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Two women injured as restaurant gas tanks explode
Theerarak Sutthatiwongse
Two staff members of an Italian restaurant were injured when a gas tank in
the kitchen exploded.
Officers from Pattaya Police Station, Sawang Boriboon and Pattaya City Fire
Department were called out to an Italian Restaurant on the Pattaya-Naklua
Road during the afternoon of May 12.
The property is a three-story commercial building in a row of 10 units.
Inside, the officers found four 50-kilogram PTT canisters. The canisters had
exploded, destroying the cooking equipment and ceiling lights, and cracking
the wall.
Two people had been injured in the blast, and bystanders rushed them to
hospital before the rescue services arrived. They were named as Ms Wasana
Suwansri, 18, of Nongbualampoo Province and Ms Fonkaew Nualsamlee, 25, of
Chonburi Province who were both seriously injured to their faces, legs and
arms.
Fonkaew, a waitress at the restaurant, said that while she was working in
the kitchen, Wasana, who was the chef, had changed from an empty gas tank to
a full one. The empty tank exploded, which had set off the other tanks.
Investigators said that from an initial examination it appeared Wasana
hadn’t realized there was still gas left in the tank she had believed to be
empty, and it had leaked out while she was cooking, causing the explosion.
Villagers distressed by odors from landfill
Daily garbage disposal more than twice planned capacity
Narisa Nitikarn
Villagers at Khao Mai Kaew have once again complained about bad odors
emanating from the garbage disposal area and have pleaded with city hall to
do something that would eradicate the problem.
Excavators work all
continuously to bury the garbage into the ground at Khao Mai Kaew.
Their complaint was discussed on May 15 at the Pattaya City Council General
Assembly Meeting.
Jamnian Geetheepakul, chief executive of the Khao Mai Kaew Sub-district
Administrative Organization addressed the gathering on the problem that the
city’s landfill is posing for the villagers. The odor he said is seeping
through the entire neighborhood, and residents are desperate for a solution
to be found.
The garbage disposal area, which is under the responsibility of Pattaya
City, has been inspected. The initial capacity was for 115 tons of garbage
per day, but the amount has increased to a current figure of 250 tons per
day. Consequently the landfill is not able to support it, and the odors
cannot be contained. Villagers initially resolved the problem by separating
the types of garbage and using the biodegradable refuse to create
fertilizer. The remaining garbage is buried. However, the current volume is
too great even for this approach, as there is no incinerator that can burn
the remaining amount.
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn answered questions in the meeting, saying
that currently the landfill is being improved to support the increasing
amount of garbage. Private companies are being interviewed for the
consideration of hiring one. The project for incinerating garbage costs more
than 1 billion baht, and it can support the incineration of 200-300 tons of
garbage per day.
Jamnian Geetheepakul, (center)
Chief Executive of the Khao Mai Kaew Sub-district Administrative
Organization (Or Bor Tor) said that the fouls smell from the garbage dump
has become unbearable.
Cobra Gold’07 multilateral military exercise closes
Representatives from Thailand, the United States,
Singapore, Japan, and Indonesia today attended ceremonies marking the
closing of multilateral military exercise Cobra Gold ’07. Cobra Gold’07 took
place from May 8-18, 2007, and was hailed as a success by all of the
participants.
Deputy Supreme Commander Gen. Pairoj Panichsamai, U.S. Ambassador Ralph L.
Boyce, Singapore Ambassador Peter Chan Jer Hing, Japan Deputy Chief of
Mission Jun Niimi, and Indonesian Minister Wisnu Edii Pratignyo attended the
closing ceremony at the Ambassador City Hotel Jomtien, Chon Buri province.
Ambassador Boyce said, “We hope that the transparent nature of Cobra Gold
will serve as a regional confidence building measure, allowing observer
delegations and visiting attachés a better understanding of how our
militaries are training for combined operations to support regional
stability… I’d also like to underscore the fact that the work you do in this
exercise can help us save lives in future contingencies, peace keeping
deployments, and responses to disaster.”
