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Exercise Cobra Gold 2002 officially begins
Thai, Singapore and US forces join in training exercises from May 14 - 28
An F16 and an FA18 fighter ‘buzzed’ U-Tapao airport
as the armed forces of the United States, Thailand, and Singapore
officially began one of the largest military exercises in the Pacific
region this year during ceremonies at Naval Air Station U-Tapao.
U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Darryl N. Johnson,
Singapore Ambassador Chan Heng Wing and Major General Narong Yuthawong,
Supreme Commander of the Thai Military were present to officiate the
opening ceremony after inspecting the troops.
 US
Ambassador to Thailand Darryl N. Johnson (center), Singapore Ambassador to
Thailand Chan Heng Wing (right), and Major General Narong Yuthawong,
Supreme Commander of the Thai Military (left) lead the opening day parade
of colors as Cobra Gold 2002 winds its way into Thailand for the 21st
annual military exercises with US, Thai and Singapore armed forces.
Over 21,000 military personnel from the three countries
will take part in Cobra Gold 2002: 7,700 from Thailand including the Royal
Thai Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. The United States forces are
by far the largest contingent, with Army, Navy and Marines, as well as
Military Sealift Command, Military Airlift Command and U.S. Special
Operations Command Pacific, in all numbering 14,000 from the Pacific
Forces. An additional 80 military people from Singapore will also take
part. Singapore, which had previously been an exercise observer, is a
full-fledged participant for the second year in a row.
The aim of this year’s Cobra Gold is to improve
cooperation and assist in providing consistent stability for the 18
countries located in the Asia Pacific region. All three countries
participating in Cobra Gold 2002 have also participated in peacekeeping
operations in the region, the last being in East Timor.
Highlighting this year’s exercises will be specific
Jungle Combat training along with regular training programs for all forces
including land, air and sea maneuvers.
 The
color guards from the United States, Thailand and Singapore present their
colors at the official opening of Cobra Gold 2002 at U-Tapao Airport,
Sattahip.
The commander for Cobra Gold is Lieutenant General
Archawin Svetasreni (Royal Thai Army). The Deputy Commander and U.S. Joint
Task Force Commander is Lieutenant General Wallace C. Gregson (United
States Marine Corps). The Assistant Deputy Commander is Brigadier General
Chwee Koh Chua (Singapore Army).
Heading up the cooperative training exercises will be
Maj. Gen. Piyasak Tesbutr on behalf of Thailand and Maj. Gen. Christopher
C. Cortez, head of the Asia Pacific Forces which will be based out of
Sattahip, both ensuring that this year’s operation run smoothly.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Maj. Gen. Narong
Yuthawong, Supreme Commander of the Thai Forces said, “In the last 3
years, with addition of Singapore, the significance of Cobra Gold has
changed. It’s not about using military power for the purpose of wartime.
It is the use of military for the betterment of humanity, such as United
Nations Peacekeeping operations, serving their fellow man for betterment
of all.”
This includes projects such as medical assistance to
residents, from which 10 locations around Thailand have benefited, and the
improvement of roads and public relations between the three countries in
which the military observes the needs of the greater mass.
U.S Ambassador Darryl N. Johnson added that,
“Thailand and the United States have enjoyed 50 years of cooperation in
preserving and promoting peacekeeping in the region, including the recent
operations in East Timor and Afghanistan. This year’s Cobra Gold will
further promote cooperation and relations between the U.S. and its allied
forces in future operations in the region. The emphasis will be placed on
preserving and promoting peacekeeping under the UNTAET cooperation in East
Timor, involving Thai military forces. These training exercises will
benefit all, enabling the military to better cope with any operation in
the world.”
The ambassador went on to say, “As part of the
current policies, we will use Cobra Gold to show our intent on providing
stable relations between the countries in the Asia Pacific region. This
year we are holding a ‘Team Challenge’ stressing three important
points: 1. Teach and train military personnel for high levels of
operability, 2. Enable them to be combat ready and overcome any possible
obstacles that may be present in real life situations as well as to solve
potential problems outside the normal range of training, and 3. To promote
unity and camaraderie among the military forces in the Asia Pacific
region.
