City leaders deny drugging deaths

Local business people and the Pattaya Tourism Association, responding to several local newspaper reports in the middle of December about tourist deaths from druggings, which they claimed all came from a single reporter, gave a news conference saying this was not true.
They also took their complaints to the provincial governor to solve the problem of Pattaya’s tarnished image, and placed news releases in all of Thailand’s and some foreign newspapers.
The Governor responded by asking the media to present only the truth and while doing so, consider the damage to Pattaya when reporting. He said most reporters gave unbiased news about the city, but some went a bit overboard when reporting on incidents concerning tourists. Some of these articles must be presented to officials first, so they may work to solve the problems and to warn tourists, the governor said. He went on to say that he believed the stories of Europeans dying was the reporting of just one reporter and that it was harmful to the city. Other reporters have presented articles that helped the city and tourism, which was brought up as a matter of business in a meeting of reporters for further problem solving.
Sethaphan Buddhani, Director of The Tourism Authority of Thailand, Pattaya, said that the deaths of European tourists was a series of misfortunate incidents. Death from illness accounted for 90% of the deaths. 6% were due to accidents and only 1-2% were due to murder. The reason for the unaccounted 2% is not known.
Sethaphan went on to say that these statistics were for the whole year of 1996. There have been tourists of all races who have died in Pattaya. 45 tourists did not die in one month (as the “rogue” reporter had reported) and the Tourism Authority of Thailand hopes that all business people and tourists understand this. There is ample protection for all people in Pattaya with 3 police stations and the tourist assistance volunteer organisation.
The police point out that tourists bring much grief upon themselves by not following police directives. Some of these include bringing strangers to one’s hotel room, walking in unlighted, deserted, non-tourist areas while wearing large amounts of gold and jewellery. Another problem is tourists who refuse to learn about Thai laws and customs. By breaking laws and flouting customs, they end up getting arrested or drubbed by the owners of the country. Tourists must use more common sense to prevent crimes which might be perpetrated on them before they happen. Police concluded by stating that this happens to tourists in all part of the world and not only Thailand and Pattaya.

50 kilo snake terrorises neighbourhood

Sawang Boriboon Foundation workers struggle to get the wild python under control.

Ms. Jariya Sulakananon of Banglamung reported that a very large python had come out of the jungle and was chasing children who were playing in the area. Everyone was understandably unnerved at the snake’s frightening antics.
The Sawang Boriboon Foundation rushed to the scene, and at the entrance to the Prasong Plaza housing development used spotlights to search timorously through tall, dark grass on both sides of the Soi. They finally found the slithery fellow coiled up asleep and proceeded to attempt a capture.
But in Thailand, snakes don’t live long enough to get this big if they’re stupid, and this one awoke and put up quite a fight, throwing all four metres of bone-crushing, constricting muscle into it. Residents stood and watched, some cheering the snake and some, the would be captors.
The foundation finally won and the python weighed in at more than 50 kilograms. He was pretty chubby as he had been stealing chickens on a regular basis.
The serpent was taken and released in a very isolated area away from human habitation.

Swiss arrested for possession

Drugs found in Roland Pfirter’s home.

Tuesday 4 Feb. 97. Pol. Lt. Thanomsak Indharabutr of the Pattaya Tourist Police received a tip that a well known drug using Farang, living in a house at 111/92, Moo 11, Moo Ban Daraphanha, Soi Khaotaro, was spotted buying drugs at his home.
Lt. Thanomsak, with his minor officers, went to the house and found Mr. Roland Andreas Pfirter, a Swiss national, and some drugs laying on his table. He was brought to the Pattaya Tourist Police Station and was charged for drug possession.
Pfirter confessed to the crime and told police that he had been living in Thailand for approx. 2 years. He said he used to take heroine back home in Baden, Switzerland, and was very sick. He has not been working, but receives money from the Swiss Government, with which he decided to come to Pattaya. He was in the Pattaya Drug Center for a month, but when he got out, he could not avoid going back on the same track. Now he will probably be facing 6 months in jail. “If he is lucky”, said one of the officers. Roland was then sent to the Pattaya Police to be held until trial.

