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Fire on Second Road causes panic,
traffic congestion
Motorbikes, signboards and phone booths razed
Boonlua Chatree
A spark from a signboard on Pattaya Second Road that jumped to high
voltage wires caused a minor explosion and fire, destroying five motorcycles
and three international phone booths below.
The fire happened across the street from Mike Shopping Mall on a busy
section of Pattaya 2nd Road and created a traffic standstill during rush
hour on Tuesday, February 6. The traffic jam lasted over an hour.
Other signboards, the posts carrying them and high voltage wires were also
damaged. No injuries were reported resulting from the fire.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames within about 10 minutes
after arriving on the scene.
Fire officials investigating the scene talked to witnesses and learned that
the fire ignited after an electrical spark from a signboard installed about
4 meters off the ground arced to high voltage city wires dangling nearby.
There was some interruption of power for businesses and homes in the area.
The five motorcycles destroyed in the fire belonged to staff at a foot
massage shop next to the scene.
One of the motorbike owners told police that at the time there was slight
rain fall outside. She happened to see an electrical flash coming from the
signboard, which then touched the high voltage wires nearby. She said the
resulting bang was enough to cause the wires to break loose and fall to the
ground on top of the motorcycles. In less than a minute the fire erupted,
destroying her motorbike and four others, and the international phone
booths.
Pol. Col. Sutin Suppuang inspected the damage and called in for questioning
the owner of the signboard advertising a steakhouse in a soi near the scene.
The fire also raises questions about how signboards all over town are
allowed to hang so close to high voltage city wires.
Thai Oil increases security after bomb scare
Officers learn how to spot suspicious objects
Narisa Nitikarn
Thai Oil Pcl has conducted an urgent training session for more than 50
security personnel following the recent discovery of a dummy bomb placed
near the company’s Laem Chabang depot.
The training took place at Laem Chabang on January 30, with local police
joining employees of Thai Oil, PTT Co Ltd and Esso.
Pol Col Supathee Bunkrong, superintendent of Laem Chabang Police Station
conducted the session, which was held in cooperation with the 1st Army
Support Command in Army Region 1. Lt Treeprapan Vuthikittiwong, commander of
the explosives unit in the 21st ammunition division, was the key speaker.
Delegates were trained in the spotting of suspicious objects, and for
examining a location after a bomb threat had been received, and they were
instructed to always perform procedures in pairs.
Bunlert Kraisorn, a supervisor for MPA Security at Thai Oil said after the
course that it was his first experience of work of this kind. “I never
previously had any knowledge concerning explosives, but after the training I
am confident in being able to recognize suspicious objects,” he said. “All
work units now have stricter security measures after the trouble in Bangkok
and other provinces.”
Khao Talo water supply project hits snag over land ownership rights
The Regional Irrigation
Department’s Khao Talo water supply project is already 85% complete, but is
now being held up due to a land rights issue with Wat Bunsamphan (shown in
background).
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The Khao Talo water supply facility being built to help relieve water
shortages in the Nongprue area has hit a snag due to land ownership rights.
The land in question is located around Wat Bunsamphan, and the abbot there
has requested construction be stopped until land ownership can be
determined.
The project is already 85% complete.
Banglamung district chief Pratheep Chongseubtham and Nongprue Mayor Mai
Chaiyanit called a meeting on February 2 to resolve the land issue. Also
present at the meeting were Banjong Srisuk of the Public Works Department
who is responsible for the Pattaya Irrigation Office Water Feed Pipe
project, Sarit Asaneejarukjit, director of Region 1 Irrigation Department
Academic Division, and Tataphol Chakchaicharoen of the Banglamung Land
Office.
The Regional Irrigation Department is providing a 261,400,000 baht budget
for the water pipe feed system in the Thappraya and Khao Talo area. The
project commenced on August 29, 2006 to meet local water demands. Presently,
the project is being built on a 30x95 meter plot of land, 4,650 sq meters,
and an access road is also being constructed. Two large water storage tanks,
one capable of holding 2,000 cubic meters and the other 1,500 cubic meters
of water, will supply residents of Nongprue and surrounding areas.
