1 down, 2 to go

In a follow up to the story of the three middle-easterners who “hack-sawed” their way out of jail, police have managed to catch one of the fugitives in Huay Khwang District of Bangkok.
Police arrested Gromani Afchof, 28, an Iranian hiding alone in his room. He was charged with entering Thailand illegally, something they could do because his passport was invalidated after the jail-break. He was brought back to Pattaya where he now once again resides in the Pattaya jail.
Police are still searching for the other 2 fugitives.

Corporal punishment in schools still exists

Mr. Kiartsak, a Matayom 4 (10th grade) mathematics teacher at Nong Nae School, has received formal reprimands from the parents and friends of 16 year old Khajornchai Thammasunee after the teacher kicked his student in the face.
Tourist Police Sergeant Sudchai Thammasuree and Mr and Mrs. Vinai Thammasunee brought their son, Khajornchai Thammasunee, into the police station with a bruised face.
The child revealed that before the incident, he was studying when another young boy walked to his desk to borrow a ruler. Seeing this, the teacher walked up to the two and asked what was going on. Khajornchai answered that he had called the other boy up to return his ruler. When the teacher heard this, he said nothing but lifted up his foot and kicked Khajornchai in the face. Khajornchai fell backwards, his head hitting the floor. All the students were surprised at this barbaric behaviour, but no-one dared say anything and could only look on their classmate with pity.
The teacher told the boy that on Monday he would get another kick. Khajornchai was so afraid that after school, he immediately went home and told his parents.
After the officer on duty at the police station was informed of this, he requested the teacher to come to the police station. The teacher admitted to what he did without shame, saying he did it on impulse. The parents said they would prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law.
The police officer fined the teacher 200 baht, and declared that the case was closed. But a malfeasance case could still be filed against the teacher, which the couple planned to do. They said they would contact the Minister of Education Suvich Rangsitphol and continue their case.

Another strange tourist demise

Pattaya police sent officers to the Pan View Towers on Soi 5 after receiving a report that a foreigner had jumped out of a sixth floor window and fallen to his death.
Investigating officers’ only clues to the apparent suicide came from a hawker who rented folding chairs on the beach. He said that the foreigner had rented a beach chair and bought 5 beers, then told the vendor that he had no money to pay for them, saying he would have to get it from his residence. He told the vendor he was welcome to follow him home.
After walking a long distance, the vendor said he became suspicious and suggested that both return to the beach area by car. But just as they were about to enter the shop, the foreigner ran into Soi 5 and into the condominium.
The vendor notified police and 2 officers accompanied him into the condominium to apprehend the tourist. They found him on the 6th floor.
The police handcuffed him, and when he cried out in pain saying the cuffs hurt his wrists, the police took them off. At that time, he allegedly pushed the two officers to the floor and jumped off the building.
Police still do not know the man’s identity, but senior officers said they will investigate as to why the arresting officers removed the handcuffs and allowed the man to jump to his death.

Disco Duck scene of another brawl

On March 1st, a group of teenagers, purporting to be relatives of Sanoh Thienthong, were involved in an imbroglio at the Little Duck Resort.
Arriving on the scene, police found a group of youngsters in heavy battle, five of whom police managed to arrest.
During questioning, Mr. Sukchai Thienthong, 23, said as he was walking back to his accommodations, he was attacked by a group of teenagers, and were only fighting back to defend themselves. After he and his friends were arrested and officers found out he was a relative of Deputy Prime Minister Sanoh Thienthong, they fined them only 100 baht apiece and let them go with a warning to know when enough was enough.

Tourist reprimanded for fake bank note

Recently a native of Italy was producing copies of paintings of American Benjamin Franklin. This painting is found on US $100 bills. Fiorenzo Orlandi, an artisan, brought 1 $100 dollar bill to a bank to exchange for Thai currency.
Bank officials saw the fraud immediately and stamped the note ‘counterfeit’. They told him not to use any of this type of money again. Orlandi insisted that the bills were given to him by the Banco Credito Bergamasco of Italy. He requested the bank give him back the supposed ‘fake note’ as he was going to take it to another bank to get it exchanged. The bank did not want to risk its reputation so bank officers notified police.
Police searched Orlandi’s room and found that none of the US currency in his possession was fake, so the glib officers gave him a warning about being more careful when he took money from people. Orlandi said he would remember this and not take any more money from the 500 year old Banco Credito Bergamasco.

