|
German man uses fake gun to rob bank
Boonlua Chatree
A lone German with a history of bank holdups used a fake gun to rob a branch
of the Siam Commercial Bank and then fled into woodland.
Police were called out to the scene just after 7 p.m. on November 3 after a
report that a foreign man had robbed the bank’s Wongamart Branch at Soi 18
in Naklua. The bank manager, 45-year-old Ong-At Suthikhun, said that he and
three other employees were providing service to customers when at about 6:30
p.m. a foreign man entered the bank wearing a black cap, and went straight
to the customer waiting area.
 Police
drag Heinrich Manfred Becker out of the woods after the German had robbed a
bank with a fake gun.
After about 30 minutes had passed the bank was going to close, and there
were only a few customers left. The man went to the counter while the
employees were busy, took out a pepper spray from his pants, and sprayed it
at a female bank employee. Then he took out a 9 mm handgun and demanded she
give him the money. The employee was afraid, so she gave him 197,000 baht in
cash. After this she laid down on the floor, afraid she would be shot.
The robber put the money into his black waist pack, and then ran out of the
bank directly to a black and red Yamaha Fresh motorcycle that was parked out
front. At the same time the bank security guard ran after the robber. As the
man was not yet on his motorcycle, he abandoned it and ran into a wooded
area behind the bank.
The police called for another 50 officers as reinforcements, and then they
secured the wooded area. It took only five minutes for them to arrest the
bank robber, who was lying in hiding in the middle of the woodland. He had
discarded the waist pack containing the money, and his gun, but police soon
found the items. The gun proved to be a fake.
Heinrich Manfred Becker, a 56-year-old German citizen, born in Aachen,
confessed that he had already robbed banks on five occasions in his home
country. His last holdup in March last year had netted him the equivalent of
4.2 million baht. In Germany there is a warrant for his arrest.
Becker had fled to Thailand and rented a room in the Kimhunt Apartments. He
wasn’t working and only spent money to go out, until he depleted his funds.
So he planned to rob the Siam Commercial Bank’s Wongamart branch. He bought
the gun from a street vendor in front of the Royal Garden Plaza on Beach
Road. He cased the bank for about a month, and then put his plan into
action.
He parked his motorcycle in front of the bank and entered at a time he knew
there would be only a small number of staff working. While they were doing
their daily count of the money to close the accounts, he pulled the spray
and the gun. He said he had been unable to escape from the woodland as the
area was too dark.
City hall to get tough with deckchair operators
Beach vendors and deckchair
operators register for the meeting.
Narisa Nitikarn
City hall is getting tough with Pattaya’s deckchair and beach umbrella
operators and the traditional masseurs who work along the beaches.
At a meeting held at Pattaya School No 7 on October 24, Deputy Mayor Ronakit
Ekasingh addressed more than 1,500 operators who had attended to hear how
the regulations would be enforced.
Ronakit said that Pattaya’s tourism industry revolves around its beaches and
the ocean, and that consequently the safety and wellbeing of tourists on the
beach was of paramount importance.
The meeting, he said, was intended to inform deckchair operators and
masseuses about the regulations, how they are to be enforced, and the
punitive measures that will be taken against those contravening them.
A subsequent meeting is to be held to determine how many masseurs will be
allowed to work along the beaches.
Regulations applicable to deckchair operators are detailed in Article 62 (7)
of the 2003 Pattaya Administration Act, and include sections on cleanliness,
the number of deckchairs allowed in a single concession area, and the
operating hours, which are between 07.00-18.30 hrs daily.
First-time violators will be fined 500 baht. Second-time offenders will be
ordered to close shop for seven days, third-time offenders one month, and
fourth-time offenders will have their licenses revoked permanently.
These regulations have already been in effect for three years but have been
applied leniently until now.
Community radio in uproar as police seize frequencies
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Members of the Community Radio Council Eastern Chapter met at the Diana
Garden Hotel on October 28 with an emergency agenda after community radio
station frequencies were commandeered by police nationwide for their own
use.
 Viroj
Puulsuk, Community Radio Council Eastern Chapter chairman, called an
emergency meeting of members.
Viroj Puulsuk, the council’s chairman, Abhisit Muangsirikul, chairman of the
Chonburi chapter, and Suriya Nuuchangpuok, deputy chairman, acted as the
main force at the meeting with all members of the Eastern Chapter in
attendance.