Samae San villagers protest land rights

 Samae San villagers protest their right to own the land they have been living on for 80 years.

A group of 500 protesters from Samae San Municipality were out in great numbers on the lawn of the Sattahip District Office. They were protesting the fact that they did not have any right to the land that they had been living on for many years as the navy claims it is a protected area for use by the Navy alone. The Royal Navy says this has been so since 1955. But the residents have been living at Samae San for more than 80 years, long before 1955.
The people are now saying that if the navy is going to throw them off the land they must compensate them for it by providing alternate living areas.
Mr. Saneh Phitaks, the head of the administration of Samae San Municipality, said that the people have been calling for their rights since 1973. There are four other municipalities affected by this; Sattahip, Bangsarey, Na-Jorm-Tien, and Phlu-Ta Luang. In 1983, the government gave permission for land rights to residents of the other 4 Municipalities, but Samae San was not included in this.
During this time, Samae San has been developing. Roads have been laid, electricity has been connected and other utilities installed. This has been the work of the government. The only thing the people have not received is rights to the land. To this day the Navy has not made any surveys specifying who the empty unused lands belong to, which are fenced off by the military, and where the people should live.
All the residents have paid household taxes up to the present day. The taxes have been paid to the Land Department. They have asked for help from almost every administration since the Prem Tinsulanonda government but have been totally ignored.
Representatives of the people say that the protesters would like to have talks with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence on this issue. They would also like to talk with officials from the all-powerful Ministry of the Interior. The people say they realise that the government is having problems taking care of the poor people in Thailand, but they say that they too deserve justice. They want the navy to make areas for them to conduct their lives. They don’t want to be thrown off land they have lived on since their grandmothers and grandfathers time. If they receive no satisfaction, they will take their protest to Bangkok.
MP Sansak Ngarmphiches and the District Chief of Sattahip have promised to take this problem to the central government for expeditious treatment.

The last Kunz arrested, released

Kunz’s incriminating fake passport.

Austrian Peter Kunz, arrested by Tourist Police on January 31 for being in the kingdom without permission and carrying a fake passport, somehow managed to finagle his release from Pattaya Police on 200,000 baht bail.
Pol. Lt. Thanomsak Inthrabutr of the Pattaya Tourist Police, acting on information he received from an anonymous source who said that Peter Kunz has been in the kingdom for many years without official documents, went with investigators to Kunz’s Domicile Restaurant on January 31 to ask Kunz for a look at his travelling documents. Kunz was able to produce a Mauritius passport with his name and picture. Knowing Kunz is Austrian, police invited Kunz to the Pattaya Tourist Police station for further investigation.
During his interrogation at the station, the elder Kunz confessed that the passport he was carrying was a fake. He claimed the Austrian Embassy would not issue him a new passport, and that his Austrian passport had expired in April 1994. Kunz also had in his possession a work permit from Mauritius issued in his name.
Kunz was then sent to Pattaya Police Station for further legal action.
Pattaya Mail learned that on Tuesday, 4 February, Peter Kunz was released on 200,000 baht bail, authorised by the Pattaya Police. Questioning the legality of that move, our intrepid reporter contacted Pol. Capt. Pattana Robroo, the office in charge who received Kunz from the Tourist Police, and asked if it was legal to release Kunz on bail, knowing he had no legal documents to be in the country. Pattana replied, “I myself have no authority to do so, but my superior does. The decision was made by him, and it was the most suitable one.”
Pattaya Mail then made a call to the Tourist Police and had a talk with Lt. Thanomsak. He was very surprised when we told him that Peter Kunz is now walking on the street again. “It’s impossible”, Thanomsak said. “The man is here in the kingdom without proper documents, plus he is carrying a fake passport, which is a very strong reason to detain him.”
Peter Kunz is the father of the notorious brothers, Michael & Thomas Kunz. The two younger Kunz’s attained infamy when they were sentenced to two years in prison for assaulting Peter Malhotra, Editor of Pattaya Mail. They were released on probation, but were later black-listed by immigration police and deported.
“Michael and I are two different people. Whatever my son did has nothing to do with me”, Peter Kunz told Pattaya Mail. “I am an old man who wishes to live his life in a decent way, and it seems to me that the world does not allow it to happen. I do confess that when I get drunk I may talk a lot and act in ways I shouldn’t, but I still don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
Perhaps not. However, the “elder” Kunz readily admitted last year to having cheated his erstwhile partner, Bernard Sering, out of all the money he had in a blatant fraud in a business deal concerning the Domicile Restaurant. Sering, left penniless, attempted suicide.
“We did a lot to help Bernard Sering, who was cheated by Kunz”, Lt. Thanomsak told Pattaya Mail. “But we couldn’t be of much help until we caught him with a fake passport. Its frustrating because we must instill in these foreigners that they are not welcome here. I will contact my Superior in Bangkok and inform him what is going on.”