Cobra Gold has a long history dating to it beginnings
in 1982, and is part of the continuing series of U.S. - Thai military
exercises designed to ensure regional peace and strengthen the ability of
the Royal Thai Armed Forces to defend Thailand or respond to regional
contingencies.
Cobra Gold 2002 is one of the largest exercises
involving U.S. forces in the Pacific Command this year. This year’s
exercise will focus the participants on peace enforcement operations and
will include the planning and execution of a noncombatant evacuation
operation, as these types of military operations are increasingly called
for in the world today.
Eighteen countries will send observers to this year’s
exercise. They are Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, France,
India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, China,
Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Russia, Sri Lanka, and Tonga.
Nearly 5,000 GIs come ashore in Pattaya
Hundreds of millions of baht poured into local economy
On May 10th three US Navy ships, the USS Essex, the USS
Fort McHenry and the USS Juneau anchored off Pattaya Bay and more than
4,500 delighted troops came ashore with a mission - to thoroughly enjoy
their four days of shore leave in Pattaya.
Eating, drinking, shopping and making friends were all
part of the fun. But these boys traditionally do a lot of very welcome
community service during there brief stay here.
 Sailors
from the USS Essex, the USS Fort McHenry and the USS Juneau steadily
streamed off local ferries onto Pattaya pier as they came ashore for some
well-deserved R&R.
The business community was out in force to welcome the
troops to the city. Retailers, bar owners and bar girls flocked to the
pier to provide a warm welcome to the troops, jamming traffic on Beach
Road for hours.
Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat said that the arrival
of U.S. naval personnel not only livened up the town but poured a
tremendous amount of money into the coffers of local businesses.
Just to make sure all went well during this enormous
influx of people through the four-day visit, emergency centers were set up
at different spots on Beach Road and around the city to take care of any
problems.
Pattaya police were asked to be on 24-hour alert to
handle any incidents that might happen during the stopover by this massive
group of holidaymakers. From past experience, officers know that huge
crowds “making merry” can cause a bundle of troubles and are
determined to keep order. Close monitoring was enforced to avoid any
negative publicity for the resort town and to ensure that international
and local tourists were not inconvenienced.
High ranking U.S. military personnel stressed a similar
policy and had their MPs patrol the city to monitor their people’s
behavior. Some of them were sent on a scouting tour of the town prior to
the fleet’s arrival to ensure there was no terrorist activity in the
area.
Stowaway tries to “flee” Thailand aboard USS Essex
US doesn’t press charges, but local police do
Wuthinan Saejiam, 35, allegedly tried to board the US
Navy aircraft carrier USS Essex LHD-2 around midnight on May 12. He was
caught, stopped and turned over to local authorities.
 Wuthinan
Saejiam thinks that life in America would be so much better than the one
he has here, he was willing to risk everything to stow away aboard the USS
Essex in an attempt to get to the USA.
Police searched the man, but found no illegal
substances and therefore ruled out terrorist activity.
Lt. Greg Ludwig, the U.S. marine in charge of security
control at the time, did not press charges, but the local police did
arrest Wuthinan and charged him with illegal trespassing.
Wuthinan told police that he was trying to flee from
Thailand to the U.S., and decided that by sneaking aboard the US warship
he might accomplish his task. He told police that he has no harmful
intention towards the sailors or their country.
Beach Road goes fruity next weekend
TAT, public and private sectors to hold Fruit and Seafood Festival
Next weekend Beach Road will be transformed into a
celebration of fruit and seafood. A Fruit and Seafood Festival, organized
by the TAT, public and private sectors, will be held from May 25-27 along
Beach Road from Dusit Resort to the Central Road Junction, from 4:00 p.m.
till midnight all 3 days to promote local fruits and seafood.
The opening ceremony starts at 4:00 p.m. on the 25th
and will be presided over by Chonburi’s governor, Chadej Insawang.
