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HRH Maha Chakri Sirindhorn inaugurates major new coral seeding project
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn plants the
first length of PVC piping, coded 0001, that will form the base on which a
new coral reef will grow.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn officially opened a
project for the seeding of 80,000 branches of coral on August 26, a program
that is expected to take five years to complete.
Her Royal Highness traveled to the Dusit Thani Pattaya and symbolically
planted the first length of PVC piping, coded 0001, that will form the base
on which the coral reef will grow.
Her Royal Highness then visited an exhibition on the project, and presented
plaques to 35 patrons who are supporting the program.
Sompoj Cheeranawanit, assistant committee manager of the Administrative
Telecommunications Business Sector of Vinyhai Public Company Limited, and
vice president of the Marine Science Activity and Conservation Foundation,
which is sponsored by Vinyhai, explained the background to the coral
project.
He said that Vinyhai, which produces PVC and other products and is located
in the Maptaput Industrial Estate in Rayong Province, had realized that it
could make a significant improvement to the coral reefs off the East Coast
by laying PVC piping upon which new coral would grow, thereby improving the
environment for marine life.
The company had set out a project with the Marine Science Activity and
Conservation Foundation, starting in 2003. Since then, 10,000 branches of
reef had been laid using PVC piping, and the decision had been made to
extend the project.
Vinyhai has also cooperated with the Department of Marine and Coastal
Resources, the Royal Thai Navy, and Rambhai Barni Rajabhat University.
The company is working with officials from the Samaesarn Sub-district
Administrative Organization, the Rak Koh Samet System Community in Rayong
Province, the Koh Wai Area in Trat Province, the Koh Kham Area in Chonburi
Province, and the Koh Talu Area in Prachaub Khiri Khan Province.
PM declares emergency in capital after political violence leaves one dead
Jocelyn Gecker
Bangkok (AP) - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declared a state of
emergency Tuesday in Bangkok, calling it the “softest means available” for
restoring order after overnight clashes between government opponents and
supporters left one person dead and 43 injured.
Under the sweeping powers that give the military the right to restore order,
authorities can suspend certain civil liberties, ban all public gatherings
of more than five people and bar the media from reporting news that “causes
panic.”
Samak gave no timeframe for how long the decree would stay in effect but
said it would be over “moderately quickly.”
“I did it to solve the problems of the country,” Samak said in a televised
news conference at a military headquarters in Bangkok. “I had no other
choice. The softest means available was an emergency decree to end the
situation using the law.”
The overnight violence heightened a national crisis that started a week ago
when thousands of opponents of Samak occupied the grounds of his office and
refused to move until he resigned.
The anti-government protest organizers, the People’s Alliance for Democracy,
accuse Samak’s government of corruption and of serving as a proxy for
ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and
recently fled to Britain to escape an array of corruption charges.
After a meeting of senior security officials, Army Commander Gen. Anupong
Paochinda called a separate news conference in which he repeatedly stressed
that the army’s goal was to avoid violence.
“If the military has to get involved, it will not use force and will be on
the people’s side,” Anupong said, adding that troops would carry only
shields and batons if ordered into the streets. “They will not be armed,
they will not wear bulletproof vests.”
He dismissed speculation that the army was positioning itself to seize
power, less than two years after the 2006 coup.
“If the military uses force to stage a coup, it will create a lot more
problems,” he said, adding that it was “too soon” for authorities to
exercise the emergency power of restricting media coverage.
Calm returned to Bangkok’s streets by morning, after Samak deployed troops
with riot gear - but no guns - to disperse the two groups of protesters.
Both sides retreated to their respective protest sites, about a 1/2 mile (1
kilometer) apart, keeping the area a flash point for further trouble.
Inside Government House, one of the protest leaders, Chamlong Srimuang,
remained defiant.
“We will stay and fight!” he told protesters. “Stay calm. Don’t fear... Can
you be brave a little longer to save our country?”
One of the protesters, 66-year-old Kaewta Singhasaenee, said she was bracing
for clashes after nightfall.
“Wait until tonight,” said Kaewta, clutching a bamboo rod and a helmet. “If
they come, I won’t run. I love my country. I’m an old lady but I’m strong.”
Two dozen police vans and ambulances were parked down the street from
Samak’s office compound, known as Government House.
As a precaution, City Hall announced that 435 Bangkok public schools would
close for three days. Some international private schools opted to shut for a
week.
