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72 monks ordained in honor of
HM the King’s birthday
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Pattaya City organized the ordaining of 72 monks in honor of His Majesty the
King’s birthday, the ceremony taking place on December 2 at Pattaya City
Hall.
The 72, who were from many walks of life, spent the period December 2 to 9
as monks at Jittapawan College, Prachunkongka Temple, and Krathinglai
Temple. Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn led the ceremony.
This event is held every year, with this year seeing a larger number of
monks ordained. Last year had seen 60 people take up temporary monkhood.
Airship crashes in field
shortly before HM the
King’s birthday celebrations
Boonlua Chatree
Thailand’s first airship, the Akara Skyway, crashed into a field shortly
before it was due to take part in a show held in honor of the birthday of
His Majesty the King.
 The
Akara Skyway crashed into a cassava field shortly before it was due to take
part in ceremonies honoring His Majesty the King.
The airship came down in a cassava field on the Thungklom-Tanman Road in Ban
Thungklom Tanman at around 10 a.m. on December 5.
Police arriving at the scene found that the white dirigible, on which were
emblazoned messages of goodwill to His Majesty, had broken two electricity
poles as it landed. Staff from Akara Design and Development Co Ltd removed
the wreckage from the site.
Mrs Tuan Panprasong, 56, said she was working in the cassava field and saw
the airship drifting downwards. It hit the power poles, causing a blackout
in the immediate area. Two foreigners climbed out of the wreckage. They did
not appear to be seriously hurt, and a car from Akara Design Development
came and took them away.
Akara Design and Development have yet to issue a statement on the cause of
the accident. The airship had been hovering over Nongprue Sub-district
before heading to Bali Hai Pier, where it was due to appear during the
afternoon of that day as part of the celebrations organized by Pattaya City
in honor of His Majesty’s birthday.
The Akara Skyay was a two-seater helium balloon that was imported by Akara
Design and Development Co. The airship is 34 meters long and 10.47 meters in
height. It can carry a maximum of 120kg and fly at an altitude of between 50
and 1,500 meters. A speed of up to 100km/hr is attainable, and the balloon
can stay in the sky for up to six hours. On landing, it needs an area of 100
x 100 meters.
Thai Environment Day also sees free dental care for local residents
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Thai Environment Day was celebrated on December 4 with a number of
activities that included recycling, an exhibition, and the donation of
unused items.
 Thai
Environment Day in Pattaya was in part marked by free dental services that
were carried out by 20 dentists who gave their services to the general
public without charge.
The day was also marked by free dental services that were carried out by 20
dentists who gave their services to the general public without charge.
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn opened Pattaya’s version of Thai Environment
Day, an event that has been observed since 1991, at Pattaya School No 8.
Also present was Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay. Pupils from 20 schools took
part in a painting competition.
The free dental care program was organized under the Princess Mother’s
Medical Volunteer Foundation, which was set up in 1969 for physicians,
dentists, pharmacologists, nurses and public health officials to provide
their services free at off-site locations.
More facilities planned for disabled
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh
is ready to support developments for the disabled along with developing the
town.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Pattaya City is ready to provide more facilities for the disabled, following
a November 28 meeting between Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh and Suchada
Pankitdee, assistant manager of the strategy department of the Redemptorist
Foundation for the Development of Facilities for the Disabled.
The meeting was held to discuss what facilities could be provided for the
benefit of the disabled, and followed on from an exhibition in which both
organizations had cooperated at the BEC TERO Hall in Lumpini Park Night
Bazaar a month previously.
Ronakit said it was important Pattaya developed further facilities for the
disabled, for use by visitors and residents alike. He said that the
beachfront is being remodeled for wheelchair access, and that hotels and
restaurants are cooperating to provide wheelchair ramps, bathrooms for the
disabled, and other facilities.
Guidelines are to be circulated amongst architectural practices and
engineering and contracting companies that will set out further ideas and
ask for help in implementing facilities in new projects.
EGAT hands over 300 rai of land on Koh Larn in forest project
Manas Saengdaed, assistant
director of the project handed over 300 rai of land to Mayor Niran
Wattanasartsathorn, who was acting on behalf of Pattaya City.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Three hundred rai of land on Koh Larn has been handed over by the
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) under the forest
planting initiative that began in 2004.
The official signing ceremony was conducted on December 7 at Pattaya City
Hall, with Manas Saengdaed, assistant director of the project, handing over
300 rai of land on which trees had been planted, to Mayor Niran
Wattanasartsathorn, representing Pattaya City.
