“No-Degree” for mayor proposal being considered

Mayoral requirements and powers may be changed

If the current "Ultrasound" proposal passes, candidates for mayor of Pattaya will no longer be required to have a university degree. The proposal would also change the requirements needed to hold a seat on the city council.

The "Ultrasound" proposal, so named because of its similarity with the law that does not require ultrasound technicians to have a doctor’s degree, is being considered by a special commission chaired by Deputy Minister of the Interior Chamni Saksed. The special commission met for the 4th time last week, with 27 administration officials and government representatives participating in the session.

The proposal is scheduled to be considered by the House of Representatives during a conference opening on June 23rd. If it passes, it will take effect in the year 2000.

Current qualifications require the Mayor of Pattaya City to have at least a Bachelor’s Degree in education. The draft proposal would allow for anyone with a 4th - 6th grade education to run for mayor of Pattaya, and any person being able to read and write could become a council member.

This change would open-up to almost everyone opportunity to participate in government office, as long as they are at least 25 years of age and a resident of Pattaya for one year or more.

Other changes the commission is discussing would considerably change the duties and powers of the office of mayor of Pattaya City.

Currently, the position of mayor does not hold a lot of power or responsibility. If the current proposal passes, that would change drastically. Under changes in the proposal, the mayor would:

1. Decide policy and be responsible for the administration of Pattaya City in accordance with legal code and policy.

2. Issue approvals and permits concerning Pattaya City public affairs.

3. Appoint and dismiss the deputy mayor.

4. Institute regulations pertaining to Pattaya public affairs in an orderly manner.

5. Perform other duties in accordance with guidance issued by Ministry or Provincial level offices, or the regulations assigned to the Pattaya City Mayor.

6. Assume the position of Commander of subordinates and Pattaya City employees.

The new mayoral duties and powers would be greater than before giving him a sword that he could use at his disposal with officials whose actions are unacceptable. Items 2, 5, & 6 provide him with the authority to make decisions without council members approval.

If the proposed revision passes the House next month, elections will be held in Pattaya in December or early in the new year. 24 new members of the local administration would be voted in, including a new mayor able to appoint his deputy.

The current mayor of Pattaya, Pairat Suthithamrongsawat, said the proposal will be good in that it will afford people possessing knowledge and abilities, but unable to complete their education, an equal opportunity to assist in the administration, modernization and progress of the city.

Former Mayor Anuphong Udomratanakulchai said he was not ready to comment because there will be added changes before the matter is finally settled. However, the public will benefit as long as it is a knowledgeable, capable, and experienced person who ends up in the position.

Saensuk Mayor Somchai Khunpleum, in his capacity of consultant to Pattaya City, disagrees with the proposal. He said he believes what Pattaya City requires is a new generation of administrators with Bachelor’s Degrees and long range vision, due to Pattaya’s status as a major tourist city.

Danish tourist drinks himself to death

Upset over losing 80,000 baht to local lass

Danish tourist Kurt Otto Magden was found dead in his apartment in Central Pattaya on May 19th. His body was discovered by the apartment manager.

Pattaya Police, along with detectives and officers from the Tourist Police, investigated the incident at the Armstrong Flat Apartments on Central Pattaya Road.

The deceased’s body was found lying on the floor next to the bed. No apparent wounds or marks were discovered. The television was on, the fan was running, and a lot of empty beer bottles were laying around.

The apartment manager told police that 3 or 4 days earlier Kurt was complaining to him about being taken for 80,000 baht by some local girl. Kurt said no more about it and the manager said he did not mention it again, either.

The manager said that Kurt bought a lot of beer and then disappeared in his room. After a few days passed the manager wondered why he hadn’t seen him and knocked at his door. He didn’t get a response, but the television could be heard, so the manager opened the door with a spare key and found Kurt had passed away.

Police are assuming the man died three days earlier after drinking to the point of causing his heart to go into shock. The body was transferred to hospital for autopsy to determine the actual cause of death.

Englishman busted for fake bank notes

Clains he got them from an ATM

On May 20th Pattaya Police were called in to investigate a confrontation involving store owners and an Englishman suspected of attempting to buy merchandise with counterfeit bank notes.

Englishman Matthew Richardson was arrested for attempting to buy CDs with counterfeit 1000 baht notes. Richardson protests he did not know they were counterfeit, and that he got them from an ATM.

Hadsanai Imchareurn, the store owner, told police that the foreigner just purchased CD disks with 1000 baht bank notes. The store cashier, Mrs. Buaphan Chanchomphu, identified them as being counterfeit.

The foreigner was asked to give back the merchandise he purchased and the argument started.

The foreigner, Matthew Richardson (age 45 from England) persisted, arguing that he was unaware the money was fake. He claimed he received the notes from an ATM machine.

