhotra.
The Eastern Mass Media Association of Thailand was founded in 1997 and presents the awards in recognition of mass media organizations that offer unbiased news coverage.
“It is a great honor to be presented with this award,” said Suwanthep. “This is an achievement that belongs to all employees of the company who work together as a first-rate team to present information to the public. Pattaya Mail recently celebrated its 13th anniversary, and we hope to continue winning awards for many more years to come.”


Music festival will be no-alcohol zone in interests of public safety

Vimolrat Singnikorn
Grand Pattaya International Music Festival 2006, to be held from March 17 to 19 along Beach Road, will be an alcohol-free zone in the interests of public safety.
A meeting was held on March 3 at Pattaya district office to discuss the safety aspects of the event, chaired by Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh and attended by representatives of Banglamung and Pattaya police stations and other safety related organizations.
Ronakit said that the festival would be staged along Beach Road to Bali Hai Pier and that the road will be closed from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Safety measures will need implementing for the three performance stages in terms of traffic and youths who come looking to disturb the peace. The city has already coordinated with the police and military police who will be on duty throughout the event.
Alcohol cannot be brought into the areas of the three stages in order to provide safety to the many tourists who are expected to attend. Stages will be set up at Soi 6, Beach Road, Soi 9 Beach Road and at Bali Hai Pier.
Pol Lt Maj Pramote Ngampradit, deputy superintendent of crime suppression at Banglamung said the areas would be divided into zones of responsibility. Search checkpoints will be set up to carry out body frisks for weapons, starting at Sukhumvit Road and throughout the stretch where the concert is to be held.


Grandfather arrested for raping 7-year-old granddaughter

Boonlua Chatree
A grandfather has been charged with sexually abusing his seven-year-old granddaughter, following investigations by the Child and Youth Welfare Department for Region 2 and the Center for the Protection of Women and Children’s Rights.

Chamnan Sudkratoke (right) was arrested for allegedly sexually molesting a 7-year-old girl.

Following a report from Supakorn Noja, director of Region 2 Social Services, Pol Lt Gen Jongrak Juthanont, Region 2 commander, issued an order to detain the suspect on February 23. Police officers obtained a warrant from Pattaya District Court and arrested Chamnan Sudkratoke in the car park of Tiffany’s, where he worked.
They then took the man, a security guard working for UPS, to Banglamung police headquarters and charged him with the sexual assault of a minor younger than 13 years old.
Chamnan denied the charges, saying that he had looked after the girl since she was a baby and she called him father. Her mother and father had separated and left the child with him. Police did not believe him and proceeded with the charges.
Social services director Supakorn said that a school in Pattaya had told him the seven-year-old girl was seen licking an ice cream as if she was performing oral sex. The girl was subsequently observed for a period without her realizing it before eventually being questioned. She said she had been raped by her grandfather and forced to give him oral sex over a two-year period.
At a medical examination the girl’s sex organs were found to be swollen and to show signs of penetration. The child is now under the care of the Ministry of Social Development and her health has improved.


Immigration Bureau spot check nets Greek bank robber

 Boonlua Chatree
A Greek bank robber hiding out in Pattaya has been apprehended and deported by the Immigration Bureau.
The man was uncovered during a spot inspection on the backgrounds of tourists in Pattaya and the surrounding areas, led by superintendent of Pattaya Immigration Police Pol Col Ittipol Ittisanronachai and his deputy Pol Lt Maj Bitti Nittinantsaete acting under the instructions of Immigration commander Pol Lt Gen Suwat Damrongsrisakul. Officers were specifically looking for those who were in hiding after committing crimes in their own country.

Dimitrios Nikolaos Konidis was caught in Pattaya where he was allegedly on the run after committing a bank robbery in Greece.

