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Beach Road to become Saturday Night Walking Street
Beginning Feb. 16 - no motor traffic from 1.30 p.m. until 1 a.m.
The provincial government plans to extend Walking
Street at least 2 kilometers up Beach Road on Saturday nights, beginning
February 16.
If the plan reaches fruition, motor vehicle traffic
will be prohibited from 1.30 p.m. until 1 a.m. every Saturday. The street
will then be set up as a street fair, with food stalls, entertainment
booths, exhibitions, and cultural shows.
 Gov.
Chadej Insawang announced that under a new plan, Walking Street will be
extended at least 2 km down Beach Road every Saturday night beginning in
February.
Rental vehicles, beggars and walking vendors would also
be prohibited. The project is being modeled after the street fair on
Bangkok’s Silom Road.
The governor of Chonburi, Chadej Insawang announced
plans for the project at a Pattaya City Hall meeting he chaired on January
10. Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat, members from the private sector, city
and district police and related offices, and the director of the TAT
central region area 3 office, Manit Boonchim attended the meeting.
Deputy Prime Minister Pitak Intrawitayanunt first
suggested the idea during his recent visit to Pattaya. Pitak thought the
area on Beach Road from Central to South Pattaya Road was ideal for
turning into a bazaar type atmosphere similar what is done on Silom in
Bangkok.
Manit Boonchim, director of the regional TAT office in
Pattaya, agreed with the concept, and added that the fair should be kept
to a theme relevant to the fishing industry and seaside communities in the
area.
Governor Chadej said the main points to be maintained
during preparations for the weekly fair would be minimizing support costs
while promoting tourism and presenting the “one tambon - one product”
project as one of the primary attractions.
Local police representatives were not overly receptive
to the plan, however, especially the Pattaya traffic police. Traffic
police chief, Police Maj. Somchai Pongsai, said parking and traffic
congestion would certainly result from the weekly fair, which would
require added support.
He also said that at the close of each Saturday night,
it would be important for the equipment on the street to be removed before
the following morning in order to avoid any inconvenience.
The planned project will get underway with a special
night themed “Magical Wisdom of Thailand Fair in Pattaya”, which will
include traditional Thai entertainment, Muay Thai boxing, a rice
exhibition premiering the strain of Jasmine Rice, type 105, that was
cultivated in the Chonburi area, and other regional entertainment from all
over Thailand.
The Minister of Interior, Purachai Piumsombun, has been
invited to preside over the opening ceremony.
Manit Boonchim, director of the regional TAT office in Pattaya, also
announced other upcoming events scheduled for Pattaya as part of the
TAT’s promotional theme for 2002, “Thais Touring Thailand”. A
“Music and Sports Week” is scheduled for March, the Songkran Festival
in April, a seafood and fruit festival in May, the Pattaya Marathon in
July and the Pattaya City Carnival in November.
Grover Tailor recites “influential” name to gain extension
City grants him 60 more days to remove offending edifice
The city and province remain determined to remove a
section of Grover Tailors on Walking Street, but Harbree Grover has
decided to dig in and barter for time.
Officials from the provincial litigation enforcement
office, accompanied by legal representatives from the city, revisited
Grover Tailors on January 10, taking measurements of the building and
spray painting the borders of areas they want to be removed.
Grover Tailor is one of the now-infamous 101 businesses
in South Pattaya slated for demolition to make way for city renovation
plans.
The tailor shop was issued a court order identifying a
3.5 meters x 16 meters section of the 3-story structure to be removed. But
the owner of the tailor shop, Harbree Grover, adamantly protested the
decision. He alleges the demands contained in the provincial court order
were complied with over 10 years ago, thus providing him with the legal
right to retain the extension.
 Harbree
Grover (center), owner of Grover’s Tailor, and government officials look
over documents pertaining to a section of the tailor shop the government
says is illegal and needs to be removed post haste. Grover was given
another 60 days to remove the offending edifice.
On December 20, provincial litigation enforcement
officials and city officials showed up at the tailor shop with a
demolition crew prepared to start dismantling the offending edifice.
However, Grover Tailors was spared on December 20, and given a short
reprieve while details in the court order were clarified.
