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New Chonburi
governor starts work
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The new governor of Chonburi, Surapon Pongtadsirikun is taking up
his new job with energy. He recently outlined how he would continue the
policies of the previous governor at his first meeting at Pattaya City Hall
on October 28 where he was welcomed by Pattaya Mayor Itthipol Khunplome.
 Surapon
Pongtadsirikun, new governor of Chonburi, outlines his provincial
development strategy.
He said he would concentrate on the four main policy issues for provincial
development: traffic, narcotics, the environment and security, by continuing
strategies of former governor, Pracha Taerat.
His first priorities are the traffic problems and transport logistics
because Chonburi is growing rapidly.
Laem Chabang Port, as a hub for domestic and international shipping, for
example, doesn’t have adequate road infrastructure and this frequently
causes traffic jams.
Therefore there needs to be cooperation with associated organizations to
solve the traffic problem. The National Economic and Social Advisory Council
(NESAC) has studied this issue and will submit its findings to Cabinet, he
said.
 Mayor
Itthipol Khunplome (left) welcomes Governor Surapon Pongtadsirikun to
Pattaya.
The drug problem appears to be spreading in the province and will require
strict enforcement of the law.
Regarding the environment, garbage disposal remains a problem as there are
not many suitable places to bury it. This requires cooperation with local
administration such as the sub-districts and Pattaya City to plan for the
future together.
The consumption of water is too high and Chonburi doesn’t have water
resources to adequately supply it. In the event of a drought the public and
factories will go short. New ways will need to be found to increase our
water resources, he said.
Surapon said the emphasis on providing security of life and property for
tourists and residents in Pattaya continues as before. It will be done in
consultation with the Mayor of Pattaya and combined patrols of military and
police officers and volunteers will continue as before.
Noise pollution
worries council
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Complaints by residents about noise pollution in Pattaya occupied much of
the discussion of the city council meeting on October 20 at Pattaya City
Hall, with city administration being asked to look into the problem.
 Mayor
Itthipol Khunplome.
Councilor Somchai Chaona questioned the administration about managing the
noise problems caused in particular by shops making furniture, mirror,
curved steel, and karaoke restaurants, against which he had received many
complaints.
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay answered by saying that it is the
responsibility of the city’s Public Health Department whose officials have
already started to check into the problem after receiving complaints.
He said some of those businesses have obtained permits and some have not. If
they are found to be causing noise pollution, they will be told to rectify
the situation within 7 days, or be fined 2,000 baht.
Residents can notify about noise pollution either to the office of the mayor
or the 1337 Call Center 24 hours a day.
Councilor Sanit Boonmachai asked whether the city’s procedure for granting
construction permits was working well and able to keep up with ensuring that
all additional buildings and parking spaces were adequately controlled.
In his answer Mayor Itthipol Khunplome outlined at length the procedure for
obtaining a construction permit.
This starts with a written application to the Engineering Office at Pattaya
City Hall. Then the zone supervisor will examine the area in order to
present it to the chief of city planning. Then architects inspect the site
and plans accordingly to the Building Control Act.
The plan is then sent to the Construction Control Department, the director
of the Engineering Office, Pattaya’s city manager, and the mayor, who must
all sign their approvals. For buildings up to three levels, it takes 15 days
for consideration, 25 days for higher buildings.
Pattaya Council itself is then able to check these building approvals. The
city can give notice for an illegal building to be demolished within 45
days, the mayor said.
Bar owners warned
over license law
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Banglamung District Chief Mongkol Thamakittikhun warned bar owners to
strictly adhere to the legal requirements of their licenses or face tough
action. The statement was made at the monthly meeting of Beer Bar
Entrepreneurs Association on October 27 at Pattaya City Hall.
 Banglamung
District Chief Mongkol Thamakittikhun warns bar owners about the law.
He said the Public Entertainment Location Act 2509 (1966) prohibits all
narcotics, weapons, obscene shows and serving minors (under 20 years of age)
and specifies opening hours.
Mongkol said statistics on bar infringements and arrests showed that some
bar owners were still disregarding the law.
In the event of infringements, the owners will be punished according to the
law which will also affect the renewal of their licenses in the future, he
warned.