Pol Col Ittipol’s team checked the records and discovered that 45-year-old Dimitrios Nikolaos Konidis, holder of a Greek passport, was one such criminal on the run. Officers found him walking on a street in South Pattaya and asked to see his passport. He had been traveling between Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand and had lived in Thailand for the past nine months. Police took him in for questioning at Pattaya Immigration Bureau in Jomtien.
Through background checks it was found that Konidis was involved in a bank robbery with a group of others and had been hiding as a tourist in Pattaya. Police cancelled his visa and blacklisted him before contacting the relevant authorities to initiate deportation procedures.


Gay couple who murdered Frenchman were photographed by CCTV camera

Boonlua Chatree
Two Thai gay men who murdered a Frenchman and stole his possessions were photographed by security cameras and later apprehended as they went looking for another victim.
Police from the Kong Kungtaal sub-station at Jomtien were called to a condominium block in the afternoon of February 25 when employees of the building reported that a foreign man was lying dead in one of the rooms.

Vichien Klomyot and Phechsuwan Sunrong reenact the murder for police investigators.

On arrival at the scene with a doctor from Banglamung Hospital and forensic experts, the officers found the body of 64-year-old Philippe Maria Louis Sadatier. The man was lying face down and naked in a pool of blood. Both feet had been tied together with a long-sleeved black and white colored shirt. He had been strangled with a 1-meter long electric cable, and his head had been hit with a hard, heavy object. Police estimated he had been dead for at least seven days.
Officers searched the room, which had been ransacked. They failed to find any possessions of the deceased and supposed that the assailants had taken everything of value.
Police then questioned Edward Potman, 64, a British national who said he was a friend of the deceased who, he told the officers, had purchased the condo in July last year, intending to retire there. He lived alone but often brought men back to his room. No one had heard from him for the past week.
On this day, Potman came to visit his friend. He found the door unlocked, and called out. There was no answer so he entered and was shocked by the odor, and on closer inspection found the dead body of his friend. He notified condo supervisors who in turn called the police.
Officers noted that the corridors of the condominium had video cameras installed and checked to see whether they had caught an image of the attackers. The following day, tourist police with photographs of two suspects carried out a search and during the evening they arrested two men at Jomtien Beach. The men were taken to Pattaya tourist police headquarters for questioning.
Vichien Klomyot, a 25-year-old native of Sakorn Nakhorn province, and Phechsuwan Sunrong, age 17, of Nakhorn Ratchasima, said they were both gay and lived together as a couple. They admitted to the killing, saying the money was needed to treat Phechsuwan’s mother who was suffering from AIDS.
The victim had arranged with the pair at 500 baht each to give him a massage. During the massage, Phechsuwan hit Sadatier on the back of the head with a dumbbell that was lying next to the bed, fracturing his skull.
The pair said that they thought he wasn’t dead so they wrapped a cable around his throat and tied his feet with a long-sleeved shirt before proceeding to ransack the room, stealing a mobile phone, digital camera and a video player which they sold at a shop in Soi Buakaow for 8,000 baht, which they took to Phechsuwan’s mother. Then they returned to look for other gay men from who they could steal.
Police took the two men to the shop to get back the stolen items as evidence before charging them with murder with intent.


Intended shooting victim saves own life by grabbing gun

Boonlua Chatree
Two men who went with a gun to shoot a man who had insulted them were foiled when the intended victim fought back.
A radio call to Pattaya police station at 10:30 p.m. on February 23 reported a fight taking place outside the entry to Soi Lovely Home in Naklua.
At the scene police found three men fighting over a gun. The officers arrested all three of them and confiscated a .38 caliber weapon, which had already been fired twice. Police identified the gun’s owner as Jirachat Jirasom, 23, who admitted the weapon belonged to him. He said that he and his friend, Pratheep Mamkhunthod, 30, intended to shoot Seksan Saichan, 29, because he had insulted them. He told everyone that they were ya ba dealers. Seksan, however, had put up a fight and taken the gun away, otherwise he would have lost his life.
Police charged the pair with intent to kill another, and with possessing and carrying a firearm and ammunition.


Police meet the public to hear opinions and problems

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The Queen Victoria Inn on Soi 6 was the venue on February 22 for a session where Pattaya police listened to the opinions and problems of the general public.

