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Foreign suspects confess to murder
Thai and German authorities co-operate to solve murder case
Thomas Bauhofer (left) and Peter Gerd Bernert
(right) were arrested after an intense investigation by Thai and German
authorities connected them with the gruesome murder of Guido Raffenberg.
Peter Gerd Bernert, 37, of Wittenberg, Germany, and Thomas
Bauhofer, 28, of Kufstein, Austria, were arrested in Thailand in connection with
the Pattaya murder of a German music teacher last December. A third suspect,
Roser Burckhart, has been arrested in Berlin, Germany.
Guido Raffenberg, 59, of Berlin, was bludgeoned to death with a shovel, then
decapitated in an attempt to conceal his identity. His head was thrown into a
garbage dump 20 kilometers from where his torso was found.
Authorities were able to track down the two suspects after German officials and
forensic specialists identified the body, then learned from relatives that his
credit card was being used after his 27 December death.
Bernert was caught using the credit card in Pattaya, but initially denied any
knowledge of the murder. He told police that he had obtained the credit card
from a friend named Roser, who, he surmised, may have been involved in the
murder along with Bauhofer and another friend named “Mario”. At that time, both
Bauhofer and “Mario” were thought to be abroad.
Bauhofer was arrested when he returned to Thailand on March 3.
Police said that both Bernert and Bauhofer have now confessed to having
cooperated with Roser and Mario in Raffenberg’s murder in a plan to take his
belongings. They said they took Raffenberg out to dinner, drugged his beer, then
took him for a drive and murdered him.
Guido Raffenberg, a 59 year old German high school teacher from Werner, North
Rein Westfalen, Germany, was brutally murdered in Pattaya on December 27, 1996.
His body was burnt, he was beheaded, and his head was driven 20 kilometres away,
all of which made it very difficult for authorities to identify the corpse. But
German and Thai law enforcement authorities diligently pursued the case and last
week were able to apprehend two suspects in Thailand and one in Germany. The
story follows.
Guido Raffenberg before his
gruesome murder in Pattaya last December.
Guido Raffenberg was a well respected man in his home town, but led a secret
life as a paedophile and made numerous trips to Thailand. Guido’s last trip was
intended to be a 2 week vacation from school. He left Germany on 21 Dec. and was
due to be back to work on the 5th of Jan. 97. When he did not show up, the head
master of the school got worried and reported Guido’s absence to police
authorities in Germany.
Guido’s missing persons report was sent to the German Liaison Office in Bangkok,
who, in co-operation with Pattaya Tourist Police, took swift action. First, the
deceased’s credit cards were checked by German authorities, who found out that
they were being used in 20 separate shops in Pattaya. Further investigation led
to a shop keeper in South Pattaya, who, in co-operation with Peter Gerd Bernert,
was using the cards. Altogether the sum of 40,000 DM (about 600,000 baht) was
spent since 28 Dec.
Suspects Peter Gerd Bernert and
Thomas Bauhofer were taken back to the scene where they showed officers the spot
they dumped the body.
Bernert was then arrested at Ping Pong Apartment in South
Pattaya, but denied in-volvement in the murder. He told the officers that he got
the credit card from his friends, and gave them three names; Thomas Bauhofer and
Mario Russ from Austria, and Roser Burckard from Germany. He also told police
that all three had already fled to Switzerland.
Investigating officers from both countries distributed the names of all the
suspects to all police authorities in Germany and Thailand.
On 3 March, officers received a report that Thomas Bauhofer had entered the
kingdom. On Tuesday the 4th, ca. 00.20 am, Bauhofer was spotted at Don Muang
airport trying to leave the country. The German Liaison Officer and Pol. Lt.
Thanomsak Indrabutr of the Pattaya Tourist Police were informed and immediately
went to the airport to arrest him. Bauhofer was brought back to Pattaya where he
confessed. In his statement to police, Bauhofer said that all four of the
suspects had planned the murder, and that the master mind behind the plot was
Peter Gerd Bernert, who also took part in the actual murder.
