Big C theatre gutted by fire

Photo: Fire broke out in the theatre complex of the Big C shopping mall on Wednesday, April 29th. Because of the early hour of the blaze, no one was seriously injured.

Approximately 20 million baht in damage was caused by a fire that broke out in the projection room of Theatre 4 at the Big C shopping mall in North Pattaya in the early morning hours on Wednesday, April 29th. The blaze also spread to the other three theatres on the third floor of the complex.
Somsak Rooploke, a 51-year-old guard at Big C, called in the report at 6:15 a.m. on April 29th. Because of the early hour of the fire, no one was seriously injured.
Top local fire-fighting officials and 8 firefighters arrived on the scene and found the fire burning voraciously. The Sawang Boriboon Foundation also appeared on the scene and were doused the fire with chemicals.
After an hour of fighting the fire, local fire police called in re-enforcement’s from the Sriracha fire station. Sriracha sent 4 fire trucks and the Sattahip Naval Base sent an emergency vehicle. The combined team was able to control the blaze in 2 hours.
Chai Kamwinruay, 30, and Prakasti Reuanthong, movie projectionists, who were asleep in the projection room when the fire flared, told police that they were awakened by the smell of smoke. Choking on the smoke, both ran out of the building, colliding with Saravut Moophaibun, 49, the head of security.
Chonburi Governor Sujarit Pajchimanan later arrived to oversee operations. The governor told reporters that the cause of the fire was Theatre Number Four, which was operating without a license. He said the theatre requested a license but the Provincial Government refused to grant it due to insufficient documents. The governor promised to prosecute the culprits to the full extent of the law.
Pattaya Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat revealed that all four of the theatres in the Big C complex were operating illegally. The mayor had heard that there were no fire exits, and that the theatres still operated shamelessly with absolutely no regard for the law.

Police said experts would have to determine the initial cause of the fire..

Philipp Holzmann (Thai) Ltd. joins the PSC Computer Section effort to help children

The Pattaya Sports Club wishes to extend a special ‘thank you’ to Managing Director John Ollis, Senior Executive Khun Sujari Pothitasiri and the entire organization of Philipp Holzmann (Thai) Ltd., for a wonderful donation of six computers, six monitors, and an ‘incredible’ six printers to the PSC "Computers for Thai Kids" project.

This sort of generosity and concern for the needy deserves a special note of thanks. So, from all the children at Pattaya School#4 and the Pattaya Sports Club members - Thank you Philipp Holzmann.
These six computers will be presented to Pattaya School #4 in the very near future.
Glen (Jeep) Holthaus, Computer Section Chairman of the Pattaya Sports Club, explained that the Pattaya Sports Club, Computer Section has drafted plans and strategies in order to help School #4 make full and good use of the six computers just donated.
On Tuesday May 5, the volunteers who will be teaching the teachers met to sort out the curriculum and the methodology.
On Wednesday May 6, club members Jim and Curt, with a couple of others, planned to load the machines with a standard set of programs.
"There’s a lot of work ahead of us," explains Jeep. "But with the kindness and generosity of folks such as Philipp Holzmann, we will certainly achieve our objectives."

British paedophile remanded to custody

British expat Andre Stephen Thorne, 39, was arrested and charged with child molesting for his alleged sexual relations with minors.
The Police Squad to Monitor International Criminal Activity, during their uncover operations designed to stamp out foreign pedophiles, tracked down Thorne to his residence at Pattaya Land and House in Banglamung.
Upon searching Thorne’s house, officers found 4 Thai males, ages 23, 11, and two 8-year-old boys.

Photo: British expat Andre Stephen Thorne, 39, was arrested and charged with child molesting for his alleged sexual relations with minors.

The younger boys slept while police searched the house. Officers later awakened them and took them to the Banglamung Police Station.
The 23 year old told police that he had been living with Thorne for four years. He said the other boys moved in to the house a month ago. Thorne told the boys they would receive proper food and a good education.
The 23-year-old continued, giving police details of Thorne’s alleged sexual relationship with the boys.
After hearing the boys’ and Thorne’s testimony, police charged the English national with ‘molesting children under the age of 13’. This charge is valid even if the child was a willing participant.
Thorne flatly denied all charges. He has been remanded to custody and awaits due process of the law.
The 23-year-old man was held as a witness.
In the past 6 months the police have stepped-up their efforts to stamp out foreign pedophiles, with many arrests during this period.
Police hope this will serve as a warning to others abusing children in Pattaya.

