Friday 13 September 2013

Pattaya British Expat Dies in Bed

Police Lieutenant Bunthasana of the Sattahip Police was informed of the death of a foreigner in his area. He went to the scene in Bang Saray near Pattaya along with a unit from a rescue foundation where he found the body of Mr. Anthony Robert McKay, aged 64 years, a retired British Railways worker laying on the bed in a bedroom of the house. They inspected the scene and found nothing to suggest foul play had occured. 

Khun ThongNang McKay aged 49 the wife of the deceased British man. She said that they had been married for 13 years and that he had bought the house after he retired to Thailand. She said that recently he had returned home to England to attend the funeral of his son who had died at the young age of 43 of heart failure. She also explained that on his return he had been suffering with a deep depression and was finding it difficult to sleep and eat.

Although the police expect that he had died of natural causes it is normal procedure for the body to be sent for a post mortem to be carried out and the British Embassy informed before the body can be released to relatives for a funeral to be carried out.

Pattaya Transformer Explosion injures Motorcycle Taxi Driver

Friday the 13th was indeed not a lucky day for a Pattaya Motorbike Taxi Driver Khun Panupong aged 45 He was parked up at a taxi rank in Soi Yensabai in South Pattaya when he received a load shock, a transformer located above him exploded with a load boom. A piece of hot metal landed on his head.

He went straigh to hospital, it is not known if he drove himself or he had to hire a taxi to take him.

He received medical attention, seven stiches to his head, a hospital bill and no doubt a big headache. He returned to his post to see workers from the electric company fixing the transformed transformer. Not wishing to miss an opertunity to make money he enquired about receiving compensation for his injuries, medical bills, loss of earnings and paracetomol tablets. Workers told him to make a police report and take all his paperwork to the Electricity Authority Office to make a claim.

So as Khun Panupong makes his claim he wants the media to report on his terrible start to Friday the 13th and also to tell folks that they should never shy away from making a few bob out of the occasional boom.

Pattaya Thieves Pawn Stolen Computer

At 2 am on Friday the 13th of September Pattaya Police were called by a Pawn Shop owner on Pattaya Second Road to report some dodgy motorcycle taxi drivers who were trying to sell a computer and computer monitor for 2,900 Baht that appeared to have fallen off the back of a lorry. Police checked and found the computer had actually been stolen. 

Their Friday the 13th luck got even worse when it was found that the motorcycle that they had arrived at the shop on was also stolen. The two guys Khun Sakdar aged 27 and Khun Wirayoot aged 19. were duly arrested and admitted to attempting to sell stolen property saying that they just needed the money to buy some drugs.

A third man, Khun Neung escaped and is currently being sought by Police.

Korean Ambassador Visits Pattaya

At Pattaya City Hall The Mayor Khun Itthipol welcomed his Excellency Jeon Jae Man The Ambassador of Korea to Thailand and his delegation. The newly appointed ambassador who is based at the Korean Embassy in Bangkok had come to Pattaya to discuss the Korean tourist market in Pattaya and future plans to develop Pattaya as a family tourist destination that will attract even more Korean visitors to the city.

Thailand and Korea have had formal diplomatic relations for over 30 years and at present ranks 5th in the number of tourist arrivals to the city with 1.7 million Koreans visiting the Kingdom of Thailand last year and these numbers expected to grow significantly in the near future. Pattaya is the number one destination for Korean tourists visiting Thailand.

Korea is now classed as a developed country and the Koreans have a high purchasing power. This is particularly important to Thailand in two sectors - agricultural trade and tourism. The Thai government has launched a Korean language school and the Korean Cultural Centre in Bangkok to help prepare for the future influx of tourists from this important ASEAN partner.

High Speed Railway for Pattaya

At The Ambassador City Hotel in Na Jomtien a conference was held to promote and discuss a proposed high speed rail project along the eastern seaboard that will link Bangkok - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Chonburi - Pattaya - and Rayong.

The conference organized by the State Railway of Thailand was attended by the minister of transport and othr government officials and government agencies related to the transport sector as well as local government and elected officials.

The aim of the meetings is to present information about the project, the economical advantages that a high speed link will bring to the area and  the possible environmental impacts.

The project managers described the system in detail with plans and video presentations and looked for feedback from the conference attendees to the project. Following this conference their will be a series of public meetings that will present the project to the people of the region who may be possitively and negatively impacted by this highly ambitious project.

Chinese Navy Visit to Sattahip Naval Base

At the Headquarters of the Sattahip Naval Base Admiral Supachai The Commanding Officer of the Naval Base welcomed his counterparts, senior naval officers from the Republic of China. A squadron of three Chinese Navy vessels had berthed at Sattahip on a formal military visit to Thailand. About 1,500 sailors and military personel are expected to be spending some R&R in Pattaya and Bangkok. THe Chinese naval squandron is part of an international naval task force tasked with suppressing the activities of Saomalian pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

Thai Naval Authorities have arranged logistics and support facilities to the Chinese visitors which will last from the 12th to the 16th of September. The Chinese Naval officers thanked their Thai hosts and offered an invitation for Thai ships and their brother naval officers to visit China whenever they had the opportunity.

Friday 6 September 2013

Pattaya Beach Road Sweep

In the early hours of September the 6th Pattaya Tourist Police and Pattaya Tourist Police volunteers carried out one of their regular sweeps of Beach Road. The aim to rid the main promenade once and for all of the unsavoury elements that are tarnishing the squeeky clean image of this beaitiful city. Rumours are that ladyboys and real ladies are displaying wandering behavior and covertly and stealthily offering certain services to foreign tourists that are not only illegal but could tarnish the reputation of Pattaya and indeed Thailand as a popular family orientated tourist destination.

