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South Road gets
new parking rules
1,000 baht fines begin Oct. 1
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Fed up with parked and double-parked vehicles choking traffic on
South Pattaya Road, police will impose new “odd / even” rules starting Oct.
1 banning parking on alternating sides of the street.
 Pol.
Lt. Col. Pijet Sangsong.
Yellow and red curbs, signs and all other previous deterrents have not
stopped people from stopping vehicles pretty much anywhere they wanted on
the thoroughfare between Second and Third roads. It’s hoped the odd / even
system will finally allow traffic to flow smoothly in the area dominated by
Tukcom, Wat Chaimongkol and the Wat Chai Market.
Starting next week, parking on the south side of South Road will be banned
on even-numbered days from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Parking on the north side
will be forbidden during the same hours on odd-numbered days. New notices
and signs are currently being prepared.
Traffic inspector Lt. Col. Pijet Sangsong said officials are serious about
the new program and have set fines for parking violations at a steep 1,000
baht. Nine police officers have been assigned to patrol the newly regulated
area.
Plans simmer for
Vegetarian Festival 2009
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
For 10 days in October, creative vegetarian meals will again be on
the menu as Naklua hosts the annual Vegetarian Festival.
 Deputy
Mayor Wattana Chantanawaranon chairs the meeting to prepare for the
Vegetarian Festival 2009.
Vegetarian Festival 2009, to be held Oct. 17-27, is operated by Pattaya City
and the Sawang Boriboon Thamasathan Foundation. City and foundation
officials met Sept. 14 to work out the final details.
Deputy Mayor Wattana Chantanawaranon said the event will follow the recipe
of past festivals, except that this year the mass meal of fried noodles will
be changed to fried rice. The city intends to serve 4,999 people with the
999 kilograms of rice.
The celebration will also see a 1.5m light sculpture as well as a grand
dragon show at the entrance to the event.
Festivities kick off with a parade Oct. 17 at 12:29 p.m. starting at Bali
Hai Pier, progressing through Walking Street and then it will split, with
one procession following Beach Road and the other Second Road. Religious
ceremonies will also be held along the way until the parade concludes in
Naklua.
Chonburi students
learn about rabies; help vaccinate dogs
Rangsan Rawangsamrong,
Chonburi Livestock Development Department official, hopes the program will
prompt people to vaccinate their house pets.
Phasakorn Channgam
Sattahip school children received Thailand’s most in-depth ever
education into the impact of rabies on the country’s animal population as
part of a pre-World Rabies Day event sponsored by Chonburi Livestock
Development.
Up to 80 students from Chonburi Sukkhabot School participated in educational
classes, a parade and campaign to inform others about perils posed by rabies
and helped immunize and sterilize dogs and cats. The festivities were capped
Sept. 15 with a seminar for 1,500 school children led by Deputy Gov. Songpol
Champaphan.
Following the theme of “Animal Care for Community Morality,” the livestock
department began its rabies-eradication and education project Sept. 1 with a
two-day youth camp for 80 students focusing on moral treatment of animals,
teamwork, leadership and rabies education.
Activities continued Sept. 7 with a parade and rally during which students
carried banners and handed out leaflets to educate the community on
anti-rabies efforts. Events continued with a survey of the local dog and cat
population during which animals received rabies vaccinations and strays were
sterilized.
On Sept. 15 1,500 secondary students across Chonburi attended a multimedia
lecture on rabies and participated in drawings and other contests.
Livestock Department official Rangsan Rawangsamrong said he hopes the
program will raise the public’s consciousness about rabies and prompt people
to vaccinate not only their house pets, but call authorities to do similarly
for wild animals.
The event was just one of two scheduled for Thailand to help mark World
Rabies Day Sept. 28.
Bang Saray Beach under attack from development, neglect
Local are worried that neglect
might spell doom for Bang Saray Beach.
Patcharapol Panrak
The sight of a sunken fishing boat and a spreading pool of diesel
oil have saddened fans of Bang Saray Beach who say it’s just one more sign
the once-pristine stretch of sand 20 kilometers from Pattaya is slowly being
destroyed by development and neglect.