Banglamung district chief, Supakit Thamasatidman (left) and Pol Col Somnuk Changate (right), superintendent at Pattaya police station, take questions from the public.
Led by Pol Col Somnuk Changate, superintendent at Pattaya police station, the forum was the fifth of its kind to be held and is in accordance with the meet-the-public project that is conducted by police stations throughout the country. Also attending was Banglamung district chief, Supakit Thamasatidman.
Amongst the subjects discussed were the crimes that affect Pattaya citizens on an everyday basis, such as those involving narcotics, theft of property, and violence at entertainment outlets. Of particular concern was motorcycle theft, and the gathering was advised that the police have cooperated with motorcycle dealers to fit red Pattaya license plates to make it easier for investigations.
Supakit meanwhile was able to field questions on applications for house registrations, house numbering, and ID card issue.


Novices prepare for summer ordination

Vimolrat Singnikorn
Bhodhisamphan Pittayakarn School is cooperating with Aksornsuksa School to organize an ordination for novice monks at Jittapawan College as part of the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King ascending to the throne.
Nikom Modrakee, director of Aksorn School announced the summer novice ceremony on February 24, with Priest Sangkarak Pongsak Wutiyano of Jittapawan College attending.
Nikom said the ordination would be open for students over 10 years old, and learning in Chonburi primary school class 5 to secondary school class 3.
The ordination will be divided into three groups over 10 days. The first group is scheduled from March 2-11, the second from March 19-28, and the third from April 23 to May 2.
Interested students can apply at Jittapawan College, Aksornsuksa School, Aksorn Pattaya School, Aksorn Thepprasit School, Bhodhisamphan Pittayakarn School, Banglamung School, Srisuwit School, Tanaporn School, and all 10 Muang Pattaya schools. The applying students must pay 1,000 baht per application.


Casino study group will visit Macao later this month and report to parliament

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
A study group is to travel to Macao at the end of this month to look further into the feasibility of an entertainment complex for Pattaya that would include a casino and a conference center.

Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh describes progress on the proposed Pattaya entertainment complex.

A meeting of city and provincial government personnel and tourism sector representatives held on February 23 at Green Park Resort Hotel discussed Pattaya’s future development in terms of tourism, tourist safety and administration.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh said that the proposed Pattaya entertainment complex was feasible but needed more detailed study. He explained that the committee vested with authority to make decisions at parliament is attempting to push forward the project to fruition, even though there have been criticisms and objections to the project throughout.
At the last meeting of the committee things seemed to be at last moving forward, said Ronakit. A sub-committee will discuss in detail the advantages and disadvantages of the project, and the group will travel to Macao at the end of this month to conduct a working study. Pattaya City Council and Chonburi administration have each supported the trip and on their return the committee will propose the project to the tourism committee, parliament and the cabinet for further consideration.
“We are emphasizing the actual entertainment complex more than the casino,” said Ronakit. “The complex will also comprise a fully equipped conference center. Pattaya is a tourism city with all the amenities including hotels and tourist attractions, and tourists come to Pattaya in huge numbers annually. Pattaya is ready for such a complex.”


City Scope: City provides budget for all 27 communities to fight drugs

Vimolrat Singnikorn
A budget has been provided to all 27 communities within Pattaya City to help them fight the drugs problem at a grassroots level.

Deputy Mayor Wattana Jantanawaranon (right) and Pannee Limcharoen (left), social welfare administrator, co-chaired the anti-narcotics meeting at city hall.
The announcement was made on February 27 at a city hall meeting attended by the leaders of each of the communities and other community members, totaling about 50 people, and co-chaired by Deputy Mayor Wattana Jantanawaranon and Pannee Limcharoen, social welfare administrator.
Pannee said that the National Narcotics Bureau provided 405,000 baht to Pattaya City Council’s budget for the fight against drugs. City council members used over 200,000 baht for an anti-drugs educational trip to Nakhorn Ratchasima May 24-25, 2005, which left 199,352.54 baht in this budget. The committee divided this up and allocated 7,000 baht each to 27 communities for each community to carry out anti-drug surveillance activities. Each community will divide this amount into two parts, 5,000 baht for performance expenses and 2,000 baht for materials.
Yaowalak Theerapong, chairman of the Roi Lang community said she agreed with dividing the budget for distribution throughout the communities. Each community will be able to take responsibility in preventing drug use amongst its members, she said.


