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New Senate
Election to take place in Chonburi and 34 other provinces
To be held within 60 days of March 22nd
The Election Commission announced that a new senate
election will be held in Chonburi and 34 other provinces within the next
60 days.
The decision came down on March 20th when the
commission decided to scrap the official appointment of 78 elected senate
candidates in 35 provinces. The decision was made just prior to the end of
the official term in office of the previous senators on March 22nd.
Out of the 200 senators elected on March 4th, 122
passed screening after being reviewed by the election committee. 78 others
are still in question. The main indiscretion in the election process
prompting the new elections involves illegal campaign procedures,
including buying votes. In some cases candidates have been identified as
the principle instigator and in some cases election officials were
involved.
All three of Chonburi’s candidates, Sombat
Phechtrakul, Pol. Lt. Gen. Preecha Padibatsarakij and Rear Adm. Wiroj
Amtakulchai, didn’t pass the screening are.
In Bangkok, two candidates are still in question, while
10 other candidates in the central region were also held back in the
provinces of Saraburi, Angthong, Samutprakarn, Nontahburi, Nakhorn Pathom,
Suphanburi and Chainat.
In the eastern region, seven candidates were delayed
appointments in the provinces of Rayong, Nakhorn Nayok, Trat, Prachinburi,
and Chonburi.
In the northern region, 14 candidates from the provinces of Utaradit,
Phetchabun, Lampang, Nakhorn Sawan, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai didn’t
pass
the screening, and in the southern provinces five candidates were withheld
from Surat Thani and Songkhla.
The provinces in the Northeast experienced major
turmoil with a grand total of 40 elected candidates ending up not
receiving official appointment for one reason or another. The provinces
include Mahasarakham, Amnat Charoen, Nong Khai, Mukdaharn, Chaiyaphum,
Kalasin, Sakhon Nakhon, Surin, Udorn, Ubon, Roi-Et, Buriram, Khorat and
Khon Kaen.
The election committee must announce the new election
date within the next 30 days and give voters at least seven days prior
notice before the new election takes place. Additionally, the election
must use the same ballots and same candidate ballot numbers as in the
previous election whether or not the 78 candidates in question willingly
decide or are allowed to run for office again.
In the 35 provinces involved in the new election there
are 30 million eligible voters and 60,000 voting locations. The new
election will also afford advance voting, as was done before, allowing
voters outside of Thailand to participate. Decisions allowing any or all
of the 78 candidates to run again in the new election have yet to be
announced.
Cop arrested in
drug bust
Local police nail Patumthani Province police
officer
Pol. Sgt. Komin Sukplin, age 42, Division Head of the
Crime Prevention and Suppression Division of the Nong Seu District Police
in Patumthani Province, was arrested in Pattaya last week as a result of a
local police drug sting.
Provincial police officers had received information
indicating that a police officer was involved in distributing amphetamine
drugs to agents in Pattaya. Then, on 18 March, a group of police officers
arrested a 42 year old man named Pramuan Photisuwan in Soi Bua Khao.
Pramuan had 1,000 amphetamine pills in his possession.
After interrogating Pramuan, he acknowledged he
received the amphetamines from a police officer who sold packets of 200
pills for 9,200 baht. Pramuan said he was told if he wanted more to
contact the police officer by phone.
Provincial police supplied Pramuan with 7,000 baht in
marked bank notes and had him telephone the police officer to arrange a
purchase in the area of the water reservoir located in Moo 4, Nong Prue.
Police had staked out the area when a Mitsubishi
pick-up drove up with Patumthani plates. Pramuan made the purchase and
police sprung into action. Although the truck attempted to escape, police
managed to stop the vehicle at a pre-prepared roadblock.
The recorded bank notes were in the driver’s
possession, along with another 10,000 baht in cash and 100 more
amphetamine pills. All was confiscated.
The driver, Pol. Sgt. Komin Sukplin, was charged with
distributing 1,100 amphetamine pills. The offense is a class 1 crime.
Swedish
businessman goes gunning after Thai partner
Ends up taking his own life
On the afternoon of 2 March, vendors in the Simum Muang
market area saw 52 year old Swedish businessman, Sima Nowel Kasimus of Sri
Racha, come out of the Star Night Pub, hesitate on the sidewalk, raise a gun
to his head and then fire off one shot. Doctors described the fatal injury,
stating that the bullet entered the one side of Sima’s skull and exited
the other.
