Students from the Redemptorist School and Pattaya School #7
plant trees with YWCA members and museum staff.

Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Doing their bit to help reduce global warming, YWCA staff and students, including some from the Redemptorist School for the Blind, planted trees at the Royal Thai Navy base near the new Natural Thai Sea and Island Museum in Sattahip.
Nittaya Patimasongkroh, president of YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya, along with its management team, the Christian Association of Pattaya, teachers, volunteers, 10 students from Redemptorist Pattaya and 48 students from Pattaya City School #7 traveled to plant trees and celebrate the Valentine season.
Nittaya said that YWCA has worked with Pattaya School #7 for a while already to plant trees to build awareness in the teenagers of the importance of protecting nature and reducing global warming.
Not stopping at planting the trees, the energetic students also went on to remove rubbish from the beach.
Following the advice of His Majesty the King on the best trees to plant, 200 Kong Kang trees (“water spinach,” which grows well in water and is a close relative of the morning glory), 10 Trakul trees (a hardwood tree) and 5 Jamjuree trees (aka rain tree, monkey pod tree, and cow tamarind tree), which grow fast and are easy to take care of, were planted in three acres of land by the young conservationists, including some blind students.
The new Natural Thai Sea and Island Museum in Sattahip is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed on Mondays and public holidays).

Burglars steal from policeman

Theerarak Suthathiwong
Pattaya Police arrested two petty thieves who stole household goods and pet dogs, including those belonging a to a policeman, to sell to an owner of a struggling pawnshop.

The miscreants were caught with stolen goods and kidnapped animals.

Pol. Lt-Col. Chanaphat Nawalak of the Pattaya Police Station questioned Sathaporn and Komsan on February 18 who police accused of going around to break into houses and stealing motorbikes from department store parking lots.
Police said their latest crime was to break into the house of Pol. Sen. Sgt-Maj. Ratchapon Khumthong, 40, Chief of Protection and Prevention for Community Relations, in Nongprue.
Burglars in fact took hi-fi sets and equipment that Pattaya police were using for community relations work.
Armed with a warrant, police then searched a shop located in a three-story building and found owner Pratchaya “Jack” Kiankaew, 27 years old, asleep inside.
Police said they found an assorted haul of stolen goods, including a Siberian husky, a Chihuahua, two electrical appliances, two desktop computers, a computer monitor, a golf bag with clubs, a hi-fi set, two DVD players, and cell phones.
According to police, Pratchaya said that he had purchased the stolen items from the burglars.
He allegedly told Sathaporn to look for a foreign breed of dog, because he wished to look after one. Sathaporn didn’t disappoint by stealing for him “Tan” the Siberian and “Dang” the Chihuahua from the Nai Khun Restaurant.
Police said Pratchaya paid 3,000 baht for the stolen dogs and said the reason he was purchasing stolen property was that there were no ordinary customers at the pawnshop and it had nearly become bankrupt.
Investigating officer Pol. Maj. Chalermsak Thianthongsri said that the accused were from a large gang suspected to be involved in at least 10 crimes.
Police are contacting victims to help identify the alleged burglars and to claim their property.

Kuwaiti held for child sex and drugs

Boonlua Chatree
A Kuwaiti man was arrested allegedly for forcing a boy to consume drugs then sexually abusing him.
Pol. Lt-Col. Teerawat Numanit of Tourist Police Division 2 and Pol. Lt-Col. Paisal U-domdechchairat of Crime Suppression 1 headed a police team to arrest Abrahim M. Y. Alnasrallah, 46, at a hotel on Petchtrakul Road on February 12.

The abused points to the accused, with the confiscated drugs on display.

Police charged him with using drugs and sexually abusing a boy of 14.
According to police, when they arrived the boy, who was drugged and had bruises on his face, was shouting for help. The accused tried to run to his car to escape but was caught.
Police said they found eight ya ba pills, four grams of ya ice, six tubes of dry pressed marijuana in a clear plastic bag, 50,000 baht in cash and drug equipment which were all seized as evidence.
The boy said that the suspect offered 1,000 baht to have sex with him in the hotel room. But once in the room the man forced him to take drugs and beat him.
He allegedly did this before sexually abusing the boy, causing him a lot of pain and so he shouted for help.
Police said Alnasrallah confessed that the drugs belonged to him, bought for his own personal use. He allegedly told the police that he paid the boy each time after having sex but denied that he had forced him to take drugs.
The man was detained at the Pattaya Police Station for further investigation.

