Wednesday 11 March 2015

Man Drowns in East Pattaya Lake

Nongprue Police and a Unit of The Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation swung into action after reports that a body had been seen floating in a small lake nearby. At the scene in in Soi Tungklom Tanmun 27 in East Pattaya they found the body of Khun Mai who was discovered floating face-down in the lake and he is thought to have been dead for around 10 hours.

Khun Mai aged 51 had no marks on his body suggesting foul play and at this stage it is thought that due to some unknown medical condition Khun Mai had fallen into the water and drowned.

Khun Sai the 52 year old wife of the deceased looked on distraught as the body of her husband was brought to shore. Khun Sai explained that she had had a bad premonition of death the previous evening and begged her husband not to go fishing. He laughed it off. That was the last time she saw him alive.

The body of Khun Mai was transported to hospital for a full post mortem to be carried out before his body can be released to the family for funeral rites to be carried out.

Hit and Run Accident Kills Man Near Bira International Racing Circuit Pattaya

Around 8am Nongprue Police and a Unit of The Sawang Boriboon Dhamma Sathan Rescue Foundation to provide assistance were called a busy highway in their district where a body had been found at the side of the road.

On highway 36 in front of the Bira International Racing Circuit they found the body of a man aged somewhere between 45-50. He was laying in the grass in the central reserve of the highway.

The deceased did not carry any formal means of identification and appeared to have been dead for about 10 hours. The man had suffered severe traumatic injuries consistent with being hit by a vehicle travelling at high speed.

The body of the deceased was taken to hospital for a full post mortem to be carried out. The police are appealing for families in the area who may have a missing family member to contact them as soon as possible. Meanwhile auto repair shops across the region are being canvassed to see if any vehicles have turned up to have repairs carried out that may be consistent with a vehicle pedestrian accident.

East Pattaya Police Army Drug Checkpoints

Banglamung Police teamed up with a contingent of Royal Thai Army personnel to set up road checkpoints in the local Banglamung area. There was a simple but important aim to the operation - to identify and arrest drug users.

Manpower was split into two teams one team of Police officers, district officials and Army officers took up position with a traffic checkpoint in the middle of Soi Thai Udom which intersects with Soi Pho Thi Sarn. The second checkpoint was in the middle of Soi Nern Phlab Wan in front of Sawang Boriboon Wittaya school.

Suspicious looking teenagers were pulled over and summarily drug tested.

The checkpoint in Soi Nernplubwan came in first in the find a druggie competition and netted 27 teenagers who tested positive for banned substances. The checkpoint in Soi Thai Udom came in a close second with 25 teenagers failing the urine test.

All of the drug failures got a free ride to Banglamung police station where further testing awaited them and if proved still positive then they face a day in court.

Security Guard Dies of Heart Attack in East Pattaya

Nongprue Police and a Unit of The Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation were called to a house on MaiYaiLia Soi 25 in Nongprue to investigate reports of a man who had suffered fatal heart attack. At the house they came upon the body of 48 year old Khun Dawut laying face up just inside the doorway to the house and still dressed in his security guards uniform.

The police spoke with his wife Khun Somjit aged 42. She said that her husband had no medical problems and was a normal fit man although he was known to work hard and spent many hours at his job as a security guard.

This evening he had returned home from work. Shortly after he arrived a friend who is a motorcycle taxi driver Khun Buala aged 62 arrived to deliver a television. Khun Dawut helped his friend to carry the TV into the house at which point he suffered a seizure and fell to the ground. Moments later he stopped breathing and died.

The police took photographs as evidence before Khun Dawut was transported to hospital for a full post mortem to be carried before his body can be released to the family for funeral rites to be carried out.

Falling Electric Pylon Kills True Corporation Technician in Soi Kao Talo East Pattaya

Nongprue Police and a unit of The Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation were called to attend a fatal accident in Soi Kao Talo, East Pattaya.

At the scene outside The Siam Royal View Estate in Soi Kao Talo they found a concrete post carrying electrical cables that had fallen across the road. Trapped underneath the post was a Technician who works for The True Corporation. He had been crushed and trapped beneath the fallen post.

Khun Suppachai aged 38, who was working with his younger brother had been sent to the location to replace and move some fibre optic internet cables. Despite having received warnings that the post was in an unstable condition Khun Suppachai put up a wooden ladder and started to climb the post. The warnings proved accurate, the post fell over with Khun Suppachai falling backwards into the road and the post crushing his head and torso.

