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Chonburi Governor warns of water shortages
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Chonburi Governor Pracha Taerat is urging the speedy construction of the new
Klong Luang Reservoir, saying that although water supplies in the province
are plentiful there is a lack of storage capacity for consumer supplies that
could quickly become serious.
Governor Pracha Taerat said that while irrigation water can be obtained from
various sources, the demand for tap water is growing and storage facilities
are limited. Bangpra Reservoir, the only storage area for tap water, can
hold only 100 million cubic meters of water.
 Chonburi
Governor Pracha Taerat
An important consideration is that while there are approximately 1.3 million
people living officially in Chonburi, there is an estimated 700,000 in the
province unofficially.
Add to this the large number of visitors, currently around six million every
year, and it can be seen that the demand for tap water is extremely high.
From Bangpra’s 100 million cubic meters comes 500,000 cubic meters every
day, meaning that in one year almost 200 million cubic meters of water will
be used.
At present, the government is providing assistance in laying pipes to drain
water from the Bangprakong River in Chachoengsao District to the Bangpra
Reservoir. However, water can only be taken during the rainy season, because
at other times it is tainted by salt water.
Pracha asked residents to be very sparing with water usage, and said that
every new village development must have a location to store ground water, a
prerequisite for developers being granted a license.
Chonburi is planning to build the Klong Luang Reservoir in Koh Jan
Sub-district, the first phase of which requires a budget of more than 200
million baht. However, the total expenditure could be as high as 5 billion
baht. Nevertheless, said Pracha, the project has to be accelerated because
the reservoir would be able to store a large volume of water, and would
resolve the province’s problems for the future.
Temporary works halt flooding problem at railway road site
Narisa Nitikarn
Army engineers have undertaken remedial works intended to correct the
problem of flooding along the route of the local road being constructed
alongside the railway line.
Following complaints by residents that sand was blocking the storm drains
and their homes were being flooded, Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn ordered
Thai Consultant Engineering Co Ltd to carry out a survey and suggest a way
to urgently resolve the problem.
 Mayor
Niran Wattanasartsathorn discusses the drainage problems with Col. Anusorn
Panyaboon, Chief of staff of the Engineering Division and Colonel. Suthep
Praiyaekasut, Director of the Construction Division, Technical Service
Engineer Department.
Col Anusorn Panyaboon, chief of staff of the Engineering Division, on May 16
reported back to the mayor that the three principal sites had been
investigated. These were around the 8km area, near the crossroads at
Boonsampam Temple, the 10km area, at Darapan Village and the 11km area at
the Khaotalo crossroads.
The Technical Service Engineering Department has laid a temporary barrier of
80cm steel reinforced concrete to stop the sand entering the drains.
Construction work has restarted at the 10km area and will later commence at
the other two locations.
Niran said that a budget now has to be drawn up to construct a trench that
will drain away water on a permanent basis.
Pilot hurt as Cessna crashes into wooded grove
Patcharapol Panrak
The pilot of a light aircraft was treated for injuries at the Queen Sirikit
Hospital emergency room on May 19 after crashing into a wooded grove on a
hillside some 500 meters from Pattaya Air Park, near the Phoenix Golf
Course. The airplane, a Cessna 206, was completely destroyed.
 The
ill-fated Cessna with its nose imbedded into the grassy mound.
Nawaporn Sawetwong, owner of Pattaya Air Park said that the pilot,
32-year-old Lt Patiwat Wongprasert, is an engineer with the Royal Thai
Fleet. He has experience both in flying and repairing aircraft and had been
carrying out work at the airport for more than a month.
He was flying the Cessna to test the engine and communications system
according to procedures. He had been flying at between 1,200 and 1,300 feet,
and then radioed that he was going to make an emergency landing on the
runway. At about 40 feet, the engine cut out and the aircraft crashed 500
meters short of reaching the airport runway.
The injured pilot was sent to Yansangwanaram Temple Hospital and later
transferred to Queen Sirikit Hospital, Naval Medical Department.
