Operator says low passenger numbers made service unprofitable

Vimolrat Singnikorn
Pattaya’s Beach Bus is the latest victim of the increase in gasoline prices, with the operator axing one of the routes because it is no longer profitable to run.
The price of crude oil has risen inexorably on the world markets, having increased from US$25 per barrel in 2002 to $69 in 2007, and passed the $100 mark in January of this year.
Gasoline prices have inevitably also risen, currently standing at 34.59 baht per liter of benzene 95, 33.49 baht for benzene 91, and 30.94 baht for diesel.
Pattaya Beach Bus Co Ltd, which has a seven-year contract to operate a scheduled bus service and which began operations in August 2005, has found itself with an inadequate number of passengers and escalating costs of running its vehicles.
The company’s general manager, Suriyont Klindee, has announced that the Yellow Line has been axed. The buses had run on a Soi Chayapreuk-Thepprasit Road-Thappraya Road-Third Road-South Pattaya-Central Pattaya-North Pattaya-Pattaya City Hall-Sukhumvit Road route. Suriyont said there were too few passengers for the route to be viable.
The Red Line and the Green Line services remain. Suriyont said that the travel time for these routes is 45 minutes and that the buses run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. The buses, however, must have at least 25 passengers for the service to be sustainable, he said.
“The service at present has a large number of problems,” said Suriyont. “Gasoline prices continue to increase, but the price for service still remains the same at 20 baht per route.”
He added that the company is running promotions and working on special packages that use the vehicles to take tourists to famous attractions such as Under Water World, Mini Siam and Tiffany. This is in the hopes of bringing in different types of customer.
Although the Beach Bus is designed for passenger safety and convenience and runs on regular routes, residents habitually use the ubiquitous baht buses. There are more than 700 of these working under the baht bus cooperative and plying the streets and outer districts of the city. The sheer convenience of having a baht bus always to hand when you need one, and being able to jump on or off at any point rather than use designated stops, makes them tough competition for a scheduled service where you have to wait at a bus stop.

Walking Street security is tightened

More police and CCTV cameras will assist crackdown on touts and thieves

Pramote Channgam
Security along Walking Street is to be tightened, with more police on patrol and more CCTV cameras.

Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh chairs a meeting of the Walking Street Committee at Pattaya City Hall.

Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh chaired a meeting of the Walking Street Committee at Pattaya City Hall on March 19, during which the problem of touts, thieves and unscrupulous traders was discussed.
Also attending the meeting were Soontorn Kangsirikul, deputy chairman of the committee, Pol Lt Col Suwan Unanan, investigator at Pattaya Tourist Police Station, and Pol Lt Col Supachat Piemmanat, deputy chief of crime suppression at Pattaya Police Station.
Pol Lt Col Supachat said that police officers are being briefed to crack down on touts who try and entice people into entertainment venues, hustlers with exotic animals who solicit tourists for photographs, and transvestites who accost visitors for sexual services and who frequently steal their property. The last category, said the police chief, is a particularly significant problem.
More than 200 regular police officers, tourist police officers and volunteer officers will now be deployed to patrol the area. In addition, there would be a total of 10 locations for CCTV cameras on Walking Street, feeding images back to the central control room and allowing fast response to crime, and identification of perpetrators in the event of a crime being committed.

Trapped man rescued from car wreck

Boonlua Chatree
A foreign man was injured when his car collided with a power pole on Siam Country Club Road at the Wanasin Farm exit in the early hours of March 11.
Banglamung police and Sawang Boriboon rescue workers rushed to the scene where they found a severely damaged bronze Toyota Hilux D4D pickup with the driver trapped inside.

Rescue workers peel back twisted metal so that they can extricate Anthony Olds from the wreckage.

The man, later identified as Anthony Ronald Olds, 62, of unknown nationality was pinned in the driver’s seat. Rescue workers used equipment to free him, while a physician from Banglamung Hospital administered an injection to relieve the pain, and oxygen for him to breath. It took two hours until he could be removed from the damaged vehicle. The pickup involved in the accident was taken to Banglamung Police Station, and is being kept there.
Eyewitnesses stated that Olds had been driving at speed, and had lost control at the curve in the road.