The post was eventually lifted and Khun Suppachai's body freed from the tangle of wires. His body was transported to hospital for a full post mortem to be carried out before his body can be released to relatives for funeral rites to be performed.

Police are investigating the incident further in conjunction with the Internet Company The True Corporation at this time.

Wednesday 14 January 2015

Pattaya Beach Brolly Free Beach For at Least One Day

Wednesday this week saw the first day of an experiment dreamt up by the bright sparks at Pattaya City Hall. A beach that actually looks like a beach. A 3 km expanse of golden sand, when the tide goes out totally free of any man made or man controlled structures like beach deckchairs or beach brollies.

Yes it looks pretty and makes for a good souvenir picture postcard "Wish You Were Not Here" image to send home to the folks. Pattaya City Hall in their infinite wisdom have decided to stamp their bureaucratic control on the feature that they deam to be the most important feature of any International Beach resort "The Beach"

However Pattaya Beach is not "The Beach" that drug addled Leonardo De Cappaccino and his pot smoking compadres made famous. Pattaya is not St Tropez or Copacabana. Blackpool Beach, The Illuminations on Walking Street and kiss me quick darlink short time maybe.



Tourists surveyed on this first brolly less day were generally enthusiastic. Beach vendors not so happy after all their income has just effectively been slashed by 15%

Beach vendors as well as putting out deckchairs and picnic tables and erecting umbrellas on their "Patches" of beach that they pay exorbitant money for also put out rubbish receptacles and are constantly cleaning up after their customers.

Who is going to clean up after the hordes or not so many hordes of freelancer tourists on a vendor free beach?

Others who will benefit from Umbrella free beaches will of course be local clinics and hospitals with  tourists thronging emergency rooms with severe cases of sunburn and dehydration and the long term effects of dramatic increases in skin cancer.

Disabled Child Dies in Sattahip

Police Captain SaiJai of Sattahip police station received notification of the death of a young child at a house in his jurisdiction. He went along to the scene along with medics and a rescue foundation unit to provide assistance. At the scene he found 73 year old Khun Wassana and her deceased grandson Itthikorn.

Khun Wassana was obviously distraught. She had brought up and cared for the young boy since he was a baby. Her son, the child's father Khun Munwong aged 35 who is in the Thai military had left the boy with his mother Khun Wassana after he had split up with his wife soon after she gave birth to the baby.

The little boy Itthikorn had a serious disability suffering from a rare condition that had caused his head to almost twice the normal size.

Police Captain SaiJai and the village headman and concerned local residents got together to take the child to the local temple for funeral rites to be arranged.

Rayong Drug Dealer Wants to go to Prison

An unusual and disturbing story from Rayong. Sattahip drug enforcement agents snared a low level drugs dealer in a sting operation. That's not unusual they do that every day. What is unusual is the reason he gave the agents as to why he was dealing.

The Sattahip agents had information that drugs were being dealt from a residence in Moo 1 Ban Chang near Rayong. They set up a sting operation with an undercover agent using 1,400 Baht in marked notes. At the location he used the notes to purchase 7 Yaa Baa (Methamphetamine) tablets.



After the deal went down other agents moved in and arrested the drugs dealer Khun Prasart aged 42. They searched him and his residence and found two more Yaa Baa Tablets and 0.40 grammes of Yaa Ice.

Under questioning Khun Prasart admitted to being in possession of class 1 narcotics and confessed to dealing drugs to teenagers in the local area. He told the agents that he started dealing drugs because he knew that he would be caught one day. When caught in all likelihood he would be sent to jail. His young brother was at present in prison in Rayong and he loved and missed  his brother so much. Now he would get the opportunity to join his beloved brother.

Methinks he has not only been selling these evil chemicals he has been using too many of them himself.

Pattaya Potholes Plus Motorcycle Equals Pain

Potholes in the road are a major hazard to motorists all over the world. Driving a two wheeled vehicle in the darkness of the night in Pattaya and your chances of being injured rises significantly. Now into the equation let's put in a young female rider on her way home who may or may not have a motorcycle license but almost certainly has never been trained to handle a potentially lethal mechanical machine.



Finally add in the fact that potholes often go unnoticed and un-repaired by the authorities for days or even weeks. And cones, signs, warning lights - do they exist around here?