North meets East

Police were called in to break up a fight between a Swedish male and a Thai man at the entrance to Soi 9 on Pattaya Beach, near the entrance to the police station.
Investigations revealed that the Thai man was Suchart Janya, 43, and the foreign man is known only as Tee Kellen. Suchart said he was sitting at a roadside table eating when he saw Kellen sitting and drinking beer with a Thai woman. He said he looked for a moment then continued eating. Kellen then got up and began hitting Suchart with a beer bottle until he was well bloodied. He then went away to drink at another bar.
When the police were questioning the men at the police station, another imbroglio brought out between the two which the officers were forced to quell.
After the police put Kellen in the cooler and sent Suchart to the hospital, a Thai woman claiming to be Kellens’s wife came to the police station and said her husband had been a bit drunk and could they clear up the situation. Suchart requested 5,000 baht damages which the woman willingly paid and the police charged Kellen and Suchart with disturbing the peace. Each received a 100 baht fine.

If you play, you will pay

With a little less spending money left in his wallet, Harold Charey reports his misfortune to Pattaya police.

Harold Charey, an English national, told tourist police that a ‘service girl’ had stolen £ 2,000 from his room at the Apex Hotel.
The UK national told police that he had just arrived in Thailand with a group of English friends. After getting off the plane in Bangkok, they came directly to Pattaya and went out to visit the beer bars. Near dawn, he said he met the ‘service girl’ who he thought was named Toy or Noy. Police quickly noted this down to narrow their ‘girl-hunt’.
Charey told police that when he returned to his room with the unknown woman, he was so tired from the flight and the excitement that he took off his clothing and money belt and laid them on the bedroom table. He went on to say that after he drank beer that the girl had ordered as soon as they had entered the room, he fell asleep. When he woke up he found no girl and no money.
Mr. Charey told reporters that he is offering a 10,000 baht reward to anyone finding the girl and assisting in getting her arrested.

Inside information leads to speed bust

Pattaya police spell out “Ya Ba” (Crazy pills or Speed) with the confiscated amphetamines they netted in a raid at these suspects’ apartment.

After learning that there was to be a large delivery of amphetamines on the night of February 25th, a special squad of officers raided room no. 409 in the World Resort Apartments. Police arrested three men and confiscated several coffee vials full of amphetamine tablets.
The three men said they bought the drugs from a major dealer, whom they refused to name, on Soi Wat Thamma-mongkol. They would receive 180 tablets each time, which they would then put into plastic bags for sale. Each tablet cost 60 baht wholesale and retailed for 120 baht. Apparently business was going quite well as they had scored twice in one week.
The three suspects said most of the drugs came from Suphan Province and was very popular, the orange variety being the most popular in Pattaya. They went on to say that most of their clients were ‘service-girls’ or ‘bar-girls’.

Heroin addicts caught snatching gold

Dalee and Tanormpong (back) point out the thieves Saisunee (left) and Pairoj who had snatched their gold.

Police received two consecutive reports of gold chain snatching, one at Soi Chayapruek and the other at Soi Wat Boon. The victims reported that there were two thieves driving a blue motorcycle without a license tag. The driver was male and the pillion rider was female. They escaped in the direction of Sukhumvit Road after snatching the gold.
Police were able to apprehend the thieves when they gave themselves away by going through a red light at high speed. Officers cut them off and took them to a refilling station where they performed a body search discovering the gold.
Pairoj Ketjae, 25, and his common law wife, Saisunee, confessed that they had been stealing gold because they were both addicted to heroin and needed the money to buy drugs. They were remanded to police custody and held for charging.

Another tussle over a woman

Pattaya police received a phone call reporting that there was a major brouhaha going on in front of the Malin Beer Bar.
At the scene police found two battling Westerners being watched by a large group of tourists. Officers stopped the argument and took the two the police station for questioning.
Paul Katt, an American, told the police that he was a tourist and had been drinking beer when Uffi Somerli, a Danish national, arrived at the bar with four Thai females.
Katt said he knew one of the young women in the group and said hello to her. Somerli then asked Katt if he were a German, and when Katt replied that he was an American, Somerli shoved Katt so hard with his foot that he fell to the ground, sustaining injuries. The fight then began.
Somerli first denied having kicked Katt, but when police asked how Katt had received the injuries and why witnesses had made the report they did, Somerli had no answer. He was fined 1,000 baht for assault and given a warning.