Ferrari gift burns beyond recognition

Firemen extinguish the last bit of fire on what’s left of the new Ferrari.

Boonlua Chatree
A politician’s son and his movie-star companion had to run for their lives when their Valentine’s Day’s gift of a red Ferrari burst into flames and burned beyond recognition on Sukhumvit Road. The auto, worth 12 million baht, was on its maiden drive.
Loung Pasu Lipatapallop, a well-known politician’s son and society personality, was driving movie star Apitsada “Ice” Kruakongka in the sports car given to him by his parents, Suwat and Lt-Gen. Phoonpirom Lipatapallop. It became engulfed in fire in front of the Agriculture and Technology College in Sattahip on February 14.
A Na Jomtien Municipal fire engine put out the blaze while the shaken couple looked on, but the car was completely destroyed.
Pasu had the unpleasant task of phoning his father to report that his special gift for the day had burned up on its first drive.
As the identity of the couple became known, more and more onlookers gathered at the scene. Reporters arrived at the same time as firemen.
The expensive wreck was towed to the Na Jomtien Police Station.
Detch Seelom, 48, said that he was riding his motorbike behind the Ferrari traveling from Pattaya when he saw the car slow down and park on the left hand side of the road. He said he noticed fire emanating from the rear of the vehicle.
Driver Pasu got out of the car, grabbed a bottle of water and poured it on the engine, which then exploded with a loud bang.

Transvestite sex workers rob French tourist

Police put the felonious transvestites on display.

Boonlua Chatree
Pattaya Tourist Police arrested two transvestites for allegedly working together to steal a digital camera from a French tourist while engaged in sex, with one accomplice hiding under the bed to steal from the tourist.
Pol. Col. Krit Warit, commander of Tourist Police Division 2, led police to hunt transvestites after a French tourist declared that he was robbed on February 12.
Alexis Amborse Bliki, 47, told Tourist Police that he had paid for sex at the Sabailand apartment complex on Soi Sukhumvit 75 but had a digital camera valued at 30,000 baht stolen from him by a katoey.
After Bliki could identify suspects from police photos, police grabbed Thongsuk Thositha, 27, from Chonburi, and Traipob Kinagkham, 25, from Chiang Rai, at the start of the soi where the apartment was.
According to police, Thongsuk rode a motorcycle to look for customers while his accomplice Traipob hid under the bed in the room. He found Bliki who agreed to pay 500 baht for sex back in the room.
Police said after having sex the katoey took the victim into the bathroom when his friend appeared from under the bed, stole the camera and sneaked out. The tourist could not blame the transvestite because they were in the bathroom together when the camera vanished.
Police said the two accused needed money to buy ya ba. The stolen camera was pawned at the Hollywood pawn shop for 11,000 baht where police were able to track it down and retrieve it for the Frenchman.
According to police, both “women-of-the-second-category” tested positive for narcotics and were charged with stealing and using ya ba.

Arabian stabs boyfriend

Theerarak Suthatiwong
An Arabian man allegedly stabbed his Pattaya boyfriend in the neck causing serious injury, apparently from jealousy from a homosexual love triangle.
Pol. Lt-Col. Pratheep Thongdee of Pattaya Police Station was called to Pattaya Public Park on Thappraya Hill at 10.50 p.m. on February 15 with other police officers and Sawang Boriboon Foundation rescuers.
The scene was a poorly-lit secluded area where they found Wittaya Talakham, 26, lying in a pool of blood with a 15-cm long cut in his neck. Prakob Manram, 25, his partner was tending him closely.
The rescuers administered first aid before transferring him to Pattaya Memorial Hospital. They said the attacker was a foreigner who had already escaped.
Prakob told police that he worked at a go-go bar and that he had lived with his partner Wittaya for four years.
He said he received a phone call from Wittaya telling him that Wahim, surname unknown from the Middle East who owned a laundry shop, had fallen in love with Wittaya some time ago.
Wahim set up an appointment with Wittaya to resolve their love problems but the meeting ended with Wahim allegedly stabbing Wittaya in the neck, apparently out of anger and jealousy.

