Pattaya Police and Dusit Thani Pattaya security men drag away a bag snatcher after the suspect tried to hide in the hotel area by climbing over the fence.

Boonlua Chatree
A bag snatcher who stole a Russian woman’s bag and ran away down a soi was caught by the security guards at the Dusit Thani Pattaya. Police are now looking for the thief’s accomplice.
Pattaya Police Station received a report shortly after midnight on April 5 that a thief had snatched the property of a tourist who was walking along Pattaya Beach near the Dusit Thani Hotel, and that he had fled down the soi that runs beside the hotel.
Arriving at the scene of the crime, the officers identified the tourist as Ms Tatiana Perevoznikova. She was waiting with her friend. They stated that at around 10 p.m. on April 4, they were taking a walk back to their lodging near the Dusit Thani Hotel when two men who looked like drug addicts followed them and snatched Tatiana’s bag.
The two women attempted to defend themselves but the thieves pushed them to the ground, bruising their knees, before running away with the handbag. When one of the thieves attempted to climb over the fence surrounding the Dusit Thani Pattaya, Sayan Chantakloy, a security guard at the hotel, managed to apprehend him.
The man was identified as Pailin But-Ngarm, age 31, a resident of Surin. Tatiana’s handbag, which contained 2,500 baht, two cell phones and one digital camera was found in a wooded area nearby, where Pailin had thrown it during his escape attempt. Tatiana confirmed that all her belongings were there.
Pailin said he had only a few days of probation left at the Narcotics Treatment Center. He had committed this crime because he needed money for food and drugs. He claimed he acted alone, but his accusers confirmed that there were two robbers who ran away down the soi. The officers searched for his accomplice but could not find him. Pailin has been charged with theft and bodily harm.

Deputy Mayor Ronakit rescues suicidal woman from balcony

Boonlua Chatree
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh and city councilor Sanit Boonmachai were the heroes of the hour when they managed to persuade a suicidal woman not to jump from the 12th floor of a building.

Sopa threatens to jump from the 12th floor of the Marine Yensabai Mansion.

The attempted suicide took place during the afternoon of April 8, when Pattaya Police Station received a report from a Marine Yensabai Mansion employee in South Pattaya that a woman in room 1203 on the 12th floor had climbed out onto the veranda and was threatening to jump.
Police officers and rescuers went to the scene where a large crowd had gathered outside the building as the woman, identified as Ms Sopa Kaewlamun, a 21-year-old resident of Kamphaengphet, dangled from an iron bar on the veranda.
Police went up to the room and attempted without success for half an hour to persuade Sopa to come back inside the room. She continued to shout that she would jump.
Then Ronakit and Sanit arrived and spoke to her, persuading her to come off the balcony where she was restrained by police and taken to Banglamung Hospital.
Sopa was found to be completely drunk.

Australian man stabbed during bag theft

Boonlua Chatree
An Australian man who tried to prevent two men robbing his Thai wife was stabbed and seriously injured as the criminals made their escape.
Pattaya police were called out at 1:30 a.m. on April 8 to the scene of the crime, Naklua Soi 16/3 on the Pattaya-Naklua Road.
The officers found blood covering the road. The two victims had already been taken in a baht bus to Pattaya International Hospital, where police found them in the intensive care unit. They were identified as Paul Woodley, a 63-year-old Australian citizen, who had suffered two serious wounds from a knife, and his wife Darunee Maneewong, 43, a resident of Phyathai District in Bangkok, who had been punched in the face and in the eye, and was badly bruised.
Darunee said that she and her husband had business in Bangkok, and then had come on business to Pattaya. They were staying on the soi where the incident occurred. While they were walking back to their hotel, two men aged around 25 years had walked up behind them. They attacked her and pulled her bag away. The bag contained Malaysian money and 2,500 baht, along with a mobile phone, an ATM card, and a lot of personal documents.
Darunee shouted for assistance, but she was punched in the face by one of the men. Her husband tried to snatch her bag back, and was stabbed twice. The men escaped with the bag. Police are pursuing their inquiries.

Mobile medical service visits Kratinglai Community

Medical checkups and haircuts offered free

Saksiri Uraiworn
Pattaya City Public Health Office sent its mobile health care unit to the Kratinglai Community on April 3, where between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. a free service was provided with basic medical checkups along with medicines and free haircuts.

Free blood pressure checks are part of the services offered by the city’s mobile medical service.

The mobile health care service travels to each of the communities in the Pattaya City area, aiming to educate the public on health matters as well as to provide a medical service.
At Kratinglai, which is on the Sukhumvit Road, villagers attended a training session during the morning, which included the use of herbs in traditional Thai medicine and ways in which to take more care of their health.
During the afternoon, health officials from the Pattaya City Public Health Center provided checkups, dental health checks and tooth extractions, analysis of basic diseases, advice for family planning, and gave injections to protect against animal-spread diseases.
Residents were also encouraged to donate their discarded reusable items to the Suan Kaew Temple Foundation.

NGV-powered car bursts into flames on highway

Royal Thai Navy captain escapes injury

Captain Taweesak Thongnam (background, left) escaped injury when his car burst into flames on Sukhumvit Highway.

