NEWS

Residents win battle over stinky flour factory

Villagers point to the putrid water that has been stinking up their neighborhood for weeks.

Theerarak Suthathiwong

Angry Bang Saen residents finally convinced local government officials to shut down a putrid-smelling flour and starch factory that had been improperly storing waste water.

About 100 Wornnapa Beach residents led by Sansuk council member Pasakorn Hormhuan marched on Burapha Prosper Co. in Sansuk Oct. 1 after weeks of futile complaints to both the company and government leaders about the foul smells emanating from the plant. The issue boiled over after several days of waste water being illegally discharged from the plant, which sickened several children and elderly residents.

The smell is overbearing, bringing these women to tears.

Demanding that the company finally open its doors to inspectors, the residents were able to get Bang Saen Sanitary Engineering Division and Environmental Health Division officials to support them.

Once the doors were opened, the residents and inspectors were sickened by what they found: Pools of putrid wastewater were improperly being stored in concrete tanks, with water seeping out and a powerful stench dominating the plant.

Heeding residents’ demand, environmental officials immediately closed the plant and ordered a cleanup. They assured residents that the factory would not reopen until after residents could inspect the property themselves and were satisfied with the operation.

Chonburi plants trees to honor HM the Queen

Chonburi Public Relations Department

Continuing the celebration of HM Queen Sirikit’s 78th birthday in August, Chonburi continued its efforts to plant its share of 7.8 million trees being seeded nationwide in her name.

Chonburi officials gather for the latest round of tree planting in honor of HM the Queen.

Since the project started on the queen’s 77th birthday on Aug. 12, 2009, the province has planed 215,458 trees.

Chonburi Permanent Secretary Pornchai Kwansakul presided over the latest round of seedling plantings Sept. 30 at Bangpra Wildlife Breeding Center. He noted that wildlife preservation - particularly reforestation - is a priority for HM the Queen.

2,000 monks to raise funds for southern brethren Nov. 27

Vimolrat Singnikorn

Two thousand monks will gather in front of Pattaya City Hall Nov. 27 to receive offerings on behalf of their counterparts in Thailand’s strife-ridden south.

The hour-long merit-making ceremony kicks off at 8 a.m. and is part of a nationwide event aimed at raising 1 million baht for monks in Thailand’s four Muslim-dominated southern provinces. Buddhist monks and teachers have often been the targets of violent attacks by the separatist insurgency.

Pattaya city spokesman Saksit Phothisit and Chamlong Thabsuwan, president of the Morals and Environmental Revival Club of Banglamung, which is helping organize the government-sponsored event, said the annual event, run since 2008, revives and supports religion.

Chamlong said previous mass merit-makings have been well attended and he expected this year’s event to also be successful.

Greenpeace joins locals to close Maptaput offices

Greenpeace activists march through the Maptaput Industrial Estate.

Theerarak Suthathiwong

Greenpeace activists in two inflatable boats invaded the Maptaput Industrial Estate, closing the main office and unfurling banners stating “pollution knows no borders” as part of a Southeast Asian tour by the environmental group’s “Rainbow Warrior” flagship.

About 10 Thais joined the foreign activists at the Oct. 1 demonstration with local Maptaput development opponent Thara Buakamsri chaining the gate to the industrial estate’s main office. Police blocked any attempts by the activists to enter the premises and the offices were reopened after an hour-long negotiation between Greenpeace, police and Maptaput Deputy Gov. Weerapong Chaiperm.

The activists last week added Rayong’s GHECO Glow 1 coal-fired power plant to its list of harmful industrial facilities and expressed its disappointment with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s proposed solution to ongoing opposition over Maptaput projects by erecting a buffer zone between the industrial estate and residential communities. Greenpeace said doing so attempts to “downscale and deny the problem” as well as “betrays the government’s ignorance about the nature of pollution itself.”

The Greenpeace demonstration capped the Thailand leg of its Rainbow Warrior ship’s “Turn the Tide” tour. Local activists continued their march at the Rayong Government Center with about 200 people led by Sutthi Atchasai calling for the cancellation of 11 projects they deem dangerous. Flanked by riot police, the group presented a letter for Deputy Industry Minister Puthipong Punakan, who oversees Maptaput.

The letter calls for a review of the 11 projects, a cabinet-level resolution for new regulations on Maptaput investments and public disclosure of city planning records.

The group warned if no action is taken on its demands, it will stage demonstrations again.

Punakan said the Maptaput problem cannot be solved in one day and not always in ways that satisfies everyone. He assured the activists that they and the government share the same goal of protecting residents from pollution and asked for their cooperation.