EGAT began a nationwide forest planting project in 1996 in honor of His
Majesty the King’s Golden Jubilee, providing 320,000 rai of land for
projects throughout the country. All the projects were handed over to the
Forestry Department and other relevant organizations in 2001. EGAT extended
the project to 2006, and the total area now covered is 384,000 rai.
Manas said the forest planting on Koh Larn has been in progress since 2004,
a period of two years. Mayor Niran said that further planting would now take
place to make the forest area denser.
Army engineers on schedule with new relief road
Public will see road take shape within
five months says commander
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Work is now well underway on the leveling of land for the long-awaited 330
million baht local relief road that will run alongside the railway tracks.
 The
work on the new road is well underway.
A progress review meeting was held on December 1 at Pattaya District Office
with officers of the Army Civil Engineers and the Railways Authority of
Thailand.
It was reported that no problems were being experienced and that progress
was as planned, with 10 percent of the land leveling currently completed on
the eastern side.
Gen Anusorn Panyaboon, who is overseeing the project that is being carried
out on the eastern side by the Army Civil Engineers Regiment of Rachaburi,
said that the Army engineers had started leveling at Krating Lai and so far
have not experienced any obstacles. Dismantling of constructed items has
gone ahead smoothly as the public had already been notified in advance.
“Presently, 10 of the 16 kilometers of the new road have already been
leveled and the project is progressing according to plan,” said Gen Anusorn.
“The road will be completed as scheduled by the end of 2007. Within the next
five months the public will see the actual form of the road.”
Pattaya District Office in cooperation with relevant organizations will
survey additional roads with the intent to widen some of them and will also
determine the route of the drainage system.
The western side of the project, which is the beach side and is the
responsibility of Bang Saen Mahanakhorn and Bangkok Concrete, is
experiencing problems in moving telecommunications poles that are located
along its whole length, but leveling work is expected to commence soon.
Banglamung Vocational College students rebuild house for disabled man
Mrs. Somtawin Kaensarn is very grateful for the
newly renovated house rebuilt by lecturers and students from Banglamung
Vocational College.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Lecturers and students from Banglamung Vocational College along with a
representative from Pattaya City Hall visited the Wat Chonglom Community on
December 4 to formally present a house they had built for Mrs Somtawin
Kaensarn, who lives with her son who has been mentally disabled since he was
involved in a car accident.
Somtawin’s original house had been in such a bad state of repair it was
demolished. The community and city hall asked Banglamung Vocational College
for help in rebuilding the residence, and the college organized students and
teachers from the basic technical department and from the welding,
electrical and mechanical classes.
Building work was carried out between October 9 and November 14, with a
budget donated by local people and shopkeepers. About 27,500 baht was raised
in this way, with the house rising on the same plot as the original
residence.
Banglamung Vocational College presented the rebuilt house to Somtawin, and
the Redemptorist School presented her with a wheelchair for her son to use.
Somtawin, who is 45, is from Chantaburi Province and has lived in Pattaya
for four years. She works to earn a living for herself and her son, who
became mentally disabled following a road accident. They receive a food
allowance of 500 baht a month from the city program that helps the severely
underprivileged.
German nightclub owner arrested for employing underage boys
Boonlua Chatree
The German owner of the Lacopa Night Club in Soi Sunee was arrested in the
early hours of December 7 for employing underage boys for sexual services.
 Andreas
Hubbinger was arrested under a warrant issued in Germany.
Pol Col Norasak Hemnithi, deputy commander-in-chief of the department for
suppression of crimes against women and children, Pol Col Suthin Srappuang,
superintendent at Pattaya Police Station, and Ms Warunee Changmuang, head of
the social welfare department’s children and youth safety division, led the
team of officers that raided the premises.
The officers found 10 boys aged between 15-18 years sitting in the
nightclub. Also in the Lacopa was Andreas Hubbinger, a 53-year-old German
national who was arrested under a warrant issued in Germany.
Three transvestites were also arrested on charges of pimping. They were
named as Tam Saengchan, 18, Pongpipat Maneerat, 18, and Sirapat Butprasert,
27. They admitted to having employed sexually attractive boys at this
nightclub for a long time, saying they charged 1,000-1,200 baht per occasion
for sexual service and that most of their customers were foreigners.