A unit of The Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation were called to give assistance to a young lady who had succumbed to one of these ghostly road hazards. At the scene at the entrance to Soi 75 on The Sukhumvit Road near South Pattaya Road they found Khun Kanchana aged 33. Miss Kanchana had come off her bike and suffered head wounds and serious wounds and abrasions to her body.

She was given first aid at the scene by medics and then transported by rescue workers to Banglamung Hospital for further emergency treatment.

South Pattaya Road Car Motorcycle Accident

Pattaya Reporters are often amongst the first responders at an accident scene. An emergency centre run by the Thappraya 2310 Foundation gets the notifications about incidents and puts out radio calls for emergency services to respond.

A call came in regarding a car, motorcycle accident outside Muu Baan Rungland on South Pattaya Road. Pattaya Police and a unit from The Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation responded.



At the scene they found a Yamaha Spark motorcycle laying in the middle of the road and laying close by it's rider Khun Am. Khun Am had suffered a back injury and was in a lot of pain. Medics gave him first aid, strapped him to a back board and transported him immediately to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital for further emergency treatment.

Also at the scene close by the wrecked motorcycle was a Mitsubishi Lancer car that had damage to it's front end. Reporters moved in to talk to the driver but he was belligerent, incoherent and seemed to be under the influence.

Witnesses however were a little more forthcoming and described the accident laying the blame firmly on the Mitsubishi driver who attempted to make a right turn and collided with the oncoming motorcyclist.

Police took statements, took pictures for evidence and then moved on to try to get a sober statement from the var driver.

Wednesday 7 January 2015

North Pattaya Condo Causes a Stink With Pattaya City Hall

Khun Viravat, senior Trade Officer and a deputy mayor of Pattaya led a delegation of Pattaya City Hall Officials with the city Sanitation Engineering to sniff out a long standing problem in North Pattaya. The offensive problem was not too difficult to find as an offensive smell permanently permeates the pristine sea breezes that should be wafting through the area.

Local residents of soi 16 in Naklua North Pattaya have been increasingly vocal in their complaints of the increasingly bad smells coming from the nether regions of The High Rise Laguna Heights Condo. Khun Viravat and his entourage had a chat with some of the local residents and took note of their complaints and concerns and assured them that Pattaya City Hall would speedily sort out the smelly situation.

A meeting later with Condo management highlighted the problems that were causing the pongy pollution. Pumps at the condo building were coping with extracting the excremental sewage but were not able to transfer the resultant rancid waste water into the local drainage system leading to leakages. The condo management said that they had a three phase plan to fix the problem starting with new pumps and sewage control systems.

Khun Viravat passed on the concerned local residents concerns and said that his team of Sanitation engineers would pay regular visits to the area to ensure that The condo was following up on it's promises to deal with this problem.

Pattaya Beach Vendors Left High and Dry

Khun Rankert Ekasing the Deputy Mayor of Pattaya headed for the beach this week. He wasn't there to lay out in a comfy beach deck chair shaded by a beach umbrella and cooled by a chilly bottle of Chang provided by one of the hundreds of beach vendors. Oh no Oh contraire. Khun Ekasing was not there to laze and sample the fayre.

Today was Big Cleaning Day. You have heard the phrase you can't see the wood for the trees. Well in Pattaya you can't see the beach for a forest of beach umbrellas. Not withstanding that there is not that much beach left as City Hall fights a loosing battle as it gives millions of Baht to friendly trucking companies dump tonnes of sand on to a rapidly eroding beach environment.

So Khun Ekasing was the man with a plan and flanked by City Hall Officials and military officers he was there to carry out the plan come hell or high water whichever came first. The plan to was simple. Have - No have, Have - No Have, Have - No Have. The beach was to be split up into areas with beach umbrellas and areas without beach umbrellas so that tourists could have a choice as to whether to sit under the blazing sun on their hotel towel or pay a beach vendor to provide anti skin cancer protection ice cold medicinal medicines and spicy health food supplements.

So what about the vendors in the No have zones. To be sure they are not going to be happy chappies. Still they can all go for a beer on a Wednesday whether they have or No have as Wednesdays have been designated No Have Umbrella for the whole beach. Of course they can't sit under a cool umbrella. I wonder if someone from City Hall has just bought a serious share in Seven Eleven.

