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Customs Department squashes this year’s lot of seized contraband
Millions of baht worth of contraband used for landfill
Last week, the Laem Chabang Customs Department crushed and
buried millions of baht worth of seized contraband.
It what
appears to be a yearly show of strength, the Laem Chabang Customs Department
last week crushed and buried millions of baht worth of seized contraband.
The list of goods seized and crushed included 832 boxes of
sweets and snacks, 250 boxes of hypodermic syringes, 1,189 packs of foreign
cigarettes, 7 radio communication devices, 19 automatic saws, 64 game machines,
44 monitors used for game machines, 38 electric circuit boards, and 828 pieces
of various types of equipment used for game machines. The approximate value of
all items was 4,748,211 baht.
The chief officer of the Laem Chabang Customs Department, Pisit
Chatrawachirawong, and the mayor of Laem Chabang, Boonlert Nomsilp attended and
watched over the contraband destruction, which was held at the waste
destruction ground in Laem Chabang District.
Perfect Rich backs out of Pattaya Carnival 2002
City council left wondering what happened - and will there be a carnival this year
It is no longer certain whether or not Pattaya City
will host a carnival this year, as the private company hired to organize
the event has pulled out. Perfect Rich's last minute desertion has left
the city council wondering why, and whether or not there is enough time
left to hire someone else to organize the annual event.
The Pattaya Carnival 2002 was scheduled to be held
November 15 - 19, and Perfect Rich had submitted 2 plans for the city
council to review. The first plan was built on a budget of about 11
million baht, and the second on a budget of about 5 million baht, but now
Perfect Rich says there is no way they can organize the carnival within
the time left and have cancelled their offers.
Earlier this year, a company called JSL proposed a plan
to organize the carnival with a budget of 20 million baht, but the city
council promptly rejected it and accepted Perfect Rich's less expensive
plan. But now it seems the council may have been a bit hasty when
rejecting JSL's plan.
Wattana Jantanawaranon, one of Pattaya's deputy mayors
said that the city still has hopes of holding the carnival as scheduled,
but only if they can quickly find an organizer. He said that if the event
is moved back too much, it might collide with other events, such as Loy
Krathong or even the next Songkran.
Only time, and not much of it, will tell whether there
will actually be a Pattaya Carnival 2002.
Environmental and development issues on Larn Island demand decisive action
Residents say, “act quickly or lose tourists”
The clock is ticking on the future of Larn Island. Faster
response time is being demanded of local authorities to solve existing
environmental problems and make long term plans for its renovation.
At a meeting for the community of Larn Island Bunjong
Panson, a government board member concluded that the two immediate problems
concerning the future of Larn Island are upgrading the clean water supply
and garbage disposal.
Without a resolution regarding these fundamental demands
for residents and tourists, it is likely more sophisticated proposals to
modernize and develop this locale will be left on the drawing board and the
island will be by-passed in favor of areas where projects can go forward
with less hassle.
Niran Wattanasatsathorn, one of Pattaya’s deputy
mayors, acknowledged that time is of the essence. Residents of the island
are running out of patience and tourists are starting to complain.
Officials think there are two ways to solve the problem
of garbage disposal on the island: either a landfill site must be built or
an incineration plant must be built. However, members of the Larn Island
community have expressed distrust toward an incineration plant since they
fear stench and smoke will be released, and are not really sure that a
landfill site is the answer to waste disposal, either.
Regarding potable water, Eastwater Company has been
tasked with coming up with a plan to provide a sustainable water supply that
will take into consideration a growing demand in the future. However, there
is a heated debate going on around this issue. One school of thought
suggests a distilled water plant should be built. Opponents have introduced
the idea of using clean seawater for commercial and household taps.
Residents fear that dawdling over these issues will
surely close the window of opportunity on Larn Island. Business investment
and tourists will merely move on to areas where the political
decision-making process is faster. Pattaya City must extricate itself from
this quagmire. It needs to fix these two problems, start implementing them
and be ready to move forward in other areas of development for Larn Island.