Beauty conscious Shoplifter arrested

The young complexion conscious shoplifter was caught in the act of shoplifting by police volunteers.

Majnukarn Saengurai was caught and arrested at Mike’s Shopping Mall for shoplifting cosmetics last week.
The 19 year old man was caught by police volunteers after he had stuffed almost 500 baht worth of facial creams into his bag. He has been charged with ‘shoplifting by night’.

Tourist blind sided at bar

A tourist walked into the Pattaya Police Station and reported that the bouncer at a beer bar on Soi 9 had cracked him on the head. Steve Copland, an English national, had gone into the bar and was sitting and drinking beer and talking with one of the friendly and acquisitive bar girls. Suddenly, his face went smashing into the bar counter, having been bonked on the head.
Officers recorded Cop-land’s complaint and sought medical attention for him but were not able to establish a motive or find the phantom assailant.

Brits busted in minor drug haul

Police, adhering to their “zero tolerance” laws on possession of illegal drugs, arrested three British nationals last week for possession of marijuana.
The three, who were staying in the Thanaporn Hotel, were in possession of two plastic bags containing approximately .05 grams of Cannabis. Police informed them that they were being charged with possession of a schedule 5 controlled substance, and then took them to the police station for booking.

Tourist police round up beggars

Cambodian beggars, all illegal immigrants, were rounded up and arrested by Pattaya tourist police.

The tourist police sent out a squad of officers to get rid of a gang of beggars panhandling on South Pattaya Road and in various entertainment areas.
The special police squad arrested 14 handicapped beggars who were sitting and asking for alms by the side of the road. After arresting them, it turned out that they were not Thais but illegal Cambodians. They confessed to having entered Thailand illegally through Aranyaprathet in Prajinburi Province. The person who made this possible was a man they knew only as Samuean, a Thai national. Samuean had rented a room for them in Pattaya but escaped being caught by the police.
The beggars said they made approximately 1000 baht a day each on good days and 500 baht at the very least. All the beggars were charged with illegal entry into Thailand and held at the police station.

Profile: Marine Police

Captain Ram Roshorm told reporters that the duties of the Marine Police were like other police officers. They apprehend lawbreakers in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. They provide protection to His Majesty the King and all members of the Royal Family. They provide the same services for Thai and foreign VIPs. They also see to the safety of all people, Thai and foreign, on shore and sea.
The main protection and rescue unit has its headquarters in Samut Prakarn. The unit consists of 2 commissioned and 19 non-commissioned officers who have gone through extensive training in marine rescue.
Captain Ram said the marine police are all in top physical shape and emotionally stable so they are in constant readiness to service the needs of the citizens. It is especially important for the Marine Police to be able to respond immediately as citizens in trouble are in water, which is not their natural environment.
The Marine Police’s work is presently done by four units, which are:
1. Unit one is stationed at the headquarters in Samut Prakarn province and operates in Phra-Nakorn (Bangkok) and surrounding provinces. This includes the Chao Phaya River.
2. Unit two has its headquarters at Bangsaen and services an area extending to Trat Province.
3. Unit 3 is stationed in Phuket Province and is responsible for the nearby provinces such as Phangnga and Krabi.
4. Unit 4 is based at Cha-Am in Petchburi.
The Marine Police must do two 7 day diving sessions a year to keep trained in new methods of rescue and to test for continued fitness to be a member of the police force.
The force’s main problem is a shortage of officers. This causes difficulties when a large number of divers and or rescuers are needed. One reason for this could be that this job requires dedication, constant attention to one’s physical fitness and near monastic discipline, including sparing consumption of alcohol.
For this reason, the Marine Police are always looking for those with an affinity with the sea, who would be interested in joining the force.
If you should have any need for assistance while engaging in marine activities, the Marine Police may be contacted at (02) 394-1963 and 394-1968.

Police continue to crack down on gambling

Realizing the futility of their situation the busted Hi-Lo gamblers sit in disgust at Pattaya police station.

In their ongoing battle to rid Pattaya and the surrounding villages of the evils of gambling, police raids this past week netted twelve gamblers and a total of 40 baht in cash.
At the first raid, which took place at Soi Khieng Thalay, police caught three Thais in the process of a Hi-Lo game. All three were arrested and a total of 20 baht in cash was confis-cated and kept as evidence.
The second raid, in Soi Kor Phai, police arrested nine poker players and confiscated 20 baht in cash.