It turns out the rumours were well founded and during the sweep 18 real ladies and non-real ladies were swept up, detained and transported to Pattaya police station to face the wrath of Pattaya police officers who gave them stern warnings about their nefarious activities. They were then all fined 200 Baht and released no doubt relieved to escape the stuffy atmosphere of the police station and breath once more the refreshing sea breeze blowing onto the Beach Road promenade.

Old Lady Killed in Sattahip Road Accident

At 9 pm Sattahip police received a report of a fatal road accident at Km 167 Sukhumvit road on the Pattaya bound carriageway. Police and rescue units rushed immediately to the incident. At the scene they found the body of a 71 year old lady Khun Thong Lo and a Honda City vehicle that had struck her.

The driver of the vehicle Ms Patchirya aged 40 was stood by her vehicle in a state of shock waiting to explain herself to the police. Ms Patchirya said that she had been returning home after doing some errands, it was now dark when suddenly the car swerved across to the right lane and towards the drainage ditch in the central reserve. Just at this moment the old lady who was crossing the highway emerged out of the ditch and into the path of the out of control vehicle. The front of the car impacted the old lady and she was thrown up onto the bonnet and into the windscreen. Khun Thong Lo suffered massive injuries and appeared to have died almost instantly.

Police collected evidence and statements at the scene and will continue to investigate how the car suddenly managed to swerve across the road as to wether human error or vehicle failure caused this fatal accident to occur.

Chonburi Cannabis Garden Raided by Police

After receiving a tip off Police Captain Chockchai of the Chonburi Police led a group of drug suppression officers on a raid of a house in Muang District Chonburi. At the house on the third floor roof area they discovered 250 fully grown cannabis plants and the happless market gardener Mr Nathapol aged 29.

Mr Nathapol had apparantly been cultivating his stash for about three years and it is believed that this is the largest haul of illicit cannamis plants ever seized in the region and has been charged with class 5 drugs offences relating to the production and distribution of illegal substances.

The raid and seizure of the massive quantity of cannabis plants drew a large crowd of locals who thronged to view the unfolding drama no doubt some were cursing the fact that they found out about the existance of the valuable POT plants growing in their neighbourhood much too late.

Pattaya Chinese Tour Company Money Missing

At 1 pm on the 6th of September the head of a Chinese tour company made a report to the tourist police of a large some of money that had gone missing from a tour bus that they had hired.

Tourist police took details of the incident and instigated enquiries to try to find the missing 200,000 Baht that had reportedly been left in a back pack on the bus whilst the tour guide took a party of 41 Chinese tourists on a trip to the islands from Bali Hai pier and then returned them back to their hotel when he found that the money was gone. The police inspected the vehicle and could find no trace of the missing money. They interviewed the bus driver and staff involved but all to no avail.

The police are well aware that the loss would certainly be covered by insurance and a police report would be needed  before a claim could be filed with the insurance company. A report was duly taken into evidence and the tour guide said that was fine and went on his merry way to take care of the next tour group.

Transnational Crime Training At the Tropicana Hotel Pattaya

At the Tropicana Hotel Pattaya Police Major General Krianksa the commander of Region 3 police force presided over a meeting to disseminate knowledge about transnational crime in the area. Attending the meeting were Pattaya immigration officials, Pattaya and Banglamung District civil defense volunteers, and officers from the Pattaya tourist police and regular police forces from stations across the city including Pattaya, Banglamung, Nongrue and Huay Yai.

Also in attendance were representatives of groups who were in regular contact with tourists and foreigners such as Pattaya motorcycle taxi riders,Pattaya taxi drivers, Pattaya car rental operators, Pattaya restaurant and hotel staff. In total more than 370 people attended the meeting.

The aim of the meeting was to provide a public service with the help of monitoring the problem of crime in various ways. Emphasis on issues of transnational crime and human trafficking. 

The attendees were lectured on the tell tale signs to look out for in relation to transnational crime activities and told when they see a problem to the inform the authorities immediately. If you spot anything illegal or believe a crime is being commited to report it immediately on the immigration hotline number 1178 

Pattaya Tourist Court Opens

Thailand's first specially designated "Tourist Court" was declared open for business. Pattaya has been chosen as the trial trial process that it is hoped will soon be repeated in courts at tourist destinations across the nation very soon with the same court systems to be introduced in Phuket Provincial Court, Krabi Provincial Court, Pathumwan district court covering central Bangkok and The Dusit district court covering the Khao San Road area in Bangkok.

Pattaya Provincial Court Judges and Court staff officers have been trained and briefed and the supporting legal and information services set up ready to deal with the special problems, obstacles and complaints that tourists to the city face on a daily basis.

Currently, the number of tourist arrivals to Thailand is more than 20 million passengers per year and is set to increase steadily in the near future. As a result, the tourism industry has become a major source of income for the country. 

Therefore, to ensure that tourists can vacation in safety and be traeted fairly in the purchase of goods and services It is important to have a standardized and efficient legal system to protect the rights of these visitors and temporary foreign redidents.

The idea of opening the special Tourist Court in Pattaya Provincial Court of Justice is to instigate a  policy that will be suitable for the needs of tourists which are different from the general case loads that are heard before the regular court.

Because most tourists are here in Pattaya to enjoy just a short time the authorities have approved a revised law related to the protection of the tourists according to international standards. and provide advice and assistance so that visitors can get receive fair yet speedy legal services before they return home.