Hearing this, Peter Bernert began to cry and confessed everything, telling a
chilling tale.
“I have known Guido for years,” he told officers. “I have been working in a
bar-restaurant in Pattaya for many years and have got to know many people. Guido
was a gay, like us, and that’s why we got along so well. Guido was a wealthy
man, so we made a plan to murder him. We bought a spade and other digging
equipment.
“I was informed that he was to arrive on December 22, and I went to the airport
to pick him up. Then, on 27 Dec. at around 17.00, we took Guido to the Butterfly
Bar in the Thai Style Villa, had some drinks and moved to a house which was
approx. 1 km. away. [While there] we put 9 very strong valiums in his beer
bottle. When Guido began to show signs of getting drunk and tired, we told him
that we would go to a very special place where one can find handsome boys. I
took him in the car, while the other two left on a motorcycle to wait for us at
the meeting point. I drove towards water reservoir in Map Pra Chan and parked
the car, using the excuse that it would be a good time to [urinate], as planned.
Thomas and Mario were hiding in the bushes with the spade and other equipment.
We then got out of the car, and while Guido was relieving himself, both the men
came out, took up the spade and hit him from the back. But Guido was very big
and strong. He fought back and all of us had to jump on him. I beat him with the
spade probably over 10 times before he fell down to the floor. After he was
killed, we then took him into the woods where we saw grass burning. We then took
out his wallet and found 8,000 Baht in cash and two credit cards.
“With the cash, Thomas went directly to the gold shop and bought a 15 gram gold
necklace for his transvestite friend, as it was her birthday. Two days later two
of us went back to see if anyone had found the corpse, but it was still there.
So, I then chopped off his head and took it in the sack and drove further up
country side and threw it.”
The German Liaison Officer told Pattaya Mail that this was the worst case he
ever experienced. “I still do not believe that my fellow countrymen could do
such horrible thing. First, to kill someone for money, then to go back and chop
off the victim’s head. It made me sick.”
“I first received the fax about Guido missing on the 16 of January,” the officer
con-tinued. “It was obvious that a man found dead, whose body was burnt, would
be almost impossible to identify. So, I contacted Lt. Thanomsak of the Pattaya
Tourist Police and we started the investigation by visiting the shops where
Guido’s credit cards were used. We began to have some hope after we met the shop
owner, who we found was lying to us about every-thing. At the same time, I also
kept checking on the identity of the corpse of the man who was found burnt.
Eventually, we were able to find Peter Bernert with the help of the shop keepers
statements. At first Bernert didn’t confess much, only telling use that he was
sent to hire the car and drive the gang, and that he had nothing to do with the
murder. It wasn’t until we got Thomas Bauhofer before things began clearing up.
The biggest difficulty I had was identifying Guido’s body. As I said before,
there wasn’t much of him left. But I contacted Guido’s dentist who sent me his
dental records, with which we could make a positive identification.”
Pol. LT. Thanomsak told Pattaya Mail, “When we first received the request from
our German colleagues, things looked at that time impossible to start. But, due
to the skill of our colleagues, who within so short a time could gather evidence
to identify the corpse, we began to have hope. We were also fortunate that we
went to investigate the first place where Guido’s credit cards were used which
resulted in a jack pot. This shop keeper was our key man. He had made a little
fortune out of the situation by helping Peter to get cash from the credit cards.
It did not take much time to catch Bernert, but once we did he was very sharp
and was able to play around with us until we caught Bauhofer. It took a great
deal of work, but we managed to arrest the two of them. It is now up to the
German Authorities to deal with catching the other two. I also have to mention
that the German officer in Bangkok deserves a great deal of credit. He was the
real back bone of our success.”
Late breaking follow ups: Roser Burckard has been arrested in Berlin, Germany,
and will probably be tried there (as opposed to Bauhofer and Bernert who will be
tried in Thailand).
