A tragic accident claimed the life of a Filipino crew member of a ship berthed in Leam Chabang Port.
Police and rescue workers were called to attend the accident scene on board a Philippine registered vessel which was berthed at pier B4 in Leam Chabang Port.
They found the body of a Mr Domingo Junior aged 50 laying in a pool of blood in the cargo hold of th ship. Apparently Mr Junior had climbed up to fix a problem with a cargo sling which had got stuck when his safety equipment failed and he had fallen 12 meters to his death in the cargo hold.
The body of the deceased seaman was recovered from the cargo vessel and taken for a full forensic examination at Leam Chabang hospital.
Meanwhile police and port authority officials began an investigation into the accident by interviewing the captain of the ship and other crew members to try to find out exactly what happened to cause the death of Mr. Junior.
Sriracha police and a rescue foundation unit were called to attend a serious road accident in Nong Kham District of Sriracha.
At the scene they found a wrecked Honda Jazz vehicle that had collided with the wall of a factory. The driver later identified as a Khun Khanphakorn aged 28 from Rayong province was trapped and unconcious inside his car. It took rescue workers using cutting equipment and the jaws of life over 30 minutes to free the driver from the wreckage. He was transported still unconcious to Sriracha hospital for emergency treatment.
Eyewitnesses to the crash said that they had seen the car driving at speed in the direction of Sriracha when it went off the road and crashed into the wall.
Unfortunately Khun Khanphakorn succumbed to the injuries sustained in the accident and died later in hospital. A post mortem will be carried out before the body of the deceased is passed over to relatives for funeral rites to be carried out.
A case of A mango a day keeps the Arabs away.
Police Sergent Somsri was on traffic control duty at Dolphin roundabout in North Pattaya when he joined in the pursuit of a foreign tourist who was attempting to escape after committing the offence of grand theft mango.
A fruit seller complained that a man of "middle eastern" appearance had approached his fruit stall with the pretence of buying some fruit. He then saw the "middle eastern person" slip a ripe mango into his pocket and walk away.
Khun Bunchit aged 41 the fruit seller demanded payment but the "middle eastern" man fled like a fruit bat out of hell. Neither the fruit seller or the traffic policeman were quick enough to arrest the fruity thief before he ran into into the Amari Orchid hotel and disappeared amongst other "middle eastern" tourists.
Khun Bunchit gave a detailed description of the mango and the "middle eastern" mango robber to the police. The authorities are now looking for a "middle eastern" man aged about 25-30, 170 cm tall with a sticky beard.
Perhaps the Arab gentleman was just not a happy chappy as he had arrived in paradise to find there were no virgins here - only ripe mangoes for the plucking.
Banglamung Hospital put disaster preparedness evacuation plans into effect after a major fire broke out in a canteen at the rear of the hospital. Staff were preparing to move patients to other locations but this proved unnecessary after the hard work of fire fighters managed to stop the fire spreading to the main building.
It was about 10 pm when an emergency call went out for assistance. Rescue workers, 8 fire engines, dozens of fire fighters, Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation Units and police rushed to the scene to tackle the already intense fire and attempt to save adjoining structures and most importantly of all stop the fire from threatening the main hospital buildings where hundreds of patients, staff and doctors looked on in trepidation.
It took over an hour to douse the flames with luckily no harm to life or limb.
Khun Chawalat aged 60 and his cousin Khun Banlang aged 32 were responsible for the canteen but were not there when the fire occurred. Initial investigations by fire forensic experts suggest that an electrical short circuit was to blame.
Just around dawn Pattaya Police and a Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation Unit were dispatched to provide assistance to a Thai man who had been given a Glasgow Kiss (hit over the head with a bottle) on Pattaya Beach Road.
At the scene at the entrance to Soi 13 /3. Pattaya Beach Road they found 39 year old Khun Sutthipong who runs a local food shop. He was bleeding heavily from a head wound and a gashes to one ear and also just under his eye. He was treated by medics at the scene and then taken to hospital for emergency treatment to receive stitches to his wounds.