A shocked Phayom Jaroensuk, owner of the Star Night Pub,
told investigating police that Sima had earlier entered his establishment,
fired a shot at him, and, after missing, left the premises. It was directly
after this that the Swede shot himself outside in the street.
A young girl working at the pub named Somjit told police
that she had noticed Sima walking around nervously outside for quite some
time. Finally, he came in asking, in broken Thai, for the owner. She
directed him to the office where she said Sima began calling out for Phayom.
Phayom refused to answer or leave his office. Sima knew he was inside, and,
because he was being ignored, became furious, firing a shot in the direction
of the office. Sima then rushed outside.
Police questioned Phayom, who acknowledged knowing Sima,
claiming the two became friends and went into business together renting out
cars in Pattaya. The two put up one million baht each, but the economic
situation soon put them out of business and they went their separate ways.
During further investigation, police learned that Sima
had taken Phayom to court, suing him for swindling him out of his money.
Phayom was ordered by the court to return 800,000 baht to him, but Phayom
claimed to the authorities that he did not have that amount of money. He
requested he repay the sum in monthly installments of 5,000 baht (which
would have taken a little over 13 years).
Shortly after the court proceedings, Sima found out that
Phayom had opened up a new restaurant in Laem Chabang. Police surmise that
the Swede was so outraged at Phayom’s audacity, he decided to go after him
with a gun.
The Swedish Embassy has been notified of the incident,
and the police are continuing with their investigation.
Egyptian swindles
Thai out of 610,000 baht
Banglamung police step in to help
Sommai Thipmonee, a member of the Board of Directors at
Bang Lamung Cable TV Company, reported to Bang Lamung District Police that
Egyptian Atef Zaki El Toraby had swindled him out of 610,000 baht. Toraby
continually denied the charges.
 Egyptian
Atef Zaki El Toraby (background with hands in the air) was finally forced
to repay the amount he swindled from his Thai partner.
Police were finally able to assist Sommai when he
produced signed receipts with Toraby’s signature used for withdrawing
the money from their business account.
Soon afterwards, Toraby acknowledged his deceit and
promptly volunteered to make things right with Sommai, by returning
400,000 baht in cash, with the remaining 200,000 baht paid by a
cashier’s check. Toraby also turned over his car as collateral. Police
documented the agreement for future evidence if needed, and the charges
were dropped.
Sommai said he had reported the incident to the Pattaya
Tourist Police four months ago - without results.
PBTA addresses
street kid problem
City Social Services nominated to seek
solutions
At the last Pattaya Business and Tourism Association
meeting, PBTA members’ main focus was directed toward the problem of the
many street children roaming around the city, selling flowers, candy and
miscellaneous items to tourists.
The PBTA brought up the matter with the Chonburi
Provincial Police Commander, Pattaya Police Deputy Chief Pol. Lt. Col.
Anthaphon Namnat, who said, “There are many complexities involved. The
police do not have any clear cut solutions to the street-kid problem, and
if police rounded up these children off the streets, where should the
children be sent for proper care? Foreign children picked up on the
streets, mainly from Cambodia, are returned to the border. But shortly
after, these same children end up coming back to Pattaya.”
 Children
plying the streets, selling various items to tourists at all hours of the
night, are a major headache and heartache, not only in Pattaya but all
over the Kingdom.
“Then there is the problem of local (Thai) children
found on the streets,” Pol. Lt. Col. Anthaphon said. “In the past the
children were picked up off the streets and turned over to the Huay Pong
Boy’s Detention Home in Rayong, or other assistance centers, but
currently each facility is so over-crowded these children are not
accepted.”
After further discussion, PBTA members decided to
designate the Pattaya City Social Services Division to address the
problem, who will consult with assistance agencies, such as the Pattaya
Disadvantaged Children’s Home, the Rotary and Lions Clubs and other
similar institutes, with the hopes of establishing an organization that
could help in correcting the problem.
The street children crisis has become a major headache
and heartache, not only in Pattaya but all over the Kingdom. One
frustration is documenting the citizenship of these street children, some
of whose parents may have the required documents to obtain a Thai identity
card, but are unable to be contacted. In most cases no birth records
exist.