The police examined the bank notes closely and right away identified them as fake. Police conjecture they were probably produced on a computer.

Police searched Richardson and found three more 1000 baht bank notes, all with the same serial number "8F4433260".

Police did not accept Richardson’s claim of obtaining the bank notes from an ATM machine. They took him into the station where he is awaiting trial for counterfeiting Thai currency.

Local businessman wanted in shooting

Gambling boss and partner gunned down

Wicha Baophimpha, owner of Spark Pub on South Pattaya Road, is wanted by police for questioning in the shooting of a gambling boss and his henchman.

The shooting took place outside Spark Pub in the early morning hours of May 9th.

Phaisan Khieokhaika, age 30, a Banglamung resident and well-known gambling den operator known as Muu Mai, and his partner Wad Misap, age 25, from Phetchburi Province, apparently went from being perpetrators to victims, both receiving gunshot wounds.

Phaisan Khieokhaika was taken to Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound under his right arm pit and another wound to his right arm. When police found him, he was in the ICU and unable to give information.

Wad Misap was taken to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital with a serious gunshot wound. He was also being treated in the Intensive Care Unit and was unable to give information to police.

Investigating the scene, Pattaya Police found blood stains and 11mm shell casings.

Police ascertained that the shooting stemmed from threats made by Phaisan against Wicha Baophimpha, the owner of Spark Pub, during a confrontation between the two men several months ago. Phaisan threatened Wicha’s life and threatened to blow up the Spark Pub. Since these threats were made, Wicha has apparently been fearing for his life. His pub began losing business when the word got out about the bombing threat.

After making the threats, Phaisan disappeared for a long period of time. He resurfaced outside the Spark Pub in the early morning hours of May 9th, where he and Wad were waiting for Wicha to leave the pub.

When Wicha came out, Phaisan drew his gun, put it against Wicha’s head and led him into a dark secluded area. Wicha managed to gain an opportunity to free himself, and he allegedly drew his gun and fired off three rounds, striking both Phaisan and Wad.

Wicha then ran to his car and fled. He has not been seen since.

Police are now searching for Wicha.

Male bar worker threatens to jump from top of Royal Garden Plaza

Fears he may have AIDS virus

On May 12th, Pattaya Police received a telephone call reporting that a man was threatening to jump from the 5th floor of the Royal Garden Plaza. Police alerted the rescue unit and a vehicle with a ladder capable of reaching nine stories was sent to the scene.

Kla Khamphuwiang walked around the edges of the top of the Royal Garden Plaza, poised to jump, fearing he may have contacted the AIDS virus from a co-worker. Police were able to talk him down after a tense hour.

Police arrived at the area finding a throng of people gathered, waiting for something to happen. On the 5th floor of the Royal Garden Plaza was a man waltzing around as if he were intoxicated, with flowers clutched in his hands.

Police positioned themselves near the man, and attempted to talk him down. In the meantime, the rescue unit prepared balloon cushioning below in case he jumped.

About an hour passed before officers were able to talk the man into coming down by way of the stairs.

The throng of on-lookers, both foreigners and Thai, began clapping, glad to see the man did not go through with his attempt to end his life.

The man was later identified as Kla Khamphuwiang, age 30. He told police that he became depressed after finding out that his friend of 20 years, Mr. Rungrod, discovered he had the AIDS virus. Rungrod had committed suicide by hanging himself. Kla worked at the same gay bar in Pattaya as Rungrod.

Kla had not yet been in to see if he had the virus, too, but with the death of his friend and the fear that he may be infected he wanted to end his life.

However, Kla recently stopped working at the gay bar after a foreigner started to send him enough money to take care of himself and to support his three younger brothers and other relatives.

All this on his mind and the fact that he had been drinking all night without sleeping brought him to the point of suicide.

Large scale drug dealer caught

Owns 4 homes and has 4 wives

Banglamung Police have been monitoring a suspected amphetamine dealer for some time. By May 21st, they felt they had collected enough information to arrest the suspect, Mr. Sangwan Phothiwad, or "Keo.

Sangwan, age 30, was stopped by police while driving along Greenway Road in front of the Khao Sao Thoong Thong Temple. Police searched his vehicle and found 1,600 amphetamine pills (type orange) in a blue plastic bag.

Later, further searches were conducted by police at Sangwan’s four homes where each of his four wives reside. However, no other drugs were found.

Sangwan told police that his former occupation was driving a taxi, picking up visitors at Don Muang Airport. A little over a year ago he started dealing amphetamines (Ya Ba), which he transported from Chiang Rai Province and distributed in the Pattaya area. He was purchasing 4-5 packets containing 1,000 pills each for around 40,000 baht. He would divide the pills into bags containing 200 pills, and sell them for 7,000 baht per bag or 35 baht per pill.

