Pattaya Mail wins Best in the East for 7th straight year

Vote tenfold increase in fines

Narisa Nitikarl

The Walking Street Committee followed city hall’s lead and put the persistent problem of wandering elephants in Pattaya as one of the hot topics discussed at their monthly meeting. Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn, who is also committee president, chaired the March 3 meeting held at city hall.

Tawit Chaisawangwong (right), city council chairman points out the problem of wandering elephants in Walking Street.

The mayor questioned committee members as to the problems they had experienced with roaming pachyderms, as well as other annoyances, such as people presenting Thai pythons for photo opportunities and children selling flowers to tourists.

The committee voiced their concerns and said that such activities must be stopped and rules enforced. They also moved for a tenfold increase in fines for those breaching the laws. The 200 baht fine has not deterred anyone and a motion was made to increase the fine to 2,000 baht.

Other issues raised at the meeting included a postponement of the monthly Walking Street cleaning program. The mayor announced that due to the region’s water shortage, the area should only be cleaned when it becomes too dirty.

Further tourism promotion activities were raised to attract more visitors; however, it was not seen as a major issue due to the monthly activities already taking place in the South Pattaya area.

Aims to increase public service efficiency

Narisa Nitikal

The city has opened a new local registration office in an attempt to increase efficiency when providing public services. Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn officially presided over the opening ceremonies on February 28.

The local registration office was crowded on its first day of service.

Mayor Niran said that Pattaya prepared an 11 million baht budget to reorganize public services, creating a semi-privatization of these services. This has been divided into 2 parts; one for Pattaya City’s new building, and the second for Koh Larn.

The stated aim is to serve the public better and develop personnel to be more efficient. Newer technologies are also being used, including using more computers. Previously, this office had only 6 computers, but they now have 13.

The number of officers serving the public has also increased.

Mrs. Kwanchanok Saenmai, civil registration chief at Pattaya’s local registration office, said that all officers associated with this office are well trained for public services, and they are very polite when dealing with the public. Pattaya City also provides coffee and drinks as a service to the public who come in to contact the registration office.

Concerns over safety a priority

Ariyawat Nuamsawat

Despite a city ban a number of years ago, Pattaya is currently experiencing a resurgence in wandering elephants, as destitute mahouts look for extra income as the tourist season fades. City officials, concerned over tourist and resident safety, addressed the issue in a meeting at city hall on March 1.

Pattana Boonsawat, Pattaya deputy mayor chairs a meeting aimed at curbing the increasing number of elephants and mahouts roaming the city streets.

Pattana Boonsawat, Pattaya deputy mayor chaired the meeting with representatives from government departments. The potential spread of disease among the animals and safety issues were the highlights of discussions, but the struggle to resolve the longstanding issue continues, even though legislation preventing the animals and their handlers roaming the city was introduced in 1992.

City councilors decided that those breaking the law will incur heavy penalties. Mahouts also face losing their licenses to care for the animals.

Other suggestions included detailed registration for both animals and caretakers in order to keep track of them.

A hotline was announced, with livestock officials to act on information received. The local numbers are 038 410 200 ext. 345 and 038 420 823 ext. 16.

City security committee discusses concerns over signboard safety

Engineers promise to “look into it”

Narisa Nitikarl

One of the many committees in Pattaya charged with looking after the interests of the populace is the Security Committee. Sanit Boonmarchai, city councilor and committee chairman, diligently looking after these interests recently met with committee members and government officials to question them on the safety standards of large signs posted around Pattaya.

Sanit asked government officers in charge of authorizing signboards if there was any follow up being undertaken to ensure that the structures have been secured properly, and what were the chances of these large billboards fixed atop tall buildings being authorized and safe.

Pattaya’s Security Committee is concerned that some of the larger billboards around town might not be totally safe. The engineering department said they’d look into it.

The answers returned showed that there have been some minor discrepancies in city department workers’ follow-ups. The vague answer prompted Sanit to ask the city engineering department to follow up and report back on the current status of such structures. After a few sideways glances, the engineers promised they would indeed look into it and get back to him.

Other topics raised at the meeting included the foul stench coming from many of the city’s drains. Evidently there have been numerous complaints from residents. Sanit asked if there were any inspection processes or inspections on city contractors to see if the work was being carried out to a proper standard. It was agreed that further surveys to collect data and find actions to be taken to correct the problems would be undertaken some time before the next meeting.

Finally, the issue of Walking Street and beach vendors encroaching on public land was raised, but again, the decision was to survey the problem. A resolution would then be handed down at the next meeting after further information has been collected.

Transport minister surveys Bangkok-Pattaya Motorway project

Decha Chalermyart

Transport Minister Suriya Juengrungruankij was in Chonburi last week to survey land that will be used to build a new motorway from the Suvarnabhumi Airport to the Eastern Seaboard. The minister was joined by an entourage of officials and was met by local politicians and government officers.

