Chonburi Police have busted a major drug distribution ring.

Theerarak Suthatiwong
Police have busted a gang of ya ba dealers and impounded 30,620 pills that were waiting for distribution.
At a police briefing on November 8 at Chonburi Provincial Police Headquarters, Chonburi Governor Pracha Taerat and Pol Maj Gen Bandit Kunachak, commander of the Chonburi Provincial Police Headquarters made a joint announcement of the arrest of six ya ba dealers.
They were named as Somtawin Nonkam, 34, Samroeng Deepimai, 31, Pramot Polyotha, 32, Supachai Prangpitak, 45, Yutana Yoopet, 44, and Anong Malikam, 39.
Chonburi Province had cooperated with Chonburi Provincial Police Headquarters in investigating the activities of the gang. Police said that the dealers had delivered ya ba from the North of the country for distribution in Chonburi and neighboring provinces.
One of the gang, Yutana, had been a Volunteer Police officer at a police station in Chonburi Province.

Portuguese man on bail steals camera

Boonlua Chatree
A Portuguese man was arrested during the afternoon of November 5 for stealing a camera from the hotel room of a tourist.

Victim (right) and perpetrator (left) hash things out at the cop shop downtown.

Officers from Pattaya Police Station went to the scene of the theft, Sutat Court on Soi Buakao, after receiving a report that a foreign man had fled the premises clutching a camera that had been stolen from room 216 on the second floor.
The police chased the man and caught him, and took him back to Sutat Court for the victim to identify.
He was named as Manuel Armondo Correai Veloso, a 39-year-old Portuguese national. The victim, 54-year-old British citizen John Parkinson, was very happy when the officers returned his camera, a black Fuji S 602 valued at more than 10,000 baht.
Parkinson said that he had opened the door of his hotel room and was sitting with his camera next to him when Veloso had reached inside the room, snatched the camera and run away.
Veloso stated that he had run out of money, and that he was out on bail awaiting trial for an incident that had occurred on July 28 of last year. He intended to sell the camera to raise money to live on while he awaited trial. Veloso has had the charge of theft added to his problems.

Police bust major Ya-E operation at Jomtien house

British man and his Thai partner arrested

Boonlua Chatree
Police have raided a house in Pattaya that was being used to store a large amount of the narcotic ecstasy and the materials for making it, and arrested a British man and a Thai woman on charges of manufacturing and exporting drugs.

Police have remanded to custody Marcus James and Ms Linrat Chalaratworachot.

The raid followed investigations carried out by the Central Investigation Bureau of the Special Operations Police Division in cooperation with Pattaya Police Station.
Equipped with a search warrant issued on October 31 by Pattaya Provincial Court, a team of police officers on the same day entered the premises, a luxury two-story house located at Jomtien Palace Village on the Matchanu Curve beside the Pacific Hotel.
In the house was a couple, identified as Marcus James, a 50-year-old British national, and Ms Linrat Chalaratworachot, age 36.
The officers presented the search warrant and found one pack of methamphetamines on James, and two packs in the downstairs bathroom. In an office on the second floor they found blue ecstasy pills, known in Thailand as Ya-E, in 65 plastic bags hidden in a safe beside the desk. There were 5,600 pills in the bags.
Also found were 16 bottles of sodium hydroxide, gamma-butirolactone, a form of acid, and caustic soda, which are the base substances for producing the drug.
The officers also confiscated property for verification including three gold bracelets weighing 6 baht and 50 satang, 11 bank books from several banks with an accessible amount of approximately 10 million baht, an ATM Card, three mobile phones, a brown Honda CRV with a Chonburi license plate, one bronze Harley Davidson, one yellow-and-white Yamaha Fino, and cash totaling 204,500 baht.
James stated that he had been in Thailand for about four years, and had opened a company to take care of foreign tourists. This was so they could be in the line of sight for producing Ya-E for exportation, and for high society customers in Pattaya who often held Ya-E parties. He had grown rich on the proceeds and had purchased the house.
Pol Lt Col Atthapol Sudsai of the Central Investigation Bureau, who had headed the investigation, said that the CIB knew Ya-E was being produced and sold. The team of investigators had James under surveillance for nearly three months until they had undeniable evidence, before cooperating with the Pattaya Police and requesting a search warrant from the court.
Police also knew that James was exporting his products to Europe and selling the narcotics to organizers of Ya-E gangs in Bangkok, Pattaya, and neighboring provinces.
The officers did not find the machine used to create narcotics at James’s house, and it is believed the production was carried out somewhere else. It is also believed that others are involved, and the enquiries continue.