There are two sides to every story and this was no exception giving the tale of the food vendor some food for thought.
He says he was just taking an early morning stroll to take in the sea breezes along the edge of the beach chatting to some of the ladies and fake ladies who he recognised as customers at his food shop. He crossed the road and near a motorbike taxi stand he was attacked and bottled by an unknown assailant who seemed to be associated with a gang of lady boys in the area.
Another witness however told a different tale saying that the man was drunk and was hurling abuse at the girls and non girls on the beach.
Whatever, did he deserve getting a just dessert like this. Pattaya Beach Road is NOT the place to be Thai or Farang in the wee hours especially if you are under the influence.
Nine pairs of local lovers made the ultimate commitment on Valentines Day by tying the not in a unique wedding ceremony at Nong Nooch Tropical Garden Pattaya.
Mounted atop the pride and joy of Nong Nooch their beloved elephants the elephants were led in a parade of love by musicians and dancers to finally tie the knot with their betrothed in front of the Sheriff of Nottingham, sorry Sheriff of Sattahip.
Finally the now married couples decked out with flowers and accompanied by their noble beasts of burden posed for photographs that they can take home to show their future children and grandchildren.
By the way congratulations to Khun Peter of Sawatdee Pattaya TV (My Boss) and his beautiful bride Khun Nu and I hope that your elephant is recovering from the ordeal.
A Press Conference was held to announce the upcoming Pattaya Music Challenge 2014 which will be held between the 22 to 24th of February at the Central Festival Pattaya Beach.
There will be around 46 youth bands of many types from Rock Bands to Boy Bands competing for a total prize money of 50,000 Baht.
The winners will receive a cash prize of 10,000 baht. Second Place 9,000 baht Third Place prize 8,000 baht. And all participants will receive trophies and certificates.
Contesting bands must have between three and eight members per band, a top age limit of 22 years old and be residents of Banglamung, Pattaya, Sattahip, Sriracha and the environs.
Khun Sakchai Teangho the Mayor of Banglamung ordered the staff at Banglamung District offices to man their desks in a marathon marriage day which saw dozens of lovers both tie and Farang tie the knot on Valentine's Day 2014.
First in the queue at 9 am. Khun Gitisak and his beautiful new wife Khun Chanadar who chose Valentine’s Day 2014 to formalize their relationship and become a permanent couple followed by a seemingly never ending stream of 39 other pairs of prospective spouses.
Khun Sakchai was on hand to officiate at the civil ceremonies, sign the requisite marriage certificates whilst taking the not to missed opportunity to take a photo op with the lucky Valentine lovers.
At The Royal Garden Plaza shopping centre Pattaya Ripley’s Believe it or Not! organized a marathon huggathon to celebrate Valentines day and attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for hugging.
300,000 baht was the incentive for a host of hugging couples to get up close and personal in front of a large crowd who did dwindle as the night drew on as well as the number of competitors decreased as they called off their clinches no doubt with the thought of a cold beer beer taking preference to a hot hug.
Organizers called it a day and a night with 26 clinging couples still entwined at the 26 hours 26 minutes and 26 second mark beating the existing record of 25 hours 22 minutes 36 seconds which was set in March 2013 in London, England.
So Believe it or Not the 300,000 Baht prize money was equally split between the 26 new hugging record holders who can now go home to bed no doubt alone of course.
Roses are red, violets are blue come Valentines the flower sellers will screw you.
Thais are experts at a practice we know as price gouging. The season of Love is a season the flower sellers and flower shops just love too.
It was the vegetarian festival recently and lo and behold just days before the festival started the price of vegetables went through the roof. Oh bad weather, high fuel prices, Denver losing to Seattle there is always some exuse.
Lovers this year were blooming mad when the time to buy their lover a rose or two was the time they needed an appointment to see their bank manager to secure a second mortgage.
Cold air somewhere in the world possibly the polar vortex seemed to push up the price of roses from 10 Baht per single flower to 20 Baht. Some roses are grown in Tak which is the Rose bowl of Thailand but they are generaly smaller than the finer blooms imported from places like China and Israel.