Pattaya Mail has also learned that during the confessions one of the accused
also confessed to murdering 2 more foreigners. P.M. was unable to find out which
one of the accused confessed to this, or whether the murders took place in
Pattaya or in Germany.
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Pattaya to host FCCT
Pattaya Leaders will welcome
members of the FCCT on 21 - 23 March.
Pattaya will play host to members of the Foreign
Correspondents Club of Thailand and their families next weekend, 21-23 March
1997.
Pattaya’s image deteriorated to a point that tourism has been affected both
directly and indirectly. No matter how much the private and public sectors
work on correcting certain misapprehensions in the world’s view of Pattaya,
we have only achieved a certain amount of success in cor-recting false
assumptions. We have not yet been able to completely remove many untrue
ideas concerning Pattaya.
We feel that some of this is due to insufficient under-standing on the part
of the foreign media, which plays a large role in the presentation of
Pattaya to the world.
Pattaya Mail has taken the initiative to invite bureau-chiefs from foreign
news agencies who are members of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand
(FCCT), Bangkok, to a fact finding mission. We hope to exchange ideas
between them and concerned members of the business and tourism community of
the Eastern Seaboard, governmental officers and personalities from the
Tourism Authority of Thailand.
The FCCT delegates, led by President Philippe Decaux, will be visiting
Pattaya to participate in a seminar and give valuable advice and receive
information on the real Pattaya. The group of correspondents, who are coming
from all over the world, represent a broad cross-section of the media. The
purpose of inviting them is obvious. Pattaya’s image as a tourist
destination has been virtually destroyed. This is due to certain elements in
the city’s diverse and vertical society.
Tourist destinations, such as Monte Carlo and Barcelona, could be referred
to as ‘old timers’ of the tourist world. They slowly grew into what they are
today over a period of several hundred years.
Then there are the ‘adolescent’ tourist destinations like Rio de Janeiro and
Buenos Aires. Although not of the ‘older generation’ of tourist
destinations, they are on the world’s agenda of great cities, but are now
going through an adolescent period of change. Like most adolescents, as
their life around them stabilises, so will they.
A city like Rio could be considered a link between generations. It has the
allure and cachet of Monte Carlo or Barcelona, but is still feisty and one
must handle it carefully. It does not yet have the ‘old elegance’ of the two
European cities.
Compared to the above, Pattaya is still in its infancy. Unfortunately, the
Thai tourist resort was something of a prodigy. It could, and did, too much
too soon. Ending up like most prodigies, it is rather directionless when it
should be in a healthy late childhood and preparing for a skittish and
creative adolescence in which it realises its own individuality.
But due to the fact that its considerable talents were exploited without
instilling proper discipline, it has now become a ‘bad seed’ amongst tourist
resorts.
Pattaya’s media has been aware of this for a long time and has been using
its observant expertise to steer the ‘wild child’ city back on to a more
positive road. One of the main movers in doing this is Pattaya Mail. We feel
the need for Pattaya to receive fair and yet not flattering press, thus
regaining Pattaya’s credibility in the world’s eyes. That is of paramount
importance.
That was the beginning of the Pattaya Mail newspaper.
We felt that Pattaya was being used as a source of sensationalistic stories.
Bangkok based news people could draw attention from that monster metropolis’
colossal snarl of problems by writing stories about Pattaya. We felt that if
Pattaya had its own advocate with the cities interests at heart, then these
problems would not only be honestly viewed, but solutions and Pattaya
citizens’ desire to find solutions and solve problems would be shown. The
very positive points of the city could be represented also.
The business and the government sector has been working alongside the local
media, but we feel that this is not enough. Being journalists, we knew that
if we could show the world media Pattaya’s plusses and minuses in a hands-on
manner, it would be very beneficial in making not only the world, but the
Thai powers that be, take notice of the city.
