Weather Update

NEWS
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Tropical storm causes widespread flooding in city

Chonburi orders owner of grounded, leaking boat to salvage vessel

70 Rayong students receive 3-day marine ecology lesson

The fox which turned out to be a jackal

Pattaya Hospital 90% complete

Royal foundation, Navy aids 620 Nan flood victims

Navy, volunteers pack emergency flood-relief supplies

Prize-winning candles take spotlight at Buddhist Lent Parade

Fraudster reaps what she sewed promising bogus overseas jobs to farmers

3-meter python unwelcome in Sattahip village

Business leaders stress safety, but police, city said progress already being made

Central Center workers in tizzy over whispers of snake god’s appearance

Parents of 15-year-old girl press rape charges against boyfriend, 18

Baywatch: Stop here on red

Aug. 5-7 Food & Hoteliers Expo planned for Pattaya, Jomtien


Tropical storm causes widespread flooding in city

Incessant flooding and decades of quick fix solutions irks the populace

Pantira Tanutipmongkol, a resident of Moo 9 Banglamung district,
 points to the collapsed wall against her home,
caused by the heavy rainfall and flooding on Monday night.

Phasakorn Channgam
& Vimolrat Singnikorn

It was a perfect welcome for the start of the Buddhist Lent, which also marked the beginning of the rainy season last Monday, when the skies opened up around 9 p.m. and poured 16 mms of rain onto our fair city.

The amount of rain is minimal by any standards, but it took just over an hour of downpour to transform Pattaya into what could have been a scene from ‘The Day after Tomorrow’, as most of the streets were inundated in knee-deep water. Some areas such as on Third Road were closed to traffic, because the water near the intersection of Central Road was up to waist level.

Deputy Mayor Wrawat Khakhay, right, talks with distressed home owners at the flood damaged Banglamung residential area.

It was an evening of worship whereby tens of thousands of devout Buddhists gathered at various temples to take part in the holy ‘Wienthien’ ceremonies (candle light processions) to mark Asalaha Bucha Day and Khao Pansa or start of the Buddhist Lent. Little did they know that at the end of the ceremonies, they would be caught by the wrath of a thunderstorm that would cause flooding on most of the roads and in their homes.

Traffic in and around the city became a nightmare as thousands of motorists, both locals and out of town visitors taking advantage of the long weekend in Pattaya, were stuck in their cars as traffic could only creep inch by inch because motorists drove with extreme caution through inundated streets.

Residents who have experienced innumerable floodings in the past 20-30 years questioned the city administrators as to why the city by the sea always suffers every time it rains. One resident said, “City Hall has talked about flood prevention and relief for years, but do not seem to be able to have the knowhow and ability to manage flood prevention and control.”

Another rather miffed citizen said, “Looking around the city one sees construction being carried out on storm drains both large and small, but it seems that these jobs are taking forever to complete. And when they are, will the system work?”

The following day City Hall was inundated with many reports of damage caused by the heavy rainfall. Deputy Mayor Werawat Khakhay led a team of city councilors to inspect an area near the railroad tracks in Moo 9 in Banglamung district where damage to some homes was extensive.

They met with Pantira Tanutipmongkol, a resident in one of the homes who said that during the thunderstorm, one-meter high waters gushed through the property around her home. She said that the force of the raging water had demolished a wall which rested against her house, preventing her from opening her front door. As water oozed into her home, other residents of the house helped to move some of her belongings to higher ground, but were not able to save her electrical appliances such as her TV and refrigerator.

The Deputy Mayor, along with some city councilors, presented 7,000 baht to Pantira to help cover some of her losses and costs to repair the damage caused to her home.

The Deputy Mayor blamed stuffed drains for much of the flooding, caused by garbage being thrown into them by residents and he asked everyone to help keep the drains clean so that rainwater can flow without any obstruction the next time it rains.

One can only wonder what city workers do during the dry season, when they should be out in force dredging the drainage pipes in preparation for the rainy season.

A pedestrian, left, wades through the flood water
on Second Road as the traffic crawls to a standstill.


Chonburi orders owner of grounded, leaking boat to salvage vessel

Officials are asking Picnic Co. to remove their vessel from the rocks in Ao Udom.