The Region 1 Irrigation Office has considered two ways to remedy the
situation. Case 1: if the land belongs to Wat Bunsamphan the Irrigation
Department will enter into a lease agreement with the temple through the
Religious Affairs Department. Case 2: If the land in question has no land
title deed proving right of ownership then the Irrigation Department will
ask Nongprue Municipality to coordinate with the relevant authorities at
Chonburi to assign the land to Irrigation Department Region 1 so that
construction can continue.
To this end officers will need to coordinate with the abbot of Wat
Bunsamphan to negotiate a solution.
Prateep said, “The issue should be solved quickly because if it isn’t, when
the dry season arrives the public is going to suffer water shortages.”
Performances from eight Chinese provinces will welcome in the Year of the Pig
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Chinese New Year will be celebrated in Pattaya from February 16 to 18, with
art and cultural performances from eight provinces in China, arranged by the
Tourism Authority of Thailand Central Office Region 3, being a main feature.
 Pinnat
Charoenphol, TAT Region 3 assistant director
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh held a meeting on January 26 at Pattaya City
Hall to discuss the arrangements, along with deputy chairman of the Walking
Street Committee Suntorn Gangsirikul and TAT Region 3 assistant director Mrs
Pinnat Charoenphol.
The eight provinces will be featured on February 16, while competitions will
be a feature on the following day and a concert with many star names will be
staged on February 18.
Pinnat said that the TAT intends to help create a special relationship
between the Thai people and the many Chinese visitors now coming to Pattaya,
along with making sure the festival is fun for other foreign tourists and
Thai visitors.
Sopin advises strong leadership as city hall mounts 3-year campaign to resolve problem of vagrant children
Sopin Thappajug (center),
head of the associate judges at the Chonburi Juvenile and Family Court, with
Social Welfare officers, government and private organizations, are working
on ways to solve the homeless and beggar problem in Pattaya.
Narisa Nitikarn
Deputy Mayor Wutisak Rermkitkarn chaired a meeting on February 1 at Pattaya
City Hall to decide on the next step in the strategy to resolve the problem
of vagrant children and beggars.
Pattaya has a draft plan with a three-stage strategy for the period 2007 to
2009, involving many organizations concerned with helping youngsters and
women at risk, along with the police and tourist police.
Under the first stage, aimed specifically at helping problem children and
children at risk from drugs, there are 14 projects.
Stage two is designed to combat the use of children and women for sexual
services, with six projects lined up targeting areas such as the smuggling
of sexual workers and the suppression of beggars and others who prey on
tourists.
The third stage aims to eradicate the problem by training youngsters and
women in skills that they can use to generate income. There are nine
projects in this stage, involving organizations such as the Redemptorist
Children’s Home, the Pattaya Department of Social Welfare, and the
Children’s Mercy Welfare Home.
Wutisak said that the task now is to collect data from various sources in
order to identify the movement of children and pinpoint areas of high risk.
Sopin Thappajug, head of the associate judges at the Chonburi Juvenile and
Family Court, said it was important that strong leadership came from a
central official source because the problem is a very diverse one and
monitoring and administering the projects will be highly complex.
“If the duties are not clearly divided, the various organizations involved
will not be able to progress,” she warned.
Baywatch
A mysterious electrical mechanism stuck on a tree about
1.50 meters above the ground can be seen on Beach Road, opposite Soi 6,
where it has been perplexing people for a number of days and, even more
pertinently, raising doubts about attitudes to public safety.
Locals say it was hung there as a semi-permanent power point for when the
city organizes events. Technicians connect the main electricity supply here,
from where it is fed to devices such as speakers, spotlights, and stage
instruments.
Much as we are obverse to inconveniencing city hall workers, shouldn’t this
thing be set up properly somewhere else where it would be less of a hazard
to pedestrians and less of an eyesore to tourists walking along the
beachfront?
