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Pattaya Mail named best newspaper for promotion of tourism
Best in the East now for 10 straight years
Pramote Channgam
Pattaya Mail was once again named the best mass circulation newspaper for
the promotion of tourism during the 12th Eastern National Mass Media Awards
presented on March 5.
 President
of the Eastern Mass Media Association Padungsak Tantaworasilp (left) accepts
his award for an outstanding work towards the Eastern Mass Media Association
from Chonburi Governor Pracha Taerat.
The announcements were made during an evening ceremony at the Taihi
Restaurant in Muang Chonburi by president of the Eastern Mass Media
Association Padungsak Tantaworasilp.
Chonburi Governor Pracha Taerat opened the event, which was attended by
representatives of government and private organizations in addition to all
fields of the mass media.
 Suwat
Janthajeen (left), director of Government Savings Bank region 11 accepts his
award for outstanding management with good relationship with the EMMA from
Chonburi Governor Pracha Taerat.
The awards are held every year on March 5, National Mass Media Day. Apart
from making presentations to the outstanding media, the event is very much
an occasion for the press to mingle and build relationships with people from
official departments, private organizations, associations, foundations,
clubs, and charity organizations in the Eastern region.
 Chatchai
Saksunthornsiri (left), operations director for the eastern region of AIS
accepts his award for his outstanding support towards EMMA from Chonburi
Governor Pracha Taerat.
Awards also go to organizations other than the media. This year, the Award
for Best Supporter of Activities for People to Promote Relationships went to
the Tourism Authority of Thailand Central Region 3 (Chonburi-Pattaya), the
Provincial Performance Bureau (East), and AIS (Advance Info Service Public
Co Ltd). The Best Administrator of People to Promote Relationships Award
went to Dr Tanakom Mantananon, managing director of Payathai Hospital in
Sriracha. The Best Suppression of Crime and Narcotics Award went to Pol Col
Nopadol Wongnom, superintendent at Pattaya Police Station.
 Pairot
Sasiwongpakdee (left), executive manager of communications and management
for ESSO (Thailand) accepts his award for the outstanding support towards
the EMMA from Chonburi Governor Pracha Taerat (right) as president of the
Eastern Mass Media Association Padungsak Tantaworasilp (center) looks on.
The Award for the Best Mass Media for the Promotion of Tourism went to
Pattaya Mail Publishing Co Ltd, the 10th year in succession the company has
won the award.
Pattaya Mail Publishing Co is the first company to have produced a foreign
language newspaper in Pattaya, with Pattaya Mail. This was followed by the
German language Pattaya Blatt. The company has over the years won several
awards from the Eastern Mass Media Association of Thailand, including Best
Eastern Foreign Newspaper, the Best Eastern Foreign Newspaper Branch for the
Promotion of Tourism, and the Best Administrator of People to Promote
Relationships.
Kamolthep Malhotra, general manager of Pattaya Mail Publishing Co Ltd was
the company representative collecting the award.
Snake in the grass defuses row
over missing fighting cocks
Rescue workers display a giant
anaconda nearly 10 meters
long caught at a village in Sattahip.
Patcharapol Panrak
A giant anaconda nearly 10 meters long has been caught at a village
in Sattahip, thus defusing an argument amongst local breeders of fighting
cocks who were becoming suspicious that someone was stealing their birds.
Rangsan Wisetsiri, a 42-year-old resident of Soi Tiewson raised the alarm on
March 7, calling the Rojana Thammasathan Foundation Rescue Center to come
and collect the reptile which he had found lurking in a chicken coop, having
eaten at least 10 chickens and one Thai Ridgeback dog.
Rescue workers went to the house where they snared the snake and placed it
in a tied bag, ready for release into the wild a long way from any
residential area.
Rangsan said that breeders of fighting cocks living in the area had become
very suspicious of each other when their prized birds began to vanish, but
now everyone would be relieved that the thief was, indeed, a snake in the
grass.
Two breeders of fighting cocks, Tawatchai Suksamran and Prayoon Iam-Saar
said that their birds had been disappearing everyday, but that they felt
better now they knew none of their friends was implicated.