Once just a sleepy fishing village - not unlike Pattaya 30 years ago - Bang
Saray now has three large condominium developments under construction and is
seeing unprecedented - and often illegal - development on the beachfront.
This year’s downturn in both tourist numbers and the economy has taken a
toll on the beach, with vendors and holidaymakers leaving it to fishermen
and others who give little thought to the shoreline’s condition and have
exacerbated beach erosion.
Distressed locals reached a breaking point when the wreck of fishing boat
“Sakchai Pachok” was abandoned on the beachfront this month. Partially
submerged, the vessel is thought to be the source of an oil slick that
soiled Soh Beach and threatened sea turtle habitats on nearby islands. Sand
and rocks in the area are still blackened from the diesel fuel and lubricant
and, with few people using the beach now, mischievous children have been
playing in the dangerous wreckage.
For many, it’s a depressing sign of how Bang Saray has suffered during the
recession. The once lively beach is now nearly abandoned. Those wanting to
enjoy the sun have no beach chair or food vendors to serve them. Instead,
gangs of men appear at each high tide to fish, often leaving unwanted fish
remains on the beach.
Even worse, people have been manipulating the scenery, moving rocks and
shifting sand in such a way that natural beach erosion has increased. Some
have placed large rocks in the water to prevent waves from carving out the
sand, but those pose hazards to swimmers.
Residents hope that Bang Saray’s shoreline does not go the way of Pattaya’s
often maligned beaches and officials step in to clean up the oil, wrecks and
fishermen and restore Bang Saray Beach’s past beauty.
Catfish seller dreams of 12,
wins 42 million in lottery
Patcharapol Panrak
Grilling catfish for a living may be a thing of the past for a
lucky Sattahip resident who dreamed the number 12 and two days later won
42 million baht in the country’s lottery.
Bualai Bamrung fainted at her Sriprapat Market catfish stand when the
results were announced Sept. 16. Once she regained consciousness, the
42-year-old woman rushed to the police station with her three winning
tickets to register her win.
 Bualai
Bamrung dreamt of the number 12, and a few days later won 42 million
baht in the lottery.
Luck and superstition run hand-in-hand, but in Bualai’s case, it seems
to have worked. She said that just two nights before she had dreamed of
a beautiful, long-haired woman wearing the number 12. The next day she
was approached by a lottery-ticket seller who offered her three sets of
tickets all ending in the number 12. There was no way she was going to
pass up that kind of coincidence.
Bualai’s stand is closed now, but she told reporters she doesn’t plan to
change anything in her life and will continue to serve up fresh fish.
She was, however, a touch scared of having come into such a fortune and
rushed off have police verify her tickets and escort her to the bank.
Later she and her family, who’d only just moved into a new home in
Plutaluang, went to Bangkok to claim her prize and celebrate. Neighbors
said they’ve not been able to contact her for a few days, but police
said she had turned off her phone amid a deluge of phone calls from
charities, foundations and long-lost family members who’ve learned of
her windfall.
More than enough water for high season, waterworks officials say
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Pattaya has more than enough water for the coming high season,
waterworks officials assured city business leaders nervous about
utilities and security measures during the peak months.
 Bunsom
Yutithampinyo, chief of the water division for the Chonburi Irrigation
Department, reassures business leaders there is more than enough water for
high season.
Also speaking to the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association Sept. 16, Lt.
Col. Sutham Chaosrithong, deputy superintendent at the Pattaya Police
Station, said 24-hour patrols are being put in place to keep visitors safe.
The big item on the PBTA’s mind, however, was water. Fearing a repeat of
past years when hotel taps belched out brown water and tanker trucks had to
supply many homes and guest houses, business leaders wanted reassurance
that, after a terrible low season, nothing would go wrong for coming high
season.