Pole-wielding transvestite comes to rescue of 16-year-old girl in distress

Boonlua Chatree
A transvestite came to the aid of a 16-year-old girl who was being molested by a drunken German man, beating him over the head with a beach umbrella pole before fading modestly into the night.
Officers from Pattaya Police Station were called out at 12:15am on March 18 where they found the man unconscious from the beating and the alcohol, lying on the beach opposite Soi Yamato.
The man, whose name was not given, was heavily tattooed and had a can of beer within reach. His head was bleeding, and the blood had run down his face. The officers woke him up, but the man declined offers of help.
He also declined to explain why he had been attacked, saying only that he wanted to sleep. Then he got up and staggered away along Beach Road to get away from the officers. He was allowed to go, because the officers realized that he didn’t intend to file a report.
The 16-year-old girl in the dispute, given the alias of Ice, told the officers that she was sitting with her friend when she saw an impoverished-looking foreign man wearing dirty clothes. He was drunk and carrying a can of beer, and was walking straight towards her. He tried to persuade her to sleep with him. She tried to leave, but the man started touching her breasts.
Ice said she shouted, and a transvestite of an unknown name who was sitting nearby came to help her. There was an argument, and the German raised his foot to push the transvestite away. The lady of the second category then grabbed a long umbrella pole and hit the man on the head, hard.
The German man fell to the ground, and the transvestite left on a motorcycle taxi. The German then drank a little more beer and fell asleep. Police filed witness reports but will not press any molestation charges against the German.

British man faces charges of sex with 8-year-old boy

A man has been arrested in Pattaya on charges of sexual abuse of an eight-year-old boy.
During the early evening of March 18, Police Col Khanisorn Yuwawithaya and Supakorn Noja, director of the Child Protection and Development Center, equipped with a warrant issued by the court arrested Ronald David Wiener, aged 59, a British national at his residence in a Jomtien condominium.

Ronald David Wiener is arrested from his residence in a Jomtien condominium.

He faces charges of sexual abuse of an eight-year-old boy, the arrest having been made following a complaint to the police by the boy’s parents. Police also confiscated 16 lewd CDs from Wiener’s residence.
Police say Wiener came to Pattaya as a tourist on February 17. He rented a room in Jomtien and allegedly went around town looking for children under the age of 15 years, luring them to his room for sex services by offering 500 baht.
Supakorn said that parents of the eight-year-old came to the Child Protection Center to report that the child had gone missing when he was on the beach, while they were selling food nearby. Allegedly, it turns out he had been taken to Wiener’s room and forced to offer sex services to him.

Narcotics officers and police bust steroids gang

Theerarak Suthatiwong
Two British men have been arrested for smuggling steroids into and out of Thailand, following a report sent to Pol Maj Gen Amaresrit Wattanawiboon, commander of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau Division 1 by Andre Kellum of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency.

Edwin Richard Crawley is being led away from his residence in Jomtien. He has been charged with illegally importing and selling medicines (steroids), avoiding excise duty, and transporting forbidden substances out of the kingdom.

