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Best Wishes to HRH
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn on His Royal 49th Birthday
The Crown Prince received His primary schooling at
Udorn Hall of the Dusit Palace and attended secondary school in Sussex and
Sumerset, England. In August 1970, the Crown Prince attended the King’s
College, Paramatta, Sydney, Australia and in 1976, He received a Bachelor
of Arts Degree in Military Studies at the University of New South Wales.
The Crown Prince also attended the Royal Thai Army Command and General
Staff College, graduating in 1978, and later received a Bachelor of Laws
Degree from the Sukhothai Thammatirat University in Bangkok in 1987. In
1990, He successfully attended the Royal College of Defense Studies in the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej conferred His Son
with the title of “Somdech Phra Borama Orasadhiraj Chao Fah Maha
Vajiralongkorn Sayam Makutrajakuman” on December 28, 1972, making him
the Crown Prince and Heir to the throne.
HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn attended numerous
military training courses in Australia and the United States with
observation tours in England, Belgium, Germany, France and the
Netherlands. A long list of military courses attended by the Crown Prince
includes helicopter and high performance aircraft flight training, special
warfare training, demolition training, parachute training, and courses in
small arms and other weapons used in modern warfare. Some assignments
include Commanding Officer of the King’s Own Bodyguard Regiment and
Command, Commanding General of the Royalty Security Command, and
Instructor Pilot of the F-5 E/F. Intermittently, He engaged in actions for
counter-insurgency purposes in the North and Northeast areas of Thailand
as well as for protective purposes in areas around Cambodian refugee camps
at Khoa Lant, Trat Province.
The Crown Prince has continued the Royal Family’s
assistance programs to underdeveloped areas around the country and visited
depressed urban areas around Bangkok distributing food and necessity items
to people in need. Another impressive undertaking was His participation in
a fertilizer preparation project in Suphan Buri Province using natural
ingredients to enrich the land in support of the country’s great
agricultural pursuits. Farming is considered to be a highly significant
and noble profession in Thailand and the Royal Family takes an active role
in advancing the vital industry of agriculture.
The Crown Prince was engaged to Mom Luang Somsawali
Kittiyakorn on December 12, 1976, and the marriage ceremony took place on
January 3, 1977. Mom Luang Somsawali was born in London, England on July
13, 1957. They have one daughter, HRH Princess Bajarakitiyabha.
Boat crew caught
dumping Larn Island’s trash in Pattaya Bay
Chakrapong Akkaranant
After receiving numerous reports of trash being
deliberately and illegally dumped into Pattaya Bay, police lay in wait for
the culprit, and on July 15, officers caught the crew of a boat named
‘Nong Nang’ in the act.
 The
Nong Nang sits ashore near Soi 8, filled with garbage that the crew was
trying to throw overboard into Pattaya Bay.
The boat and crew had been contracted to remove trash
from the island and transport it for proper disposal. However, in this
instance, the crew was seen throwing large plastic bags filled with garbage
into a deep trench located off Pattaya’s coastline. Officers arrested
Saengathid Malithed, age 35, and his wife, Pornsiri for dumping the trash
into the bay. The couple had their two children on board at the time. All
four individuals were brought to the police station for further questioning.
Saengathid explained during interrogation that the owner
of the boat, Nathee Thongnak, hired him seven months earlier, and was paying
him a monthly wage of 6,000 baht to haul garbage from Koh Larn to Pattaya on
a daily basis. Saengathid was transporting 1-2 tons of garbage every day,
and on weekends the total rose to 3 tons. When the cost of removal and
disposal became too high, Saengathid told officers that Nathee instructed
him to simply toss the garbage overboard and return to shore.
Pattaya’s mayor, Pairat Suttithamrongsawat, accompanied
by the Pattaya municipal police chief Pol. Col. Phadungsak Ubekhanon and
other senior police officers, went to investigate the foul remains of
garbage on the Nong Nang, which was beached near Soi 8. Deputy mayor Wutisak
Rermkichakarn, who is in charge of city sanitation and environmental
matters, is responsible for finding ways to solve the problem with
restaurant owners and other businesses on Koh Larn, and effective trash
disposal is a top priority.