South Korea and Singapore, among other countries, issued travel advisories
urging citizens to avoid nonessential travel to Thailand.
A week of political tension exploded into street clashes early Tuesday
between protesters seeking to topple Samak and mobs of his supporters.
About 500 Samak supporters marched through the streets after midnight vowing
to retake Government House. Gangs armed with sticks, knives, slingshots and
other makeshift weapons chased each other up and down boulevards, beating
anyone they could catch. Reporters saw at least one man aiming and firing a
pistol into a crowd.
The mob scuffled with police a few hundred feet (meters) from the Government
House complex, then clashed with alliance members with most of the fighting
taking place near the Asian headquarters of the United Nations.
One person, identified as a 55-year-old man, died from severe head injuries
and nine others were hospitalized, at least three with gunshot wounds, the
Health Ministry said in a statement. Another 33 people were treated for
injuries and sent home.
The identities of the victims were not immediately clear.
Since beginning its occupation of the Government House compound, the
People’s Alliance has tried to block streets in the capital with as many as
30,000 supporters, according to an early government estimate.
Associated Press writers Grant Peck, Ambika Ahuja,
Sutin Wannabovorn, Chris Blake and Michael Casey in Bangkok contributed to
this report.
Soi residents suffer years of flooding despite
pleas to city hall
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Residents at the end of Soi Paniad Chang 10 have complained
about the flooding of their homes for years, as the water level can rise by
up to 40cm during heavy rain, but nothing has been done about it.
 Kanchana
Supa points to the huge amount of garbage the floodwaters bring into the
neighborhood.
Now, with their patience wearing thin, they have once more asked city hall
to attempt to remedy the problem.
Sompong Champeehom, a laborer who has leased house number 202/76 for more
than four years, says that when it rains for more than half an hour,
everyone has to brace themselves for the inevitable flooding. Everything, he
said, has to be moved to avoid the floodwaters, with everyone struggling to
move items such as mattresses, wardrobes, and electrical appliances.
“The flood level depends on how much rainfall there is. Recently, there was
a flood at a depth of about 30 or 40cm. When it rains at night, it means
that everyone in the house is unable to sleep, because they must monitor the
flooding.”
Sompong said there is only one way in and out of the soi, and that the level
of the street slopes downwards from the entrance. The area at the end of the
soi has a very low level, and when it rains, water runs to the lower areas.
Sometimes it takes half a day for the floodwaters to disperse.
“The houses that are most affected by the flooding are five houses at the
end of the soi,” he said. “No one wants to stay in those houses, and
everyone eventually moves to another location. This is for very hard for
low-rent payers.”
Most of the houses affected by the flooding are leased houses. Some
residents have increased the floor level of their homes so that it is above
the street level, but although this has helped in some cases the problem has
not been completely solved.
Kanchana Supa, a 28-year-old lessee on the soi said she has lived in her
house for nearly 10 years. Apart from floods, she also suffers from large
amounts of garbage in front of her premises. During the floods the garbage
is inundated, leading to decay and noxious aromas.
“Pattaya City provided support twice by sucking out water, but it was a very
long time ago,” she said. “It seems that there was a project to create water
drainage in this area, but there were some obstructions. Therefore, this
plan could not be implemented.”
Guard returns bag containing
200,000 baht to Indonesian family
Theerarak Suthatiwong
An off-duty security guard relaxing on the beach with his family
found and returned a bag containing 200,000 baht that had been left behind
by an Indonesian family holidaying in Pattaya.
 Armyn
Julyzarmansyah (right) rewards Somchai Klaharn for returning his bag of
valuables.
The guard, 34-year-old Somchai Klaharn, a resident of Phitsanulok who works
at the Regent Park Village at Soi Naklua 14, found the black shoulder bag on
the beach during the morning of August 22.
Somchai said that after he finished work at 10:30 a.m. he had taken his
family to the beach behind the Long Beach and Spa Hotel.
There was a foreign family, a total of four people, who were playing in the
water next to his family. This group of tourists then left, and Somchai
discovered they had left a bag behind.
Assuming the family would realize and return for the bag, Somchai waited.
When they didn’t turn up, he took it to the traffic police box at Lan Po
Naklua Market.
