HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Baht buses and vehicle rental firms under fire once again

International conference showcases Thai facilities for the disabled

300 M baht flood prevention project gets underway

Cyclists arrive in city after five-country ride along Mekong River Basin

Owners of high-rise buildings are ignoring maintenance rules says PWD

Russian man faces charges of molestation with backscratcher

Ya ba network busted and 4,000 pills seized

City firefighters ready for any emergency

Scotsman beaten up by copy watch vendors

Competition for students marks Thai Environmental Day

80 enter monkhood to make merit for HM the King’s 80th birthday

Navy organizes ceremony in memory of King Rama VI

YWCA will donate eyeglasses to students with vision problems

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Baht buses and vehicle rental firms under fire once again

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
City hall has once again held talks about baht buses and rental vehicle firms, after receiving complaints from the public and from tourists.
A meeting was held on November 3, headed by Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh and including representatives of the Banglamung branch of the Land Traffic Department of Chonburi, the Pattaya police, the Banglamung police, and the chairman of the baht bus cooperative committee.
Discussions revolved around the increasing volume of traffic in Pattaya, which is making travel more difficult especially around the main Sukhumvit Road junctions, and the conditions of the road surfaces. But also discussed were the complaints about undisciplined users of the road, especially the baht buses, and the entrepreneurs occupying traffic lanes on Beach Road with their rental vehicles.
Ronakit said that complaints from Pattaya inhabitants had been received for all of these problems, which must be solved urgently, even if they are difficult to solve.
Pichet Uthaiwattananon, director of the Pattaya Engineering Works Department said that there was a problem with the U-turn on Sukhumvit Road opposite Soi Nernplabwan in Central Pattaya, and that there were frequent accidents there because of undisciplined users of the road. Drivers continue to make U-turns, even though there are signs forbidding it. The U-turn will be closed permanently before the end of this year.
The U-turn will be moved to Soi Pornprapanimit (Soi Siam Golf Country Club), with work scheduled to begin soon.
Pichet said that in respect of the complaints received about baht buses, motorcycle taxi stands and vehicle rental firms, the police have been asked to step up their vigilance against those who flout the law, arresting them and imposing maximum fines.
The head of the baht bus cooperative committee acknowledged the problem, and agreed that police officers should act strictly against offenders.

Double parking vendors, too many rental motorbikes,
undisciplined users - all make for a traffic mess.

International conference showcases Thai facilities for the disabled

Vimolrat Singnikorn
Director of the Redemptorist Center Father Lawrence Patin on November 23 welcomed visitors from the International Conference on Accessible Tourism 2007 (ICAT), which was taking place in Bangkok over the period November 22 to 24.

ICAT delegates (left) visit with director of the Redemptorist Center, Father Lawrence Patin (right).

The delegation had selected this day to visit Pattaya, and included members from India, the USA, Malaysia, Vietnam and Mongolia.
Thailand has been accepted at the international level for developing facilities for disabled people, having received the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award in 2001.
The Thai government is also supporting the declaration for the United Nations Decade of Disabled People in Asia-Pacific Plan for 2003 to 2012. This supports participation for the disabled in society without any obstacles, including respecting the rights of disabled people.
Thailand was elected to host the International Conference on Accessible Tourism from November 22 to 24 in Bangkok. This is seen as being an ideal showcase for Thailand’s tourism facilities for the disabled. One promising area is to attract disabled and retired people, especially from Europe, to spend their holidays in Thailand during the winter.
Delegates from the International Conference on Accessible Tourism visited the Redemptorist Vocational School and Pattaya Beach before going back to Bangkok.

300 M baht flood prevention project gets underway

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Pattaya City Council has approved a 300 million baht budget for a new water drainage and flood prevention system to be built alongside the railroad.

The city will spend 300 million baht to try and keep flood waters out of Pattaya.
At a meeting on November 27, Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn proposed the approval of the project, which will include the use of an area of land measuring 21 rai and 97 square wah at Kao Makok Sub-district, Moo 4, Huayyai.
Water will flow through a pipeline along the eastern side of the railroad for a distance of 16 km before entering a new catchment area that will be built on this area. This will draw water away from Pattaya City and help prevent the recurrent flooding problem.
The Ratchaburi Military Engineering Regiment will undertake the project with a planned completion date within 2008.
Councilors debated the merits of the project, saying that if it performs as designed it would be of great benefit. The budget was agreed by a unanimous vote.

Cyclists arrive in city after five-country ride along Mekong River Basin

After cycling through 5 countries, the more than 300 cyclists arrive at city hall.

Vimolrat Singnikorn
More than 300 bicycle riders who have been traveling through the Mekong River Basin to spread His Majesty the King’s message on sufficiency living arrived in Pattaya on December 2, where they were welcomed by Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn and Pattaya City councilors.
The cyclists’ journey had taken them into five countries along a distance of 6,100 km, and was taking a total of 81 days. In addition to promoting the sufficiency living concept they had been collecting names in a book to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty.
Chawaing Kanchanasunthorn, representing the riders, received a garland from Niran as they gathered at the King Taksin Monument outside Pattaya City Hall. In return, Chawaing presented a souvenir coin to the mayor, before the group departed for lunch at Ban Sukhawadee.
The riders met with students in the Sattahip and Sriracha areas, and distributed the book propounding the sufficiency living concept to local people. They also distributed clothes, supplies, educational equipment and sports equipment to unprivileged children and people in need, before continuing to Samutprakarn and ending up in Bangkok.
The ride started on September 16 and ended on December 5. The project was organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Chiang Rai and the Mekong Bike Club, and was carried out under the Northern Tourism Development Project, which promotes Thailand as a strategic tourism center for neighboring countries.
This is the sixth consecutive year this activity has been held, and this year was given the added impetus of His Majesty the King’s 80th birthday. The five countries visited along the Mekong River Basin were Myanmar, China, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, along a distance of 6,100 km over 81 days.

