Boonlua Chatree
A prominent Pattaya businessman was scammed of nearly 500,000 baht by a smooth-talking woman masquerading as a Bangkok Bank credit card agent.
Real estate owner Kriangrit Panitsri, 74, a friend of Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Sanan Kajornprasart, told police Jan. 11 that he’d been at home when he received a call from a woman saying a 50,000 baht charge to his credit card at the Siam Paragon department store in Bangkok had been declined and that he still owned Bangkok Bank the funds.

Kriangrit Panitsri (right) shows details of the scam to police.

Kriangrit, who owns several apartments and a stable in Pattaya, denied that he’d used the card and informed the woman he always paid using transfer from his daughter’s Kasikorn Thai Bank account. The woman apologized, saying it was probably a misunderstanding, but would need the bank account details to correct the problem. Once Kriangrit supplied the information, she told him he’d need to visit an ATM where she’d given him further instructions to allow him to file a claim with the Bank of Thailand and Bangkok Bank.
Believing the call was legitimate, Kriangrit went to an ATM in front of the Pattaya Police Highway Box and, for about five minutes, entered in information the woman instructed him to. It wasn’t until after he hung up and checked his balance that he discovered that 418,058 baht had been withdrawn from his account.
He then contacted police and Kasikorn, which traced the transfer to Kasikorn’s Ratchada branch in Bangkok and account holder Hiran Pakhiwuti, 42. The evidence was forwarded to the Crime Suppression bureau for Region 2 which is trying to track down the fraudsters and Kriangrit’s money.
He said he plans to give any money recovered to the officers that catch the perpetrator and that he wanted the case publicized so others would not fall into the same trap.

Man on 1st trip to Pattaya dies of heart attack

Boonlua Chatree
A Swedish man on his first trip to Pattaya collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack at a Third Road pub.
Lars Vilhelm Lyngarth, 61, was pronounced dead by Sawang Boriboon Foundation Pattaya medics Jan. 7 at the Bliss Lounge bar and restaurant.
Restaurant employee Tanaporn Sasen said Lyngarth had told her he had come to Pattaya to celebrate his retirement. He’d come to the restaurant to meet a friend, who was late. Lyngarth complained his back hurt and was going to see a doctor. But as he left the bar, he collapsed on the sidewalk.
The deceased’s friend then arrived and called for help, but the man had died, presumably of a heart attack, although the body was sent for an autopsy to confirm the cause of death.

Couple arrested for Sriracha murder of Singaporean businessman

Boonlua Chatree
Sriracha police have arrested two people and are searching for a third believed to have robbed and killed a Singaporean businessman then dumped his nude body in a field near the Pruksachat Village construction site.

Police bring in one of the suspects in the murder of Singaporean businessman Teo Ah Yau.

Wirat Pluksuwan, 47, and Benchama Samerwong, 29, were taken into custody Jan. 13 at their Sriracha apartment. There officers recovered a 21-inch Samsung TV and CD player. A necklace and 3,000 baht were also reportedly stolen from the victim, 65-year-old Teo Ah Yau.
The couple admitted they’d conspired to rob Teo with the help of a third man, identified only as “Tee.” An arrest warrant has been issued for the man whose only known address is the Sriracha Market.
Teo’s naked body was discovered early Jan. 12 by villagers near the Prukasachat Project 5 building site. His hands and feet were bound with nylon rope, his head covered and a belt tied around his neck. Forensics examiners determined, however, he died of a blow to the head. Left behind here the man’s bank book, passport and worthless personal items.
Witnesses reported seeing a six-wheeled vehicle arrive at the site around midnight and a hearing an argument between a man and woman. The vehicle left about 20 minutes later.
Teo had been married to a Thai woman since 1986 and officers searched his home to discover clues behind his death. There they discovered items were missing and interviewed neighbors who reported seeing a couple arrive on an unlicensed motorbike. The pair went inside after which an argument ensued. Neighbors said the couple later left carrying a black plastic bag with something inside. Teo left shortly after and was not seen again.