Governor Pracha leads road show to help underprivileged of Sattahip
Patcharapol Panrak
Chonburi Governor Pracha Taerat led a road show to Sattahip on
February 20 where scholarships were presented to students, and services and
supplies were provided for the underprivileged members of the community.
 Chonburi
Governor Pracha Taerat addresses his constituents in Sattahip.
Thirty scholarships were presented to students of promising ability but
impoverished backgrounds, and the Chonburi Red Cross presented essential
goods to elderly people in need.
Accompanying Governor Pracha were Ms Tippawan Taerat, president of the
Chonburi Red Cross and representatives of the Chonburi Provincial Social
Development and Human Security Office, the Provincial Administrative
Organization, and the Sub-district Administrative Organizations. Also
present were medical personnel and representatives of private organizations.
Officials from the Chonburi Provincial Social Development and Human Security
Office brought 10 scholarships with them, while the Chonburi Provincial
Social Development Center Unit 8 supplied 20 scholarships.
Each school chose students with good scholastic results and good behavior,
but who lacked income and had fewer opportunities. Ban Bangsarae Community
School chose students from a variety of levels to receive 15 scholarships.
Ban Kaochijan School received seven scholarships and Kledkaew School
received eight scholarships.
Sattahip District chief Narong Theerajantarangkul welcomed the visitors and
presented a report. Governor Pracha presented the 30 scholarships to the
students at the Jantanee Building at Ban Bangsarae Community School.
Tippawan presented the donations of essential goods to elderly people, and
those who have problems with their eyesight underwent examinations. The
owner of an optician company will make eyeglasses and present them at the
next available opportunity.
Officials from Chonburi Provincial Fishery Office brought 100,000 tilapia
fish to present to farmers with fishponds for breeding and consumption.
Vaccinations were provided to people, rabies vaccinations were provided for
dogs, and free haircuts and repairs of electronic equipment were on offer.
OTOP products were on sale, and a mobile library from the Non-formal
Education Center was provided.
Suckerfish taking
over the Nongyai Canal
Thousands of these little
sucker fish are pushing out other,
more desirable fish from the Nongyai Canal.
Theerarak Suthatiwong
Residents on Soi Nongyai have complained that a large number of
tedsaban fish, also known as suckerfish have been found in the Nongyai
Canal, where they are forcing out other types of fish by their sheer
numbers.
The suckerfish have apparently come from the Pattaya City west water
treatment ponds, and it is estimated more than 10,000 of them are living
along a distance of one kilometer of the canal.
Mrs Niew Juntep, a 51-year-old resident of Nongyai Village said the fish
were first seen in the ponds two months ago. They have now started to
disperse and swim to the areas where the water pumps are, more than one
kilometer away along the canal. Other fish living in the waterway, including
darkfish, angelfish and climbing perch are now starting to disappear.
Niew has therefore organized a petition to present to the authorities to try
and resolve the problem.
Suckerfish breed in water resources, rivers and canals in Thailand, and
their numbers are increasing. Fisheries experts say this kind of freshwater
fish is very adaptable, able to flourish in polluted water and live off food
floating on the surface. The fish breeds quickly and prolifically, spawning
between 500 and 600 eggs each time, which is once every one or two years.
They have been discovered in every water source from the Central region to
the Northern region, and eliminating them is a problem.
City’s markets told to clean up or lose their license
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Pattaya’s markets have been warned they must comply with Ministry of
Public Health regulations concerning hygiene, or their licenses will be
withdrawn.
City hall has passed on the warning to market operators, saying they have a
150-day period to bring conditions up to requirements.
 Chatchawan
Chimtin
On March 7 at Pattaya City Hall, the Pattaya Public Health Department held a
meeting to explain the new requirements to the market operators.
Head of the department Chatchawan Chimtin said that the Ministry of Public
Health issued regulations concerning hygiene conditions in markets on
January 7. Market operators must adhere to these regulations so that the
health of the community is not placed at risk, and that the public can buy
their food products secure in the knowledge that conditions are safe and
hygienic.
For the purpose of the regulations, the ministry has divided the markets
into two types: permanent markets or markets with building structures, and
market fairs or unstructured markets.