“All of the problems cannot be solved without cooperation from the
entrepreneurs,” he said.
The association also discussed international music copyrights and payment of
royalties with a representative from the JV MCT-Phonorights who was invited
to the meeting.
The main concern expressed was the delayed, incorrect payment and
non-payment of copyright royalties for music played in the bars to JV
MCT-Phonorights to pass on to composers, performers and owners of copyright
to the music used.
The problem, he said, is the non-payment of royalties or false accounting
provided by bar owners. This is in fact very difficult to verify and
prosecute in court on behalf of copyright owners because it is hard to
collect evidence.
Banglamung mourns
HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana
Vimolrat Singnikorn
As the nation prepares for the cremation of HRH Princess Galyani
Vadhana, the late beloved sister of HM the King, in the capital on November
15, all Banglamung residents are also invited to burn wooden flowers on that
Saturday at the Photisamphan Temple.
 This
billboard is in front of city hall. The English translation is: “During the
period of the Royal Funeral for Princess Galyani between 14-16 November 2008
we would like your cooperation - all the services and entertainment venues
to stop or decrease any shows, performances and any entertainment, all
people please dress in a proper mourning attire.”
Mongkol Thamakittikhun, Banglamung district chief, met Mayor Itthipol
Khunplome and officials on October 30 at Pattaya City Hall to coordinate
arrangements for the funeral, which is being observed on the same day at the
same time all over the country.
The ceremony will start at 4.30 pm on November 15 for Banglamung mourners to
lay the wooden flowers at the same time as other temples throughout the
country.
At 10 pm everyone can join in national mourning as the grand cremation
ceremony gets underway at the Phra Men Grounds in Bangkok.
All residents are asked to wear black to mourn the passing of HRH the
Princess for three days from November 14 to 16 and to abstain from amusement
and social activities.
Government offices will fly flags at half-mast.
Wrong-colored
raincoat brings strife
Patcharapol Panrak
The day turned out badly for an elderly woman with an alias name
of Oy, a member of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), when she
forgot that the borrowed raincoat that she was wearing was the white
color of the opposition Thai Rak Thai Party and carried the symbol of
that party on the back.
 “Oy”,
keeping her face hidden, displays the rain jacket that caused her so
much grief at the market.
Oy said that she was visiting her sister in Plutaluang in Sattahip when
she borrowed the coat from her sister because it had begun to rain.
The coat was given to her sister by Thai Rak Thai Member of Parliament
for Rayong, Yongyos Arunwaetsaset. Oy registered that fact but thought
no more of it.
When she called into the Sattahip market on her way home, her mistake
was sharply brought to her attention by an elderly person pointing her
out and warning that “if you are with Taksin, you’d better hurry up and
leave the market or you’ll certainly get hurt.”
Oy’s defense that she was in fact with PAD cut no ice at all as a
hostile crowd of merchants and shoppers gathered around her.
Wisely Oy decided to avoid the storm and she hurried off on her
motorcycle, somewhat shaken.
But then the poor woman woefully reported that she had in fact fled from
“a tiger to meet a crocodile”.
While she was hurrying home on the highway, a car and a motorcycle
closely followed, the rider and driver yelling abuse at her. They even
tried to jostle her motorbike to force her off the road.
Shaking her head, Oy vowed to keep the raincoat as a symbol to remind
her of the way her beloved community could so clearly divide itself into
two fiercely opposing groups and of the fact that she nearly got into
strife by just wearing a raincoat of the “wrong” color.
Green krathongs ready to float
Staff reporters
“One krathong, one family, stop global warming” is the motto and
theme for this year’s much-anticipated traditional Loy Krathong
Festival, being prepared in Pattaya for November 12.
Mayor Ittiphol Khunplome and director of the Tourism Authority of
Thailand’s Region 3 Office, Niti Kongkrut on October 26 outlined plans
for the event which would “give a chance for visitors to admire Thai
culture and tradition.”
The event will be celebrated at the Lanpho Public Park in Naklua
starting at 12 noon. There will be a creative krathong contest, with the
stipulation that the krathongs be made of only natural materials. The
contest will be divided into categories for different age groups.