Theerarak Suthathiwong

The Chonburi Water Transportation Department has ordered the owner of a gas-leaking ship that ran aground in Sriracha earlier this month to immediately remove the vessel from the Ao Udom shoreline.

Department Chief Pisut Amornyut said the boat has been laid up offshore since January last year, but still has four liquefied petroleum gas tanks on board. Buffeted by currents and wind, the vessel has crashed into rocks, sprung a leak and, in a July 15 storm, blew onto shore. Local mussel farmers are worried the leaking gas will poison the sea life.

Why the government doesn’t simply remove the boat itself is unknown, but Pisut said he contacted both Picnic Co., which owns the vessel, and Silom Co., which leased it, to tell them to salvage the boat immediately.

At press time, the vessel was still stranded on the rocky shore.


70 Rayong students receive 3-day marine ecology lesson

Students replant a thinning mangrove forest.

Patcharapol Panrak

Seventy Rayong students were given a three-day lesson in marine ecology from the Royal Thai Navy and petroleum company IRPC (Public) Co. Ltd.

The “The Youth Leadership Camp for Conservation of the Thai Marine Ecology” was held July 14-16 at Patrol Battalion of the Royal Thai Marines. The students from seven secondary schools visited the navy’s Sea Turtle Conservation Center, Natural Museum Island and a diminishing mangrove forest. They used scuba diving equipment to observe a coral reef, learned about sea grass ecology resources, endangered marine creatures and reef ecology.

Rear Adm. Surachai Sangkhapong, deputy commander for the navy in Region 1, said preserving the reefs and oceans was as much a part of the navy’s mission as military defense.

At the July 16 closing ceremonies at IRPC’s education center, Navy Region 1 Director of Civil Affairs, IRPC Marketing Director Choengchai Paithun and others passed out certificates to the students. The award for best essay was presented to Nettima Aworn. Best painting went to Hansa Tangmahasirikit and the award for best youth went to Permpol Siangdang.


The fox which turned out to be a jackal

Edwin Wiek, Secretary-General and founder
Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT)
Website: www.wfft.org

After a complaint by a Western tourist to the Pattaya Mail newspaper on Friday the 16th of July, about two caged foxes on Jomtien Beach, Edwin Wiek, secretary-general of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) traveled on Sunday July 18th from Petchaburi province to see for himself what kind of wild animals were housed under what kind of circumstances.

Edwin Wiek, Secretary-General and founder of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) inspects the jackal in preparation for moving it to better living conditions at the foundation.

The article mentioned two foxes; however, as Thailand does not have wild foxes, but only Dholes (wild red dogs) and Asian Jackals, Edwin was under the impression that they would be either one of these species. Both species of wildlife are protected wildlife species and therefore it is illegal to keep these animals.

On arrival to the site we found only one fox. The owner said he indeed purchased the animals 3 years ago for breeding purposes; however, he did not have enough money to provide appropriate living quarters for the animals, neither did he obtain a permit to keep or breed protected species. At first the owner did not want to give up the one jackal (a second was not found and according to neighbors died several months ago). However, after explaining the legal consequences if the police would be contacted he decided to donate the animal.

The fox which turned out to be a jackal.

Within half an hour the jackal was darted with anesthesia and received a medical check-up on the spot. She was then transported to Pattaya police station for further registration and documentation. In the evening she was transported to the WFFT wildlife rescue center.

On the same day we also received a rescued Slow Loris from a Russian couple that had bought this poor animal from women on Walking Street. Slow lorises are night monkeys and used as photo-props for foreign tourists. The use and possession of these animals is also punishable under Thai law but unfortunately they are still widely seen on the streets of Pattaya.

We would like to thank Mr. Chris for sending the complaint to the newspaper and Mr. Rene Pisters for kindly forwarding the article to us. The female jackal is doing very well in quarantine and will soon be introduced to the group of jackals at our Wildlife Rescue Center. The jackals at WFFT live in a forested enclosure of 4 rai, as close to nature as possible. The WFFT wildlife rescue center is one of the projects run by the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand.