While we are about it, perhaps we could also ask the people at city hall why
it is, when we are spending over 250 million baht digging tunnels under the
roads to hide a trillion wires that have until now hung happily all over the
sky, and while we are spending more money on beautifying the beach area and
city streets, that officials couldn’t afford to build a wooden box to cover
this electrical junction, and for that matter why the workmen couldn’t have
brought along a taller ladder so that it could be placed far away from
curious hands.
City Scope:
with Mayor Niran
More than 30% of Call Center queries relate to hotels
Service saw 20,000 calls in December
Pattaya 1337 Call Center’s popularity is picking
up steam.
Narisa Nitikarn
More than 20,000 people called Pattaya’s new Call Center 1337 during the
month of December, with one-third of the callers asking about accommodation
in the city.
A review of the month was announced at Pattaya City Hall on January 26, with
a meeting presided over by councilor Sithipab Muangkhum. The meeting
coincided with the drawing of the third installment for payment of the
service, which included the cost of the entire software content, at an
amount of 18,563,906.37 baht. All committee inspectors for the Call Center
attended.
The report summary stated that, of all those who used the service, the
majority at 32.52 percent called to ask about lodging.
Krittayoch Sayan, senior manager for the Pattaya City Customer Service
Sector at TOT Public Company Limited said that in December, 21,642 people
contacted the Call Center at 1337. Of these, 2,880 were foreigners.
The total callers were divided into two categories, namely requests for
information, and complaints. Questions about accommodation topped the list,
at 7,009 calls, representing 32.52 percent. Second were questions about
tourism locations, at 5,390 calls, or 25.01 percent. There were 2,718 calls
with questions about restaurants, which was 12.61 percent.
With the questions category totaling 21,554 calls, the complaints sector was
remarkably small. A total of 13 callers rang in to complain about the
traffic, with the water supply and electricity accounting for the next
highest number of complaints, at 12 and 11 respectively.
Use of 1337 is growing fast. In October, when the service started, there
were 7,464 calls, and November saw a total of 15,130 calls.
The meeting agreed that the service is off to a successful start, and a
monthly report will continue to be produced and discussed to ensure that the
project is fulfilling its objectives and worth the investment of nearly 100
million baht.
German family robbed at gunpoint as they are walking back to their resort
Patcharapol Panrak
Two robbers on a motorcycle threatened a German husband-and-wife couple and
their six-year-old son with a gun, then snatched the woman’s bag from her
shoulder and fled.
 Mr
and Mrs Karb file a police report after they were held up at gunpoint in Na
Jomtien.
The holdup happened just after midnight on February 1, when Sattahip Police
Station received a call from officers at a police box in Na Jomtien district
to say that two assailants on a blue motorcycle had robbed the German family
at gunpoint on the Sattahip-Pattaya carriageway of Sukhumvit Road, at
kilometer marker 153-154. The assailants were speeding towards Pattaya.
Officers rushed to the scene of the robbery where they found Renald Werter
Karb, 48, Mrs Irik Elizabeth Karb, 41, and Philip Karb, 6, in a state of
shock. The three told officers that they had got out of a Sattahip-Naklua
songthaew and were crossing the road to go into Soi Ban Nam Mao Resort when
the motorcycle pulled up alongside and the passenger dismounted. He pointed
a gun at them and snatched the bag, which contained a small notebook, a
wristwatch, 20 euros and 4,000 baht in cash as well as important documents.
The total value lost was about 20,000 baht.
Police say that attacks in this area are occurring with increasing frequency
because of the large number of hotels and resorts in Na Jomtien. Attackers
usually pounce when the tourists are crossing the road. It is believed that
the robbers are youths from Pattaya.
Estonian peeping tom caught hiding with video camera in ladies’ toilet
Boonlua Chatree
An Estonian man who hid in a restroom so that he could film women using the
toilet facilities has been caught red-handed by the police.
 Estonian
Oleg Volf was caught clandestinely video taping two Chinese female tourists
in a local restroom.
Officers were alerted to the activities of this digital peeping tom by an
interpreter, Ms Suchitra Yonsuk, who complained to the Tourist Police that a
man was lurking in the toilets of the Pattaya Park Hotel with a video camera
and had recorded two Chinese female tourists in there.