Nawaporn added that the aircraft had more than 10 years of service, and
maintenance was done regularly according to safety procedures. The aircraft
was always checked thoroughly, he said. An investigation is being undertaken
by the Department of Aviation.
Private firm selected to manage city’s public relations campaign
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The Tourism Authority of Thailand and Pattaya District Office have selected
Baldwin Boyle Group (Thailand) Ltd, to manage public relations and
advertising for Pattaya.
The decision was announced on May 16 at Fairtex Sports Club and Resort, when
Deputy Mayor Werawat Khakhay chaired a meeting of the public relations and
advertising committee to follow up on the progress of domestic and
international promotion plans.
 Simon
Taylor, GM of Baldwin Boyle Group, speaks to the selection committee at city
hall.
Four companies had proposed strategies for 2007 advertising and public
relations, namely Vivaldi Public Relations, Baldwin Boyle Group (Thailand)
Ltd, Air Borne Print, and PNV Mileage (Thailand) Co Ltd.
Having thoroughly considered proposals from the contenders, the committee
selected the Baldwin Boyle Group (Thailand) Ltd to carry out the work with a
budget of 4 million baht.
Werawat said it was important for the city to hire experts as consultants to
plan tourism advertising and public relations in order to broaden the scope
and to reach the target groups. The selected company is a Thai-foreign joint
venture with a lot of international experience.
In addition to planning and organizing advertising and public relations
aimed at both the domestic and international audience, the company will also
act as a representative for providing clarification and information, which
could affect Pattaya’s image and position as a major tourist destination.
Lively debate on the principles
of a happy family home
Narisa Nitikarn
A seminar on family life and the principles that can reduce friction and
promote wellbeing within a family was held on May 16 which was attended by
more than 300 people, most of them in the healthcare and social services
sectors.
 Pra
Maha Sompong spoke on the moral principles of life.
Organized by the mental health division of the Pattaya
City Health and Environment Department, and with Pra Maha Sompong Talapudto
from Soithong Temple in Bangkok, and well-known television psychologist Dr
Sukamol Wipaveepalakul as speakers, with Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn
presiding.
Pattaya City is home to an increasing number of families who come here to
work, and family members often find themselves under a great deal of stress,
with parents out at work and children not getting the attention they need.
The seminar was divided into two sections, namely psychology and moral
principles, and by blending principles from both areas it was demonstrated
how many family problems could be resolved.
Dr Sukamol as the psychology expert spoke about couples’ lives and the
mutual lives of members of the family, saying that people in Thai society
face three large problems, namely communication, physical contact, and
adaptation. Thai people do not use these three things correctly in daily
life, which causes problems for family members and for the people close to
them.
 Dr.
Sukamol Wipaveepalakul speaks about creating good relationships within the
family.
He said the easiest method for solving a problem is talking about good
things, displaying feelings through shows of affection, and adapting
ourselves for the people we love. This helps create good relationships
within the family.
Pra Maha Sompong spoke on the moral principles of life, by saying that life
is a constant struggle and learning experiences form its entire span. Life
is compensation for moral and immoral deeds that were performed, and we must
perform good deeds for the remaining time of life. Everything must be based
on moral principles. Life is valuable and people must not think about
committing suicide because of disappointments. We must use the
disappointments to push ourselves securely forward.
Despite the solemn nature of the message, the seminar was a lively one as
both speakers used strategies that were able to draw interest from the
listeners.
Shoes bring ladyboy thief to heel
Boonlua Chatree
A transvestite who stole a mobile phone from an Indian tourist after
providing sexual services to the man made a big mistake when he attempted to
run away in high-heeled shoes.
 Police
inspect Pitsanu’s purse at the police station.
Police were called out at 3:30am last week to a hotel on Second Road, where
they found a 42-year-old Indian national, detaining a woman of the second
category named Pitsanu Kulwong, 23, in a bruised condition. Searching
Pitsanu’s purse, the officers found a Nokia mobile phone, identified by the
victim as his property.
