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Thai Navy ship visits Vietnam
Thai women wearing Vietnamese
traditional attire present a bouquet
of flowers to mission commander Rear Adm. Worasak Channu.
Patcharapol Panrak
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Goodwill exchanges and navigation
training topped the agenda when a Royal Thai Navy vessel embarked on a
week-long mission to Vietnam last week.
The HTMS Pattani, carrying military personnel, the media and politicians
from Chonburi, Rayong, Chantaburi, and Trat made Thailand’s fifth voyage to
the Viet republic June 14-21 in a mission aimed at keeping up friendly ties
and giving seamen hands-on training in mapping out sea routes and following
geography along the 630 nautical mile journey.
The 42-hour voyage to Ho Chi Minh City saw the Pattani reach the mouth of
the Mekong River on the second night of the journey. It was then guided the
72 kilometers along the shallow and delicate channel to Saigon Port by river
pilot.
Vietnamese officials and groups of Thai businesspeople and government
officials, led by Assistant Navy Ambassador to Vietnam Wipak Noichinda met
the Pattani as it docked. Thai women wearing Vietnamese traditional attire
presented a bouquet of flowers to mission commander Rear Adm. Worasak Channu
and his troops. The crew then disembarked for tours and meetings.
At the June 14 bon voyage ceremony, Vice Adm. Chaiyawat Puggarat said both
countries have shared a long, friendly relationship and Thai ships
traditionally have been greeted with a fine reception dinner and shipboard
party featuring military, government and private sector companies. It’s a
great chance, he said, to exchange opinions on national issues.
Such missions also help improve safety on the high seas through better
communication and cooperation, Chaiyawat added.
Banks close July 1
Wednesday, July 1 is the annual Mid-year closing of all
banks. This is a bank holiday, and not a public holiday, so other offices
and businesses will still be open. Many currency exchange booths will also
be open, but all major bank branches will be closed for the day.
Railroad highway opens
with lights, one-way traffic
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome
pushes the button activating traffic lights along
the railroad track roads.
Pramote Channgam
Motorists accustomed to cruising along the roads straddling the
area’s railroad tracks got a surprise last week when they had to begin
stopping for cross traffic after the city turned on the improved roadway’s
traffic signals.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome and other area officials marked the opening of the
16.5 km one-way roads from Krathinglai Junction (National Road No. 36) to
Huay Yai Junction June 15. The hope is the new roads will reduce traffic on
Sukhumvit Road, despite continuing snarls at intersections.
Itthiphol said the decision to make the eastern and western route each one
way should ease congestion during rush hours. He urged police to be vigilant
in enforcing the one-way rules, issuing warnings for a first-offense and
tickets afterward.
Residents, particularly those on the western side of the tracks, have
complained that the one-way rules make getting to and from home cumbersome,
as they now need to drive a distance before making a u-turn.
Light post collapses
on Dongtan Beach
Residents want officials to
repair broken light posts
that are dropping near the beach.
Patcharapol Panrak
Tourists and residents near Dongtan Beach are complaining that city
officials still have not repaired a number of fallen and damaged light poles
or cleaned the area of its increasing amount of garbage.
The light poles, some of which are barely standing, threaten to injure or
kill passing pedestrians. Many fixtures were apparently damaged in recent
storms.
Local visitors to the beach say storms have also seriously eroded the
beachfront, leaving no sand in some places. What was left of shoreline was
covered in plastic and broken bottles. Some light poles are now threatening
to fall due to their sandy foundation being washed away.
Other locals complained that poles further down the beach are badly rusted
and are threatening to fall. Moreover, live electric wires were seen
protruding from some poles.
Amazing Thailand 2009
sale gets underway
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
As far as the Tourism Authority of Thailand is concerned,
Thailand is still “amazing” but with so few people visiting this low
season the time is right for a really big sale.
 The
Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 2009 is on from now until August 31.
TAT, in collaboration with Pattaya City Hall and leading shopping
centers launched the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale at Central Festival
Pattaya Beach June 13. More than 200 retailers and organizations are
participating in the country-wide promotion, including department
stores, hospitals, travel agencies, airlines, hotels, golf courses,
spas, duty-free shops and jewelry stores.
It’s actually the 11th year of the Amazing Thailand Sale but this year,
according to TAT tourism investment director Pornthip Onnoom, the
shopping bonanza has special significance. The objective is to
jump-start tourism in Pattaya amid global economic and domestic
political woes. Hopes are the sale positions Thailand as one of Asia’s
better shopping destinations.
The sale runs through Aug. 31.
Governor urges Banglamung
headmen to adapt to challenges
Staff reporters
Adapt or wither away. That’s the basic message Chonburi Gov.