British man killed in fall from baht bus

Boonlua Chatree
A baht bus driver has been charged with careless driving after a British passenger fell out of his vehicle and was killed.
The accident happened in front of Pattaya Police Station on Soi 9 at 2:30 a.m. on November 8. Officers identified the victim as Marc Steven Morison, age 45. He was laying unconsciousness on the road with a fractured skull. Beside him were several bags of food. He passed away before the ambulance arrived. Police sent the body to Banglamung Hospital, and informed the British Embassy of the accident.
The cooperative bus driver, 41-year-old Kempet Praditpan, a resident of Chonburi, was waiting at the scene. He told police that he picked up the deceased from Soi 7, and intended to drop him off on Walking Street. He said he was driving normally, and that the deceased fell out about 100 meters away from where he had been picked up.
Kempet said he assumed that the dead man was drunk and wasn’t sitting down properly. He may have been caught off-balance as he was carrying bags of food in his hands. The victim most likely fell out when the vehicle shifted gears.
Police, however, have charged the baht bus driver with careless driving, and sent him to be tested for alcohol.
Miss Watsana Pudtan, age 17, from the Nakwan Beer Bar located on Soi 7 came in tears to see the body. She stated that the deceased had drank several bottles of beer at her workplace before leaving her bar, saying that he had an appointment with his girlfriend on Walking Street. He had bought some food for his girlfriend before he went to take the baht bus.

Protection of ocean resources the theme at Sea History Museum

Vice Admiral Sriwisut Ratarun, commander-in-chief of Sattahip Naval Base, presides over the closing ceremony.

Patcharapol Panrak
The closing ceremony for a seminar and exhibition on natural resources conducted by the Royal Thai Navy was held on November 5, presided over by Vice Admiral Sriwisut Ratarun, commander-in-chief of Sattahip Naval Base.
The event was held at the new Thai Island and Natural Sea History Museum in Kaomajor, Sattahip District.
Also attending the seminar and exhibition closing ceremony were Sopon Damnui, director of the Zoo Organization under Royal Sponsorship, and Suriya Sangpong, director of the Khao Kheow Zoo Organization.
Vice Admiral Sriwisut said the Royal Thai Navy had organized the event in response to the views of Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn, and the wishes of members of botany schools from all over the country. He added that the conservation of natural sea resources was also very much a long-standing policy of the Navy.
Her Royal Highness had expressed her wishes to Admiral Sathirapan Kaeyanon, commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy.
Vice Admiral Sriwisut said the Navy really hopes that the Thai Island and Natural Sea History Museum will be the starting step for long lasting protection. He then handed over the symbolic flag to Zoo Organization director Sopon Damnui, to be the host organizer of the seminar and exhibition in 2009.

Students sign their praises.

Breast milk campaign held for wives of Navy personnel

Rear Admiral Nikorn Petweerakul (right, facing) greets women attending the breast milk campaign.

Patcharapol Panrak
Air and Coastal Defense Command held a seminar and exhibition on November 3 for the wives of Navy personnel as part of the breast milk campaign for the health of Navy children.
Rear Admiral Nikorn Petweerakul, director of the Somdej Phranangchaosirikit Hospital Naval Medical Department at Sattahip chaired the opening. He was welcomed by Capt Supapong Sirisonthi, deputy commander of Air and Coastal Defense Command, Capt Sucha Kiamthongkam, commander of the Support Regiment, and volunteers from the Navy Wives Association.
Many pregnant wives and mothers of newborn children attended the event.
Dr Prasit Sapasit, commander of the Nursing Battalion, Regiment Air and Coastal Defense Command Support conducted the project. He said the basis of a country’s development is human resources, and to have quality human resources means the right kind of care for children from the very earliest stage.
A child’s psychology and mental ability develops very quickly between the ages of one and five years, and this will affect the further growth of the child as he or she becomes a mature member of society.
Rear Admiral Nikorn said that it is important to support the institution of the family. Breast-feeding forms the earliest of bonds between mother and child. The Navy Wives Association led by Pornpen Kaeyanon and the Naval Medical Department therefore initiated the breast milk project for the wives of Navy personnel, in response to the views of Her Royal Highness Princess Srirat, Royal Consort to HRH the Crown Prince. Her Royal Highness has set the example by breast-feeding Prince Teepangkorn Rasmichoti.

PILC celebrates 20 years with Charity Masquerade Ball

Saturday 17th November

With dancing until 2 a.m. to the “Pops All Stars Band” there will be plenty of time to get to the dance floor, just like last year.