When officials revisited the tailor shop on January 10,
Grover continued to protest the court order and in support of his defense
he told them he bought the building and eight adjacent rooms from Somchai
Khunpluem (Kaman Poh), the mayor of Saensukh Municipality.
It appears his ploy worked, as he was given an extra 60 days to remove
the part of the building in dispute. However, city officials threatened to
return to court if Grover doesn’t remove the section on his own within
the 60 day period.
2nd Road changeover to one-way a hit - in more ways than one
Traffic flows smoother, but some minor accidents reported
Traffic now flows relatively smoothly northward along
Second Road, thanks to the January 15 changeover making the thoroughfare
into a one-way street. But the 9 a.m. changeover did not go off completely
without a hitch.
The city extensively publicized the event over the past
few months. Banners and signs were posted in strategic points along the
road, and police from city hall and traffic divisions were posted in
various places along the route. But either not everyone got the message,
or there were a few who felt themselves to be above the law, as a number
of minor accidents were witnessed throughout the first day.
Many of drivers who insisted on attempting to travel in
the wrong direction were redirected by police, and many other potential
collisions were avoided.
 2nd
Road is now one-way all the way to the Dolphin Roundabout in North
Pattaya, but not everyone got the message, as can be seen by this pickup
truck trying to go the wrong way near the Central Road intersection.
Imagine his surprise when traffic coming through the lights headed
straight for him. The cop to the right is about to set him straight,
though.
Over the next few days, police will be issuing warnings
to violators, allowing for enough time to get everyone acquainted with the
new system. After that time, officials feel that the problem will be
diminished, and that posted signs along the route should be enough to
inform former visitors to the city who might not have heard about the
changeover.
After the first 10 days or so, the city’s traffic
reorganization committee will assess the traffic conditions.
Early reports from the scene have indicated that the
changeover has at least initially been successful. Former bottlenecks
caused by buses entering tourist attractions and entertainment venues in
the north have been alleviated.
A new traffic light at the roundabout in North Pattaya
is also helping smoothen the changeover, although nighttime traffic
entering Pattaya from Naklua is reportedly experiencing delays. “Traffic
heading south on Naklua Road is backed up past Wong Amat from the new
traffic light at the Dolphin Roundabout,” our man on the scene, Peter
Malhotra reported at press time.
There is a chance that the changeover could be temporary. Pattaya’s
deputy mayor, Nirand Watanasadsathorn, and the city traffic police
inspector, Police Maj. Somchai Pongsai, announced that the one-way change
on 2nd Road will be re-evaluated after the first month. If need be, it
will be reverted back to its former two-way status, said the deputy mayor.
But both Nirand and Police Major Somchai were confident that the new
direction would be a success, and by the end of the month the improvement
should be evident.
Temple land in South Pattaya under dispute
City says its public domain, temple says its theirs
Perhaps inspired, or discouraged, by the ongoing saga
of the 101 businesses in South Pattaya, city officials are now evoking
tougher policies towards encroachment on land considered to be under
public domain throughout the city. No one, not even religion, is escaping
their vigilance.
In the latest addition to the saga, city authorities
are disputing property claimed to be owned by Wat Chaimongkol. The temple
grounds cover about 30 rai of land that extends to the middle of 2nd Road.
The first area in question is the land adjacent to the
Wat on which 20 or more shops and buildings have been built, the owners of
which are renting space from the temple abbot. The second section of land
in dispute is located opposite the Wat along South Pattaya Road towards
the beach where more buildings and businesses are situated.
The
city says that all these buildings along Second Road, from the “old”
Mike’s Shopping Mall back to the South Pattaya Road intersection, and
down South Road towards the beach, were built without authorization and
wants them torn down. Wat Chaimongkol, meanwhile, says they were built on
land belonging to the temple and should be allowed to remain in place and
continue to pay rent to the temple.
Court orders were issued on December 4, 2001 giving
notice to dismantle and remove a number of the buildings within 30 days.
However, more than 50 business people have called for city hall to be more
compassionate to their predicament, but as to date, the orders still
stand.
In their defense, Wat Chaimongkol has produced a
document dating back to 1955 when permission was given to construct 2nd
Road which at that time ran through temple grounds. Another document
produced by the Wat dates back to 1956 which describes the landowner, a
Mr. Chaliang Nawapol, representing the temple and the temple inauguration
in 1937.
