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Happy Birthday HRH Princess Chulabhorn
Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn graciously presides
over the “Recent Progress in Cancer Therapeutics” symposium at the
Chulabhorn Convention Center in Bangkok. (Photo courtesy of the Bureau of
the Royal Household)
by Peter Cummins
Special Correspondent, Pattaya Mail
Born on July 4, 1957, Her Royal Highness Princess
Chulabhorn is the youngest daughter of Their Majesties King Bhumibol
Adulyadej the Great and Queen Sirikit of Thailand and herself has two
daughters, the princesses Siribhachudhabhorn and Adityadhornkitikhun.
Princess Chulabhorn graduated from the Faculty of Science
and Arts at Kasetsart University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Organic Chemistry, First Class Honours, in 1979, following with a doctorate
in 1985, being awarded a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Organic Chemistry
from Mahidol University in July of that year, capping off a record of
excellent academic achievement.
In 1986, she was appointed as an Honorary Fellow of the
Royal Society of Chemistry in London and was awarded the Einstein Gold Medal
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO).
Pattaya Mail Media on July 4 joins the Kingdom in humbly
wishing a Happy Birthday to a most remarkable person, Her Royal Highness
Princess Chulabhorn. For more interesting reading about the life of HRH
Princess Chulabhorn, please turn to page 5. (Photo courtesy Bureau of the
Royal Household)
The following year, she undertook post-doctoral studies
in Germany, and has since been a visiting professor at universities in
Japan, Germany, and the United States, as well as holding Honorary
Doctorates from nine universities around the world.
Her Royal Highness is chairperson of the Working Group on
the Chemistry of Natural Products collaborative program between the Japanese
Society for the Promotion of Science and the National Research Council of
Thailand.
HRH the Princess has received international recognition
for her scientific accomplishments, resulting in her appointment to various
United Nations posts, namely special advisor to the United Nations
Environment Program and member of the Special High-Level Council for the
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction of the United Nations.
As a result of her experience as a scientist, HRH the
Princess became aware of the difficulties Thai researchers have in obtaining
the necessary funding for their research and so, in 1987, she established
the Chulabhorn Research Institute to provide a new fund-raising agency for
such research.
This institute now acts as a focal point for the exchange
of intellectual and other resources in Thailand, for the purpose of solving
urgent problems confronting the country in areas of health, environment, and
agriculture.
As president of the Chulabhorn Research Institute, HRH
the Princess currently directs five special research projects; the AIDS
program, a programme on restoration and integrated development of the
flood-affected areas in Southern Thailand, seawater irrigation for
cultivation of economic marine species and preservation of the mangrove
forests, a rabies eradication programme, with a special project for
accelerated immunization in five southern provinces in Thailand.
Through these programs HRH the Princess plays an
auspicious role in improving the environment and living standards of the
villagers in a number of Thai provinces.
One of the vitally-important duties HRH the Princess has
undertaken in the immediate past has been the establishment of the Ban
Namsai Community Project, to assist the victims of the 2004 tsunami, by
applying the expertise of the biotechnology and sea life experience of the
Department of Sea and Coastal Resources of the Chulabhorn Research Institute
to alleviate the suffering of the people affected by this freak of nature.
On the occasion of HM the Queen’s sixth cycle,
seventy-second birthday on 12 August 2004, and the 30th anniversary of the
founding of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand, HRH the
Princess presided over and presented the Third Thai-China Relationship
Concerts in October 2005 at different locations in the Kingdom.
Five years ago, on her fourth cycle, forty-eighth
birthday, HRH the Princess delivered the address, Innovative Scientific
Paradigms in Cancer Chemotherapy, aimed at supporting researchers and
scientists at the highest levels of Biomedical and Life Sciences in
Thailand.
The honoured Innovative Scientific Paradigms in Cancer
Chemotherapy speech for HRH Princess Chulabhorn was held for the third time.
The Chulabhorn Research Institute, in collaboration with
the Royal Thai Ministries of Health and the Environment, held a
broad-ranging Technical Subjects Meeting on the Environment of Asia and the
Pacific, held in Manila, December 2005. Representatives of many Asia-Pacific
countries, vitally interested in the affects of waste, pollution and other
toxic substances on the environment and health, contribute to this important
area of human development.
More recently, HRH the Princess delivered the keynote
address to participants at the Fifth International Symposium on
Chromatography of Natural Products, at the Polish Academy of Science and the
Phytochemical Society of Europe, held at the Medical University of Lublin,
Poland.