Inside were 300,000 rupees (210,375 baht), a Nokia mobile phone, a camera,
and an ID card in the name of Armyn Julyzarmansyah, a 51-year-old Indonesian
man. There was also a card for the Ice Beach Hotel. The police contacted the
hotel management, who told Armyn of the discovery.
A greatly relieved Armyn together with his wife and two daughters went to
collect the bag, thanking Somchai and handing him a reward for his honesty.
Grand sea rescue demonstration will test readiness of emergency services
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
A grand sea rescue demonstration will be held from September 10 to 11 to
ensure that all the rescue procedures are tested and that visitors to
Pattaya can be assured of an efficient rescue service in the event of
any accidents or disasters at sea.
 Mayor
Itthipol Khunplome (left) Pol. Maj. Gen. Atthakrit Thareechat (right),
commander of the Tourist Police, announce the upcoming sea rescue
exercises.
The Tourist Police is working with government and private sectors to
organize the demonstration, which will be centered on Bali Hai Pier.
A meeting of the organizers was held on August 28 at Pattaya City Hall,
with Tourist Police commander Pol Maj Gen Atthakrit Thareechat in the
chair and representatives of the Tourist Police Division, Tourism
Authority of Thailand, the Marine Police, the Harbor Department, Bangkok
Hospital Pattaya, Banglamung Hospital, the Pattaya Paramotor
Association, and Pattaya City attending.
Pol Maj Gen Atthakrit said the rescue services would cover both the
coastline and the mountain ranges. The project has been divided into two
parts, theory and practical simulation.
The second part will demonstrate how to rescue victims at sea using
rescue boats and an aircraft from local organizations, namely the Marine
Police Department, which has a coastal patrol boat, the Police Air Force
Division, which has a helicopter, and Pattaya City, which has a rescue
boat.
The scenario is that a boat has been involved in a collision in Pattaya
Bay. There are many people seriously injured, including tourists, and
they are floating in the sea waiting for help. The team of rescuers must
search for the victims.
Minister of Tourism and Sports Veerasak Kowsurat will inaugurate the
demonstration.
Mayor Itthipol Khunplome said that in addition to ensuring that the
entire rescue services are fully integrated in the event of an
emergency, the important aspect was to ensure that visitors to Pattaya
had complete confidence in the services, which operate on a 24-hour
basis.
Food safety network encouraged at training course
Vimolrat Singnikorn
A course was held on August 25 at the Cholchan Pattaya
Resort by the Food and Drug Administration Commission to help local
administrations in matters of food hygiene and safety.
 Bupha
Songsakunchai (left), an authority on hygiene at Pattaya City, and Dr
Narangsan Peerakij (right), deputy secretary general of the Food and Drug
Administration Commission discuss food hygiene.
Dr Narangsan Peerakij, deputy secretary general of the Commission led the
course, which focused on the creation of a network of local offices to
combat the problem of food contaminants, and to create a local public
network for information on hygienic consumption.
The course was held over the period August 25 and 26, and included practical
work as well as theory.
Bupha Songsakunchai, an authority on hygiene at Pattaya City, said that even
though the participants already possessed skills in this field, they would
be meeting up with other units in related areas and be able to exchange
information and build a functioning network.
Dr Narangsan said that currently the Bureau of Consumer Protection has to
check the quality of goods when they are produced to see if they reach the
stipulated standards. Chonburi Province is a location with large industrial
producers. Therefore, adhering to the standards concerning production was
important. This must include the date of production, with the month and year
displayed, and the expiry date.
Former boxing champ
charged with drug dealing
Boonlua Chatree
A former boxer who had been a top fighter before he retired and
who had been working as a sparring partner at Khru Tui Boxing Camp has been
arrested for drug dealing.
Kongthoranee (Lek) Sidyodthong who was a favorite fighter of Yodthong
Sriwaralak, owner of the boxing camp, was arrested with 300 ya ba pills.
 Police
arrested Wichit Khansuoy and former boxer Kongthoranee Sidyodthong for ya
ba.
Police investigations had revealed that a drug dealer had an appointment to
deliver ya ba to a customer at the Indian almond tree on Soi Yume, and
officers staked out the location.
They arrested a man identified as Wichit Khansuoy, 24, a resident of Udon
Thani. Wichit had in his possession a green plastic bag containing 50 ya ba
pills. He was taken to Pattaya Police Station, where he told the
investigating officers that he had bought the drugs from a man driving a
gold-bronze four-door Toyota Vigo pickup, which he said was currently parked
at a garage on Soi Kao Noi in front of Mike Orchid Village.