Following his opening remarks, the Parade of Fruits and Seafood will wind
its way along Beach Road.
The Thai Hotel Association Eastern Chapter, Pattaya
Hotel Association and Pattaya Restaurant Association will support 15 fruit
booths and 40 seafood booths.
The program includes a cooking contest, fruit-eating
competition and on-stage entertainment. Those who spend 200 baht and above
during the festival will receive discount vouchers to be used at hotels
that support the program.
The festival is being held in support of the national
campaign to promote tourism within the country, called ‘Thailand Grand
Festival’. This month features the Amazing Fruits Festival throughout
the land.
The eastern region is one of the leading fruit producers in the nation.
Training program graduates 34 new masseuses
All set to go out and massage the world
Pattaya now has 34 new masseuses. So sit back, relax,
and let them go to work.
The 34 graduates took part in a weeklong training
program provided by the Pattaya Hygienic and Environmental Bureau in
cooperation with the Pattaya Traditional Thai Massage “Sitwatpo”
Association to promote traditional Thai medical service for community
members to learn as a skill.
Wutthisak Rermkijchakarn, one of Pattaya’s four
deputy mayors, presided over the ceremonial conclusion to the training
program, which took place at the Pattaya Public Health Service Center. For
his agreeing to preside over the ceremony, the lucky deputy received a
massage from one or more of the new graduates.
The training program was provided from April 29 to May
3 as part of the Health Promotion Fair organized by the center.
The program provided training in both theory and
practice and was well attended by eager trainees from Pattaya. Deemed a
great success, students graduated from the course qualified to perform
skilled massage.
After a Thai traditional massage demonstration, the
deputy mayor presented certifications to the 34 graduates and offered his
sincere congratulations.
An unnamed official from the Pattaya public health
center said, “This training program has attracted a lot of interest in
the community as people are aware that these courses will truly enable
them to earn a living.”
Pattaya considers hiring private firms to run ‘Pattaya Carnival’
Schedules festival for end of the year
City Hall is considering whether to hire out running
the city’s annual carnival to private firms. Two companies have already
gone before the council and presented convincing arguments.
On May 7, representatives from JSL Co., Ltd. (the
project organizer) and Perfect Reich Co., Ltd. (a consulting firm), made
their presentations to city councilors of how they would handle running
the carnival. Their presentations must have been good, as the Pattaya
administration is considering having them organize the ‘Pattaya Carnival
2002’. It was proposed that the festival would be held from November 11
to 19 with a budget of 20 million baht.
Representatives
from JSL Co., Ltd. and Perfect Reich Co., Ltd. made their presentations to
city councilors of how they would handle running ‘Pattaya Carnival
2002’ from November 11 to 19 with a budget of 20 million baht.
Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat explained that the time
change of Pattaya Carnival from April of every year to November 11-19 this
year is due to the fact that April is already the month of Songkran
Festival, during which time the Lai celebration, or Songkran, of Pattaya-Naklua
takes place. Since Songkran celebrations already attract quite a large
number of tourists to Pattaya, the Pattaya Carnival should be celebrated
in other months. The administration also wishes to promote the Pattaya
Carnival to the world and make it one of the biggest tourist events in the
world.
Suwit Sasanapichit, assistant to the board of directors
of JSL Co., Ltd. said he is confident that his company could acquire 18
million baht of the 20 million baht budget from supporting companies and
sponsors.
He also said JSL aims to not only make Pattaya’s
Carnival unique, but also to put it on the world map of festivals, similar
to others such as the ice carving festival in Sapporo, Japan, the Samba
Carnival in Brazil and Mardi Gras in New Orleans, USA.
It is estimated that the Pattaya Carnival will increase
Thai tourism to Pattaya by 50% and foreign tourism by 30%, with
corresponding increases in spending and lodging in Pattaya.
Suwit said JSL has gained confidence from its
experience in organizing the 13th ASEAN Games, Walking Street on Silom
Road, Mahasongkran in Bangkok, and other similar events and projects.