Pol Col Norasak said the police had acted upon information received from the
European Union. He added that the EU believes Pattaya City is the largest
source of sexual services in this region. A team of investigators had
checked out the Lacopa before the raid and discovered that underage boys
were being brought onto the premises to provide sexual services for foreign
tourists.
The boys taken into care were also being tested for drug use.
Flamingo jet-ski champion arrested on murder charge
Police seize Arthid as he practices
for world tournament at Jomtien
Boonlua Chatree
An 18-year-old jet-ski champion has been arrested for murder following an
investigation by senior police officers into a shooting that took place at a
noodle shop in November of last year.
Arthid Wongpinta was arrested at Jomtien Beach in the evening of December 2
while he was practicing for the Water Cross King’s Cup Thailand Open 2006,
which was scheduled for December 9 and 10.
A warrant for Arthid’s arrest on charges of complicity to murder and
firearms possession had been issued by Pattaya Provincial Court, and the
squad of arresting officers was led by Pol Col Ittipol Piriyapinyo, deputy
commander-in-chief of Chonburi Province, and Pol Col Noppadol Sornsamran,
superintendent of Banglamung Police Station.
Arthid had been second place winner on the Thai national jet-ski team as a
member of the Flamingo Racing Team, and last year was rated number two in
the world in a stand-up jet-ski category.
Arthid is accused of being one of a gang who shot dead La-Iad Cheusaisit and
wounded Sanya Khansida in a shooting at a noodle shop in front of the
7-Eleven store at the beginning of Soi Chayapreuk 2 on November 5, 2005.
Police investigations revealed the names of the gang members, and two had
already been arrested. They have been named as Jirawat Janthorn, age 17, and
a youth identified only as Tee. Arthid brings the total to three.
Pol Col Ittipol said that Arthid at first denied the charges but when
confronted with the confessions of the two already arrested he confessed.
Arthid said there had been a quarrel with La-Iad and others and that Jirawat
had borrowed a 9mm caliber gun from a well-known gangster in Khao Noi known
as Mr Wao. The gang had then gone in search of La-Iad and found him drinking
whiskey at the noodle shop. Jirawat had fired three times, killing La-Iad
and injuring Sanya. Then the gang had fled.
After the shooting they had stayed at the Flamingo residence on Soi 17 and
at Thepprasit Road in South Pattaya. Mr Harry, the owner of the Flamingo
team, had continued to ensure Arthid practiced jet skiing, and he took his
place on the national team and was also ranked in the worldwide category.
Arthid also embarked upon a course of study at Laem Chabang School of
Technology.
He prepared for the world championship jet-ski competition in the Water
Cross King’s Cup Thailand Open 2006 and was set to compete on Jomtien Beach
from December 9-10 but was arrested beforehand.
Pol Col Ittipol said that police would continue to pursue other members of
the gang, who are known as the Flamingo Gang, and added that they have been
causing trouble in the Pattaya area for a long time.
Theerawat Lahip, another world champion jet skier and a member of the
Flamingo Racing Team, was shot dead in March this year.
Pol Lt Gen Asawin Kwanmueng, commander-in-chief of Region 2, has ordered a
crackdown on youth gangs such as the Flamingos. Arrest warrants issued last
month for members of the Naklua Gang on charges of firearms possession,
threatening behavior, and narcotics possession have already led to the
arrest of three men.
Armed burglars tie
and gag 19-year-old girl
Boonlua Chatree
Armed robbers tied and gagged the girlfriend of a man whose house she was
sharing and escaped with property worth more than 100,000 baht.
Banglamung police, led by deputy superintendent of investigation Pol Lt Col
Somchai Yotsombat, went to a house at Chokchai Garden Home Village on Soi
Kao Noi at 1 a.m. December 4 after receiving a report of an armed robbery.
The single-story house was located in Soi 3 of the village. Officers found
Ms Ubonrat Srisoongnern, age 19, and the son of the owner of the house,
Suthipong Tananchai, also 19, in a state of shock. Two rooms in the house
had been ransacked. Amongst the items taken were a 2-baht gold bracelet, a
2-baht gold chain, a 50-satang pendant, a diamond ring valued at 20,000
baht, one 25-satang ring, and credit cards. All the property belonged to
Suthipong’s mother, and was valued at a total of 120,000 baht.
Ubonrat said she had been alone in the house and was waiting for Suthipong
to come back from college in Chonburi. Late at night she took a shower and
went to bed. She had locked the fence door, but left the house door
unlocked. Suddenly two armed men in black T-shirts and blue jeans came into
the room. They threatened her with a gun and a cutter, before taping her
mouth shut with brown tape and tying her hands behind her back with white
towels. They also bound her feet together with brown tape, and made her lie
on the bed.