Loan sharks accused of home shooting surrender to Chonburi police

Ruangsak “Oh” Sukpree, 31, and Tanaphum “Kaek” Ruanglek, 26, (both seated, right) have turned themselves in to police to face illegal money lending charges.

Boonlua Chatree
Two alleged loan sharks accused of shooting up a late-paying client’s Nongprue home have turned themselves in to Chonburi Police.
Ruangsak “Oh” Sukpree, 31, and Tanaphum “Kaek” Ruanglek, 26, surrendered with their lawyer Jan. 7 and were charged with illegal money lending.
The two are still being investigated for alleged assault Jan. 5 on the home of Nopawan Buacharoen, 38, who told police she’d borrowed 20,000 baht from Tanaphum but soon had trouble making the 60 percent interest payments. Three weeks ago men collecting on the loan shark’s behalf had ransacked her home, she said, but after she’d filed a police complaint the trouble had stopped.
That was until two armed assailants blasted out her windows and filled her truck with bullets. Police found at least ten 9mm casings and numerous 12-gauge shotgun shells on her Soi Mabyailia 24 property.
Forensic experts with the Royal Thai Police are processing the evidence that could connect the pair to the shooting.
Police urged the public not to use illegal money lenders and if they do and encounter violence to swiftly report it to police.

Three Chihuahuas stand watch over dead owner

Patcharapol Panrak
Three Chihuahuas owned by a motorcycle taxi driver in Sattahip made sure no one messed with the body of their master after he died of a heart attack.

Two of the three protective dogs look on from inside a cage.

Despite their tiny size, the three canines kept police and medics away from the body of 61-year-old Somyot Chatnak, which medics found lying on the floor of his home Jan. 12. Officials finally scooped up the most-steadfast of the barking beats, “Dam,” in a mosquito net and were able to attend to the corpse.
A friend of the dead driver said Somyot had lived with the three Chihuahuas for years and that every night around 2 a.m. he normally went to work at a taxi stand at Sattahip Market. When he didn’t show up for work, his friend called authorities. Police suspect the man died of a heart attack.

Three arrested outside Foodland for drug dealing

Theerarak Suthatiwong
Chonburi police have arrested two Thai men and a woman suspected of dealing methamphetamines to Pattaya teenagers.

The three suspects are brought into the station to face drug dealing charges.

Nariasa Brukel, 28, Kalchanok Pansri, 22, and Thongchai Suksanit, 20, were taken into custody during a sting operation in front of the Foodland supermarket on Central Road Jan. 13. Officers seized 15 ya ba tablets, 1.12 g of ya ice, a .357 handgun loaded with six rounds of ammunition and a mobile telephone.
Police investigators arrested the trio after setting up a fake drug buy from them. The three admitted they had bought the drugs for resale from a dealer in Rayong.

Army gains agricultural training tips from Navy

Patcharapol Panrak
Royal Thai Army officials visited their counterparts at Sattahip’s Recruit Training Center to observe the Agricultural Learning Center there with an eye toward instituting a similar program at their own conscript base.
Lt. Gen. Tanayot Pringthongfoo of the Army’s Co-operation and Development Training Process Division led the group to the Navy center January 11. There they saw how the Navy is promoting HM the King’s “sufficiency economy” philosophy by teaching recruits to generate food and income from the land.
Army officials observed a demonstration of a rice field and housewife activities to raise income. More than 10,000 Navy troops a year participate in the program to gain knowledge they can apply to their lives once their military service is complete.
Tanayot said the Army is currently mapping out its plans for a sufficiency economy training program at the Army Recruit Training Center. Learning how the Navy carries out its program will help in curriculum development, he said.

Royal Thai Army officials visit their counterparts at Sattahip’s Recruit Training Center to learn about the Navy’s Agricultural Learning Center.

300 Sattahip students take in millennium’s longest annual eclipse

Under the watchful eye of Sattahip School Vice Principal Tawee Sukkaew, students don’t look at the sun unless their eyes are well protected.