Top policeman inspects Walking Street

Boonlua Chatree
Thailand’s inspector general of police toured Walking Street on February 28 to see for himself how the policing of the district is being managed and to see what kind of image the bar area is projecting to tourists.

Thailand’s inspector general of police, Pol Gen Sareepisut Tamimiyawate and other top ranking police officials toured Walking Street to ensure everything was in order there.

Pol Gen Sareepisut Tamimiyawate was joined by Pol Maj Gen Somdach Khaokham, deputy commander of Region 2, Pol Maj Gen Anant Charoensri, commander of Chonburi police and a team of support officers.
Chonburi Deputy Governor Veravit Vivatthanavinich, Chonburi MP Chanyuth Hengtrakul, Samuth Kangsirikul, director of the Walking Street Committee, and Pol Col Somnuk Changate, superintendent of Pattaya Municipal Police were on hand to welcome the National Police Headquarters inspectors.
Pol Gen Sareepisut’s visit to the entertainment venues drew great interest from foreign tourists. Locals and business operators were also on hand to welcome the group and presented them with garlands. The group visited the well-known shows and greeted foreign tourists in the beer bars, go-go bars and discos.
Reporters asked them the reason for their visit and Pol Gen Sareepisut told them that the trip was mainly to carry out inspections of the area with the intent to improve the image of Pattaya to make it even more famous. He also said that he had come to check on the sex entertainment venues as well as the influential persons and had instructed local police officers to keep it clean. He added that from his walkabout everything seemed orderly. He said that he would punish police officers who became involved with the influential aspects.
Pol Gen Sareepisut said that business operators in Walking Street had cooperated well with police on closing times. He added that he was willing to listen to any business operator with complaints and would coordinate with the relevant government organizations to discuss the matters. The group stayed in Walking Street for about one hour before leaving.


Union and management personnel trained on labor law administration

Narisa Nitikarn
Over 100 company representatives attended a training seminar on labor law and administration held at the Town in Town Hotel on February 20.
Sathaporn Charupa, director of the Labor Protection Bureau officially opened the session, which was designed to brief employers and entrepreneurs on how to conduct their businesses in compliance with the labor laws for the greater security of their workers.

Sathaporn Charupa, director of the Labor Protection Bureau was the opening presenter for the seminar on labor law at the Town in Town Hotel in Central Pattaya.

Attendees, who comprised labor union and company management representatives, learned the implications of the Labor Protection Act. They were advised on the strict regulations governing the employment of women and children, and warned of the hazards of using illegal workers. The attendees also were given guidance on human resources development.
Chonburi’s main income is through exports and tourism. Over the past five years the province has enjoyed good economic growth. This is likely to increase with the signing of the Free Trade Area (FTA) agreement between Thailand and the USA, although there have been many protests against the treaty. The FTA will, however, bring changes to the labor market, as people from the member countries would be able to work in Thailand, and Thai people in the member countries. Employers will need to be familiar with international labor administration methods, the meeting was told.


Fire breaks out at Khao Phech garbage dump

Mayor adamant that 50mn baht disposal plant will be built

A fire broke out at the Khao Phech garbage dump, and it took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish it.

