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Eight rescued from the rocks after fishing boat capsizes
High winds and rough seas turn fishing trip into brush with disaster
Boonlua
Chatree
The Royal Thai Navy and Coast Guard rescued 6 foreign
tourists and 2 Thai crewmembers after the tour boat they were fishing from
capsized and ran aground on the rocks at Chuang Island off the coast of
Sattahip on July 3.
A
group of tourists got more than they bargained for when they set out for a
day of fishing on July 3.
Ralf Bernard from the Atlantis Club Cafe and anglers
from the Pattaya International Game Fishing Friends, who were a tad
seasick after the experience, said they were out fishing in Samsarn Bay
just west of the island when the winds came up and the seas began to get
rough.
The captain of the vessel, Surapol Tiamjaroen told
naval officers that they arrived about 1 mile off the coast of Chuang
Island at around 9 that morning. At approximately 1 p.m. storm surge began
dragging the boat from its anchored position and the boat began taking on
water. He said the pumps were unable to cope with the large amounts of
seawater being pounded onto the deck, which became filled with water
stalling the engine. He said the decision was made to attempt to get
closer to the island so that should it run aground the passengers would be
able to swim their way to shore, which they ended up having to do.
Vice Adm. Taweesak Daengchai, chief of the Coast Guard
Command in Sattahip, said the navy received the mayday call at 4 p.m. and
sent out a team to investigate. Due to the rough seas and strong winds a
special unit from the Region 1 Naval Command was also sent out with 6 navy
divers equipped with diving equipment on board.
The Region 1 Naval command vessel arrived to find the
Coast Guard in the process of bringing aboard the 8 stranded people from
the wreckage and assisted in the rescue operation.
No one was injured in the ordeal but the damage is
estimated at 3 million baht, including the tourists’ video and camera
equipment, as well as some expensive fishing gear.
Vice Admiral Taweesak said, “They were very lucky, as
were the navy personnel who rescued them just in time.
“A salvage operation would be difficult as the sunken ship is very
close to the island. We will, however, send in a team of divers to inspect
the damaged boat,” the Vice Admiral added.
Casino issue rears its head, again
Larn and Sichang Islands picked as likely sites
Veerachai Somchart
The issue of building the country’s first casino
reared it head again recently when the Chonburi Chamber of Commerce met to
exchange opinions on the idea.
Even though gambling is still illegal in Thailand, the
people at the meeting agreed that if it were legalized, the most likely
sites for a casino would be either Larn Island off Pattaya or Sichang
Island just off the coast in Sriracha.
Surat Mekhavarakul, president of the Pattaya Business
and Tourism Association (PBTA) said, “A casino in Thailand would not
necessarily conform to longstanding tourism ideas like eco-tourism and
promoting families to visit, but if there were a casino, we would have the
chance to provide entertainment and modern conveniences to receive
families using a different modus operandi. Larn Island or Sichang Island
are the most appropriate sites to build such a place because they are both
less than 10 kilometers from land and it would create interest for both
Thai and foreign nationals wanting to visit the venue.”
Sansak Ngamphiches, advisor to the minister of science,
technology and the environment and former parliamentary representative for
the Tourism Authority of Thailand added, “The advantage of opening a
casino in either of these two places would be that we would be able to
have strict control over preventing low income earners from gambling away
their lives and creating social problems or engaging in potentially
criminal activities. I suggest we set a minimum of a 100,000 baht
guarantee for those who wish to visit the casino.”
The president of the Chonburi Chamber of Commerce,
Somkuan Nokhong told the 40 attendees at the meeting that, “Thailand is
currently losing up to 100 billion baht per year in revenue and taxes
because many Thais slip over the border to Cambodia, Burma and Malaysia to
gamble, as it is illegal in this country. I believe that these two sites
are more than appropriate for a casino because there will be sufficient
enough security to prevent low income earners from hopelessly gambling
their savings away.”