During transport he concealed the drugs under the chassis of his pick-up while he carried a full load of cabbages bought in the Chiang Rai area.

Police confiscated Sangwan’s car, pick-up, motorcycle, and mobile phone.

After one year of dealing drugs making huge profits affording him four homes and four wives, he is now taking a break as he awaits trial.

Sattahip District to get potable tap water

Construction to be complete in August

On May 17th Phinit Charusombat, Deputy Minister of the Interior, chaired a ceremony bringing running water to the Sattahip community. The ceremony took place at the Sattahip District Community Pavilion.

Deputy Minister of the Interior Phinit Charusombat (2nd left) opened the water valve bringing running water service to the residents in the area of Sattahip District.

Mr. Chaleurmwong Nitiphaowachon, Chonburi Waterworks Director, said that residents have had to rely on well water and purchasing water brought in by truck. This can be very costly, especially during the dry season. The Region Water Works allocated 251 million baht in funds to construct the running water system in Sattahip District.

A Water Purification Facility was built, capable of delivering 500 cubic meters of water per hour. 80 kilometers of water pipe were laid to service Sattahip residents in the area of Ban Saree.

Construction is about 90% finished and should be completed as scheduled on Aug 15th.

In the meantime, water is being piped to the area by way of connecting pipes from Pattaya and Naklua.

Deputy Minister Phinit said that the cost of drinking water is becoming expensive, making it even more important that running tap water be up to drinking standards.

However, Phinit said, "The planned location for the Thai-Singapore Industrial Complex (TS-21) has caused a lot of environmental concerns, due to the location being so close to water sources in Chonburi and Rayong. There is even consideration of changing the region’s water source to come from a different location. Even though the industrial complex means bringing investment into the area, strict standards are sure to be enforced in the end, especially concerning the environment, both water and air."

Illegal construction - possible embarrassment for the city

Did the city authorize it or didn’t they?

Port officials received a report from the Port Authority office in Chonburi that persons were conducting unauthorized construction in the area of Lan Pho market in Naklua. The complaint also stated that soil was being removed from the ocean floor nearby.

Pattaya Port Officials investigated the reported intrusion and after finding that there was in fact construction going on in the location, an official complaint was made with Pattaya Police to record the incident.

The total possible fine for such an unauthorized intrusion could be up to 50 million baht.

Mysterious, unauthorized construction and Illegal digging from the ocean floor is happening in Naklua. But who is doing it? No one has yet come forward...

The Pattaya Police recorded the complaint and are continuing their investigation, but they have yet to identify who, if anyone, authorized the construction.

Thaworn Bunsawad, Pattaya’s Deputy City Manager, stated that the authorization did not come from Pattaya City. However, there is construction of a recreation site for area residents going on in a nearby area that the city has authorized.

It was discovered by reporters that Pattaya City did know of the unauthorized construction and notified the contractors, but the work did not stop and the city did not follow up on the matter.

It appears there is some unanswered questions both in the private sector and government circles.

Drunk tries to settle argument with a 12 gauge shotgun

Arrested before he could find his target

Traffic police last week apprehended Sarawut Ratanaphahira, age 21, on Soi Chiyaphoon. At the time, Sarawut was quite drunk and was carrying around a loaded short barreled 12 gauge shotgun.

After Sarawut was taken into custody, he told police that he had been with his older brother drinking alcohol on South Pattaya Road. His brother got into a heated argument with a man at another table. The argument turned into a fight, and his brother got battered.

Sarawut ran from the area and borrowed a shotgun from a friend. He returned, intending to shoot the man who was beating up his brother, but once he got back to the place everyone had vanished.

He said that when police arrested him, he was still searching for the man who beat up his brother.

Sattahip beach clean-up

Residents join navy personnel to clean-up the beach

Rear-Admiral Nophaphorn Achawakhom, the Deputy Chief of Staff at Sattahip Naval Base, chaired a ceremony opening the clean-up activity along Sattahip Bay.

The clean-up area ran from the front of the district office to the Aphakornkiatwong Hospital. A multitude of Sattahip residents joined up with the navy for the project on May 20th.

More than 1,000 Sattahip residents and naval personnel joined together to clean up Sattahip Bay.

This latest effort is a continuation of April’s project to beautify the community and persuade visitors and residents to refrain from littering the area.

The vicinity is vacation area for many, a sea-life preservation area, and also a location where the Royal Family maintains a residence. International water sports often take place at the location.

The community desires to continue displaying an image that offers a clean atmosphere that complies with environmentally safe standards.

Larn Island now requires watercraft registration

Officials attempting to ward off rental problems

Larn Island community council members held a meeting at Pattaya city hall to discuss the problems tourists have encountered when renting watercraft at their beaches.