Representatives from all of the participating nations also presided over a
ceremony to dedicate multipurpose buildings at Wat Ban Nai Rai School and
Ban Nong Krub School in Rayong province. During Cobra Gold ’07, troops built
four multipurpose buildings and conducted seven medical/dental/veterinary
clinics in villages throughout the exercise area including Rayong,
Petchaburi, and Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Cobra Gold is a regularly scheduled multilateral military exercise focused
on improving participating countries’ readiness and combined-joint
interoperability, as well as enhancing relationships and demonstrating
resolve to support humanitarian interests of friends and allies in the
Asia-Pacific region.
U.S. and Thai forces participated in the field training exercise, the
humanitarian projects, and the computer-simulated staff exercise.
Singaporean forces participated in the computer-simulated staff exercise and
the humanitarian projects. The Japan Self Defense Force participated in the
planning cell and also in all humanitarian events, while Indonesian forces
participated in the planning cell.
Steam-powered system generates
revenue from garbage
City hall to examine proposal
Vimolrat Singnikorn
A steam-based waste disposal system that has almost no negative effects on
the environment and that generates income with its by-products has been
suggested as a solution to Pattaya’s ongoing garbage disposal problems.
 Apiluck
Champailboon explains the finer points of the steamed based waste disposal
system.
Apiluk Champailboon, managing director of Sepco-Krungtep Co Ltd briefed
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn at a meeting in Pattaya City Hall on May 14.
Apiluk said the system is a British development that transforms waste into
reusable matter. The waste is put into a steam heater and dried. Waste food
and other dissolvable matter become brittle and split up into small amounts.
Metal and plastic waste undergoes the same process, but cannot be dissolved.
Instead, a blower seperates the materials and the metal and plastic are
automatically filtered out and can then be recycled. The waste food can be
used as fertilizer or for other agricultural purposes.
The system reduces the bulk by a considerable amount, said Apiluk. For
example, 200 tons of waste undergoing the process would be reduced to about
100 tons. The fertilizer, plastic and metal can all be used to generate
income.
The equipment, which can dispose of 300 tons of waste per day, would cost
between 300 and 400 million baht. The land area required would be not less
than 10 rai, and a workforce of about 30 people would be required.
Niran said that Pattaya generates about 280 tons of waste per day, more in
the high season. He added that the investment is minimal when compared with
other companies that have proposed waste disposal methods. The proposal will
now be examined in detail.
Date set for laying foundation
stone for King Taksin Memorial
Narisa Nitikarn
Sunday May 27 has been set as an auspicious day for the laying of the
foundation stone for the monument to King Taksin the Great, on Thapraya
Mountain.
 Deputy
Mayor Werawat Khakay chaired the meeting to set a date for the King Taksin
the Great monument foundation stone laying ceremony.
An organizers’ meeting was held at Pattaya City Hall on May 11, chaired by
Deputy Mayor Werawat Khakhay, to decide on the format of the ceremony.
Werawat said that after officials from the Fine Arts Department surveyed the
area in April, they agreed to the location, the courtyard, and the parking
lot. A Buddhist and a Brahman ceremony will be held, with 10 priests from
temples in the Pattaya City area performing the religious ceremonies.
Werawat said there still has to be a consultation with the Fine Arts
Department over the final depiction of the King. Although earlier proposals
had envisaged the statue of the King in a seated position, possibly with a
pavilion to indicate the successful completion of the Siam-Burma war, there
had also been many demands to show the King seated on a warhorse.
The foundation stone laying ceremony will be held on Thapraya Mountain next
to the Kuan-U Joss-house. Narong Wongwaro, head of architecture for the
Pattaya City Public Works Department, said that the area should be large
enough for the number of people expected to attend and pay their respects to
the memory of King Taksin.
