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Fishermen complain about polluted Naklua Canal
No longer teaming with fish and crabs
Theerarak Suthatiwong
The local fishing community has filed a complaint regarding the polluted
state of the Naklua Canal, saying that the garbage flowing out into the sea
is a health hazard and is depleting the marine catch.
Pattaya Mail visited the area of the canal mouth on July 21, and
discovered that garbage such as plastic bags, vehicle tires and large
quantities of non-biodegradable refuse had piled up there.
 The
beach at Naklua is now quite polluted with plastic bags, vehicle tires and
large quantities of non-biodegradable refuse.
Santi Chaiyasit, the 54-year-old representative of the Naklua fishing
community and himself the owner of a fishing boat said that he has lived at
Naklua all his life and that his family has always fished for their
livelihood.
Twenty years ago, said Santi, the water in this canal was very clear and
clean. A lot of freshwater fish could be seen in the canal, and the
fishermen didn’t need to work very far away from shore. Further, there were
always crabs at the beach here and the villagers would catch them for their
meals.
Now, said Santi, the canal has deteriorated. There are more people living in
the vicinity of the canal, and they throw their rubbish into the water.
Pattaya City officials are not collecting the garbage or dredging the canal,
and the pollution is worsening. The waters have become polluted and the
beach has become toxic. The fishermen now have to travel away from the canal
mouth, which greatly increases their fuel costs. The community wants city
hall to deal with the pollution and supply garbage bins for residents to
use.
Kritala Sukjai, 38, also the owner of a fishing boat, said that although he
is not a Naklua native he has lived in the area for a long time. He bought a
small fishing boat to fish along the shore. In previous times there was an
abundance of fish, but their numbers have decreased over time. He must now
go out twice as far.
Kritala said the pier is of interest to tourists and could become a tourism
attraction, with visitors coming to see the fishermen at work and buy
seafood, which would increase local incomes. However, he said, the
environmental problems from the pile-up of refuse have turned away the
tourists. There are no fish and no crabs.
Sometimes, he said, tourists visit the bridge, take pictures, and ask why
the mouth of the canal is so cluttered with refuse. He has no words to
answer them. He feels that this is not only a disaster for the Naklua
community, it also damages the image of Pattaya.
The fishing community is now asking Mayor Itthipol Khunplome, who represents
the younger, more environmentally aware generation, to help in resolving
this problem.
Public hearings will be held
over tourism development plans
Pattaya applies to be categorized as special tourism zone
Mayor Itthipol Khunplome (2nd
left) conducts a meeting
at which it was agreed that public consultations would
be held before any projects are given the go-ahead.
Pramote Channgam
Public consultations will be held over government-backed development
projects because of fears that local opinions would be ignored after Pattaya
is designated a special zone for sustainable tourism.
Mayor Itthipol Khunplome held a meeting with the Designated Area for
Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) on July 21 at Pattaya City Hall,
at which it was agreed that public consultations would be held before any
projects are given the go-ahead.
The national government has set up the DASTA along with a policy that
private organizations and the general public would be included in the
process of approving new development projects.
There are many tourism areas in the country that have been designated as
special tourism development zones under recent national policy, including
Phuket, and these zones attract development budgets from the government for
projects considered to be of long-term benefit to the local economies.
Under Mayor Itthipol, Pattaya City has applied to be categorized as a
special zone, and would consequently receive special funding for specific
developments.
The two main projects to date are the Koh Phai Development and Design
Project, and the development of the useable area on the seafront in South
Pattaya. The latter would include the construction of a road, and a
department store and other buildings.
Itthipol said that the South Pattaya seafront project had been proposed
earlier, but had been rejected by Cabinet resolution in 2003. Pattaya City
now proposes to resubmit the project to the government, along with other
development projects that include a rail link from Suvarnabhumi Airport to
Pattaya City, and projects related to reservoir development to resolve the
perpetual lack of tap water.
However, said Itthipol, it is necessary to hear public opinion on these and
any subsequent projects, as there are fears that development would go ahead
that lacked sensitivity towards local interests.
The public hearings will be formalized, with the results sent to the
National Human Rights Commission for an announcement in the Gazette.
Disabled will continue to receive free equipment
Practical support for elderly, disabled, and underprivileged
Mayor Itthipol Khunplome
(standing center) and city officials will continue the city’s project of
donating equipment to support the disabled and the elderly.
Saksiri Uraiworn
Pattaya City is to distribute more equipment for the support of the
disabled and the elderly, continuing a policy that first began four years
ago.
A meeting was held on July 21 at Pattaya City Hall, chaired by Mayor
Itthipol Khunplome and including deputy mayors Wutisak Rermkitkarn and
Wattana Chantanawaranon.