Patcharapol Panrak
About 300 Sattahip students armed with telescopes assembled on the facility’s athletic field to witness last week’s annular solar eclipse.
The spectacle, in which the moon passed in front of the sun without completely covering it, allowed people from Thailand to Africa to see the star’s fiery annulus, provided they took care to protect their eyes and camera lenses.
Sattahip School Vice Principal Tawee Sukkaew was there to do just that, leading students to the field to learn how to safely observe, and then analyze, the eclipse using telescopes from the Science Department.
While annular eclipses are common during the winter months, when the moon is too close to the earth to completely obstruct the sun, the Jan. 15 event was one for the ages: It was the longest eclipse at one point for the next 1,000 years.
Students were able to view the eclipse thanks to filters attached to their telescopes. Others looked up at the sky safely through Mylar sheets and even non-printed DVDs.
The duration of “annularity” - the time the moon was in front of the sun - clocked in at 11 minutes and eight seconds beginning at 2:06 p.m., making it the longest eclipse that will be seen until Dec. 23, 3043.

PM in Maptaphut: Industrial development should not affect residents’ health

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Saturday inspected the country’s largest industrial estate, Maptaphut in Rayong, pledging that industrial development must go hand-in-hand with concern for local residents’ health.
The premier commented as he presided at the opening ceremony of the Occupational Medicine and Environmental Medicine Centre at Rayong amid tight security as anti-government protesters from the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) protested against him nearby.
The Administrative Court earlier ordered 76 Maptaphut projects to temporarily halt operating amid continued concerns that critical environmental and health impacts had not been properly addressed. This came after the Stop Global Warming Association and 43 local residents filed a complaint with the court seeking an emergency hearing and an injunction to put on hold all projects in the industrial zone.
The Court later allowed 11 of the 76 projects to continue operating, with 65 remaining shuttered, while the Abhisit government set up a four-party panel to resolve the Maptaphut problems, chaired by former prime minister, Anand Panyarachun.
Abhisit said in his speech that the urgent task of the government is to monitor the health of people living in the Maptaphut area, saying that the development of industry and environment should be simultaneously carried out.
“When the Administrative Court ordered the suspension of the Maptaphut industrial projects,” Abhisit said, “the government solved the problem by issuing regulations to oversee those projects and establishing a centre to monitor the health impact on local residents.”
The premier asserted that his government is proactive in solving the problem, reiterating that the development of industry must proceed continuously along with the care of the health of the public.
Abhisit expressed confidence that the government will successfully bring about a good understanding among the business and investment community so that they can run industrial projects within the controlled area and that economic well-being should be in harmony with the environment.
The Centre of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Medicine will monitor the health impacts on some 13,000 Maptaphut residents who may become ill during their work or detect diseases caused by pollution and chemical leaks in the industrial estate.
It was reported that after the centre opening ceremony the premier visited and talked with local residents, while the health ministry dispatched a medical mobile unit to provide health checks for them.
The premier commented on the planned meeting with representatives of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) scheduled for Tuesday saying that he is willing to discuss with them on how the situation will be solved and how to move forward.
“Now the solution to the problem is clearer. I believe that the investors will understand that we have not issued the law to restrict their investment,” said Abhisit, “but that Thailand should have better environmental standards. Many countries are doing similar things.” (TNA)

Chiang Mai Open Zoo officials get tips from Nong Nooch, Tiger Zoo

Patcharapol Panrak
Preparing for planned daytime operations, officials from the Chiang Mai Night Safari came to the Eastern Seaboard to see how its various animal parks and zoos operate.
CMNS Academic Committee member Thongchai Wongwaipanit led administrators and staff on tours of Nong Nooch Tropical Garden and Elephant Park, Sriracha Tiger Zoon and Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Sriracha Jan. 7.

Officials from the Chiang Mai Night Safari tour Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens.

Nong Nooch Director Kampol Tansatcha summarized garden’s approach to managing its animals and customer service.
Thongchai said the Chiang Mai facility is looking to open during the day to become more like a regular zoo as part a nationwide effort to boost tourism, particularly for visitors interested in animal preservation. Daytime operations would also benefit local students participating in field trip, he said.