District Chief Wichien Chavalit, also at the meeting,
said, “Letters have been written to the Prime Minister identifying the
problem and its complexities, but as yet the letters have met with no
response. Creating an organization to care for the children is one step in
the right direction, but another governmental agency must be available to
administer Thai citizenship and establish names and Thai identity cards
for these destitute children. This in itself may not solve the problem,
but would go a long way in partially controlling it.”
Justice Ministry
and UNICEF meet to discuss children’s rights
The Representative of the Thailand office of UNICEF,
Gamini Abeysekera was in Pattaya this week to attend a Children’s Rights
Conference held from 17 to 19 March at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort.
Former Juvenile and Family Court Senior Judge from the
Justice Ministry, Mrs. Duangmal Silapacha chaired the conference.
Representatives from various associated agencies and
courts from around the country concerned with children’s welfare were in
attendance.
 Former
Juvenile and Family Court Senior Judge from the Ministry of Justice, Mrs.
Duangmal Silapacha (2nd from right) with Gamini Abeysekera of the United
Nations Children’s Fund (2nd from left) at the Pattaya conference for
Children’s Rights.
The sub-agreement requirements included in the current
Thai Constitution set the platform for the meeting, with the objective to
expand the awareness and elaborate on the different facets pertaining to
maintaining children’s rights in the justice arena. Policy requirements
were covered and the role of the Juvenile and Family Court and presiding
judges were identified.
The Children and Juvenile Family Central Court in
Thailand has been emphasizing cooperation between agencies in the justice
arena, specifically between judges and agencies involved with juvenile and
family cases, to adhere to the United Nation’s Children’s Rights
Sub-Agreement. Thailand is a member country in the U.N.
Presently there are 29 provinces with Children and
Juvenile Correctional Facilities in Thailand within the Justice Ministry.
Children and juveniles receive correctional training according to court
decisions.
Mrs. Duangmal disclosed the number of children and
juveniles passing through the correctional facilities is up to 100,000
each year, mainly for drug related offences. 80% of those cases involve
amphetamines (yaba).
Each facility is supported with an annual budget
allocation of 200,000 baht. However, Thailand’s justice system is seeing
a steady increase in the number of children passing through the courts for
drug related incidents, causing the Justice Ministry to emphasize the
importance of drug rehabilitation.
APEC meets in
Pattaya
The Minister of Environmental Science and Technology,
Dr. Ahtit Urairat, presided over the opening ceremony of the APEC
Industrial and Technology Working Group Meeting that was held 14-17 March
at the Dusit Resort in Pattaya.
The meeting drew in excess of 200 delegates, with APEC
representatives from 21 countries. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
Secretariat Ambassador, Zhang Yan was also present.
 The
Minister of Environmental Science and Technology, Dr. Ahtit Urairat
presided over the opening ceremony of the APEC Industrial and Technology
Working Group Meeting held 14-17 March at the Dusit Resort.
The APEC meeting was a combined effort in promoting
economic growth and development, and lessening marketing and investment
obstacles among the member countries. Presently the 21 countries with APEC
membership consist of: Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, United States, Chile, Peru, Vietnam,
Russia and Thailand.
The conference offered APEC members the opportunity to
keep abreast of scientific and technological progress, and at the same
time take part in policy decisions. During 1999 three APEC projects that
significantly influenced Thailand were: the establishment of the APEC
Center for Technology Foresight; A feasibility study for the development
of a Post Harvest Network for the APEC Region; and the Gender Stocking of
the ISTWG Project.
Mayor continues
“Clean Up Pattaya” campaign
Disappointed with untidy proprietors on
Walking Street
Last week Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat once again
toured Walking Street in South Pattaya, witnessing that many of the business
owners had put out their garbage at 8.00 p.m., long before visitors and
tourists had left the entertainment area. This angered the mayor, who said,
“This obviously depicts the local business attitude of uncaring interest
to the visiting tourists that always crowd the newly surfaced street.” The
appearance was not only unsightly, but quite a few of the garbage bags were
torn open permeating an even more unpleasant smell in the area.
The mayor commented that the display was unacceptable,
saying he had personally, and very recently, discussed this problem with
businesses along the street, requesting everyone to collectively help
maintain a pleasant and clean appearance by refraining from putting out the
garbage for collection before 3.00 a.m. “This simple request was
ignored,” he said, “displaying a complete disregard for the intending
purpose of creating a pleasant atmosphere, attracting tourists to return
again and again.”