A squad of officers promptly descended on the scene. They found the two
Chinese women, Miss Zhang Zsou, age 30, and Mrs Liu Cui Feng, age 23, crying
and saying they had seen a man with a camera hidden in the ladies’ restroom.
Police entered the premises where they found Oleg Volf, a 37-year-old
Estonian national, with a Kodak camera. When he saw the officers, Volf threw
the camera to the floor, causing it to break. Police, however, extracted the
memory card, and upon checking it they found two video clips of the Chinese
women using the toilet.
Volf admitted recording the videos. He was not able to present his passport,
so in addition to charging him with causing a public nuisance the police
banged him up for illegally entering the kingdom until such a time as he can
prove otherwise.
Police deny bail for drunken minibus driver who raped 14-year-old schoolgirl
Boonlua Chatree
A minibus driver who raped a 14-year-old schoolgirl took shelter inside his
vehicle from the victim’s friends and relatives as he was afraid they would
attack him.
Police were called out to the scene at Jomtien Beach at 4 a.m. on January 28
where they found 31-year-old Anuwat Monthathip in a state of drunkenness
inside his bronze Toyota.
The victim’s 36-year-old mother had called the police, saying that Anuwat
had raped her daughter, a 14-year-old girl of Italian-Thai parentage, who is
a student at an international school.
The girl was crying in her mother’s arms. She said that she and some
friends, boys and girls, had rented Anuwat’s minibus in Bangkok to come and
see her mother at the family condominium at Jomtien Beach. The group had
planned a holiday. They arrived in the evening and asked the driver to park
on the beach near the condo of the victim’s mother before going out. One
person in her group brought whisky to celebrate and they sang songs. The
elder person in her group forced her to drink some of the alcohol until she
felt drunk. She then asked to go back to see her mother.
On the way she wanted to go to the bathroom, and Anuwat could see she was in
a state of intoxication. He took her to a bathroom on the beach, and asked
her to go back to sit in the minibus so they could go and watch the group
have fun. She believed this and followed him. Anuwat bought some beer to
drink and then talked with her for a moment. He then forced her to take her
clothes off and raped her in the locked vehicle. She shouted for help, but
no one could hear her, and she wasn’t able to fight Anuwat off. She only
escaped after he had finished.
Anuwat claimed the victim was drunk and seduced him. He said he was also
drunk and saw that she was pretty, with white skin because of her mixed
Italian and Thai blood. He admitted he found her sexually desirable. After
the girl got out of the minibus he hadn’t been able to get out himself
because the girl’s friends had surrounded it. He had to stay in the vehicle
until the police arrived and arrested him.
Police said they had taken the victim to hospital for a medical check and
had also kept traces of semen found on the car seat as evidence to press
charges against the accused man. Anuwat was denied bail and is being held
pending the results of DNA testing.
Motorcycle taxi ranks beat up hip-hop singer for blocking their queue
Boonlua Chatree
A gang of riders from a motorcycle taxi rank outside the Marine Plaza Hotel
on Pratamnak Road attacked and injured a Thai-American hip-hop singer who
had blocked their queue with his own motorcycle.
 Wasan
Tengtrakul was badly beaten and stabbed by motorcycle taxi ranks in South
Pattaya.
Police led by Pattaya superintendent Pol Col Sutin Suppuang were called out
to the scene at 4 a.m. on January 30 where they found 32-year-old Wasan
Tengtrakul with his face severely cut and bruised. Wasan, a tourist who was
residing at rented accommodation in the LC Apartment on Soi Khaonoi, was
rushed to Pattaya Memorial Hospital, where he was placed in the intensive
care unit.
Officers discovered a 1-meter piece of wood with traces of blood on it,
which eyewitnesses stated was the attackers’ weapon.
Ms Satitree Pantawa, 21, a friend of the injured man, said that at least 10
motorcycle taxi riders wearing red jackets marked “Marine Plaza” had set
upon Wasan, using a knife and the length of wood. They were angry that Wasan
had parked his motorcycle so that it blocked their own bikes.