Pattaya police boosts public relations
Suggestion boxes set up throughout the city
Pol. Col. Padungsak Ubekkanon, chief of Pattaya police
led a committee meeting assigned to follow up on the progress of the Drugs
and Crime Execution Fund Raising Project.
Chief Padungsak said police officers now are working
hard on promoting a public relations campaign. Selected groups of officers
regularly visit people in different areas to listen to their problems and
opinions.
Suggestion boxes have been placed at six different
locations, including the Banglamung Administration Office, Pattaya City
Hall, Larn Island Community Center, Big C Supermarket, Lotus Supermarket,
and Royal Garden Plaza. Thirty-one suggestion boxes have also been handed
to various clubs, community organizations and associations in the city to
expand the capacity of fund raising effectiveness.
Padungsak remarked on the difficulty of tracing
immigrants working at various jobs who allegedly commit crimes, and said
that some employers do not collect enough personal information on their
foreign employees. Police reports show that these ‘illegals’ usually
run away from their misdeeds and without more precise documentation and
information on individuals, tracking them down is increasingly difficult.
Police are now being sent to inspect foreign workers at
various business premises and keep their records in police files. This
procedure will help police to capture of foreign lawbreakers.
Mabprachan Health Center holds anti mosquito campaign
Kill mosquitoes, get a massage
A campaign to control mosquitoes has been organized
with the cooperation of village temples, schools and communities to
eradicate mosquitoes that cause dengue fever.
The start-up of the campaign began recently when
workers from the Mabprachan Health Center visited homes and schools in
various villages and distributed a substance known as Abate-sand to
citizens. Abate-sand is a chemical insecticide used to kill mosquito
larvae and can be easily distributed around environments where mosquitoes
breed. Health workers also passed out information pamphlets about dengue
fever and its dangers.
In a seemingly unrelated matter, officials from the
health center also used the meetings with village volunteers to announce
that the Mabprachan Health Center now provides traditional massage and
aromatherapy, "which improves blood circulation and relieves
cramps".
The fee for body massage is 80 baht per hour, 150 baht
for two hours. A foot massage goes for 150 baht per hour and herbal
therapy is 50 baht. The masseuses are from Wat Pho and provide the
services daily.
Pattaya City gives out praise for environmental awareness
Pattaya City officials have been monitoring schools,
living areas and hotels to ensure that the area is clean and the campaign on
environmental awareness being promoted. Praise is in order for those whose
efforts show particularly good results and who have worked hardest to
upgrade their surroundings.
Mayor
Pairat hands out an award to a representative of Soi Post Office, named as
the most improved and cleanest residential area.
One of the biggest problems Pattaya City is facing is the
immense amount of garbage it produces, about 250 tons a day. Local schools have
been ordered to teach ways to keep the environment clean and ways to preserve
our resources.
Eleven schools took part in learning about fertilizers and
composting and 21 hotels are working to reduce their amount of trash and use
recycled or recyclable resources.
Pattaya City recently held a ceremony for members of the city
to distribute certificates for cleanliness and environmental awareness.
At the ceremony Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat said,
"Now is the time to take action against environmental problems while there
is still a chance to solve them. If schools, hotels and people work together we
can help better the environment around Pattaya and make Pattaya attractive to
the world again."
Schools with the best environmental programs were Pattaya
School Number 7 and Pattaya School Number 9.
Hotels with the best cleanliness and environmental awareness
were Siam Bayshore Resort Pattaya, Siam Bayview Resort Pattaya, and Central
Wongamat Resort Pattaya.
The most improved and cleanest residential areas named were Soi Post Office,
Nong Ket, and Nong Yai.
Ghost-buster tourist police plan to eradicate ‘ghost’ guides to protect tourists
TAT says illegal tour guides corrupt tourists
Topping the agenda at a recent meeting of high-ranking
officials, authorities expressed a serious desire to "wipe out"
illegal tour guides preying on innocent tourists in the region.
Authorities believe these guides - referred to as "ghost guides"
because they are not legally registered to work in the sector -
intentionally corrupt tourists, particularly the Chinese, and flaunt the
tourist guide and tourism Thai laws in force since 1992.