Owners of high-rise buildings are ignoring maintenance rules says PWD

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Owners of high-rise buildings, including hotels, have been accused of breaching the rules relating to safety and maintenance, and consequently putting the lives of those that use the buildings at risk.

Sumet Sara-Aporn

Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn headed a meeting at Pattaya City Hall on November 28, with Sumet Sara-Aporn of the Chonburi Public Works and Town Planning Department, Warodom Sucharitkul, chairman of the Building Controllers’ Association, and a number of Pattaya entrepreneurs present.
Sumet said that Pattaya has many high-rise buildings that are used as hotels, condominiums, apartments, offices and shops. Many owners of these buildings are, however, not following the rules relating to maintaining them, and consequently there is a potential danger to those who use the buildings.
Warodom said that under Building Control Legislation Section 3, owners of buildings must provide a building controller. They must also provide a regular report to the local authority. This year the deadline for the reports is December 29. In the event of breaching this, the owner is liable to a maximum of three months in prison, or a fine not exceeding 60,000 baht, or both, plus a daily fine not exceeding 10,000 baht until the correct operations are completed. He encouraged the owners to follow the rules before the law intervenes.
Anawat Buraphachon, an engineer with the Chonburi Public Works and Town Planning Office added that under the Building Control Act BE 2522 (1979) and Amendment No 3 BE 2543 (2000) Section 32 the requirements are clear. Owners of buildings, operators of buildings, and juristic personnel who are the managers of condominiums have to provide a building controller who is registered with the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, or with the Chonburi Public Works and Town and Country Planning Department.
At least once a year the building controller must check the building and make a report. Every five years there has to be a complete survey. The reports must be submitted to the local authority, and after the authority has inspected the report and found it satisfactory, a certificate is issued that the owner is required to display openly in the building.
The buildings that require engineering control or architecture control according to Section 32 are clearly delineated, including being 23 meters or more in height, said Anawat.

Russian man faces charges of molestation with backscratcher

Boonlua Chatree
A Russian tourist who lifted the skirt of a shop worker and then tried to make amends by offering money to her and to the police is to be prosecuted.

Russian tourist Belkin Demitry listens to his interpreter as police book him for allegedly molesting a shopkeeper.
Pattaya Police Station received a complaint on December 3 from Miss Kanchana Meekham, a 33-year-old resident of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, saying that while she was working in her shop at Big C in North Pattaya a Russian man had used a one-foot long backscratcher to hook her skirt and lift it up in front of the public, causing her to be embarrassed.
Officers went to the scene and found Belkin Demitry, a 36-year-old Russian citizen standing amongst a crowd of angry people and still clutching the offending backscratcher. He was led away for his own safety, as the crowd was on the verge of assaulting him for his rudeness.
At the police station, Demitry tried to make a compromise through the Russian interpreter. He stated that he wished to offer US$600 (approximately 20,000 baht) as compensation, of which $300 was for the police officers and $300 for Kanchana.
The police dismissed his proposal and said he would be charged with molesting a woman in public. The accused and the plaintiff could not come to a compromise, and the case against Demitry continues.

Ya ba network busted and 4,000 pills seized

Governor Pracha and police announce the major drug bust.

Theerarak Suthatiwong
Chonburi Governor Pracha Taerat along with Pol Maj Gen Bundit Khunjak, commander of the Regional Police in Chonburi, and Thanis Noipeng, Sriracha District chief gave a joint media briefing on the morning of December 1 to announce that a major ya ba gang had been arrested and 4,000 ya ba pills impounded.
Police and personnel from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board had earlier arrested Thanawat Kalongrat, a 23-year-old resident of Sriracha as he was trying to sell pills in front of the Saha Group Industrial Park. The officers had confiscated 58 pills.
Thanawat had told police that he bought them from a large Cambodian distributor, who sold the pills in volumes of several thousand at a time. He ordered by phone and transferred money to a bank account, and then the ya ba was sent from the Aranyaprathet Border District Checkpoint. Deliveries were made to customers in many different locations.
Police investigated and were able to verify that a large volume of ya ba would be sent to Bangkok, where it would be collected at the 1st floor of The Mall Department Store in Bangkapi. Officers were supplied by an undercover police officer with the name and description of 33-year-old Thanakorn Wongrueng. Thanakorn was seen walking through the mall carrying a plastic bag. The police presented themselves to search him, stating that they were from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board.
A total of 4,000 pills were found in the accused man’s plastic bag. The police took him to search his vehicle, and found another person inside the vehicle identified as Jatuporn Pojpan, 24. There was nothing illegal found in the vehicle. The two men were charged with the possession of Class 1 narcotics, although Jatuporn denied the charge and stated that he was simply told to stay in the vehicle. Thanakorn confessed that the ya ba was his.
Governor Pracha said every effort was being made to halt the activities of the ya ba networks that operated from the Cambodian border, as ya ba destroys lives and it destroys society.

City firefighters ready for any emergency