Suspicious death of Russian tourist heightens alert

On February 16 1998, a Russian tourist was found dead in a hotel in Jomtien. The body was identified as Oleg Nefedov, 43 years old.
At the scene, all signs pointed to the cause of death being an overdose of heroin. Pol. Captain Seri Vachsacha, the officer on duty, made an initial prognosis that the cause of death was a drug overdose, stating that no signs of struggle or foul play were present.
However, last week a reliable source revealed that the results from an autopsy performed at Samitivej Police Hospital in Bangkok showed that the corpse did not contain any drugs. The autopsy also showed that the man had been beaten, and had died as a result of heavy blow to the right side of the neck.
The Pattaya Tourist Police have now reopened the case and are trying to determine who Oleg was and who his contacts were in Pattaya. So far, nothing has turned up.
"The investigation is still going on, and we would very much appreciate it if someone recognises the deceased man and could drop by or provide information," said Pol. Lt. Col. Supaset Chokechai, Chief of the Pattaya Tourist Police." All information will be treated as confidential.
This death occurred approximately 2 weeks before Kostantine Povoloski’s assassination, which took place in front of his restaurant on Second Road.
An alert police officer investigating other crimes committed on foreigners suspects that there could be a link between the two murders. The policeman, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated that the first killing could be counted as almost the perfect murder, while the second, which could be called a showpiece, was to warn other Russians in town.
"Within a two-month period, there have been 7 foreigner deaths, 4 of which were determined as being murders. This surely doesn’t look good for the year of Amazing Pattaya," said the police officer.
An undercover Interpol officer attached to an embassy in Bangkok warned that foreign criminals, including the Russians, have already established their presence here in Pattaya.
"But the authorities refuse to believe this. This same situation took place in Germany right after the cold war," he said. "They entered Germany and used the very same methods they are using here. The Police Authority of Germany tried very hard to warn the government about these facts, but were denied, as the Thai Government is doing right now."
The foreign police officer, who is well experienced with international crime and who has seen the rise of such activities in Europe and in North and South America, pointed to cities such as Hamburg and Frankfurt, which have fallen under the influence of organized crime. "Crimes are committed blatantly and the police cannot touch them."
He warned that it could also happen here. "They have chosen Thailand because of its pleasant climate compared to the biting cold in their home country. Thailand is the perfect location for tourists and Pattaya City is the most ideal site, because there is easy access via U-Tapao by charter flights." He continued to paint a bleak picture adding, "who knows what they carry along with them into this kingdom, and what they carry out. Everything is just so perfect for them."
Perhaps it is time for the Thai government and local police to realize that the situation here in Pattaya must be dealt with, and severely, right now.

Ministry of Public Relations attempting to increase program quality

by Kittisak Khamthong

The Ministry of Public Relations held a ‘brainstorming’ session at the Royal Garden Resort in Pattaya. The subject was ‘The Future of Radio Broadcasting in the Era of the New Constitution.’ The Ministry was discussing the freedom of the media, the allotting of frequencies and the most advantageous use of the media on the local level.
The Ministry also discussed the matter of open competition between the various stations and channels fairly.
Dr. Somkiat Oonvimon, who helped draft the new constitution, was present at the meeting. Damrong Phuttal, the host of a television show was also at the meeting.
Others present were members of the Senate, Mr. Suchart Srivarakorn of the Labour and Social Welfare Department, Associate Professor Montri Yaemkasikorn of the University of the East and Mr. Thawee Khwanburi, a radio show host in Rayong.
Before the discussion broadened, the matter of ‘The Media as Commercial Instrument Instead of a Benefit to the Public at all Levels’ was raised. The panel discussed the fact that if an individual bought enough air time, they did not have to be accountable for the quality of the programs broadcast. This did not mean that the panel felt that censorship was in order. There was a strong feeling that programs and shows of no redeeming social value ruled the television and air waves. The public is forced to watch whatever ‘big money’ decides they should see. The public cannot question or complain about the quality of the programming.
Much of this problem is due to most frequencies being government owned. The government then sells air time to the private sector, which produces programs and shows only for the purpose of making money.
Many problems result from this, such as the allotment of frequencies, control of broadcast content, presenting programs that are beneficial to the public and fair competition.
Article 40 of the new Constitution states that ‘Television and radio broadcast frequencies are resources of the country to be used for the public good.’ The second sentence of article 40 states ‘a private government supervised organisation should oversee the allotment of frequencies as stated in sentence one of this article.’
Sentence three of article 40 states, ‘the execution of sentence two of this article should be with mind to ‘what is of most advantage to the whole population, educationally and including the security of the country, etc. The matter of ‘fair competition’ should also be considered.’
These articles are in the new constitution due to the unjust competition in the past.
The meeting was to elicit as many opinions from the public as possible on this question. This will allow for a fair and just governing body to be set up to administer radio and television frequencies.
The consensus at the Pattaya meeting was that any administrating body should have the power to decide which programs should be considered ‘socially valuable’ and which not.
The administrating committee should not be merely a ‘rubber stamp’.
The meeting also felt that the administrating body should be composed of people from all sectors of society, so that a true cross-section may be represented.
Mr. Damrong commented that all members of the forum seemed to agree, but that at this time it would be very difficult to find administrators with the bravery to go against certain media trends.
He said that financial gain was still the main motivating factor in all sectors of the media.

Public protest brings illegal dumping to light

by Kittisak Khamthong

Hundreds of people from the Phu Ta Luang District of Sattahip staged a protest at the Sattahip District office last week, complaining that Loxley Co. Thailand Ltd. surreptitiously dumped over 100 tons of toxic chemical waste in 3 areas of the township.
Responding to the protest, Vira Mavichak, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry, said he would turn the matter over to the Sattahip Regional Police Department. Charges of illegal dumping of toxic waste would be brought against the S and T. Bulno Co. Ltd, which Loxley contracted to destroy the chemical waste.
Administrators at Loxley admitted to being at fault and reported that they had discontinued their contract with Bulno on March 24 of this year. Loxley further reported that the bright orange bags in which the waste was found were not meant to hold toxic waste. These bags are containers for the company’s ready-made products.
Inspectors found three types of waste. The first, Loxfu, is a fibre used in making heat guards. The product is made from combining cement and basalt at high temperatures. It is a known carcinogen.
The other two chemicals were a white powder and white chalk-like chips, both by-products from chemical manufacturing processes. The Ministry of Science is still testing these two substances.
The Department of Factories and the Environment ordered the company to remove all waste by April 26. Removal required three large dump trucks.
Sattahip police revealed that investigations showed that companies have been dumping toxic waste in the area for a long time.
The people agree and say the waste removed is but a fraction of what remains.
The people are skeptical, believing that the waste was removed very quickly in order to hide evidence if it should prove to be dangerous to life.

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