(L to
R) Viriya Kerdpol, director of the registration department of the Tourism
Authority of Thailand, Pol. Col. Sakolrat Theerasawat, deputy commander of
the tourist police, and Pornthip Makkrapan, assistant head of administration
of Tourism and Guide Office headed up a recent meeting to address the
problem of illegal tour guides, which, they say, must be eliminated.
The Thai government has been watching this matter closely,
and last August Thai officials met with Chinese government officials to make an
official agreement to cooperate in solving the problem together. Both Thai and
Chinese government authorities have agreed to limit outbound tour companies in
China to 69, and inbound tour companies in Thailand to 206.
Chinese officials stressed 4 main restrictions: Chinese
tourism companies must warn their clients in advance of entering Thailand that
illegal drug involvement will carry harsh penalties; there will be no excursions
to nude shows; no gambling; and no buying sex from prostitutes.
More recently, last week Viriya Kerdpol, director of the
registration department of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Pol. Col.
Sakolrat Theerasawat, deputy commander of the tourist police, and Pornthip
Makkrapan, assistant head of administration of Tourism and Guide Office, along
with representatives from Pattaya’s tourist police, TAT office region 3,
Pattaya police, and Pattaya immigration office called a meeting at the Garden
Seaview Resort, Pattaya.
Viriya said now that China has joined the WTO, the country is
opening up and more Chinese are traveling abroad. This increase in international
travel has upped the number of tour companies in China from 69 to 528, and
inbound tour companies in Thailand have been reduced from 206 to 167.
Somsak Thepsuthin, minister to the prime minister office,
recently said that guides who paid for their licenses must be eliminated.
Officers will be sent to particular tourist destinations in 27 provinces to keep
an eye on illegal guides.
Pol. Col. Sakolrat revealed that arrests have been made and
reports showed these guides bought their licenses on the black market, paying up
to 50,000 baht. He also said that guidelines have been set for arresting outlaw
tour guides, and that police will use a non-hostile approach to avoid creating a
negative image for Thailand’s tourism industry.
Sakolrat added that to be able to effectively control these ghost guides,
three charges must be strictly applied to law-breakers. They must be charged
with operating a tour-guide business without a license, illegal entry to the
Kingdom and opening a company operated by illegal guides.
Sri Lankan peace talks boost Thailand’s image
Historic peace talks between the Sri Lankan government
and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have help to boost Thailand’s
reputation and image. Analysts said that Thailand’s recent hosting of the
talks, the first of its kind in seven years, showed the country’s support
of peace and helped boost the kingdom’s reputation.
Sri
Lanka’s Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris (right) and the rebel
Tamil Tiger delegation’s chief negotiator Anton Balasingham (left) take a
break last week at Sattahip Navy Base. The Norwegian brokered peace talks
are a landmark bid to end a conflict that has left more than 64,000 dead and
ranks as one of Asia’s longest running separatist wars.
"We welcome the peace talks, and are pleased to have
hosted the official negotiations between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil
Tigers, as we support reconciliation and peace in countries all over the
world," said the Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
After three-day talks, held at the Sattahip Navy Base amid
tightened security measures, representatives of the Sri Lankan government and
LTTE issued a joint communiqué indicating that the two sides will continue to
follow a truce deal.
The two sides pledged to extend a timeframe on implementing
measures on mutual confidence building. Colombo and LTTE will set up a joint
commission in charge of returning displaced persons who fled internal fighting
between the two sides.
A joint ad-hoc committee was set up to help ease the plight
of local people in the north and east of the South Asian country, who have been
affected by the internal conflict. The committee will be in charge of extending
financial assistance to the people, and the rehabilitation of war-torn parts of
the country.
The two sides also asked the international community for
humanitarian financial assistance. Mediated by Norway, results of discussions
will be used as information extended to international donors who provide
assistance.
Fighting for nearly two decades for a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka has
produced over 64,000 casualties. Tamil Tigers have gained an international
reputation as the world’s most prolific suicide bombers.