Suriya Juengrungruankij, transport minister speaks with the media about details of the motorway project.

Suriya said the link would be built in two stages and widen the current four lanes to eight, “The first stage from Bangkok to Chonburi will cost 3.1 billion baht and the second stage from Chonburi to Pattaya 2.5 billion baht. The improved road will be able to take 150,000 vehicles per day once completed.”

The transport minister went on to say that the project would take at least 3 years to complete.

The new Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport is scheduled to open on September 29 this year and efforts to create more convenient transportation are just now being realized. The minister cited problems with budget allocation and land issues. The survey last week was to re-evaluate the project and consider the pros and cons for the people and the environment.

Residents and business operators from the Ban Bueng district also met with the minister to hand over an official protest concerning the bypass bridge that they claim would kill their businesses. Suriya received the letter and said consideration would be given to their plight.

Proposed new Naklua markets still under consideration

Vendors need to relocate for old market renovation

Suchada Tupchai

The continuing process of enforcing better standards at local markets in Pattaya has recently been slowed. In a meeting at city hall last week, city councilors, administrators and officers met to discuss options concerning the building of a temporary market in Naklua while the old market is refurbished.

Deputy mayor Wuttisak Rermkijikarn leads officials on a survey to find a suitable site for temporary markets while the old one is being renovated.

In a previous meeting, 23 million baht was allocated to renovate the Naklua markets. The old markets are run down and plans have been drawn up to allocate specific zones for each product, add parking facilities and standardize stalls for vendors to enable more efficient cleaning practices.

The work needed to bring the market up to government standards would require vendors to move to a temporary location. Five million baht was to be used to construct the temporary venue on at least 6 rai of land. Vendors are currently using land in front of Banglamung Hospital. Delays came about after discussions failed to reach a verdict, as the expense at filling the land was more than allocated and there had been no negotiation undertaken with the landowner. A new potential area was suggested behind the old Siam Nimit cinema just to the left of the hospital.

Discussions continued after the meeting as everyone inspected the sites for further consideration. Officials spoke with the landowner after they agreed that the suggested site was better than the current one for a temporary market. A final decision will be reached at future meeting.

Ariyawat Nuamsawat

The monthly “meet the people’ project continues with Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn revealing plans for the development of the city’s educational institutions. In a press conference at city hall on March 1, Niran said his plans to increase the number of schools under city control were almost complete.

The mayor speaks about educational development in the city.

“The city currently has as 10 schools under its control. However, due to the increasing numbers, it is not enough. We are currently in the planning process to take on another two schools and increase the number of teachers,” said Niran.

The development plans include increasing the number of school buildings at current institutions to accommodate the increasing number of students, as well as take over running and budget functions for the Potisampam and Banglamung schools. Further curriculum developments are also underway.

“We have increased the language courses from grade 1 up to grade 9 to include English and Mandarin Chinese. To also cope with the increase in student numbers, budgets have been approved to hire a further 200 teachers to bring class sizes down to the normal standard and alter the system slightly to give children further opportunities to develop opinions on local issues,” said the mayor.

Niran added that the processes for taking over the two schools was all but complete and the department is waiting for city council approval on the issue.

The mayor added that further plans are underway to build a public library on 25 rai of land on Pattaya Third Road, as well as further sporting facilities. Both projects will require a total of over 100 million baht, and is expected to commence in 2007.

Said he needed money to pay off gambling debts

Boonlua Chatree

A taxi driver working for a Pattaya travel agency has been arrested for the murder of a 52-year-old English tourist.

The body of Bernard Norman Le Court, a chef from Liverpool, was found in some bushes near Soi Plutaluang 52 in the Sattahip district on Wednesday morning March 2.

Jatupol Banchuen reenacts the murder of Liverpool chef, Bernard Norman Le Court.

Le Court’s throat had been cut and he had several stab wounds to his body. The Englishman’s belongings were missing, but there was over 5,000 baht in his pocket and a receipt for a taxi service to take him to Don Muang Airport. The receipt provided the name and address of the travel company.

Officers visited the company’s office and were able to learn the driver’s name and whereabouts. They then tracked him down at his Jomtien home.

The suspect, Jatupol Banchuen, 26, was asleep when officers arrived. When awoken, allegedly his face turned pale at the sight of police.

Jatupol confessed to the murder, telling police that he had a 90,000 baht gambling debt to pay off. He added that he decided to take the foreigner outside the normal route and intended to steal his money and belongings after killing him. He went on to say that he had sold all the man’s belongings and thrown the knife away, after which he then cleaned the car.

Following the interrogation, police took Jatupol to re-enact the chain of events. Pol. Lt. Gen. Jongrak Jatunont, Region 2 police commander attended the crime scene.

Jatupol Banchuen has been remanded to custody and charged with first degree murder and theft using a deadly weapon. He faces the death penalty if found guilty of murder.