The emergency agenda was raised after Pol Lt Gen Chirawit Suphanpasach,
police deputy commander, issued an order on October 6 to prevent community
radio stations using what he said were National Police Headquarters radio
frequencies. A directive was sent out to all regional police commanders to
enforce the order.
Effectively, community radio stations were taken off the air and ordered to
change to new frequencies, the charge being that they were interfering with
police radio frequencies.
Abhisit said that the council was taking up the problems experienced by
members. He updated members on the developments of the 26th, when members
from Chachiangsao and Samut Prakaan traveled to Parliament House to deliver
a letter and pay a call on Theerapat Sareerangsan, prime minister’s office
minister, to question him about the police actions.
Viroj said he told Theerapat that if new measures were to be implemented
then representatives of the Community Radio Council should be invited to
join any committees.
Tawaen Beach boat operator row defused
The passenger boat problem would stop if the
entrepreneurs would work together instead of arguing with each other.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh intervened to help resolve a dispute between
passenger boat operators who provide a service between Pattaya Pier and
Tawaen Beach on Koh Larn.
At a meeting held on October 26, ways were examined to resolve questions
over routes and times, and how to deal with new operators who have begun to
provide a service.
Ronakit said that in the past only two operators had been working between
Pattaya and Tawaen Beach, but now there are four operators, and not
surprisingly a dispute has sprung up between them.
As the operators have also been touting for business, city hall felt it was
time to resolve the matter before it got out of hand.
Ronakit asked the operators to work together and try and find a way to share
the route to mutual satisfaction. He noted that the operators do not yet
have a license from the provincial authorities, and suggested that if
greater unity could not be achieved, a more appropriate operator might be
found to operate the route.
The meeting resolved to set up a committee for the operators who could then
work together and put their business on a more formal footing. This was
agreed upon to general satisfaction.
Police examine potential of city hall’s CCTV system
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
City hall has responded to suggestions from the Region 2 police chief that
greater cooperation in the use of CCTV cameras and other information
technology could cut the crime rate and improve the traffic situation.
 Mayor
Niran Wattanasartsathorn welcomed police officers to the Computer Control
System Center at Pattaya City Hall.
Thirty police officers from Pattaya and Banglamung police stations on
November 1 paid an educational visit to the Computer Control System Center
at Pattaya City Hall, where Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn welcomed them.
Niran said that Pol Lt Gen Atsawin Kwanmuang, commander-in-chief of the
Provincial Police in Region 2, has requested greater cooperation between the
police and city hall in the use of IT for the benefit of public safety.
City hall has been increasing the number of CCTV cameras, and Niran said
that although the system is not yet working 100 percent, IT experts are now
making the necessary adjustments.
There is also a plan to transfer a CCTV system operated by Pattaya Police
Station and which is currently not being used, incorporating it into the
main system. This will, however, need a 16 million baht budget and the
matter has to go before Pattaya City Council for approval.
Bay Watch: Lifting the lid on a dangerous practice
It takes a certain kind of mentality to clutter up a
public footpath with potentially dangerous scrap metal and it is well in
evidence on the road between Soi Arunothai School and the Second Road
junction at Tops Supermarket, where drainage covers that were removed from
Central Pattaya and supposedly sent for scrapping have instead been left on
the pathway.
For anyone living or working in this area, or simply passing through, this
is an obvious hazard. A Pattaya Mail reporter who ventured along the
footpath noted that the drainage covers are badly rusted and have sharp
corners that could easily cause nasty cuts to the legs of passers-by.
Some of the covers have been abandoned in front of the entrance to shops,
clinics, bookstores and restaurants. An added danger is that to avoid the
covers, pedestrians might have to step in the road, thus exposing them to
the mercy of the city’s less careful drivers.
Our reporter decided to call city hall on 0 38 253 246, and speak to the
Public Health Department. The officer who came on the line explained that
the city had contracted a construction company to change the drainage lids
on the cemented roads of Central Pattaya. The work had commenced about two
weeks ago and it appears the company has not completed the work according to
the agreement.
This is all very well, but someone must bear the responsibility. And who
foots the medical bills for anyone who is hurt by this sloppy attitude?