However, the city mayor said regardless of what
evidence the temple produces, the matter boils down to the shops and other
buildings not having proper authorization to build and set up business on
these locations.
A tougher stance on squatters and illegal structures is already in
force. The city is presently engaged in moving people off from locations
where slums have developed and fire hazards and sanitation have become a
problem.
Cabinet increases VAT refund rate for foreign tourists to boost tourism
The maximum amount of value-added tax returned to
foreign tourists at the Bangkok International Airport will be increased
from B10,000 to B30,000 per tourist, to boost local tourism, according to
a senior Finance Ministry official.
Supharat Kavanakul, director-general of the Department
of Revenue, said that the cabinet at its weekly meeting approved a plan to
increase the maximum VAT rate returned to foreign tourists.
The move, proposed by the Revenue Department, is part
of the government’s tourism promotion measures aimed at boosting the
number of tourist arrivals in the country, he said.
The cabinet also approved a measure to increase the
number of spots at Bangkok International Airport where tourists can cash
in their VAT refunds. Currently, tourists can only get their VAT refunds
in Terminal II at the airport, but under the new measures, additional VAT
refund counters will be set up in Terminal I.
To encourage more shops in Bangkok and its peripheral
areas to join in the VAT return program, the cabinet also endorsed a
proposal from the Revenue Department to lower the amount of registered
capital required of shops wanting to take part in the program from Bt five
million to Bt two million, Supharat said.
Promotional campaigns will be jointly organized by the
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Thai Airways International Plc.
(THAI), and will also be launched on international flights to publicize
the VAT return program.
Supharat said that the cabinet also approved a proposal
to lower the revenue tax rate of foreign actors and actresses working for
foreign film teams using Thailand as their location, from the maximum
progressive rate of 37% to only 10%.
The move was aimed at boosting production of foreign films in the
kingdom, which the government believes will help boost the country’s
tourism revenues, the Revenue Department chief said. (TNA)
Baht bus training to become mandatory
Point system for violations also being introduced
Under a new initiative by the city government, all baht
bus drivers will be required to take a training course before they are
issued a license to operate. The regulation will only apply to potential
new drivers.
The 700 - 1,000 baht bus drivers currently operating in
the city will be trained over time at a rate of about 300 drivers per
month. The training is to continue until all drivers in the Pattaya Baht
Bus Federation have completed the course of instruction.
Pol. Maj. Somchai also said that, starting last
Wednesday, January 16, baht bus drivers violating the
“embarking/disembarking stop signs” will be ticketed.
Police also plan to implement locally the country’s new traffic
violation point system. Drivers accruing excessive violations (points)
would result in having their driver’s license confiscated.
Thai minister orders nightclub shut after finding used condom
Phuket (AP) In his latest
strike against slack morals, Thailand’s crusading interior minister
ordered a discotheque shut after he found a used condom under a table
during a surprise inspection, an official said Tuesday.
Minister Purachai Piumsomboon stepped into the Dance
Fever nightclub on the resort island of Phuket late Thursday and noticed a
young man and woman scrambling up from under the table. The condom was
found in that place later.
A member of the minister’s entourage, who did not
want to be named, told The Associated Press that more used condoms
were found in the nightclub’s toilets.
The minister was furious and ordered the club
immediately closed for permitting indecent behavior on the premises, the
official said. The couple were fined for performing a lewd act in public,
he said.
Panaddha Disakul, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said Purachai
instructed senior officials on Monday to close down any entertainment
venues where such obscene behavior took place.
Thailand to use lethal injection for capital punishment next year
Officials expect Thailand to be ready to use lethal
injection next year, according to a radio news report.
The director-general of the Department of Corrections,
Siva Saengmanee told reporters that preparation was underway, including
legal procedures, and he expected the new method of execution of prisoners
would be used next year, said a Radio Nation news report.
A medical team was studying which chemicals should be
used in the new lethal injection, he stated.
In other countries that use lethal injection, a mixture
of three chemicals are used, including sodium thiopental, commercially
known as sodium pentothal, which induces sleep; pancuronium bromide, which
stops breathing; and potassium chloride, which stops the heart, according
to news reports.
