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HRH Princess Ubolratana opens sailing center
Her
Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana distributes awards at the Super Mod
Building Educational Institute.
Patcharapol Panrak
Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana presided over the
opening on December 16 of the 81 Super Mod Center at Toey Ngam Bay, a
project designed to encourage more youngsters to take up the sport of
sailing.
The Royal Thai Navy organized the project in association
with the Sailing Association of Thailand, the Khun Phum Foundation, and the
Miniature Boat Museum following a speech by His Majesty the King on the
effectiveness of sailing as a way of teaching endurance, initiative and
technical skills to young people.
The center will also teach sailboat building and
maintenance as part of the skills program.
Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana distributed awards
to the winners at the Super Mod Building Educational Institute under the
Vocational Secretariat Office. The winner was Udon Thani Technology College.
In second place was Trad Technology College, and in third place was
Suphanburi Technology College. Fourth was Petchabun Technology College,
fifth Pitsanuloke Technology College, and sixth Ayutthaya Ship Building
Industrial and Technology College. The winners of the first four places
received a plaque from Her Royal Highness.
After that HRH Princess Ubolratana gave a signal to the
81 Super Mod sailors on shore and Offshore Patrol Vessel Numbers Tor 991,
Tor 992 and Tor 993, which were anchored in Toeuy Ngam Bay.
Thousands turn out for beginning of free polio vaccination program
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
More than 7,000 Thai people and foreigners in Pattaya City
brought their children for the first stage of the polio vaccine program at the
Public Health Center on December 26.
The session was opened by Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn and
held between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., with free vaccinations being
provided for Thai children under five years of age and foreign children under
15 years of age.
Apart from the polio vaccinations there were a number of
private organizations that had organized booths with activities for the
children, including KFC who presented prizes to children who took part in
games. As part of Rotary’s continuing commitment to eradicate polio from the
face of the earth, all the clubs in Thailand are helping to organize this
program, working in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health and their
departments around the country.
Volunteer police officers and Pratheep Malhotra, district
governor elect of Rotary International District 3340 also attended to help
administer the vaccinations.
Mrs Na-Anya Chantrakat, head of the Communicable Disease
Prevention and Control Section at the Pattaya Department of Public Health and
the Environment said the session came under the national program to eliminate
polio.
Apart from the vaccinations given at the Public Health
Center, vaccinations were also given at 20 schools in Pattaya City and at the
27 Pattaya communities through the Princess Mother’s Medical Volunteer
Center.
During the afternoon, public health officers and volunteers
visited camps of workers, squatters, and foreign workers throughout Pattaya
City who were unable to come to one of the vaccination points.
Pratheep
Malhotra, district governor elect of Rotary International District 3340, helps
administer the polio vaccination drops.
Oral health care provided for elderly
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Nearly 100 elderly people were given dental checkups and
instruction on oral health care at the Public Health Center on December 21
as part of a campaign to promote better health amongst senior citizens.
Dr Thawanrat Taechacharoenroj of the dentistry department
at Banglamung Hospital led the team that conducted the session, which was
opened by Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay.
Dr Thawanrat said that as people age their bodies
deteriorate. Teeth can form cavities that can cause great discomfort and
pain, and gums and other parts of the mouth can also develop afflictions.
“Oral problems for elderly people include gumboils and
tooth decay,” said Dr Thawanrat. “Therefore, this training focused on
providing knowledge for the elderly, including the correct way to perform
oral health care. Oral health checkups were provided for elderly people who
attended this training as well.”
Dr
Thawanrat Taechacharoenroj of the dentistry department at Banglamung
Hospital.
Navy patrol boat catches diesel smuggler
The
captain and crew of this fishing vessel were arrested for possession of
goods exempt from tax under the Customs and Excise Act of 1984.
Patcharapol Panrak
Naval officers have impounded a fishing boat that was
attempting to smuggle 10,000 liters of gasoline into Bangsaen.
A Coastal Defense Force Region 1 patrol boat that was
passing Koh Kram at the Naval Turtle Preserve just before noon on December
15 spotted the vessel. Commander of the patrol boat Lt Rungruang Masuthi
felt that the fishing vessel looked suspicious, and reported the sighting to
Capt Athorn Kluabmat, his chief of operations.