But, probably one of the most outstanding events in the
life of this talented and hard-working Princess - especially in view of the
60th anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol’s accession to the Thai Throne
celebrated a few years ago - is the day, some 19 years ago, when she went to
Cambridge, near Boston, Massachusetts.
Cambridge is generally known as home of the prestigious
Harvard University. But for the Thai people, the name of the city also
brings a special warm feeling, for it is where the country’s beloved Monarch
was born. When HRH Princess Chulabhorn visited the city, it was more than a
personal sentimental visit to her father’s birthplace. It was an official
occasion of pride and was joy both for Thais and for the citizens of
Cambridge: the inauguration of the King Bhumibol Square in honour of “Baby
Songkhla”, as His Majesty was identified on his birth certificate at the Mt
Auburn Hospital in 1927, when his father HRH Prince Songkhla was a medical
student in the United States.
The city of Cambridge passed a resolution, “by
acclamation” to dedicate “King Bhumibol Square”, in recognition of the
King’s birth in Cambridge, as well as to acknowledge his world-renowned
achievements and dedication to the welfare of the Thai people - as was
overwhelmingly demonstrated by the huge number of royal guests who came to
Thailand to honour our King on the 60th anniversary of His accession to the
Thai Throne. Hundreds of Thais and Americans crowded in to the new Bhumibol
Square to witness the event and the street sign reads: “King Bhumibol
Adulyadej, Born December 5, 1927, Mt. Auburn Hospital, Cambridge,
Massachusetts.” It also bears the “tri-colour” of the Thai flag.
HRH the Princess then delivered a speech to thank the
city of Cambridge. The square, she said, was more than a reminder of His
Majesty’s birth because it also embodied the common goals of both countries
to work for the benefit of humanity.
Thank you HRH Princess Chulabhorn for your own lifetime
of dedication.
All of us at the Pattaya Mail, Pattaya Blatt
and Pattaya Mail Television join the entire Kingdom in wishing
Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn a Most Happy 53rd Birthday on the
fourth of July 2010.
Laem Chabang warns
residents port sea salt
may contain cyanide
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Laem Chabang officials are warning residents not to use
supposedly healthier sea salt found on port-area beaches as it may contain
traces of deadly cyanide.
Chonburi and Laem Chabang health experts took samples of
water, sand and salt from Laem Chabang Beach June 17 after hearing reports
of suspected cyanide poisoning of people who used salt dug up during low
tide for cooking.
Chonburi and Laem Chabang health experts took samples of
water, sand and salt from Laem Chabang Beach June 17 after hearing reports
of suspected cyanide poisoning of people who used salt dug up during low
tide for cooking.
Chonburi Public Health technical expert Chaisak Thepmalee
said tests need to be done to determine if the cyanide resulted from a port
industrial leak or occurred naturally. Cyanide does occur naturally in sea
salt under certain warm-temperature conditions.
Laem Chabang Health Department Director Aree Triratanawet
warned all residents not to use any salt harvested from the beach and
destroy any stock they may have. She said some residents had reported
cyanide’s telltale bitter taste after using it in home-cooked meals.
Suthep Pungklad, headman for Ban Banglamung community,
said some villagers had dug up sea salt - generally safer than refined salt
which actually adds cyanide in a process that strips out many of the natural
mineral benefits of natural salt - and distributed it to coconut farmers who
use it in fertilizer. He said villagers have agreed to turn in their salt
stocks to authorities.
Pattaya eyes bid
for World Expo 2020
Members of the Pattaya Business & Tourism Association
announce plans to put forth a bid to host the World Expo in 2020.
Phasakorn Channgam
Pattaya business leaders want to cap the steady
development of the city’s tourism industry by hosting the World Expo in
2020.
Jamroon Vitsavachaipan, president of the Pattaya Business
& Tourism Association, announced plans to put forth a bid to host the
exposition at the group’s June 16 meeting attended by city officials,
tourism industry leaders and private-sector groups.
Rattanachai Sutidechanai, chairman of the Pattaya City
Council’s Tourism and Sports Committee, said Thailand is very interested in
hosting the expo and will consider bids from Pattaya, Phuket, Ayutthaya,
Chantaburi, Chiang Mai and Petchaburi. Pattaya has already made its initial
presentation to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Actual bids cannot be made until 2011 at the earliest.