According to Thailand’s environmental preservation act
of 1992 (the year that Pattaya was designated a pollution control area),
blatantly polluting the environment carries a penalty of a possible 5 years
in prison or a B500,000 fine or both. But it seems there is not one instance
where this law has ever been evoked in its maximum severity. Few cases ever
see the offenders in court.
Garbage removal from Koh Larn has been a thorn in Pattaya
City’s side for a long time. Prolonged discussion about installation of
incinerators and ideas for development for the general improvement of the
environment, and support for tourism on the island, are still part of a
general plan. Following this latest investigation, there was a mention of
allocating a portion of the city budget to subsidize the garbage disposal
from the island to Pattaya, and perhaps tender the concession to a private
concern.
The mayor’s deputy has now been given the task of
engaging new personnel to transport Koh Larn’s garbage, which will be
supervised by the island’s administrative sub-committee. As for the fate
of Saengathid and his family, and the owner of the Nong Nang, Thai courts
will decide.
Husband kills
ex-friend for kicking pregnant wife
The kick caused the woman to abort
On July 14, just after midnight, police were called in
to investigate a murder in the street behind Wat Chaiyamonkol in South
Pattaya. Mr. Prachan Deechanteuk, 28, was found dead; a victim of multiple
stab wounds. Witnesses told the officers at the scene that the suspect,
Aphichai Sukdaeng, 29, fled into the darkness after the slaying.
But Aphichai was soon apprehended, and during
questioning, he revealed the story leading up to the murder. According to
the suspect, Aphichai’s wife had been having disagreements with her
husband’s friend. Three or four days earlier, the arguments escalated,
and the friend lost his temper and kicked Aphichai’s pregnant wife so
viscously that the attack caused her to bleed profusely and miscarry her
baby.
When Aphichai found his wife had been savaged so
callously, he flew into a hot-blooded rage. In retaliation and with
revenge in his heart, he hunted down his friend and killed him. Aphichai
has been arrested, charged with premeditated murder, and is now awaiting
trial.
Rival teenage gang
members duel at Palladium
One youth shot dead following heated
argument
Vichan Pladplueng
The Ya Ying concert on July 14 at Pattaya’s palatial
Palladium nightclub was to be an evening of music and dancing. But when a
group six friends encountered another group of 10 young people at the
disco, past hostilities flared up and the fur started to fly. Smouldering
differences between these two groups of teens finally blazed into a deadly
argument. At 2:00 a.m. gunshots rang out, and the night finished in mayhem
and death.
 Ten
youths were arrested and charged with the murder of a rival gang member.
Officers from Banglamung police district scrambled to
respond to a report that a group of juveniles were fighting, and shots
were heard in the Naklua Moo 2 area. Arriving on the scene, the youths
scattered in different directions, trying to make a dash for freedom,
while a young man, identified by a friend as Kimhant Prasertphan, lay dead
on the ground.
While questioning witnesses at the scene, the officers
were told that after the altercation at the Palladium, the six boys fled
on motorcycles, while the group of 10 youths roared after them, chasing
them through the city streets and firing shots as they went. Kimhant
Prasertphan was riding pillion on a friend’s bike, and took a bullet in
the back.
The 10 other young men in the rival gang were
identified, and each was rounded up the following morning. Interrogation
revealed the ages of the youths ranged between 14-18 years. While taking
the boys into custody, a search was made and a variety of weapons,
including a .22, and a .38 caliber pistol and a sawed-off shotgun were
found and seized.
Officers who questioned the members of the rival gang
were told that the boy who shot Kimhant dead was only known as “Neung”
and was not among the 10 members taken into custody. Each youth was
charged in the fatal shooting.
Drug agent tries to
bribe his way out of arrest
Offers B100,000 - entire gang later arrested
Chakrapong Akkaranant and Vichan Pladplueng
Pibhop Kaewsawang, a 31-year-old resident of Nakhon
Sawan, was arrested on July 19 for carrying 400 methamphetamine pills
concealed inside his pick-up truck.