Bunsom Yutithampinyo, chief of the water division for the Chonburi
Irrigation Department, reassured the PBTA that the city has more than enough
water in its seven reservoirs to meet demand. In fact, he said, despite
lower than normal rainfall levels, Pattaya has 9 million cu. m. more of the
wet stuff than at this time last year.
In all, Bunsom said, 70,000 cu. m. of water can be transferred from Bangpra
Reservoir. About 20 million cu. m. of that are from the Easter Water Co.’s
pipeline from the Bangpakong and Chao Phraya rivers.
Pattaya Waterworks Assistant Manager Chaitad Idsaeng said the city is
spending 800 million baht to expand the Nong Klangdong Water Filtration
House and another 600 million baht for the Banglamung Water Production
Station. Presently, these will produce 6,000 cu. m. of water per hour, or
about 120,000 cu. m. per day.
As for tourist security, Sutham said crime prevention and suppression
measures will be emphasized by providing a 24-hour police patrol with three
eight-hour shifts. Included will be car and motorbike patrols, a Larn Island
service unit, police on standby at patrol points, plus community police and
public relations. Furthermore, he said, extra teams will be on duty Friday
and Saturday nights.
Mayor urges quick action on Pattaya Beach restoration work
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome is pushing city administrators to
move quickly on a 15 million baht project to shore up Pattaya Beach and
protect it from further erosion.
 Mayor
Itthiphol Kunplome meets to discuss progress of beach restoration work.
At yet another meeting with bureaucrats and members of the city council and
various advisory boards Sept. 15, Itthiphol noted that the deteriorating
beach is hurting Pattaya’s reputation, that money has already been allocated
to reverse the erosion and that work needs to begin soon.
Planning and construction design, he said, must quickly be followed up with
surveys and contract bidding and all the required paperwork connected with
the actual construction.
Pattaya has already set aside 7 million baht to rejuvenate the beachfront.
That has been matched by Chonburi Province, which has allocated 8 million
baht.
300 join in Banglamung
Village Scouts training
Phasakorn Channgam
About 300 local members of Thailand’s version of the Neighborhood
Watch program came together to learn techniques to protect their Banglamung
community.
 Pornchai
Kwansakul, administrative assistant for Chonburi Province, opens the
training.
The Village Scouts assembled Sept. 14 at the Indoor Sports Arena with
Pornchai Kwansakul, administrative assistant for Chonburi Province, chairing
the one-day seminar along with Mongkol Thamakittikhun, Banglamung district
chief, and former MP Chanyuth Hengtrakul.
The event, dictated by the Ministry of Interior, saw 125 men and 175 women
participate.
Established in 1969, the Village Scouts program mirrors the boy and girls
scouts programs in Thailand’s schools, but focuses on training villagers to
safeguard their personal and community safety and help provide security.
Drug-free Navy families
fly white flags
Representatives of drug free
families proudly show off their white flags.
Patcharapol Panrak
Drug-free Royal Thai Navy families can show off their commitment to
staying clean by flying white flags presented to them by the commander of
Sattahip Naval Base.
Vice Adm. Sriwisuth Rataroon handed out flags and certificates to dozens of
families at a base-area community center September 6. The awards are part of
the Strengthening Marine Communities project aimed at preventing drug use
and addiction run by the Operations Center for Prevention and Suppression of
Drugs.
The flags show the participants successfully completed the program by
staying off drugs and are helping others kick the habit. Sriwisuth said
narcotics are still a big national problem and hampers development, as well
as organizations such as the Navy.
Wealthy widow’s alleged
killer turns himself in, blames
aunt for shooting
Thanomphong Kingsukhon and girlfriend Patcharee
“Jiab” Prathumsant
(both pointing) are brought out to reenact part of the crime.
Theerarak Suthatiwong
Police have arrested a Korat man allegedly hired by his aunt to kill
her husband’s wealthy, widowed mistress but now must sort out the family’s
conflicting claims about who actually pulled the trigger.
