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Inquisitive two-year-old child has arm stuck in PVC pipe for three hours
Ordeal leaves toddler frightened but unscathed
Boonlua Chatree
Two year-old Siqund Zsdottis is a typically inquisitive
little girl, and it was that curiosity that caused a bit of a commotion
around the Doktew Resort in North Pattaya last week.
 Young
Miss Ulun rests quietly while rescue workers carefully chip away at the
cement in an attempt to free her arm from the PVC pipe she managed to get it
stuck in. After about three hours, she was finally freed, much to
everyone’s relief.
As her parents Stein Zsdottis from Ireland and Choosri
Suwanyam sat blissfully taking in the cool afternoon breeze by the pool,
keeping an ever-watchful eye on their daughter playing, the youngster
nonetheless managed to wander just out of arm’s length where she spied a
pretty blue hole in the concrete. As most two-year-olds would, she took it
upon herself to investigate what magical things could possibly be hidden
inside such a pretty little miniature cave.
 Rescue
workers first attempted to use lubricants to slide the young girl’s arm
out of the pipe, but to no avail. It was too tightly wedged in.
Being dark as it was, inside that mysterious cavern, the
only way she could determine what was inside would be to stick her arm in
there and feel around. Thus began an adventure that she most likely will not
forget, well, not until next week, anyway... Luckily girls her age are
blessed with rather short memories.
 Even
the bravest little children eventually break down and cry under such severe
stress.
According to the girl’s parents, they became alarmed
when young Ulun (the little girl’s nickname) began crying. Rushing over to
see what was the matter, they discovered that she had managed to get left
her arm stuck in an outlet pipe from the pool. They first tried to free her,
but soon realized that her arm was too firmly wedged in the pipe, so they
quickly alerted hotel staff.
When the hotel staff was also unable to free the child,
they called the police.
Police and Sawang Boriboon personnel answered the call
and began their attempt to free the child’s arm from the pipe. When all
their efforts failed, the team proceeded to slowly chip away at the concrete
while the young one was comforted by her mother. By this time almost 100
onlookers had gathered to anxiously watch as the rescuers gently broke away
the cement and avoided causing injury to the young tot.
Young Ulun waited bravely for over three hours as Sawang
Boriboon rescue teams worked tirelessly to extricate her arm from the PVC
pipe. When rescuers were finally successful, Ulun was taken to Bangkok
Pattaya Hospital where doctors treated her for minor abrasions, but luckily
no major injuries.
A short while later, little Ulun was released from the hospital and into
the arms of her relived mother and father.
Critics say
Bali Hai pier is being exploited and over-used
Year-end city council meeting addresses pier problems
Suchada Tupchai
During the city council’s final session for 2003 on
December 29 at city hall, council members criticized the current state of
the Bali Hai pier and admonished the bureaucracy for their lack of care for
the venue.
Since its completion, the pier has constantly been a bone
of contention with boat operators, many of whom claim that it was unsafe for
use from the outset, and that they were nonetheless ordered to use it.
City council member Saengsorn Suntornsilp said that the
pier is now being used for numerous activities, naming the Pattaya New Year
countdown as one example, and pointed out that there is an enormous traffic
flow from vehicles carrying goods and tourists.
Saengsorn said, “There are currently a number of
defects appearing in the pier’s walkways from having to deal with
vehicles, an activity it was not designed or purposely built for and the
city administration should correct the problem immediately.”
Mayor Pairat Sutithamrongsawat answered that the pier is
suffering damage from excess use but the damage is limited to small areas
and will not affect the overall safety and function.
“The pier was not designed to carry heavy loads over 1
ton, but because of necessity the use of ordinary vehicles was temporarily
allowed. That will change after the Naklua pier renovations are
completed,” added the mayor.
The newly renovated Naklua pier is specifically designed
for heavy loads and all such traffic is to be diverted there to carry
supplies to the nearby islands.
Mayor Pairat said that all waste is being taken away from the Bali Hai
site by the current garbage contractor in order to keep the area clean. He
added that under the contract agreement with the construction company hired
to maintain the pier, any defects will be repaired. The mayor said he had
already spoken to the civil engineers concerning the defects and they
guaranteed that there were no structural faults with the pier and that the
superficial damage would be repaired.
Ancient ceremonial respects paid to King Taksin the Great
Suchada Tupchai
A ceremony that stems back to the origins of Pattaya took
place at the Taksin monument on December 28. Over 500 people from the
government and private sector gathered at 6 a.m. in front of the King Taksin
statue in front of city hall to pay their respects to the great king who is
said to have founded the city in 1734.