The Department of Corrections is also considering using pepper and
garlic sprays, and rubber bullets during attempted jail-breaks, instead of
guns, said Siva. (TNA)
Oman gang charged with selling cannabis to tourists
Four Oman men, two Thai women arrested
Boonlua Chatree
Four men from Oman were arrested from their room in Soi
VC last week for selling marijuana to tourists in South Pattaya.
Harith Awadh Shaabayan, 32, Mohamed Zayidmu Barak, 27,
Salim Mohamed Ahmed, 45, and Faisal Salame, 25, were arrested on January
9. One woman, Phlernpid Khuansam, 20, from Phrae was also arrested at the
apartment.
 Four
Oman men and two Thai women were arrested for selling marijuana to
tourists in South Pattaya.
The arrests were made as part of the governor’s
initiative to crack down on foreigners suspected of involvement in illegal
activities. Drug trafficking in Pattaya is being emphasized during the
crackdown.
A team from the Foreign Crime Suppression Unit
organized an undercover operation involving the purchase of 100 grams of
marijuana using pre-recorded banknotes.
A woman, later identified as Siranee Kanthakham, a
21-year-old resident of Chiang Mai, delivered the specified amount of
cannabis on the afternoon of January 9 to a location arranged in Soi 17.
She was promptly arrested and taken in for questioning.
Siranee told police the marijuana was purchased in
Chiang Rai at a cost of 10,000 baht per kilogram with money made available
by the four Oman men, who were staying at Rompothong Court in South
Pattaya. The marijuana was sold for prices averaging 3,000 baht for 100
grams, mainly to clients from the Middle East, Siranee said.
A sizeable force of police officers raided the room and
found all four men inside smoking their merchandise.
Police confiscated 3,000 baht in cash, three mobile
phones, and a plastic bag filled with nearly one kilogram of dried
compressed cannabis.
All six suspects were charged with possession, use, and the
distribution of a class 5 illegal substance.
Speeding van rear-ends 10-wheel truck and explodes into flames
Van driver burnt inside
Vichan Pladplueng
A speeding van slammed into the back of a 10-wheel
truck on Hwy 36 and burst into flames, trapping and killing the driver
inside.
It took firefighters over half an hour to bring the
flames under control.
 There
wasn’t much left after this van rammed the back of a 10-wheel truck and
burst into flames.
The charred remains or the driver were later identified
as Mr. Wimol Sukcharern, 42, an employee with the Elastomix Company
(Thailand).
A witness told police the van was traveling at a high
rate of speed in the direction of Rayong. Ascending a hill, the van driver
failed to reduce speed for a slow moving 10-wheel truck driving ahead in
the same lane. The witness said that the impact of the crash made a
deafening noise and the van immediately burst into flames.
Police assume the speeding van driver failed to see the slow moving
truck due to poor visibility at that hour of the morning. Early morning
fog most likely made conditions worse.
Live sex show busted in North Pattaya
Police recommend governor close the place permanently
Chakrapong Akkaranant
Pattaya tourist police raided a live sex show and
arrested seven performers and the manager from at a recently opened venue
in Pattaya Bazaar near the Dolphin Roundabout in North Pattaya.
Undercover police officers posing as tourists slipped
inside the venue with a group of Chinese tourists. The police action was
prompted by reports indicating lewd entertainment was the main attraction
at the new establishment.
 After
watching seven performers perform, police busted a sex show in North
Pattaya, arresting all seven performers and the venue’s manager. The
show obviously did not receive good reviews from the police department.
Everyone wants to be a critic ...
The undercover police officers watched as seven stage
performers entertained a crowd of over 40 people with a variation of acts,
exposing parts of the body that were a prelude to what was about to come.
At precisely 8.40 p.m. two of the seven performers on
stage, later identified as Somkhid Boonwichit and Saisuda Marapa, began
copulating in front of the captivated audience. The two undercover police
officers, however, found fault with the audacity of the two performers and
called an abrupt halt to the lewd display, revealing themselves and
announcing the raid.
All seven performers were taken into the tourist police
station for further investigation, along with the manager, a 28-year-old
male resident of Bangkok identified as Awirud Saeyang.