Mayor inspects progress on Jomtien Beach Beautification project
Doesn’t like what he sees
During an inspection of the new walkway on Jomtien
Beach, Pattaya’s mayor admitted that the area is presently an eyesore.
Rapid growth, construction, mushrooming businesses and a huge influx of
tourists left the once lovely Jomtien Beach area in a state of disarray.
Add a few years of neglect and slipshod enforcement of local laws and the
area developed a lot of environmental problems.
Yes, at the moment, Jomtien Beach is still a mess. But
after its facelift the beautification project will give the area a whole
new look. The project received the required budget of 25 million from TAT
for the area’s rejuvenation in the hopes that the improved environment
will attract more tourists to this stretch of beach.
The project, which is approximately 80 percent complete
was undertaken to transform the beach area into a cleaner and more
attractive place for visitors to relax. Measures are being taken to solve
environmental issues. The improvements will make the area a suitable
destination for tourists to relax in and give it a chance to reach its
full potential.
Mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat, during his inspection
tour of the area with a team of officials and engineers said, “The
contractors are nearly finished. The foundations for the new pedestrian
promenade, a relaxation area and public car park are being constructed. We
need to plant trees and landscape to compliment the new look and will
endeavor to create appeal that is natural and in keeping with the seaside
environment.”
During the inspection the mayor admitted that just now the construction
is unsightly. He said that the city will monitor the project closely and
may have to bring in another contractor to finish the project properly so
that the finished product is of a high standard and something the city can
be proud of.
Wealthy businessman sets up coffin in his house to deter thieves
Police asked to inspect after neighbors fear the worst
Vichan Pladplueng
Concerned neighbors called police earlier this week
after fearing the worst when they saw a coffin placed inside the house of
a rich businessman in the Jomtien Beach area.
Caretaker
Preecha Yupong points to the unorthodox “burglar deterrent” in Jomtien
Beach.
Police arrived to find a rather eerie scene. A coffin
sat inside a locked yet very visible part of the house, and ceremonial
goods had been laid out next to it.
The house, which sits on approximately 30 rai of land,
is surrounded by a number of rented apartments.
Upon arriving at the house, officers were greeted by
the caretaker, Preecha Yupong. Yupong told police that the owner of the
house was a local businessman who owns a number of hotels, restaurants and
other businesses in Pattaya and the surrounding area.
He said the house was robbed a few months ago and the
burglars made off with a booty of tens of thousands of baht, so the owner
had the 1.5 x .5-meter coffin placed there in an attempt to ward off
thieves.
The inscription on the coffin reads ‘died September
4th 2000’. The coffin is surrounded by number of ceremonial items, such
as joss sticks, flowers, flower garlands and other paraphernalia.
The creepy atmosphere in which the house was arranged certainly
deterred everyone else. It remains to be seen if it thwarts another
break-in.
Pattaya Tour Guides Club to weed out rogue tour guides
To set guidelines for the industry
Veerachai Somchart
A rash of complaints about tourists being cheated by
tour guides while visiting Pattaya has legitimate businesses worried.
Rogue guides who operate in this fashion tarnish the image of the whole
industry. Therefore Pattaya’s Tour Guides Club recently came up with
some concrete measures to fight this escalating problem so they can help
reduce incidents regarding guides who cheat tourists visiting the region.
The
Pattaya Tour Guides Club aims to weed out rogue tour guides that are
giving their profession a bad name.
In the first week of July, at Vichien Seafood
Restaurant, Pattaya’s Tour Guides Club (PTGC) held their inaugural
formal meeting. Club President Waiwit Tonsawat led the committee of 11 in
discussions about policies to be implemented into the club’s
constitution.
The club is striving to promote unity in the
development of tourism in the region. It also wants to liaise with the
government and private sectors. As an organization, they intend to set
standards and spell out guiding principals for tour operators and
businesses in the industry to follow. Clear guidelines will help to
promote unity and allow the industry to be more closely monitored.