Drainage pipes cause flooding along railway road
Narisa Nitikarn
Residents along the path of the new road that is being built alongside the
railway line have complained that drainage pipes being laid as part of the
project are filling with sand and causing the area to flood during
rainstorms.
 Pattaya
City Council members inspect the storm drains constructed under the
railroad, which are 2 meters wide, but is almost clogged up with sand and
mud.
Pattaya City Council members from Region 2 visited the area on May 11 and
spoke with residents in Soi Khaonoi, near Soi Boonsampan Temple.
They observed that the 2-meter wide pipes are being laid simultaneous to the
construction of the road, and that as a result they quickly become clogged
with sand. Water cannot flow through the pipes, and the sloping nature of
the land means that it runs back towards the houses, causing flooding.
Another problem is that the existing storm drains are only 60 centimeters in
diameter.
The council members arranged for a utility vehicle to suck out the sand and
sediment. Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn has asked the consulting company on
the project to suggest a more efficient method to drain water into the
medium sized Kaemling reservoir located on Soi Nongyai.
Tourist-taunting drunk knocked unconscious
Boonlua Cahtree
A drunken Swiss man with a penchant for taunting foreign tourists was decked
when he made a nuisance of himself in the early hours of May 13.
 Rejbert
awaits treatment at the hospital.
Police and Sawang Boriboon officers were called out to the beer bars in New
Plaza, opposite Soi 8 when it was reported that a foreign man had been
assaulted and was lying unconscious in the middle of the road.
At the scene officers found Lennart Rejbert, age 50, of Switzerland. He had
suffered a gash to his head, which was bleeding profusely. Officers provided
first aid treatment to stop the bleeding before rushing him to Pattaya
Memorial Hospital. Doctors X-rayed his skull, and it needed 10 stitches to
close the wound.
Bar girls who witnessed the incident told officers that Rejbert often
visited the bars carrying a bottle of 40 percent proof whisky. He was always
drunk and liked to look for trouble with foreign tourists who frequent the
bars. Just two days previously he had been beaten up by a foreign tourist.
On this occasion he was annoying people and teased a foreign tourist’s wife.
Her husband told Rejbert to go back home. He continued to be an annoyance
until four or five passing foreigners pushed him out of the bar. The force
of the push knocked Rejbert to the ground, and he hit his head on the
concrete. The tourists fled the scene before police arrived.
Tourist police round up illegal workers
The detained workers, some
with young children are given box lunches and water by the police.
Theerarak Sutthatiwongse
Five pickup trucks searched just after midnight on May 15 were found to
contain 42 male and female Cambodian and Burmese workers, most of who were
in Thailand illegally.
Police had discovered that illegal labor was being transported into the area
in large numbers, and a team of officers led by Pol Lt Col Wuttichart
Luinsukhant, superintendent of Pattaya Tourist Police Station followed the
trail to Soi Chaiphorn Withee in Nongprue.
A three-year-old boy was found amongst the workers. The illegal immigrants
told police that they had come to Thailand to work on construction sites
because in their own country they were suffering extreme poverty. Police
said they would be deported.
Governor issues warning
to shops that buy used goods
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Chonburi Governor Pracha Traerat has warned that shops that buy used items
to be extra careful, because they could inadvertently buy stolen goods.
The governor said that these shops buy everything the public offers them but
some of the items taken in to be resold could be goods stolen from homes or
are government property.
The governor urged district officers of all districts as well as police to
check on all such shops on a continuous basis.
Pracha added that if officers discover shop owners had purchased stolen
property then they will be prosecuted and possibly ordered to close their
businesses.
If strict measures are not implemented then the problem of theft will never
be eradicated, he said. Theft is a great loss to the owner, whether it is
personal property or public property such as telephone and electricity
cables, water meters and manhole covers, yet the thieves sell these items
for next to nothing.
Intoxicated German arrested for stealing a bottle of whisky from supermarket
Boonlua Chatree
A German man who was drunk and who stole a bottle of Thai whisky from
Carrefour in Central Pattaya has been charged with theft.