The evening will welcome popular singers Saeri Rungsawang, Pamela Bowden
and Janet Green who will be up on stage producing their entertaining
performances.
The second venue for the loy krathong festival will be at the Bali Hai,
starting at 5.30 pm where there will be booths arranged by the Dusit
Thani Hotel, along with Thai traditional performances such as the
Alcazar show.
The highlight of the event is the beauty teen pageant, “Nanok Phramad”
and the “Thepphabud dean phen” contest, the first ever to be held in
Pattaya and following this year’s green slogan.
As usual Loy Krathong this year will not be short of musical
entertainment, pageants, contests, booths and stalls and of course a
mountain of food and drinks.
Floats made from natural materials can be bought at the venues if you
don’t make your own and the festival will be fun and educational for
all.
For more information regarding contests and details of the event, you
can call: 038-253 220 or 038-38 253 231.
Navy rescues escapees from slave fishing boat
The stranded men huddle
together as their
rescuers arrive on the previously deserted island.
Patcharapol Panrak
The Royal Thai Navy dramatically rescued five Cambodian fishermen
stranded for four days on Rong Nang Island after they had jumped from a
fishing trawler to escape 8 months of slavery on board.
The men swam for some four hours through rough seas to the island and were
hungry and exhausted when rescued.
But for Ta, 25, Rat, 19, Rai, 25, Aun, 19 and Tee, 19, it was infinitely
better than being on the slave boat about which they have quite a story to
tell.
Ta, who could speak Thai, said he came from Rong Klua village, Poi Pet
District in Cambodia near Aranyaprathet Province.
He was deceived by a friend to come to work for a 4,000-baht salary in Samut
Prakarn but had to pay a 3,000-baht commission. At Samut Prakarn he found
himself going to work on a fishing boat, having paid an agent 5,000 baht in
advance.
He and his companions worked on the fishing boat at sea for 8 months without
being paid at all and without disembarking once.
Two accompanying boats instead transferred the seafood they caught to sell
on the coast in Samut Prakarn and at other ports.
Ta and the other four crew members said that they felt like they had been
imprisoned both physically and mentally. “To our families it must seem like
we had disappeared from the planet.”
Finally on October 25 at about 2 am, while their fishing boat was anchored
off the Samaesarn coast in Sattahip to transfer the catch to another
transport vessel, they decided to escape.
They packed their belongings in plastic bags with drinking water and jumped
off the boat. They struggled against strong wind and powerful waves for four
hours with Tee and Luen being weak swimmers.
They beached themselves on Rong Nang Island, north of Koh Juang and Koh Jan,
and survived for four days on fish, mussels and crabs, drinking freshwater
from rock pools.
The men vowed not to come back to work in Thailand again.
The First Royal Thai Fleet at the Sattahip Naval Base received the alert
from a Thai fishing boat owner who had spotted the men on the island. The
men waved to him but after realizing they were Cambodians he didn’t dare
help them because he thought it would be unlawful to do so.
The navy swung into action sending Capt Panom Kuanpradit, assistant director
of the Operations Department, Lt. Jg. Sutthipong Muadleg, captain of patrol
boat 212, and marines, launching their inflatable rubber speed boat to
rescue the stranded Cambodians.
Vice-Admiral Chaiwat Phookarat, commander of the First Royal Thai Fleet,
said the information given by rescued men was still not enough to identify
the fishing trawler which they could only say was captained by one “Jiang”
from Vientiane in Laos.
Royal walk-run rally
reaches Pattaya
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The Pattaya leg of the national circuit to carry the symbolic flag of unity
for “116 Days from National Mother’s Day to National Father’s Day” around
the country will be walked and run on city streets November 8 to 9.
 The
procession makes its way through Sattahip on its way to Pattaya.
Since August 12 and through to December 5, various events around the country
have been organized to commemorate the 116-day period spanning the birthday
of HM the Queen and HM the King.
The Office of the Prime Minister cooperated with Remote Sensing Television
in honor of His Majesty the King’s Foundation to continuously organize the
unity building project.