Under the JSL plan, the festival would start at 10 a.m.
and run through to midnight every day. The festival would highlight
‘Thai-ness’ in each activity; for example ‘the longest Thai
classical dance parade along the beach’ along the 5-km Pattaya coast.
Dancing has been advertised to the foreigners under the slogan
‘Kuang-kaen-klong-pa-ma-ram-thai-tee-chai-hat’ (Let’s go get some
clothes and dance together on the beach). The festival would continue
through November 19 with a lot of activities, leading into or finishing
off with the Loy Kratong Festival in Pattaya.
However, there have been some suggestions that the
celebration should be on the same date as when Pattaya City was
established (29 November 1977) so as to be a remembrance of Pattaya, and
perhaps the TAT could fix this date in the national holidays calendar.
Also, some of the city councilors expressed fears that
allowing private companies to run the festival would ruin Pattaya’s
reputation, as it had in the past when the public commented that stalls
and booths just made Pattaya look like a cheap fun fair. Therefore, the
mayor has urged the council to set up a special committee to supervise
festival organization.
Officials declare Pattaya’s water supply is adequate
Deputy PM says it’s clean, safe and potable
Deputy Prime Minister Pitak Intorwiyanan and an
accompanying group of officials made an official inspection tour at
Maprachan Reservoir, Irrigation 9, Chonburi to check on the tap water
system in Koh Srichang and Pattaya.
The purpose of the inspection was to make sure that the
city has a sufficient supply for consumption through what has been a dry
season for the nation.
Officials also wanted to be certain that the supply is
potable and the system of supply is clean and up to legal standards.
The inspectors found the water clean, safe and the
supply sufficient to supply the area.
Mayor wants 14 city projects done by November
City upgrades and shore development projects already nearly half completed
Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat recently announced
there are 14 projects in the works that he wants accomplished before
November this year. Currently, most are 40-50 percent completed. 100
million baht has been budgeted for the improvements.
Pattaya joined with TAT and borrowed from an
international fund, OECF Japan in 1997 to finance the development and
renovation of the city.
Some of the projects to be implemented in Pattaya are
replacing Dolphin Circle with a water fountain, constructing high main
entrance gates at the Dusit Resort curve, improving the footpath along
Beach Road and the road to the marine radio station on Pratamnak Hill.
More improvements include decorating all main roads in town, landscaping
the hillsides, and planting 400 coconut trees.
Koh Larn improvements, including erecting roads signs,
installing public trash bins, building facilities for the physically
handicapped, constructing new viewing spots, and the overall rejuvenation
of the island, particularly Samae Beach and its sea port and piers, are
works in progress or will commence shortly.
There’s a new deputy in town
Mayor fills vacant deputy mayor position from within the city council
Urit Nanthasurasak, now former city council member, was
appointed to fill the vacant position of deputy mayor in charge of the
city’s budget allocation. Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat made the
announcement on May 13.
The position became vacant nearly a year ago when the
mayor sacked Weerawat Khakhai for conflict of interest.
 City
council chairman Thavit Chaisawang, new deputy mayor in charge of the
city’s budget allocation Urit Nanthasurasak and Mayor Pairat
Suttithamrongsawat.
Upon confirmation of his appointment, Urit submitted
his resignation to city council chairman Thavit Chaisawang, relinquishing
his position as city council member. Urit took up his new deputy mayor
duties on May 15 after receiving official confirmation from the city
council as is required by the national constitution.
Mayor Pairat opted to fill the position from within the
council instead of from outside city hall because he said, “Mr. Urit was
the most suitable person to fill the position, as he has been involved in
regional budget planning and control for over a decade.”
The new deputy mayor will be working with and answer to
the mayor.
“He is capable of managing the city’s funds
effectively,” the mayor said.
The first tasks facing the new deputy will be to
readjust city tax regulations so that they are correct and fair to
taxpayers, and to closely monitor the allocation of funds that will be
spent on upgrading the city.