The first type of market must have goods delivered to a specified area, with
a bathroom, a hand washing basin, garbage bins, parking for the vendors, a
2-meter wide corridor, and at least one point to clean fresh food. In the
event of having more than 30 fresh food stands, then there must be enough
water in the reserve tank, which is suitable for using at least 5 cubic
meters of water per stand. The wastewater eradication system must have a
filter and a grease trap, and there must be one fire extinguisher installed
for each 45 meters.
The second type of market must operate in the same way as the first, the
only difference being that the parking lot isn’t specified in the ministry’s
regulations.
Chatchawan said that inspectors would be carrying out checks on 15 Pattaya
City markets 60 days after this meeting. If a market is not complying with
the regulations, the operator will be advised. After this, there is a
150-day period in which a procedural plan has to be submitted to the Pattaya
Public Health Department. If after this the market is still not in
compliance, the operating license will be suspended. It can be suspended
twice, and after that the license will be withdrawn.
Sriracha opens one-stop
bill payment counter
Sriracha Mayor Chatchai
Timkrajang cuts the ribbon
to officially open the new one stop service center.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Sriracha Municipality opened its One-Stop Municipality Service
Counter on February 20, designed to help residents pay utility bills,
finance company payments and even their credit cards at the same counter.
Mayor of Sriracha City Chatchai Timkrajang officially opened the project,
with municipal clerk Oran Tangtratrakoon explaining to the assembled
administrators, councilors and members of the public how the system works
and what it could do.
Mayor Chatchai was the first customer after the ribbon had been cut, paying
his telephone bill to the staff at the service counter.
Sriracha City Municipality has opened this one-stop counter for the public
to pay their bills for water, power, telephone, credit installments and
credit cards. The service is available at the Municipality Office on the 1st
floor, from 8:30am to 4:30pm.
Chatchai said that the service is designed to help people save time, and so
that they would take advantage of more services being offered and so bring
more convenience and opportunity into their lives.
Vendor caught with drugs says they are fake
Boonlua Chatree
A fried chicken vendor arrested by police for injuring a foreign
tourist was found to have a large quantity of assorted narcotics in his
possession, which he claimed were fakes.
 Panya
Chaopichit (seated right) has been arrested for drugs possession.
Tourist Police were called out at 1 a.m. on March 3 by reports of an
altercation in front of Ploy Jewelry on Walking Street. Bystanders had
detained the perpetrator, while the injured man had already been sent to
Pattaya Memorial Hospital for treatment. He later said he didn’t want to
press charges against his attacker.
Officers searched Panya Chaopichit, a 20-year-old resident of Nongprue, and
found five ya ba pills, one pack of ya ice, two ya E pills, one pack of
heroin, and 20,600 baht in cash. Panya said that he and the foreigner had
had a dispute. He admitted that the narcotics belonged to him, but said they
were fakes, and were made from cassava powder. He said he sold them to
foreigners.
Officers did not believe his story, and transferred him to Pattaya Police
Station to await analysis of the substances.
Former Laos Army officer
busted for drugs dealing
Former Laotian army officer
Phuangmaly Khamsengbonxuang
(seated, with glasses) has been arrested for selling ya ba in Pattaya.
Boonlua Chatree
Police tipped off that a middle-aged man known as Lung was selling
ya ba in Pattaya laid a trap by calling his mobile phone and posing as a
buyer, and have arrested a former lieutenant in the Laos Army.
The officers made an appointment to meet the man in front of 7-Eleven at the
New Naklua Market, where they said they would buy 32 ya ba pills for 20,000
baht. When the dealer showed up with a black backpack, officers surrounded
him. He attempted to evade capture and placed a plastic pack containing 200
ya ba pills into his mouth in an attempt to swallow the evidence. The
officers squeezed his neck and were able to take the pills out of his mouth,
before searching his backpack.
They found another blue plastic pack containing 200 ya ba pills, one mobile
phone, a Laos passport identifying him as Phuangmaly Khamsengbonxuang, age
47, and an ID card identifying him as a lieutenant in the Laos Army.
Phuangmaly stated that he had other packs of ya ba in room 416 at the
Jiraporn Hotel in Naklua. Officers searched the room and found another five
blue plastic packs. They opened all the packs, and counted a total of 1,529
pills.