To accomplish this, Pratheep Malhotra, Editor and Publisher of Pattaya Mail,
has invited members of the media from around the world to a
conference-seminar-party. Conference to exchange ideas, seminar to work on
and find solutions, and a party because that is the end purpose of the
meeting; to show media members the possibilities for non-degenerate fun
available in Pattaya.
High ranking members in the government and leaders of the Pattaya Community
have thrown in their full support to make this a most informative, and at
the same time a pleasant weekend for our visitors.
The list of supporters is endless, with Khun Panga Wattanakul at the top
with her generous offer of compli-mentary accommodations at The Royal Cliff
Beach Resort for all visitors and their spouses. Michael Vogt, GM of the
Thai Garden Resort, is putting on a welcome cocktail and Bar B Q. party
around the poolside. MP Sansak Ngarmpiches will be hosting a dinner with
high dignitaries attending, to extend our hospitality to the visitors. PBTA,
under the leadership of Khun Sophin Thepjug, has arranged a boat trip out to
the tropical islands of Pattaya Bay. Not to be outdone, City Hall has
arranged for a meeting in City Hall on Sunday to hold a friendly discussion
on the various topics pertaining to Pattaya’s image and how to improve the
situation. The Tourism Authority of Thailand, with their strong team of
dedicated officials, will be arranging transportation from and to Bangkok,
plus all sightseeing tours for spouses and guests of the delegates. Sutham
Phanthusak, MD of Tiffany’s show, is supplying the transportation in and
around Pattaya. The Thai Sikh community and Ruang Kao Club will be helping
with beverages, the list is endless. Every citizen of Pattaya will be part
of the welcoming committee. Yes, Pattaya will be rolling out the red carpet.
Welcome to our world!
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Two down, one to go
Law enforcement officers received an anonymous phone call
telling them that the other two people in the “Jail Break” gang were found.
Police rushed to the Marine Plaza and found Ahmed Abraham. They arrested him
immediately, but he tried to convince police that he was not the person they
were seeking by producing a passport belonging to another individual.
The Iraqi finally admitted to police that he was indeed the man they were
looking for but had not been the one to saw through the bars of the jail. He
said that an unknown tourist of middle eastern origin had delivered the
hacksaw to them in a bag of food.
He said that Said Sosarat, an Iranian, had been the one to saw the bars off
the jail, and forced Ahmed to escape with him under threat of death. Ahmed
not wanting to die, decided that he should follow orders and escape too. He
said he then went and checked into a hotel. Police continue their search for
the third escapee.
Horse-Shoe Crab alert !
The Chonburi Department of Public Health issued a warning
recently about eating Horse-Shoe crabs or Maeng-Da Talay. They can be
identified by their horse-shoe shape, lack of visible legs and long tail.
Public health doctors report a series of deaths which have occurred after
consumption of the animals. Preliminary symptoms include numbness around the
mouth and in the extremities, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, weak-ness, loss
of muscle tone, respiratory collapse and cardiac arrest.
If you have any of these symptoms after eating horse-shoe crab, you should
consult a Physician very quickly.
Doctors suggest that the best way to avoid this type of death is to avoid
eating horse-shoe crab.
Close aid to Kamnan Poh murdered
Witnesses gather around the
deceased’s car.
Chucheep Iamsamang, 45, the manager of the Banglamung
Crocodile Farm and a close aid to Somchai Khunpluem, a.k.a. Kamnan Poh, was
shot dead 20 metres from his home Thursday night, March 6. Mr. Chucheep was
also an advisor to Sontaya Khunpluem, MP Chart Thai Party and assistant to
all 7 of the ‘Chonburi 7’.
The gunman, Vinai Hota, was also shot, by an off duty officer returning home
after a party, and was later arrested at Phayathai Sriracha Hospital where
he was receiving treatment for a leg wound.
Arriving at the murder scene, police found that Chucheep’s car had several
bullet holes in it, but he had already been sent to the hospital where he
was pronounced D.O.A. Police also found a number of 11 mm bullet casings at
the scene.
