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Construction begins on
Pattaya’s indoor athletics stadium
Scheduled for completion some time next year
Suchada
Tupchai
Construction has begun on Pattaya’s indoor athletics
stadium which, when completed, will host the 1st Asian Indoor Games
scheduled for 2005.
Sontaya Khunplome, tourism and sports minister, signed
the 400 million baht construction contract at the Radisson Hotel, Bangkok on
May 10. Contractors have estimated they will complete construction by August
2005.
The indoor athletics stadium will be located in Soi
Chaiypruek 2, behind a public park that is to be officially opened to the
public soon.
An officer from the Pattaya Engineering Office said that
some associated organizations had begun to explore the area and construction
is underway. He said he estimates it will take about a year for the entire
project - including the indoor athletics stadium, public park, residence and
other facilities - to be completed.
Minister Sontaya said at the signing ceremony, “As
Thailand will host the upcoming inaugural Asian Indoor Games in 2005, the
Cabinet has agreed to build a new indoor athletics stadium in Pattaya to
support this international competition. The Sport Authority of Thailand has
been given responsibility for this construction.”
Dr Santipab Techavanich, governor of the Sport Authority
of Thailand, confirmed, “This indoor stadium will definitely be completed
in time. It will be the first indoor athletics stadium in Thailand and
Southeast Asia to meet international standards.
“We have planned to use this stadium for other athletic competitions,
held by the public and private sectors from all around the country. It will
be used as a practicing stadium for athletes. I am certain that it will
bring a lot of advantages to the society and people in the area,” Dr
Santipab concluded.
Pattaya City holds constitutional training for the general public
Residents learn more about their rights, freedom and dignity
Suchada
Tupchai
Over 200 members of the public attended a training
seminar in Pattaya on May 10 about “Democracy under the 1997 Constitution
of the Kingdom of Thailand and Parliament Volunteer Network”.
Parliamentary president Uthai Pimchaichon, who presided
over the opening ceremony of the event, delivered a lecture on “The 1997
Constitution and the Parliament’s Operation”.
 Uthai
Pimchaichon, parliamentary president, gives a lecture on “The 1997
Constitution and the Parliament’s Operation”.
Chanchai Chairungreung, president of Parliament’s
Volunteer Network Development Commission, said that the training was also
being held at a further 400 venues throughout the country for those who are
interested in politics. Over 100,000 people are participating countrywide.
The training course aimed at helping people understand
the role, duties, rights and development of the Thai Parliament under
democracy and urged everyone to take a part of politics.
In Pattaya, the attendees learnt more about their rights,
freedom and dignity, as well as many aspects of the parliament’s
administration.
The training included a lecture by the parliamentary
president, a discussion by lecturers from Parliament’s Volunteer Network
Development Commission on the mission and duties of the Thai parliament,
politics under democracy and other issues.
Utai said that the mission and duties of Parliament
directly related to people, as “people are the main part of politics”.
As a result, it is important for everyone - including other local
administrative organizations and non-governmental organizations - to fully
comprehend these duties and missions, and their fundamental rights and
freedoms cited in the constitution.
The event took place at the city hall from 8.30 a.m. -
4.30 p.m. The attendees were presented certificates at the close of the
training.
Chonburi governor holds thank you party
Suchada Tupchai
Chonburi Governor Pisit Ketphasook recently threw a thank
you party for the media in Chonburi and Pattaya at the Saensook Room,
Mercure Hotel, Chonburi.
Governor Pisit
Ketphasook and Deputy Governor Pisit Boonchuang say thank you to the media,
including some of the Pattaya Mail team.
“This is quite a good occasion for Pattaya executives
and the media to gather tonight. The two sections have always worked
together, aiming to make our province a better place. They have tried to
develop many aspects - including tourism, business and sport. In Chonburi,
we have quite an advantage in that we have a lot of media groups, which help
us to promote things beneficial for society,” said the governor.
After his opening speech, guests and the media had dinner together and
enjoyed the many prizes given away during a lucky draw.