 Fahle
in police custody for shoplifting a bottle of Thai spirits.
The incident happened during the afternoon of May 10, when Carrefour’s chief
of security, 33-year-old Sarawuth Kiewthong, reported to Pattaya Police
Station that a foreign man was being detained for alleged theft.
The man was identified as Rainer Fahle, a 50-year-old German citizen. He was
in possession of a bottle of whisky. Fahle admitted the theft. He said he
enjoyed drinking the Thai-made white spirit. He had snatched the bottle when
he believed that there were no staff members watching him.
Fire and ice at Spanish Place
Boonlua Chatree
Five fire engines raced to the Spanish Place Condominium in the early hours
of May 11 when a refrigerator in one of the apartments burst into flames.
 Firemen
examine the remains of the burnt out refrigerator
Fire fighters, police and Sawang Boriboon rescue workers arriving at the
five-story condo on Sukhumvit Road found smoke pouring from the balcony of
apartment number 304 on the third floor.
Watched by frightened residents, many of who had begun moving belongings
from their own apartments, fire fighters entered the premises and found the
refrigerator engulfed in flames. They used a chemical spray to douse the
fire and it was quickly extinguished. Nothing else in the apartment had
suffered damage.
Investigators said the fire had started in the freezer motor. The
refrigerator was an old one and there appeared to have been a short-circuit,
which caused an explosion and fire.
Pradap Jaikerd, a 29-year-old security guard at Spanish Place, who had
witnessed the incident, said the owners of the room are a Thai couple. They
sell clothes at Central Pattaya Market, leaving to open their shop at 6:00pm
every day and returning to the room at 3:00am. Pradap said he was on duty in
front of the condo when he heard the noise of an explosion from upstairs,
then he saw smoke coming out of the room. The owners were still out. He
called the emergency services, and directed residents to leave the building.
Pesticide destroys mosquito breeding grounds
Vimolrat Singnikorn
With the rainy season now underway, Pattaya City Public Health and
Environment Department has begun a campaign to eradicate mosquitoes from
breeding areas such as public drains.
The department’s Na-Anya Jantarakad said that spraying began in April and
now briquettes of the pesticide Dursban are being suspended inside storm
drains at various locations, which so far include the New Market area, the
Soi Paisanee Community, Siansue Old Market, Lanpho Market, Pradul Market,
Chaimongkol Temple Market, Walking Street, and in the Pattaya Road area from
the South Pattaya traffic light intersection to Pratamnak Mountain.
“In organizing the eradication of common house mosquitoes, it was found that
most of the people in the area lacked the understanding for using chemicals
to eradicate them,” said Na-Anya.
“Also there is an inadequate number of officers from the Ministry of Public
Health in Pattaya City to continuously provide knowledge to the people.
Therefore, the eradication of common house mosquitoes has not been very
successful.”
Na-Anya said that a block of Dursban can be used for a water surface area of
5-10 square meters, and is effective for more than three months. The effects
cease when the water evaporates. Blocks can be broken into small pieces to
put into bowls of water and other containers such as vases.
Pattaya Public Health and Environment Department last month stated that the
target was to reduce the number of common house mosquitoes during the rainy
season by no less than 50 percent, thus substantially reducing the
possibility of dengue fever.
Baywatch: Beauty on the beach
Our reporter drove around town looking for news and this
scene of huge pile of cement rings that are abandoned on Jomtien beach
surprisingly popped up. Luckily they are not blocking the footpath, but the
danger that can happen to pedestrians is that on one of these rainy days,
the ones that are on the bottom might shift causing ones on the top to roll
down and hit vehicles or even beach goers.
These cement rings were dug up from the underground during drainage
revamping a few months ago. When the work was done, all that were
responsible seemed to disappear and left debris all over the area. But
somehow it created an attractive spot for tourists. Our team spotted a
tourist in her blue beach gown walking by with a digital camera in her hand
taking some photographs out of this man-made work of art. It is an
accidental beauty on the beach to some, but we hope it doesn’t crumble onto
someone’s head.
