Daring “rescue” in Pattaya Bay

Tourist police train volunteers for emergencies

The exercise was part of a training session for 70 tourist assistance volunteers from classes 1, 2 and 3, held at the Grand Sole Hotel on September 21.

Pattaya Tourist Police Department 3 Inspector Major Pawaris Lilasiri opened the training program, at which resident experts from the Pattaya City administration, the TAT Region 3, Thai Airways, and Bang Lamung Hospital presented training materials to the volunteers.

The stated purpose of the training was to prepare the volunteers to assist tourists in need during their visit to Pattaya, which would promote the tourist trade and the community in a beneficial way.

The training provided the volunteers with the skills and necessary information to be of help to tourists unfamiliar with the local area and the many different customs.

Also covered during the training were various laws and social rights to be aware of and the duties of every resident in the event of an emergency situation.

Chart Thai beefs up numbers in Banglamung

Holds party membership drive

The Chart Thai Party rounded up over 500 official members and supporters of the Sawang Boriboon Foundation in front of the Beach View Hotel, Pattaya Beach Road September 23 in a drive to increase membership in the party.

A throng of people volunteered to fill out applications to register as members of the Chart Thai Party.

The membership drive was part of the Chart Thai’s preparations for the upcoming election to be held at the close of this year.

The large audience, which also included people from surrounding communities, listened to speakers talking about the important role of democracy and the upcoming election.

The Chart Thai Party was first organized into an official political party on November 21, 1962, by three Major-Generals: Pramarn Adireksarn, Siri Siriyothin and Chatchai Choonhavan.

The party name was chosen for its nationalistic implications. The party’s stated goal has always been working for the betterment of the nation. The Chart Thai Party emblem contains a picture of the Thai national flag and a map of Thailand, with the party slogan of “Unity-Progress-Stability”.

The Chart Thai Party’s stated platform is to retain the nation’s stability, uphold the legal system, maintain order, protect private property and the personal safety of the people, allow everyone to pursue their own happiness, and promote national unity.

The Chart Thai Party’s current platform is to reduce individual economic and social disparity through combined cooperation, to increase personal earnings, increase investment in business activities, and provide beneficial employment opportunities for the people of the nation.

PEACH wins award with first event

The Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH) last week received the TICA Excellent Service Award in recognition of its outstanding performance whilst hosting AdAsia ’99 last November. Attended by over 1,000 delegates from the Asia Pacific region, AdAsia ’99 was the first event ever to be held at PEACH.

HE Adisai Photharamik, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office (left) presents the TICA Excellent Service Award to Panga Vathanakul, managing director of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort (right).

The award was given at the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association’s (TICA) Convention Promotion Seminar/Exhibition (CPS/Convex 2000), which was fittingly held at PEACH from September 22-24. TICA is a subsidiary of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

“We are very delighted and extremely proud that PEACH has received this award, and only within 10 months of operations. ...PEACH is backed by the multi award-winning Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s 26 years of experience and expertise in handling large events. This award stands as testimony to the fact that PEACH is able to deliver to clients first-class service and facilities for a major regional event such as AdAsia’99,” said Mrs. Panga Vathanakul, managing director of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort.

PEACH will be celebrating its Grand Opening/First Anniversary on November 25 with a spectacular event, which will be attended by leading professionals from the international meetings industry.

Four arrested at drug dealing auto shop

Dealer and three users arrested

Wira Klam, age 21, head mechanic at the Ohtee auto repair shop, was lending new meaning to adding “speed” to your auto. Klam was arrested on September 12th for selling speed pills from his shop.

Wira Klam (2nd right) was arrested for selling drugs out of his auto repair shop. Three others were arrested for using the drug at the time of the arrest.

After some effort, clever Banglamung police were able to find the auto shop in Ban Sak Ngaew, Huay Yai, even though it had no street address. Once the logistics problems were solved, police burst into the back room of the shop to find Klam and three others busily using methamphetamines.

Police arrested all four suspects and confiscated 45 methamphetamine pills along with 2,150 baht.

Klam confessed he purchased the drugs at 60 baht per pill and sold them from the repair shop to users in Huay Yai for twice the amount.

Police also confiscated a black BMW with no license plate on the front and a concealed rear plate.

The three others arrested, all from the Huay Yai area, were identified as Khunphaen Banchongsiri, age 21, Prasong Wichai, age 42, and Komol Wongudommongkhol, age 44.

Each was charged with using illegal drugs supplied by Klam, who was further charged with possession and distribution of drugs carrying a class 1 penalty.

Daring police bust gambling ring

MOI Minister correct - illegal gambling is everywhere!

In a daring nighttime raid, Pattaya’s ever-diligent police force burst in on a group of “high stakes” gamblers, arresting 13 and confiscating a grand total of 20 baht, all in cash.

The suspect gambling mortar, complete with its clandestine carrying case, was confiscated by police, leaving those cretin gamblers with one less gambling tool to use. Want to bet how many more there are?

Pattaya police had received information that a gambling ring from Sattahip had moved into the Star Beach Condo in Pattaya. The gamblers had allegedly moved to Pattaya after tiring of police harassment in Sattahip.

This came just a few days after Suwat Tanprawat, the Administration Control Department Local Administration Office Director of the Ministry of Interior, told Pattaya’s administrators that it might be OK for Pattaya to set up a casino on Larn Island. “After all,” Suwat said, “There are already countless numbers of illegal gambling houses operating all over the country.” It appears he was right.