Pisanu said that after finishing work at cabaret shows in pubs and beer
bars, he had to go looking for customers for sexual service on Walking
Street every night. He found the gentleman in question walking in a state of
drunkenness, and propositioned him for short-time sex at 1,500 baht. The
inebriated gentleman followed him to his room, where after business was
conducted, Pisanu had an opportunity to steal his client’s mobile phone and
put it in his purse. Then he became scared and ran away, forgetting for one
fatal moment that he was wearing high heels.
Police bust gambling den and arrest 22
Boonlua Chatree
Twenty-two people were arrested last week when police raided an illegal
gambling den in a house that was formerly a boxers’ training camp.
Pattaya Police Station superintendent Sutin Sappuang led a team of more than
20 officers to the house in Moo 11, Nongprue following investigations that
the property was being used for gambling.
Formerly a boxing camp, the premises consist of two wooden houses of two
stories surrounded by a secure fence. In the front yard were more than 30
motorcycles, cars and pickups. There were more than 30 gamblers inside the
house when police burst in, but some managed to escape from the rear of the
property, clambering over a 2-meter high fence and running off through a
grove of trees.
Officers managed to detain 22 people, all Thai men and mostly aged 30 to 50
years. More than 400,000 baht was discovered, along with a gambling list for
a series of boxing matches. There was also a television that was being used
to watch boxing games.
All those arrested admitted to gambling on boxing matches. The owner of the
house, allowed the premises to be used every day for watching games and
gambling. The gamblers said that the banker had escaped. The owner was
charged with allowing the premises to be used for illegal gambling
activities.
Norwegian man threatens
to jump from balcony
Theerarak Sutthatiwongse
A Norwegian man suffering from mental problems threatened to jump off the
balcony above a pub on Jomtien Beach Road but was restrained by police
officers.
 A
naked Fisher taunts the police threatening to jump off the balcony.
Pol Col Sutin Sappuang, superintendent at Pattaya Police Station led a team
of officers and Sawang Boriboon rescue workers to the pub last week, after
receiving a report that a foreign man was destroying property in a room
above the premises.
The pub is located on the ground floor of a three-story commercial building,
the upper floors containing daily and monthly rented rooms. On the third
floor they found Nick Fisher, a 42-year-old Norwegian national, standing
naked. He was shouting incoherently and throwing things over the balcony,
endangering customers at the pub. The officers tried to calm him down, but
he smashed the glass door on the balcony, cutting his hand, and went back
into the room.
Rescue workers placed an air bag on the ground while police went up to try
and restrain him. They managed to seize the man and he was taken to Pattaya
Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Thanu Khamsawad, 33, the owner of the premises said that Fisher had rented
the room daily for more than one month, and that he had never seen him in
this condition. Fisher liked drinking beer in the pub every day. The reason
why he tried to climb onto the balcony to jump off was unknown. It was Thanu
who had called the police. Fisher is being told he must pay compensation for
the damage.
Police report crime
crackdown a success
Boonlua Chatree
Provincial Police Region 2 have announced an increased success rate in
catching criminals and cracking down on crime.
A briefing was held in the morning of May 16 at the Rakwinai Building at
Pattaya Police Station by Pol Maj Gen Somdej Khaokham, deputy commissioner
of Region 2, along with superintendent rank commissioned officers who are
the chiefs of police stations in the area.
This was to announce the first results of Pattaya Plan/50, created by the
commissioner of Region 2 Pol Lt Gen Assawin Kwanmuang, and based at Pattaya
Police Station.
Results were given for the period May 11 to 15. The cases consisted of the
following. (1) For the pursuit and arrest of people accused in 135 previous
cases of involvement in murder, drugs, and public disturbances, there were
136 convictions. (2) For seven cases involving weapons there were eight
convictions. (3) For nine cases involving robbery and theft there were nine
convictions. (4) For 29 cases involving gambling acts there were 141
convictions. (5) For 16 cases involving prostitution there were 16
convictions. (6) For 109 cases involving acts of foreigners working there
were 109 convictions. (7) For six cases involving acts for customs and fake
copyrights there were six convictions. (8) For two cases involving drunken
driving acts there were two convictions.
Pol Maj Gen Somdej said that the thorough work performed by police officers
had led to success in preventing and reducing crime. He said the work
continues.