Bids must be for a minimum six-month event and must suggest a theme for the
event that is universal, applying to all of humanity. The current World
Expo, running in Shanghai, carries the theme of “Better City, Better Life.”
Pattaya’s plans would have the expo hosted at Thammasat
University’s Pattaya campus, which sits on almost 1,500 rai. The city,
Rattanachai noted, also boasts more than 25,000 3-5 star hotel rooms, is
just 120 km from Suvarnabhumi International Airport and only 30 km from U-Tapao-Pattaya
International Airport. Furthermore, he said, the city already is a
well-known international tourist resort backed by a national development
plan.
Jamroon agreed, noting Pattaya has already proved its
ability to host the World Expo as it has been the site of many international
conventions. Its transportation, utility and support systems all are ready
for the challenge, he said.
Two parties face off for Aug. 1
Najomtien District Council election
Patcharapol Panrak
Two parties plan to field 12 candidates each for the Aug.
1 Najomtien District Council election.
The Najomtien Development Party, led by sub-district
Mayor Sompong Sainapa, will square off against the Najomtien Party, led by
Piyasit Makmee for seats representing sub-districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9.
Both parties filed their candidacies June 23 at the
sub-district offices. General Manager Pattanapong Maskasem drew numbers to
determine which slate of candidates would be listed first on the ballot,
with the Development Party winning the draw.
Pattanapong then laid out the campaign rules for the 24
candidates, stressing the need to keep the area presentable looking.
Campaign placards will only be allowed in front of the Damrongtham Building,
the Najomtien Municipality Office, the fire station, the Ban Amphor Beach
public park, the multipurpose halls at the Najomtien, Wat, Amparam and Khao
Banpenbun temples. No signs can be placed on power poles and all must be
smaller than 130 by 245 cm.
The names of all the candidates are available at
sub-district offices.
Burapha forum looks at ways to
ensure political reconciliation succeeds
Theerarak
Suthathiwong
Thailand’s return to being the “Land of Smiles” can
only happen through respect, tolerance and an open exchange of ideas, a
group of Chonburi residents and Burapha University students were told.
Chonburi Deputy Gov. Songpol Champaphan.
The June 17 “Forum on Patriotism, Unity,
Reconciliation and Ending Deadlock” hosted by the school with Public
Relations Department Zone 7, public assembly, Political Development
Council and King Prajadhipok’s Institute aimed to educate the public on
the details of the prime minister’s “reconciliation” proposal and stress
the importance of settling political differences peacefully.
Hosted by Chonburi Deputy Gov. Songpol Champaphan,
the forum gave about 100 residents and 200 political science, law and
humanities students an opportunity to express their opinions on how to
improve the reconciliation process, unite the Thai people and societal
issues.
Speakers postulated that the use of violence to end
violence - as occurred when the Army moved in to disperse
anti-government red-shirted protestors in Bangkok last month - only
weakens society and incites hatred.
A reconciliation approach - in which people resolve
their differences through respect of truth, impartiality, and religious
and cultural diversity - is necessary, they said, in order to create a
“fair social gap” between people of different backgrounds.
Other requirements for reconciliation to work,
speakers said, were justice, the acceptance of mistakes, forgiveness and
the creation of a forum to exchange ideas.
A memorial honoring those who were hurt or killed by
this year’s unrest would also help to foster discussion and encourage
people to accept differences in society, create trust and solve future
problems peacefully.
Are aliens flying over Pattaya?
Finnish sky diving instructor Jukka Holttinen
recorded
this apparent UFO on his mobile phone.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Add UFOs to the list of strange things seen in Pattaya.
Finnish sky diving instructor Jukka Holttinen gave
alien-conspiracy fanatics another piece of so-called “evidence” June 19 when
he and Pattaya Sky Diving Co. President Chatree Sittisak unveiled for
reporters a grainy video snippet of a dark object crossing the sky over the
Eastern Seaboard. The video was taken on his mobile phone while interviewing
a customer who had just finished a parachute jump. The roughly flat, round
object reflected the bright sun and the blurry picture showed what could
have been a flashing light.
Chatree, who previously headed Pattaya’s Beer Bar
Association, purported the video showed an unidentified flying object.
The 35-year-old Finn said he unearthed his X-File quite
by accident, coming across the object while editing a video he took of a
Danish student after she plummeted from above.