Motorcycle bump leads to riff

With easy money on her mind, the angry prostitute goes for the gold at Pattaya police station.

Clearing problems between tourists and bargirls have become the Police Department’s most time wasting activities. Officers received a report of yet another silly argument, so invited both prostitute and John to the Pattaya Police Station. Both refused to give their names to police officers. The prostitute accused the foreigner of knocking her motorcycle over and damaging it. The foreigner agreed to pay repair charges but had to wait for money to be transferred from overseas. Police recorded this promise as evidence. The two left with the prostitute bleating obscenities because the police would not arrest the foreigner as they felt he had made an honest mistake and intended to pay for it. The young man turned and told police with a smile that he promised he would pay as soon as the money came.

Priceless amulets stolen

Somtak points to the show case from where his firm’s priceless amulets were stolen.

Pattaya Police received a report that 2 teenagers had stolen amulets from a Buddhist relic centre, located on the ground floor of the 9 carat condominium.
Arriving on the scene, police found one of the glass show cases had been prised open and a number of amulets taken. The criminal(s) had left a length of bamboo, a flat mouthed jimmy and a pair of flip-flops.
The relic centre belongs to Mr. Somtak Manomaivibool, 57, the head of the board of directors of the 9 Carat Company. Before reporting the incident to the police, Somtak had seen one thin longhaired and one thin short-haired teenager pry their way into the shop and take some of the relics. They took about 220 relics and amulets, some very valuable and covered with gold. The overall worth of these objects was 9 million baht.
At the time of the robbery, a motorcycle driver saw two teenagers running out of the shop in a suspicious manner. He gave chase but the two disappeared behind the condominium.
Police searched but with no luck. They sent forensic experts to gather fingerprints and evidence. Investigations continue.

Spirits of the tree strike back

A centuries old Tamarind tree was the site of an accident last week when some of the branches of the 20 metre tall tree had broken and were hanging dangerously over several households.
Responding to a request residents made to the Parks Department to come and remove the branches of the giant tree, Mr. Viroj Klinmee, an official of the department, climbed the tree with colleagues and had tied rope around the hanging branches before severing them so they would not fall on the houses below. But the rope became tangled and snarled when some of the sawing work was done. Mr. Viroj volunteered to climb across the giant tree and remedy the problem.
He was putting one of the ropes back in place when a branch the size of a telephone pole fell. The rope snaked around his wrist, pinning it to another branch as the giant piece of wood fell and then came to a stop above the ground. Viroj cried out in pain and passed out due to trauma in a crotch of the tree. Colleagues tried to rescue him but did not have the proper equipment to help him, so called the Sawang Boriboon Foundation.
Using a “cherry-picker” fireman’s crane, officials managed to remove the rope which had pinned Viroj’s wrist. As officials were gingerly removing the unconscious Viroj from the tree, residents lit 9 sticks of incense as their ancestors had always done to propitiate the spirits and other holy entities which reside in trees. Some say this not being done was the reason for Viroj’s misfortune.
Viroj was safely removed from the tree and taken to the hospital where he received treatment for pain trauma and a wrist injury.