 Ceremonies
commemorating a great king were held at Pattaya’s King Taksin monument in
front of city hall.
The history dates back to the Ayuthaya period when King
Taksin and 500 of his troupes traveled to Chonburi and Chantaburi. On the
way they stopped at Nongyai House, the site of the current Pattaya police
station, then classified as being in the Naklua sub-district and Banglamung
district. At that time, the fishing village was known as Thappraya by its
residents and was given the new name of Pattaya shortly after the King
stayed in the village.
On November 6, 1767, the capital of Siam moved from the
ancient city of Ayuthaya to the province of Thonburi and on December 28,
1768, King Taksin was honored as the founder of the new capital in Thonburi.
The ceremonies were again reinstated in the country on
two specific dates, April 17, 1948, and December 28, 1948. The latter was
specifically for all government departments in the new democratic nation
known as Thailand.
Since then, the day has been celebrated throughout the nation with local
government offices paying respects to King Taksin, featuring numerous
activities for the benefit of the nation’s people and to make merit by
giving donations.
TOT says laying of new water pipe disabled city telephone system
Residents and business crippled by loss of service
Was your phone line dead between Christmas and New Year
this year? If so, you weren’t alone, as Pattaya businesses and residents
in Central and South Pattaya experienced frustration when more than 2,000
telephone lines were cut for almost a week.
 With
the “Pattaya Countdown 2004” banner flapping in the breeze behind them,
TOT workers happily try to fix the dead phone line problem that plagued
large sections of the city between Christmas and New Year. Nothing like a
little overtime pay to help the holiday celebrations.
The Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT), Central
Pattaya office attributed the December 26 line disruption to the recent
drilling into Central Pattaya Road that was making way for new water mains
pipes. A TOT spokesperson said that they attempted to restore regular
service throughout the period, but service wasn’t restored until the
evening of December 30.
Users thought this explanation was strange, considering majority of the
telephone cables are above ground, but then again, what can one expect from
a semi-government department?
Chonburi Office of Culture prepares for new Banglamung culture council
Surat Mekavarakul was elected to chair the Culture Committee
Damri Muangkaew
The Banglamung division of the Chonburi Culture Office
recently held their elections in Pattaya. As a result, new committee members
and a chairman were put up for election to aid the society in coming to
terms with the constant changes in society and uphold traditional Thai
values in the process.
 (From
left to right) Jareon Laddapong, deputy chairman of the Chonburi Culture
Council, Chawalit Saeng-utai, Banglamung district clerk and Somchart
Nongnooch, Chonburi provincial culture office representative.
At the election meeting, held at Mike Hotel in Soi 4,
Surat Mekavarakul was elected to chair the Culture Committee, and was duly
accepted as the best person for the job by the provincial office. The
remaining committee positions were unchanged.
Accepting the role as chairman Surat said, “We are
chartered with helping to develop the country within our cultural values. It
is not the sole propriety of the government to do this but the
responsibility of every association, foundation, community and business to
aid in the process.”
Culture councils are charged with monitoring the day-to-day life and
environment in today’s ever-changing and fluctuating society. They strive
to uphold the wealth of culture within each community that has been forged
over the generations, and to maintain a healthy outlook for Thailand’s
cultural values as the kingdom develops into a modern nation.
“No major accidents in Pattaya this year” says head of traffic police
Lots of minor ones, however
Suchada Tupchai
“This year was quieter in Pattaya than previous
years, but despite the heavy traffic flow, everything moved well, albeit
slower than normal,” Pol. Maj. Somchai Pongsai told Pattaya Mail
last Monday.
 Pol.
Maj. Somchai Pongsai, chief of Pattaya’s Traffic Division
With the increase in the national road toll during
the 5-day New Year Holiday period, we decided to have a chat with the
chief of Pattaya’s Traffic Division to find out what the situation was
in Pattaya.
During the holiday period, traffic units, local
police and numerous volunteers were out in force to try to help ensure
safety within and around Pattaya City and along Sukhumvit Road.
Checkpoints were set up throughout the area to inspect motorcycle riders
for licenses, perform vehicle inspections and give breathalyzer tests.
The latter, however, only netted 3 people out of the countless hundreds
that most likely would have been driving or riding drunk on the roads.
However, it appears that this year’s safety
awareness program was much more successful in Pattaya than it was in
other provinces. “This year we did not see the same carnage on the
city’s roads as last year, even with the regular number of accidents
and collisions. I think the majority of tourists preferred to visit
other provinces rather than Pattaya this year,” said Pol. Maj.
Somchai.
“In my opinion, the figures for this year in
Pattaya were good in relation to national statistics. I think the reason
we saw an increase at the national level was because more people are
using the roads due to being able to afford vehicles and bikes, because
of the country’s better economic situation.