Holttinen said he originally thought the object was an
insect, but the glare in the video made him uncertain. It proved to be more
than enough evidence for Internet UFO watchers, which quickly beamed up the
story, vaulting Pattaya - no stranger to odd visitors - to Area 51-like cult
status.
More scientific-minded online sorts, however, noted such
low-resolution videos come from camera phones with plastic lenses that
capture refracted light or optical illusions. Others speculated the object
was part of a Russian satellite that had broken up in the atmosphere that
day.
In fact, Holttinen’s alleged sighting is far from the
first in the Pattaya area. On St. Patrick’s Day some merry revelers reported
seeing a mysterious orange object float motionlessly over Jomtien Beach
before darting off. And amateur video website YouTube has another purported
UFO sighting recorded in October.
IEAT cracks down on Maptaput safety after chemical spill
Theerarak Suthathiwong
In the wake of several chemical leaks that have sickened
workers and nearby residents, the Industrial Estate of Thailand is cracking
down on 61 businesses in the Maptaput factory district, forcing them to
publicly file safety plans and reassess their disaster preparedness.
IEAT Director Montha Pranutnorapal.
IEAT Director Montha Pranutnorapal called company
representatives to the IEAT headquarters in Rayong June 17 to announce the
new directives. From now on, she said, all area industrial businesses must
regularly perform safety checks and adhere to the guidelines of their
environmental impact assessments. Safety and disaster plans and annual
audits will also have to file publicly and subject to public comment.
The move comes after nearly 300 workers and residents
were hospitalized following a chlorine leak at the Aditya Birla Chemicals
(Thailand) plant June 7. The plant has been closed since and Montha said the
IEAT is still working with the company to improve its safety monitoring and
response plans.
The accident was just one of several this year and to
prevent further problems the industry estate is working on both short- and
long-term strategies.
In the near term, IEAT will map what residents might be
affected by a leak based on wind patterns.
Long-term, the agency wants new risk-management plans
that account for all dangerous chemicals being used, along with their
location and quantity. The plans, which also must asses the risks posed by
each compound, are due within a year.
Furthermore, the monitoring center at the Hemaraj Eastern
Industrial Estate, where the June 7 spill occurred, will patrol and inspect
efforts to restore normal environmental conditions to improve relations with
the nearby community.
Police pledge crackdown after 1,200 arrests for copyright crimes in Pattaya
Phasakorn Channgam
With more than 1,200 arrests in Pattaya for intellectual
property theft already this year, Provincial Police Region 2 and the
Department of Intellectual Property brought in more than 200 law enforcement
officers for a workshop on how to curb copyright crime.
(L to R) Patchima Tanasanti director-general of the
Intellectual Property Department, Pol. Col. Nantawut Suwanla-Ong,
superintendent at the Pattaya Police Station, and Banglamung District Chief
Mongkol Thamakittikhun Banglamung District Chief prepare to address the
workshop.
The June 18 seminar at the Jomtien Garden Hotel in
Pattaya, Patchima Tanasanti, director-general of the Intellectual Property
Department, reviewed for 192 provincial police and 10 commerce officers
copyright rules, regulations and laws. She also suggested methods of
combating copyright infringement.
Patchima said such crime involving clothing, movies,
music and computer software was especially prevalent in tourist areas like
Pattaya.
Police have pledged to step up enforcement of copyright
laws and curb the number of abuses.
Police stage robbery, hostage
drama to sharpen skills
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Two masked gunmen staged a daring daylight robbery of a
South Pattaya gold shop, then took two women hostage while trying to escape
before finally being subdued by police commandos.
Fortunately for both the shopkeeper and hostages, this
tense scene was just a drill staged by Pattaya police to prepare their
various units on how to deal with similar crimes, which increase in
frequency as high season nears.
After subduing the outlaws with simulated tear gas,
Pattaya’s SWAT team moves in to make the arrest.
Crime suppression officials staged the exercise June 18
at the Thanthong Gold Shop, making the drill as realistic as possible with
young masked robbers arriving on motorbikes and fleeing the shop at high
speed after taking a 10-baht chain.
Regular police and patrol officers took the first lead,
coordinating pursuit and capture via radio. The pair of “thieves” was
cornered on Thappraya Road Soi 5 where they ditched the bike and fled on
foot. As uniformed officers closed in, the pair upped the ante, taking two
“hostages.”
It was at that point the Pattaya special weapons and
tactics squad joined the drill, freeing the hostages, recovering the gold
and arresting the subjects.