More than 100 officers and officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Customs Department worked on the case, led by Pol Col Chaiyapoj Hasunha, deputy superintendent of crime suppression and Apichart Tanomsap, director of the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
Police obtained warrant of arrest No 98/2551 dated March 20 and search warrant No 132/2551 dated March 20 from Pattaya Provincial Court to arrest Edwin Richard Crawley, a 44-year-old British national and to search his home at 131/148 Pattaya Mueng Mai Village, Soi Chaiyapreuk, Jomtien Beach Road.
The premises were found to be a detached luxury house acting as the address for a company named Nutree Mate Ltd. Nothing illegal was found during the search. A neighboring house, number 131/133, in which 31-year-old Kraisorn Thongrak, Crawley’s son-in-law resided, was also searched and nothing illegal was found there.
Kraisorn was then invited to the Winsen Center’s office. This is a company for paying for electricity and tap water, located in a commercial building at 324/21-22 Soi Chaiyapreuk. Empty bags containing Dragon brand medication and 2,500 leaflets with directions on how to use steroids were found. Officers from the Anti-Money Laundering Office confiscated some documents as evidence.
Additionally, a warehouse behind Nutree Mate Ltd was searched. Steroid substances and some equipment were found there. Amongst the items impounded were two house title deeds, a Toyota Corola with a Chonburi license plate, a 1200 RT BMW motorcycle, and 13 bank books that showed circulations of millions of baht.
A second search warrant No 132/2551 and warrant of arrest No 147/2551, both dated March 20 were obtained for the arrest of Ashley Vincent Livingston, a 45-year-old British citizen along with Mrs Jeerawan Livingston, his 38-year-old wife, and the inspection of a premises at 137/74 Pattaya Hill 1 Village, Soi Kaonoi, Nongpreu Sub-district.
Again, nothing illegal was discovered during the search. Property impounded included a title deed, a Honda car, a Toyota Vios car, 100,000 baht in cash, six bank books that showed a circulation of more than 10 million baht, and numerous silver and gold necklaces and rings.
Pol Maj Gen Amaresrit said that the Narcotics Suppression Bureau Division 1 had cooperated with the Drug Enforcement Agency after US officials had seized a planeload of steroids. The source was traced back to Thailand, and investigators allege that Crawley, who lives in Pattaya, was the leader of the gang and that he ordered the steroids from China, via the internet. The steroids were then sold to customers in the USA and Europe.
Customers would transfer money to Crawley. The steroids would be transported to Thailand, hidden in dolls or fruit. The substances were sent overseas through the mail. Livingston is alleged to have been a member of the network keeping in contact with the customers.
The operation had been running since 1999, and generated a substantial amount of wealth, with real estate to the value of 20 million baht purchased in Pattaya. Crawley became a notable figure in Pattaya society, and undertook many honorable activities such as coaching the disabled.
Crawley and Livingston have been charged with illegally importing and selling medicines, avoiding excise duty, and transporting forbidden substances out of the kingdom.
The legal status of anabolic steroids varies from country to country. In the US, anabolic steroids are currently listed under the Controlled Substances Act, which makes the possession of such substances without a prescription a federal crime punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Health minister lays foundation stone for new hospital

2010 set as completion date

Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap lays
the foundation stone for the new Pattaya Hospital.

Vimolrat Singnikorn
Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap laid the foundation stone for the new Pattaya Hospital on Monday, March 17.
The hospital, which is being built on a site adjacent to the Public Health Center on Soi Buakao has a construction budget of 135 million baht, and is being built to a 500-day schedule with 2010 as the completion date.
Early morning saw the start of the stone laying ceremony, which began with a Brahman ceremony followed by a ceremony conducted by Buddhist priests. Chaiya placed nine auspicious wooden sticks (pink-and-white shower, pudding pine, Indian coral tree, kalamona, teak, Siamese rosewood, tembusu, jackfruit tree and bambusa) into the space for the foundation stone, followed by three types of brick, namely silver, gold and copper alloy.
Pattaya Hospital will be an eight-story building on an area of 10 rai, and have a capacity of 82 beds. The first floor will be used for registration, medical screening, X-rays and the emergency room. The second floor will have a dental clinic with five surgery units and six units for medical checkups. The third floor will have 60 beds in rooms divided for male and female use, and including quarantine rooms for contagious diseases.
The fourth floor will have 22 private patient rooms, including rooms for disabled people and priests. The fifth floor will contain conference rooms and offices for the administrators, and a special care section for children and physical therapy is planned.
In addition to the hospital building there will be a central supply building for the kitchen, laundry and utility systems, an eight-story dormitory for physicians and nurses, a food center, and a parking lot for 250 vehicles. These facilities are being costed out separately to the budget for the hospital building, bringing the total budget including the medical equipment up to about 400 million baht.
Even though the medical services will not come under the Health Security Office, if it is necessary to charge medical fees then Pattaya City will control the costs to keep them low. This will allow those on low incomes to pay for medical services if they need to, and thereby not only bring affordable healthcare to all members of the public but also control the health of the community, protecting against the spread of diseases and keeping medical budgets down.

Schools to adopt HIV awareness syllabus

Local HIV cases on the increase

Saksiri Uraiworn
A secondary school course for increasing awareness of the dangers of HIV transmission will be implemented in Pattaya’s schools.