City to train democracy experts under national program
Narisa Nitikarn
Pattaya City is holding training sessions to promote democracy and to help
people understand not only their rights but also how to organize themselves
and their communities to ensure that elections are fun freely and fairly and
that government at all levels is held publicly accountable.
 Sittiparp
Muangkoom
Sittiparp Muangkoom, permanent secretary of Pattaya City held a session at
City Hall on May 9 to appoint volunteers under the Organization for
Reforming and Development of Democracy, the national organization formed by
the government.
Somsak Charoenphon, Pattaya’s head of administration, discussed with a group
of specialists how best to apply the training, which will be conducted from
now until the end of September.
Thailand is due to hold elections in the middle of December, and the
Ministry of Interior has responsibility for training at the provincial,
district, sub-district, and area levels. This is intended to result in a
number of experts at all levels who understand the rights, freedoms and
duties of the constitution, and the creation of bodies that will oversee the
selection of individuals who will be elected to political positions.
Sittiparp has appointed Somsak to head the group of those training in
Pattaya to become the city’s democracy experts. Sittiparp has also asked for
cooperation from schools under Pattaya City’s jurisdiction so that students
can be provided with knowledge that they can pass onto their parents.
Pattaya Mass Media Club members to receive accident insurance
(l-r) Vice chairpersons, Wisa
Chimdee and Suwanthep Malhotra with Chaiyot Phoopattanapong, chairperson of
the PMMC agree that members of the press must be insured.
Narisa Nitikarn
Funds raised by a bowling competition organized by the Pattaya Mass Media
Club will go towards providing accident insurance for its members, the
club’s committee has announced.
Meeting on May 11 at the Grand Sole Hotel on Second Road under chairman
Chaiyot Phoopattanapong and his two deputies Suwanthep Malhotra and Wisa
Chimdee, the committee of the Pattaya Mass Media Club discussed the results
of the bowling competition that was staged on March 5.
Chaiyot said the event was very successful, having received support from
many sectors, and had raised 374,110 baht. In view of the fact that many of
the club’s members have to perform their essential duties in the field,
where they are at risk from traffic and other circumstances when reporting
on news events, it was decided to arrange accident insurance cover for all
members.
An official from an insurance company will be invited to the next committee
meeting to provide the necessary information.
Members attending the meeting proposed having a monthly social meeting on
the first Wednesday of the month at 6:00pm.
PTT shows off security measures at gas storage depot
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Petroleum Authority of Thailand (Public) Co Ltd held an open day for the
media at its Khaoborya Gas Storage Depot in the Tungsukla sub-district of
Sriracha on May 9, designed to show the public the safety measures in place
for protection against any acts of sabotage.
 Safety
personnel demonstrate their state of readiness in case of accidents.
Wicha Chuichum, vice president of the Eastern Petroleum Terminal said, “this
facility is one of PTT’s largest gas storage areas, built on about 200 rai
of land and consisting of 11 storage tanks which are products from the
Rayong Natural Gas Refinery. Products including liquid petroleum gas (LPG),
cooking gas, propane and liquid natural gas, are distributed to both
domestic and foreign customers by transporting them via road, ship and
pipeline.”
Apart from storing gas this is also a port, and is one of the largest ports
in Southeast Asia. There are three docking areas with a total water frontage
of 1,300 meters, and vessels of between 2,000 and 100,000 tons can be
handled.
He informed the press that security for Khaoborya Gas Storage Depot was
carried out in cooperation with Navy personnel from the Sattahip Naval Base
in addition to PTT’s own security guards. CCTV cameras are installed
throughout the area, which has a 3-meter high fence around the perimeter,
with more electrical lights having been recently installed.
Couple escapes death
in railway crossing crash
Theerarak Sutthatiwongse
A couple escaped death when a train struck their car at the Ban
Tungkrad-Nong Pangpuay Road railway crossing.