Immigration police re-arrest blacklisted Ulrich
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Immigration police led by Pattaya commander Pol Col Ittipol
Ittisarnronnachai have once again arrested Wolfgang Ulrich, seizing the
62-year-old German as he was relaxing at his home in Jomtien Nivate Village.
 Wolfgang
Ulrich was re-arrested at his Jomtien Nivate on Wednesday, November 1.
The police had learned that Ulrich had re-entered Thailand across the border
in the south on October 21 and was hiding out at the home he once shared
with his Thai wife Rosarin and their young daughter. They obtained a warrant
and entered the premises. Ulrich was remanded in custody on charges of being
an undesirable under the Immigration Act.
He became notorious in 1999 when the-then deputy leader of the New
Aspiration Party, Chalerm Yubamrung, claimed that ministers in Chuan
Leekpai’s government were trying to get a royal pardon for Ulrich on charges
of evading customs payments on a yacht that he had brought into the country,
and that the main agency trying to help was the Ministry of Interior.
The accusations led to a huge inquiry, which resulted in Ulrich getting a
prison sentence and being blacklisted.
Despite being a marked man, Ulrich is known to have been operating numerous
businesses around Pattaya. These include the two Bavaria House outlets and
the Polynesian Bavarian Pub. He was also developing a five-story condominium
for German retirees in Nivate Village. Amongst his overseas interests are a
plastics plant in the USA, a chemical plant in Malaysia, and a computer
repair center in Germany. Ulrich was also chairman of an animal welfare
foundation in Germany that has branches in many countries.
Drifting kom loy sets fire
to Boom Boom Karaoke
Boonlua Chatree
Six fire engines were called out when a drifting kom loy (lantern) set fire
to Boom Boom Karaoke in the early hours of November 2.
Amongst officials at the scene as the firefighters fought to control the
blaze were police superintendent of Banglamung district Pol Col Suthin
Sappuang, and Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn.
 A
drifting Loy Krathong kom loy (hot air balloon) set fire to Boom Boom
Karaoke.
The fire had started on the roof as 80 customers were inside the building,
but everyone got out in time and no one was hurt. It took the firemen 30
minutes to extinguish the blaze.
In addition to damage to the building, much of the furniture and electrical
equipment in the bar was destroyed. Operators of another karaoke bar and a
motorcycle repair shop in the next-door premises rushed to remove equipment
from their own businesses, but the flames were put out before the fire could
spread.
Sommai Suansuk, 37, the owner of Boom Boom said that he was outside the bar
greeting customers when he saw a number of lighted kom loy air balloons
floating overhead. One of them fell onto the zinc-and-grass roof of the bar.
The fire took hold in the kitchen area, and quickly spread. Sommai ran
inside to clear the bar of customers. He noted sadly that many of them took
advantage of the situation and did not pay for their drinks or food, leaving
unpaid bills of about 20,000 baht.
Boom Boom Karaoke had been open for nearly a year. Sommai said the rent was
5,000 baht per month. The bar seldom made a profit, he said, because there
was a large number of female staff and they needed to be paid. Sommai added
that, depressed though he is at present, he hopes to open another karaoke
bar. Damage to Boom Boom has been estimated at 500,000 baht.
German man kills girlfriend and then commits suicide
Boonlua Chatree
An elderly German man, distraught that the Thai woman he loved intended to
leave him for someone else, killed her by slitting her throat and then
killed himself.
Their bodies were found about a week later, when Pattaya Police Station
received a report at 8:00 p.m. on October 30 that the corpses of two people
had been found at a residence on Soi Bongkot in South Pattaya.
Police and officers of the Sawang Boriboon Foundation went to the scene,
where they found the body of Hans Dieter Witten Breder, a 65-year-old German
national. He was clad only in blue underwear, and both of his wrists bore
deep cuts.
About one meter away was the body of a Thai woman, aged about 35 years, of
unknown identity. A sharp knife had been used to slit her throat. Shirts and
pillowcases covered the corpse. Officers estimated that both of them had
died about a week ago.
A fruit knife 20 cm in length and covered with blood was assumed to have
been used in both deaths. There were signs of a struggle in the room, with
many objects scattered around and a table fan lying in the center of the
room.
At the headboard of the bed were two suicide notes written in blue ink. The
first note was addressed to a close friend of the dead man and contained a
message of farewell and a request to send the second letter to his family in
Germany. The letter expressed his feelings of regret that he had killed the
woman he loved. She had ended their relationship and left him, and that was
the reason for him killing her, and then committing suicide.