Patcharapol Panrak
Vehicle owners who have converted their engines to run on an NGV system are now very concerned, following an incident in which the car of a Royal Thai Navy captain spontaneously burst into flames when it was being driven along Sukhumvit Road.
Sattahip Mayor Narong Bunbancherdsri received a report at 8 a.m. on April 8 that a car was ablaze on the public road, and dispatched two fire engines.
Arriving at the scene, the firefighters found the blazing car had caused a traffic tailback, and local residents were using a fire extinguisher to try and douse the flames. The valve of the vehicle’s gas tank was closed, and people could smell the leaking gas.
The owner of the car, Captain Taweesak Thongnam, a 40-year-old officer from the Training Development Section at Sattahip Navy Base, said that he had been driving in his green Nissan Sunny from his home at Moo 4 in Sattahip Sub-district to go to work. Near the 165km marker on the Sattahip-Rayong stretch of Sukhumvit Road, the engine of the car began to shake and then stopped, as if it had run out of fuel.
Taweesak said that he restarted the motor, and smoke and fire came from the engine compartment. He escaped from the vehicle and stood on the roadside, watching it burn.
Sophon Piansompol, a 28-year-old vehicle electrician at Kangwan Karnfaifa on Sukhumvit Road said that he used a CO2 tank to extinguish the fire. There appeared to be a leak at the valve tank and the engine valve. This had caused the engine to stop, and most likely a spark from the engine when the car was restarted had caused the fire.
Sophon added that in his experience working with vehicles, the gas is naturally cool and heat cannot be the cause of a fire. Only a flame or a spark can cause a blaze. He suggested that owners of vehicles that have been fitted with an NGV system do not attempt to restart their motor if the car stalls for any unexplainable reason.

Three mayoral candidates set out their vision in public debate

(L to R) Itthipol Khunplome, Alisa Phantusak,
and Surat Mekawarakul are all running for mayor of Pattaya.

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Three of the candidates running for the position of mayor of Pattaya staged a debate at the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya conference room on March 28, under the subject of development methods for Pattaya City.
Two others running for mayor had not yet joined the race.
The Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, Pattaya-Taksin Lions Club and the Pattaya Hotel Association carried out organizing of the debate. Ms Jomkwan Laopetch was the master of ceremonies, and the event was broadcast on national television.
The three candidates invited to talk about their vision for the future of Pattaya were Surat Mekawarakul, leader of the Surat Party, Itthipol Khunplome, leader of the Rao Rak Pattaya Party, and Ms Alisa Phantusak, leader of the Pattaya Fa Mai Party.
More than 500 people crowded into the conference room to listen to the debate and cheer on their candidates.
Surat was the first speaker. He said that if he was elected, he would focus on improving the tourism industry, which he says has not been keeping up with international standards and has not even been keeping up with Phuket. As mayor, said Surat, he would create policies to rejuvenate tourism and to improve standards at every level.
Regarding the quality of life in Pattaya, this must start for the people when they are newborn, he said. There is no reason why Pattaya should not become a model city in terms of its administration and its security and its quality of life.
Itthipol was the second candidate to speak. He said that the city’s administrators must work with complete transparency, and that if elected he would subject the administrators to tight control. He said it would also be wrong for the incoming mayor to look at a policy that would last for only the four-year term. Strategies must be put in place that would last for 10 years or more, and still prove to be sound and workable.
Itthipol said his vision includes making Pattaya a world-renowned international conference center, and a center for sport. Tourism should place more focus on families. The natural environment is a major attraction, and it needs to be carefully protected, in which case it would attract even more international visitors.
There are four main areas that need radical development, said Itthipol: safety, narcotics elimination, traffic, and education. Pattaya City would request direct support from parliament in developing its strategy.
The last of the three candidates, Ms Alisa Phantusak, had a different viewpoint to the others, with 10 years of experience in the Pattaya tourism business, and one previous year of experience in politics on the Constitution Drafting Commission.
Many of the city’s problems stem from people having insufficient incomes. This means that education is important so that when people leave school, they would have a better choice of employment and the opportunity to earn more money. Consequently, this means better schools, vocational schools and colleges.
Importance must be given to attracting quality tourists to Pattaya, and that means having better educated personnel to serve them. Training for the tourism industry is very important.
Regarding traffic, there needs to be a more coherent system, and there has to be a better public transport system so that people would be more inclined to leave their cars and motorcycles at home. Pattaya City needs a separate bike lane, and a tram powered with electricity and biodiesel. The idea of a tunnel at Sukhumvit Road is a good one, and there have to be more connecting roads at Sukhumvit Road. Better parking facilities would also be important in reducing the traffic chaos.

Ms Jomkwan Laopetch (back left) moderates the debate.

Alisa Phantusak gains in popularity as she sets out her party policies

Pattaya citizens know what is needed from their mayor, she says

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Miss Alisa Phantusak, leader of the Pattaya Fa Mai (New Sky) Party and a candidate running for the position of mayor in the election early next month, has set out detailed policies and appears to be gaining in popularity amongst the electorate.
During a media conference on March 25, Alisa pointed out that it could actually be seen as a virtue to be unassociated with any of the large political parties for support, and to be able to present herself as a true representative of the people.
She is, she said, a Pattaya native herself, and understands the desires and the concerns of the ordinary Pattaya citizen.