The two intruders then searched the room and Suthipong’s mother’s room. Once
they had all the property they fled without causing her any more harm.
Suthipong found her still bound and gagged when he returned, and called the
police.
Ubonrat said she had lived in the house for only three months and was
planning to marry Suthipong. Suthipong’s mother has, however, voiced
suspicions about Ubonrat’s role in the burglary, and police say they will
question her further.
One killed, three injured as motorboat capsizes off Koh Larn
Boonlua Chatree
Three people were injured and one killed when a boat carrying 17 Turkish
tourists sank in Pattaya Bay just before noon on December 5.
The deceased tourist was identified as 36-year-old Ilhami Ozturic from
Turkey.
The Had Tien 273 motorboat capsized about 1 kilometer off the shore of Koh
Larn, throwing 17 passengers into the water. They were rescued by another
tourist boat, the Siam Roken 254, which was already carrying 22 Chinese
visitors.
Ms Pornpan Srinuannoi, the 39-year-old operator of the Siam Roken 254, said
that she had seen the 17 passengers in the water at about 11:30 a.m. and had
taken as many of them as possible on board. They then landed at Koh Larn and
sought to obtain help.
Keskin Issen, a visitor from Turkey, was transferred to Pattaya Memorial
Hospital. Mahamed Ihami Out, 30, a Turkish national who was tourist manager
of the Hoshi Telver Agency Tour Company’s Pattaya branch, and Ms Jiranan
Chancholsamut, 29, a guide from the company, were both taken to Bangkok
Pattaya Hospital.
All three were given nasal CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure)
treatment and were unable to provide statements.
Miss Rungthip Poonperm, 43, the manager of Hoshi Telver, said that a tour
group consisting of 17 Turkish people came to Pattaya on December 4 and
reserved six rooms at the Golden Beach Hotel. They were scheduled to leave
the hotel on December 10. On December 5 they had left the hotel at 11 a.m.
to visit beaches on Koh Larn, traveling on the Had Tien 273 motorboat. The
boat sank about 1 kilometer off the island. The passengers were in the water
for about 20 minutes before being rescued by the Siam Roken 254.
Police believe that the boat sank because of large waves and a high wind,
together with the fact that it was carrying 17 people when its capacity
should have been 15. The operator is being questioned.
Spawning crabs released into
‘Horse Crab Condo’ at Laem Chabang
Laem Chabang Municipality has
released a large quantity of spawning crabs into the ocean, as well as
setting up a “Horse Crab Condo” to preserve the species.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Laem Chabang Municipality has released a large quantity of spawning crabs
into the ocean to replenish the supplies of horse crab, a vital part of the
marine life eco-system that has become seriously depleted in recent years.
The crabs were released on December 4 in a ceremony held on the shore at
Laem Chabang, in an area that has been dubbed “Horse Crab Condo”.
Laem Chabang Deputy Mayor Sanan Chaem said that both the public and the
private sectors have worked on this project, and that it is important that
the population of horse crabs flourishes. Their numbers had been decreasing
because of inappropriate fishing methods, he said, with too many spawning
crabs and small crabs being fished.
“The Public Health and Environmental Department has received support from
Uni-Thai Shipyard Engineering Co Ltd and the Laem Chabang Industrial Estate
Authority to release over six million crabs into the sea, so they may
breed,” said Sanan. “The sea crabs are being placed in the ‘condo’ 500
meters away from the shore.”
Arthid Prathumsuwan, who headed the Uni-Thai Shipyard Engineering organizing
committee for the project, said the timing was held to coincide with His
Majesty the King’s birthday and Thai Environment Day.
Development plans for Pattaya and Chonburi laid out
(L to R) Revat Phonlookin,
vice chairman of the Chonburi Provincial Administration Organization;
Chatchawal Supachayanont, THA president; Pinyo Tanviset, chairman of the
Chonburi Provincial Administration Organization; Bundarik Kusolvitya, THA
vice-president 1; and Alisa Phantusak, THA vice-president 2.
The Thai Hotels Association (THA) Eastern Chapter, led by
its president Chatchawal Supachayanont, recently held its members meeting
with Pinyo Tanviset, chairman of Chonburi Provincial Administration
Organization, as the guest speaker.