Acting on a tip, police were already waiting for Pibhop
and arrested him at the intersection of Soi Khao and Sukhumvit Road.
 After
unsuccessfully trying to bribe police, Pibhop Kaewsawang and his entire
gang were arrested.
During arrest procedures, Pinhop tired to wrangle a
deal. A sum of B100,000 was suggested to the officers as an alternative to
criminal charges being pressed. Stringing Pinhop along, police appeared to
agree to the proposal. Seeing freedom within reach, the suspect telephoned
his partners in Pattaya and instructed them to gather the cash. A meeting
was arranged in front of the Pla Thong Flat, opposite Soi Khao Noi.
When Pibhop’s girlfriend arrived at the flat with
five others, police dropped all pretence of accepting the bribe and
charged the entire group with a variety of offences from possession and
distribution of illegal substances, to attempting to bribe law enforcement
officers.
The bribe money and the ATM withdrawal receipts were
seized as evidence.
Pibhop later confessed that he made periodic trips to
Chiang Rai to purchase yaba pills, and returned to Pattaya to sell them to
other distribution agents at twice the price.
Female tour guides
robbed in hotel room
Vichan Pladplueng
After a day of escorting tourists around Pattaya, two
Chinese women, Mrs. Kalaya Pryangwicha and Mrs. Darika Sawchiaw returned
to their room at the Pattaya Garden on July 19th, and were assaulted
by a pair of men hiding in the closet. The men sprang upon the women and
tied them up with electrical cord and clothes hangers, then relived them
of their valuables. The culprits got away with one gold necklace, two gold
rings, two rings set with gems, 40,000 baht and 8,000 yuan.
 Relieved
that they were physically unharmed, Mrs. Kalaya Pryangwicha and Mrs.
Darika Sawchiaw told police how they had been robbed by men hiding in
their hotel room.
The victims told police they were married to Thai
nationals, and were working here as tour guides. While assisting a group
of 17 Chinese tourists with hotel check-in procedures, an obliging hotel
boy carried the ladies’ bags to room 173. The women then took the
tourists for a tour around the city, and returned to their room at 2:00
a.m. The shock of the assault did not prevent the women from noting that
their attackers spoke in Chinese. The women were able to give officers a
detailed description of the two men.
Since there was no evidence of forced entry, the police
suspect that the thieves either had a key to the room or the door was
inadvertently left unlatched. Investigating officers will question members
of the staff in case employees of the hotel were involved.
Top officials
can’t find immoral entertainment
Veerachai Somchart and Chakrapong Akkaranant
Top Chonburi officials recently hit the town again
looking for places offering immoral entertainment, but once again came up
empty handed.
The latest sweep of entertainment areas saw Chonburi
governor Sujarit Pachimnan joined by provincial police commander, Pol. Maj.
Gen. Sene Khamtieng, and district chief of police, Pol. Col. Phadungsak
Ubekhanon with a team of officials investigating the local nightlife.
 
Chonburi’s finest did
find some go-go dancing, but nothing untoward.
Making the rounds of various beer bars, go-go clubs,
karaoke bars and gay bars, the team kept their eyes peeled for underage
customers, live sex shows, and the use or sale of illegal drugs. Gay bars
with reputations of flaunting the law were given particularly close
scrutiny.
The investigation team found that many of the businesses
have observers posted outside the premises. These ‘watchers’ are hired
to signal the arrival of law enforcement, whereby all illegal activity stops
before the investigators are able to witness anything untoward. The same
practice of self-protection is evoked in locations where tour guides take
tourists from Hong Kong and China to unsavoury haunts which arrange live sex
shows. Handsome kickbacks to the guides make this a profitable job.
Meanwhile, the risqu้ side of Pattaya’s
entertainment industry continues to evade laws that govern businesses which
cater to locals and tourists with a taste for an evening of lewd amusement,
but high-level officials plan to keep the heat on. The TAT and the Ministry
of Interior have been continuously notified of this ongoing problem in
Pattaya City, but these authorities have been slow to address the situation.