Police believe there was no one else involved in the deaths, but the bodies
have been transferred to the Medical Jurisprudence Institute at the Police
Hospital for an autopsy. The identity of the woman has yet to be
established.
Fire breaks out in rented room
Boonlua Chatree
A fire broke out in a rented room on the fourth floor of a commercial
building on the Pattaya-Naklua Road during the evening of October 29 but was
quickly extinguished by firefighters.
Six fire engines raced to the blaze, and the flames were put out within 15
minutes. The contents of the room, including a bed, TV, refrigerator and
wardrobe were destroyed.
Mrs Somsai Panomchan, 38, who rented the room, said that she was at work in
a restaurant when the fire started. She didn’t know what the cause could
have been, but said she lost property worth more than 40,000 baht.
Preliminary investigations indicate the cause was an electrical short
circuit, but a forensics officer has been called to examine the scene.
Longboat races to be held Nov 18 and 19
Pattaya’s traditional long
boat races always draw large crowds.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The traditional Pattaya longboat races will be held at Mabprachan Reservoir
on November 18 and 19.
Mayor of Pong Pranoem Siri-roob and Nongprue district chief Saksit Yaemsri
held a meeting on October 27 to prepare for the event and appoint the
organizing committee and officials.
This will be the sixth consecutive year for the races, which are held
jointly by two local administrative organizations - Pong district
administration and Nongprue municipal administration - with the support of
Chonburi provincial administration, Pattaya City, the Tourism Authority of
Thailand and the private sector.
The races have drawn large crowds of locals and foreign tourists in the
past. This year 19 boats from around the country will be competing. They are
being divided into a 55-oar category where eight boats will compete for the
HRH Princess Sirindhorn Cup and 100,000 baht prize money, and 13 boats will
compete in the 30-oar class for the HRH Princess Soamsawalee Cup and 50,000
baht in prize money.
Other than the boat races many other activities are to be held such as
buffalo races, windsurfing, and local long drums.
Supplies donated
for flood victims
Mayor Niran
Wattanasartsathorn, on behalf of city hall, receives supplies donated by the
Muang Pattaya Car Rental Club and the Thanakom passenger boat entrepreneurs.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Muang Pattaya Car Rental Club in association with the Thanakom passenger
boat operators on October 31 presented emergency supplies valued at over
30,000 baht to assist victims of flooding in other parts of Thailand.
The donation was made at Pattaya City Hall by the club’s president Manoj
Tanchua, along with representatives of the boat operators, whose
organization is located on Soi 7 in Central Pattaya.
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn, Deputy Mayor Wattana Chantanawaranon, and
members of Pattaya City Council received the supplies on behalf of the
relief agencies.
Items donated were daily supplies such as rice, dried food, drinking water,
mosquito lotion and hygiene products. The Sawang Boriboon Thamasatharn
Foundation has packed the supplies.
Niran said that further donations would be welcomed at Pattaya City Hall,
the Sawang Boriboon Thamasatharn Foundation, Central Festival Center, and
the Lotus stores in North and South Pattaya. If supplies need to be
collected, donors can contact the Call Center on 1337.
Tourism industry voices concern over high crime rate
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Pol Lt Gen Atsawin Kwanmuang, commander-in-chief of Police Region 2, says
that Pattaya’s police are committed to reducing the crime rate during the
coming high season for tourism.
 Pol
Lt Gen Atsawin Kwanmuang, commander-in-chief of Police Region 2, with his
wife Watsana Kwanmuang at his side, says that Pattaya’s police are committed
to reducing crime.
The commander was addressing the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association
during its twice-yearly general meeting that takes place during March and
October.
President of the PBTA Thanet Supornsahatrangsi chaired the meeting, which
was also attended by Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn and Chatchawal
Supachayanont, president of the Thai Hotel Association Eastern Region.
Thanet spoke on the association’s activities between March and September
this year. The PBTA road show had helped to expand the markets for Pattaya,
especially into Russia and South Korea, but the increase in crime in Pattaya
was a significant reason in holding back growth as tourists and travel
agents were showing lack of trust in the law and order aspects of the city.
Chatchawal added that although the road show and other promotional
activities had enjoyed a good response overseas, tourist safety was becoming
a worrying aspect, as far too many visitors were going home with stories
about having their property snatched and even of suffering injury here.