This involves a series of flag-carrying parades, led by leaders of each
region consisting of 76 provincial governors and heads of local
administrative associations, as a chance for the populace to join in to
demonstrate their love and loyalty to the monarchy.
On the first day Pattaya Mayor Itthipol Khunplome will receive the symbolic
flag from Hauyyai Sub-district at the Pattaya Indoor Stadium on Soi
Chaiyapruek at 9.30am. Then the walk-run parade will move from the stadium
along a set route to Pattaya City Hall.
En route the flag will be handed over from one section to another at Wat
Bunkanjanaram (Nong Pangkae), Big C in South Pattaya, the intersection in
South Pattaya on 3rd Road, and the Hanimoh intersection ending up at city
hall, a total distance of 13.8 kilometers.
The following day the symbolic flag parade will travel from Pattaya City
Hall on a designated road to the beginning of Soi Siam Country Club. The
walk-run parade proper then starts at 9.30 am to hand over to Nongprue
Municipality at the Pattaya Railway Station.
Fish vendor’s pocket picked
Patcharapol Panrak
A fish vendor in Sattahip market had 48,195 baht stolen from her
apron by a woman customer who took the money while the fish monger was
fetching the customer’s order for two red snappers on October 21.
 Plearnchai
reports the crime to Sattahip police.
Plearnchai Rod-ngern, 49, told Sattahip police that a woman of about her own
age, distinguished by a tooth protruding from her mouth and “hanging lips”,
distracted her attention for almost half an hour over her order for the
fish, sending the merchant and her 15-year-old son working at the shop back
and forth to the fish display.
Plearnchai found her money missing after the woman had left the market.
The customer was described as being in her forties, about 160 cm. tall, thin
with dark skin and wearing a flower-patterned red shirt with a collar and
black slacks.
Investigating officer Pol. Lt. Col. Nipon Pomsanam said an identity sketch
had been made of the suspect which will be used in the search. He said the
woman may be the same person identified in an earlier theft of 10,000 baht
from another merchant in the market.
He asked for anyone with information to contact Sattahip Police Station on
038-438183.
Meanwhile fish vendor Plearnchai rued the fact that she had lost 45,000 baht
for selling two red snappers plus the 195 baht the pickpocket had earlier
paid her for the fish that proved very expensive to her.
Transvestites steal
from under the bed
Boonlua Chatree
The “Under-the-Bed Transvestite Gang” appeared to have struck again
as an American man was robbed of more than $2000 allegedly by two
transvestite sex workers in Pattaya on the night of October 30.
 Suwan
(Pa) Kanha, 39, from Petchaboon Province has been arrested for theft.
Police later arrested Suwan (Pa) Kanha, 39, from Petchaboon Province, in
front of Mike Department store on Pattaya 2nd Road but her alleged
accomplice “Mamie” had disappeared with most of the money.
Police said Pol. Col. Noppadol Wongnom, Superintendent at the Pattaya Police
Station, and Pol. Sen. Sgt. Maj. Narin Yimpong, commander of the
investigation section of Pattaya Tourist Police, were on normal patrol at
3.30 am when they were asked for help by the American, Mark Adam Cottonham,
45.
He told police that while he was with a transvestite her accomplice, who was
hiding under the bed, cleaned out cash from his wallet and replaced it with
pieces of newspaper. Both then fled, heading in the direction of Wat
Chaimongkol.
Police and volunteer police officers gave chase and arrested Suwan. Among
her belongings police said they found pieces of newspaper cut to the size of
bank notes.
Police alleged that Suwan worked as a prostitute in the Walking Street area.
He/she solicited the American that night for sex in her room.
At the right time, Suwan signaled to Mamie to slip into the room and hide
under the bed to steal money and replace the cash in the wallet with
newspaper. They then divided the money and escaped separately.
Police said they knew of the “Under the Bed Transvestite Gang” because it
had committed this same crime many times, usually targeting foreign tourists
and using a room it had prepared.
Norwegian man stabbed
Boonlua Chatree
A Norwegian man was stabbed by four attackers, reportedly including
foreigners, at a house at the Pattaya Green Ville Village in Nongprue early
on October 23.