Navy officers boarded the boat, the Sitthimongkol 3, just
700 yards from the Bangsarae shore. They found it was loaded with 42 tanks
of diesel, each with a capacity of 200 liters, plus other tanks that brought
the total to 10,400 liters.
The captain of the boat was Sakda Laprom, 25, a resident
of Nakhon Panom. He said that he had been assigned by the owner of the boat,
Suthi Hongsa-Nga, to take it from Jarin Pier in Sriracha and collect 10,400
liters of gasoline from the Venus 2 ship located out at sea. This gasoline
would then be distributed to other fishing boats anchored at Worn Beach, in
Bangsaen.
The crew and owner of the Sitthimongkol 3 have been
charged with the illegal possession of goods exempt from tax under the
Customs and Excise Act of 1984.
Capt Athorn said that it is believed this boat had
regularly illegally transported gasoline to shore, either for distribution
or for fishing boats to use illegally. The hold of the ship was filled with
gasoline tanks and smelled like it probably had not been used for fishing
for a long time.
Chinese narcotics dealer and two male go-go dancers arrested
Boonlua Chatree
A Chinese narcotics dealer along with two male go-go
dancers have been arrested and a large quantity of the narcotic ecstasy
seized.
Police had searched 19-year-old Supamit Panurak outside a
7-Eleven store on Pattaya Third Road just after midnight o December 27 and
found a ya-E pill in his possession. Supamit, a resident of Buriram who
worked as a go-go dancer in South Pattaya, said he had received the pill
from a Chinese drug dealer.
The officers investigated further and traced the Chinese
dealer to his residence in a Jomtien condo, where they found a total of 40
ya-E pills and another 40 tranquilizer pills. The drugs were impounded along
with a mobile phone and two bankbooks, and the man taken to Pattaya Police
Station for questioning.
He was identified as Lin Wan Fu, a 30-year-old Chinese
national. Lin confessed that the drugs belonged to him, and said they had
been bought from a Chinese friend. He sold them to tourists and to
youngsters in Pattaya.
Also arrested was Jakrapong Wongsalee, a 19-year-old
go-go dancer in South Pattaya, who was sleeping in Lin’s residence at the
time. Jakrapong, who had two ya-E pills on him, said that Lin had given him
money and drugs in return for sexual favors.
All three men have been charged with being in possession
of a Class 1 narcotic.
Thais
Supamit Panurak and Jakrapong Wongsalee, and Chinese national Lin Wan Fu
have been arrested for possession of narcotics.
Communities will help tailor services of new Pattaya Hospital
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Twenty Pattaya communities will take part in a survey
designed to help tailor the facilities of the new Pattaya Hospital to
community needs. Construction work on the hospital is about to begin, with
completion due in two years’ time.
A meeting was held on December 18 at the Pattaya Public
Health Center to discuss and layout a plan to develop solutions to public
health problems in the community.
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay led the meeting, which
included councilors and public health volunteers. Verawat said that the
support of the 20 community-based health centers would be important for
designing the hospital’s services so that they would be at their most
efficient for the medical treatment and rehabilitation of people in the
community.
The 20 communities are working on the project as a
competition, with a prize of 10,000 baht going to the winning community. The
runner-up will win 8,000 baht, third place will win 5,000 baht, and there
are two consolation prizes of 3,000 baht each.
The new Pattaya Hospital will be a five-story building
with 82 beds, two special rooms, and two VIP rooms. The laying of the
foundation stone is scheduled for March 17, and completion is due in 2010.
Pattaya residents will have free service, if they apply
for their rights to do so, but foreigners must pay medical fees in the event
they use the hospital’s service. This collection of fees will be used for
welfare and taxes that arise from the Pattaya treasury section.
Death sentence for former councilor who murdered Dutch journalist
Boonlua Chatree
A former city councilor from Chumporn Province has been
sentenced to death, and his accomplice sentenced to life imprisonment, for
the murder of a Dutch journalist four years ago.
The sentences were passed on December 21 at trial room
number 11 in Pattaya Provincial Court by Judge Supoj Kerdsantia.