Sattahip-based navy ships begin pirate patrols in Somalia

Patcharapol Panrak

Two Sattahip-based Royal Thai Navy vessels have begun patrol duties near Somalia even as pirates from that lawless country continue to take cargo ships and their crews hostage.

The warship Pattani and supply vessel Similan left for Somalia Sept. 10 for a 98-day mission. The Pattani has joined the 29-nation international patrol in the Gulf of Aden while the Similan has been tasked with escorting and protecting Thai cargo and fishing vessels.

Thai warships have begun to patrol the pirate infested waters near Somalia.

Ironically, the Somali pirates are using three Thai fishing ships hijacked in April as “motherships” for their stepped-up operations. The Prantalay 11, 12 and 14 - seized April 17-18 with 77 crew members on board - are now equipped with enough equipment to run three piracy crews each, complete with lightweight skiffs and ladders to scale the hulls of larger ships.

The crews of those vessels are still being held captive in the Somali port of Kalaca.

Navy officials said the two Thai ships have joined the patrol effort as a renewed “post-monsoon surge” has gotten underway. Knowing they can reap millions of dollars in ransom from shipping companies, pirates in recent days have hijacked the MV Asphalt Venture, a Panamanian-flag freighter with 15 Indian crew members, and an Iranian fishing boat.

The pirates also nearly took the Maltese-flag MV Mississippi Star. But fighting off an assault that featured pirates shooting rocket-propelled grenades, the captain of the Star managed to evade capture.

The journey to Somalia for the Pattani and Similan took about 17 days, with the vessels stopping in Oman to obtain supplies. During the stop, Rear Adm. Chaiyos Sunthornnak, who is commanding the mission, called on Thailand’s ambassador to Oman. He later paid respects to Sheikh Khalifah bin Sulman al-Khalifah, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, during a stop there.

Bay Watch: Little to light up Pattaya’s streets

Staff reporters

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a neighborhood special.

Take the light poles in Khao Makkaew, where decorative parrots make for eye-catching utility poles. In Bang Saen, common utility poles are also dressed up with bits of art.

In Pattaya, which likes to pride itself on being a polished tourist attraction, utility poles are very much utilitarian. Like so much of the infrastructure here, little effort is made beyond putting something up that works (for a while.)

One needs to simply look at the tatty and worn out street lamps at Bali Hai Pier, a gathering place for tens of thousands of tourists each year.

Even the new street lamps erected along the newly rebuilt Thappraya Road are of the simple run-of-the-mill variety, with absolutely no eye for the art nor even the slightest hint of icons representing Pattaya.

Surely Pattaya City Hall and the Tourism Authority of Thailand can do better than that.

Outside the sea and rescue center in South Pattaya.

Maptaput.

Pala Beach, Ban Chang.

Bali Hai Pier.

Entrance to Bang Saen Beach.

Khao Makkaew.

Bang Saen Beach.

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Advertorial

80-year-old Swiss man nabbed on pedophile charges

Boonlua Chatree

Pattaya Tourist Police arrested an 80-year-old Swiss man on child abuse charges after following him back to a hotel room where he allegedly took a 12-year-old Walking Street urchin for sex.

The young boy points to the alleged pedophile.

A nude Hugo Stephan Leuthold was taken into custody in a Soi Honey Inn guesthouse Sept. 30 where police watched through an air vent as the man allegedly abused the boy. Leuthold then allegedly gave the boy 500 baht for his services.

Police said they became suspicious when they allegedly saw Leuthold walking hand-in-hand with the boy to a baht bus on Second Road and Soi Marine Plaza. The officers simply followed and waited to see what would transpire.

The boy later told police he’d been watching a street performance on Walking Street when the old man befriended and solicited him.

Leuthold pleaded with officers to let him go, saying he was too old to serve jail time. Undaunted, officers charged him with child abuse and processed him into the system.

Drug dealers, illegal aliens priority for new Region 2 police chief

Theerarak Suthathiwong

Drug dealers and illegal aliens are the top priorities for the Eastern Seaboard’s new regional police commander.

Lt. Gen. Tha-ngai Pratsachaksattru (left), shown here at a recent signing ceremony with Pol. Maj. Gen Suveera Songmetta (right), has set drug dealers and illegal aliens as his top priorities.

Lt. Gen. Tha-ngai Pratsachaksattru took over as commander of Royal Thai Police Region 2 Oct. 1, replacing Lt. Gen. Atsawin Kwanmuang, who was promoted to deputy commander of the RTP.