Four units of 10 officers each began a massive man hunt for the gunman. The
first three units cut off all egress from the forest in front where the
motorcycle had been abandoned. The other unit went to Pattaya Memorial
Hospital and found that Chucheep Iamsamang, 45, had been shot in the right
temple.
After 3 hours of searching police found nothing but a pair of flip-flops and
1 drop of blood. Police, believing the gunman was critically wounded,
ordered a complete search of surrounding areas and especially clinics and
hospitals.
Police later received a call from a physician at the Phayathai Hospital that
Vinai Kota, 44, had been shot and was receiving treatment. Upon arriving at
the hospital, police found the man fit witnesses’ descriptions.
Vinai first denied everything and said he had been shot by his wife. He said
his house was next to the crocodile farm. Police did not believe his story
as he had been shot with two different types of handguns.
Witnesses identified Vinai as the man, but refused to give their names for
fear of their lives. This is because one gunman is still at large.
Siri Chalada, 22, the minor wife of Chucheep, said that he was only 20
metres from the house when he was cruelly murdered.
The same day, Ms. Nitchaya Iamsamang told police that she was Chucheep’s
legal wife. She said she did not know why he had been shot. She said that it
was probably sexual jealousy, as her husband had been messing around with
the wife of a wealthy young Chinese businessman. The man was so angered that
he had announced that he was going to get Chucheep. Even though Chucheep had
sent ‘bigwigs’ to plead for his life, the man said he was having none of it
and said that one of them would have to die.
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Gold grabber grabbed
The gold grabber was grabbed
by tourist volunteers and Pattaya police.
Pattaya tourist assistance volunteers reported to the
Crime Suppression Division of the Pattaya Police that they had caught the
‘gold grabbing gang’. The nab had been done at the Friday market across from
the Day-Night market, Banglamung. The gang was in the process of snatching a
46 gram gold chain from a woman at the market.
This gang seems to be on the job every day the market is open. But they were
out of luck this time as Mr. Prayuth Phunsorn, a good citizen was in the
area and caught the gang member before he could escape. The gang member put
up a fight, but Prayuth had gone through volunteer tourist assistance
training and the light fingered miscreant’s attempts were in vain and
Prayuth radioed police.
Upon questioning, police found the robber, Prasert Jadkhetkorn, 21 who said
that the gang was not a single entity but different robbers working for
their own nefarious gain. Police warn people to watch their valuables
carefully at the market as there is still low-life at large.
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Rayong man robbed at a bank
Surachai Preukpaithoon, 40 year old owner of a
construction company in Muang district, Rayong, filed a complaint with local
police after 1.7 million baht went missing from his pick-up truck parked in
front of the Union Bank of Bangkok’s Tha Pratoo branch while he was inside
making a transaction.
Surachai told police that two men in a white car had followed him from the
Jantha Udom Road branch of Thai Farmer’s Bank, and believes they were the
ones who stole the money from his truck.
Police are concentrating their search on these two men.
Another raid on bars
Pattaya police officers, in their never ending battle to
“clean-up” the resort, went out and raided two exotic dancing establishments
last week, netting 8 suspects, both male and female.
Their first target was the Marilyn A Go-Go bar, where inside information has
led them to believe that scantily clad women dance, “hostess” drinks are
served at 120 baht, and sexual services are sold. Police arrested 3 women
dancers at this bar.
The police then went to the gay bars and managed to nab five young men who
were dancing lewdly.
Police have no guidelines on stopping this type of behaviour. All they can
do is fine them, after which the bar workers go back to what they were
doing.
Loveless marriage leads to suicide
Police received a report from Yuthana Meeboonrord, 29,
that his younger brother Thanin, 24, had committed suicide by shooting
himself in the head with a .38 calibre pistol under a jackfruit tree. (If
you want to become a wandering spirit in Thailand, you kill yourself under a
jackfruit tree. This is usually done by disappointed lovers who wish to
become spectral pests.) The tree was about 20 metres from their home.