Thanomphong Kingsukhon and girlfriend Patcharee “Jiab” Prathumsant
surrendered to Huay Yai sub-district police Sept. 14, nearly two weeks after
police issued arrest warrants for the pair blamed for the deadly shooting of
45-year-old Anong Phaetkratok, the sister-in-law of Thanomphong’s aunt, Wan
Phaetkratok.
Anong’s body was discovered in a Ban Sak-Ngaew patch of jungle Sept. 1, four
days after she was reported missing and mysterious ATM bank withdrawals
started. Police quickly determined the woman had been having an affair with
her dead spouse’s brother, 46-year-old Sitthiporn Phaetkratok, Wan’s
husband, and arrested Wan Sept. 5 for plotting to kill her rival.
Wan admitted she set up the murder, but claimed her nephew had done the
actual shooting and, along with Patcharee, had looted the mistress’ bank
account.
Not so, Thanomphong told police as he was accompanied by 10 relatives and a
lawyer into police custody. He was being slandered, framed and set up by his
aunt, he said.
Thanomphong said he had been to Pattaya and Koh Larn - where Anong worked -
with his girlfriend when Wan asked him to drive the two women to Sriracha
where Anong planned to visit her father Aug. 28. She then asked him to drive
through the wooded area of Huay Yai and stop to use the restroom. The two
women got out of the truck but only Wan returned, he said.
The suspect said his aunt told him that Anong had changed her mind and
planned to have someone else pick her up from Huay Yai. Despite feeling odd
about the events, he claimed he carried on and brought his relative to the
market, not realizing his aunt had killed the woman.
Thanomphong and his girlfriend then departed for Koh Samet where he said he
found an ATM card, with the PIN code written on the back, in his truck.
Believing the card to be his aunt’s, he made the cash withdrawals, he told
police.
While on Samet, he was notified by relatives police wanted him for the
killing of Anong and, after taking days to consult with relatives, he
decided to surrender to police to clear his name, he said.
Huay Yai Police Superintendent Lt. Col. Prakorb Saengpring expressed serious
skepticism about Thanomphong’s story, saying it didn’t jibe with physical
evidence. He continued to hold Thanomphong while the investigation
continued.
Beach muggers arrested
Boonlua Chatree
Three young thieves who’ve been preying on Jomtien Beach sun
worshippers are behind bars after a botched attempt at stealing a mobile
phone.
 Jatupol
Aree, 20, Pakphum Kangkongpan, 23, and “Note,” 16, (not shown) are taken
into custody near Pattaya Park Hotel.
Jatupol Aree, 20, Pakphum Kangkongpan, 23, and “Note,” 16, were taken into
custody near the Pattaya Park Hotel on Najomtien Beach Sept. 15. A cell
phone belonging to Tanachai Promtha, 26, was in their possession.
The three confessed they’d been regularly mugging tourists lounging on beach
chairs in the area to fund their nighttime adventures and had come to
believe they’d never get caught.
But after they attacked Tanachai, who was visiting from Khon Kaen, police
were nearby and chased down the young muggers.
Police break up gang of thieving drug dealers
Boonlua Chatree
Pattaya police have broken up a crime gang suspected of theft, gun
possession and drug dealing.
Four men in their 20s, all part of the same crime gang, were arrested over
several days last week with officers seizing guns, ammunition and various
drugs. The suspects confessed they’d been stealing guns and trading them for
drugs to sell in Pattaya entertainment districts for some time. Police are
expanding their investigation, hoping to put all of the gang of thieves out
of business.
The takedown started with a sting operation against Denchai “Poued”
Temduang, 27, and Surawee “Oh” Chouencheap, 20. Denchai was caught with 57
11mm bullets and Surawee with a pack of dried marijuana. Denchai said he
stole a gun and mobile phone from a Banglamung police officer and traded
them for ya ba from dealer Suchat “Pui” Onmoothong.
Police later arrested Suchat, who still had the gun plus four bullets and
five ya ba tablets. The dealer then rolled over on fellow gang member Suthem
“Jack” Charoenpol, 25, who was arrested at a Soi Setthee apartment with four
grams of ya ice.