Amorous thief caught in the act

Pornsri points an accusing finger at Vinij.

On January 29th police received a report that a young woman had been raped on Thap Phaya Hill in a small woodland area.
Police found the site to be a deserted Soi in a deeply forested area. They found Ms. Pornsri Taenglueang, 27. Her hair was snarled and tangled and she was in a dishevelled condition with leaves sticking to her clothing. A Bangkok native, she was working for a construction company in Pattaya.
Pornsri told police that she had come out of her residence and waved down a motorcycle with two men on it; “One who is standing right here”, she said, pointing petulantly at Vinij Dongkratok 17.
Since the two were so handsome, she told police, she trusted them and asked them to take her to the Made In Thailand shopping complex in Pattaya Klang. She sat between the two on the motorcycle.
Instead of taking her to her destination, the two young brutes took her up the hill and each raped her once. After doing this, they took her 1 baht weight gold chain.
Police took Vinij to the Pattaya Police Station for questioning. The 17 year old admitted that he and ‘Nung’, the driver of the bike, had had sex with Pornsri. He also said that she was totally willing and had even told them both how sexy they were before she enthusiastically joined them on the motorcycle. After having sex with her, they were ready to take her back home, but the driver ‘Nung’ became greedy and took her gold necklace and jetted off on the bike, leaving him to be arrested.
Pornsri requested police to charge the young men with theft, but decided not to press rape charges. The police followed her wishes and charged the young men with theft.

Gold stealin’ friend

Somsri gets pointed out by her accuser in the Pattaya police station.

In some cases, money is thicker than friendship, as the Pattaya Police learned when they received a complaint from Ms. Laiad Singhkhokkruad.
Her good friend, Ms. Somsri Somphien, had asked to borrow money from her. When she refused, Somsri helped herself to Ms. Laiad’s gold and valuables.
Somsri stole a 2 and one-half troy ounce solid gold bracelet, a 1 troy ounce neck chain, a Karat gold bracelet worth approximately 8,000 baht, and Laiad’s Karat gold watch.
Laiad managed to find her good friend and get her to agree to pay back a part of the money she had received from pawning the gold bracelet and chain, but Somsri refused to pay back the money from the karat gold bracelet and watch as she had to lose so much of their value pawning them.
Ms. Laiad, naturally incensed, took Somsri to the police where she admitted to having taken her good friend’s valuables.
Police charged her with grand theft.

You can’t always trust your friends

Prayoon used his friend’s trust to steal him blind.

Prayoon Photithong, 19, was arrested last week for selling motorcycle parts he had stolen off his friend’s motorcycle.
Tan Burana, Prayoon’s friend, reported to police that Prayoon had borrowed his motorcycle and returned it with inferior parts. When he returned the bike, Tan became suspicious when Prayoon turned and ran away.
After his capture by police as he was walking along the beach, Prayoon admitted to having borrowed the motorcycle with the intention of committing the crime. He also admitted that he took the windscreen, the gas tank, the front and rear wheels, the forward mud-guard, and one piston-cover, and then replaced them with older parts. He sold the parts for 2500 baht.

Eleva-torture

Five people from the Singer International Corp in Cha Chueng Sao, visiting Pattaya for a convention, were trapped inside the elevator at Swan Beach Resort Jomtien last week for several hours.
Repeated attempts by other conventioneers to free them failed, and it wasn’t until a hotel guard went down into the lift control room and physically turned to cog which controlled the pulley, causing the elevator to move just enough, that the trapped conventioneers were able to be freed.
All five were weak from insufficient oxygen and needed medical attention in the hospital.