Wichit was taken to the location, where the vehicle was found. The truck
belonged to Atsawin Trailak, who as a boxer used the name Kongthoranee
Sidyodthong, and who lived at 14/6, Mabyang Road, Soi 7, Maptaput, in
Rayong. Atsawin was arrested with 300 ya ba pills in his possession.
Taken to Pattaya Police Station, Atsawin stated that he was a former
well-known boxer for TV Channel 5. At his peak he earned 40,000 baht for
each fight. He had retired from boxing eight years ago, and lived at the
Khru Tui Boxing Camp where he was a sparring partner for foreigners.
The Toyota Vigo pickup was a gift from Khru Tui, who had greatly admired
Atsawin’s fighting skills. Khru Tui had nothing to do with the distribution
of ya ba, said Atsawin. The former fighter said he had become addicted to
drugs, taking between five and 10 pills per day. Each time he bought 200 ya
ba pills for 31,000 baht for his personal use and for selling. He kept his
drug dealing activities from Khru Tui, because the boxing master hated
drugs, and Atsawin used this garage as a distribution point.
He has been charged with illegal possession of a Class 1 narcotic intended
for distribution.
Bank employee blows 1M baht before being caught
Theerarak Suthatiwong
A Krung Thai Bank employee who stole 2.2 million baht from the
bank’s Phitsanulok branch and fled to Pattaya was found in a hotel room with
five women and with 1 million baht of the money already gone.
 Khanin
Puangsiri from Phitsanulok (seated left) is arrested with what’s left of the
2.2 million baht he stole from Krung Thai Bank.
Pattaya police, equipped with arrest warrant number 207/2551, issued to
Phitsanulok Police Station on August 15, moved in on the fugitive at 4 a.m.
on August 26, having discovered that he was staying in a room at the Charlie
Resort on Jomtien Beach Road.
Khanin Puangsiri, 25, a resident of Phitsanulok, was relaxing in the room
with five women. Police confiscated 1,200,500 baht in cash, all that
remained of the 2.2 million baht he had stolen from a Krung Thai Bank ATM
located at the Patumthong Shopping Center in Phitsanulok Province on August
15.
Khanin confessed, saying that he was an employee of the bank and that his
job was to refill ATMs with cash in the Central District of Phitsanulok. He
said that he had been planning the theft for several days beforehand. On
August 15 he and a colleague had gone out to do their jobs as usual. He took
the opportunity to grab his colleague’s key while the man was in the
bathroom, and took the stolen key to open an ATM that was located in front
of the convenience store in the Patumthong Shopping Center.
He had decided to flee to Pattaya City with the stolen money, and persuaded
a friend who lived near him in Phitsanulok to go along too. They drove in
his friend’s car to Pattaya where they rented a bungalow at the Charlie
Resort. At night they would hang around the Central Pattaya night lounges,
where they got through 1 million baht in 10 days. Some nights they invited a
number of women to spend the night with them. Khanin said he had committed
this crime alone.
Pol Col Noppadol Wongnom, superintendent at Pattaya Police Station said that
he had been working closely with Phitsanulok Police Station. Khanin’s
whereabouts had been detected when he used his mobile phone, the signal
revealing his location to the police. Pattaya police had followed up on the
information by observing Khanin and his friend, before moving in and
arresting both men.
Norwegian with no love of music smacks service girl in mouth
Boonlua Chatree
A service girl whose tastes in music were not appreciated by the Norwegian
man with whom she was keeping company, the man being driven to such a state
of exasperation that he smacked her in the mouth, was sent for medical
treatment when police arrived to break up the fight.
Officers from Pattaya Police Station were called to a hotel in Nongprue at 2
a.m. on August 28.
Ms Somporn Wanghom, 42, a resident of Mahasarakam was waiting for them with
a bloody mouth and an injured cheekbone. She said that the foreign man in
the room with her had brought her to the hotel for a “horizontal liaison”.
Afterwards she took a shower and was listening to Thai music. This made him
angry, and he hit her.
Taken to the station, the man was identified as David Falkeid, a 25-year-old
citizen of Norway. Police, however, had great difficulty in understanding
him, and in the end charged him only with drunkenness and causing a
disturbance.