Before walking off to once again discuss the matter with
residents and business owners in the area, the mayor mentioned a possible
reward for anyone apprehending persons cluttering the area with rubbish. The
mayor stressed the reasons for not putting out the trash so early to area
residents, and requested everyone’s compliance to improve the appearance
and Pattaya’s image. He went on to add, “Culprits who do not conform to
this ruling will soon be finding themselves going to court, to learn their
lesson the hard and costly way.”
Many people in the area were contacted and asked to
spread this warning to others before having to implement strict procedures
in order to obtain cooperation.
YWCA to organize
educational support
Raising funds for Ban Beung School
The Bangkok-Pattaya YWCA has set in motion a project to
raise 25,600 baht to purchase and install a public address system at Ban
Beung School.
This system would be put to use during school
assemblies and student performances and would also enhance the overall
communication abilities of the institute.
The project was announced at a YWCA meeting held at the
King Seafood Restaurant on Walking Street and chaired by the Director of
the Bangkok-Pattaya YWCA, Mrs. Premrydee Jittiwtikarn.
Thus far Mrs. Wilawan Hengtrakul, a YWCA advisor,
personally donated 1,500 baht, and Mrs. Darajit Mitrarytkrai, Pattaya
Center Manageress, donated 1,300 baht. The YWCA hopes that support from
the local community will also be forthcoming.
During the meeting, the fund raising effort resulting
from the Valentines Day Pink Lady event was also announced. This very
successful event raised 114,765 baht after expenses. This money will go to
assist the YWCA’s school lunch program. Wilawan reported that she had
raised a further 12,900 baht by auctioning a painting of His Majesty the
King of Thailand.
The International Women’s Club has increased the
number of students they support with educational funds from 17 to 27, and
the Pattaya Sports Club raised their number from 100 to 120 pupils. The
educational funds supporting 30 additional students in the Family
Assistance Program will be presented in time for the new school term.
Should Pattaya
employ foreign fishermen?
Aside from Pattaya being a major tourist attraction,
where many people are employed in the hospitality industry, there are also
many employees in the fishing industry, especially in the Naklua area. The
area is similar to other provinces along the coast whereby fishing has
attracted many foreign labourers from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
These foreign workers help supplement Thai labour going after other, more
attractive employment.
 Fishing
boats docked in Naklua.
These days, the employment of foreign labour in the
fishing industry is commonly practised, according to medium and large
sized fishing vessel owners. It is a fact, many of these owners say, that
Thais are no longer inclined to work on fishing boats. The Ministry of
Labour and Social Benefits backs this same statement, claiming the Thai
work force is avoiding this profession in favour of factory employment.
The Ministry goes on to say, for the most part, that only Thai families
engaged in fishing, on a day-to-day life-style, remain.
The result of all this foreign labour has increased
crime statistics, and a main drawback is the obvious presence of these
migrant workers. Foreigners working in the fishing industry tend to live
in small communities, constructing temporary dwellings, which in turn end
up as slums, very much like the areas along the shore line of Naklua. As
unsightly as these slum areas are, their presence does not attract much
attention from the local authorities, due to the fact that most of the
time, these people are away from the slums whilst at work.
One fishing boat owner stated that, in former times,
only Thais were employed on most fishing vessels, but these days, he says,
his business would fold without the availability of foreign labour who are
willing to work for the usual wage of 100 baht per day and would stay on
the boats for extended periods of time. Some of these foreign workers are
legal, but the majority of them are not registered with the provincial
employment office.
Complicating this problem even more so, is the ruling
of the Ministry of Labour and Social Benefits - that has now decreased the
number of foreign labourers authorised to work in the Kingdom. The
reduction of these work permits has now made it almost impossible to find
enough legal workers. This predicament forces employers to hire illegal
foreigners to work in place of the once available Thai labour force, and
the smaller numbers of authorised foreign labourers.
One boat owner speculated that the practice of hiring
foreign labour will have to continue until some other alternative is
found, otherwise, he said, a shortage of sea food will be the end result,
costs will increase in the markets, and exports will dwindle away as the
owners are put out of business.
The problem must begin to be looked at from all
aspects, with the co-operation of all police agencies being made aware of
the dilemma orchestrated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Benefits.
Another difficult but understandable concern at present is the tightening
up of illegal foreigners in the Kingdom; this especially comes about after
the recent incidents involving the Burmese dissidents taking over the
Myanmar Embassy and Rachaburi Hospital.