The four men confessed to their crimes, saying the thefts and drug dealing
funded their own trips out to nightspots for some time.
Thieves roll South Pattaya
trucks for spare tires
Boonlua Chatree
South Pattaya drivers may want to spare a thought for their spare
tires after thieves stole extra wheels from three vehicles at a Soi Bongkot
apartment house.
 One
of the victims points out the vehicles from which the burglars stole spare
tires.
Police received a late-night complaint Sept. 15 from Thawatchai
Charoenwutthitham, owner of the Mor Apartment, that men in an old, white
Toyota had broken into one Isuzu and two Toyota pickup trucks and taken
spare tires before speeding out of the parking lot.
Security footage showed the men drive normally and didn’t arouse
Thawatchai’s suspicions until they burned rubber away from the crime scene a
half-hour later.
Police took the camera video and other evidence but said they believed a
professional car burglary gang is behind the thefts, one of many in the
area.
Teen girl’s braces
may have killed her
Fellow students say their
final goodbyes to Sirilak Pilong.
Boonlua Chatree
A teenage girl who got stylish braces without her parents’
permission may have died from an infection caused by her fashion choice.
Doctors could not immediately determine why 14-year-old Sirilak Pilong, a
student at Banglamung’s Phothisamphan Pittayakarn School, died at Banglamung
Hospital Sept. 15. Her body showed no signs of injury and had not been
obviously ill. Tearful relatives pointed to pink fashion braces on her teeth
as the possible culprit.
Sirilak’s mother, Pangsri, said she had tried to awaken her daughter that
morning but the girl was in what appeared to be a heavy sleep. She brought
her to the hospital where she died about two hours later.
Pangsri said her daughter had recently gotten the colorful braces at a local
market on her own; not because she needed them, but because the girl thought
they looked good. After they were put on, however, the girl’s personality
changed and she seemed depressed and quiet.
Dentists said low-cost fashion braces are often attached by unqualified
vendors whose materials may be substandard and facilities not sterile. The
girl could have died from slow poisoning or gotten tetanus or some other
bacterial infection when a piece of metal punctured her gum. An autopsy will
be performed to find the exact cause.
Meanwhile, other girls at Sirilak’s who have had similar dental work are now
having the fashion braces removed, en masse.
Sattahip temple fetes legendary monk
Monks at Borthong Ratbamrung
Temple in Sattahip venerate a statue of revered monk Luang Por Ie, marking
the 63rd anniversary of his death.
Patcharapol Panrak
Remembering a legendary monk who, local legends say, saved Sattahip
Naval Base from destruction in World War II, Borthong Ratbamrung Temple will
hold a commemoration over seven days and nights to mark the 63rd anniversary
of the death of Luang Por Ie.
The fair, which runs through Sept. 27, is open to all area residents wishing
to make merit and gild the image of Luang Por Ie, otherwise known as Pra
Khru Worawetmni. The festival will also see dramatic performances and more
than 200 booths.
Luang Por Ie, who died at 81 on Sept. 20, 1946, was a well-known teacher of
Buddha’s wise words and meditation techniques. But local residents also
still enjoy passing on to younger generations stories of the former abbot’s
supernatural feats.
One local legend is that when the Sattahip naval base was heavily attacked
during World War II, people fleeing the temple were astonished to see Luang
Por Ie standing in the middle of the temple courtyard praying.
The bombs from the planes then fell harmlessly into the sea and people also
saw Luang Por Ie’s “Palad Kik”, a sacred small wooden penis image, chase the
planes and the bombs, somewhat like a modern-day guided missile.
People swore that Luang Por was seen receiving food offerings in Chonburi
before they took a bus back to Sattahip. But the monk was already at the
temple when they arrived in Sattahip without taking the same bus back.
The abbot was sick from an abscess in his neck in 1946 but didn’t want to be
treated, recalling that in his previous life that he had killed a deer by
shooting it in the neck. It was then the right retribution with which to end
in this life.
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