Somporn was sent for medical treatment, and depending on the physician’s
report the tin-eared Norwegian might face a further charge.
Two drown in separate
accidents at islands
Theerarak Suthatiwong
Two men drowned in separate incidents when they were swimming off islands in
Pattaya Bay on August 29.
The first accident happened at 11 a.m. when an Iranian diving to look at the
coral off Koh Sak got into difficulties.
Roohallah Ali, age 29, who wasn’t wearing a life jacket, shouted for help
before he sank beneath the surface in front of a large number of horrified
onlookers. A number of foreign tourists helped bring him to the shore where
they attempted to revive him before he was rushed by speedboat to Bali Hai
Pier, and then on to Pattaya Memorial Hospital.
The medical team was, however, unable to save his life, and reported the
death to Pattaya Police Station. Officers went to the hospital, and
subsequently informed the Iranian Embassy.
The second accident happened at 3 p.m. when Pattaya Police Station received
a report from the Koh Larn Police that a tourist had drowned in the sea at
Tawaen Beach.
Officers and Sawang Boriboon Foundation rescue workers rushed to the scene
where they found the body of Lam Cai Keong, a 24-year-old Chinese national
from Macao. He was wearing shorts and a white T-shirt, and had been dead for
approximately three hours. Miss Cheang Kam Leng, 20, his Chinese girlfriend,
was crying beside the body.
A tour guide named Panu Ruensakol, 47, said that the deceased and a group of
19 Chinese tourists had come to Pattaya on August 26, and were staying in a
hotel in Central Pattaya. They were scheduled to leave on August 31.
During the morning, the group had been taken to Tawaen Beach, where they
enjoyed swimming and relaxing. At 2 p.m. Miss Cheang became alarmed and
reported to Panu that her boyfriend had not been seen since 11 a.m., when
she had fallen asleep on a canvas lounger on the beach.
Panu contacted the sea rescue service and they started searching, until the
deceased man’s body was found in the sea around the swimming area in Zone 1.
The body was taken to shore, and the police were notified.
Police have assumed that while Miss Cheang was sleeping on the beach, the
deceased had gone into the sea and suffered a cramp. The body will be sent
to the Forensic Institute at the Police Hospital to find the cause of death,
and the Chinese Embassy will be informed.
Electricity Authority holds major conference on alternate energy
Pramote Channgam
The Provincial Electricity Authority held a conference on August
22 on the topic of global warming, and how the energy industry could best
counter the threat to the world’s environment.
 Pongsakorn
Tantiwanitchanon, deputy governor of the Provincial Electricity Authority
opens the conference on alternate energy.
Pongsakorn Tantiwanitchanon, deputy governor of the Provincial Electricity
Authority opened the conference, which was held in Convention Center Room A
at Ambassador City in Jomtien.
Delegates were from the Contractors Association in the Central region, and
more than 1,000 users from electrical industrial businesses.
Pongsakorn said that the quantity of greenhouse gases being released into
the atmosphere is increasing, and that 43 percent is coming from factories.
The PEA has devised a strategy for alternative forms of energy generation
and is running pilot projects, including micro-scale hydropower generation
in five districts in Chiang Mai and two districts in Loey Province. Solar
home systems are being installed for 203,024 families that don’t have mains
electricity. Pilot projects are also being undertaken for other forms of
energy generation, including wind and biogas.
All sectors connected with electricity generation and installation need to
be aware of these processes and their progress, said Pongsakorn, hence the
need for this conference.
1,600 will take part
in massive beach cleanup
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay led a meeting on August 25 at
Pattaya City Hall to prepare for a project that will cleanup a 10-km stretch
of the beach and ocean floor on September 20.
 Deputy
Mayor Verawat Khakhay
Banpot Amarapiban of the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion at
the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment also took part in the
meeting.
Verawat said that Pattaya City is working with the private sector and
international organizations for this massive exercise, which will involve
more than 1,600 people.
Before the day of the big cleanup there will be a technical seminar for
management of the beach held by members of the Coordinating Body for the
Seas of East Asia (COBSEA). This will take place from September 18 to 19 at
the Siam Bayshore Hotel.
Amongst the countries taking part will be Thailand, Korea, Vietnam,
Indonesia, Cambodia, China, the Philippines, Singapore and Australia.