Senee Jittakasem brought with him to last week’s meeting with
Banglamung’s district headsmen. The area needs to keep up with growth
and the problems that go with it or see Pattaya’ image deteriorate.
In the June 18 session with district leaders, as well as area doctors
and government officials, Senee solicited opinions on how to repair
damage done to the area’s reputation from this month’s outbreak of the
A(H1N1) flu, as well as other forces working against tourism.
The governor said everyone needs to be flexible enough to adapt to the
rapid changes going on globally and locally, such as pollution,
increasing traffic, garbage handling, drug abuse, crime, and other
societal problems. He suggested that looking to Buddhist teachings could
help officials better understand the nature of change and find ways to
aid local residents and visitors.
The governor said the province is working hard to fix damage done by the
2009 flu, and implored local leaders to pass on information that
although H1N1 is not as dangerous as rumors suggest, everyone should
work together to prevent the virus’ further spread.
Traffic jams at railroad-highway
intersections to persist up to 4 months
Traffic jams at Local Road
intersections have local people up in arms.
Pramote Channgam
Motorists using streets connected to the newly upgraded roadways
straddling Pattaya’s railroad tracks will have to endure up to four months
of long lights and backups until a computerized traffic-control system is
complete.
Complaints from drivers, business and residents affected by installation of
new traffic lights and one way-only rules for the 16.5 km of highways have
inundated Pattaya City Hall and local Internet forums, with people
complaining about 15-minute delays at intersections.
A rush-hour drive along the new road - which city hall has named “Local
Road” - found severe traffic backups along many side streets. A queue at the
Soi Nernplabwan / Local Road intersection stretched 200 meters up the soi.
Soi Siam Country Club and Soi Khao Noi were similarly affected.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh said traffic jams will be eased by
installation of an “area traffic control” system that measures traffic and
adjusts lights accordingly. However, he said, the project will not be
complete for three to four months.
While complaints from residents and businesses affected by the traffic
snarls are rampant, not everyone is upset.
Piamsak, a motorbike taxi driver on Soi Siam Country Club, lauded the change
to traffic rules, saying it made the roadway safer. He did say he thinks the
lights should be shorter, however.
“All of these complaints are most likely from people just getting used to
the new lights,” he said. “People haven’t gotten used to it yet.”
The East and West Local Road construction project started from Krathinglai
Junction (National Road No. 36) and runs to Huay Yai Junction and includes
15 intersections.
Thailand must crack down on
private-sector corruption: NCCC
Vimolrat Singnikorn
If Thailand is ever going to shed its image for widespread
corruption, a serious crackdown on businesses, as well as politicians and
bureaucrats, needs to be made, the head of National Counter Corruption
Commission says.
 Panthep
Klanarongrang, director of the Office of the National Counter Corruption
Commission.
A June 17 NCCC seminar at Pattaya’s Aisawan Resort and Spa addressed the
corruption problem in Chonburi, Chachoengsao, Chantaburi, Rayong, Trat,
Prachinburi, and Sra Kaew.
Duangporn Rujirek, NCCC deputy secretary-general, said corruption has
persisted for too long among three groups: politicians, bureaucrats and
businesses. Past anti-graft campaigns have focused mostly on the public
sector, she said. A new effort needs to be made to stamp out private sector
sleaze.
“Serious measures must be implemented in order to solve the problem,”
Duangporn said. Private sector corruption comes in many forms, such as
corporate loans to friends and cronies or profit-transfer scams that cheat
regular shareholders, she added.
 Duangporn
Rujirek, NCCC deputy secretary general, said corruption affects all aspects
of society.
NCCC Director Panthep Klanarongrang said corruption is
damaging Thailand’s economy, society, political system and future
development.
The United Nation’s endorsed Global Corruption Index by Berlin-based
Transparency International ranked Thailand 84th out of 179 nations in 2008.
Its score of 3.5 out of 10 on the index where 0 is best put Thailand as the
10th most corrupt country in Asia. The group’s 2009 study will focus on
private-sector corruption.
NCC inspections and discussions have already been held in Phuket and Khon
Kaen and will take place in Chiang Mai in July.
American man drugged
by 3 Thai women
Boonlua Chatree
A 65-year-old American man who invited three Thai women he met on
the bus back to his hotel room for a party woke up with an exceptional
headache and all his money gone.
 Hallacy
reports the crime to police.
Tim Carl Hallacy told police June 11 he’d met the trio on the bus from
Bangkok the afternoon before. They agreed to join him at the Rinya House and
Kitchen Hotel for some beers.
He said woke up the next morning and found not only were the women gone, but
so was 10,000 baht cash, $3,750 in U.S. currency and travelers checks, his
ATM card and mobile phone. He said the vixens spiked his drink.