“I would, however, like to see motorists cooperate
better with authorities and follow the rules of the road, but it also
requires a tighter level of enforcement,” he said.
Pol. Maj. Somchai conceded that, “There was a New
Year’s Day accident involving a foreign tourist, but there were no
other major accidents here in Pattaya, which is encouraging.”
In relation to last year, the national road death
toll increased by 11.47% over the holiday period to 902 deaths and
45,516 injuries. Chonburi province had a total of 16 deaths, but none
were reported in Pattaya from December 29 until January 4.
However, over that period there was a total of 57
serious accidents reported inside Pattaya, involving 60 motorcycles, 23
sedans and 1 pickup truck, and a further 40 on Sukhumvit Road. The most
common time for accidents was between midnight and 6 a.m. Only 3 drunk
drivers were caught at a checkpoint on Pattaya Third Road, whilst 1,218
people were fined or detained for operating motorcycles without licenses
or wearing helmets.
Pol. Maj. Somchai concluded that the local traffic division will
continue to enforce traffic regulations and ensure the safety of
motorists throughout the city.
Mussel foraging in the waters off Sattahip turns to tragedy as swimmer mistakes grenade for mussel
Diver disregards Navy warning
Boonlua Chatree
A day at the beach turned to tragedy, leaving a 25-year-old
man in critical condition after he accidentally grabbed an unexploded shell in
the waters off Sattahip.
Vichien Jantamas, from Udon, was rushed to the hospital after
an explosive device he unwittingly grabbed exploded in his hand in 4-meters of
water. The explosion severed his left hand and blew out both of his eyes. His
friend, diving nearby, was also admitted to the Queen Sirikit hospital with less
severe injuries.
The accident occurred in Bang Saray sub-district.
The injured men were taken by boat from the accident scene to
the mainland, where a medical staff was on hand to stabilize their injuries and
rush them to ICU for emergency treatment.
According to friends Sanant Narudom and Somchai Jantamas,
three of them were diving for expensive mussels in the area of Koh Lin, an
island controlled by the Royal Thai Navy. They suspect that Vichien mistook the
explosive devise for a mussel.
The kind of mussel they were looking for sells in the
marketplace for 200 baht per kilo.
Sanant Narudom and Somchai said they heard a loud explosion,
after which they discovered that Vichien was seriously injured. They were able
to call for help from a nearby tourist boat.
Attending physicians reported that Vichien’s left hand was
almost severed, except for a few strands of tendon, and that both his eyes were
destroyed. He also suffered severe blood loss.
The Royal Thai Navy has posted numerous warnings to swimmers
and divers to stay away from Koh Lin due to the danger of unexploded shells.
Irish tourist seriously injured in January 1 motorcycle accident
Fiery accident is not the best way to start the New Year
Boonlua Chatree
Ronan Boaley, 25, from Ireland, was seriously injured
when he lost control of his 400cc motorcycle and slammed into a Jeep on
Pattaya Second Road at 7 a.m. on January 1.
 After
the injured Irishman was carted off to the hospital, firefighters
extinguished the flames leaving a scary looking sight.
The force of the impact ignited the motorcycle.
The injured Irishman was rushed to the Pattaya Memorial
Hospital suffering burns and numerous abrasions.
Witnesses told investigating police that the bike was
traveling at high speed when the rider lost control and slammed into the
Jeep, igniting the fuel tank and turning the accident scene into a ball of
flames.
Fire units were able to extinguish the fire while
officers made their way to the hospital in the hope of questioning the
injured tourist.
Officers were unable to question the man as he had been admitted to the
emergency room for treatment. Police were forced to wait until Boaley
regained consciousness to continue their investigation. No one else was
reported to have sustained any injuries.
Two students die in road accident
while driving against flow of traffic
Surprise! Tour bus driver flees the scene
Boonlua Chatree
Two 16-year-old technical students died shortly after
midnight on December 28 when they were hit by a tour bus in Pong sub-district.
Initial investigations revealed that the young couple was
riding their motorcycle against the flow of traffic, and was hit by a tour bus
at a busy intersection.
The bodies were transferred to the Banglamung hospital for
relatives to claim for funeral rites. Police are interested in talking to the
bus driver, who fled shortly after the accident occurred.
Man arrested for murder of American resident
Killed him for 200 dollars
Boonlua Chatree
Criminal investigation police arrested 20-year-old Tawee
Porommar on December 31 for the murder of 65-year-old American resident Carl
Lupong last year at Pattaya Beach Condo.