On September 20, garbage will be collected along Pattaya Beach and at Tawaen
Beach on Koh Larn. The Diving Club of Thailand will collect garbage from the
seabed.
On the same day, Sriracha Municipality will be releasing more than 500,000
young horseshoe crabs into the sea as a measure to protect the species,
which is heavily fished.
YWCA presents 440 scholarships for 2008 educational year
Pramote Channgam
The YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya Center presented scholarships to 440
underprivileged students who have been achieving good scholastic results, at
a ceremony on August 26 at Mike Shopping Mall.
 Students
receive scholarships from Pattaya dignitaries.
The students were from schools under the Chonburi Educational Service Area
Office Region 3, and the office of the National Primary Education Commission
Zone at the Ministry of Education.
Mayor Itthipol Khunplome and chief advisor to the mayor Niran
Wattanasartsathorn chaired the presentation ceremony.
Nittaya Patimasongkroh, chairwoman of the YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya Center said
the scholarships are under the Warm Family project that has been running
since 1990. The objective is to help underprivileged students from poor
families with educational support, and to ensure that they have every
opportunity to be educated.
The scholarships were supported by a number of organizations including the
Pattaya Sports Club, Pattaya Marina Rotary Club, Jomtien Rotary Club,
Pattaya’s Sikh community, the For It Is Love Fund, and 82 individual
donators who included Nongluk Phakruek, Somchai and Kanlaya Suksomboon,
Ittiphol Khunplome, and Santana Mekawarakul.
Miss Nutchanart Changcharoen, representative of the students who received
scholarships at Pattaya School No 7 gave a speech of thanks at the ceremony,
saying that she has been a recipient of the Warm Family donations from
elementary school until secondary school class 3. “I have very a good
feeling about this project, because it has been able to assist me in having
moral and financial support for my education,” she said.
Presented for the 2008 education year, the donations were divided up as
follows: 94 students from 10 schools under the jurisdiction of Pattaya City,
337 students from 35 schools under the care of the Chonburi Educational
Service Area Office Region 3, eight students under the care of the Sattahip
Wittayakom and Vocational College, and one student from Burapha University.
A total of 48 schools and 440 students received scholarships from the Warm
Family project in 2008.
Imperial Noodles will feed 5,000 at Vegetarian Festival
The yearly Vegetarian Festival
is always a colorful event.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Chefs at the upcoming Vegetarian Festival will use 500kg of dry
noodles to make the Imperial Noodles that will form the centerpiece of the
event, which will take place over the 10-day period September 28 to October
8.
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay chaired a meeting of the organizing committee
on August 28.
The festival, which will take place at the Sawang Boriboon Thamasathan
Foundation and is held mainly for Thai people of Chinese descent, is being
supported by Pattaya City with a budget of 1.8 million baht.
The Imperial Noodles, served up to all those taking part, will be cooked in
a giant pan measuring 3.5 meters in diameter. The ingredients will include
500kg of dry “mee sua”, which is the main ingredient, along with shiitake
mushrooms, carrots, Chinese lettuce, bean sprouts and asparagus. It is
estimated that 5,000 dishes will be distributed.
Verawat said that religious ceremonies would be performed throughout the
opening day, September 28, starting at 9 a.m. At 12:19 p.m. a parade would
start from Bali Hai Pier and travel through Walking Street. After this it
would divide, one line passing along Pattaya Beach Road through to the
Central Pattaya Junction, the other passing along Pattaya Second Road,
stopping for a dragon show at Mike Shopping Mall, and then going to meet up
with the first line at the Central Pattaya Junction. From there, the parade
would proceed to the TOT Intersection.
Later, the parade would reform at Sawangfa Temple and travel to Lan Pho
Naklua, and on to the Sawang Boriboon Thamasathan Foundation.
Irrawaddy Dolphin found dead on beach
Patcharapol Panrak
An Irrawaddy Dolphin weighing almost 100 kilograms was found
dead on the beach outside the Sunset Park Spa Resort during the morning of
August 20.
Officers at the radio service center of the Sawangrojana Thamasatharn
Foundation in Sattahip received a report from the hotel’s manager, Saeree
Saengkrai, at 9:30 a.m. notifying them of the discovery, and officials from
the Department of Fisheries at Sattahip went to inspect the find.
