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Eastern Fortitude owners pay 100-million baht damages
Ship released after owners pay to clean up diesel spill
P&I Britannia, owners of the gasoline carrier ship
Eastern Fortitude, paid over 100 million baht in damages for cleaning up
tons of spilled diesel.
 The
Eastern Fortitude collided with a coral reef last January, spilling tons
of diesel into the gulf. The captain was jailed, and the company that owns
the ship paid over 100 million baht in damages. The ship has now been
released.
On January 15, the Eastern Fortitude ran aground on a
reef near the Samae San area off Sattahip and spilled 243,000 liters of
diesel into the Gulf. The spillage spread out 4 kilometers to Mae Ram Pung
Beach, and 7 kilometers around Rin Beach, Phla Beach and Payonn Beach
along the coast of Rayong Province.
Wanchai Sarntoontat, port minister, said that not only
were animals and marine life negatively affected, but there was also an
extensive mobilization of personnel and equipment to clean up the
environment and assess the damage.
The fishery department, Tourism Authority of Thailand,
the industrial estates in the area and Chulalongkorn University examined
the cost for the losses, compiled them and sued the insurance company.
After a series of five meetings it was concluded the insurance company
must now pay the sum of 101,609,245.72 baht.
The Sea Port Department, under the Interior Department,
accompanied by the Royal Navy, Hazardous Control Department under the
Science and Technology Department and conservation groups conducted the
emergency cleaning program. It took two weeks to clean up about 100 tons
of oil. The seaport department then charged the captain of the Eastern
Fortitude with negligence at the Sattahip police station on January 17.
According to Thai law he was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment and the
ship was impounded until damages were paid.
The ship owner was also held responsible for the costs
incurred including the destruction of marine life and habitat. P&I
Britannia signed an agreement on March 20 agreeing to pay for all costs.
The ship has now been released.
Rabies prevention and control given a boost
Pattaya City and Chonburi Livestock Department begin campaign against rabies and other diseases transmitted by animals
Pattaya City’s drive against rabies began last week
on Beach Road when local vets set up shop and provided rabies vaccinations
for cats and dogs in the area.
Officials from the Chonburi Livestock Department,
Pattaya City Hygiene and Environment Department, local government
officials and veterinarians were present at the opening ceremonies.
 Local
veterinarians set up on Beach Road last week to begin Pattaya’s campaign
against rabies and other diseases transmitted by animals.
In the opening speech, Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat
said that as Pattaya was an international tourist destination with a
diverse number of residents it was important to control dangerous diseases
such as rabies. He added that the city’s some 5,500 cats and dogs will
be vaccinated against the disease.
The mayor invited residents to bring their pets to the
some 14 points around the city where rabies vaccinations, neutering and
spaying will be done, and other birth control drugs will be given out free
of charge.
The project was supported by PAWS (Pattaya Animal
Welfare Society) with current PAWS president, Alvi Sinthuvanik providing
23,000 baht worth of supplies and aid for the project.
In Thailand, rabies is predominant in the summer months
and anyone bitten or scratched by an infected animal should seek immediate
medical attention. A number of injections are needed to kill the disease.
Once it grabs hold, there is no cure.
Dolphin Roundabout receives a facelift
A more centered roundabout for easier traffic control
The Dolphin Roundabout has recently received a full
facelift, and was moved so that it sits in the center of the four-way
intersection for easier traffic flow.
The project was by organized by Pattaya City and the
Pattaya police. Traffic control inspector Pol. Maj. Somchai Pongsai said
the renovations were made to help resolve the issue of traffic congestion
and confusion by many motorists at the roundabout.
 The
Dolphin Roundabout in North Pattaya received a facelift and was moved to
help ease traffic flow.
Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat told reporters that the
roundabout will be enlarged and moved so that it is in the center of the
4-way intersection, where many motorists were unable to confidently
navigate the intersection.
Additional features will also be added to the new
dolphin roundabout. A fountain will be placed at the base of the
two-dolphin statue and it will be surrounded by flowers to turn it into an
attractive part of Pattaya’s road network.
Construction began earlier this month and is expected
to be completed before the Songkran Festival.
Pattaya gears up for Songkran
Asks people to respect others
 Mayor
Pairat Suthithamrongsawat (seated center) announced the city is ready for
the Songkran holiday, and asked for moderation and respect of other
people.
Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat announced that the city
has completed its preparations for the upcoming Songkran holiday.
The national Songkran day falls on the 13th of April
every year, while in Naklua the festivities are on the 18th and in Pattaya
the 19th. Therefore, local celebrations will be divided into two sessions.
Locally, Saturday April 13 will be celebrated as the
national Songkran day, family day, and the Amazing Thai Wisdom Fair day,
with many traditional performances from the four regions of Thailand and
product displays along Beach Road. There will be monks blessing ceremonies
in the morning, and the pouring of holy water on the palms of the elderly.