Police learned that the business opened a few months
ago and was still in the process of obtaining legal permits. The manager
said initially the entertainment was simply music and dancing, but
business was poor and management soon decided to offer something more
daring that would attract customers. The show developed into the live sex
on stage and business improved with the two main performers making 10,000
- 15,000 baht a month, the manager said.
He described having an arrangement with tour groups,
mainly from China, charging 150 baht admission after verifying each
customer’s passport. How the undercover police officers managed to make
their way inside was not revealed.
Each person arrested was 18 years old or over and charged with
participating in indecent activities in public and disgracing the culture
and reputation of Thailand. Additionally, the report to the governor of
Chonburi included a recommendation for permanent closure.
Remains of abducted bank employee discovered by young boy
Loan manager went missing last August
Boonlua Chatree and Vichan Pladplueng
A young boy hunting birds with a slingshot discovered
the skeletal remains of Niwat Banchern, 38, in Moo 10, Huay Yai on the
afternoon of January 8.
Niwat was previously employed as a loan manager at the
Krungsri Ayuthaya Bank in Pattaya. Witnesses saw him being abducted by
three or four men last August. Until the body was discovered, police had
no further clues to go on.
The boy found the body in a thick, overgrown area near
pineapple fields about three kilometers from Hwy 331 in Huay Yai. The boy
reported his find to adults, who contacted Banglamung police.
The skeletal frame was clothed in a dress pair of dark
colored slacks and a white long sleeve shirt with a necktie. The skull was
detached from the rest of the bones and was lying about one meter away
from where the clothed mass was found by the young boy. A pair of
handcuffs were still on the wrists.
Police investigators extracted 700 baht from the
pant’s pocket and a city bank credit card that identified the
38-year-old bank employee. A resident of Moo 8 in Huay Yai sub-district,
his wife and other relatives identified his personal possessions but were
no help in providing any motives for the abduction and murder.
Niwat was last seen on August 22, 2001, by a security
guard at the Pattaya Krungthai Bank, who saw four unidentified men force
him into a vehicle in front of the bank. A description of the vehicle was
given to police but the guard was unable to get the license plate number
and no other clues turned up until the body was discovered.
Police surmise Niwat may have been romantically
involved with a female employee at the bank, Ms. Srirat Kaothanakij,
although it seems she has a relationship with an influential suitor from
Rayong.
The day following the discovery of the body, Ms. Srirat
was called in for questioning by the district police homicide
investigator, Pol. Lt. Col. Yongyut Chantrabut. She was questioned for
over an hour, during which time she said she only had a brief acquaintance
with Niwat, and that she left her accounting job at the bank to pursue a
private business venture.
Niwat’s personal finances indicate he was deeply in
debt, and may have been involved with a housing development project which,
after gaining loans from the bank, went sour.
The cause of Niwat’s death is assumed to be strangulation. Niwat’s
necktie showed signs suggesting it was used as the murder weapon.
Koh Chang tourism to be linked with trips to Cambodia
The government plans to develop Koh Chang, the
country’s second largest resort island in the eastern province of Trat,
as the Phuket of the East, and will link tourism in the island with trips
to Sihanoukville and Koh Kong in Cambodia, according to a senior
Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry official.
 The
beautiful Koh Chang Sea View Resort. The government wants to attract
high-class tourists to the island and discourage “back-packers” from
visiting the island. (Photo by Jimmy Little)
Director-General of the Royal Forest Department
Plodprasop Suraswadi told reporters that under a master plan proposed by
the Royal Forestry Department, Koh Chang would be developed as the
“Phuket of the East”, Thailand’s newest potential tourist
attraction.
“The move would be in line with the government’s
policy to upgrade the resort island,” he said.
Premier Thaksin visited the island in October and was
impressed by its beauty. He suggested that the island be developed as
“the second Phuket”.
Plodprasop, who chairs a committee in charge of
drafting the Koh Chang master plan, said that under the proposed master
plan, first-class tourists would be the plan’s main target.
“If fully developed, the island is expected to generate huge tourism
revenues for the country, as high-class tourists are the main target of
the development plan,” he said. (TNA)
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