Later on that evening, Pattaya Memorial Hospital notified the police that
three men suffering serious knife wounds had come in for treatment. Police
believed them to be the attackers of Wasan, the attackers also having been
injured in the melee. They were identified as Jakkrit Khaosamut, 19, whose
left arm was so badly cut it was almost severed; Manop Rattana, 19, who had
serious stab wounds to his back and stomach; and Chamnan Thipsuwan, 36, who
had a stab wound close to his heart. All of them had immediately undergone
operations. Jakkrit, however, managed to escape from the hospital, despite
the presence of police guards.
Somsak Rodkaew, 44, a motorcycle taxi driver from the Marina Plaza rank,
said that when he came back from dropping off a passenger he saw a great
commotion amongst his fellow riders at the head of the queue. He said he
didn’t dare to go closer to the scene. Then his three injured friends asked
him to take them to hospital. He agreed, and planned at first to take them
to Banglamung, but their injuries were serious so he took them instead to
Pattaya Memorial Hospital.
Somsak told police he didn’t know what had caused the fight because he
wasn’t there at the time, but police didn’t believe him and took him in for
further questioning.
Ms Satitree said that Wasan had collected her on his motorcycle to see his
show at the Marine Pub. He and his group were to start their first
probationary night, but his friends hadn’t arrived yet. So he took her to
wait for his group at a food shop, and parked his motorcycle in front of the
taxi queue, which made them unhappy. They insulted the singer’s parents and
demanded that he park somewhere else. But the Thai-American was able to
understand what they said in Thai and was insulted, which made him react
unpleasantly.
While he was trying to move the motorbike away from the taxi rank, about 10
riders attacked him.
Pol Col Sutin has ordered all the injured to be detained during
investigations. Those who fled and have yet to be found must be tracked
down. He said that the injured man had been a tourist, and that committing a
crime against a tourist is a serious crime under Thai law. Suthin has
threatened to close the Marine Plaza taxi rank if any other disturbance is
reported.
Injured deer found on Navy base is treated at Khao Kheow Open Zoo
Patcharapol Panrak
A young deer with a broken leg was transferred to Khao Kheow Open Zoo for
treatment after it was found at Sattahip Naval Base.
Capt Nopadon Supakorn, commander-in-chief of Support Division Headquarters
at the base said that the chital deer, which was about one year old, had
been found near the stray dog compound in Village No 2. Its lower back right
leg was broken, and its face, nose and mouth were bruised. The deer was
given treatment before being transferred to a veterinarian at the zoo.
 Capt.
Nopadon Supakorn (left), commander-in-chief of Support Division Headquarters
at Sattahip Naval Base talks with a stray dog officer about the young Chital
deer.
Part of the base abuts onto the Thoop Canal, which contains fresh and
brackish water and has an area of mangrove forest. On previous occasions
young chital deer have been found in this area, having come down from the
hills in search of water. Some have been bitten by dogs, causing injury and
even death.
The navy takes care of the area and the wild animals that live there by
banning hunting, and ensuring that no poaching takes place.
Taweesak Bunruang, assistant director of Khao Kheow Open Zoo, said that Capt
Nopadon Supakorn had notified the zoo that an injured deer had been found,
and that it was being brought in for treatment. He said that the zoo was
very happy to work in cooperation with the navy on this.
Chital deer have a long history in Thailand, dating back to the time of King
Rama V, who reigned from 1868 to 1910. HM the King imported the deer from
abroad and housed them on a compound in the Suan Amporn Royal Palace in
Bangkok, breeding the animal and placing herds in various parts of the
country.
Fund proposed to help victims of crime
Hotel entrepreneurs say levy would be unfair
as they already pay tax
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The private sector is being asked for help in the setting up of a foundation
that will compensate tourists who have been the victims of crime in Pattaya
City.
Banglamung district chief Pratheep Jongsoebtham and Mayor Niran
Wattanasartsathorn called a meeting at the Dusit Resort on January 27 of
representatives of organizations including the Thai Hotels Association
Eastern Region and the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, saying that
crime was increasing every day and Pattaya’s image as a tourist destination
is suffering.