PBTA searches for strategies to attract visitors
Road show to Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary planned
Suchada Tupchai
The Pattaya Business and Tourism Association has been
brainstorming to find ways to enhance business in the domestic and
international tourism markets.
Thanet Supornsaharungsi, president of the association
(PBTA), on May 12 presided over the monthly meeting at the Green Park
Resort, where the subject was discussed.
(L to R) Niti
Kongrut, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, central region 3;
Pattaya Business and Tourism Association president Thanet Supornsaharungsi,
and the association’s vice-president Jamrun Wisawachaipan.
Niti Kongrut, the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s
central region 3 governor, joined in the discussion.
The meeting dealt with marketing and public relations
plans domestically and internationally and releasing schedules for
activities in Pattaya to promote tourism of 2004.
One of the PBTA plans is dubbed the “Eastern Tourism
Exhibition”. It will be a collaboration between the public and private
sectors, planning to get the four eastern provinces - Chonburi, Rayong,
Chantaburi and Trad - to take part in the Pattaya Marathon 2004 to be held
from July 16-18, starting at Pattaya Beach. It is a plan to promote tourism
and sport at the same time.
There will also be OTOP (One Tambon One Product)
exhibitions and other interesting activities at the event.
The plan will be marketed overseas with collaboration from the PBTA,
Thailand Hotel Association (THA), Chonburi Provincial Administrative
Organization and Pattaya City. A marketing road show to attract tourists to
Pattaya will be taken to Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary from July
12-19.
Private sector invests Bt2 billion to harness thermal energy in Rayong
A private sector company on May 14
officially opened its flagship thermal power generation station in Rayong
Province, which will distribute electricity to local production plants and
the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT).
Presiding over the opening of the plant in the Rayong
Industry Park, elder statesman Kamthon Sinthawanon described the generating
station as a world class facility which helps meet the energy needs of the
province’s industrial sector.
The 2.565 billion baht plant, which has been operating
since January 2003, supplies 45.85 megawatts of energy to 11 production
plans within the industrial park, and 60 megawatts to EGAT under a 12-year
contract.
Operated by TLP Cogeneration Co. Ltd., the plant was able
to generate a total of 594.14 million kilowatt/hours of electricity last
year. It also generates reserve energy to respond to the growth of industry
within the industry park. (TNA)
Government slaps health warning on durians
To many a foreigner, durians are considered
something of a liability simply because of their pungent smell, but on May
11, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health issued a warning against excessive
durian consumption, not because of the fruit’s olfactory offensiveness, but
because of its high calorific content. The move comes after the already
almost legendary death of a Singburi civil servant yesterday who died,
literally, of a surfeit of durians, having eaten four in close succession.
While urging the public not to become too fearful of the
effects of durian consumption, Ministry of Public Health spokeswoman Nittaya
Chanrueng warned that certain groups of people had to exercise caution when
eating the fruit. Nittaya conceded that durians were nutritious, tasty and
sweet, but warned that this came at a price: a high calorific value.
“Nutritional analysis of durians by the Nutrition
Division of the Department of Health shows that different species of durian
have different energy values,” she said, adding that this ranged from 181
calories per 100 grams for long-stemmed durians to 129 calories for kradum
durians. In the case of candied durian, the calorific value rose as high as
340 calories.
This meant that a 2-kilogram mon thong durian - one of the
most popular varieties - with a peeled weight of around 600 grams would give
a total of around 978 calories. Eating four of these, in other words, would
give an instant energy burst of 4,000 calories, twice the daily requirement
for the average person.
The ministry spokeswoman advised the consumption of no
more than two segments of durian a day.
“People who are already overweight or obese, together
with people with high blood pressure, heart conditions and diabetes should
eat durians in limitation and with caution,” she said, adding that even
people without such conditions should exercise after eating durian in order
to burn off the excess energy.