Revenge of the in-laws?

Last week, Surasak police received a report of a body found in a grassy area by the side of the road in Sriracha. Arriving on the scene, police found the body of Praphan Thanawan, 27, who had been shot twice with a .38 calibre pistol.
Investigations revealed that Praphan, a driver for the Chaweewan Farm, just before his untimely death had a quarrel with his wife which ended in blows. His wife, Ms. Mae, then packed up her clothing and returned to her mother’s home.
Praphan then went out and became intoxicated and decided to apologise to his wife. But when he went to her mother’s home, her mother would not allow him to speak to her. He then became very angry and went on a rampage in her house, destroying many personal and household items. After this he walked away.
The next morning, his body was found. Their were no signs of any struggle and the only clues police have are the tracks of a motorcar (near the body) which had driven up and departed very rapidly. Officers found five am-phetamine tablets in Praphan’s pocket and kept them as evidence. Aside from this, police have no clue as to who the perpetrators are.

Susiree Massage responds to Mailbag letter

Responding to the derogatory Mailbag letter in which an unsatisfied customer complained about a massage parlor that employed blind masseurs (“Perverted Blind Masseuses” Vol. V No. 3, 17 Jan.), Pattaya Mail received an answer from Khun Susiree Chanchailart, owner of “Susiree Traditional Thai Massage Center”, Soi Pingpah.
Khun Susiree first expressed her anger and frustration about the letter, writing: “Since my place is the only massage parlor in town that employs blind people, this letter was obviously written about us. All of us were very offended by those lies. Just because of one customer, who’s imagination is beyond truth, all those poor, blind people, who are earning their living in our place, are jeopardized by dirty accusations. It never did, and never will happen that a customer gets abused in this place. This would just not be possible. All our staff are very honest, good people, who’s backgrounds are checked”. She added on, “We do not claim to have the most elegant place, but it’s clean. If our customers preferred to get a massage in an elegant place with fancy equipment, we could not offer a rate of B 80 per hour. I would like to invite Pattaya Mail to come any time, to get the right impression.”
Pattaya Mail took her up on her offer, and paid her a visit (without making an appointment). Our reporter’s first impression: tidy and clean, typical Thai style, not elegant but appropriate. No spider webs hanging from the ceiling nor from the fans. Different rooms with clean mattresses, covered with bed-sheets, on a very clean floor. No curtains between the mattresses, also no see-through ones, whether in the open-air rooms nor in the air-conditioned room.
Customers of both sexes and various ages were being treated, and we asked a few what their impressions were of the place.
Mr. Joe Aaron and his wife, just making a new appointment for the next day, said: “This place is very good. We have been to several Traditional Massage Parlors, but we always keep coming back here. The service is good, the prices are very low and it gives us the opportunity to help disabled people”.
Mr. Reinhard Schüller, a customer of more than 3 years, told us: “I felt very embarrassed reading that letter. These people work very hard and try to do their best. In all those years, I am confident that nobody in here would do such a thing. I have been to many other places, so called “clean”, and many times I got offers from the massage girls for another “service” after the regular massage. Nothing like this would ever happen here”.
Mr. Balcer and his wife have patronized the establishment several times and said they will also be back for the good service and the professional massage offered here.
Khun Susiree told us with pride that she has customers of all nationalities and has never had a complaint before. “This place has existed for 6 years. We have worked very hard to get it together. We like to help blind people to earn their money in an honest way and at the same time gain confidence to be able to do something on their own. As you can see, we were successful by giving them a chance. I would like to invite anybody who reads Pattaya Mail to take a look and make up their own mind.”
Pattaya Mail would like to take this advantage to express it’s regrets for not checking the facts before printing this accusing letter.

In defence of the beach masseuses

Beach masseurs, hounded by local police, provide a valuable and memorable service to our guests from abroad.