Residents lose battle to reinstall U-turn near Prachum Kongka Temple
Traffic Bureau says there are too many serious accidents there
Residents from Ban Rong Poh have lost their battle to
reinstall a U-Turn in front of the Prachum Kongka Temple. The U-turn was
removed last March.
Pramote Buatone, chief of Banglamung, listed frequent
and serious accidents as the main reasons for elimination of the turn.
Pramote explained that although this former U-Turn area
may have been convenient for residents in the area, the high number of
road accidents at that location prompted the authorities to close it.
The local residents made an appeal to the Traffic
Bureau to build traffic lights in this area, which they felt might resolve
the problem. However, the idea was rejected due to existing regulations as
to the flow of traffic, which dictate where traffic lights will be
erected. The last word has it that the U-turn stays closed off.
Prime Minister “not done solving the country’s problems”
Says he will have no difficulty answering questions at next parliament session
Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra told reporters outside
the Ambassador City Jomtien Hotel, “I am not yet done with solving the
country’s problems.”
He also told reporters that, “There are so many
projects and enforcements to be carried out and as well to be
supervised.”
Prime
Minister Taksin Shinawatra (seated left) told reporters at his class
reunion that he is not yet done solving the country’s problems.
The premier was in Jomtien to attend a reunion of his
former classmates of the pre-military school, held at the Ambassador City.
On his way out of the reunion, the PM was bombarded
with questions from reporters concerning the upcoming censure debate
called by the opposition. He calmly responded, “I will have no
difficulty answering questions that the opposition will ask. I am certain
that whatever I and my team have done, we will be ready to disclose it to
the public both during the parliament assembly and through the media.”
During the reunion, the PM appeared jovial and
accommodating. He spent much of his time talking to constituents and
having his picture taken.
Prime Minister Taksin was once a pre-military school
student, Class No. 10. The class, which boasts many of the country’s
business and political leaders, holds an annual reunion.
The PM joked that many of the people now attending the
school and who were also attending the reunion that night were children of
his former classmates.
U.S. marine hospitalized after falling off hotel balcony
Lands on parked car, receives neck and leg injuries
Seaman Apprentice Scott Weed, who sails on the aircraft
carrier USS Essex-LHD-2, apparently fell off the balcony of a Soi 8 hotel
on May 13 at about 3:30 a.m. and landed on a parked car in the hotel’s
parking lot.
 Seaman
Apprentice Scott Weed, who sails on the aircraft carrier USS Essex-LHD-2,
fell off the 4th floor balcony of a hotel on Soi 8 and landed on this
parked car in the hotel’s parking lot.
The 4-storey fall most likely would have killed most
men, but Weed is a US Marine and survived the impact. He was hospitalized
with neck and leg injuries.
The car he landed on fared only slightly better, as the
impact from the falling marine smashed the back window and caved in the
hood of the trunk.
Local police investigating the incident found that the
4th floor room that Weed had been staying in was full of empty beer
bottles. Given this evidence, local police surmised that perhaps Weed was
drunk and accidentally fell off the balcony. Local police also said that
when Weed regains consciousness, he will need to negotiate a suitable sum
with the owner of the car for damages caused by the impact.
Doctors at Memorial Hospital, located just 200 meters
away from the accident, reported that Weed suffered two broken legs and a
“neck twist”.
Seaman Apprentice Scott Weed was placed in the custody
of the US Military and returned to his ship.
Yaba mama from Klong Toey tries to set up business in Pattaya
National police welcoming committee has other ideas
Forty-two year old mother Piangjai Pakdee from Klong
Toey, Bangkok was arrested last week for trying to sell methamphetamines (yaba)
in Pattaya.
Already “blacklisted” in Bangkok, Piangjai had
relocated her operation to Pattaya, where she intended to continue using
her underground contacts to ply her nefarious trade.
However, the National Police Bureau had other ideas.
After losing contact with the woman for a number of months, investigators
tracked her down to her house in Soi Blackman near Sukhumvit Road,
opposite South Pattaya Road.