Phuangmaly said that he had obtained a bachelor’s degree in political
science from Moscow. He had been an army lieutenant for more than 20 years,
before he was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months for stealing and selling
official Laotian gasoline and iron. After he was freed he survived by
breeding fish in the Panthong District, and set up home with a Laotian woman
named Poolkham, age 48, who lived at Srivilai Village.
He told police that Poolkham delivered ya ba to him for distributing in
Thailand for 28,000 baht per pack of 200 ya ba pills. He had done this for a
long time. Phuangmaly has been charged with possession of a Class 1 narcotic
intended for distribution.
Iranian victim catches boxer
who snatched his camera
Boonlua Chatree
A boxer who fought bouts for beer bar customers and who snatched a
camera from a foreign visitor was caught when his victim and patrolling
police officers gave pursuit.
Police were alerted by a radio call at 2:30 a.m. on February 26 reporting
that a man had snatched a foreigner’s property in front of the old pier at
the beginning of Walking Street.
 During
the circus surrounding the arrest, victim Mostada Halali (left) points to
perpetrator Singkran Wongtun.
By coincidence, police officers were on patrol in the area and were able to
immediately reach the scene. They found an Iranian man chasing a Thai man
who had snatched his Sony video camera, which he was clutching in his right
hand as he attempted to escape. Police seized the thief, who was identified
as Singkran Wongtun, 29, from Tak Province.
Searching Singkran, the officers found a white powder contained in a straw
approximately two inches long that was melted shut at both ends, plus one
plastic bag containing what looked like dry marijuana. The officers took him
to Pattaya Police Station for further questioning.
Singkran stated that he was a boxer in a show staged at the beer bars, but
that currently attendance was low because there were no tourists. He ran out
of money and decided to snatch a tourist’s camera to sell at a pawnshop.
The victim, Mostada Halali, 22, said that he is a police officer in Iran,
and was in Pattaya on vacation. The thief snatched his camera, so he chased
him and the police arrived to assist him in good time. He thanked the Thai
police wholeheartedly for their quick and timely action for supporting
tourists who are the victims of criminals.
Singkran has been charged with theft.
Two girls aged 14 and 16 claim they were raped by foreign man
Boonlua Chatree
Two young girls have filed complaints against a foreign man and his
Thai wife, saying they had been raped and forced into prostitution.
 One
of the girls files her complaint with the Tourist Police.
The girls, who are aged 14 and 16 years and are from the North of the
country, said they were offered work as waitresses in a coffee shop in
Pattaya, where they could earn money that would help support their mother,
and their paralyzed grandmother and blind grandfather.
However, the woman who recruited them allegedly sent both of the girls to
her American husband in a luxury condominium to satisfy his sexual desires.
After this they were sent to have sex with foreigners over a period of
almost two months before the eldest of the girls escaped in the early hours
of February 29 and went to ask the Pattaya Tourist Police for assistance.
The 16-year-old girl, identified by the alias of Jiab, told Pol Col Naradet
Klomtuksing, superintendent investigator at Tourist Police 1, that the woman
who recruited them was Mrs Pisamai Prairam, 30, known in Korat as Ob and in
Pattaya as Bee, and is the owner of the Black Cat Lao Bar at Pratamnak 5
Road, in Nongprue.
Jiab said that Pisamai had taken her and her 14-year-old cousin, given the
alias of Song, to her husband at Ruamchok 5 Condo on December 29, where they
were raped. Thereafter, the wife sometimes sent her to provide service to
the husband alone, and sometimes sent both girls together. The girls had
been physically threatened with harm if they refused to provide sexual
services.
A warrant of arrest has been issued for Pisamai and her husband.
Press holds memorial ceremony to mark National Media Day
Pol. Lt. Gen. Jetanakorn
Napeetapad commander of Regional Police
Bureau 2 cuts the ribbon to officially open the reporters’ room.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Pattaya City’s media personnel marked National Mass Media Day on
March 5 by holding a memorial ceremony for members of the press who have
passed away.
The ceremony was held at Thamsamakee Temple and was in memory of those who
worked in every branch of the media, including newspapers, broadcast media
and the electronic press.