Thailand’s fifth refinery opens in Rayong

The last decade has seen the Eastern Seaboard increasing in importance, not only as a tourist destination, but also as a burgeoning industrial centre in Thailand. These roles are not contradictory, but conversely complement each other and make the Eastern Seaboard Development Region attractive to national and foreign investors.
The Thai Government, recalling Siam’s freedom throughout history and the huge demand for petroleum products, recognised the need of an indigenous supply of petroleum products, if Thailand was to sustain future economic growth.
Consequently, the Thai government and Caltex Trading and Transport Corporation, a world leader in the downstream petroleum business, concluded an agreement in 1992, which called for the construction and operation of the fifth oil refinery in Thailand.
The International Finance Corporation, together with 65 banks from around the world, gathered to lend the 1.19 billion dollars needed to fund the project. A further 510 million dollars was injected as equity by the shareholders, making up the total cost of 1.7 billion dollars.
On the 27th of February, 1997, HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the Grand Opening of Star Petroleum Refining Co., Ltd., (SPRC) at Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, Rayong.
The overall area of the refinery is approximately 1,250 rai and forms part of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand’s Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate. With a capacity of 130,000 barrels per stream per day of crude oil, SPRC will supply high quality petroleum products such as LPG, Polymer Grade Propylene, Unleaded Gasoline, Low Sulphur Diesel, Fuel Oil and Asphalt to the Thai market.
SPRC has incorporated Caltex’s expertise, resources and technology in the design construction and operation of its refinery. Special attention is being placed on preserving the environment. The highest priority is being given to the safety and health of the community and SPRC employees.

Laem Chabang set to become shipping hub

The Transport and Com-munications Ministry has decided to simplify customs procedures, clearing the way for Laem Chabang to become a transshipment hub for Indochina.
Deputy Transport and Communications Minister Pinit Charusombat said customs would be quicker and ships sailing from Bangkok to Laem Chabang would not need to go through the procedure a second time.
The terminal handling charge would also be cut, making it lower than the rate in Singapore.
Mr. Pinit said the decisions were reached during a meeting attended by representatives from government agencies, exporters, importers, ship owners and Thai Maritime Navigation Co.
It was agreed that customs officials would issue bills of lading to shippers at the terminals where cargoes were loaded. The shippers could then fax the manifests to Laem Chabang port, allowing customs officials at the deep-sea port to check cargoes quickly.
Mr. Pinit said Laem Chabang would arrange a bonded area for the transshipment of cargo from feeders to parent ships. The area would be large enough to cope with future demand by feeders from Cambodia, Vietnam and Burma.
If the value of goods by freight on board (FOB) was less than three million baht, the shipment would be exempt from a thorough customs check. Currently, only cargo worth less than 1.2 million baht is exempt.
The terminal handling charge, now at 5,600 baht per twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) would be cut. Of that total, 2,000 baht is paid to the Port Authority of Thailand and 3,600 baht as customs tariffs to the Customs Department.

Chanyudh becomes Head of the Provincial Council

Chonburi Governor Sujarit Pajchimnan gives a bouquet of flowers to Provincial Member Chanyudh Hengtrakul on his becoming the Head of the Provincial Council for 1997.

Public awareness of drug problems costs money

Chonburi MP Sontaya Khunpluem told reporters that the amphetamine problem in Chonburi was discussed in a meeting at the provincial hall, and that there was a problem with budget appropriation.
The MPs and the Chart Thai party had put together a fund of 1,291,100 baht to be used by Public Health Volunteers to organise a parade to publicise the campaign against drugs. There will also be a sports competition which will use a budget of 60,000 baht, with expenses for trophies and prizes being 30,000 baht. Food for the seven thousand plus volunteers will be 701,100 baht.
The budget for activities campaign against ampheta-mines at the public health centres will be 300,000 baht, with salaries of 5,000 baht for each of the trucks used. Signs will cost about 15,000 baht and signboards warning about the dangers of drug use will cost about 5,000 baht.
The honorariums for 2,750 volunteers in the provincial sports competition will be 275,000 baht.
The costs for the campaign at Phanat Nikom will be 200,000 baht with 2,500 baht going for workers salaries, 2,000 baht going for signs, and 187,500 baht will be used for honorariums for volunteers.
This money will come from the Special Program Development Funds at the suggestions of the representatives. The fight against amphetamines will go on.