US & Thai military practice amphibious landing

Patcharapol Panrak
The Cobra Gold Military Exercise between Thai and US marines at Had Yao in Sattahip sent amphibious vehicles and foot soldiers on to the beach to simulate a shoreline attack on enemy territory.
On February 16 Admiral Supakorn Buranadilok, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Fleet, Vice-Admiral Suwit Thararoop, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Marine Corps, Lt-Gen. Keith J. Stalder, Commander of the US Pacific Marines, and other Thai and US military officers watched the amphibious landing.
The Thai contingent consisted of the HTMS Si Chang with one regiment of 170 marines, eight amphibious assault vehicles (AAV) and three helicopters.
The US contingent consisted of USS Essex, USS Harpers Ferry, two hovercrafts, eight helicopters, two attack aircrafts, one marine regiment of 170 troops and 12 amphibious vehicles.
It was part of this year’s Cobra Gold 2009 exercise.
Adm. Supakorn said that this amphibious exercise was training for real situations which will increase the troops’ abilities and efficiency in working together, exchanging knowledge and experience between the countries’ armed forces.

Military forces storm the shore at Sattahip.

Answer lies in Cobra’s blood

Marines learn how to catch a live cobra with their bare hands.

Patcharapol Panrak
While learning forest survival skills, soldiers involved in Cobra Gold 2009, the joint military exercise between Thai and US marines, were told the benefits of drinking the blood of the cobra.
American Marines were told that drinking cobra’s blood and preserving its body in alcohol to drink promotes good health, warmth in cold countries, and it improves virility and sexual performance.
Commander Pithan Vienkuntod, deputy PR chief of Cobra Gold 09, took the media along on February 16 to observe how the military is trained to survive in the wild. The training took place at the Marine Training Center in Sattahip.
Commander Rerngraj Uttisen of the training center was in charge of teaching the survival techniques.
Water and food supplies may run out so it is crucial to train soldiers to find food and water from nature. This includes learning which plants and animals are suitable to sustain life, he said.
The marines were also taught how to catch a cobra with their bare hands, and drink its blood.
According to Thai traditional belief, snake’s blood is meant to improve blood circulation and help the drinker keep warm in cold weather. Its alleged powers to improve sexual capability would no doubt be a desired side effect.
The demonstration went safely for the snake handler, if not for the cobra.

Thai, U.S. Marines conduct aerial delivery training

Lance Cpl. Daniel A. Flynn
U.S. Marines with Combat Logistics Regiment 3 and Royal Thai Marines conducted bilateral aerial delivery training in Utapao Feb. 8 during Exercise Cobra Gold 2009.

A Royal Thai Marine jumps from a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 during bilateral aerial delivery training Feb. 8 as part of Exercise Cobra Gold 2009 in Utapao.

The training was centered around transporting cargo and personnel via aircraft and inserting both from the sky into a desired location on the ground.
The aircraft, a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130, made several passes in order to drop the entire load of cargo, including Royal Thai and U.S. Marines. The parachutes holding the cargo dropped first, and then the personnel jumped during the aircraft’s subsequent passes.

Three Royal Thai Marines float to the ground while conducting a low level static line jump from a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 during bilateral aerial delivery training Feb. 8.
Before the Thai and U.S. Marines were permitted to make the jump, they were required to undergo pre-jump training and gear checks as a precautionary measure to ensure that everything was as safe as possible, said Jacob E. Plants, a jump master with 3d Reconnaissance Battalion, 3d Marine Division.
Two different types of jumps were practiced, the low level static line jump and the free fall jump.
“If you have a smaller drop zone, you would want to use a free fall jump, because you have more control,” said Plants.
The first jumpers of the day were six Thai Marines followed by about six U.S. Marines, who all did the low level static line jump.
After the 12 personnel were safely on the ground, the aircraft increased its altitude and several more Thai Marines jumped using the free fall method.
The aircraft then made one more pass to allow a tandem jump, which consists of a professional jumper exiting the aircraft with another person strapped to him with a harness.
“This training has two purposes - it allows us to practice air delivery and allows [Marines] to practice proficiency in jumping,” said 1st Lt. Colin A. Graham, air delivery detachment officer in charge, CLR-3.
This type of training gives Marines the knowledge they need to do this in a combat environment, added Plants. “We can rig just about anything up and drop it out of a plane,” he said in reference to real world applications for this training.
Plants said he believes the Marines really enjoy the bilateral training. “They are always excited and professional,” he said.

Gunnery Sgt. Jeffrey Schultz, a tandem master with Training and Education Command based in Quantico, Va., and 1st Colin A. Graham, air delivery detachment officer in charge, Combat Logistics Regiment 3, are about to touch down after completing a tandem jump during Exercise Cobra Gold 2009.