Srisumal Sartsara

Miss Srisumal Sartsara, advisor on AIDS and sanitary health in schools for UNESCO in Bangkok said that a survey of Chonburi Province for 2006 had found 1,389 new cases of HIV in youngsters between the ages of 15 and 24 years.
A syllabus that has proved to be effective in vocational schools would now be adopted for use in Pattaya’s secondary schools said Srisumal. “The reason for choosing Pattaya for this course is that Pattaya is an open city with a diversity of cultures and has a high factor concerning sexual relationships.”
There were 28 syllabuses presented at the March 18 meeting that discussed the new course, having been collected from learning institutions throughout Thailand. The meeting resolved to use the “Steps for understanding” syllabus, which is considered to be practical and which has an effective evaluation system.
The syllabus comes as a set including a manual for the administrator, a manual for the teacher, a manual for the student, chosen activities for use in clubs or for informal education, documentation to introduce clinics and services to youngsters, and other media such as leaflets, posters and cartoons. At least 16 hours per educational term are required for the syllabus.

Rear Admiral Nora makes waves at CARAT opening ceremony

Patcharapol Panrak
One of the US Navy’s highest-ranking female officers, Rear Admiral Nora W Tyson, co-opened the joint American-Thai CARAT 2008 exercise on March 10.

Rear Admiral Thanarat Ubol (left), commander of Frigate Squadron 2 at the Royal Thai Fleet in Sattahip and Rear Admiral Nora W Tyson (right) co-open the joint American-Thai CARAT 2008 exercise.

Rear Admiral Thanarat Ubol, commander of Frigate Squadron 2 at the Royal Thai Fleet in Sattahip represented Thailand for the opening ceremony, which was held at the Navy’s Santhana Room in Guest Building 2 at the Sattahip Naval Base.
CARAT 2008 is 14th in the series of joint exercises, of which the Royal Thai Navy has assigned Frigate Squadron 2 to be the coordinator. This cooperative effort is aimed at enhancing both individual abilities and tactics in all levels of the military. It focuses on increased abilities to operate jointly, and enhanced maritime awareness between the participating forces.
The exercises plan and conduct surface combat operations, submarine attack, air defenses, amphibious assault, humanitarian assistance, counter-terrorism, disaster relief, protection against smuggling, and protecting territorial waters and natural resources. This year will see an ASPIDE missiles exercise in the Gulf of Thailand.
Impeccably dressed, with short hair and masculine stride, Rear Admiral Tyson is commander of the Naval Logistic Group Western Pacific. She has formidable experience in combat operations, notably during the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91. Operation Petticoat this will not be.

Governor reactivates anti-drugs program

To Be Number One program resumes

Pramote Channgam
Banglamung District is readying itself to follow the Chonburi governor’s anti-drugs policy, entitled To Be Number One.

Banglamung District Chief Mongkol Thamakittikhun.

A meeting was held during the afternoon of March 6, chaired by Banglamung District Chief Mongkol Thamakittikhun to prepare for the implementation of the policy, which stems from the initiative of Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana and which involves government organizations, institutions, communities, and entrepreneurs.
These entities jointly apply for members to be selected as the representatives of the district, to compete in the provincial level for 2009.
To Be Number One campaigns for a solution to the narcotics problem and primarily targets young people in the 10-24 years age group. The project was founded in 2002, and includes the organizing of music and sporting events around the country.
There have, however, been fewer activities organized in Chonburi in recent times, and Governor Pracha Taerat has decided to place more emphasis on the project, issuing Chonburi Provincial Order No 100 / 2551 to every government organization.
Following the issuing of the directive, Mongkol held the meeting to discuss with representatives of government organizations, institutions, communities and private business organizations ways in which they can respond. A further meeting will be arranged to discuss each of the viable projects suggested.

Cheeky monkey steals shrine offerings

Patcharapol Panrak
A mischievous and indeed sacrilegious monkey stole offerings of food that had been laid out at Prince Chumporn’s Shrine by Navy officers, taking advantage of the officers being momentarily distracted to steal choice items and flee.

The little monkey retreated to a quiet corner where he proceeded to eat his ill-gotten gains.