Piangjai was at home when police raided and searched
her house. During their search, officers found a small green bag
containing 725 yaba pills hidden on her body. She also had 3,000 baht in
cash, 2 one-baht gold chains, a pair of gold earrings and 6 gold rings.
All items were confiscated as evidence before she was taken to the Pattaya
police station for further questioning.
The yaba mama confessed that she had been selling the
illegal drug in Pattaya for four months after she moved out of her home in
Klong Toey. She said she left Bangkok because she was on a blacklist
there.
Police charged her with possession and sale of illegal
drugs. She will stand trial for her felonious enterprise.
High drama in Sunee Plaza as police and friends talk man out of suicide
Jobless, destitute man threatens to jump from hotel balcony
There was high drama in Sunee Plaza this past week when
Srisaket native Promprayat Poolgau threatened to jump from the 4th floor
balcony of the Marina Inn.
By the time police arrived, a group of friends and
onlookers had gathered and were attempting to talk him down. Promprayat
was in a highly agitated state, staggering back and forth on a balcony on
the fourth floor approximately 20 meters up.
As police negotiators tried to coax him down, several
times he made moves as if he was about to jump.
Police called the emergency services unit, and then
tried to position a safety blanket to break his fall, but they were unable
to use it because of the lack of space and building materials obstructing
the area.
A friend of the despondent man told police that
Promprayat had traveled from Srisaket to Pattaya to look for work but had
not been able to find any. He said the money that he brought with him had
all been used up. He also said that Promprayat had consumed a mixture of
alcohol and drugs before climbing the building, and that Promprayat had
related to him he fully intended to kill himself.
After 2 hours of coaxing, however, the police were able
to get close enough to help him down from the balcony. He was then taken
to the Pattaya police station to calm down.
Chonburi officials to pay for sex
... Information, that is
Chonburi provincial officials announced that they will
be offering a 5000 baht reward for information on pornographic shows and
massage parlors offering sex. No further details were released as to what
the officials will use the information for, or exactly what information
would prompt them to present the reward.
The announcement came out of the monthly meeting
between village headmen and representatives of the public services of
Chonburi, chaired by Banglamung district chief officer Chan Cheunsiva.
It seems the district chief officer is concerned that
area establishments are not necessarily taking to heart the interior
minister’s policy of strict adherence to the regulations for operating
massage parlors.
He said that there are areas in Pattaya and Banglamung
where many massage parlors have opened to cater to tourists, and that many
of these establishments offer “extra services”. Because of these
illegal activities, Chonburi’s provincial government has ordered a clean
sweep of the establishments in these areas.
These officials seem to be laboring under the
misapprehension that offering a 5000 baht reward for information on
entertainment venues offering sex shows will reduce the number of these
premises and that if the program is as successful as anticipated, “for
certain these shows and services will disappear from Pattaya and
Banglamung altogether.”
Police briefs
Jealous man stabs his
boyfriend
A man later identified Chalermpol Suwanchol, aged 23,
was rushed to Pattaya Memorial after he was mercilessly knifed by his male
lover who later claimed to have been living with him for over a year.
Police nabbed the stabber while he was trying to escape from the apartment
where they both lived.
During questioning the assailant, Phirot Haraphum
admitted that he was an emotional wreck because his lover wanted to end
their relationship and to leave him for a bar girl.
Phirot implored his boyfriend to stay with him but his
pleas fell on deaf ears. He decided that if he couldn’t have Chalermpol,
no woman would have him either. Phirot then plunged a foot-long knife into
his lover’s chest leaving him bleeding on their living room floor.
Police placed Phirot under arrest for further
interrogation and trial.
Cranky Karaoke operators
surround police station
Last week, suspicious representatives from the Top Line
Music Co. entered a karaoke bar in Soi Buakow to examine the music
collection used in the club.
After finding music CDs copyrighted by their company
they seized a microphone and computer from the premises and took them to
the Pattaya police station in order to file charges against the bar owner.