Police found Roar Nilsen, 29 from Bergen, lying in a pool of blood and being
cared for by a friend, Chutima Thongbut, 25, at the house. The injured was
rushed to hospital where his condition was reported as stable.
Chutima told police that attackers known to her, two foreign men and two
Thai women, broke into her house that night damaging a door. They used a
piece of sharp metal to stab Nilsen and fled.
Pol. Lt. Col. Saranpat Yotsombat, deputy superintendent of investigation in
Chonburi, said that police had warrants for the arrest of the suspects in
the attack if they did not come forward to report to police of their own
accord.
Pattaya police
trap ya ba “dealers”
Police show off their catch.
Boonlua Chatree
A Thai man and a Cambodian police officer were nabbed for allegedly dealing
in ya ba in a dramatic Pattaya police trap set in the early hours of October
22.
Banjerd (Jerd) Piemsin, 34, and Pisarn (Sa) Arn, 27, a policeman and former
driver for a Cambodian provincial governor and accused as being the main
supplier, are being held and charged for allegedly being in possession with
intent to sell 2,000 ya ba pills worth 200,000 baht.
A team of police, led by Pol. Col. Noppadon Wongnom, superintendent at the
Pattaya police station, first arrested the Thai, Banjerd, early on October
22 allegedly with 20 ya ba pills on him.
After questioning, the accused led police to a rendezvous point on Sukhumvit
Road at the beginning of Soi Siam Country Club, Nongprue Sub-district, and
all waited there for the delivery of more ya ba.
Police sprang their trap and pounced on the Cambodian Pisarn when he drove
up at about 1 a.m. in a black luxury car allegedly carrying 2000 ya ba
pills.
Police said Pisarn had a Thai wife and had been the driver for the governor
of Udonmeechai Province in Cambodia.
Because he did not earn enough for his family to live on, he resigned to
become a ya ba dealer delivering from Cambodia to Thai drug dealers, police
said.
Belgian dies under bridge
Theerarak Suthatiwong
A Belgian man died under the old harbor bridge on Pattaya Beach in front of
the entrance to Walking Street after drinking whisky with a Thai companion
on October 28.
Wanchana Kunsakorn, 29, from Pathumthani, told police that he met the
Belgian, identified as Ken Harold G Jones, 27, at 6 am of the same day who
was drunk and walking along the beach with a bottle of Thai whiskey in his
hand.
Jones invited Wanchana to join him for a drink and both went to lay on a mat
under the bridge to sleep. Waking up in the afternoon, Wanchana discovered
that the Belgian was dead and alerted police.
Pol. Maj. Suriya Wariwong from the Pattaya police station and Sawang
Boriboon Foundation rescuers went to investigate.
They found the dead man lying face up on a mat wearing a long-sleeved white
shirt, jeans, without shoes. He had a tattoo of a dragon on his body and
there was no evidence of a struggle. Police estimated that he had been dead
for about three hours.
Next to the body was an empty bottle of Thai whisky, with a 40% alcohol
content, and a violet bag containing a wallet with 100 baht in it and
identification papers.
The body was sent to the Forensic Institute at Royal Thai Police Hospital
for autopsy and the Belgian Embassy was informed.
Korean War dead honored
Gen. Pichit Kulawanit, Privy
Councilor lays
a wreath on Korean War Remembrance Day.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Thai military deaths in the Korean War of 1947 were remembered and
honored on Korean War Remembrance Day, October 22.
 The
military remembers its fallen soldiers.
Gen. Pichit Kulawanit, Privy Councilor representing His Majesty the King,
laid a wreath at Korean War veterans monument at the 21st Infantry Regiment
at the Nawamin Rachinee Army Camp in Chonburi Province.
A total of 136 Thai military lost their lives in the war: 130 from the Army,
four from the Navy and two from the Air Force.
Asked by the United Nations for military support from its membership
countries to fight North Korea, Prime Minister Field Marshal Por (Plaek)
Pibulsongkram promptly responded and Thailand was the first country to send
troops in answer to the international call to arms.
The 21st combat regiment joined the UN forces, departing on October 22, 1950
by ship to perform its duty and finally achieving victory. The Korean War
monument was built at the camp to remember the participation and the
sacrifices of the regiment.