Waiwit said, “Another important aim of the club will
be to make an attempt to weed out illegal and unscrupulous guides who
damage the business. Most of them are preying on Chinese tourists who
visit Bangkok and then come down to Pattaya.”
Waiwit went on to explain, “Many of these guides
don’t have proper licenses to carry out such tours and do not qualify
under Thailand’s 1992 legislation that covers the industry. They
frequently use false ID cards. Some of these illegal operators are also
Chinese guides, operating from abroad. In Pattaya, many of the guides are
affiliated with travel companies that employ freelance guides operating on
the tour circuit. In total, we think there must be almost 100 tour guides
in the city.”
The club will start out by focusing on European and
Russian tours. The PTGC will begin working closely with local government
and private organizations by providing locations of bars and nightspots
that feature sex shows.
They will also gather a list of businesses that are
currently harassing, overcharging or cheating tourists so that the tourist
police and the TAT can blacklist them.
The club intends to improve the quality of the industry
by dividing the membership in to two sections: the first; General Guides
and the second; Local or Regional Guides involving the Central and Eastern
Regions.
Waiwit told the meeting that the club will also set up
foreign language training seminars for its members including Russian,
Korean, Japanese and German languages as part of the development process.
The new club was formed in January 2002 and has the support of the
local TAT office and the Pattaya Business Tourism Association. The
membership now stands at 40 out of the 100 registered guides in Pattaya.
New RI president spells out Rotary’s mission in 2002-03
RI President Bhichai Rattakul took office on July 1
with a call to Rotarians to grow the organization through a renewed
commitment to the four Avenues of Service - especially vocational service
- and a return to the grassroots values that will empower clubs “to
chart their own course, set their own goals, and fulfill their own
dreams.”
 RI
President Bhichai Rattakul took office on July 1.
“By going back to the basics, we respect the
initiative and autonomy of Rotary Clubs,” he said. “While drawing
strength from our vision of a world in which international understanding
and peace replace the wilderness of wars and tensions, we will all listen
intently to the heartbeat of Rotary, which is club service. I am convinced
that active club service leads to vital clubs with active members, and it
is this vitality and the practice of our ideals that will inspire the new
generation to join and invest in Rotary.”
In keeping with the 2002-03 Rotary theme, “Sow the
Seeds of Love,” this year, Rotarians will devote their professional and
business skills to rediscovering the timeless principles that enabled Paul
Harris and co-founders to build a dynamic new movement based on the human
desire to share and serve.
Three RI presidential conferences are planned for the
2002-03 Rotary year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 9-11 August 2002;
Nairobi, Kenya, on 21-23 February 2003; and Panama City, Panama, on 20-22
March 2003. The meetings are based respectively on the main themes of
peace and conflict resolution and the Rotary Centers for International
Studies; health and development issues, including AIDS and polio; and
vocational education and micro-enterprise projects.
Rattakul is the Thailand Goodwill Representative for
International Cooperation. He was a member of the Thai parliament from
1969 until he retired in November 2000. During those years, he served as
leader of the Democratic Party, foreign minister, deputy prime minister,
speaker of the House of Representatives, and president of the Parliament.
He also served as chairman of several commissions and honorary
vice-president of the Thai Scout Council. An accomplished diplomat, he has
been awarded the highest decorations by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of
Thailand, the emperor of Japan, and the presidents of the Philippines,
Korea, Austria, and Nicaragua.
A charter member of the Rotary Club of Dhonburi,
Bangkok, Thailand, since 1958, Rattakul has served RI as district
governor, international assembly group discussion leader, member and
chairman of numerous committees, trustee of the Rotary Foundation,
director, and chairman of the Executive Committee of Rotary International.
He is the recipient of the Rotary Foundation’s Distinguished Service
Award and Citation for Meritorious Service for his support of its
international humanitarian and educational programs.