Elaine Poole
Twenty years on and the ladies are still looking good! The club started with a small group of women meeting in friendship but with a purpose - to try to help the local community. Today, the club has a membership of over 230, from 35 different countries, and raises millions of baht for local charities. The Pattaya International Ladies Club has come a long way.
One of the major fund-raising events is the annual charity ball and this year it will be a special occasion to celebrate the 20th Anniversary. The organizing committee, headed up by lively American, Cindy Logue, has many surprises in this years’ programme. But Cindy is not giving too much away.
The event is being hosted by the Royal Cliff Beach Hotel. You do not have to be a PILC member to attend, and there are still a few tickets available.
The evening will start with a reception at 7.00 pm with sparkling wine. Dinner is at 8 p.m. with a menu specially designed by the Royal Cliff’s executive chef, Walter Thenisch. This year’s menu sounds delicious: smoked salmon tartar; lobster bisque; tenderloin of beef or fillet of snapper, and a chocolate based desert. All prepared with the finest quality ingredients and culinary skills that have given the Royal Cliff such an outstanding reputation. Or there is a full vegetarian menu if preferred. Wines for the reception and throughout the meal have been chosen and sponsored by VS Classic Wines Ltd.
This event would not be possible without sponsors, and this year there are a record number: Volclay Siam, Mermaid Maritime, Dana Spicer-Rayong, Captain’s Corner, Bechtel, Foster Wheeler, Emerson Climate Technologies, Shedden Uhde, The Mercy Foundation, Premier Homes, Laem Chabang Terminal 1 and Laem Chabang International.
A highlight of the evening is the auction when many fabulous items are up for grabs. This year fantastic donations have been received for auction, which include an antique silver bowl, an antique Chinese cabinet, an original oil painting by a well-known Australian artist, a day cruise on a luxury catamaran. Maurice Bromley, who has a lot of experience in the field, has volunteered to be auctioneer for the evening. There will also be a silent auction throughout the evening for some more fabulous items, all donated by local businesses and individuals. “The auctions will be very different this year,” said Cindy Logue, but she is not giving away any more than that!
With dancing until 2.00 am to the “Pops All Stars Band” there will be plenty of time to get to the dance floor.
All money raised will be used to continue the PILC welfare projects and to support charities. Tickets are still available at 2200 baht per person. Contact Cindy Logue, Special Events, [email protected]/086-0397811.

Pachyderm party as Pang Saensuk celebrates her 2nd birthday

Theerarak Suthatiwong
Khao Kheow Open Zoo held a birthday party on November 7 for Pang Saensuk, the baby elephant who was celebrating her second birthday, and who is the offspring of Pang Jum, the first and only twin elephant born in captivity in Thailand.

Visitors help Pang Saensuk celebrate her second birthday.
Zoo director Suriya Saengpong hosted the party, with proud mother Pang Jum also attending. The zoo had organized a birthday cake made with layers of fruit, and just so the zoo’s other elephants didn’t feel neglected a larger cake was made for them too.
Suriya said that at the age of two years, baby elephants begin to become more independent, separating from their mothers, and at the zoo this is when they begin training. Khao Kheow asked a specialist to suggest an auspicious occasion to organize a traditional ceremony, such as that held in the Ban Taklang elephant village in Surin. The ceremony will be held on November 20.

400 to take part in Dharma exam

Patcharapol Panrak
Four hundred youngsters who have been studying Dharma at the scholar elementary level, intermediate level and advanced level programs have sat for a school exam before entering the central examination.

400 students sat for the exam at Sattahip Temple and Chong Samaesarn Temple in Sattahip, Chonburi.

Abbot of Sattahip Temple Wibun Thammaban, Priest Maha Bun Thitamanoo of the abbot’s secretarial staff and a supervising committee have monitored the 400 students who sat for the exam at Sattahip Temple and Chong Samaesarn Temple in Sattahip, Chonburi.
This was before entering into the central examination scheduled for November 29 at Sattahip Temple.
Priest Maha Bun Thitamanoo said that Sattahip Temple and Chong Samaesarn Temple have taught the Sunday Buddhist study program for a long time. The purpose of this is to support students to use their free time for Buddhist studies, and to spread Dharma to the youngsters in Sattahip and in neighboring areas.
The Buddhist study program requires an annual test for the Dharma scholar elementary level, intermediate level and advanced level in the district and provincial stages.
The Sunday Buddhist Study Center of Sattahip Temple cooperated with the Sunday Buddhist Study Center of Chong Samaesan Temple to organize the Dharma examination. Students were urged to consider the school exam as providing experience for the national examination.

Longboat races will compete for Royal trophies

Pattaya’s annual long boat races are scheduled to shove off on Nov. 17.

Pattaya’s traditional longboat races will take place on November 17 and 18 at Mabprachan Reservoir, with contestants vying for the HRH Princess Sirindhorn Trophy and the HRH Princess Soamsawalee Trophy.
Nongprue Municipality organizes the races in association with Pong Municipality, with support from Pattaya City, Tourism Authority of Thailand Central Region 3, and a number of private organizations.
The festivities will start with an enactment of the Royal Barge parade. The races themselves are in three categories, namely large longboats with 55-person crews, small longboats with 30-person crews, and midget boats manned by five crewmembers.
Other attractions will include buffalo races, another Chonburi tradition, with the animals divided into super midget, special midget, large midget, and large categories.
There will also be a Thai country music concert featuring performers such as Tat Na Takuathung, Ekarat Suwannaphum, Ratchanok Srilopan and Praew Patcharee.