Business operators along Beach Road and the public are
encouraged to wear traditional Thai costumes to blend in with the
traditional atmosphere.
On Thursday and Friday the 18th and 19th, official
festivities will be held the same as every year, with monks blessings in
the morning followed by the water festival.
A 500,000 baht budget allocation has been granted for
the activities, which include security for the public and tourists during
the festival.
The public is being asked to join the fun but be safe
and respect other people. The city asks people to please refrain from
using dangerous devices in the water splashing fun, as in the past many
injuries have been caused.
Police let it be know that any harassment, especially
of women, while joining in the water splashing spree will not be
tolerated.
Songkran festival expected to generate billions for Thai economy
The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects the Songkran
Festival, the traditional Thai New Year, to generate up to 11 billion baht
for the Thai economy, as nearly 400,000 foreign tourists will visit the
country during the landmark festival.
Juthamas Siriwan, acting TAT governor said that TAT
expects at least 360,000 foreign tourists to arrive in Thailand to jointly
celebrate the Songkran Festival with local people during the period.
TAT estimates foreign tourists would spend about B4,000
a day on average during the festival, while local Songkran lovers were
expected to spend a total of about B400 billion during the period, she
stated.
“This means that about Bt11 billion will be generated
for the economy during the traditional Thai New Year,” she said.
Juthamas said that the figure was from a survey of four-star hotels in
Bangkok, which had been almost completely booked for the period.
People in more than 100 countries will be able to watch
the celebrations, as many of the activities are being broadcast overseas.
(TNA)
300 Klong Toey drug rehabilitation residents go to boot camp in Sattahip
Thai Navy and National Police Bureau team up to rehabilitate drug users
Three hundred Klong Toey community drug rehabilitation
inmates are now experiencing boot camp in Sattahip. The 45-day
rehabilitation program, which began earlier this week and which will end
on May 10, is the first course in the Royal Thai Navy’s new drug
rehabilitation program called “City School of Development”. The
program is being held at the Air and Coastal Defense Training Center in
Sattahip Naval Base.
 Give
me 50 - now! Three hundred Klong Toey community drug rehabilitation
inmates are now experiencing “boot camp”, part of a 45-day Royal Thai
Navy drug rehabilitation program called “City School of Development”
being held at Sattahip Naval Base.
The participants were divided into 3 groups and placed
in various training centers at the base. The training sections include the
Air and Coastal Defense Training Center, the New Recruit Training center
and the Naval Anti-Aircraft Command Center.
There is now a new section that assesses and provides
education regarding the effects of drug use on the family unit, which will
help trainees to understand themselves and provide a self help program
enabling them to see the dangers of drug use.
Admiral Taweesak, chief of staff of the Royal Thai
Marine Corps and director of the Naval Drug Suppression and Prevention
Unit, officially opened the training.
Admiral Taweesak said in his opening address that the
new project is part of a national policy to urgently address the problem
of drug use in Thailand. The “City School of Development” was formed
in conjunction with the National Police Bureau.
Tears flowed from many family members when they saw the
changes in their sons and daughters after only a few days training.
Relatives realized there was hope for their loved ones to lead drug-free
lives.
Pattaya improvement committees busy rearranging the city
Everything from advertising to zoning is being addressed
The Pattaya improvement committees set up by Chonburi
governor Chadej Insawang at the beginning of the year have been busy. At a
recent meeting with the governor to update him on their progress,
veritable laundry lists of problems were addressed, though few real
tangible results were announced.
The respective committees have been looking into such
matters as organizing city streets, removing signboards, bribes,
blacklists, pedophiles, encroachment on public property, the homeless,
organizing beach vendors, illegal labor, zoning Larn Island and consumer
rights.
Deputy governor Pisit Boonchuang, who’s committee is
charged with looking after consumer rights in the region, announced that
consumers can send or request assistance on a consumers’ hotline 1166 or
038 274 4441, by land mail: P.O. Box 99 Bangkok 10302, via the website
www.thaiconsumer.net by email [email protected] or through relevant
officials.
He also said that a strong public relations campaign is
underway aimed at encouraging businesses to clearly label their products
in Thai and English. He also wants establishments to display their signs
in two languages for easy identification by visitors to Pattaya.
Deputy governor Virawit Viwatwanit, who’s committee
is directing efforts to put an end to beggars on city streets, said the
committee is formulating new measures to address homeless children and
illegal foreign laborers.
He said that as of January 16th there have been 338
cases of children selling flowers and candy to Western tourists in which
the children taken off the streets were from Burma, Laos or Cambodia, as
well as Thailand. The foreign children were handed over to Immigration
officials for processing and deportation. However, many return, and many
illegal immigrants, both children and adults, are squatting in neglected
or unfinished buildings in and around the city.