On September 18th, a group of doughty police officers converged on the gambling room located on the 14th floor of the condo. With no regard to personal safety, they burst into the room to find a large group of gamblers sitting on the floor around a stone mortar placing bets on a hot and heavy dice game. The gamblers tried to flee, but the police had all exits blocked, leaving no avenue for escape.

Thirteen men and women were arrested and charged with illegal gambling. The gambling equipment, a stone mortar and dice, were confiscated, along with 20 baht in cash.

One man and one woman, Khomsan Meeyai and Somchai Deechai, confessed to operating the gambling den.

Perhaps the 20 baht confiscated could be put towards Pattaya’s new casino on Larn Island?

Judge Advocates in the Juvenile and Family Court System select Pattaya as next year’s conference location

Over 2,000 participants expected

New perspectives taking place in the juvenile court system were discussed at the Annual Juvenile and Family Court Judge Advocate Conference recently held in Chiang Mai. Over 1,000 juvenile court judges from around the nation attended.

Of main interest for Pattaya was that next year’s conference is scheduled to take place here, possibly at the Royal Cliff in October. Organizers expect up to 2,000 representatives from the juvenile court systems around the country to attend.

Chief Judge Advocate Padinya Sutrasuwan from the Chonburi Juvenile and Family Court Section said the agenda for this year’s conference in Chiang Mai provided an overall platform to discuss new policies and actions taking place in the court system. The juvenile court system is now separated from juvenile correctional facilities, which is changing the role of judges in the juvenile and family courts system.

Judge Padinya said the main talks at the conference revolved around treatment methods and assistance programs to rehabilitate juveniles entering the juvenile and family court system, including measures to assist families with various domestic and behavioral problems.

One of the main topics focused on developing programs to follow-up the behavioral patterns of young people after being released from treatment programs, “which becomes a continual process and needs integrating into the current court system,” Padinya said. Additionally, programs need to be implemented to provide the youths with skills to support themselves while undergoing rehabilitation training.

“The basic skills training program implemented at the Chonburi Children and Juvenile Court received much attention during the course of the conference,” Padinya said.

The chief judge advocate from the Central Juvenile and Family Court, Than Duangmal Silapacha referred to the systematic planning that went into the program development, which received full support from the private sector who recognized the significant importance of establishing programs to benefit future social interaction.

Shotgun blast ends naval officer’s life

Wife witnesses the murder

34-year-old Chief Petty Officer Thongkham Bunmak, assigned to a communications unit at U-tapao Airbase, had just returned from playing a football game at Pattaya City School #7 when he was shot in the back of the head with a 12-guage shotgun.

The murder happened at about 8.00 p.m. on September 20 outside a convenience store where his wife worked on Soi Wad Bunkanjanaram near the Sukhumvit intersection.

Chief Petty Officer Thongkham Bunmak was gunned down outside a convenience store on Soi Wad Bunkanjanaram.

Thongkham’s wife, Mrs. Khwanryan, told police she was busy tending the store when her husband returned from playing football. Just after he arrived, three men drove up in a green pick-up. One man came into the store and bought a bottle of beer.

Mrs. Khwanryan told police the man walked away with the beer and went behind her husband, pulled out a sawed off shotgun he had concealed under his shirt and blasted Thongkham in the back of the head. He then slowly walked to the pick-up where the other two men were waiting and they drove off headed for Jomtien Beach in no apparent hurry.

The gunman was described as a tall man with short-cropped hair, dark complexion and wearing a green shirt. Mrs. Khwanryan said the pick-up had been parked about 50 meters away and she was unable to identify it any further than its color.

Police are continuing the investigation, following up leads suggesting that Thongkham may have been having more than one extra marital affair. These women are being called in for questioning.

Other information collected indicates he might have been involved with the use and sale of methamphetamines, but no substantial evidence to support the claims have been brought forth so far.

Passes most tests

Pattaya Bay’s newest showboat, the Pattaya Cruise, was inspected for sanitation compliance last week. The cruise ship passed most of the environmental tests.

Deputy Mayor Wutisak Rermkichakan, accompanied by his team of sanitation maintenance officials, toured the facilities on board the Pattaya Cruise, inspecting its sanitation equipment and procedures.

The inspectors found that the Pattaya Cruise has a suitable wastewater treatment system and a grease trap in the kitchen, which were the main shortcomings initially identified in the other showboats.

The overall results of the inspection were satisfactory, except for the amount of time the wastewater treatment system was in use, also the same shortcoming identified during follow-up inspections on the two other showboats.

The Pattaya Cruise management was directed to correct the operation time to acceptable standards and future inspections will follow to ensure compliance.

City officials have inspected tourist showboats in recent months after it was discovered the boats were releasing untreated waste into the ocean.

The Pattaya Cruise has just started operating in the bay.

Private company may be more efficient

A proposal to hire a private company to formulate an efficient city tax collection plan is under consideration at city hall.

Deputy Mayor Wirawat Khakhai chaired a meeting with representatives from the Map Print Asia Dot Com Company and members from the city treasury sub-committee to discuss a plan to revise the city’s tax collection procedures.

Pattaya city currently collects annual taxes totalling 180 million baht, which the deputy mayor described as an incorrect representation of the amount of taxes due to the city, principally because of the inefficient tax collection recording and reporting system now in use. A number of taxes due remain unpaid and the system fails to identify the delinquent taxpayers.

The cost to hire a private firm to revamp the city tax collection system and turn it into a more efficient operation would ultimately benefit the city, the deputy mayor said.

Developing an all inclusive tax data collection process to accurately identify amounts due and delinquent payments could increase collected taxes by 30% annually.

The proposal is still under consideration and will be presented to the city council for approval. The new system would be funded through money remaining in this year’s budget.