Escaped German sex
offender arrested in Pattaya
Boonlua Chatree
An elderly German man on the lam from charges relating to sexual offences
against minors in his own country was arrested in Pattaya during the morning
of May 16.
 Sex
offender Bernauer arrested and deported.
Pol Maj Gen Wimol Pao-In, commander of the Juvenile and Women’s Division,
and Pol Col Ittipol Ittisarnronnachai, superintendent of Pattaya
Immigration, led a team of officers to the man’s address at Phonphanit
Thanee Apartment in Naklua, following cooperation between Thai officials and
undercover investigators from Germany.
Emil Helmut Bernauer, 68, had been sentenced to a total of 10 months in
prison in Germany for sex offences against minors, but managed to escape to
Thailand, where he hid out in Pattaya.
Bernauer confessed he had thrown away his passport after coming to Pattaya.
Pattaya Immigration Police charged him with being an illegal alien who had
exceeded his permitted time to temporarily reside in Thailand, before making
the arrangements to have him deported to Germany.
Free eyeglasses to be given
to the disabled
Vimolrat Singnikorn
More than 200 people turned up at Pattaya City Hall on May 18 to have their
eyes tested prior to receiving free spectacles, which will be distributed on
July 9.
 A
young assistant helps an elderly person go through her eye tests.
The project, for people of all ages, including children, are under this
year’s budget for helping the disabled, which itself is under the National
Economic and Social Development Plan.
Technicians from the Beautiful Optical Company carried out the examinations
after which the completed prescription glasses will be distributed on July 9
at City Hall. Equipment for the physically challenged will also be
distributed on the appointed day.
Construction work causing chaos for motorist, pedestrians and shopkeepers
Mayor promises road surface problems over by end of June
Mayor Niran and his team
inspect the chaos at the construction sites.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Complaints about the ongoing problems with road surfaces in South Pattaya
have led to a survey being undertaken by city hall.
The problems extend from the South Pattaya crossroads on Sukhumvit Road
running in the direction of Pattaya City, and turning left to Pratamnak
Mountain. The road has potholes at more than 10 locations, and floods during
rainfall.
 Unhappy
shopkeepers listen to the mayor as he elucidates the cause of delays.
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn led a team to examine the road, with senior
officials including Thanee Thongprachum, manager of the Pattaya Water Works
Office, and Banjong Srisuk, chief of Public Works Bureau 7.
The team surveyed the road on foot, walking from the front of Tuk Com to
Thapraya Mountain.
There are two construction projects here that are leading to the problems
with the road surface, one being the laying of pipes for tap water from the
Pattaya Water Works Office, the other for storm drains at the South Pattaya
Intersection area to Thapraya Mountain.
The departments responsible have been urged to speed up the work, and it is
expected that the end of June will see the projects complete and the road
surface smoothed over.
Banjong said that the project for the construction of the system of pipes to
improve water for the Pattaya Water Works Office is currently in its last
phase, with testing of the pipes underway.
Charges dropped against Chinese deaf and dumb doll seller
But gets the rap for illegal entry
Elver withdraws the charges
against Fan Yanfang (out of the oil) but not so did the immigration police
(into the fire).
Boonlua Chatree
A deaf and dumb Chinese woman who was selling dolls in Walking Street was
arrested for theft in the early hours of May 16 but police were unable to
make the charges stick because no one could communicate with her.
Police officers were called out to the scene of the crime where they found
the victim, 24-year-old Thomas Elver of Britain and his Thai girlfriend,
along with the alleged thief, who the couple had apprehended.
Elver said the woman had stolen his wallet, which contained cash, an ID
card, credit cards, and other important documents. He said he had retrieved
5,500 baht but the wallet and other contents were missing. The police
ascertained that the woman was deaf and dumb. They took her into custody and
found by her ID card that she was a Chinese national named Miss Fan Yanfang,
age 25. She was carrying a pink leather bag that contained dolls in plastic
bags, which she had been attempting to sell. Also in the bag was 10,000 baht
in cash. It appeared that she was trying to explain using sign language that
the money had been gained by selling the dolls, and denying that she had
carried out the theft.