Sawang Sukjaroen, a Fisheries Department officer said the dolphin was of
unknown gender and aged between six and eight years. The carcass was already
rotting, death having occurred probably less than five days ago.
There was no indication that the dolphin had been entangled in a fishing
net.
Sawang said that several dolphins have been found dead on this beach, known
as Tawanron Beach, over the past few years, and it was likely there is a
school of dolphins living in the area. The Fisheries Department had carried
out investigations on the others and found they had died from internal
infections. This might be the case with the latest dolphin death.
There are a considerable number of Irrawaddy Dolphins living off the coasts
of Chantaburi and Trad provinces, as the waters have plentiful sea grass and
the weather conditions are mild.
Preventive cancer treatment program on offer from new wellness clinic
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
To prepare for the opening of the Gene Suppression Cancer Center
at the new High Care Beauty and Wellness Center in November, a seminar was
held on August 21 at the Sunbeam Hotel to discuss this method of treatment.
 A
volunteer has her blood checked for cancer markers.
Held by the hotel’s vice president, Rungthip Suksrikarn, the seminar
included as key speaker pharmacist Somchai Lettnamcherdsakul.
Somchai said this is a preventive treatment that is new in Thailand but has
been in use in the United States for some while now.
Suppressing cancer genes is a method of examination to detect possible
cancer conditions, said Somchai, and to evaluate the potential for
contracting cancer. Those undergoing the treatment are not cancer patients,
but there is a likelihood they could be, and so this is a preventive form of
medicine.
Rungthip said the seminar was designed to heighten awareness of gene
suppression treatment before the opening of the High Care Beauty and
Wellness Center in November. This clinic will use high-level technology for
analysis.
The center will also offer a variety of other wellness programs including
full health checkups, a detox program, and a weight loss and body-reshaping
program.
An introductory fee will apply to the tests for suppression of cancer genes,
the normal price of 75,700 baht being reduced to 60,000 baht.
The High Care Beauty and Wellness Center is located at 78/13, Moo 9, Pattaya
Second Road, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi; tel. 038 361 749-50, 038
415923.
Vocational students ready to Go to Beijing
Saksiri Uraiworn
Banglamung Industrial and Community Education College was the
venue on August 22 for a competition that will send the winners forward to
the 8th National Go Games, V-GO 8.
 Youngsters
take part in the competition, hoping to earn a trip to Beijing in October.
Pongsakorn Unnopporn, Deputy Minister of Education presided over the opening
of the competition, which was also attended by Banglamung District Chief
Mongkol Thammakittikhun and secretary general of the Go Association of
Thailand Suwit Kingkaew.
These Go Games were held for the vocational college competitive level, with
vocational colleges throughout the country sending representatives to
compete.
The ultimate winners of V-GO 8 will take part in the World Mind Sports
Games, which will be held from October 3 to 18 in Beijing.
Go is a strategic board game for two players, in which black and white
pieces are placed on vacant intersections with the objective being to
control a larger part of the board than the opponent. To achieve this,
players strive to place their pieces in such a way that they cannot be
captured, while mapping out territories the opponent cannot invade.
Go is regarded as the only board game that teaches players to possess power
without thinking of elimination of the opponent, encouraging players to
think systematically and to have vision. For these reasons it is encouraged
amongst young people, and Pongsakorn said the Education Ministry was keen
for the game to be further developed at vocational college level.
Red Cross meeting
hosted by Chonburi
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The Red Cross in Region 3 held a meeting on August 21 in the
Saimanee Room at the Long Beach Garden and Spa Resort, chaired by Secretary
Pan Wannamaethee and opened by Chonburi Governor Pracha Taerat.
 Pan
Wannamaethee, secretary of the Red Cross in Region 3.
Tipawan Taerat, who is chairwoman of the Chonburi Provincial Red Cross, said
the meeting was being held under Red Cross regulations, Section 8 of
Provincial Red Cross Clause 48. This states that the provincial Red Cross
commission meeting should be held a minimum of three times per year in order
to update information.
This was the second meeting for Region 3 this year, the meetings being held
every four months, and the Chonburi Provincial Red Cross hosted the event.
More than 500 commission members from the Red Cross in Region 3 attended
this meeting, which consisted of members from Chonburi, Rayong, Chantaburi,
Prachinburi, Chachoengsao, Trat, and Sakaew.