Anupong Sutthanee, a former city councilor from Langsuan
in Chumporn Province, and Seksan Promna were accused of murdering Jules
Marshal Nicole Odekerken, a citizen of Holland, on November 17, 2003. Both
were found guilty of premeditated murder, and with destroying a corpse to
conceal their crime. Anupong was found guilty by the court, but Seksan
confessed and hence escaped the death penalty.
The court heard how Anupong and Seksan conspired to
murder Odekerken, who was a journalist, in the hopes of getting his property
and his life insurance payout worth several million baht. Anupong had had a
sexual relationship with the Thai wife of the deceased, and wanted money to
fund his election campaign. He plotted the killing with Seksan, who was in
Anupong’s debt after the former councilor had helped bail him out of jail
in Chumporn.
Rescue workers haul calf from well
A rescue
worker begins the process of rescuing this calf from the well it had fallen
into.
Theerarak Suthatiwong
Rescuers managed to save the life of a calf that had
fallen into a deep well behind the Viriyah Insurance Co building on
Sukhumvit Road.
Sawang Boriboon Thamasathan Foundation Radio Center
received a report at 9:30 a.m. on December 26 that the calf was trapped in
the well, and worked in cooperation with the Banglamung Provincial
Electricity Authority, which had a basket vehicle and a crane to assist them
in freeing the animal.
The scene was next to the back wall of the company under
a bodho tree. A well 3 meters wide, 4 meters long, and almost 5 meters deep
had been dug, and although it was covered by a metal structure the six-month
old calf had managed to slip through a break in the mesh, which was covered
in leaves.
Rescue workers looped a rope around the animal’s body,
and lifted it out with the crane. The operation took about 30 minutes. The
calf was unhurt, although very tired, and could not stand on its feet for a
while.
Sumit Mathimatu, a 52-year-old security guard at Viriyah
Insurance Co said he was patrolling the grounds when he heard the calf in
the well. He assumed that it was the calf that the manager had been taking
care of for the past two weeks. Sumit contacted rescuers to provide
assistance.
Kayoon Mekprasith, 46, a manager at Viriyah Insurance
Co’s Pattaya branch said that at the end of November a customer of the
company had been driving a vehicle through Sattahip District and had an
accident, hitting this male calf and injuring its front left leg. No one
claimed ownership of the calf at the time, so it was taken to the Jomtong
Garage for temporary keeping until the owner was found.
Nobody, however, had claimed the animal. The company
continued to feed the calf while arrangements were made to donate it to
Jitapawan Temple in Banglamung District for the redemption of the life of an
animal. Money would also be paid to the garage for its upkeep. The intention
was to hire a baht bus to transport the calf from behind the company
building.
The reason that the calf fell into the well was because
its leash was too long, and it walked over the mesh cover. Leaves were
concealing the cover, and the animal did not see that the opening in the
mesh, consequently falling into the well.
City gathers to pay tribute to the Great King Taksin
Vimolrat Singnikorn
King Taksin Day was observed by government officers,
representatives of private organizations and members of the public at the
King Taksin Monument in front of Pattaya City Hall on December 28.
The date marks the anniversary of the great king’s
coronation, which took place on December 28, 1768. This is the official day
nationwide for paying homage and for giving blessings to the memory of the
man who saved Thailand from the invading Burmese 240 years ago.
Mayor Niran Watthanasartsathorn presided over the
ceremony, which began with the lighting of joss sticks and continued with
chanting by 10 monks. Flowers were offered in front of the monument, and
then came a display of traditional Thai martial arts, symbolizing the
enormous fight King Taksin faced for most of his reign to maintain the
independence of his country.
King Taksin has a special relevance to Pattaya. He was
born on March 23, 1734, and was a governor and army leader at the time of
Ayutthaya’s fall in 1767. Escaping from the city, he gathered a small army
and traveled to Chonburi, stopping to rest at Ban Nong Yai, behind the site
of the present Pattaya Police Station.
He then went on to drive the Burmese invaders out of
Siam, and after his victory was crowned king. The country has remained free
of invaders to this day.