 (From
left) THA Eastern Chapter President Chatchawan Supachayanont, Banglamung
District Chief Pratheep Jongsoebtham and Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn.
The governor of Chonburi has proposed setting up a foundation to support the
victims of crime.
Further, with unease about the possibility of explosive devices being
planted in Pattaya, there is another project to bring in the bomb squad from
Sattahip Naval Base to actively serve and mobilize volunteers to be on guard
in tourism areas.
All of these projects would need a budget, said Pratheep, and because the
business sector benefits directly from tourism, they should share the cost
of setting up such a fund. He added that there are 184 registered hotel
entrepreneurs with over 22,000 rooms. It is considered realistic that they
should support setting up a primary foundation.
A THA representative said that all kinds of business should be required to
participate, and that maybe fund-raising festivities should be organized
instead of direct donations, because hotel owners and operators already pay
tax on their hotel businesses. In reality, the representative added, Pattaya
has more than 50,000 rooms, but officials are asking for only legally
registered hotels to support this initiative.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh said that funding is a matter of urgency and
that everyone is involved. He asked that individuals should not think about
the financial cost, as business organizations receive financial gain from
tourism.
“Sometimes, making sacrifice for the common good is the correct thing to
do,” he said. “Government organizations have supported everything, including
tourism promotion and events. When the city is in trouble, we need help.
This fund is not compulsory, but the problem is an urgent one and it will be
difficult to resolve if we do not receive that help.”
The meeting was advised that asking the hotel business for contributions was
the initial step, and after that more than 40 business organizations in
Pattaya City will be called upon for further discussions.
City trains fresh food traders
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
A training course for market traders to learn about food safety and
cleanliness was held at Rom Phote Fresh Food Market in Jomtien on January
18, with Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn presiding over the opening.
 Traders
understand and are willing to cooperate with officials.
The Pattaya Sanitation and Public Health Division is placing great emphasis
on the sale of safe, clean, fresh food and the cleanliness of the fresh food
markets. This is being undertaken in the wake of a recent report that some
markets in Pattaya sell fresh food containing dangerous chemicals. The
report was issued after sanitary officials took random samples.
Niran said that providing Pattaya consumers with safe food has to start with
the fresh food traders being determined to sell safe, clean products.
Also, market owners or managers must make sure that the areas are clean and
that higher standards are developed. With full cooperation, he said,
everyone would benefit.
Doctors and hygiene specialists from Banglamung Hospital and Pattaya Public
Health Office were invited as speakers to the training session.
First of the city’s 3D information boxes installed at Central Festival Center
Revat Phonlookin (left),
shakes hands and congratulates Kamphol Tangaekachai on the installation of
the first 3D information box in Pattaya.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The first of what will soon be 15 information screens with three-dimensional
maps and photographs was unveiled at Central Festival Center on January 25,
when Kamphol Tangaekachai, chairman of Hai-ya Innovation and Technology Co
Ltd, conducted an official handover to the Chonburi Provincial
Administration Organization.
Revat Phonlookin, deputy chief executive of the PAO, formally received the
installation at the ceremony that also included Pinnat Charoenphol,
assistant director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Central Office
Region 3, Itthipol Khunplome, chief advisor to the mayor of Pattaya City,
and Sornchai Intharavichai, manager of food and systems at Central Festival
Center.
The 3D information box project is the result of an agreement signed between
Pinyo Tanviset, chairman of the Chonburi PAO, and Hai-ya Innovation and
Technology Co, which took place on September 25 at the Hard Rock Hotel. The
cooperation agreement aims to develop the potential of maps with
user-friendly depictions of Pattaya, and other interactive multimedia.
Kamphol said that the company would now proceed with the installation of the
other 3D information boxes, and by the middle of this year there would be 15
of them installed throughout Pattaya.
The panels display 3D routes and pictures of tourist attractions, hotels and
restaurants, and also give directions. The system uses menu driven
touch-screens, and usage is free of charge.