Deputy Police Superintendent Lt. Col. Tarathep Tupanit
said the exercise was necessary to keep all Pattaya law enforcement units
sharp and maintain Pattaya’s reputation as a safe destination for tourists.
8 sought in loan shark attack on ranking Pattaya policeman
Thawatchai Jitbanthoeng, Visanu Changkrachang and Niran Chamruang
confessed to taking part in the attack of Senior Sgt. Maj.
Prachaub
Prasertsophon.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Police are still seeking eight men for the June 18
beating of the head of Pattaya’s crime suppression unit after three alleged
partners connected to a Chantaburi loan syndicate were arrested.
Thawatchai Jitbanthoeng, 36, of Chantaburi and Takhiantia
residents Visanu Changkrachang, 47, and Niran Chamruang, 42, were caught
watching officers near the Central Pattaya rice porridge restaurant where
Senior Sgt. Maj. Prachaub Prasertsophon was attacked 13 hours before.
The three confessed to the attack, but said it was
instigated by Parpot Prasert, the 34-year-old Rayong-based owner of Sarika
Quick Loan lending service on Soi Chaiyapornwithee that police claim is a
front for the “Pok Chanthaburi” loan shark gang.
The 11 men are alleged to have gone to the Prachanban
rice congee outlet around 2:30 a.m. to shake down Prachaub’s wife, Em-On
Siripong, the guarantor for a 30,000 baht loan by a friend who fled Pattaya
after being unable to make loan payments. For the past month, Em-On told
investigators, she had been making daily 600 baht payments on the loan.
Her involvement with the loan sharks apparently had
caused a rift between the Crime Suppression Department chief and his
45-year-old wife. The two fought earlier in the night and Prachaub had
agreed to meet Em-On after midnight to hash out their differences.
Trouble broke out when the officer returned from the
restroom to find the eatery filled with a dozen angry men shouting at his
wife. He said he urged the men to speak civilly, but instead they beat him
unconscious and stole 6,000 baht and his mobile phone.
Pattaya Police Superintendent Col. Nantawut Suwanla-Ong
took immediate command of the investigation, serving search warrants on both
Sarika and the Cash Today 2009 loan broker in Central Pattaya. The manager
of the Cash Today outlet was released after questioning, but officers found
two handguns and ammunition at the home of Sarika frontman Sompan Kammanee,
39, who fled before police arrived.
Investigators say Pok Chanthaburi is the largest loan
shark in the Eastern Seaboard and that, given the brazen attack on a known
ranking police officer, police plan to launch an all-out crackdown on
illegal moneylenders in the Pattaya area.
Belgian fugitive captured in Pattaya
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Justin Andre Cornelius Van Den
Bussche is being extradited to Belgium for allegedly falsifying official
documents there.
A Belgian fugitive is headed back home to face a jail
term for fraud and counterfeiting after authorities discovered him hiding
out in Pattaya.
Justin Andre Cornelius Van Den Bussche, 38, was taken
into custody June 15 at the Sabai Jai Village in Banglamung by Chonburi
Immigration Police. The arrest came after Belgian officials requested his
passport be canceled and the fraudster extradited.
Van Den Bussche had entered the kingdom May 20. However,
a Belgian appeals court recently sentenced him to a year in jail for
falsifying official documents.
Nude robbery victim found
unconscious on Jomtien Beach
Theerarak Suthathiwong
An illicit beach rendezvous ended in robbery and
unconsciousness for a Middle Eastern man who was found nude and passed out
on Jomtien Beach.
The unidentified man could not tell police or medics what
happened after he was resuscitated in the early hours of June 15. He was
found naked on the sand, his clothes lying nearby, but no identification or
other documents with them.
Police speculated that the mid-40s man had met up for a
sexual encounter after midnight on a quiet stretch of beach near Dongtan
Curve, but was drugged and robbed.
Authorities intended to question the man further once he
recovered.
Woman sold into prostitution sets up alleged trafficker for arrest
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Authorities are seeking the return the two Thai women
trafficked to Malaysia to work as prostitutes after a third woman helped
Pattaya police capture the women who allegedly sent them there.
Thanaporn Julladej, 48, has been arrested and charged
with human trafficking.
Thanaporn Julladej, 48, was arrested at Central Festival
Pattaya Beach June 16 after being set up by police and 22-year-old Sinthorn
Nadok, who was sold into prostitution after allegedly being duped by the
Ayutthaya native to take a masseuse job in Malaysia.