No doubt next week when Valentines is over the weather will turn out just fine and the prices will miarculously drop to pre love fest levels.
A factory fire in Tambol Nong Arun in Baan Bung District needed a massive response by local fire brigades.
20 fire engines and dozens of fire fighters tackled the raging fire at a factory that produces Eucalyptus chips from Eucalyptus timber.
It took the fire fighters over two hours to bring the blaze which was fanned by high winds under control. Afterwards forensic fire officials could start their investigation. From these initial investigations it is though that sparks from an overheating piece of production machinery had caused the fire.
Damage to the machinery, building and products stored in the factory are thought to be over 10 million Baht.
A faulty engine oil drain plug is though to be the blame for a string of road accidents in Chonburi. A shuttle bus sprang an oil leak and emptied the slippery contents along a two Km stretch of Sukhumvit Road from Chonphinit school to Chonburi Hospital.
Chonburi police were called to sort out the aftermath when about 10 cars and motorcycles had come to grief after slipping and losing control on the oil deposited by the errant bus
It was easy for the police to find the vehicle. They simply followed the trail of oil until the reached the bus parked up by the side of the road. The driver who was on his way to take workers to Leam Chabang was a bit nonplussed that his vehicle wouldn't budge another inch. No doubt because there was no oil left in the engine casing.
He was charged with polluting a public highway in a manner which caused danger to other road users.
Nine Fire Engines and dozens of fire fighters were called out to Tackle a blaze that had engulfed a factory in East Pattaya.
At the scene The TT & G Fiber Co.ltd. No. 3/2 Moo 2, Tambon Khao Mai Kaew they found flames and thick black smoke billowing from the premises. The factory which produces coconut fibre from coconut shells for bedding was well ablaze with flames fanned by a strong wind. It took the fire fighters over 30 minutes.
It seems the fire had started after sparks from someone burning stubble in a neaby field were blown into the bedding factory igniting the highly flammable coconut products that they produced.
The owner of the factory Khun Witsawat aged 31 was gutted as was his factory with damage estimated at around one million Baht. Let's hope he is well insured.
Nongprue Police and a unit of the Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation were called to a fatal stabbing incident at a construction site in East Pattaya.
At the scene a workers camp at The Greenfield Housing Estate off Soi Siam Country Club in Nonprue District they found two brothers Khun Apichai aged 25 and Khun Apidaert aged 22.
Khun Apichai was dead laying in a pool with multiple stab wounds to his upper torso, neck and his head. His brother Khun Apidaert had been detained by other workers at the camp after he attempted to flee after killing his brother. The murder weapon a bloody Samurai sword was found hidden under a bed.
It seems that after a drinking session there was an argument. This was not a loud altercation as the older brother was deaf and dumb and they communicated by sign language. A fight broke out and at some stage the knife was drawn. Khun Apidaert said that it was his older brother who pulled the knife and he was simply defending himself by disarming his brother and then stabbing him repeatedly until he was dead.
Khun Apidaert has been arrested for the murder and after recording evidence at the scene the body of Khun Apichai was taken to hospital for a full post mortem to be carried out.
The Russians are coming, The Russians are coming. Well it seems like the Russians are going or that is the hope of local tour operators who on one hand welcome the influx of tourists from the the former Soviet Union but object to the tourist dollars or roubles ending up in the hands of Russian tour operators and Russian tour guides who think they can operate in Thailand with impunity and without work permits.
Thai tour companies face a difficult dilema. How to put a stop to the illegal practices of foreigners taking their jobs and what they perceive are their profits. Complain to the local police? mmm problem as someone must be turning a blind eye to the husky Ruskies.
So They lodged complaints with the DSI The Department of Special Investigations (DSI) Eastern Branch, The Thai equivelent of the FBI.
After conducting investigations they moved in this week to several Russian tour companies around Pattaya and asked politely to see the work permits of the Russian tour guides. Whoops Niet, No Have.