Alisa Phantusak, head of the Pattaya Fa Mai Group and candidate for Pattaya mayor.

Speaking to the press at Tiffany’s Theater, of which she is a director, said that she was ready for the election and that her Fa Mai Party had drawn up policies that they are now presenting to the electorate.
She said that with Pattaya growing so quickly, and with so many children now living here, the present generation had always to consider the up-and-coming generation and to plan ahead for them in terms of infrastructure, public utilities, traffic, public health, the environment, and of course education.
All of these sectors have their own very apparent problems, she said, but there have not yet been any tangible solutions.
Alisa said that by viewing these concerns through the eyes of a resident, and by having a team of specialists from the Pattaya Fa Mai Party analyze the problems and potential solutions, the issues could be resolved without thinking of the political benefits.
She said that although there has been only a brief period for the party to draw up its policies, they are based on reality and on the views of local people that have been openly discussed for a long time.
Alisa said that she has had a very favorable response regarding the party’s plans, and has the genuine desire to work for society without the need to indulge in obscure political practices or in corrupt methods.
Alisa said that the overall policy has been divided into nine main issues.
Involving the people of Pattaya in the administrative process would be the first policy, opening the way for a continuing dialog between the population and the administration that would lead to effective administration and fairness in allocating budgets. There would be a period every 60 days in which members of the public would be able to examine the working processes of the administration.
Education forms the second policy, said Alisa. New initiatives would include a college for tourism that would train to international level and would include the teaching of foreign languages, cookery, tourism business management, and the psychology of the hospitality industry. The school system would be further developed to give the children a better working knowledge of the community outside the classroom and thereby make them more productive and responsible individuals when they left school.
Public health would come under Fa Mai’s third category, and the developments would include more free medical checkups under international standards. This would include a mobile clinic service.
On the quality of life, the fourth category, there would be an emphasis on the stamping out of criminal behavior, the prevention of the spread of narcotics, and the development of programs that would enhance the lives of the young, of women, of the elderly, and of the disabled.
Regarding the economy, the fifth category, it should always be kept in mind that Pattaya residents are partners in Pattaya’s economy. More guidance needs to be provided for the large and growing workforce, including providing help in finding appropriate occupations. This would involve many aspects, all working together to form more employment opportunities for the local people.
On tourism, the sixth category, there needs to be more emphasis on long-stay programs and on promoting Pattaya as a residential city.
The traffic problem is not a problem about vehicles and roads, it is a people problem, said Alisa speaking about the seventh category. There has to be an integrated approach to the traffic system. This would require expert help. But it would also be about changing the attitudes of road users, making them more responsible and more disciplined.
On the environment, the eighth category, Pattaya City needs a substantial reduction of toxic fumes, more greenery in public areas, ways to reduce the number of vehicles in the city center, and more and better public transport.
Finally, the ninth category regards the water supply, a continual source of worry for residents and business alike for many years now. There must be more raw water resources. A program would be drawn up with the Royal Irrigation Department and the Provincial Waterworks Authority.
There is no doubt Alisa is proving to be a popular candidate, and with the release of her party’s policies, she is shaping up as a formidable candidate.

Worries for island in the sun as tourists overload facilities

Enduring problems of garbage disposal and water shortages

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Koh Samet is enjoying fully booked hotels and all the trappings of tourism success during this busy Songkran season, although the inevitable problems of garbage disposal and water shortages are rearing their heads.

Koh Samet is still popular with Thai tourists, too.
Hoteliers on the island are reporting almost 100 percent full bookings at this period, with the weather good and people enjoying their holiday breaks.
However, the head of the Administrative Section for Khao Laem Ya and Mu Koh Samet National Park, Sumet Saitong, has begged tourists not to bring styrofoam boxes to the island, because of the concerns over this form of waste blighting the natural attractions of the island and its environs.
Another potentially large problem is the water in the reservoir on Koh Samet, which is drying up at the moment. The park authorities are preparing to temporarily close the reservoir to prevent it from cracking. Businesses have to buy their water from the mainland.
Garbage disposal is another problem. During a normal weekend, the garbage is readied for transportation and usually consists of only 5 tons. During the holiday seasons, this doubles to 10 tons.
Sumet says that for those using the ocean and the beaches, safety is an important factor. Rescue personnel have been organized to patrol the beach, ready to help anyone who may get into difficulties in the water, and to prevent boats coming into the section where buoys have been deployed to indicate where it is safe to bathe.
Safety is also being monitored on the ferries that bring in the visitors, with inspectors ensuring there are sufficient lifejackets and that the boats are not overloaded.
Bangsaen Beach is especially crowded, and Saensuk Municipality Mayor Sawat Hompleum says that all business operators along the beach must help each other in keeping the tourist areas clean.

Once known only to locals, Koh Samet now enjoys
a large international clientele.

No longer an exclusive, private getaway,
Koh Samet is now a crowded beach resort.