Elver said that he had been walking with his girlfriend when Miss Fan
approached and showed them a document asking them to buy a doll for 100
baht. Out of sympathy he took 100 baht out of his pocket and handed it to
her, but didn’t want the doll. At the same time he dropped his wallet and
the woman had picked it up and fled into the toilet of a nearby beer bar.
The couple chased after her, but only managed to recover 5,500 baht that
they said she had removed from the wallet. Thomas said he wasn’t worried
about the money, but wanted his wallet and its contents, and didn’t know
where the woman had thrown it. Nobody was able to communicate with her, so
they called the police.
Officers took Miss Fan in for questioning, but they also were unable to
communicate because they had no interpreter. Eventually Elver took pity on
the woman, because she had been trying to make a living by selling the
dolls, and he withdrew the charges. Police immediately rearrested her on
charges of illegal entry into the Kingdom, and she will be deported.
100 new Volunteers take part in Civil Defense training
Volunteers take part in the
5-day intensive training course. (Inset) Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh.
Narisa Nitikarn
Intensive training has been conducted for the new intake of Civil Defense
Volunteers, with more than 100 people taking part in the five-day course.
The training was opened on May 21 at the Pattaya City Public Health Center
on Soi Buakhao by Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh, and continued through May
25.
Ten women were amongst the more than 100 volunteers, who were the fifth
intake in Pattaya since the national project started under the Ministry of
Interior in 2004.
Ronakit said the role of the Civil Defense Volunteers was to assist in
supporting the official organizations in the event of a disaster, and that
consequently they had to be always in a state of readiness. As the
volunteers are unpaid for their duties, he said, they work for the sake of
others, and deserve unstinting praise for their time and efforts.
The first four intakes of Pattaya volunteers totaled 756 people, which was
considered to be inadequate for the size of the area, and so a fifth intake
was organized. Instructors and specialists from Chonburi Province Disaster
Prevention and Mitigation Department, Banglamung Police Station, Pattaya
Police Station, Sattahip Naval Base, and Laem Chabang Port conducted the
five-day training course.
Encouraging trend as stomach ailments fall almost 50 percent
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The number of people attending the Pattaya Public Health Center for medical
treatment fell dramatically by almost 50 percent during the months February
to April this year, the hottest time of the year.
 Boobpa
Songsakulchai, Technical Health Officer inspects fish at the local markets.
Public health officials are encouraged by the statistics, as germs breed
more quickly during the heat of the summer months and food spoils faster in
warm weather, and consequently the number of stomach ailments is usually at
an annual high.
Pol Capt Pornpana Chothai, head of nursing at the Non-communicable Disease
Control and Prevention Office said that the data for the treatment of
digestive system diseases showed that from February to April there are 752
patients in the Pattaya City area that had come in to receive treatment.
Last year over the same period there had been 1,640 patients, meaning that
there was a 48.9 percent decrease this year.
Boobpa Songsakulchai, a technical health officer said that diarrhea is
usually caused by eating contaminated food or drinking dirty water. If the
correct treatment is not received the body will lose water and mineral
salts, in extreme cases leading to shock and then unconsciousness, and even
death.
Thai businessmen urged to protect intellectual property rights
Narisa Nitikarn
The Department of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Commerce is
encouraging Thai entrepreneurs to register the rights to their intellectual
property, as the opportunities for business increase under free trade
agreements.
 Wiboonlaksana
Ruamraksa
Deputy director general Khun Wiboonlaksana Ruamraksa chaired a seminar which
was held at the A-One Royal Cruise Hotel on May 18. More than 150 business
people men from the Central, Eastern and Western regions, along with members
of the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce
attended.
Miss Wiboonlaksana said the main purpose of the seminar was in helping
business entrepreneurs understand the value of protecting their intellectual
property.
The Free Trade Area or FTA has become very important to the nation’s
economy, and many other nations have also opened their own free trade areas.
As some countries have a core income as high as 70 percent from intellectual
property, the importance of protecting the rights can clearly be seen.