Editorial by Kittisak Khamthong
Poor people have feelings. Most wish to make an honest living. A few are able to do so from practising the art of traditional Thai massage on tourists at the beach. These practitioners also give massage in the correct way as they have learned it as passed on to them from parents and grandparents.
But the City of Pattaya does not see the importance, nor the benefits, of this ancient Thai art. They look at it in a negative fashion and believe that the practitioners annoy tourists.
But after interviews, reporters have found that both Thais and foreigners are interested in, and often take advantage of, ‘real’ traditional Thai massage, leaving both practitioners and clients satisfied.
Some foreigners come to Pattaya Beach from far away to receive massage from the beach practitioners. They find relaxation, sunshine and tropical comfort here along with the benefits of Thai massage according to the principles set down in traditional Thai medicine.
The income of the practitioners on the beach is between 500 and 1,000 baht a day. This is a sufficient amount of money to better their quality of life. If we consider the amount of money made by the practitioners, there must be a large amount of tourists who don’t feel the masseurs are ‘bothering’ them. Most of the practitioners have only a 4th-6th grade education, and if they worked according to their ‘academic’ school credit, they could probably only be maids or janitors, making 1500-2000 baht a month. Would this be enough to support families and children and sometimes mothers and fathers who cannot work?
Just go down to the beach. Chair rental is 20 baht and a soft drink is an astounding 10 baht or more. If you don’t want to pay to rent one of the chairs, the vendors may be kind enough to let you sit by a drainage pipe. The tourists who come here must have money. So why doesn’t the city understand that residents also need money to live?
Massage practitioners are using honest knowledge to make an honest living. It is not like some ‘massage’ which is conducted in large air-conditioned buildings by rich people for men only, where extra-curricular activities are the main purpose of the operation. If the city lets these people work, why can’t it let practical exponents of the real thing work in an honest and open fashion? The scantily clad girls in the air-conditioned ‘massage’ parlours aren’t hassled by police, so why should honest men and women be deprived of making a good living and be forced into certain poverty by police raids on the beach?
These people have no ‘hidden agendas’ with anyone. They are just trying to make an honest living. But they are constantly harassed by city and tourist police.
Some tourists have even asked reporters why the masseurs on the beach are hassled by the police. Is it against the law or could it be that they don’t give the police a cut of their earnings, like the people in the air-conditioned massage-parlours?
We have to give this problem to His Excellency the Mayor to solve. Could we have a little bit of compassion, sir?

Pattaya Mail’s TV debut rescheduled

Pattaya Mail just received an urgent fax from Shawn O’Leary from NBC. Pattaya Mail’s international tele-vision debut, as reported last week (Vol. V No. 5, page 13), originally scheduled for February 8th and 9th, has been pushed back to February 22nd and 23rd.
Shawn’s interview with Pattaya Mail will air on “Hot Property Asia” on CNBC, NBC and UTC cable service. The newly scheduled times on the 22nd and 23rd of February are: Saturday at 14:30, repeated at 21:00, and Sunday at 14:00, repeated at 20:00.
Shawn also revealed that as of January 1, 1997, The Asian Property Report changed its name to Hot Property Asia, and the Richard Ellis Report changed to Hot Property Thailand. The same great programming on both shows will continue.
The main topic of discussion in Shawn’s interview with Pattaya Mail Editor and Publisher Peter Malhotra revolved around the unique, “old fashioned” style of Pattaya Mail, how we are viewed in the community, and the history of Pattaya Mail. The film crew visited Pattaya Mail offices, newsroom, and printing press.
The Asian Property Report, now known as Hot Property Asia, began in 1995 as Thailand’s first international English language television program. It is currently seen in more than twenty countries by more than 100 million homes.
So tune in and see your local newspaper as it is portrayed on international television!

Mr. Anusak Rodmanee, the General manager of the Asia Hotel, led administrators and staff in a charitable gesture of donating necessities and lunch to senior citizens at the Senior Citizen’s Home in Banglamung