She also urged the public to hark back to traditional
practices of eating durians, the ‘king’ of fruit, with mangosteens, the
‘queen’ of fruit, as the latter fruit helped prevent stomachaches after
the consumption of durians. (TNA)
Bangkok Air Force College lands in Pattaya
Told city operating normally, despite absence of an elected mayor
Suchada Tupchai
Bangkok Air Force College teachers, students and officers
have been doing some low-altitude reconnoitering of Pattaya.
The group of 105 people, headed by Air Vice-Marshal
Wattana Labpairee, commander-in-chief of the college, took a tour of the
administration and operation departments in Pattaya under the Eastern
Seaboard Observation Program from May 10-14.
Pattaya’s acting mayor, Apichart Peuchpan and Taweet
Chaisawangwong, former Pattaya Council chairman, welcomed the group on May
13.
This academic sightseeing trip was part of the Air force
College ‘38’s course for the 2004 academic year. It aimed at enriching
its students’ knowledge and experiences about national security and
strategy. The program included geographical sightseeing, a lecture on the
city’s history and the new strategy of the city administration.
Apichart said, “The Pattaya Administrative Commission
and the council members are in the process of being officially appointed by
the Constituency Election Commission. However, despite the current vacancy,
I can affirm that all work and plans (of the city) are being conducted as
usual.”
He also spoke of “the serious problem” of Pattaya’s
rising population. “A great number of people are migrating to the city,
which is bringing many major problems in its wake - including unhealthy
actions by teenagers, creating a bad image of Pattaya.
“We do not neglect these problems but are trying to
find the best solution,” he concluded.
Koh Larn faces drought
Navy lending a hand
Patcharapol Parnrak
Drought looms in Koh Larn, and residents and visitors are
now facing expensive water problems.
 Navy
personnel from Sattahip and Rayong are lending a hand by contributing water to
Koh Larn.
Sutham Petchkate, Koh Larn community head, said that over
350 families, 5,500 residents and 10,000 tourists each day have been suffering
from the drought hitting the area this summer. They must pay extremely high
prices for water, and this is directly affecting tourism to the island. As a
result, it is necessary to ask for help from the navy to transport water to
Koh Larn.
Each year Koh Larn faces water shortages and always receives help from the
navy. But this year it is worse. The residents are planning to build tanks to
store water for use during droughts.
Baywatch: City Hall in silence
Suchada Tupchai
The ever-popular Pattaya City mayor’s office is
deathly quiet now. There are no executives, citizens or media
waiting to enter the room as usual.
 The
city mayor’s office and city conference rooms are deathly quiet.
Pattaya residents are asking that the new mayor
and his team be officially appointed so that they can take care of
the town, and want relevant organizations to look into the
unacceptable problem that the appointment is still outstanding.
Pattaya has been without an elected top official
or council since early March, as everyone eagerly awaits the
official announcement from the election monitoring committee.
Meanwhile, work for the incoming city management team is piling
up.
Singaporean man arrested on human trafficking charges
Result of ongoing investigations in Thailand and abroad
Boonlua Chatree
Armed with arrest warrants from the courts, local
tourist and regional police raided the Derby Men’s Club to arrest a
Singaporean national for his alleged involvement in trafficking women for
prostitution.
Police stormed the premises in Jomtien at 8 p.m. on May
12, and detained Lui Bok Poh, 50, and Thai national Rungsant Deephant, 25,
on charges on human trafficking. A search of the premises revealed 10
short-time rooms with two foreign men engaged in sexual activities with
two Thai men in their 20s.
They were ordered downstairs for further questioning.
During the inspection police uncovered a large amount
of evidence in the case against the business owners, including financial,
staff and expense records as well as condoms and tubes of lubricating
jelly and massage oil. All the items were confiscated.
Sixteen men, staff at the men’s club, were detained
for engaging in prostitution.
The charges brought against Lui Bok Poh were the result
of ongoing investigations in Thailand and abroad. Poh allegedly
transported women to Singapore and Malaysia for prostitution and would
often pay for their visas and air tickets. Minders in those countries
would deduct the expenses as the women earned their way out of debt before
returning to Thailand.