National government policy places emphasis on local organizations providing
social welfare and social support for the disadvantaged.
Under the 2005 budget, Pattaya City distributed equipment to 163 disabled,
elderly, and lower income people. In 2006, equipment was presented to 160
people and in 2007 to 224 people. In 2008, 215 cases have been administered.
This has included distribution of 203 pairs of eyeglasses, and another 20
pairs from the Hor Waen Glasses Store, totaling 223 pairs. In addition, nine
wheelchairs, one four-stand walking frame and two three-stand walking aids
have been distributed.
Mayor Itthipol said that Pattaya City policy is to continue with practical
support for improving the quality of life for elderly, disabled, and
underprivileged people.
Six months old baby trapped in car
Automatic sensor triggered locking mechanism
Patcharapol Panrak
A six-month-old baby was locked inside a car for 30 minutes during
the morning of July 17 when the automatic sensor triggered the locking
mechanism.
 Cheapchai
hugs his daughter after she was safely extricated from his car.
The baby’s father, 37-year-old Cheapchai Mahachanawong of Plutaluang
Sub-district, had put the child in a baby seat on the rear passenger seat
while he drove his mother-in-law to Sattahip Market.
Cheapchai parked the car in front of the Navy police box at Ban Na Road and
slammed the car door shut. The sensor automatically locked the car door.
Military police arranged for a locksmith, Thongpon Mingpornsakun from the
Mitcharoenyon shop in Sattahip Market to break into the car, a Honda Civic.
As the baby, a girl named Sirinda, cried and her father and anxious
onlookers watched, Thongpon managed to open the door after 30 minutes and
the child was released.
Cheapchai said that if he had been in an area where there was no locksmith,
he would have broken the window get his child out.
Chinese students view turtle egg hatching on Koh Kram
Young Chinese students,
birthday cake at the ready, watch turtles being hatched from eggs incubated
within a Royal Thai Navy turtle conservation project.
Patcharapol Panrak
Students from China visited Koh Kram on July 16 to see turtles being
hatched from eggs that are incubated there under a Royal Thai Navy turtle
conservation project.
The Royal Navy Civil Affairs Department invited the youngsters, who were
from secondary schools and high schools in the eight Chinese cities of
Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Kunming, Chengdu, Xiamen, Xian City and
Nanning, along with members of the Chinese media and Thai students from
Singsamut School and Chitralada School.
A total of 120 people boarded HTMS Pattani to go to Koh Kram, which is an
island in the military security zone.
The young visitors were intrigued to watch the turtle eggs hatching, as they
had never seen this before. In fact, many of them had never seen the ocean,
and traveling to the island on board a warship, watching how the sailors
worked, all added to the excitement.
The students were in Pattaya under Thailand’s Friends of Youth net project.
This works in cooperation with the Thai consulates in eight cities, each of
which sent youngsters to Thailand on this occasion.
The objective of the visit to Thailand was to support and exchange
relationships between the youth in the two countries.
City will celebrate HM the Queen’s birthday with parade
Celebrations to be held at Bali Hai Pier
Vimolrat Singnikorn
An organizers’ meeting was held on July 22 in the Thappraya
conference room at Pattaya City Hall to decide on the celebrations to be
held for the birthday of Her Majesty the Queen on August 12.
 Deputy
Mayor Wattana Chantanawaranon urges people to wear blue on August 12.
Chaired by Deputy Mayor Wattana Chantanawaranon, the meeting was attended by
representatives of Pattaya schools and the 27 Pattaya communities.
Wattana said that the celebrations would retain the same pattern as the
previous year and be centered on Bali Hai Pier.
A parade will start at 5 p.m. from the Royal Garden Plaza, with participants
including representatives of government departments, private organizations,
and local associations. The parade would pass along Walking Street and end
at Bali Hai Pier, where representatives will place floral trays in front of
an image of Her Majesty.
Pattaya City has asked everyone taking part in the celebrations to either
wear blue shirts, the traditional color for Her Majesty, or to wear their
official uniforms.
Police raid South Pattaya gay bar
Police raided the Dude Bar on
Soi Bonkot for operating after hours.
Boonlua Chatree
Moving on a tip that a gay bar in South Pattaya was operating after
hours, police raided the Dude Bar on Soi Bonkot at 3 a.m. on July 25.
The raid was a coordinated effort between the Tourist Police, led by Pol.
Lt. Col. Suwan Un-anan, and Pattaya Police, led by Superintendent Pol. Col.
Nopadol Wongnom. Nearly two dozen police officers and tourist police
volunteers took part in the raid.
Inside, business was booming, both literally and metaphorically. Over 200
men, women, and women of the second category, Thai and foreign, were dancing
to loud music, whilst a nude “coyote man” was dancing on stage.