Officers arrived at the scene to find the deceased with a gunshot wound in
the right temple. Police learned that Thanin had decided to shoot himself
after having problems with his wife. He had been trying to make up
differences for one week, but his wife was having none of it. He went and
took a bath and then shot himself under the jackfruit tree, as it was the
first place he had met his wife.
Phuket needs more coconuts
Phuket is suffering from a shortage of coconuts. This
popular resort town, an island province in the south of Thailand, is now
using most of its land for housing projects, bungalows and entertainment
venues. Coconut growing is now passe´. The market for these cholesterol
filled goodies is still great though, so anyone who wishes to sell coconuts
to Phuket, please contact the Rayong Office of Business Relations.
This is a public service announcement.
Thais overseas told to stop eating house pets
The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has asked for co-operation from Thai workers in Israel and those
preparing to go there.
The Israeli media has been getting down on Thai workers as they have been
hunting and eating household pets in Israel. Thai workers have also been
hunting endangered species of wildlife. Thai workers who have been caught
hunting protected species in Israel’s national forests have been deported.
The government is afraid that this behaviour will be detrimental to
Thailand’s image in Israel. There is already considerable resistance to Thai
workers entering the country from the general population and the media.
The two ministries hereby warn all Thai workers in Israel to think of their
country’s image.
Hemaraj becoming auto hub
Hemaraj Land and Develop-ment Plc, an industrial
developer on the Eastern Seaboard, is planning to make its Eastern Seaboard
Industrial Estate (Rayong) Co. sub-sidiary into the automobile hub of
Thailand.
28 firms have already committed to investing in the Rayong site, including
parts suppliers to Ford, Mazda, Toyota and Nissan. In addition, Eastern
Seaboard Industrial Estate expects to capture 22 of the 28 suppliers who
will be dealing with the new General Motors plant.
The company plans to make the estate more attractive to investors by
developing facilities including workers’ housing, staff coaches, a training
center, bank, post office, clinic, shopping mall, police station, petrol
station and conference center.
To date, car manufacturers and their suppliers have already invested a
combined two billion baht in the estate, with an additional one billion baht
projected in the near future.
Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate is a 60:40 joint venture between Hemaraj
and Siam Food Products Plc., with existing clients including automobile
ventures, con-sumer goods, construction materials, electronics and
electrical appliance pro-ducers.
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Unrest amongst sago farmers
Recently 500 sago ( the tuber from which Monosodium Glutamate, tapioca and
other products are derived) farmers gathered in front of the Chonburi
Provincial Hall in an attempt to talk with Mr. Sujarit Pajchimnan, the
Governor of Chonburi.
The purpose was to inform the governor that the middlemen were refusing to
buy the tubers at the price set by the Royal Government’s Ministry of
Commerce.
These tubers have always been a controversial issue as scientists have shown
how quickly they rob the soil of nutrients. There have also been other
drawbacks, such as the falling world demand for Monosodium Glutamate, the
deforestation necessary to support this tuber, which is ever in constant
need of new soil, or dangerous chemical fertilisers. Other products derived
from Sago are tapioca and animal feed.
A few years ago, His Majesty the King took great interest in reforesting the
country through introducing crops which would be more permanent parts of the
landscape and benefit and regenerate failing ecosystems. This was due to His
Majesty’s great concern over the detrimental effects of Eucalyptus trees on
the soil and wildlife. One ideal solution His Majesty conceived was planting
Cashew trees. These large shade trees, which are a source of cashews, which
are a highly desirable cash crop, are a soil renewer. Being long lived
trees, they give opportunities for watershed regeneration, wildlife habitats
and reforestation. The trees take about 7 years to produce their first crop.
Unfortunately, many profit minded people complained that some trees did not
produce. So, the vampiric Sago continues to be the crop of choice for many
farmers who have no other choice.