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn accompanied by the city’s deputy mayors and
Chanyuth Hengtrakul, former member of parliament for Chonburi Zone 7,
attended the Buddhist ceremony, which started with the lighting of candles
and joss sticks. Food was offered to nine monks, and holy water was poured
to make merit.
Amongst those honored were Santi Lamaneenil, editor of the Pattaya Post
newspaper, and Nanop Maneejan, editor of the Pattaya Weekly newspaper.
In the afternoon on the same day, members of the media attended the opening
of a recreational room for the press, hosted by Pol Lt Gen Jetanakorn
Napeetapad, commander of Regional Police Bureau 2. This room in Pattaya
Police Station has an area of approximately 2 x 2 meters, and has been given
over for the use of reporters. The room is equipped with an air conditioner,
a refrigerator and a computer.
The idea of providing a private room in the police station came from station
superintendent Pol Col Nopadol Wongnom. He said that reporters and the
police often work closely together in the police station, and that the press
had nowhere there to congregate, work and rest.
During the evening on the same day, a party was held for the media in
Nongprue Municipality. There was a raffle with many prizes donated by
government and private organizations.
Training for rehab camp is
changed to be more effective
Most children taking part in previous
Sai Yai Rak Camps reverted to old habits
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Training at the 4th Sai Yai Rak Camp that is due to start at the end
of April and which is designed to rehabilitate vagabond and delinquent
children back into society has been modified in an attempt to make it more
effective than the previous three camps proved to be.
 Apichart
Puetpan
Apichart Puetpan, deputy permanent secretary of Pattaya City announced the
changes at a March 3 meeting in Pattaya City Hall, in which the readiness of
the camp, which will take 30 youngsters, was discussed.
Apichart said that the previous three camps had been closely monitored after
they were completed and they had not achieved the desired objectives. The
underlying reason was that the children taking part had not been willing to
join the course. After completing the training, they had returned to their
same habits and nothing had changed. Only a few had truly reformed and were
living in society normally. The training was therefore being modified to
have more appeal to those taking part.
Camp 4 will provide seven categories of training. Nine hours will be devoted
to education on the dangers of narcotics and contagious diseases.
Psychotherapy and individual consultations on morality and
self-determination would take up 116 hours. There will be 29 hours devoted
to activities to develop will power. Occupational training will take up a
further 36 hours, and the remainder of the time will be divided into social
education, community projects and educational visits, such as to the Prabat
Nampu Temple in Lopburi.
Apichat said that the 30 children would train at the Wiwat Palauan School in
Royal Thai Navy Region 3, at the Royal Thai Marine Corps at Sattahip Naval
Base. The camp is scheduled from April 29 to June 12. The official opening
ceremony will be held on May 1.
Armed forces chief speaks on the importance of regional monitoring
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The commander-in-chief of Thailand’s armed forces addressed an
international gathering on March 3, discussing the ways in which the Asia
Pacific region is continually monitored and the importance of implementing
the newest technology.
Gen Bunsrang Niampradit was chairing the opening of the International Asia
Pacific Regional Conference at the Tide Resort Hotel in Bang Saen.
The conference was organized and hosted by the National Defense Studies
Institute, the Strategic Research Institute, the National Defense College
Association of Thailand (NDCAT), and the Institute of Security and
International Studies (ISIS) of Political Science Faculty at Chulalongkorn
University.
There were 137 people attending, the numbers consisting of 63 foreign
stability experts from 24 countries, two international organizations and six
foundations, and 74 people from the host country.
Amongst the topics covered were strategic defense in the Asia Pacific region
over the next 10 years, fostering of peaceful initiatives, and cooperation
in the event of natural disasters.
All the delegates also participated in the opening ceremony for the Thai
Military Strategy Center, with a gathering held at the official guesthouse
of Field Marshal Por Pibunsongkram in Laemthaen, Muang Chonburi.
UNESCO proposes sex education syllabus for Pattaya secondary schools
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
UNESCO is taking a role in the sex education syllabus at Pattaya
City’s secondary schools, saying that Pattaya’s status as an open city with
its different cultures and its temptations makes it a special case for
education.