Pinyo laid out his office’s strategies in 2007 and 2008 to improve Pattaya
and Chonburi’s tourism. Some of these strategies include joining road shows
with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to explore new market segments and to
promote the region as a good destination.
Remote control lighting system donated for handicapped use
Vimolrat Singnikorn
A remote control lighting system was presented to the Handicapped
Center Building at Pattaya Redemptorist School on December 4 by KB Smart
Control Co Ltd.
 Lt.
Cmd. Wattana Budsai, chairman of KB Smart Control, gives a talk during his
presentation of multipurpose remote control lamp sets to the Handicapped
Center Building at Pattaya Redemptorist School.
The system, comprising 30 sets of lights each with remote controls and
valued at a total of 110,000 baht was presented by chairman of KB Smart
Control, Lt Cmd Wattana Budsai in honor of His Majesty the King’s birthday,
which took place on December 5.
Udomchok Choorat, chairman of the committee for the Handicapped Living
Center, received the lights on behalf of the Redemptorist School. He said
that the remote control system would be of great convenience for the
handicapped.
Walking Street Committee plans Clean Food Festival
Narisa Nitikarn
A Clean Food Festival will be held on Walking Street between January and
April to publicize the restaurants in the area during Pattaya’s high season.
 Mayor
Niran Wattanasartsathorn discusses the Clean Food Festival during a Walking
Street Committee meeting.
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn on December 4 chaired a meeting of the
Walking Street Committee, held at Pattaya District Office, to prepare for
the event.
Buppa Songsakulchai of Pattaya Sanitary Department said that the Clean Food
Festival had been allocated a budget of 500,000 baht by the city.
A previous campaign to publicize clean food was held in May with an
exhibition at Pattaya School No 8, and others are planned.
The event will take place on Walking Street between January and April, on
the last Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the month between 6 p.m. and
midnight. Food sellers will set up stands along the street, with tables and
chairs for the convenience of visitors.
The Walking Street Committee also discussed ways of remedying the problem of
the many street urchins in the area. Discussed too were plans for the
imminent Pattaya New Year Countdown, and the Chinese New Year celebrations.
UBC presents large-screen TV so Redemptorist children can view educational channels
Tom Mintier, UBC news
director, presents a large screen color TV along with sports equipment to
Rev. Lawrence Patin (C.SsR, managing director of the Fr-Ray Foundation.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
United Broadcasting Corporation has presented a large-screen color TV and a
DVD player to the children at the Pattaya Redemptorist Foundation for the
viewing of educational programs and teaching materials.
The presentation, led by news director Tom Mintier, is part of a nationwide
UBC project to ensure that underprivileged children have access to the kind
of media facilities that other children in society have, and which will
eventually see 43 TVs and DVD players distributed.
Along with the TV and DVD were a package of learning materials and a grand
lunch for the children. Receiving the donation was the Reverend Lawrence
Patin, who heads the Father Ray Foundation.
The Reverend Lawrence said that there are a large number of educational
channels available and that the staff at the Redemptorist Foundation will
ensure that the most educational programs are selected for the children.
The boys and girls of the center performed a show for the UBC visitors as a
mark of thanks for the donation.
Three Lions Clubs unite
to hold blood donor session
Narisa Nitikarn
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn presided over the opening of a blood donating
session at Lan Pho Public Park in Naklua on December 4, organized in
cooperation with three Lions Clubs to mark the 79th birthday of His Majesty
the King.
 More
than 100 Naklua residents donated blood at Lan Pho Public Park in Naklua on
December 4, to mark the 79th birthday of His Majesty the King.
Lions Naklua-Pattaya, Lions Pattaya and Lions Pratamnak-Pattaya were headed
by Banchong Bantoonprayuk, chairman of Lions Region 7.
The blood was donated at Somdej Phra Boromrachathevi Hospital in Sriracha,
and a long queue of donors had formed by 8 a.m. A singing contest was also
held where contestants sang songs written by His Majesty. The winner was
Miss Kanita Sroemwate, a student at Pattaya Arunthai School who sang Sai Fon
and who won a 3,000 baht study grant and a guitar.
Candles were lit in honor of His Majesty, the ceremony being attended by
local residents and business people, most of who wore yellow shirts and
blouses as a mark of respect and loyalty.
The three Lions Clubs were given assistance by shop owners who provided free
food to those who were wearing yellow as well as free haircuts and foot
massages. The Lions Clubs gave all blood donors a memento of the occasion.
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