Police revealed that, in cooperation with international
agencies, they have a long list of those involved in human trafficking and
will eventually arrest them all, confiscating all their assets in the
process.
Lui Bok Poh was arrested and charged with human
trafficking offences, operating an illegal business offering sexual
services, operating a business without appropriate licenses and working
illegally in the kingdom.
Rungsant Deephant was also charged for his involvement in aiding and
abetting Poh in his illegal activities and will face similar charges.
Banglamung police officer accused of raping niece
Girl’s father calls for compensation to pay for abortion
Chaiyachet Iamwikarn marched into
Banglamung police station with his 19-year-old daughter and demanded to
speak to the officer in charge.
He said he demanded financial compensation from his
brother-in-law, Pol Cpl Pramote Intawong, for his daughter’s abortion
following four alleged rapes that had occurred six months previously.
Pol Lt Col Wallop Arksomiti, a crime suppression
inspector, received the father and daughter and attempted to contact Pol Cpl
Pramote - who, however, refused to see his brother-in-law and niece.
The inspector questioned the young woman, identified as
“Thom” (not her real name), who told him that she had come to stay with
her relatives in Pattaya to look after her cousins. She alleged that on four
occasions, her uncle, Pol Cpl Pramote, had forced himself upon her when they
were alone.
The result was an unwanted pregnancy.
Out of fear she did not tell anyone and borrowed 28,000
baht from a friend for an abortion in Bangkok.
Chaiyachet, the girl’s father, added that he knew
nothing of the chain of events until his daughter’s friend pestered him
for the money, forcing the girl to tell her father the details.
Chaiyachet said he had tried to go to the Pattaya police
station but officers there told them that they were too late and that the
case was “out-of-date”. That’s when they decided to approach the
Banglamung precinct to recoup the money.
Pol Lt Col Wallop advised Chaiyachet the case could not
be tried criminally but Pol Cpl Pramote would be subject to an internal
investigation and face disciplinary action.
During the questioning Pol Cpl Pramote Intawong called
his brother-in-law on the mobile phone and threatened them, saying they
could do nothing as he was to be moved to the south of Thailand shortly and
that their actions made him lose face in front of his colleagues.
Pol Lt Col Wallop informed the Banglamung police station
superintendent of the case and returned to tell the pair that the police
would carry out their own disciplinary action, adding that he would do his
best to see justice served and that he would follow his superior’s orders
to bring his fellow officer to justice.
Chaiyachet said he just wanted the money to repay the
loan and would leave it at that.
The affair has subsequently ended with Pol Cpl Pramote
shelling out 28,000 baht to his relatives for his misguided lust. He also
received a severe reprimand and faces possible transfer to another post.
Naklua bar owner charged with intent to sell marijuana
Two foreigners arrested for possession
Boonlua Chatree
Naklua bar owner Paitoon Senadaeng, 65, from Bangkok was
arrested last week for possession of marijuana with intent to sell.
Region 2 police investigations led officers to the bar in
Soi Wongamat where they observed two foreign men partaking in some “happy
smoke”.
Officers called in for an arrest warrant and at around
1.40 a.m. detained the two foreign men and the Thai bar owner on May 15.
Police inspected the bar to find a further 50 bags ready for sale.
Paitoon confessed to selling the drug, telling police
that he bought it from a man in Khon Kaen and resold it to tourists for a
hefty profit.
The two foreigners, Fabio Tomas Sell, 41, from Italy and
Christoffer Nielsen, 20, of Denmark, were also arrested and charged with
possession of two grams of marijuana.
All three men were charged with possession of a class 5
illegal substance. Paitoon received extra charges of intent to sell.
Alert residents foil rape attempt of eight-year-old girl
Motorcycle taxi allegedly abducted her from garbage collecting grandparents
Alert residents in the Pratamnak area called police when
they observed a man taking a young girl into bush land near Soi 4 and 5 of
Pratamnak Hill shortly after midnight on May 11.