City hall wants Pattaya to set good example in facilities for disabled
Narisa Nitikarn
Deputy Mayor Wutisak Rermkitkarn chaired a meeting at Pattaya City Hall on
January 31 aimed at providing showcase facilities for the disabled and
thereby setting an example of how an international tourism destination
should welcome those who suffer from disabilities.
 Deputy
Mayor
Wutisak Rermkitkarn
City hall is working with the Redemptorist Foundation for the Development of
Disabled People on the project, and the faculty of architecture at the King
Mongkut’s Institute of Technology in Ladkrabang is working on the design of
practical solutions.
Foundation secretary general, Suporntham Mongkolsawat and assistant dean of
the architectural faculty at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology,
Nobpadol Suvachananonda attended the meeting.
Suporntham said that Pattaya City currently has some facilities for the
disabled, such as wheelchair ramps on Beach Road and at South Pattaya, and
what is now needed is for the private sector to help by providing facilities
at tourist attractions and at hotels.
Nobpadol said after obtaining data from the Redemptorist Foundation, he and
a survey group had checked out popular attractions for their facilities.
Following this, a draft plan has been drawn up with six stages to be taken,
from creating cooperation between the public and private sectors through to
mobilizing the construction of the facilities.
“The disabled themselves need to tell us of their needs, because clearly
they understand the necessities,” he said.
“From that point, the faculty of architecture will design the appropriate
facilities. City hall needs to initiate a budget to support the project.”
The meeting expressed hope that tangible results would be seen by the
year-end.
|
Suporntham
Mongkolsawat |
Assistant Professor
Nobpadol Suvachananonda |
Complaints rising over toxic emissions at Maptaput
Maptaput Hospital considers moving
Pattaya Mail Reporter
Fishermen living near a canal in Maptaput district have complained of a huge
reduction in their catch due to contaminated seawater, and there are reports
of children suffering from skin problems contracted from swimming there.
Similar reports have come from some 20 other neighborhoods in Rayong
Province.
Maptaput Hospital meanwhile is considering building another hospital branch
on a space of 15 rai of land on Sukhumvit highway. This second building is
due in part for patients and staff to escape the smell floating from a
nearby private waste disposal and management factory that is sited only a
kilometer away.
Currently the hospital has only 30 beds and is taking care of both in and
outpatients at the rate of approximately 300 a day. Many of them are
suffering from respiratory sickness and skin diseases. The number of
patients has jumped from 30 to 40 a day within the past few years.
A member of the National Legislative Assembly has promised to put the matter
before parliament. Wallop Tangkananurak said that he has been receiving
complaints over Rayong’s industrial estates, yet it appeared that the
government is still turning a blind eye to the problem.
Sathit Pitudecha of the Democratic party said in a recent news release on
the Rayong toxic waste emission problem that the government should hold off
work on a project to reclaim 1,100 rai of the sea until a working group
consisting of scientists and personnel from the Ministry of Public Health is
able to study the potential effects on lives and the environment, thoroughly
and systematically.
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, led by its governor, Uthai
Chanthima, has recently proposed drawing up an action plan with the Industry
Ministry. Minister Kosit Panpiemras said that factory operators should and
must manage the emission of the toxic waste that creates the pollution in
Maptaput area within one year, or the ministry would have to proclaim
Maptaput Industrial Estate a pollution control zone. Under those
circumstances there would be certain control measures exercised, such as a
control on new factories being built unless pollution emission limits were
set and met.
An environmentalist has said that the government’s plan to move some
petrochemical plants to the Southern Seaboard Industrial Estate as the
Maptaput Industrial Estate was no longer in fit shape to accommodate any
more factories due to increasing pollution concerns, would merely move the
same ecological problems from one location to another without a permanent
and active strategy to resolve them completely.
Kittikhun Kittiaram, coordinator of the Greenpeace Southeast Asia anti-toxic
campaign, has led a delegation to the Ministry of Industry in Bangkok to
petition Deputy Prime Minister and Industry Minister Kosit Panpiemras, who
is also chairman of Thailand’s National Environment Committee, to declare
Maptaput industrial area a “serious toxic and pollution control area”. He
suggested the factories change their raw materials in the production lines
to other kinds that pose less risk to people’s health.