Deputy governor Virawit’s committee is also
addressing the foreign labor situation. According to provincial employment
office figures, over 18,600 foreigners are registered to work in Chonburi.
In Pattaya and Banglamung the authorized number is 1,756.
A PR campaign was launched this year to inform
employers of the regulations and give them time to address the issue on
their own volition. A crackdown on illegal labor officially began on March
1st.
Officials from the labor and immigration departments
began inspecting all businesses either registered or suspected of
employing foreign nationals. The inspections targeted foreign laborers
from Cambodia, Burma or Laos.
The committee concluded that 49 front-companies and law
offices consulting on legal matters and handling the process of work
permits are creating problems. However, many more applications and
businesses are still under investigation.
The committee also concluded that foreigners involved
with inappropriate businesses have become a social nuisance. These include
restaurants, bars, tour guides, and low-caliber “shows” which are
often lewd. Immigration officials have refused approximately 10
applications to work in these types of places. Since December 2001,
another 90 people have requested work permits, which are still under
consideration from the Chonburi Labor Office.
Governor Chadej Insawang concluded that the problem in
Pattaya associated with foreigners, in particular the 90 people awaiting
work permits, is a big one. In reality the government does not allow
foreign nationals to operate or work in businesses such as restaurants,
tailor shops, print shops or internet cafe businesses, and that problems
in this area have resulted from corrupt government officers who accept
bribes to the tune of 600,000 baht per year.
As far as the BOI is concerned, there have been no
related problems except for Willy Berger, whose case was presented to the
Minister of the Interior, Purachai Piumsombun. Berger has been placed on
the official blacklist.
Other members of the foreign community to be targeted
are those exhibiting unacceptable behavior by breaking cultural and moral
values, such as pedophiles and known sex offenders apparently “looking
after children” in houses purchased by foreign nationals.
Deputy governor Preecha Kamolbutr, who’s committee is
charged with organizing Pattaya city streets, building construction,
maintaining cleanliness in the city and sanitation issues, said the
committee has outlined three major goals:
1. Cleaning up a 9 kilometer stretch of Sukhumvit Road
from the Kratinglai intersection to North Pattaya. The committee wants to
remove old advertising signs, ramshackle buildings and unsightly waste on
both sides of the road. The second stage of the campaign involves a
7-kilometer stretch from North Pattaya to Central, and is expected to
begin soon.
2. The committee inspected the condition of Beach Road
and made plans to resolve encroachment on public property. Fifty seven
items on this agenda include removal of roadside sign boards, cleaning up
neglected unsightly areas and organizing motorcycle taxis.
3. The committee wants more measures taken to keep Baht
Bus Cooperative drivers under control. Seven hundred baht buses are plying
their trade in the area, causing chaos on the city’s roads through
erratic driving and lack of discipline. Plans to regulate them have become
paramount for the committee.
The committee also reported that other public property
issues, such as where to locate the city’s homeless and mentally
incompetent, are being addressed. The beatification of Pattaya Hill near
‘Wat Phra Yai’ is also underway.
The deputy governor reported that beach vendors have
now been organized, although, despite the 16 conditions set down by the
committee and the city, there is yet to be any real enforcement, but it is
“on the way”. This includes specific areas for boat mooring and water
sports equipment away from swimming areas.
Finally, Koh Larn has been zoned into 3 districts, the
first being a designated tourist area including Tawaen and Sangwahn
Beaches. The second district has been set out to preserve the natural
resources of the island, and inside this district are Saen, Nual and Tien
beaches, plus the formation of man-made coral reefs. The third district is
for the Larn Island community’s housing, school and temple.
German arrested in connection with bar girl murder
Decaying body found hidden under bed
German national Michael Johannes has been arrested in
connection with the murder of a young Thai Woman. The woman’s naked body
was discovered underneath the bed in a condominium Johannes had been
renting.
The gruesome discovery was made when the new tenant of
the rented condominium complained of a strong smell in the room after
checking in on Tuesday afternoon, April 2. Cleaning staff at the condo
block removed the mattress of the bed and recoiled in horror when finding
the corpse.
 German
national Michael Johannes (seated center) was arrested in connection with
the murder of a young Thai Woman whose naked, decaying body was found
underneath his bed.
The deceased, who Pattaya police believe to have been
between 18-20 years old, had marks around the neck, which led police to
believe that she had been strangled to death. The perpetrator had removed
all personal documentation from the woman and the room in an attempt to
hide the deceased’s identity. Police estimated that she had been
deceased for approximately four days when discovered.
Michael Johannes became the main suspect in the crime
after condo employees told police they saw him entering the room with the
young woman. Johannes also left a bag containing his belongings behind
after checking out of the condo.