Also assuming office on July 1 were the 2002-03 chairman of the Rotary
Foundation Trustees, Past RI President Glen W. Kinross of the Rotary Club
of Hamilton, Brisbane, Australia; RI vice president James R. Shamblin of
the Rotary Club of South Shreveport, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA; and
treasurer Dong-Kurn Lee of the Rotary Club of Seoul Hangang, Seoul.
Young mother and son flee from burning house - narrowly escape death
Damages estimated at 300,000 baht
Aruma Adulwsri, 25, and her toddler son narrowly escaped
death when flames engulfed the second floor of their townhouse in Soi
Yensabai, South Pattaya.
 Fire
rages through the second floor of a townhouse on Soi Yensabai Friday
night, July 5. A young woman and her 3-year-old son barely escaped with
their lives. (Pattaya Mail Photo/Dan Dorothy)
The fire began at about 10 p.m. on Friday, July 5, and
burned for about 40 minutes before firefighters arrived on the scene. By
the time they got there, the fire had nearly run out of fuel and was just
beginning to spread to others areas. It took only about 20 minutes for
firefighters to completely extinguish the flames.
The house sits just outside a cul-de-sac, and as the
fire blazed it effectively blocked the exit, trapping four families
inside. One of the people trapped later told Pattaya Mail, “When does
time stand still? When you’re stuck 20 feet away from a house going up
in smoke, flames reaching into the night sky, burning embers floating down
onto your house and into your garden, wires burning through and dropping
all around, you can’t get past it and you’re waiting for the firemen
to arrive.”
One woman trapped in the cul-de-sac, worried the fire
would spread to the adjacent townhouses, was frantically trying to get
past the inferno with her young child, but was unable to do so.
 The
aftermath – the second floor was completely gutted. Damages were
estimated at 300,000 baht. (Pattaya Mail Photo/Dan Dorothy)
Several witnesses also reported that during the fire it
sounded very much like fireworks were going off. Authorities attributed
this to the heat of the blaze causing wood and fabric to “explode”.
Rescue workers, unsure if anyone was home at the
connecting house, broke a window to gain access and search the inside, but
no one was there. And even though the two townhouses shared a wall, the
fire didn’t spread into the second house.
Later, after the fire was put out, the mayor popped
round to check that everyone was ok, and was pleased to find out that no
one was hurt.
The same couldn’t be said about the house, however,
as the upstairs was completely gutted. Downstairs, it sounded like a
waterfall, as all the water needed to extinguish the fire was cascading
down, and no doubt filling up, the lower floor. Total damages were
estimated at 300,000 baht.
Aruma, the woman who escaped from the inferno told
police that she lived in the house with her husband, 3-year-old son and
her mother.
She said that she was taking a shower when she heard
something “pop” and when she opened the bathroom door to investigate,
the curtains were already ablaze and smoke had already begun to fill the
second floor. She said she grabbed her 3-year-old son, ran downstairs and
called police. Neither the woman’s husband nor her mother were at home
when the fire broke out.
A short while after the fire, Aruma was nowhere to be
found, and a policeman looking for her for further questioning was heard
to say, “Never mind, I’m not on duty. It’s not my problem.”
When it was all over and everyone had left, in true
community spirit, neighbors joined together and swept away the broken
glass, fallen burnt timbers and tied the phone cables out of the way.
Fire investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire and
preliminary investigations suggest that the blaze might have been caused
by an electrical fault.
Gigolo steals gold and cash from drugged paramour
Pattaya police nab thief at gas station
Kriatkriangkrai Suwansiri, 34, was arrested at a petrol
station on Thepprasit Road after removing a 5 baht-weight gold chain and
9,000 baht in cash from his sleeping victim.
Awaking in a gas station from a drugged sleep, Jaruwan
Arksonwut called police when she noticed that her most prized possessions,
gold and cash, were gone. When officers arrived Jaruwan told them that a
man named Kriatkriangkrai had drugged her and removed her gold and money
totaling 87,000 baht.