Outraged at the seizure - bar owner Thanongsak Jitta
and 100 other Pattaya karaoke bar owners stormed down to the police
station to protest Thanongsak’s arrest.
Using a microphone to get their message across (of
course), the mob complained of the problems copyrights create in the
karaoke business.
During the heat of the protest Darani Buyjareona, a
representative of a music distribution company, lost her temper and
slapped a man’s face. She was arrested and fined 50 baht.
Adisak Suthipithak, president of the Eastern Region
Karaoke Assembly said that he had no way of knowing if these people were
genuine employees of the Top Line Co. He said it was a common practice for
petty extortionists to claim they worked for music companies in an attempt
to extract license fees from karaoke bars.
The Eastern Karaoke Assembly claimed it has submitted a
request to these companies asking for some leeway in making payments.
Both sides agreed to discuss the issue under mediation
from police.
Ten “women of the
second category” arrested on Pattaya Beach Road
Police Lieutenant Colonel Mana Inpitak rounded up a
posse of Pattaya police officers and corralled 10 “women of the second
category” on Pattaya Beach in front of the Royal Garden Plaza. The
katoeys were arrested for soliciting tourists walking along the beach.
One cross-dresser, Boongerd Petaisong, aged 28 from
Maha Sarakharm Province, defended himself by saying he was unemployed and
used the hours of darkness to entice tourists to buy his services for
which he charged between 500-1000 baht.
A large number of prostitutes of both sexes, or should
that be all three sexes to include katoeys, ply their trade along the
stretch between Pattaya Beach Road all the way up to the Fitness Park on
Pratamnak Hill.
Korean tourist’s
belongings pilfered by hotel waiter
Last week Korean tourist, Baek Im Hyun, aged 49,
accidentally left his satchel in a local restaurant. When he realized his
mistake, he went back to the restaurant but unfortunately found no trace
of it.
Since it contained about 365,000 Korean Won, 10,000
baht cash, a gold chain, a bottle of perfume and other treasured items,
the Korean gentleman was anxious to recover it.
Suspecting the waiter may have had something to do with
it, Hyun filled out a police report. He also told police he was confident
he would be able to recognize the suspect waiter.
Officers obligingly went to the restaurant to question
the waiter, who turned out to be Sanya Tinsa, aged 28, from Srisaket.
Sanya gave a rather hesitant interview, which made the police suspicious
and prompted them to search his room. During the search police found the
Korean tourist’s belongings, which they returned.
The waiter was detained for further questioning to make
sure he was not in possession of other stolen property.
US Marines and Rotary Club Taksin-Pattaya show support for Chonburi Youth Observation and Protection Camp
On May 12, Chaiwat Hasadipan, director of the Youth
Observation and Protection Camp in Chonburi welcomed a group of forty-five
USS Essex naval officers led by US Navy chaplain Alan Travers to visit the
camp. Peter Thorand, president of the Rotary Club of Taksin-Pattaya also
took part in the outing.
The group presented food and sports equipment to the
camp as a gesture of support for the camp and the activities organized for
the camp’s 330 children.
Sopin
Thappajug (center), associate judge for the Family Court of Chonburi
welcomes community minded naval officers from the USS Essex to the Youth
Observation and Protection Camp in Chonburi.
Sopin Thappajug, associate judge for the Family Court
of Chonburi was also in attendance to show the visitors around and
translate.
The officers had a chance to chat with the kids who
were delighted with the distinguished visitors. Visits from these officers
provide the youngsters with moral support and inspiration and the children
were completely beguiled when the officers jumped in and played some games
with them.
For the naval officers, visits like these are a chance
to show support for community services projects geared to rehabilitate
juveniles who have gone astray.
The group went on to participate in a buffet and party
at the Banglamung Home for the Aged on May 13, then donated sewing
machines to the Royal Patronage Occupational Training Center, and later
donated toys to the Redemptorist Street Kids Home in Banglamung on the
following day. This was a busy group indeed.
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