Sinthorn, also of Ayutthaya, told authorities that she
and two hometown friends had been befriended by Thanaporn, who offered them
airfare to Malaysia and a job in a massage parlor. When the three women
arrived, they were kidnapped by a group of men who claimed to have paid
75,000 baht for them and said they could not earn their freedom until they
had each earned 50,000 baht.
Sinthorn managed to escape back to Thailand after two
weeks by telling Thanaporn her mother had died. Leaving her two friends
behind, the young woman went to police for help. Pattaya officials told the
victim to tell her handler that she had three more friends who wanted to go
and they could meet at Central Festival.
The Thai woman took the bait and police moved in.
Thai officials are now trying to rescue the two other
women kept as hostages after Sinthorn came to Pattaya.
Pattaya gamblers come out losers in 2010 World Cup
Jirapat Sawatdipab (seated) was scooped up by police while trying to
collect bets from the seat of his Honda Scoopy motorbike on 2nd Road.
Boonlua Chatree
With every FIFA World Cup comes illegal gambling and with
that, police crackdowns.
The first of the raids in Pattaya began a week into the
month-long tournament as Children & Women’s Protection Division police for
Region 2 moved on a two-storey commercial building on Soi Chalermprakiat in
Banglamung just after midnight June 18.
The building, its windows darkened and adorned with
football club stickers, turned out to be headquarters for alleged local
bookie Ananporn Papirom. Police confiscated 88 lists of illegal gamblers,
9,740 baht in cash and bank books showing more than 100,000 baht in daily
transactions. In addition to the 32-year-old Ananporn, authorities also
apprehended two alleged teen gamblers watching as England and the United
States took on Algeria and Slovenia, respectively.
While those matches ended in a draw for the participants,
they were definite losers for the Pattaya fans who confessed to their
crimes. Ananporn added that almost all his customers were teenagers.
Pattaya’s Tourist Police also got in on the action,
arresting a Bangkok-based bookie outside a large disco on Second Road after
1 a.m. June 22.
Jirapat Sawatdipab, 35, was scooped up while trying to
collect bets from the seat of his Honda Scoopy motorbike. Searching him,
Tourist Police officers found four betters lists, nearly 24,000 baht in cash
and several bank books.
Transvestite trio nabbed
with stolen cash in wigs
Thipakorn Surintham, Sak-amnat Naowarat and Premruenai Bunsai have been
arrested for pilfering money from a British tourist.
Boonlua Chatree
Three down-on-their-luck ladyboys were arrested for
allegedly pick-pocketing a British man and hiding the cash in their wigs.
Thipakorn Surintham, 25, Sak-amnat Naowarat, 20, and
Premruenai Bunsai, 25, were nabbed by Pattaya Police in the early hours of
June 18 while scuffling with 44-year-old Neal Fort on Soi 11 near Second
Road. The victim was shouting for help after the transvestite trio robbed
him of 1,600 baht.
Authorities found the looted booty in the men’s wigs and
the three admitted to the charges, saying they didn’t have enough money to
pay their rent.
Authorities come to rescue of scammed travelers
One of the many victims (left) receives a token refund from Banglamung
District Chief Mongkol Thamakittikhun, Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome,
and
Tourist Police Maj. Arun Promphan.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Local city and police officials came to the rescue of 10
Thai and foreign travelers who were scammed out of more than 275,000 baht in
airfares that were never booked.
Banglamung District Chief Mongkol Thamakittikhun, Pattaya
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome, and Tourist Police Maj. Arun Promphan presented
2,000 baht to each of the victims June 17 to cover a part of the money they
lost when Naklua’s Lee Tours Travel Agency absconded with the money they
paid for air tickets.
The donations came from the Pattaya Tourism Fund and
officials hope it will leave a good impression of the Pattaya area in the
tourists’ minds.
Each of the victims showed up at the airport for their
trips only to find no ticket was ever booked. When they tried to contact the
travel agency, they found it closed.
Police said 54 victims in all had fallen prey to the scam
by owner Sutheera Yaempheng who they speculated had fallen on hard times
after 15 years in business. Arun said authorities finally had contacted
Sutheera, who’d fled her many debts, and had arranged a meeting with her and
the victims.
Banglamung Police said the tour agent had promised authorities she would
make good on all the stolen funds.
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