Pattaya Immigration chief explains the dangers
of forged qualifications for teachers
Pol Col Ittipol
Ittisarnronnachai (left), superintendent of Pattaya Immigration, and his new
assistant, Pol Lt Col Wasan Kittikulavanit (right) talk about the number of
cases of foreign teachers forging qualifications to obtain work in the
Pattaya area.
Pattaya Mail reporters
Pattaya’s immigration chief has spoken out about the number of cases of
foreign teachers forging qualifications to obtain work in the Pattaya area,
following a recent meeting arranged by the Pattaya Immigration office with
representatives of over 30 international educational institutes and foreign
language schools to explain the more stringent regulations now being
implemented.
In an interview with Pattaya Mail, Pol Col Ittipol Ittisarnronnachai,
superintendent of Pattaya Immigration, said the issue was cause for real
concern in Pattaya and the Eastern region.
At the meeting in his office on Jomtien Soi 5, Pol Col Ittipol also
introduced his new assistant, Pol Lt Col Wasan Kittikulavanit, who has long
experience in immigration procedures and who has recently moved to Pattaya
City to help push forward the pending visa issuance works.
Our reporter asked the superintendent about the level of damage alien
qualification certificates that have been forged have made to our country.
Pol Col Ittipol responded that they were not a major cause of damage in
themselves, but undeniable harm is caused when teachers submitted forged
documents to international schools because the students were the ones who
would suffer through the inadequate educational skills that were being used
to teach them.
They might receive language skills, but the cores of the lessons would be
neglected, as the teachers were not trained to deliver them.
Additionally, the Immigration office has to know the true intention of those
teachers and the reasons they came to Thailand, and if they have any hidden
agenda to carry out in this country. Some have been found to be involved in
child molestation.
Pattaya Mail asked how many aliens have been recorded as carrying forged
documents, and were being investigated.
Pol Col Ittipol said that currently there are 63 cases of foreigners who
have submitted falsified documents to the Office of Private Education
Promotion. The Office had transferred these cases to the Immigration office
to find out more about them. Recently two cases have been sent to court and
two former teachers were sentenced to three months imprisonment. There are
still 61 cases that are in the process of examination by the court.
Our reporter asked about the duties of the Office of Private Education
Promotion and how it cooperates with the Immigration office.
The superintendent said that one of the key duties of the Private Education
Office is to keep records of foreign teachers and monitor their activities
in the Kingdom.
“Teachers have to submit their applications and teaching qualification
certificates and the Office of Private Education Promotion will in turn
issue a document for them to bring to our office to get a visa. Schools play
a very important part in checking backgrounds thoroughly before accepting
applications,” he said.
Under certain circumstances where the Immigration office made an appeal for
the schools to check further on a teacher to make sure the background was
completely clean, this had been done.
Pol Col Ittipol added that with the new policy that became effective from
October 1 last year concerning regulations on visa extension applications,
school directors or department officers were asked to look for accurate
documents and check and re-check on backgrounds to generate transparency in
the process.
Our reporter asked what is the punishment for those forging documents for
visa applications.
“Generally the punishment is three years’ imprisonment for an alien forging
documents such as qualification certificates or teacher’s licenses, but
recently a verdict has been reached on two cases, and two teachers, one from
England and the other from Canada, have been sent to prison for three months
each,” said Pol Col Ittipol.
“The two were also blacklisted and will never be able to cross the border
into our nation for the rest of their lives.”
The superintendent added that another aspect of concern is those schools
that become involved in forging documents for their applicants. Some
institutes tended to turn a blind eye so they could save some budget in
hiring qualified instructors, he added.
“So we again ask the schools to do prior investigation through writing
requests to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get factual information on
those aliens.”
Pattaya Mail asked how the public could help in pointing out illegal
immigrants.
“People can report any doubtful activities of foreigners or teachers at
schools to an authority such as the police or Immigration office,” said Pol
Col Ittipol. “There are cases where some might carry lawful documents but
who knows what goes on behind the scene. We are qualified to withhold their
visas if we found out that they are committing wrongful actions.”
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