Another Korean
restaurant featuring exotic snake menu raided
Or was it the same one at a new location?
Vichan Pladplueng
Snake. It’s delicious, and nutritious, and it’s good
for you. For men who hope for more virility, it is also a powerful
aphrodisiac. So say the Koreans. But in Chonburi Province, it’s illegal.
 Set
up almost like a little museum, Pattaya Cobra Restaurant specialized in
serving a large variety of protected species of snakes.
Located just inside of Soi Chaiyaphruk off from Sukhumvit
in Moo 11, Nong Prue, the Pattaya Cobra Restaurant specialized in a large
variety of protected species of snakes. Therefore, officials from the
forestry department in Chonburi and Sriracha paid the Korean restaurant a
surprise visit on July 18 at 2:30 p.m., and lunch was not on their agenda.
Investigating officials courageously surveyed the
premises. Inside the restaurant, they discovered thousands of live snakes,
including deadly king cobras and huge, powerful pythons. The enterprising
restaurateur had organized different rooms which housed the writhing
reptiles separately from where the fresh snake meat and internal organs were
kept in refrigeration. Some rooms were used to display dried and stretched
skins, while another area was used to hold ‘shows’ which starred the
slithering animals. The owner thoughtfully provided a separate room for
diners to sit down and enjoy the cuisine. Apparently this restaurant has
been operating for years.
Officials confiscated the lucky snakes that had evaded
the soup pot, and transferred them to animal protection agencies. The
remaining contents of the enterprise were recorded as evidence.
The manager has been charged under the national animal
preservation act 2535, as well as for operating a business without an
appropriate license.
If this scenario seems slightly familiar, it is because a
Korean restaurant named Hi-D was raided this past April in the same
vicinity. At the time of the April raid, the Korean owner, going under the
name of Black Shae, was arrested. During the July 18th raid at the Pattaya
Cobra, the individual arrested was identified as the managing director;
another Korean named Shwo Khee Harn (sic), 47.
Both restaurants catered mainly to Asian tourists, and
these exotic dishes were expensive. Along with esoteric elixirs which allege
to promote good health and long life, each place served special soups
prepared with sexual organs of snakes, which sold for 1,000 baht per bowl.
Apparently not too high a price for adding to one’s sexual prowess. Even
entertainment was provided for the hundreds of tourists which flocked to
partake in these forbidden meals.
To supply a restaurant of this type, hundreds of live
snakes are caught from all over Thailand, and delivered to supply daily
demand. Large snakes can sell for as much as 1,000 baht, depending on its
weight and species. This is great incentive for Thais to participate in this
illegal round-up.
Swanky karaoke
whorehouse for Korean clientele raided
Operating for past 7 years
Boonlua Chatree and Peerapong Jieranai
Just past midnight on July 21, municipal police chief Pol.
Col. Phadungsak Ubkhanon led a group of police officers on a raid of the
Akasia (sic) Karaoke on Pattaya 2nd Road. The place was disguised as a
karaoke, but deeper inside a well-concealed flesh trade business catering to
mainly Korean tourists was operating. The building had 24 rooms partitioned
off to be used as rest stops for the sex tourists.
 Police
broke up a Korean sex tour operation on Pattaya 2nd Road.
Entry to the concealed operation could only be accessed
by elevator up to the 4th floor where customers had to pass through an x-ray
machine. The entire operation was under surveillance with closed circuit
cameras.
The karaoke was operating without a license and a
36-year-old Korean named An Tae Ho, allegedly in charge of the operation,
was arrested and charged with working illegally in the Kingdom.
A Thai woman named Nipaporn Wongkanchana, 31, was also
arrested and charged with illegally operating a hotel and allowing a
prostitution racket to operate on the premises.
Police confiscated videos and electronic gear from many
of the rooms. Each room was equipped with a TV to view x-rated movies.
The 25 women employed to entertain customers were each
18-25 years old. Each was fined 500 baht and released with a warning.
The operation had apparently been carrying on for the
past seven years.
Updated every Friday
Copyright 2001 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Updated by
Chinnaporn Sungwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.
E-Mail: [email protected]
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