Police arrived on the scene to find residents beating the
man, later identified as Ooy Wannatim, 25, a motorcycle taxi rider in the
Soi Bua Kao area. Officers intervened and took the man in for questioning.
The eight-year-old girl, identified as “Or” (not her
real name), sustained bruises from her attacker and was crying when police
escorted her to the station.
Or told police she stayed with her grandparents, both
garbage collectors. Officers later found the girl’s grandparents in north
Pattaya going about their business. They were taken to the police station
for additional questioning.
In the meantime young Or told police she was in the
process of collecting bottles when the motorcycle rider approached and
forced her onto the bike, taking her to the dimly lit area.
Witnesses told police that they saw the young girl on the
back of the bike as they rode along Beach Road.
The suspect, Ooy, claimed that he was not about to harm
the girl, despite already forcing her onto the bike and preparing to rape
her.
He had apparently also claimed to know the grandparents,
a fact that was quickly dispelled when they arrived at the police station
and told officers they had never seen him before.
Ooy was charged with abduction and remanded to custody.
The young girl received minor treatment for her abrasions
before leaving with her grandparents.
Police briefs
Boonlua Chatree
Woman arrested after selling porn videos to police
Banglamung police have arrested a vendor for displaying
and selling pornographic material. Officers, using marked banknotes,
purchased a sex VCD from a stall at the flea market near the Mini Siam
tourist attraction on Sukhumvit Road at about 8 p.m. on May 11. They then
arrested 43-year-old Porpar Changthong, a resident of Chachoengsao province,
for distributing inappropriate material in a public market place.
Porpar confessed to her activities, telling police she
bought the movies from the Klongtom Market in Bangkok and resold them in
Pattaya. Some of the films contained child pornography and the woman was
charged with breach of copyright, conducting business without the
appropriate permits as well as selling illegal (pornographic) materials.
Marijuana dealers smoked out in police sting
Police investigations weeded out two local dope dealers
after undercover officers set up a purchase from Manat Sopha, 19. The sting
operation took place when police, using marked bank notes, arranged to meet
the drug dealer in South Pattaya at 8 p.m. on May 12. Once the transaction
was complete, police sprang into action and arrested the man.
Manat confessed to his high-flying activities and
revealed that he had an additional stash at his apartment in Pattaya Naklua.
Police raided the room and discovered another man, Chokchai Tiennok, 27,
inside with a further 17 bags of marijuana. He was promptly detained and
taken to Soi 9 police station for questioning.
Both men told police that they had dealing for quite some
time, mainly selling to tourists. They added that they had bought the
marijuana from another dealer and resold it in smaller packages at a profit.
Both were charged with possession and distribution of a
class five illegal substance and now face legal proceedings.
Tourist police round up Cambodian beggars
Pattaya tourist police and Pattaya police officers have
rounded up 16 Cambodian children and their minders during regular patrols on
May 12. The 16 children, aged from one month to nine years and their minders
were taken to the tourist police station for questioning. They revealed that
they had entered Thailand illegally through Sakaew province, making their
way to Pattaya where they collected between 500 to 1,000 baht a day by
begging.
They would send the money back to their homes in Cambodia
by bank transfer. They stayed in small rental rooms outside the city, they
added.
Police charged them with illegal entry into the kingdom
and turned them over to immigration officials for deportation.
Tourist police raid Big Queen for lewd entertainment
Local tourist police hot on the trail of nightspot owners
breaking the law raided the Big Queen Bar in Soi VC, South Pattaya after
learning that the venue provided lewd entertainment.
An undercover female police officer entered the
establishment and secretly videotaped performances involving young men and
one woman involved in sexual activities on stage.
She then gave the signal to fellow officers, who raided
the bar, ordering the lights on and music off while they attempted to detain
the less-than-modest performers.
The young female “star” eluded capture by fleeing the
scene of the bust as police kept a closer eye on the four men who were
previously active on stage.
The men, aged between 23 to 47, were charged with
performing lewd acts, while the bar manager was charged with negligence and
allowing such illegal activities to take place in the establishment under
his care.
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