Tha-ngai’s first moves were to order eight eastern-region police commands to step up efforts to arrest domestic and foreign drug traffickers, as well as crack down on border-area crime. In addition to drugs, police along the border with Cambodia need to focus on illegal aliens, gambling dens and general crime prevention, he said.

One move will be to increase surveillance at banks, gold shops, financial businesses and business centers and by being more impartial to those involved in crime incidents.

Norwegian robbed of 517,000 baht in jewelry, cash, electronics

Boonlua Chatree

A Norwegian man strolling around Pattaya Beach with more than a half-million baht in cash, jewelry and electronics on him says he was robbed by two Thai men with an electric stun gun.

Preben Ellefsen fills out a police report detailing how he was robbed at 1 a.m.

Preben Ellefsen, 37, complained to police around 1 a.m. Sept. 30 that he’d been walking on Beach Road near Mike Shopping Center when two men dressed and shorts and t-shirts and threatened him with a stun gun. Threatening to kill him if he shouted for help, the men forced him to walk onto the beach where they robbed him at the water’s edge.

According to the police report, the thieves stole a handbag containing the equivalent of 5,200 baht in Norwegian kroners, a gold necklace worth 238,000 baht, a Breitling watch worth 135,000 baht, an iPhone 4, Sony camera, clothing, wallet and 15,000 baht in cash.

Ellefsen immediately reported the incident to police, but investigators could find no evidence of the robbery. However, the area in questioned was illuminated by bright lights and monitored by CCTV cameras, so police are looking to see if there was any footage to back up the man’s claims of stolen property.

Liberians jailed after German falls for get-rich-quick scheme

Boonlua Chatree

A German man who believed two Liberians had a magic elixir to turn plain paper into counterfeit currency complained to police after the Africans allegedly scammed him out of a million baht.

James Nyah and David N. Gee were caught trying to get just a little more money out of their German mark with their counterfeit money scam.

Hans Joseph Reinehard Winter, 45, said he gave the Liberians a million baht for chemicals that, when applied to plain paper, would create euros and other legal-looking bank notes. Not surprisingly, the supposed liquids and powders didn’t work.

But in a classic case of going back to the well once too often, the Liberians called back, offering the German a stronger potion for only about 13,500 baht more. Police had Winter agree and set up a sting operation at the intersection of Soi Yensabai and Pratamnak Road Oct. 6.

There officers arrested James Nyah and David N. Gee who had sliced-up green paper, a bottle of liquid and some powder in a suitcase. The magic “chemical” in the bottle turned out to be water.

The Africans were charged with fraud and embezzlement.

Italian jailed on overstay allegedly attempts suicide

Boonlua Chatree

An Italian man jailed for overstaying his visa allegedly attempted to hang himself while awaiting deportation.

Guards and inmates help carry the unconscious Italian to an awaiting pickup for a trip to the hospital.

Salvatore Albenese, 44, was rushed to Banglamung Hospital after officers on the third-floor Pattaya Police Station jail found him hanging from a 2-meter-long bandage. Police are investigating which officer allowed the Italian to enter the cell with the long wrapping.

Albenese was unconscious with severe bruising to his neck, but recovered after about two hours. He told investigators he was stressed by his imprisonment and that the noise, heat and foul smell of the jail made him want to kill himself.

The Italian was awaiting deportation after being slapped Oct. 2 with a two-year suspended sentence, three months behind bars and a 2,000 baht fine for overstaying his visa.

More arrests in Pattaya child prostitution ring that netted German, American man

Boonlua Chatree

More arrests are expected in an ongoing investigation into a Pattaya child prostitution ring that resulted in the arrest of a German, an American and a Thai woman.

Roland Gunter Max Malter, 52, was arrested at his Pattaya home Oct. 1 on a complaint initiated by social worker Jenjira Thaibandit. Malter is alleged to have had sex with early- and pre-teen girls at a Naklua guesthouse since December, most recently on Sept. 26. Women’s and Child Protection police obtained a set of arrest warrants Sept. 30.

Roland Gunter Max Malter is brought in for questioning.

Also taken into custody in Pattaya that day based on the same warrant was Jaruwan Yothee, 27, the pimp who allegedly supplied underage girls to Malter and an American man simultaneously arrested in Bangkok, Edward Brian Wright. Both men were charged with having sexual relations with a child less than 13 years old and face up to life in prison.

Jaruwan, who is charged with trafficking underage girls, pimping, violent coercion, and procuring children for child abuse, also faces up to life imprisonment and is now cooperating with investigators, naming the men she allegedly brought underage girls to. More arrests are expected.

Malter, a Ph.D. who works for a software development company, professed innocence, telling the media that Jaruwan - a friend of his wife’s - was framing him for refusing to lend her additional money after previous loans went unpaid. Wright - alleged to have utilized Jaruwan’s service from November until May - could not be reached for comment.