Immediate attention by the government, and that too, of
all the appropriate agencies concerned, is required, whereby plausible and
workable solutions can be found. If neglected, the result could see the
other industry of major concern in the area, tourism, suffering, as the
illegal labour problem will continue to detract from the desired image
Pattaya City should be portraying to its many visitors.
Addressing the
continuing Song Taew provblem
A “New” approach being discussed
The song taew problem lingers on, being brought up
during meetings and recognized by everyone as the same old problem
discussed day after day.
The 700 song taew vehicles on the loose in Pattaya are
said to be controlled by the Pattaya City Vehicle Cooperative, chaired by
Jamlong Sukphrom, and the problems complained about today are the same
problems identified years ago with no changes having taken place. Taking
advantage of tourists on fares, parking and obstructing traffic, ignoring
traffic regulations, stopping abruptly to drop off passengers and going on
another 25 meters and hitting the brakes with no warning has all become a
way of life in Pattaya.
In the beginning, the problems were brought to the
attention of everyone involved and the Pattaya TAT office offered its
assistance by arranging a training seminar for the Vehicle Cooperative
drivers. Any good coming out of the training seminar was probably quickly
forgotten or disregarded since the drivers were quick in realizing none of
the good ideas were going to be enforced, so why bother.
Next, a bus line was thought to be the solution,
offering transportation throughout the city. But in the end there were no
investors willing to face some 700 out of work song taew drivers.
Ignoring the Vehicle Cooperative problem, some
attention has been focused on a different aspect of the transportation
problem, involving vehicles not legally registered to carry passengers,
even if no fare is collected. The issue lies with vehicles registered as
cargo transport vehicles and subsequently modifying the vehicle for
transporting passengers. This includes many hotel courtesy vehicles used
for transporting customers, even though there is no charge.
According to the Chonburi Transportation Officer,
Niphan Phonphan, the problem is isolated to groups of people with
influence. He said that police could easily identify unregistered
vehicles, including hotel vehicles, by the color of the license plates.
“Any vehicle with black plates transporting passengers could be fined by
the police, starting at 20,000 baht on up to 200,000 baht,” Niphan said,
“although these violators seem to be caught up in some legal loophole.
Vehicles registered by the Chonburi Transportation Office to carry
passengers are issued green and light blue plates and vehicles belonging
to the Pattaya Cooperative receive yellow plates.”
“Answers to the song taew problem were sought at the
Bang Lamung Transportation Office,” Niphan said, “But little
satisfactory response was received, so we then made a visit to the Bang
Lamung District Chief, Wichien Chavalit. It was discovered that during
March a campaign has been waged, warning unregistered passenger vehicles
that after the 1st of April, the law will be enforced with fines imposed
on any illegal vehicle found transporting passengers. Hotel courtesy
vehicles, transporting guests to and from the hotel without charge should
not be affected.
The outcome after the 1st of April is uncertain, due in
part to the law not being clearly written, but from this April the problem
will come to a head. However, hopefully the people involved will start to
comply with the current regulations and resulting problems will be
minimal.
City planners
continue to prepare for Pattaya Festival
More revelers expected to turn out this year
City council members and representatives from the TAT
Region 3 office in Pattaya met at City Hall to further discuss plans for
the forthcoming Songkran Festival in Pattaya, which this year will run
from 14-19 April. Chairing the meeting was Sopin Thappajug, community
leader and Associate Judge for the Family and Children’s Court in
Chonburi.
Last year’s festival was a great success with many
foreign and Thai visitors coming to Pattaya for the festivities. More
visitors are anticipated this year.
The meeting reviewed the plans for the parade, which
will consist of many different floats sponsored by the many organizations
in Pattaya and by the private sector. The festivities will be centered on
the parade with other activities following in a carnival setting.
Oxfam’s protest
wins backers for action plan
A radical plan to tackle the education crisis in
developing countries is expected to receive a substantial boost in
funding.
Scandinavian donor countries and the World Bank
officials are calling on western governments to pledge additional
resources for an ambitious strategy to be considered at the world forum on
education for all (FEA) in Dakar, Senegal, next month.
The gathering momentum in support of a pounds 2.3bn
‘Compact for Africa’, proposed by Oxfam, comes after the British
charity resigned last month from the FEA’s organising committee in
protest at what it saw as its failure to mobilise international funding
and lack of coherent education targets.