 Poonpon
and Sasima, miraculously escaped death when an oncoming train crashed into
their jeep.
Banglamung police and Sawang Boriboon rescue workers were called out to the
scene of the accident, about 5 kilometers from Sukhumvit Road, at 8:00pm on
May 13. They found a white Caribbean Suzuki Jeep flipped over on the side of
the road, with its front destroyed. The two injured passengers had been sent
to Banglamung Hospital before the police arrived.
Ms Sasima Thongsuk, age 31, had a fractured skull and lacerations to her
body, while Poonpon Nakornpakdee, 37, had suffered only a few cuts.
 The
overturned jeep lies overturned in the ditch by the railroad tracks.
Poonpon said he had taken his wife to visit her mother at Sattahip. They
were returning home to their residence at Saha Pathanapibul Public Co Ltd in
Sriricha. Arriving at the railway crossing, he said there wasn’t much light.
He saw that the railway crossing barrier was short enough to drive his car
around, so he accelerated. His wife screamed that a train was coming, and a
locomotive pulling 22 railcars containing gas and traveling from Bangkok to
Rayong hit the front passenger side of the vehicle.
Poonpon attributes their lucky escape to the miraculous powers of the
Jatukam Ramathep amulet he wears round his neck for divine protection.
Clinic held for sufferers of hypertension and diabetes
Narisa Nitikarn
A training clinic for people suffering from hypertension and diabetes was
held on May 15 at the Pattaya Public Health Service Center on Soi Bua Khao.
 Werawat
Khakhay checks his blood pressure …just in case.
Deputy Mayor Werawat Khakhay opened the session, with at least 50
hypertension and diabetes patients attending.
Mrs Bounnapha Thongphan, head of Pattaya Public Health said that
hypertension and diabetes are non-contagious diseases, and a huge amount of
money is spent on drugs to treat them. Diabetes sufferers have to take
medication for the rest of their lives.
Pattaya Public Health treats about 600 diabetes and 1,000 hypertension
sufferers annually and the clinic is held in order to help sufferers take
care of themselves. This is the second time the clinic has been held.
Training focuses on patient-care-giver interaction and helps to lessen
related illnesses and the death rate.
Massive increase in support
for city pawn shop
Schools reopen and more people need money says mayor
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Pattaya City Hall has set a budget of 40 million baht for the pawnshop that
helps to support families and guardians pawning belongings to raise money
for their children at the beginning of the new school term.
May sees the opening of the schools, and therefore the pawnshop sees a lot
of business at this time of the year.
Last year saw a budget from the city of only 10 million baht to support the
pawnshop, but this year has seen a very large increase to 40 million baht.
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn said the increase was because there were a
lot of people wanting to use the service, and that the council had agreed
upon the amount.
Suchart Chutipongsapisit, manager of the Pattaya City Pawn Shop revealed the
commodity mostly brought in each year was gold, whose resale value is high.
He said the price given for gold items is usually no more than 80 percent of
the current market price.
For buying other commodities, the pawnshop calculates a 75 satang interest
rate per every 100 baht the item is worth, if the money given to the person
selling the item is not more than 5,000 baht. If the money is more than
5,000 baht but less than 100,000 baht, then the monthly interest rate is 1
baht per every 100 baht the item is worth.
The rules for using the pawnshop are to pay the interest every month, or to
pay the interest for four months in a row. The customers still own their
things, and can always take them out of hock.
If the customers do not pay the interest to the pawnshop for four months in
a row, then the customer has the right to pay to get their things back, or
to pay the interest within 30 days of the announcement from the pawnshop
about overdue interest for the account. If this limit of time is exceeded,
then the pawnshop will own the items.
The Pattaya City Pawn Shop on Soi 6 Beach Road is open to provide service to
people Monday to Friday, from 8:00am to 4:00pm, and is closed on Saturdays,
Sundays and national holidays.