The first ceremony in his memory at the King Taksin
Monument was held in 1954, and shortly after, December 28 was designated as
King Taksin Memorial Day. During this commemoration day, public officials,
military personnel and members of the public come to pay tribute to one of
Thailand’s most memorable kings, and make merit for society.
Traditional
Thai martial arts were on display, symbolizing the enormous fight King
Taksin faced for most of his reign to maintain the independence of his
country.
Navy observes birthday of Prince Chumporn
Naval
officers pay their respects to the Father of the Royal Thai Navy on the
occasion of the anniversary of his birth.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Respects were paid to the Father of the Royal Thai Navy
on December 19, the birth anniversary of Prince Chumporn Ket Udomsak.
Capt Jeerapad Pansakul, deputy director general of the
Naval Communications Department presided over the ceremony, which took place
in front of the Prince Chumporn Monument on Thappraya Hill.
Navy officers and members of the public took part, and as
is traditional, the ceremony included a display of Thai martial arts.
Prince Chumporn was the 28th son of King Chulalongkorn,
and was born on December 19, 1880. He was the first son born to the King’s
concubine Chao Chom Hmod, whose father was a member of the Royal Court’s
Defense Ministry.
The Prince was brought up in Chumporn Palace in the
South, where he lived until he reached the age of 13. He was then sent to
England for schooling, completing his education in the year 1900. Prince
Chumporn served in the Royal Thai Navy for 23 years, during which time he
attained the rank of admiral.
During Admiral Prince Chumporn’s career as naval
officer, he distinguished himself by initiating many changes, including
modernizing methods in naval communications and improving the Royal Thai
Navy Officers School. He was responsible for implementing the use of flag
signals and signal lamps. During 1906 he orchestrated a Naval Engineering
School, and, as the school progressed, it became part of the Naval Officers
School, the name of which was later changed to the Naval Academy.
Prince Chumporn’s many achievements in modernizing the
Thai Navy had a lasting impact, instituting efficiency in the ranks and
strengthening the Thai Navy with the required disciplines and advanced
training programs, turning the navy into an impressive military force
capable of protecting the nation’s sovereignty.
At age 44, whilst serving as Navy Minister of State, he
contracted a severe case of pneumonia. The Prince retired to the coast at
Chumporn where passed away on May 19, 1925.
In 1995, two naval commanders drafted a letter to the
commander of the Royal Thai Navy identifying their plan to erect a monument
to the Prince on Pattaya City’s Thappraya Hill, where the Area 5 Royal
Thai Navy operates a radio broadcast station. Their idea received approval
and the monument, twice life-size and overlooking the ocean was unveiled the
same year.
Respects are paid here each year on the anniversary of
the Prince’s birthday.
Jade stone carving of Prince Chumporn to be displayed at Navy Base
The
statue has provisionally been installed at the Air and Coastal Defense
Command Office, where it will remain until the shrine is completed.
Patcharapol Panrak
A statue of Prince Chumporn, the Father of the Royal Thai
Navy, has been carved from a rock taken from the Mekong River and will be
installed at a shrine being built at the entrance to the Air and Coastal
Defense Command Office on Sukhumvit Road, at Sattahip.
Rear Admiral Chaiwat Sri-Akarin, commander-in-chief of
Air and Coastal Defense Command assigned Captain Montree Juengmankong,
commander of First Coast Guard Area Command and his deputy, Captain
Prasartporn Nawetphuti, to hold a ceremony on December 15 to prepare for
construction of the shrine.
The statue has been carved from green jade stone taken
from the Mekong in Mae Sai District, in Chiang Rai Province, and is 119 cm
(3ft 9ins) high. It has provisionally been installed at the Air and Coastal
Defense Command Office until the shrine is completed.
Vets rescue trapped turtles
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
A veterinary team from Chulalongkorn University has
rescued a number of sea turtles that were trapped at Kao Prayai and once the
turtles have regained their strength they will be released back into the
ocean.
The
veterinary team hurries to save the turtles’ lives before bringing them
back to the Aquatic Animal Disease Research Center at Chulalonglorn
University.
The Turtle Lovers Club had alerted Assoc Prof Dr
Nantarika Chansue, director of the Aquatic Animal Disease Research Center at
Chulalongkorn University to the plight of the turtles.