Johannes allegedly has a history of petty crime and was
out on bail awaiting court proceedings against him. Police checked with
immigration officials and found that Johannes was still in the country,
and following a thorough investigation, found him drinking in a bar in Soi
Post Office.
During interrogation at the Pattaya police station,
Michael Johannes confessed to the murder. He said he met the woman in a
beer bar in the Soi 2 area. He said that the two had agreed to go back to
the apartment and had agreed on a 500 baht tip. However, he said, when
they awoke in the morning, he said she requested 1000 baht, which led to
an argument.
Johannes said he became enraged and strangled the girl.
He then hid her body under the bed to avoid early detection. He told
police he then took her identification documents and threw them on the
train tracks in Soi Khao Noi, hoping to disguise the girl’s identity.
At the time of his arrest Michael Johannes was
preparing to leave for Bangkok. He will now stand trial on charges of
first-degree murder, as well as his previous case of theft.
100-year-old building burns to the ground, 2 others razed
Electric spark causes over 1 million baht damages
A faulty electrical circuit is believed to have caused
a large fire in Banglamung last week. Three houses were razed, one of
which is believed to have been 100 years old.
 Three
old wooden houses in Banglamung were razed by fire that fire police
believe was caused by a faulty electrical circuit.
Seven fire trucks from the Laem Chabang fire station
responded to the call, but the age of the building in which the fire began
made saving the structure impossible.
Fire-fighters struggled to contain the fire to one
house, but flames, fuelled by ocean winds, leapt to the next house,
completely engulfing it. It took just 10 minutes for the second structure
to burn to the ground. A third house was also razed.
Firefighters did manage to contain the fire to the
three houses, and within 60 minutes the fire was extinguished before it
reached a 10 meter yacht moored close by.
Fire investigators and police questioned local
residents and learned that the fire began when an electrical short circuit
in the fuse box lit the wooden house. One of residents heard the circuit
box explode and saw the smoke rising from her neighbor’s house. She said
she tried to put out the flames before alerting the fire department.
Damages were estimated at over 1 million baht.
Fortunately no one was seriously injured by the blaze.
The Laem Chabang fire chief urged all residents to take
good care of their electrical equipment and wiring as part of their fire
prevention measures.
Man posing as police rapes thirteen year old girl
Just 200 meters from Pattaya police station
A man posing as a policeman raped a 13-year-old girl on
Pattaya Beach in the early morning hours of April 5, just 200 meters from
Pattaya police station.
The crime occurred when the youth was walking along the
beach with her older sister just before sunrise. The older sister stopped
to talk to some acquaintances when her younger sister continued walk
ahead. During that time the young woman was approached by Thai man on a
black motorbike, who allegedly told her that he was a police officer and
knew her sister very well. He told her he had just taken the older sister
down the road, and offered to give the little sister a lift.
The young girl accepted his offer, but upon arriving at
the spot, the man, known only as ‘Boy’, grabbed her arms and dragged
her to the beachfront where he forced himself upon her, stifling her cries
for help. The man then fled the scene. When the young girl regained her
composure, she ran and told her sister what had just happened.
The older sister telephoned the police to report the
crime, but it took Pattaya’s best an hour to respond to the call, a mere
200 meters from the station. The older sister commented that if they had
been quicker they may well have caught the offender as he was still riding
his unregistered bike in the area.
Pol. Lt. Naowarat Pramuanyart of the criminal
investigation unit said that this type of crime has occurred on a number
of previous occasions but to date no one had come forth to register an
official complaint, since there were many women and “women of the second
category” prospecting along Beach Road.
The young girl was taken to the hospital for further
medical examination, where semen samples will be kept as evidence.
The man known as ‘Boy’ is described as
approximately 160 cm tall and has a dark complexion. He was last seen
riding his unregistered black motorcycle on Beach Road near the Pattaya
police station.
Burmese laborer stabbed to death
Alcohol induced fight ends in loss of life
A Burmese laborer was stabbed in the chest by one of
his workmates during an alcohol induced fight last week.
Police and Sawang Boriboon personnel called to the
scene of the disturbance in Jomtien found the dead man lying on the ground
with a knife in his chest. He was identified as 35-year-old Charlie
Tonsana. His body was transferred to the Nittiwed Institute.
Four Burmese men were later apprehended and taken to
Pattaya police station for questioning. The men, also Burmese laborers,
were identified as Dom Tongdee, Mi Tongdee, Rat Pato and Sa Tongdee.
During questioning, Sa Tongdee admitted to murdering
Charlie Tonsana. He said that while they were drinking heavily, Charlie
began an argument which eventually lead to fisticuffs. Sa Tongdee was
apparently losing the fight, as he told police he couldn’t take any more
of the beating, so he grabbed a knife and plunged it into Charlie
Tonsana’s chest.
Sa Tongdee was charged with murder. The other three men
were found to have illegally entered the kingdom and face court
proceedings.
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