The group of farmers made these 3 demands; That the Treasury Department of
Price Standardisation raise the price of Sago this week. 2. That all Tapioca
buyers in the province who are willing to buy submit their names and the
amount they will buy on a daily basis one day in advance. Third, the farmers
demanded that the provincial government send officials to the tapioca buyers
who buy on a daily basis and that the middlemen buy from Chonburi farmers
first.
After this, the governor and other concerned officials called the tapioca
buyers to a meeting at Provincial Hall for a meeting with the farmers.
The buyers agreed to purchase the tubers according to their starch content.
They would pay 1 baht per kilogram for Sago with 25% starch. If the starch
content was more or less, the buyers would raise or lower the price by three
satang per percentile of starch. The next agreement was that 13 different
firms would alternate in buying on a daily basis. They would purchase no
more than 100 tons per day. The buyers also agreed to buy only from farmers
registered with the Chonburi Agricultural Department.
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High speed train to pass through area
The State Railway of Thailand announced plans to re-route its Bangkok to
Rayong high-speed train project, which originally was to begin at the
proposed new Nong Ngu Hao Airport.
Due to the delays in the new airport project, the SRT is now studying a plan
to have the service begin (or end) at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok. The
proposed route will go through Chonburi and U-Tapao and eventually end in
Rayong.
Laem Chabang hosts world’s largest container ship
Prime Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh was one of the many
dignitaries on hand to welcome the arrival of the Yuehe of the China
Ocean Shipping Co. Ltd. (Cosco), the world’s largest container vessel.
The arrival of such a large vessel, with its many implications, bodes
well for the port and the future of shipping in Thailand.
Deputy Transport and Communications Minister Pinit Charusombat said that
the arrival of the Yuehe would bring down the freight rate for cargo
from Thailand to the US to only US$800 per TEU. He also said that
Thailand could save up to 10,000 million baht a year on freight charges
if large vessels like the Yuehe were able to unload their cargoes at
Laem Chabang.
The minister added that he would ask the cabinet to exempt vessels of
over 30,000 DWT from port fees in order to promote more calls by large
vessels. This would then reduce the country’s high freight charges.
Prime Minister General Chavalit praised Laem Chabang port and the Port
Authority of Thailand for being able to cope with the huge vessel.
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Pattaya the Degenerate
Editorial by Boonleua Chatri
Pattaya is now the Sodom and Gomorra of Asia. It is known world-wide
as being a centre for crimes, mainly those caused by degenerate minds and
greedy officials who do nothing to stop this societal leprosy.
This is because all these degenerate activities provide a fruitful harvest
for officials who reap in many fashions.
An example is the Ekamai Karaoke chain of 10 establishments which are
nothing but fronts for prostitution. These establishments are on Theppasit
Road in the jurisdiction of the Pattaya Police.
In these establishments, tacky halls smelling of urine are divided into
small rooms with paper thin walls. These rooms await customers who slake
their lust for 300 baht a time. The usual customers are labourers,
motorcycle drivers and those with low incomes and/or no charm.
These whorehouses operate freely because they pay monthly tribute of
3,000-6,000 baht. To whom, we need not mention as it is general and public
knowledge.
There are token “clean-ups” in which the owners of the whorehouses are
notified that the police are coming, so close before they arrive.
The most interesting thing is there are non-commissioned police officers who
‘horn-in’ on these brothels and ‘take care’ of them. When problems happen
they play the role of ‘tough guys’ and threaten the customers.
The person we must petition is Police Lieutenant Colonel Kongdech Chusri,
the Police Superintendent of Chonburi, whose nickname is ‘the honest
enforcer’. We invite the colonel to Pattaya to see how true or false this
situation is. We request that Kongdech take the ‘cat of nine tails’ to these
renegade police who are pimps.
Prostitution exists every-where, but it would be good to be able to walk
along one road in Pattaya without seeing Thai women selling themselves and
the honour of their country.
This situation makes it difficult for operators of entertainment venues
without prostitution as they must pay tribute for doing nothing but
operating restaurants and pubs.
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