Police immediately ordered the music stopped and lights turned on, whilst a
murmur of “raid” wafted through the crowd. All customers were required to
show their ID cards and submit to a urine test for drugs.
Twenty partygoers were unable to present their I.D. cards, and around 10
people tested positive for drugs. These folks were detained for further
legal proceedings.
Police tracked down and detained the bar manager and ran a check on the
pub’s license. Police learned that a 50 year old woman named Atchara Tamaput
from Nongprue Sub-district, Banglamung was the registered owner of the bar.
She was of course not present during the raid.
The bar manager was arrested for allowing the bar to remain open after legal
operating hours.
American denies charges of molesting 5-year-old girl
Boonlua Chatree
Pattaya police have arrested an American man on charges of committing lewd
acts with a five-year-old girl, accusations that the man is vigorously
denying.
Miss Orn-anong Promtho, 21, a resident of Chachoengsao filed a report with
the police at 10 p.m. on July 18 to say that a foreign man who was taking
care of her young daughter at a house in Moo Baan Rungland had been sexually
abusing the child and was refusing to give her back.
Pattaya Police Station superintendent Pol Col Nopadol Wongnom along with Pol
Lt Col Somchai Ruenthawin, deputy superintendent of investigation led a team
of officers to the address, where they were met outside the house by Lynwood
Elmer Vinum, a 72-year-old resident of California. Vinum refused to let the
police in to see the girl, but he did allow the mother inside the take the
girl away. He was then taken to Pattaya Police Station for questioning.
Orn-anong said that about two months previously, she and her five-year-old
daughter had been sitting on Pattaya Beach. Vinum had come up to them and
started a conversation. He said he felt sympathetic to their circumstances
and said he would help take care of the girl and support her education.
Orn-anong had accepted. Later, she said, she discovered an injury to the
girl’s vagina. Allegedly, Vinum had bound the girl’s wrists and been
sexually intimate with her.
Vinum is denying the charges and said he would issue a statement in court.
Transvestite out
on bail arrested for theft
Theerarak Suthatiwong
An Omani tourist had his valuables grabbed by a transvestite during
the night of July 18, but a police alert resulted in a patrol seizing the
woman of the third category shortly afterwards.
 Victim
Mohmad Hamad points to the katoey kamoey and the loot he/she stole from him.
Pattaya Police Station received a report at 2:30 a.m. on July 18 saying that
a thief had stolen property in a hotel located close to Thappraya Road in
South Pattaya.
Officers went to the scene where they found Mohmad Hamad, a 43-year-old Oman
national waiting for them. He told the police that he had met a very
beautiful eyed and sexy person standing under the Thappraya bridge. He asked
her to come to his room to have sex. However, he realized that the lady was
a transvestite when he/she took off his/her clothes, so he asked him/her to
leave his room. The ladyboy grabbed Hamad’s watch and money before running
away.
The officers put out a radio call with a description of the thief, and a
police patrol picked him up on Pattaya Third Road, across from Soi Lengki.
He was identified as Worachai Thairattanakul, 22, of Udon Thani Province.
The property of his victim was still in his possession. Checking Worachai’s
file, police discovered he was involved in a drug case and was out on bail.
He has now had theft added to his list of charges.
Man arrested for
impersonating police officer
Boonlua Chatree
A man has been arrested for impersonating a police officer and
demanding money from people.
Pattaya Police Station received a complaint in the early hours of July 19,
stating that a man claiming to be a police officer was trying to extort
bribes from residents of Yailo Village, at Soi Khopai.
 Ya
ba addict Pairee Puthkhuntod has been arrested for impersonating a police
officer to extort money for his habit.
The man was apprehended at the entrance to Yailo Village and identified as
Pairee Puthkhuntod, 26, of Chaiyaphum. Police found in his possession a pair
of handcuffs and an imitation gun. He was taken for questioning to Pattaya
Police Station.
Pairee said that he was a user of ya ba and needed at least three pills each
day, which cost him 600 baht. He was trying to raise the money when he was
arrested. Police gave him a drugs test and his urine tested positive. He was
charged with narcotics use, and investigations are being made concerning his
impersonating a police officer and using threatening behavior.
Tourists and residents complain over beach project
The city’s 50 million baht
small park project along
the beach was abandoned after just 1 year.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
More than a few tourists and residents are complaining that Pattaya
City has wasted the 50 million baht spent on the Pattaya Beach improvement
project.
A little over two years ago, the city created a 50 million baht budget to
rejuvenate the scenery along the beach, and to make the beach into a
sustainable selling point. Many trees were planted and old quality sand was
brought in to stem erosion and to make the beach more scenic.