 Kriatkriangkrai
Suwansiri was charged with theft and illegal use of drugs after he drugged
his paramour and stole her gold and cash.
Police set out on a manhunt, armed with an accurate
description and the make and model of the car the miscreant gigolo was
driving. They found Kriatkriangkrai filling up with petrol on Thepprasit
Road and made the arrest. He still had the stolen gold and cash in his
possession.
Kriatkriangkrai was taken to the police station and
after being identified by his victim, he confessed to his crime. He told
police that he charmed his victim by wearing plenty of gold, being well
dressed, sporting a fake gold Rolex and driving a flashy car, which he had
borrowed from a friend.
He posed as wealthy and eligible bachelor getting to
know Jaruwan well enough until she dropped her guard. He described how he
drugged Jaruwan in her room by serving her a drink laced with a sedative.
Then he removed her gold and cash before taking her to a nearby petrol
station where he left her in a drug induced state.
Jaruwan told police that she was extremely glad to have
her items returned, as she would have contemplated suicide because of the
loss. She called for police to prosecute Kriatkriangkrai to full extent of
the law.
The smooth operating Kriatkriangkrai Suwansiri was charged with theft
and illegal use of drugs.
Provincial government to enforce Thai and international law when foreigners don’t behave
Deputy Governor Supoj Laowasiri told reporters that
foreigners who are facing drug related offences and other law infractions
will be blacklisted.
The deputy governor made the comments after he was
informed that a number foreign nationals were carrying about their
everyday business even though they face legal proceedings. He said that
the province has a clear policy on foreigners who break Thai Law and
deface traditional Thai values. He said that although the provincial
government is unable to act until a verdict has been made by the judicial
system, the guilty will be dealt with by the law regardless of their
offence and will be deported as per government legislation currently in
place under the immigration department.
Suspects who have broken the law overseas will be
subject to attention by local police and criminal investigation units,
which will report to the immigration department to prevent them from
staying in the country. The deputy governor said these criminals will face
deportation, because the monthly court proceedings and deportations
involving foreign nationals is not a small amount and includes those who
have been blacklisted.
“If there are foreigners involved in the
entertainment industry that have defiled Thai culture or are charged with
encouraging prostitution, the provincial authorities instruct the local
police to report directly to those responsible in the administration who
will then follow up with the immigration headquarters in Bangkok. The
information will be transferred on a daily basis after which the report
will be sent to the minister of interior, Purachai Piumsombun,” the
deputy governor said.
“The four categories that will elicit this type of
action are: 1. Entertainment venues facing legal proceedings or that have
been closed temporarily or permanently. 2. Foreign nationals that defy
Thai law and values, or those that have previously been deported. 3. Sex
workers, and 4. Beggars.
“Foreigners who have already been found guilty by the
courts under category 2 and have continued to go about their business as
normal, then you need to inform Pol. Col. Padungsak Ubekhanon, Pattaya
police chief so as to ensure that the policies are carried out.”
Freak accident leaves one man dead
Police are searching for suspected drunk driver
Last week, local police were called to Jomtien after
residents reported finding a corpse floating in a pool of water on the
roadside just off Sukhumvit Road. At the scene they found the body of an
unidentified Thai man aged between 30-35 years.
A witness to the accident came forth after police
questioned local residents and business owners.
The witness, Sakol Seesaeng, told police that he was
tending his furniture business when he happened to notice a man sitting
and fishing by the waterside. At approximately 2 a.m., Sakol said a pickup
truck traveling at high speed lost control and headed for the area where
the man was last seen fishing.
Sakol described the driver as a Thai man in his mid
20’s and due to the erratic way the vehicle was traveling, Sakol
suspected the driver was drunk. The car veered off the road, managed to
recover control and sped off. Sakol said he never thought about the man
fishing on the roadside until the police came along.
The body of the dead man was transferred to Banglamung hospital. Police
are trying to identify the victim and are also searching for the driver of
the vehicle.
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