Pattaya Hospital 90% complete

Vimolrat Singnikorn

The final touches are being placed on the new Pattaya Hospital, which may be done sooner than its anticipated Oct. 9 completion date.

90% of the construction for Pattaya Hospital is complete.

Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay said the 177.1 million baht facility on Soi Buakaow is now 90 percent finished, with only painting and some sanitation-system work to be done. The building already looks welcoming, with its brown and cream-colored exterior.

The deputy mayor said work is progressing faster than planned and will be done on or before its planned completion date.

Pattaya Hospital will be the first government hospital in the city and will provide free health care to Thai insurance card holders and low-priced services for tourists. While construction is nearly complete, the facility is not expected to open its doors until late next year.


Royal foundation, Navy aids 620 Nan flood victims

Navy cadets help monks fill 620 bags of provisions
destined for flood victims in Nan Province.

Patcharapol Panrak

The Royal Thai Navy cooperated with the Princess Pa Foundation to deliver first aid supplies and food to more than 600 victims of flooding in Nan Province.

Foundation President Somdhavin Yungyoo, representing HRH Princess Soamsawalee, who founded the organization, the Thai Red Cross, 200 Air and Coastal Defense Command personnel and 10 monks packed 620 bags of provisions at a hangar at U-Tapao Pattaya International Airport July 20.

Somtawin said four districts in Nan had been hit by heavy rain July 17-18. The royal aid consisted of rice and dry food, including instant noodles, canned fish, canned pickled lettuce, chili paste, cloth, a blanket, shirts, pants, towels, medicine, mosquito-repellent, a torch, candles, a lighter, sanitary napkins, powdered detergent, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste.


Navy, volunteers pack emergency flood-relief supplies

Volunteers and naval personnel pack necessities to help flood victims
in preparation of sending them to northern Thailand.

Patcharapol Panrak

Royal Thai Navy personnel and volunteers packed 5,500 bags of emergency rations that will be distributed by the Princess Pa Foundation when needed to flood victims.

The 5,000 bags for regular victims and 500 special bags of supplies for monks were brought to a hangar at U-Tapao Pattaya International Airport July 19 by a delegation led by Princess Pa Foundation President Somthawin Yangyoo. She said HRH Princess Bajarakitiyabha, who created the foundation after major floods in 1995, had ordered the emergency preparation while on overseas travel.

The Princess Pa Foundation was begun to help close the gap between victims’ needs and support from existing charity organizations. With heavy rain and flash flooding expected in northern Thailand through October, HRH the Princess didn’t want to wait until she returned to Thailand to prepare the relief supplies, Somthawin said.

Navy personnel from the Air and Coastal Defense Command training center, Sattahip-area officers and volunteers from the Thai Red Cross, Tai Chi Move Club and Sattahip helped packed the supply bags.


Prize-winning candles take spotlight at Buddhist Lent Parade

Vimolrat Singnikorn

Prize winners in this year’s city-wide Buddhist lent candle decorating contest were in the spotlight at the annual Buddhist Lent Candle parade rolled down the beachfront July 27.

Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome presents Lent candles to Nong Yai Temple with the help of Pattaya schools Nos. 4 and 11.

Pattaya School No. 9 won 10,000 baht and enjoyed the attention of local Thais and foreign tourists taking pictures of its first-place candles. The school beat out 16 other public and private organizations to win the decoration contest, which took the form of a parade of its own July 20 along Beach Road between Soi 4 and Walking Street.

Contest entrants each submitted a float that combined beautiful decorations with technology and local or recycled objects emphasizing creation and interpretation for Buddhist history and Thai traditions. Pattaya School No. 8 won the prize for best interpretation, along with 10,000 baht.

The contest parade served as a warm-up to Monday’s full procession, after which candles were presented to local monks for Khao Phansa ceremonies. The holiday marks the start of the monks’ “rains retreat,” during which they stay inside temple grounds so as not to trample crops during the rainy season.

Candles are seen as a way to provide monks enlightenment during their prayers and candle parades are popular. The Redemptorist School for the Blind on July 20 also held its own parade with 50 students and teachers presenting candles to Phothisamphan Pittayakarn Temple.