Officers from Sattahip Naval Base had prepared a table at the shrine on Laem Pujao Mountain on March 12, ready for a prayer ceremony that was to be held for Sadet Tia. Food including a pig’s head, chicken, pork on banana leaf, snakehead fish, shrimp and auspicious sweetmeats had been laid out for those attending and for offering at the shrine, while the men awaited the arrival of the commander.
An opportunistic monkey was, however, watching keenly, and when he thought the coast was clear he jumped from his tree and ran to the shrine table, where he gathered whatever took his fancy, which was mostly Chinese mixed candy. Then the monkey retreated to a quiet corner where he proceeded to eat his ill-gotten gains. The Navy officers could do nothing else but laugh at the monkey’s bravery and quickness, and they let him get on with his meal.
Visitors to Laem Pujao Mountain are warned that the monkeys who are found on the road leading to the top of the hill will frequently steal food and anything else that takes their fancy. No one is allowed to harm the monkeys, because it is believed they are followers of Sadet Tia.

Bay Watch: Left to rot on the beach

Kamolthep Malhotra
No, this isn’t a garbage dump. It’s Jomtien Beach, opposite Soi 19. Pattaya Mail had received a number of complaints from readers that rubbish was accumulating in this spot and not being cleared away, so a reporter went to take a look. Sure enough, there were heaps of plastic bags and bottles, abandoned fishing nets, cartons and other junk that has somehow escaped the garbage collectors. City hall is urged to do something about this mess, as it looks nasty and gives the impression that we don’t really care about our visitors. Remember, tourism is the number one foreign currency generator in Thailand, as well as the number one industry in Thailand regarding employment.

Coastal Defense takes delivery of new glass-bottom boat

To be used to survey coral and marine resources

Vice Admiral Komin presents a miniature model
of the boat to Khunying Srisiri Kritsanachan as a souvenir.

Patcharapol Panrak
Lady Srisiri Kritsanachan has presented a glass-bottomed boat to the Coastal Defense Force of the Royal Thai Navy.

The boat, named Srisiri, has a glass bottom and will be used for to survey coral and marine resources.

The boat, named Srisiri, was presented to Vice Admiral Komin Komutanon, commander-in-chief of the Coastal Defense Force on March 19 and replaces an older boat that has been used for several years to survey coral and marine resources along those parts of the coast, notably Koh Kham, which are under military responsibility.
Vice Admiral Komin said the boat is made from fiberglass and was built by Bangluang Shipyard Ltd. It is 2.6 meters wide, 10 meters long, 2.2 meters high, and has a 20cm draught. Equipped with Isuzu diesel engines, the Srisiri has a cruising speed of 8 knots, and a top speed of 12 knots. Four sheets of glass measuring 60cm in width and 80 cm in length, with a thickness of 20mm form the bottom of the boat. Passenger capacity is 30 people.
Lady Srisiri placed a garland of flowers on the bow of the boat, and signed the logbook to transfer it to Navy ownership. Vice Admiral Komin presented a miniature model of the boat to her as a souvenir.

New ship launched by Royal Navy

HTMS Paruehatsabodi commissioned for hydrographic and minesweeping duties

Admiral Sathiraphan Kaeyanon (left),
Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, and his wife Pornpen Kaeyanon perform a ceremony before launching the HTMS Paruehatsabodi.

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The Royal Thai Navy launched a new multiuse vessel, the HTMS Paruehatsabodi, during a ceremony at Unithai Shipyard in Sriracha.
Admiral Sathiraphan Kaeyanon, commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy presided over the ceremony with his wife Pornpen.
The Navy commissioned HTMS Paruehatsabodi for hydrographic and minesweeping duties, signing a contract with a joint venture between Unithai Shipyard Co and Schelde Naval Shipbuilding Co of the Netherlands for 944,061,000 baht on December 22, 2005.
A keel-laying ceremony was held on August 25, 2006 at the Unithai Shipyard with Admiral Sathiraphan presiding. The Navy requested His Majesty the King to provide a name for the vessel, which has been designated number 813, and His Majesty granted the name HTMS Paruehatsabodi on December 18, 2006.
The Parueharsabodi was built under the 2005-2007 budget. It has a water displacement of 1,344 tons, a gross weight of 1,636 tons, a length of 66.30 meters, and a width of 13.20 meters. She has a top speed of 12 knots and a cruising speed of 10 knots. The ship has a capacity for 71 crewmembers for 15 days of operations.
The new vessel partly replaces smaller survey ships that have been decommissioned and will go into service in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. In addition to its mapping and military duties it will also support environmental projects such as helping to clear oil spills.

The HTMS Paruehatsabodi majestically slides into the water.