Oxfam accused international organisations and western
aid donors of a lack of political will. The draft agenda for the Dakar
conference was ‘woefully inadequate’ and offered nothing for the
world’s poorest children, 125 million of whom are not at school, the
charity warned.
The conference should do for education what the earth
summit did for the environment, rather than offering a ‘teddy bears’
picnic for international bureaucrats’.
The Dakar forum will mark the 10th anniversary of the
international pledge on basic education for all, which was supposed to
have been achieved this year. But in many countries the number of children
who do not attend school has increased since 1990, especially in
sub-Saharan Africa.
Supporters of a special initiative for Africa have
called for African governments to draw up infrastructure reform plans
specifying targets for the year 2015 before they qualify for extra aid.
Participating officials from Finland, Norway and the
Netherlands have also come out in support of Oxfam’s programme. “We
are still lacking the political leadership for Dakar,” an Oxfam
spokesman said. “This conference provides an opportunity to tackle what
is the biggest single cause of global poverty and inequality.”
The British Prime Minister’s interest in improving
internet access around the world, Oxfam fears, will do little to tackle
the fundamental causes of poverty in remote villages where there are no
computers.
The department for international development said that
it regretted Oxfam’s withdrawal from the conference’s steering
committee. “We do share some of Oxfam’s frustrations but we would like
them to stay in and strengthen the process,” said a department
spokesman.
Improving education - particularly among girls - is
increasingly seen as a key to stimulating economic growth, controlling
population and increasing health awareness.
Thai Railroad
authority to rent out land
Adjacent to both sides of tracks
The railroad is to introduce a project to fully utilize
land on both sides of railroad tracks. The renting of certain areas is to
be temporarily offered to people having too little land, or for those
needing land for planting or the production of fish. The rental period is
initially scheduled to last three years.
The railroad set up the project under His Majesty the
King’s Economic Sufficiency Plan, believing the project would help
beautify the land and at the same time reduce the number of squatters.
 The
Thai Railway Authority is proposing to rent out land adjacent to both
sides of the tracks.
In all, the railroad owns 254,000 rai of land, of which
107,000 rai is available for rent. The rented land will extend to six
meters on either side of the tracks. The rental cost is to be set at an
annual rate of 2,400 baht for a maximum area of 2.5 rai of land per
individual, excluding cooperatives and government affiliated projects.
The railroad hopes to attract 10,000 renters, this in
turn would amount to 24 million baht in revenue if the full area is rented
out.
By introducing this project, the Railroad Authority
plans to save itself the cost of maintaining these areas. In addition, the
plan would reduce the number of accidents involving domestic animals and
rural vehicles that find their way on to these same tracks.
More information can be obtained from any of the
railway stations located throughout the country.
Aussie school kids
can learn about controlling mossie-borne diseases from their Thai
counterparts
Researchers at the University of Queensland believe
that schoolchildren in Australia’s tropical north could learn a lot from
their Thai counterparts when it comes to controlling the spread of
mosquito-borne diseases.
According to the results of a study carried out in
Thailand’s Khon Kaen Province, schools are a risk for the transmission
of the dengue virus and both health and education leaders need to adopt
strategies to modify students practice of control measures in school.
“There are many important lessons here for Aussie
schools,” says Thao Chau, one of the study’s authors.
“We found that, although general knowledge of dengue
haemorhagic fever was good among Thai school children, this was not
reflected in what they did about controlling the spread of the disease.
Both students and teachers had misconceptions about mosquito breeding
sites.”
Dengue haemorhagic fever is a major public health issue
in Thailand, with the majority of suffering occurring in children between
the ages of 5 and 14. As a result, the authorities implemented a
nation-wide education program in 1992.
“Our results confirmed, however, that most students
carried out larval control more extensively at home than at school,”
Chau says.
“Common mosquito breeding places like built-in cement
tanks and plant pots were often overlooked. We would like to see mosquito
control measures integrated across the school curriculum, the introduction
of larval control activities involving fish, and weekly surveillance
measures being adopted at all schools.”
This study was conducted by Thao Chau, John Fortin,
Sokrin Khun and Hoa Nguyen as part of the Master of Tropical Health degree
being undertaken at the Australian Centre for International and Tropical
Health and Nutrition, a joint venture between the University of Queensland
and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research.
Copyright 2000 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
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