On December 20, a team of rescuers went to Wang Samsian,
at Kao Prayai. They were led by Kachorn Jiarawanon, chairman of the Turtle
Lovers Club and Dr Sanya Thonggamgaew, an aquatic animal veterinarian with
Charoen Pokphand Food Public Company Limited, along with Assoc Prof
Nantarika.
The location was a concrete well 50 meters wide and 2
meters deep, with a pool of water ankle-deep. The well was full of waste,
soil, sand and carcasses. The villagers nearby stated that this well
hadn’t been cleaned for a long time. There were more than 60 small turtles
in this well, placed there by people who had come and left them there, with
the belief that they were making merit. Apart from these turtles, there were
also schools of other aquatic animals such as fish, snapping turtles, and
frogs.
The rescue team first cleaned the turtles with salt
water, and then measured them, weighed them, and took blood from their
capillaries to find the source of their illnesses. They were given vitamins
and a saline solution for primary health support.
Assoc Prof Nantarika said that the turtles would be taken
back to the Aquatic Animal Disease Research Center at Chulalongkorn
University for treatment. Once they are healthy they can be released into
the wild.
Nantarika said that in the event of people intending to
make merit by setting turtles free, then the turtles should be taken to an
appropriate location, as condemning them to entrapment and disease was
sinful.
The
little turtles receive a good cleaning after having lived a very long time
in the wastewater.
Navy releases 999 sea turtles into the ocean
The
Royal Thai Navy released sea turtles as part of a nature conservation
program and to mark the 80th birthday of His Majesty the King.
Patcharapol Panrak
The Royal Thai Navy has released 999 sea turtles into the
ocean as part of a nature conservation program and to mark the 80th birthday
of His Majesty the King.
Admiral Sathiraphan Kaeyanon, commander-in-chief of the
Royal Thai Navy presided over the ceremony on the beach at Air and Coastal
Defense Command, Sattahip, on December 16.
Rear Admiral Chaiwat Sri-Akarin, commander-in-chief of
Air and Coastal Defense Command and Rear Admiral Roengeit Bunsongprasert,
director of the Naval Civil Affairs Department organized the event with the
purpose of raising income for the Chai Pattana Foundation in honor of His
Majesty.
Official departments, private organizations and
individuals donated money to the foundation.
Rear Admiral Chaiwat said that the conservation of sea
turtles is an international issue. Thailand is a signatory to the Convention
for the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats in
the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia (IOSEA).
The United States will import shrimp only from countries
with sea turtle conservation programs, which includes Thailand. Therefore,
the sea turtle is also an essential requirement for the Thai economy.
Seafood for all as Crab Condo opens for business
Husbands
will be responsible for providing food for the crabs out in the sea.
Patcharapol Panrak
A “condominium” for local sea crabs has been opened
at Sattahip, where the shellfish will be bred to support the economy of the
local community.
The Sattahip Non-formal Education Center cooperated with
the Samaesarn Sub-district Administrative Organization to create the
project.
Crab eggs were brought to breed more crabs in the area,
and this will support a number of occupations, generate income, and help to
conserve marine resources in this area.
Chief of Sattahip District Narong Theerajantarangkul
performed the opening ceremony on December 21 for what is officially known
as the Crab Nursery, but which has popularly been dubbed the “Crab
Condo.”
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Prasert Pitakkorn, director
of the Samaesarn Sub-district Administrative Organization, Patinya Pupoom,
director of the Sattahip Non-formal Education Center, Mrs Sriarun Sridam,
chairwoman of the Larn Mountain Local Fishery Boat Club, Moo 4, and
committee members of the Fishery Club attended the ceremony.
Wives
are responsible for breeding the crab eggs.
Prasert said that changes in the marine environment are
causing a decrease in the population of aquatic animals, including crabs.
The crabs are the seafood of choice for residents and visitors, but they
have moved into various areas of deep sea, islands, and reefs, which has
resulted in the number being caught by fishermen to dwindle. Prices have
risen as a result, and many people say it is difficult even to find a
restaurant where the crabs are served.
Crab Condo is located in the shallow waters of the
Payayom Curve area, at Moo 4, Samaesarn Sub-district, in Sattahip. Wives are
responsible for breeding the crab eggs, and husbands provide food for the
crabs in the sea. Sales of the crabs are now being made on a daily basis.