Seven Russians were rumbled and transported to various police stations around Pattaya, Jomtien abd Banglamung whilst their status in Thailand is considered. If found to be working in Thailand without the requisite documentation they face fines, imprisoment and deportation.
More arrests are on the cards.
Khun Anek The Deputy Mayor of Nongprue District presided over a press conference to announce the details of Open House Pattaya Tech 2014
The event will be held at Pattaya Technical College between the 20th and 22nd of February. The aim of the event is to attract the right calibre of students with the requisite skills and academic qualifications to be trained by the college to fill the ever growing need for skilled graduates in the technical skills field. Businesses, factories and research establishments are backing the push for extra recruitment to fill a definite and growing need for present and future vacancies.
Emergency services, police and fire trucks were dispatched to a fire that had engulfed a restaurant in South Pattaya.
At the scene a four story shop house in Soi Yen Sabai, South Pattaya they found the restaurant bar area on the ground floor engulfed in flames and smoke billowing out from the building.
Fire brigade workers aimed their water hoses into the restaurant and after about 10 minutes were able to bring the blaze under control.
The restaurant was not open when the fire started. It appears that the fire had started in near a sofa in the shop and luckily no one in the building or any of the responding fire fighters were injured in the incident.
Over the weekend Nongprue police worked tirelessly to find out who murdered the Cambodian Construction Worker whose body was found ditched on rough land in East Pattaya.
Now the police know the identity of the dead man. He is a Mr. Kar aged 52 a Cambodian national. The police have announced the arrest of three of the deceased's co-workers who have been charged with murder.
More details of the bloody scene have also emerged. The murder occurred not far from Mabrachan reservoir in Pong District East Pattaya near a boundry wall to The Vineyard Phase 3 Housing Estate. The victim had been killed by having his throat cut in such a manner that he had almost been decapitated.
Three men have confessed to the murder. Mr. Saern aged 31, Mr. Bom aged 23 and Mr. Lee aged 33 all Cambodian Nationals who worked at the same construction camp
They said that they fought with the man after a drinking session where the man was noisy and had shown disrespect to his fellow workers.and then dragged him to an isolated spot and killed the man with a large knife.
Police have collected the clothing worn by the workers that they wore at the time of the murder and have also taken in to evidence the knife used to commit the murder.
Two cars were extensively damaged in an accident on Sukhumvit Road near Pattaya Police Station. A Khun Tanya lost control of her Toyota Vios swerving across the carriageway and hit another car on the south bound carriageway the driver of the other vehicle could do nothing to avoid the inevitable collision.
Despite the damage luckily no one was hurt, no one had been drinking and there were no policemen looking to press any charges. So just a wait for the insurance guys to turn up and assess the damage. Yet another normal busy day on Pattaya's busy highways.
Nongprue Police were called to attend a serious fatal road accident near Nongprue Community School on the road to The Bira Race Circuit.
At the scene they found the body of a Khun Yuthana aged 19 who lived locally at Khaomaigaew Community. He appeared to have sustained a broken skull and there was a long trail of blood leading to his wrecked Honda motorcycle that was laying nearby.
His motorcycle had been obviously struck by another vehicle but the other vehicle and driver had not hung around for the police to arrive and had fled the scene. There were parts from the vehicle including headlight glass and a bumper that suggested that the vehicle they were looking for was a Toyota Vigo Pick-up truck.
There was a witness who had seen the Toyota Vigo driving at high speed and had heard the crash but because of the poor lighting on that stretch of road had not actually seen the crash.
It did not take long to find the vehicle. It had been abandoned on Soi Siam Country Club about 5km's away. The truck had front end damage, the drivers door had been left open and the driver had obviously done a runner on foot into thick woodland.
The police cordoned off the area and conducted an extensive manhunt but the driver was not found.
Now the police are looking into the truck which seems to have been registered in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. However they think that this vehicle may have been stolen so do not at this stage lay the blame on the actual owner of the vehicle.
The search goes on for this cowardly hit and run idiot.