The investigation began after Jenjira complained she suspected Jaruwan of setting up shop at a Naklua residence where she farmed out girls 13 years and younger to foreign customers. The children were delivered to customers on a white Honda motorbike and the girls were paid 500 baht, of which the Thai woman kept a portion.

Upon Jaruwan’s arrest, investigators found a 13-year-old girl in her home, who confirmed the story. The child is suspected of having relations with Malter late last month in Naklua and with Wright at another Naklua hotel in May.

Pattaya visit more than R&R for U.S. Navy personnel

Phasakorn Channgam

This month’s visit by the USS George Washington aircraft carrier group wasn’t all rest and relaxation for its 7,000-plus crew members. In addition to playing tourist, sailors painted, planted and repaired for a number of area schools and charities.

Huay Yai students are certainly happy to enjoy a good lunch.

About 250 servicemen and women split into seven groups Oct. 2-3 for outreach work through the joint Community Unity Project with the Royal Thai Navy. The crews visited 16 locations throughout Pattaya, doing everything from passing out desserts and playing games with children at the Redemptorist School for the Blind to patching up, cleaning and painting at Jitapawan Wittayalai Temple.

US Sailors and children at the Redemptorist Blind School in Pattaya enjoy an afternoon of fun and games.

Others offered lunch to children at Huay Yai Temple School and cleaned and brought donated goods to the Garunyawet Home for people with Disabilities in Ban Rong Poh.

About 30 other personnel cleaned up and planted flowers at the Banglamung Elderly Home, where residents were all impressed by the work of the young military officers.

US Sailors serve lunch to the little ones at Wat Huay Yai School.

US Sailors get down and dirty
 to spruce up the Banglamung Elderly Home.

US Navy personnel and residents tackle the big task of cleaning up the ground at the Garunyawet Home for people with Disabilities in Ban Rong Poh.

Senior citizens at the Banglamung Elderly Home dress up in their finest attire to pose for a photo with the US Navy.

More fun and games at this year’s Chonburi Buffalo Races

Officials announce the Chonburi Buffalo races are set for Oct. 16-22.

Chonburi Public Relations Department

Already renowned for being a full week of fun, the Chonburi Buffalo Races will have more activities this year as officials look to make the popular event even more so.

The 139th races are set for Oct. 16-22 on the field in front of the Chonburi District Office, with beasts of all sizes dressed up in funny and traditional decorations racing for prizes on the last day of a week of activities and events.

New Chonburi Gov. Wichit Chatpaisit said the province, as it has done 138 times before, will host its annual races on Oct. 22, the last day of rainy season before the post-harvest winter sets in. It’s a tradition dating back to the time of King Mongkut, who the races were organized for in 1912.

The Oct. 16-22 festival features cow racing, lasso techniques, a tug-of-war, an oiled post climbing contest (not for the buffalos) and a boxing contest where the boxers are blind-folded will add to the gaiety. Oct. 21 will see beauty contests for both women and buffalos dolled up in various costumes.

Activities will be split into two segments, with a local-products market and concerts running the duration of the event. The second part will be activities tied to the races themselves, including a “sermon cart” parade and two other parades to celebrate Chonburi’s heritage and local arts and culture. Two venues will be used, the field in front of city hall and the field in front of the Chonburi District Office.

Two new games aimed at elderly participants - sack races and blind-folded pot lifting - were added this year, said Chonburi Mayor Sumana Muthaki.

Other scheduled activities are a senior farm pageant, Thai folk song contest, slingshot competition, knife-cutting, takraw, cockfighting, boxing and more.

For those financially motivated - and vertically inclined - there will be a 10,000 baht group jump rope contest. Teams of 5-8 or 10-15 players will compete. The qualifying round will be Oct. 21 with finals set for Oct. 22.

For additional information please contact the Chonburi Municipality Office Community President or Rattana Panyarikanon at tel. 081-577-2705.

Rayong students attend 4-day driver education camp

Youngster cheer at the conclusion of the 4-day training camp.

Theerarak Suthathiwong

About 50 students from five Rayong schools spent four days and three nights learning to be better drivers - and better adults.

The Rayong Provincial Police launched the driver training program Sept. 23 at the 7thth Infantry Battalion Camp.

Students were taught safe motorbike-driving tactics that stressed safety and discipline, the importance of helmets, road regulations, school-area traffic management, aiding police and how to pass on their new skills to friends and family members.

The camp veered off the roads to also lectures on morality, responsibility and being a good citizen.