On July 21, Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome presented Lent candles to Nong Yai Temple with the help of Pattaya schools Nos. 4 and 11.

Pattaya School #9 won this year’s city-wide
 Buddhist lent candle decorating contest.


Fraudster reaps what she sewed promising bogus overseas jobs to farmers

Boonlua Chatree

Police in Pattaya have arrested a woman who promised farmers lucrative jobs in the United States, but simply ran off with their deposits.

Supisara Potun is brought in for questioning for allegedly cheating farmers out of up to 100,000 baht each.

Pattaya officers, cooperating with Bunyai Police, arrested Supisara Potun, 46, at the Carrefour supermarket in Central Pattaya July 11. She is alleged to have bilked farmers out of up to 100,000 baht each to arrange jobs overseas. The jobs, however, never existed. She was charged with fraud and embezzlement.

The arrest stems from the latest complaint about Supisara from a woman who had paid her 24,000 baht and was due to pay another 30,000 for a job in the U.S. The victim said Supisara told her she’d owned a restaurant and spa in the U.S. and could arrange visas and work opportunities for a fee.

After investigating the woman, the victim said she learned of the other fraud complaints and went to police to set up the sting that ended in Supisara’s arrest.


3-meter python unwelcome in Sattahip village

Patcharapol Panrak

A Sattahip villager fled her home in panic after an uninvited guest - a 3-meter-long python - dropped in from the jungle.

Rescue workers remove the tightly coiled snake from the neighborhood.

Sawang Rojana Thammasathan Foundation animal-control officers were called to Petnapaland Village July 13 to remove the snake, which they found coiled near a fence in the garden of 38-year-old Nannapat Tanasakworarat.

Nannapat told authorities she’d been sleeping with her 4-year-old son when shouts about a giant snake from her neighbor awoke her. She grabbed the boy and ran out the door as the snake entered the house.

Startled, the snake turned and hid outside in the yard’s overgrown brush. Officers took the 3-inch-wide snake to Prince Chumporn Camp and set it free, far from toddlers and other snacks.


Business leaders stress safety, but police, city said progress already being made

Phasakorn Channgam

With Pattaya struggling through one of its lowest low seasons this decade, area business leaders are pushing authorities to do even more to stamp out a crime problem that gives the city a bad name.

At the July 14 Pattaya Business & Tourism Association meeting, President Jamroon Vitsavachaipan said Pattaya needs to uphold high standards of safety and personal security if it wants to win back tourists. But both Pattaya’s police chief and the head of the Chonburi Immigration Police countered that progress has already been made.

Pol. Col. Nantawut Suwanla-Ong says that progress has already been made in reducing the crime rate in Pattaya.

Pattaya Police Superintendent Pol. Col. Nantawut Suwanla-Ong said more than 3,000 arrests for petty crimes have been made in the four months since he took office. At the same time, he added patrol officers and restructured their routes to provide closer supervision. Checkpoints have also been set up on roads into the city during early morning hours to prevent guns and drugs from being brought in.

“The commander in chief of the Royal Thai Police reiterated that solving the crime problem in Pattaya was the No. 1 priority,” Pol. Col. Nantawut said. “As a result of my actions, there has been no increase in the crime rate in June, showing we are making good progress.”

Nantawut noted that crime still poses a problem, particularly in the aftermath of the World Cup as illegal Thai gamblers try to recoup losses through crime. That, combined with the lure of wealthy tourists, motivates criminals, he said.

As a result, the police chief said he initiated a system to recruit motorbike taxi drivers as “neighborhood watch” volunteers and instituted rewards for crime tips.

Lt. Col. Panomprai Chakrapat, deputy superintendent for the Chonburi Immigration Police, said his department has also taken its own bite out of crime. Particular progress has been made on rounding up criminals wanted overseas who use Pattaya as a hideout. An online foreigner identification system is now being used by more than 500 hotels to identify fugitives.

Finally, Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh added that the city has worked with Pattaya’s hundreds of 7-Eleven stores to install closed-circuit security cameras outside the convenience shops to better monitor street happenings and ensure safety.


Central Center workers in tizzy over whispers of snake god’s appearance

Head janitor Wiriya Sa-Nguansin points to what he thinks are tracks belonging to the Nakha serpent, a creature from Hindu fable with a hooked claw that is worshipped as a god of rain.