Banglamung district monthly meeting deals with ‘what to wear’ and Pattaya’s image
Notwithstanding other pressing issues, the latest
monthly meeting for Banglamung District included a lengthy
discussion on dress-codes for civil servants and duty uniforms.
Banglamung District Chief Chaen Chuensiva opened
the September 17th meeting during which the cabinet debated what
public servants should wear to work. The cabinet agreed that civil
servants and members of state enterprise should wear Thai silk
uniforms one day each week. On Mondays employees will wear ‘normal’
uniforms. Tuesdays they will wear duty uniforms respective to their
departments, and on Wednesdays Banglamung’s civil servants will
wear provincial uniforms. Each Friday the snazzy Thai silk uniform
will be the choice of the day. Officials at the meeting decided that
policemen will be able to wear their usual cop’s clothes so the
public can recognize law enforcement officers.
Another topic brought up at the meeting was the
complaints pouring in from the public about beer bars in Soi
Pothisarn disturbing the peaceful residents who live nearby. Worried
about the city’s image, the authorities plan to keep an eye on the
situation before it gets out of hand.
Provincial authorities concluded that there are
five pressing issues to deal with. Fighting the drug problem topped
the list, but added were the AIDS problem, mosquito control,
prevention and education about dengue fever, and a public relations
campaign to announce the coming World Scout Conference.
Bartercard members in Pattaya and Eastern Seaboard mingle in Jomtien
A recent networking party hosted by senior management of
Bartercard (Thailand) Company Limited, including managing director, Graham
Brain, Worawat Rojrangsee, senior business development manager and Andrew
Baker from Bartercard International, was held to welcome the company’s Thai
and foreign members based in Pattaya.
Worawat
Rojrangsee (right), senior business development manager of Bartercard
(Thailand) Company Limited, was amongst the Bartercard luminaries who met in
Jomtien.
The Networking Night Party held at the Eurostar Eatery
Restaurant on Jomtien Beach Road gave members an opportunity to meet and mingle
in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Members asked questions regarding new
advances in Thailand and were encouraged to bring in new members.
Bartercard started in Australia in 1991, and is now the world’s largest and
fastest growing retail barter exchange organizations with 51 franchise offices
in 9 countries, including Thailand, and has more than 600 members throughout the
country.
Italian pedophiles arrested in Pattaya
Videotaped everything, which will be used against them
On September 18, Pol. Maj. Naradesch Dlontuksing
ordered 3 members of the tourist police to apprehend two foreign nationals
making and selling child pornography in Pattaya. The two men were believed
to be photographing young boys from the school at Soi Wattamsamakee.
Police
apprehended Mannari Massimo, 42, and Manni Marco, 50, both Italian
nationals, and confiscated a computer filled with explicit files and a video
camera that had been used to tape indecent acts.
When police went to investigate they arrived just in time to
see three boys getting off the elevator at the men’s condominium. After
questioning the three boys, all 10 years old, police found out that the men had
offered the boys an opportunity to play some games with them and gain some extra
money for themselves, instead of playing at the school. The boys said that the
two foreigners ordered them to do obscene things with the men, while the men
videotaped everything. After about 20 minutes, the men would give the boys 100
baht each and send them on their way.
After police stormed the room in which the two foreign
nationals were staying they apprehended Mannari Massimo, 42, and Manni Marco,
50, both Italian nationals. Police confiscated a computer containing all the
explicit files and the video camera which had been used to tape the proceedings.
The men are being held at Pattaya City jail and are being
charged with taking advantage of children under 15 years of age.
Undercover police operation nets foreign women working under the covers
Five Uzbekistani prostitutes and their agent arrested
Foreign sex workers in Pattaya do not always escape the
attention of the local vice squad, as the recent arrest of 5 Uzbekistani ‘ladies
of the evening’ points out.
An
undercover police operation netted five Uzbekistani women working here as
prostitutes.
During an "undercover" operation on September 20,
Pol. Maj. Nardet Klumtuksing, together with other police officers, also arrested
the Uzbekistani girls’ pimp, Bunlod Tipan.