Workers
set about floating the new crab condo.
Volunteers trained to give polio drops
Volunteers
practice administering polio vaccine.
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
The Public Health Service Center has conducted a program
of training volunteers to administer polio vaccinations to children under
five years of age, as part of the nation-wide anti-polio campaign.
Training began on December 20 under the Communicable
Disease Protection and Prevention Department of the Pattaya Department of
Public Health and Environmental Services.
Medical director Dr Wuthichai Tawattongchai and Mrs Na-Anya
Chantrakat, head of the Communicable Disease Protection and Prevention
Department announced that more than 30 volunteers had simultaneously
attended the training.
Na-Anya said that volunteers had been necessary to handle
the large number of vaccinations that have to be undertaken under the
national campaign to administer polio vaccines to children under five years
of age and to foreign children under 5 years of age on December 26 and
January 23.
“There are not enough officials at the Public Health
Service Center in Pattaya City to administer the polio vaccinations to
children on those days,” she said. “Therefore, it was necessary to find
volunteers to assist in this project.”
The training was practical and included the actual
administration of the vaccination. For example, one child must receive two
drops of the vaccine, although if more than two drops are administered it is
not dangerous to the child. Regarding storing the vaccine, it must be kept
at a temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius, or in the freezer of a
refrigerator.
Na-Anya said that under the correct method for
administering the polio vaccinations there are five stages. The first stage
is when a child is aged two months, and the second stage is at four months.
The third stage is at six months, the fourth at one year and six months, and
the fifth and final stage at the age of four years. When a child has been
through all five stages, polio can no longer be contracted.
X-Tream sports to feature at Sriracha for Children’s Day
Sriracha
will be featuring X-Tream sports during Children’s Day, January 11 to 12.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Sriracha will be featuring X-Tream sports during
Children’s Day, the municipality’s Deputy Mayor Suwan Chaitrakulthong
has announced.
Suwan said that X-Tream sports are a favorite of
youngsters and that participation was to be encouraged as it helps children
develop in terms of fitness, initiative and physical prowess.
Sriracha Municipality is cooperating with the X-Tream
Sports Association of Thailand to organize the 1st Eastern X-Tream Sports
Championship 2008, which will be held over the period January 11 to 12 at
the Sriracha Public Health Park. Events, which will include acrobatic
bicycling and skateboarding, will begin at 10:00 a.m. X-Tream sportsmen from
throughout the country will participate.
Other activities during this event will include stage
performances, a singing contest, and games. There will be free food stands,
and stands organized by official departments, private organizations and
associations, and charity concerns.
Sriracha Municipality will also use the occasion to
distribute scholarships and certificates to students with good scholastic
results and prominence in sports.
Pattani youngsters tour aircraft carrier
35 boys
and girls from Pattani tour the HTMS Chakri Naruebet.
Patcharapol Panrak
A group of Pattani youngsters were the first people to be
shown around the Royal aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet after she came
out of dry dock following a maintenance program.
Rear Admiral Roengrit Boonsongprasert, director general
of the Naval Civil Affairs Department on December 16 led the 35 boys and
girls who had been on a visit to Bangkok on a tour of the ship, which was
moored at Juksamet Pier, at Sattahip Naval Base.
The HTMS Chakri Naruebet’s commander, Captain Suwin,
welcomed the visitors and described the history of the ship, telling also of
the role she played during the tsunami of 2004 when the Royal Thai Navy had
provided rescue services in the South.
Captain Suwin took the youngsters on a tour of the
ship’s air traffic control center and the navigation bridge, to show them
the technology that is necessary for the operation of aircraft and the
navigation of a large vessel through domestic and international waters. The
children also went onto the flight deck where they had their photograph
taken as a souvenir.
Rear Admiral Roengrit said the HTMS Chakri Naruebet had
been undergoing maintenance in the dry dock for one month. The children had
been brought up from Pattani on an educational visit, and their tour of the
aircraft carrier was one of the highlights of the trip for them.
Interested
youths from the South tour the flight control center of the HTMS Chakri
Naruebet.
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