Thailand at present has a very low income from intellectual property, but
when performing business abroad, Thai people still face problems with the
pirating of intellectual property. This is because people lack understanding
about registering the rights to their products, and still don’t know that
these rights must be registered abroad as well. This is a problem that is
going to increase, as Thailand becomes more of a global player.
Miss Wiboonlaksana added that four similar seminars would be held in
Thailand. This was the first and the panel would next be traveling to the
North, South, and Northeast regions.
Amongst Thailand’s current FTA partner signatories are Australia, the
European Free Trade Association and Japan.
The action was real,
but the robbery was staged
Banglamung police train for gold shop robbery scenarios
Theerarak Sutthatiwongse
The incident occurred when two men on a motorbike drove up to the Yaowaraj
Naklua Gold Shop in Naklua market. They dismounted the bike and looked
around the area as if to make sure that there were no policemen around.
 A
scuffle breaks out between the ‘robber’ and a policeman.
The two men waited until customers had left the shop then went in, held up
the shopkeeper and made off with the gold.
Pol. Col. Nopadol Sornsamran, Superintendent Banglamung Police immediately
mobilized police officers comprising crime suppression officers and
investigators to the crime scene.
They surrounded the entrance of the shop where a police officer took on one
of the would-be robbers in hand-to-hand combat. More police officers pursued
the other robbers who fled the scene.
 The
‘perps’ are tracked down.
Meanwhile, some police officers in the area who were unaware that the action
taking place was part of a training scenario, radioed for police back up who
gave chase.
The two plain-clothes robbers… (officers) were finally caught at a police
box at Ban Nong Gate, Banglamung and they had in their possession the gold
necklace and the weapons they used to commit the crime.
Pol. Col. Nopadol Sornsamran, Superintendent Banglamung Police said that the
training was held so that officers would be prepared for such eventualities.
Gold shop robbery is rampant in Thailand so the National Police Headquarters
have instructed all police jurisdictions to be on alert and afford extra
protection for gold shops.
Pregnant elephant
stomps pickup truck
Driver lucky to escape uninjured
Boonlua Chatree
The driver of a pickup truck had a lucky escape when a pregnant elephant,
apparently frightened when the vehicle backed towards her, attacked it and
crushed the passenger compartment.
 Mahout,
Lun Jongjai-ngam calms Phungrueng the frightened elephant.
The incident happened just after midnight on May 25, when Banglamung police
were called out to a soi (small side road) opposite Na Jomtien Electricity
Board, at Huay Yai.
On arrival at the scene in the dark soi, officers found a green Nissan Big M
with the engine still running. The left side of the vehicle was smashed in.
The driver, Somjit Jan-ngam, 43 of Yasothon Province was sitting in the
truck.
Somjit told officers that he had driven from Khamphaengphet to visit his
girlfriend who lived in an apartment in the soi. As he was reversing to park
the vehicle near the apartment he was startled by the sound of an elephant
trumpeting, and when he looked to the left he saw the elephant raising both
its front legs, bringing them down to crush the side of the cab.
 Somjit
Jan-ngam points to his damaged pick-up truck.
The car was still drivable, so Somjit moved further down the soi. He was
afraid to get out of the truck, and called the police.
Police found the female elephant at the end of the soi, tied up and eating
grass. They questioned locals and found the mahout, Lun Jongjai-ngam, 38, of
Surin. He told officers that the elephant was called Phungrueng and was 20
years old. She was very clever and performed at Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens
and dwelled at the Elephant Kingdom. She was tied up at the present location
because she is one year and five months pregnant, so she had to be kept in a
quiet location. He assured the police that his elephant had never attacked
anyone before.
Apparently, the reason for the attack could have been, when Somjit,
unknowingly reversed his truck, which came menacingly close to the elephant,
which frightened her and tried to protect herself.
Somjit said that he never expected an elephant to be tied up near an
apartment building and was adamant that Lun would have to pay to have his
vehicle repaired. Lun said he would have to speak to his boss first before a
decision as to whether repairs would or would not be paid for. Police took
both to the police station so that an agreement could be reached.
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