Bangsarae opens
sea conservation center
Patcharapol Panrak
Mayor of Bangsarae Sub-district Municipality Pinsom Nimsuwan opened a
Conservation and Restoration of Natural Sea Resources Center on May 13, a
project intended to encourage the community to take part in conserving the
ocean environment.
Deputy Mayor Sutad Tantisarapora said the center had received support from
many organizations, including the Royal Thai Navy’s Department of Marine and
Coastal Resources, the Sriracha Fisheries Resource Station of Thamasat
University, the Generation 1/2007 group of volunteers for the Protection of
Marine and Coastal Resources, and Underwater World in Pattaya.
Youngsters with an interest in the sea and marine life have been encouraged
to participate, and interest has been generated throughout communities,
fishery groups, and government and private organizations.
One focus of attention is on protecting endangered species such as dugongs
and sea turtles, and there is a campaign against pollution of the sea.
Bangsarae Sub-district Municipality has a policy to develop environmental
strategies at the grassroots level, and the center is designed as part of
this. In this way, it is intended that conserving and natural sea resources
will become a permanent and natural way of life in the Bangsarae area.
Pinsom said that conservation of local natural resources must begin by
coaching youngsters, because they will grow up and use the knowledge they
receive today and transfer it to the next generation.
24M baht storm drain project will reduce Third Road flooding
Montree Kotchawong
A budget of 24 million baht will be spent by city hall to construct storm
drains in an attempt to reduce flooding in the area between Soi Buakhao and
Third Road.
 Heavy
equipment at work on Central Road at the top of Soi Buakhao.
Construction work, which involves the installation of a number of box
culverts, will replace the present small-diameter storm drains with drains
measuring 1.8 x 1 meters wide.
Montri Chalittaporn, head of drainage system management, said that city hall
had hired BS&BS Pattaya Co Ltd to carry out the project under a schedule
that began on March 22 and will finish on November 17, a total time of 240
days. The budget for the job is 24,925,000 baht.
Initial works have included closing the top of Soi Buakhao on Central Road
and installing a concrete culvert, which has caused considerable obstruction
to traffic.
Montri said the box culverts would be installed in a line along Third Road
and connected to the large culvert at Soi Buakhao. The existing storm drain
that runs along Soi Buakhao is a large sized one.
City hall also plans to increase the size of the storm drains on Soi
Sukruedee, replacing the existing ones with 1.2 x 1.2 meter culverts. These
would also connect to the Soi Buakhao drains.
The reason for Soi Buakhao acting as a collection point and having already
been equipped with wide drains is that this area is a low-lying one. Water
from Central Pattaya therefore flows downhill to Soi Buakhao and on to South
Pattaya, where it is diverted near Wat Chaimongkol Temple to the water
treatment plant, before being released into the Pattaya City Canal.
Too much monkey business
Theerarak Sutthatiwongse
A monkey broke free of its chain during the afternoon of May 11 and
threatened workers and residents around a construction camp on Soi Wat
Boonkanchanaram.
 A
remorseful Army is led away after it was recaptured.
A 16-year-old girl, Miss Tosaphorn Saelim of Nongkhai, was bitten on the
right leg.
The ape, still with part of the chain and a bell around its neck, fled the
scene.
Tosaphorn said she was giving milk to her baby at the construction camp when
the monkey jumped down from a tree and ran towards her. She held her baby
close to her chest, fearing for its safety, and was bitten on the leg.
Her husband who witnessed the incident picked up a piece of wood and chased
the monkey, which ran up a tree in a neighboring house and refused to come
down.
An hour later the monkey’s owner, 38-year-old Kamchai Meesap, arrived and
enticed the creature down. Kamchai said that his monkey was a three-year old
male called Army, and he was trained to pick coconuts from trees. Army had
been left tethered to a tree while Kamchai had been away, but had broken
free. Kamchai said he regretted the incident would cover the medical costs
of the bitten girl.
A worried looking Tosaphorn
takes refuge behind an officer during the monkey chase.
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