Police received a tip that the women’s business marketing
manager was soliciting in front of the Little Duck Hotel, and sent an undercover
cop to ask about the service.
Bunlod Tipan agreed to ‘sell’ the girls for an agreed
price. However, his business plan went wrong and he and five of his prized
products, Erika Laendkorm, Irina Bersenewa, Zebo Armedeva, Erzera Muwafarowa and
Julia Boltaeva were detained and escorted to the local cop-shop for questioning.
Bunlod did not deny the charges. Instead he told police how
he had come to Thailand with some friends, during which time an evaluation of
the local sex industry tempted them to set up their own enterprise. The girls
were then flown in from Uzbekistan, posing as tourists. When housing and
transport were arranged for them, they substituted sight-seeing for
prostitution.
The girls and their agent will be deported back to Uzbekistan. Meanwhile,
Pattaya law enforcement continues to crack down on all crimes perpetrated by
foreigners.
Car accident victim had ‘guardian angel’
Survives major crash with only minor cuts and scratches
Surachai Rungsriampantong, 34, was lucky to escape with
his life after a high-speed accident on Sukhumvit Highway left his pickup
demolished on September 17.
The
driver of this pickup, Surachai Rungsriampantong, escaped with only minor
cuts and scratches.
Highway police were astonished to see that Surachai had only
suffered minor cuts and scratches.
Bemoaning his mangled truck, which was upside down in a ditch when officers
arrived, Surachai told police that he had been returning home from Sattahip when
he collided with a bridge abutment and lost control.
Two Middle Eastern nationals sought for questioning
Cash and valuables stolen from foreign resident’s safe
Police are searching for two Middle Eastern nationals who
police believe may have information about a recent theft at a local condo.
On September 19 shortly after midnight, an American
resident living on Soi Buakow reported to police that his home safe had been
broken into and valuables including a diamond ring, diamond bracelet, and
diamond watch worth a total of UD$68,000 and 5,000 baht in cash had been
stolen.
Police dispatched to the scene were met by the American
and his woman friend, both of whom were standing in a ransacked room with an
open safe.
After checking out the area and making inquires among
staff members, Pol. Maj. Anek Singhar discovered that two Middle Eastern
nationals had rented the room next door but had left soon after checking in.
Since the two men had not yet returned, Anek asked for
the key to the room and entered. The room was empty and had no personal
items belonging to the presumed occupants. The only evidence of their
presence was 5 cigarette buts in an ashtray.
Police have detailed sketches of the men, who are now
wanted for questioning.
Chinese men allegedly rob local service girls in hotel room
Girls say they were tied up, one woman stabbed
Responding to a call at 3:00 a.m. September 20, police
rushed to a hotel in South Pattaya to find 2 local bar girls crying
hysterically. While trying to calm the girls, officers saw rope marks on
both women’s legs and arms and one woman suffered from a knife wound. When
the victims composed themselves they told police a shocking story of
betrayal, brutality and robbery.
On the evening of the crime, they said, a Chinese man
came into the beer bar where the two women, Naree Mumsaeng, 22, and Jantima
Bunjuang, 24, were working. Introducing himself only as ‘Afu’ he chatted
with them and seemed friendly enough. He finally convinced them to come with
him to his hotel room.
Shortly after, Afu made a phone call and another man came
to the room. Then things turned ugly.
The girls alleged the second man used a knife to threaten
them. Frightened for their lives, they obeyed instructions given in passable
Thai to hand over their valuables, and mutely allowed the men to tie them
up. Helpless, the women watched the culprits flee with a diamond ring and
bracelet and about 4000 baht in cash. The victims said the men were
thoughtful enough to leave them 100 baht for a taxi.
When they were sure the men were out of hearing distance,
Naree and Jantima started screaming for help until a hotel employee came,
opened the room door and called the police.
Jantima was sent to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital to be
treated for a knife wound. Both women helped police make sketches of their
assailants and are searching and for the thieves.
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