Larn Island is a huge tourist attraction for both foreigners and Thai tourists. It offers beautiful beaches, seafood and water activities. In the recent past, however, tourists have reported to police many problems involving rented watercraft. Most reports involve minor thefts, rip-offs or other offensive acts encountered while renting watercraft.

The council members and other officials from Larn Island met at Pattaya City Hall to discuss methods to correct this watercraft problem. The members decided to require registration of all watercraft involved in the tourist trade on the island.

Up to now, there has never before been any stringent registration requirements enforced on the island.

After registering watercraft with police authorities, registration numbers will be issued to be attached to the boats. These numbers can be used to assist tourists when reporting offensive incidents, and should enable police to track down persons involved.

US expert invited to Rayong

Brought in to study industrial effects on environment

Jeremy Haggar, an environmental expert from the US-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP), was invited to Rayong by Phanat Keolai, the Deputy Provincial Mayor of Rayong, and Rayong council members. The officials wished to address environmental concerns arising over Rayong Province becoming an economic giant over the past 10 years, and whether this economic growth would have a detrimental effect on society and the environment.

The US-AEP researches and prepares studies on technological development concerning the environment. US-AEP stresses energy conservation, energy efficient equipment and reducing pollution.

Rayong officials wanted to have US-AEP conduct research to assure the continuing development in Rayong was not creating any undo concerns affecting the public’s welfare.

Jeremy Haggar, the US-AEP expert, said Rayong Province is an interesting area for study. In addition to being a province with large scale factories, it receives support from the local populace with many institutions environmentally aware of possible dangers.

Deputy Mayor Phanat said, "Not only must we correct problems already created that affect the environment, but also we should and must prevent any further contamination of the air and water. Rayong Province is a tourist area, while local residents main livelihood is from agriculture.

Environment professor under attack

District officials accuse her of inciting opposition to major project

Sriracha officials are saying that Professor Thadsawi Suwannawad has been inciting university students to oppose the construction of the Thai-Singapore Industrial Estates in the Pluak Daeng area of Sriracha.

Professor Thadsawi denies the accusation and further said that persons were trying to damage her reputation. She said her intentions are purely for the betterment of society and protecting the environment. "What has been done thus far is nothing out of the ordinary. There was never any intention to oppose the construction of the industrial estates. However, the project was used as an educational tool to introduce to students the theories, principles and important factors involved in such a project."

Professor Thadsawi Suwannawad is being accused of being a resistance leader instead of an educational leader.

Professor Thadsawi continued, saying, "There is absolutely no truth in the accusations that the educational results from the lesson identified short comings and potential environmental hazards. What is true though, is the SGS Company determined the land area where the Industrial Estates are planning to locate is not an industrial region. The area is in fact a protected water source with no stipulation for making any exceptions. In addition, the Consultant of Technology Company (COT) found that the Thai-Singapore Industrial Estate would interfere with the preservation of the area."

To address the issue, Anthropology and Sociology department members from Burapha University and the Chonburi Peoples Committee for Democracy, along with the Health Research Institute, held a seminar at Burapha University on May 14th. The seminar held was so that all parties could sit down and exchange data and ideas, and at the same time inform the public as to what is actually happening. This promotes democracy in the process.

City official discuss local problems

Signs, road construction and vending fees addressed

Pattaya Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat this week met with local officials and council members to discuss problems that have recently been occurring in the area.

The first issue raised was advertisement signs and direction signs posted by residents within the city. Most of the signs are potential hazards to persons walking by because they are posted too low along the streets. It was decided that standards should be established for posting signs within the city limits. These new standards can be included in the planned Road Beautification Project using Central Pattaya Road and Beach Road as examples.

Mrs. Sophin Theppajuk brought up complaints from residents that surfaced on a local Pattaya radio program. Many were complaining about the building construction at the entrance of the Center Condo on South Pattaya Road. The construction hinders residents entering and exiting the condo leaving no convenient way in or out. The residents feel the problem deprives them of their rights provided for in the rental agreement describing convenient access to the main road. Originally, the land area at the entranceway was owned by the condo complex but was sold to relatives, so correcting the problem should be a simple manner with the Center Condo office supporting the occupants complaint.

Mayor Pairat then referred to a motion from council members pertaining to the problem involving the personnel in charge of collecting required fees from the vendors along Jomtien Beach. During the last meeting the official in charge of the personnel stated no problem existed, duties were never neglected, especially the problem of new vendors coming into the area. But after city council members conducted a survey, the names of many vendors in the area were not among the list of names authorized in the area. Pattaya City Manager Thaworn Bunsawad appointed members to form an investigation committee to resolve the matter.

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