The meeting started with a DVD to introduce Chonburi Province, and featured
talks by Mrs Duangsamorn Pantusen, deputy director of the Thai Red Cross
administrative office, Mrs Mantana Wasaput, chairwoman of the Housewives
Association of the Ministry of Interior, and Dr Moryun Satthabutr
Preutthipan, assistant director at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya.
Campaign begins for condom use amongst youngsters
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Thai teenagers have been warned again about the dangers of contracting HIV
and are being encouraged by the Pattaya Public Health Department to use
condoms.
 Condoms
are being distributed to tourists and locals along Pattaya Beach.
The Department of Disease Control is targeting young people in educational
establishments, in the entertainment business, and in the communities.
Statistics reveal that the number of new HIV cases has been increasing in
recent years at the rate of about 14,000 per year, with young people forming
the largest number of victims.
This latest campaign in Pattaya started on August 23, Chonburi Province
having been selected by the Ministry of Public Health as the Eastern region
province to target first in what is a national campaign to encourage young
people to use condoms.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh inaugurated the campaign, and a variety of
activities have been arranged, including stage and musical performances by
university students, games, and an exhibition.
Condoms are being freely distributed along Pattaya Beach to service industry
people and tourists as part of the campaign.
Nattapong Sooksiri, director of the Pattaya City Youth Activity Center said
that the Pattaya Public Health Department and the Department of Disease
Control are coordinating the project.
The targeted groups are people of 12 to 24 years of age, and also those of
20 to 39 years of age who are from the low-income sector.
Mermaids Dive Center and US Navy Safeguard clean up Hat Nuan
The team poses for a photo
after a very worthwhile hard day’s work.
Sheena Walls
When Mermaids Dive Center was approached by US Navy League President
Peter Thorand to do a joint underwater clean up with the USNS Safeguard
(Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One) and our students, the first reaction
was wow! What do these guys do? What equipment do they use? How can we all
dive together?
During the organization of the event, we came up with the idea for Commander
Tony San Jose, CW03 Mark Thomas and the diving crew of the USNS Safeguard to
do a presentation at Mermaids on the evening of the 27th August. Tony, Mark
and the crew arrived at Mermaids loaded up with equipment that most of us
couldn’t wait to get our hands on. After a great presentation, we all got a
chance to try the gadgets on and firmly bonded a relationship with them that
was to continue onto the next day.
 The
clean up team collected ten very large garbage bags full of bottles,
plastic, rope nets and an assortment of random bits and pieces.
On the 28th August at 8am, Andy Campbell, PADI dive master who had organized
all the equipment needed for the cleanup, Mermaids students and the USNS
Safeguard crew were ready to go. Today was going to be a special day. By 9am
all the equipment and the divers were on the boat and we were ready to set
sail for Hat Nuan where we were going to clean up.
Hat Nuan on the south side of the island of Koh Larn has in the past needed
a lot of cleaning up but as Andy said, “I was impressed by the amount of
rubbish that was not present, if that makes sense; because on previous
clean-ups that I have participated in, it seems to me people just don’t care
what they put in the ocean. Maybe people are becoming more aware of the
conservation work that Mermaids are doing to help conserve the reefs and
beaches in the Chonburi area.”
After a hearty lunch, all divers went back to the same site but concentrated
on the east side of the bay. More rubbish was found in this area than the
other side of the bay, probably because the headland juts out and acts like
a breakwater, accumulating rubbish when the tide is going out. Lots of
bottles were found, as usual; also many yards of rope and net fish traps.
When collating the data for Project AWARE, the “Mermaid Guards” had
collected ten very large garbage bags full of bottles, plastic, rope nets
and an assortment of random bits and pieces. For example, an old car
headlight, a toy gun and a pair of underpants! Approximately 150kgs was
removed from the bay at Hat Nuan; it was a good fun day out, and everyone
had a great time.
Mark Thomas, USNS Safeguard said, “Thanks for taking care of us Sheena. It
was truly the classiest dive trip I have ever been part of. Your team of
divers really went out of their way to make us feel welcome and comfortable
the entire trip; and I am sure you heard the visibility was awesome.”
Mermaids Dive Center would like to thank Peter Thorand for making this great
experience possible and our new friends on the USNS Safeguard. We only wish
that the crew were still here to help us out on the International Cleanup
day on the 20th September; sadly they will be leaving Pattaya before. But
the impact they made on us all will remain for a long time.
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