Police took Hallacy’s report and are searching for the troika of thieves.
Baby left at food shop
Officials begin to care for the abandoned child.
Boonlua Chatree
A month-old infant is now a ward of the state after its mother was
imprisoned and its guardian abandoned the child in a Pattaya restaurant.
Somrudee Kongpetchsak, owner of the Khun Lek Dungderm restaurant called
police June 16 after 34-year-old Chaninart Paerpipat left the baby, two
bags, diapers and its birth certificate on a table.
Somrudee told police that as she was setting up shop for the day, Chaninart
came into her restaurant and said she wanted to leave the child there, as
she could no longer afford to care for it. Somrudee refused, thinking the
infant might have been stolen. Chaninart showed the woman her identification
card and the baby’s birth certificate and explained that the mother, who
works in the same beer bar as her, is now in prison for robbery. Somrudee
still refused to take the child, saying she already has children of her own.
Undaunted, Chaninart simply left the child and its belongings on the table
and walked out. Somrudee then called police.
Upon investigating, Supagon Noja, director of Pattaya’s Youth Protection and
Development Center, determined that the child’s mother, 25-year-old Jutharat
Heukkhuntod, was indeed in prison. The baby, Pipobpat Heukkhuntod, was born
on May 19 at Banglamung Hospital. The infant has now been taken to
Banglamung Home until a new home can be found.
Police hunt for identity
of skeleton found
on Jomtien Beach
Patcharapol Panrak
Investigators are stumped over the identity of skeletal remains that
washed up on Jomtien Beach earlier this month.
Sunbathers outside a Jomtien hotel found a human hip and leg bone still
wearing red J-Press brand underwear around 8:30 a.m. June 6.
Police questioned local residents in an attempt to find out if anyone had
gone missing recently. An old fisherman, whose boat has been found, as well
as Wiwat Thiraronkorrahul, a 35-year-old dive instructor who drowned with a
student near Samae San last month, are the only two known to have
disappeared.
Police believe, however, the bones are likely from a foreigner due to size
and the brand of underwear and will have to resort to DNA testing to
determine the identity. Winds and tides could have carried the bones from
either Pattaya or Sattahip, authorities said.
The bones will be kept at the Sawang Rotjanathamasathan Foundation’s
Sattahip office. If anyone suspects the identity of the deceased, they can
contact the Na Jomtien Police Station.
Police search for rapist
who gave victim 20 baht
Boonlua Chatree
Police are searching for a Thai man who allegedly raped a
19-year-old woman near a Jomtien Beach temple, then drove her back to the
highway and gave her 20 baht to get home.
 “Taew”
reports to police that she had been raped and dumped by the side of the
road.
“Taew,” originally from Surin, told police on June 10 she had just gotten
off a baht bus at the beginning of Sukhumvit Soi 55 in central Pattaya when
she was approached by a man named “Boy” on a motorbike. After chatting with
him, she accepted his offer of a ride to see her friend working in a Pattaya
hotel.
However, Boy then began a tour of tiny side streets, heading into Jomtien
and eventually stopping at Khao Shechan next to Wat Yan in Jomtien. There he
allegedly dragged her off the bike, punched her in the face, strangled her
and raped her without a condom, all the while threatening to kill her if she
screamed. Afterwards he took her back to the entrance to Sukhumvit and gave
her 20 baht, telling her he’d come back and kill her if she told anyone.
The woman was taken to Banglamung Hospital for examination and police are
searching for the man based on a description the victim provided.
Distressed German man,
70, commits suicide
Patcharapol Panrak
His wife and doctors had seen it coming, but no amount of
observation or care could stop Klaus Hofmeister from following through on
threats to kill himself.
The 70-year-old German man was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted
gunshot wound at his Jomtien home June 17. A .38-caliber pistol and the one
bullet fired from it lay nearby. His hand and mouth showed signs of gun
powder residue.
Hofmeister’s wife, 36-year-old Daorung Saowapan cried uncontrollably and
fainted during questioning from Pol. Lt. Col. Krit Siriprasertchok,
commander at the Jomtien Police Station. It wasn’t the first time he’d tried
this, she said. A month ago, severely distressed and overmedicated, he’d
downed 30 sleeping pills but doctors had saved his life.
Hofmeister had suffered from gout for two decades but doctors recently
warned him he was taking too much medicine for his condition. His mental
state was also fragile, both from his painful condition and stress from an
impending visit from his overseas son-in-law.
Daorung said that ever since his May suicide attempt her husband had said he
wanted to die. He’d been under close watch since.
The Thai woman said she’d been watching TV and the house was quiet the night
of the shooting. Hofmeister took a shower and then went into the bedroom. A
short while later she heard the shot. His body was sent to authorities for
an autopsy.
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