Officials in charge of the project stated that the aim was to make a
beautiful small park along the 3 kilometer stretch of beach, with trees and
a variety of architectural artworks, and to adjust the sloping beach with
sand.
After getting off to a good start in April 2006, the project was abandoned
after just one year. The neglect is showing.
Now, the installed sand is gone, the ground along the promenade has dried
up, and many of the trees cut so far back they are dying.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh has said that the city is now receiving
complaints about the deteriorating conditions along the beach and promenade.
Ronakit said that he will work with Mayor Itthipol Khunplome to appoint
officials from the Civil Works Department and the Public Works Department to
tackle the problem. He said the city has enough official resources to
maintain the area, but admitted the budget is now limited.
Ronakit also plans to work with the beach umbrella entrepreneurs to help the
government sector in monitoring the situation.
Fire aboard tourist
boat causes it to sink
Passengers swim to safety
Theerarak Suthatiwong
An engine room spark caused a fire aboard the J.C. Hunter, a tourist
dive boat moored off Koh Rin. The 19 tourists, along with the crew and tour
guides, managed to escape without injury, most by swimming to the nearby
island.
Officials from the Pattaya City Sea Rescue Center received the mayday call
at 1 p.m. July 24. A medium-sized rescue boat, two lifeboats, firefighting
equipment and rescuers were dispatched to the scene, approximately 17
nautical miles from Pattaya shores.
Arriving at the scene, rescuers could see smoke pouring out of the windows
of the double-decker vessel. Most of the American, Russian and French
tourists had already abandoned ship and swum to shore. Some of the tourists
had initially tried to help extinguish the fire, but fears mounted that the
fire would cause the gas tank to explode.
The remaining crew members hurriedly transferred the diving equipment and
valuables to the rescue boat.
Rescuers spent over half an hour spraying water to control the flames, and
eventually brought the blaze under control, but unfortunately the boat sank.
Apisak Thianthong, captain of the vessel, told rescuers that he had picked
up the passengers at Bali Hai pier and brought them for a diving excursion
to the beautiful coral reef around Koh Rin. He said that once the divers
were in the water, the engine room caught fire. The blaze spread rapidly, he
said.
Damages to the boat and equipment were initially estimated to be 300,000
baht. The sunken boat has been brought to shore for repairs, but the
equipment inside has been completely destroyed.
Passengers and crew escaped
injury when the J.C. Hunter caught fire and sank.
Samaesarn residents
celebrate Asalaha Bucha
in unconventional way
Patcharapol Panrak
Residents of the Samaesarn district of Sattahip celebrate Asalaha
Bucha Day and the beginning of Buddhist Lent in a somewhat unusual way. Most
of the religious ceremony is performed in a tradition Buddhist manner, but
at the end of the Wien Thien (walking three times around the temple with
candles and joss sticks in hand), followers then pass through an archway
created to resemble Rahu’s mouth. This is done to remove their bad luck.
 Followers
in Samaesarn emerge from Rahu’s mouth as part of the Asalaha Bucha Day
celebrations in Sattahip.
In Buddhism Rahu is one of the terror-inspiring gods, responsible for
eclipses.
The ceremony took place at 8 p.m. on July 17; the waxing moon in the eighth
lunar month for this year. The event, held at Wat Chong Samaesarn in
Sattahip, drew people from all over the area who had come to make merit,
listen to the Dharma (Buddha’s teaching), pray, receive the five precepts,
listen to a sermon from Buddhist monks, worship the Tripitaka, and to
perform the Wien Thien.
This day and performing the Wien Thien is important for Buddhists the world
over because it was on this day over 2500 years ago that people assembled to
listen to Lord Buddha give his first sermon. Its core theme was for humans
to lead a life of virtue, to do all kinds of good deeds, to refrain from all
kinds of wickedness, and to purify one’s mind by observing the precepts and
meditating in order to reach enlightenment.
Phra Kru Visart Sutakorn, Abbot of Wat Chong Samaesarn, recited the Dharma
and sprinkled holy water to bless the faithful.
The ceremonial walking out of Rahu’s mouth is performed at the end of the
Wien Thien so that believers can get rid of misfortune, superstition, black
magic, red magic, and 108 black lovers magic.
According to local followers, the ceremony will be most effective when those
who practice it dedicate themselves to the Lord Buddha, or pray to the Lord
Buddha, stating that that they will decrease and eventually cease to breach
the 5 precepts. Those who practice this must have kindness, mercy, and must
rejoice with fellow countrymen. They must not exploit or molest other
creatures on this planet, must pray to get rid of evil both physically and
mentally, and must pray to invite the Lord Buddha to give them health and
triumph over evil.
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