 Srisumal
Sartsara, technical advisor for AIDS and school sanitation at UNESCO
Bangkok, has brought a sex education syllabus to adapt for schools in
Pattaya.
On March 6 at Pattaya City Hall, Ms Srisumal Sartsara, technical advisor for
AIDS and school sanitation at UNESCO Bangkok held a meeting with Chonburi
public health officials and teachers from 25 schools to discuss a possible
sex education syllabus.
Twenty-three syllabuses were gathered from Thailand to present to the
teachers who attended the meeting, and there was an agreement to use an
adaptation of the Walking With Understanding syllabus. Activities were
chosen for students to use in their clubs and for informal educational
gatherings. Media provided would include leaflets, posters and comic books.
Srisumal said that UNESCO would gather all the data and suggestions from the
teachers who attended to submit to the Pattaya City administrators and the
Basic Education Commission for a decision. If the administrators and people
associated with this agree to use the syllabus, then it will further be
adapted to use in the 25 schools in Pattaya City.
Pulsak Pongpipatwattana, assistant director of Pattaya School No 1 said that
the UNESCO course would be beneficial, because many students between the
ages of 12 and 14 have already had sexual relationships but lack the
knowledge for correct protection.
“In the event this syllabus is adapted, then it will be positive for the
students. However, it depends if the administrators making a decision
realize this problem or not,” said Pulsak.
84 novices to be ordained in merit making for
HRH Princess Galyani
Pramote Channgam
Pattaya City is organizing a ceremony for the ordaining of 84 novice
monks as merit making for Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani, who passed
away on January 2.
 Abbot
Wimonthamasit from Chonglom Temple in Naklua is ready to ordain 84 novice
monks as merit making for Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani.
Abbot Wimonthamasit held a meeting on February 29 in the Paowana Room of
Pariyatitham School at Chonglom Temple, Naklua, to discuss the ceremony with
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn, Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay, Pattaya
Education Department officials, and members of the temple committee.
The ordaining of the monks will take place over the period March 24 to 31.
February 21 marked the 50th day of making merit for the passing away of Her
Royal Highness Princess Galyani. With March being a school holiday, Pattaya
City decided to ordain 84 children as novice monks, giving the youngsters
the opportunity to spend their free time for an honorable purpose, and
approached Chonglom Temple for cooperation.
Children are able to apply for participation up to March 15 at the Pattaya
City Education Department and at Chonglom Temple. For each novice monk being
ordained a payment of 3,000 baht is required.
The youngsters will be selected from the 10 schools under Pattaya City
jurisdiction and other schools in the Pattaya area. They must be males
between the ages of 11 and 17 years, and there is a limit of 84 candidates.
Students complete
US anti-drugs project
179 youngsters take the DARE
179 youngsters from Pattaya
School 5 receive certificates
for completing the D.A.R.E. Project.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Certificates have been presented to 179 students who completed the
DARE course, an American curriculum that teaches youngsters how to stay away
from narcotics.
A ceremony to present the certificates was held on February 28 at Pattaya
School No 5, headed by mayoral advisor Itthipol Khunplome along with Pol Col
Nopadol Wongnom, superintendent at Pattaya Police Station and director of
the school Mrs Aporn Ratchasingho.
DARE, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, was implemented
jointly by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Health, the
Ministry of Interior, and the Royal Thai Police.
The DARE project is accepted worldwide as an efficient way of stopping the
spread of narcotics into schools, and covers not only the dangers of
substance abuse but how to resist peer pressure and how to avoid being drawn
into gangs in which drugs can be circulated. Also high on the agenda is the
creation of good relationships between students and police officers,
teachers, parents, and members of the community.
Pattaya Police Station appointed Pol Sen Sgt Maj Thongchai Naknaen and Pol
Sgt Maj Songtham Naksawat to lead the training for the Pattaya School No 5
students, who were all in primary school class 6. Training took place
between November 28 and February 14.
DARE was initiated in September 1983 by police officers from Los Angeles,
and was adopted by Thailand in 1999, where it comes under the Royal Thai
Police and the Narcotics Suppression Bureau. DARE International works in
association with the Narcotics Affairs Section at the Embassy of the United
States of America in Thailand, and the Library and Information Center of the
Ministry of Education.
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