 Tawee
Porommar (right) reenacts for police the March 2003 murder of Carl Lupong
(inset).
Tawee confessed to the murder, saying that he committed the
heinous act to steal 200 US dollars, then fled to Nakorn Sawan for 6 months to
escape capture.
Police, armed with a warrant for Tawee’s arrest dated March
21, learned that Tawee had returned to Pattaya and was working the Panorama Bar
in Soi Pattayaland 3 on New Years Eve.
He was taken to Soi 9 for further questioning.
Tawee, aka Jo, aka James, aka Manu, described the events
leading up to the killing, saying that the foreigner had bar fined him for the
night and they went back to the older man’s apartment. Tawee said he refused
to participate in a specific sexual act at the request of Lupong, adding that an
argument ensued and he took a whisky bottle and hit then and stabbed the older
man repeatedly, dragging Carl Lupong’s limp body into the bathroom before
stealing the money and fleeing into the night.
Tawee added that after spending over six months in Nakorn
Sawan and not hearing anything further about the crime, he returned to Pattaya.
Police took Tawee to the apartment to re-enact the crime and
later charged him with first degree murder.
French foreign resident found dead in apartment
No obvious signs of foul play, but death is under investigation
The body of 38-year-old Jean Louis Lefort
was discovered shortly before Christmas in his large 7th floor apartment at
Rungfah Condominium. He was found naked, lying on the bed, and police
investigating the report calculated that he had died 7 days prior to being
discovered.
No signs of a struggle or foul play were noted; however,
officers did collect a loaded .38 revolver and other suspicious items from
inside the condo and kept them as evidence before sending the man’s body
to the forensic institute for a post mortem examination.
Residents in the building described Lefort as a likeable
person who had lived in the building for quite some time and in Thailand for
more the than 10 years. He often went by the name of Adornchai Phakdeepanya,
as he was legally adopted by a Thai lady.
Police have not completely ruled out foul play. They are
waiting for the final autopsy report and are continuing their investigation.
Nongprue construction worker dies in his sleep
Police suspect cold snap contributed to cause of death
Boonlua Chatree
Police suspect that the recent cold snap most likely
contributed to the cause of death of a 31-year-old construction worker last
week at a Nongprue camp. Sangtong Paekho allegedly died in his sleep inside
a makeshift building shortly after midnight on December 29.
 Construction
workers at Nongprue camp huddle around a small campfire, trying to keep warm
while police investigate the nearby death of 31-year-old Sangtong Paekho.
Investigating officers found no clues of foul play.
Police questioned fellow co-workers and the dead man’s
older brother, Khamprai Paekho, 46, who told officers that his brother was
sleeping restlessly prior to his death. Khamprai said he had tried to wake
his brother, but couldn’t, and that Sangtong was unresponsive to his
calls. He died shortly after.
Sangtong’s body was transferred to the Banglamung
hospital for a post mortem examination.
Police suspect that because Sangtong Paekho did not use a
blanket during that night, he may well have succumbed to severe shock due to
the drop in temperature.
Khamprai Paekho said he did subscribe to the policemen’s point of view,
but insisted his brother be transferred to the temple for funeral rights.
Pattaya kicked the New Year with traditional religious ceremonies
Suchada Tupchai
‘Fresh’ from the previous nights celebrations,
hundreds of local residents and city officials turned up in South Pattaya at
the site of the old pier to carry out traditional merit making ceremonies in
the belief that a good start to the new year will ensure better prosperity.
The giving of
alms and religious ceremonies were held at the old South Pattaya pier.
One hundred and ninety-nine monks prayed in South Pattaya
as residents and tourists presented alms and joined in the ceremonies.
Mayor Pairat Sutithamrongsawat, still reeling from the
previous night’s activities, officially presided over the ceremonies
wishing all residents and business operators a happy and prosperous year
ahead.
 A
revered monk sprinkles holy water on the gathered masses bringing in the New
Year in South Pattaya.
“Pattaya is a tourist city and has received support
from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to further develop the local
industry at all levels. Over the past year Pattaya has seen 1,178,000
foreign tourists and 2,679,000 Thai counterparts providing an income of over
40 billion baht to the economy, locally and nationally. In 2005, we will
host the ASEAN Inter-games at the new sports stadium, testimony to the fact
that sports and tourism indeed go hand in hand. As part of our new
development strategy, Beach Road will soon be free of electrical, telephone
and TV cables as construction is due to begin shortly,” revealed Mayor
Pairat in his opening speech.
“We must work together, sacrifice our time and
cooperate in making the city a better place for everyone. The city
administration will be there as a shining example for development and
encourage everyone to do their best,” concluded the mayor.
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