Politics force
Bangkokians to seaside
Boonlua Chatree
Clouds over our sea appear to have a silver lining.
Bangkokians in their tens of thousands are crowding Pattaya and Bangsaen
beaches, it seems, for some much-needed lower-stress respite from the
political protests in the capital city.
They are crowding the beach-front places, noticeably making the beaches much
busier than usual at this time of year and spending an estimated 10 million
baht a day. This is much-needed revenue in the seaside towns which were
previously struggling with fewer foreign tourists.
When asked, the local tourists said they didn’t know where to go in Bangkok
to escape the troubles. Even shopping malls are “full of confusion.”
They said that they worry about their safety because every location in
Bangkok has been affected by the political crisis. Therefore, they had to
find the most comfortable location to spend their vacation so choose to come
to Chonburi.
“This is because children are able to swim in the sea at Bangsaen. It is
clean during this season and the sea is full and wind is not so strong,”
said one refugee from the capital.
Signs on the beaches are good everywhere with hotels and businesses on the
beach being again crowded with large numbers of both foreign and Thai
tourists. Many family groups are visiting.
Boat operators in particular are happy, as boat rentals are well-booked to
travel out to offshore islands.
Traffic police from the Pattaya police station said they were doing their
best to cope with the influx. Municipal administrations are also monitoring
regulations to control the price and quality of food.
Pattaya rushes for gold
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Steep falls in share markets and uncertainties in international finances are
filling the shops of gold merchants in Pattaya as ordinary people rush to
invest in the safer haven of the yellow metal.
 Gold
shop owner Nittaya Patimasongkroh.
But the gold market itself is also buffeted by the world’s financial storms,
fluctuating the local price of gold price as many as two or three times a
day, which also leads many Pattaya residents to buy and sell for profit.
Often in the lively local gold rush, the supply of gold bars falls short of
demand, forcing shops to use a reservation-ticket system and placing a limit
of a 10-baht weight in gold per buyer.
Mostly so far the price of gold has dropped from $900 to $750 an ounce, or
down to 11,000 baht per 15.244 grams (one-baht weight in gold) from about
14,000 baht, within the last 30 days.
This was the direct result of gold flooding the international markets as
international gold reserves are being sold by central authorities in the US,
Europe and China to raise money to strengthen the US dollar and other
currencies and bail out financial institutions in trouble.
“The price of gold has significantly changed because it is being sold too
much in the international market place causing the supply to be more than
the peoples’ demand,” said Nittaya Patimasongkroh, owner of Thanthong gold
shop.
However, it’s different locally, often causing the paper price of gold (on
the stock market) to be somewhat different than the physical price. “People
no longer trust the financial institutions and they have changed their
investment to gold,” she said.
She said most buyers want gold bars because they can be traded easily
through the same shops which buy them back. Shops are charging 100 baht in
commission for each baht-weight sold, so, for example, selling a bar for
14,500 baht and buying it back for 14,400 baht or at whatever the prevailing
price.
Because of the shortage of gold bars, some buyers have to settle for gold
chains or other ornaments which can also be traded but at less favorable
prices and profit margins, she said.
Seminar urges better
child protection
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The benefits of the Child Protection Act of 2003 to safeguard the rights and
welfare of children were explained at a three-day seminar at the
Redemptorist Vocational School for the Disabled in Pattaya from October 20
to 22.
 Participants
interact at the seminar on Child Protection Act.
Organized by the Children and Family Shelter of Ubon Ratchathani Province
and the Father Ray Foundation, the seminar outlined details of the act to 23
participants representing groups and associations in Pattaya and Banglamung.
Wisit Poldok, with other staff from the Shelter present, also explained
others laws covering youth, including labor laws.
He said the aim child protection act, which came into force in March 2004,
was to create “an understanding, knowledge and goals to support and protect
children.”
He said that the seminar provided a good opportunity to discuss issues such
as minimum standard of provisions for child health, family support for child
development, mental health, appropriate entertainment for specific ages,
education about morality and self-reliance.
He urged that the task of providing these services and guidance for our
children is demanding and that the various support networks present should
aim to work together as effectively as they could.
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