Boonlua Chatree

Unexplained drag marks next to a shrine at North Pattaya’s Central Center have set off wild stories among superstitious workers of a mythical claw-footed snake coming to Pattaya to worship during next week’s Buddhist lent ceremonies.

Head janitor Wiriya Sa-Nguansin, 34, said a cinema cleaner was washing the department store veranda where the shine is kept when he noticed what appeared to be the trail of a snake next to it. A round mark punctuating the train led him to believe it was the Nakha serpent, a creature from Hindu fable with a hooked claw that is worshipped as a god of rain.

His imagination running wild, Wiriya told co-workers the tracks didn’t disappear when cleaned with a machine and that, mysteriously, the closed-circuit camera watching the shrine was out of service, even though it worked before.

Employees worked themselves into a tizzy over the thought that the Nakha had clawed its way out of the underworld at the start of the traditional rainy season that coincides with Buddhist Lent to partake in the Buddhism holiday in Pattaya.


Parents of 15-year-old girl press rape charges against boyfriend, 18

Boonlua Chatree

Police have arrested an 18-year-old Thai man for statutory rape of his 15-year-old girlfriend.

Chakri Soongnern was taken into custody by Pattaya officers early July 20 in a rented room of a low-income housing complex on Soi Thepprasit 11. Police were acting on a complaint from Samart and Thongsai, who claimed Chakri has tricked their daughter into going to his apartment and having sex with him.

The suspect said the girl had agreed willingly to come with him and had not been forced to have sex. When questioned, the girl confirmed his story.

Regardless, the angry parents pressed charges and Chakri will face prosecution for statutory rape and separating a minor from her parents.


Baywatch: Stop here on red

Stop where on red?

Boonlua Chatree

“Stop here on red,” the sign says. Too bad no one actually does. It’s even worse that traffic police don’t seem to care.

This chaotic mess at an intersection on Sukhumvit Road in Central Pattaya is a common sight in Pattaya, where traffic police do very little policing of traffic. Tickets or arrests seem to be too big of a bother. Just let motorbikes drive where they want and jaywalkers cross where they desire. No license or registration? No problem. No one will check.

Pattaya Police Superintendent Col. Nantawut Suwanla-Ong claims he’s bringing law and order to Pattaya, but his minions don’t seem to have the same motivation. Traffic signs and laws are created for many reasons, safety of drivers and pedestrians being among them. But laws mean little if no one actually enforces them.

It’s time for traffic police to climb out of their street boxes and earn their paycheck. The result can only be safer and less-congested streets in Pattaya.


Aug. 5-7 Food & Hoteliers Expo planned for Pattaya, Jomtien

Officials announce the 4th Pattaya Food & Hoteliers
Expo will take place August 5 - 7.

Phasakorn Channgam

Pattaya residents will be able to sample some of the best cuisine the area has to offer while hospitality professionals can take in classes and compete in various contests at the 4th Pattaya Food & Hoteliers Expo Aug. 5-7 at the Royal Cliff Hotel in Jomtien Beach.

Sponsored by Pattaya City, the Chonburi Administrative Organization, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Eastern Thai Food & Beverage Administrative Association and Pattaya and Eastern Seaboard Chefs Association the event will feature a food fair along Pattaya Beach Road and an exhibition at the PEACH Convention Center.

Nearly 20 contests in everything from fruit-carving and drink-mixing to deserts and Thai set menus will be held, as well events such as a barista championship, young chef competition and “Miss Congeniality” pageant. Cooking contests will pit professional chefs against each other and offer opportunities for rising university stars to try their hand at deserts, plate arrangement, Thai and European dishes, flower arranging and cocktail mixing.

The Beach Road festivities will feature top restaurants selling their dishes, along with free concerts.

This year’s event will also feature a culinary trade show where entrepreneurs and industry experts can display their products, services and techniques to the visiting public. Among the displays will be kitchenware and accessories, tableware and cutlery, and cleaning techniques and products.

Workshops will also be held, including ones devoted to wine service, master chefs, coffee and floral arrangement.