Patcharapol Panrak
A fire that broke out at the bitterly contested Khao Phech garbage dump, and which took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish, has once more sparked complaints amongst the local population.
The dump, which comes under the responsibility of Sattahip district administration, has caused long-term problems of noxious smells, infestations of flies and illness amongst the local population, which the local authorities have been unable to resolve.
Chonburi administration had earlier allocated a 50 million baht budget for the construction of a waste disposal plant but that effort was blocked by the public, who wanted the plant built elsewhere.
On February 23, Sattahip Mayor Phairot Malakul na Ayuthaya received a report that the dump was burning over a wide area. He sent out Pheng Buahom, Sattahip district chief, with a team of firefighters to extinguish the blaze that was emitting a great stench, causing distress among members of the public.
The blaze took more than two hours to extinguish, and mechanical diggers had to be used to move rubbish and create a firewall to help stop the spread of the flames. People who recycle the garbage setting light to unwanted rubbish caused the fire. Once the blaze got out of control they left it to burn. Pheng said those responsible would be dealt with once found.
Even though the public blocked the construction of a waste disposal plant in the area last year, Chonburi Mayor Phinyo Tanwiset has ordered heavy equipment into the area to prepare the land for the construction of the plant under the allocated 50 million baht budget.
Sattahip Mayor Phairot said that about 30 years ago, when Khao Phech was open countryside, some people had dug up stone and granite in the area, leaving a large ditch. The administration at that time decided to use this as a garbage dump, as the location was far from any developed communities. Development has, however, seen residential areas creep closer to the dump, and problems of pollution, poisonous fumes from burning, and respiratory disease have blighted the area for more than 10 years. A waste disposal plant will be built in the area and it is hoped that this will solve the problems.


Fun in the sun with Vaseline fair set for April 29

Narisa Nitikarn
April 29 has been agreed on for the date of the Vaseline Full Sun Fun Fair, an event at Jomtien Beach designed to promote sun block and other skin care products.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh discussed the project during a meeting with Index Event Agency (Public) Co Ltd and JWT Co Ltd, at which JWT executives Sansita Ampeungard and Jittrapat Jungyousuk outlined the proposed activities.

Jittrapat Jungyousuk (right), account manager of JWT Activation, and Sansita Ampeungard (left), account executive of JWT Activation present the concept of Vaseline Full Sun Fun Fair, which is scheduled for April 29 at Jomtien Beach.

The intention is to set up games equipment to attract the visitors to the beach and the ocean, including children who will have their own playground and security personnel to take care of them. The equipment, which will be divided into zones for beach and water, will be imported specially for the occasion as it has been devised to carry the Vaseline logo.
In addition to the games there will be booths offering a VSL massage (VSL being a Vaseline brand name), along with hair plaiting, tattooing and nail painting. A water fashion show and a DJ playing music on the beach is also proposed.
Vaseline sun care products will be offered at special prices during the event. There will be a promotional campaign including a parade taking place over April 18-19, during the Songkran festival, to alert tourists.
Ronakit said Pattaya City would support the location at Jomtien Beach for outdoor activities by providing mobile garbage trucks, a mobile restroom, and police for security. The fair will be announced in Bangkok at the end of March.


German Ambassador pays first visit to Thai-German Institute

German Ambassador, His Excellency Dr Brümmer, recently paid his first visit to the Thai-German Institute - Innovation Technology Services.

Walter Kretschmar
The recently appointed German Ambassador, His Excellency Dr Brümmer, has paid his first visit to the Thai-German Institute.
Here the ambassador inspected the EZ project, a development program that officially ended on the last day of 2004 but which in fact was the beginning of a self-sustaining collaboration between the Thai and German business sectors to continue cooperation in technology transfer and business development, with the focus on medium sized companies in Germany, Europe and Thailand.
In the middle of last year a memorandum was signed between the BDI-APA and the Thai Ministry of Industry that was the official beginning of the TGI-ITS (TGI-Innovation Technology Services) pilot project.
The visit of the German ambassador showed the importance and the German interest in the continuity of the cooperation in a new frame.
Dr Brümmer was informed about these TGI projects and about the development of the new TGI-ITS cooperation. He showed great interest in the new supply of service which is offered by TGI-ITS and was very impressed of the comprehensiveness and the quality.
The ambassador has promised that on his return to Bangkok he will do whatever he can to support this development.