In Scandinavia the concern has risen to such a level that the travel
industry has given notice that tours will be cancelled unless there is a
tangible solution to the problem. Chatchawal said that hotels and other
businesses are ready to support the police and give them all the cooperation
necessary.
Pol Lt Gen Atsawin said that he was very much aware of the security issue
and the image of Pattaya overseas, and that officer performance particularly
at Pattaya and Banglamung police stations will be monitored and evaluated
very closely during the high season and beyond.
Body of Marine killed
in restive South is given
full military honors
Marine Warawut Kerdsuwan was
given a full military funeral.
Patcharapol Panrak
The body of a Marine who was killed by a bomb whilst guarding a group of
monks in the South of Thailand has been transferred to Sattahip under a
Royal Navy guard of honor and given a full military funeral.
Admiral Sathiraphan Kaeyanon, commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy,
ordered the Marine air squadron to collect the body of Marine Warawut
Kerdsuwan, 22, from Songkla. Captain Weerakiat Treeratapan, deputy
commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Marine Corps at Sattahip led the guard
of honor.
Tripitaka funeral prayers were held at the Sattahip Royal Navy crematorium
for two nights. Rear Admiral Chaiwat Sriakarin, commander-in-chief of the
Air and Coastal Defense Command led the ceremony on October 30, and Admiral
Weerapol Waranon, chief of operations for the Royal Thai Navy, led the
prayers on October 31.
The body of Marine Warawut was then moved by Royal Thai Navy aircraft to Air
Squadron 21 in Ubon Ratchathani, and transferred to Ban Pao Temple in
Laosuekrok, Ubon Ratchatani for another three nights. The cremation ceremony
was held on Saturday November 4.
Rear Admiral Chaiwat said that Marine Warawut was the second from the Air
and Coastal Defense Command to die since the present violence erupted in the
South. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of ensign.
60 monks will be ordained to honor
HM the King’s birthday
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Pattaya City Hall is to organize the ordaining of 60 Buddhist monks over a
seven-day period from December 3 to 9 in honor of His Majesty the King’s
60th anniversary and of His Majesty’s birthday, which is on December 5.
 Deputy
Wutisak Rermkitkarn announced that city hall will organize the ordaining of
60 Buddhist monks in honor of HM the King.
At a meeting on October 30, Deputy Mayor Wutisak Rermkitkarn said a ceremony
would be held outside city hall on December 2 to shave the heads of the 60
chosen. They will then be ordained as Buddhist priests either at Kratinglai
Temple or Prachumkongka Temple, and will stay for the seven-day period at
Jittapawan College.
Wutisak said that those ordained would be city hall officials, private
businessmen, vendors, and employees.
Police briefs
Boonlua Chatree
Cheeky thief fresh out of monastery caught stealing
panties from hostel
A man with a fetish for stealing women’s underwear from washing
lines was caught with his pants down when the boyfriend of one of the
victims caught him in the act.
Pattaya Police Station received a call from villagers at 3:30 a.m. on
October 22 saying they were detaining a man who was stealing underwear from
the Sivilai Hostel on Soi Buffalo, Third Road.
Arriving at the scene, a three-story hostel, officers found residents and
neighbors surrounding 27-year-old Nipon Malad. Searching him, police found
seven pairs of panties, G-string and traditional style, one bra, and one
pair of blue slippers in a plastic bag.
Nipon stated that he was a food vendor on Soi Kaotalo, and four days ago had
quit being a monk, having been in a monastery for four months. He said he
loved to sniff women’s underwear. Before this incident he had gone to drink
with his friend at a pub in South Pattaya. On his way back he dropped his
friend off at the hostel, where he noticed many pairs of panties drying in
front of three of the rooms. His desires were aroused and he stole them. He
said he had already stolen underwear from several hostels, and didn’t expect
that the police could ever stop him.
Raewat Taya, 20, the occupant of one of the rooms, said that Sriwilai Hostel
often had women’s underwear stolen. Three days ago his girlfriend had four
pairs of panties stolen while they were being dried in front of the room.
The police had not been able to find the thief. On this last occasion he was
in the room taking a rest, and he heard someone walk past outside. He opened
the door and saw Nipon stealing the underwear.
Nipon has been charged with theft.
|