Pattaya Knitters Knit for Cool Folks in Chiang Mai

A seemingly innocuous house in South Pattaya was the scene this week for a gathering of a large number of Thai ladies with a large number of needles being used to give the occupants a much needed and much welcome high. No these were not needles attached to hypodermic syringes they were knitting needles grasped in the nimble fingers of dozens of volunteers. Feverish activity as the knitters knitted furiously to complete dozens of sweaters, wooly scarves and woolly hats.

Ok I know it has been a little cool in Pattaya just lately but woolly jumpers?

The organiser of the knit in chief knit himself Khun Somsak - secretary of The Lions Club Pattaya
January 11 to the 14th will see a road trip for the Lions Club of Pattaya who will join forces with the Lions Club of Bangkok, Lions Club of Chonburi and Lion cubs from all over Thailand as they travel up north to hand out the sorely needed sweaters and other supplies to poor folks chilling out in the hills around Chiang Mai.

Pattaya Airport U-tapao International Upbeat About Tourist Arrivals

An up-beat forecast from the up-beat manager of Pattaya airport. Pattaya airport? I hear you cry. Pattaya doesn't have an airport, I wish it did then I wouldn't have to take a sometimes 2 hour ride to Suvanaphum Bangkok airport.

Of course those in the know know of the existence of what is known as U-tapao International airport. Just a thirty minute drive, with a good tailwind down the Sukhumvit Road towards Sattahip. International Airport is not quite what I would describe it but it does have a long runway that 50 years ago saw American bombers take off to bomb the Russian and Chinese backed communist armies of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Nowadays the bombers are all but gone, I am sure the occasional one still drops by to restock on fuel rather than restock with bombs but the Russians and Chinese are still a high priority for airport administrators.

Charter flights from The former Soviet Union and the still communist run red giant China bring in hordes of commies and former commies every day. Yes the number of flights from Russia has decreased lately, says the airport manager, wiping a tear from one eye. The rouble is in the crapper but hey it's cold in Siberia at this time of year and the future is bright. The Russian's may be chilling out in local hot spots like Chernobyl But you can always depend on the Chinese. China the biggest economy in the world whose citizens are eager to travel and taste the delights of the world, as long as there is a Chinese restaurant available for the strictly controlled tour groups to partake of the local culture and cuisine.

So the manager of U-tapao International airport is right to be upbeat. He can stake his job on a regular flow of 20 to 25 charter flights a day with an average of 250 passengers per flight paying airport taxes, buying duty free souvenirs and bargain basement airport refreshments.

Of course a selected few Chinese restaurants in Pattaya, budget hotels and the Russian tourist hot spots like the seven eleven stores on beach road are rubbing their corporate hands. The rest of Pattaya businesses are just left to reminisce of those good old days of 40 years back when Tourist dollars were real dollars spent by real tourists looking for a really good time with some really sexy girls in a little known beach resort that happened to be called Pattaya.

Pattaya Traffic Policeman Killed by Hit and Run Killer

Pattaya Traffic Police this week are mourning the loss of one of it's senior and most respected officers. Police Lieutenant Pradit aged 55 was due to retire from the Pattaya Police force in a few months time after many years of service to the citizens of Pattaya.

Lieutenant Pradit was slain in a senseless and callous road accident which resulted in catastrophic fatal injuries and as is sadly the norm in Thailand the killer driver doing a runner and not hanging around the scene to face the music

Pattaya police, fellow traffic police officers and a unit of the Sawang Boriboon Thamasathan Rescue Foundation attended the crash which occurred on the Pattaya-bound carriageway of The Sukhumvit Highway between Central and North Pattaya, just before the exit leading to Highway 7. It was a gruesome scene. The police officers Honda Wave motorcycle laying on it's side and close by the body of Lieutenant Pradit. Witnesses to the accident  including one of his Traffic Police comrades had seen Black Mitsubishi Pajero crash violently into the rear-end of the officer’s motorbike. The Pajero ran over the officer and then left the scene at high speed. 

An alert went out on the police radio frequencies and soon a police unit in Nongkam Police Station in nearby Sriracha District spotted and stopped a vehicle matching the description of the Killer Mitsubishi. The driver, a Thai man whose identity has not yet been revealed was arrested whilst enquiries are made and a forensic team brought in to scrutinise his vehicle which clearly showed fresh damage to the front end.

Having been killed whilst on duty Police Lieutenant Pradit will be bestowed all the ceremonial privileges and his bereaved family taken care of by The Royal Thai Police Force and his stunned colleagues.

Thai Pervert Exposes Himself in Central Pattaya

A group of Pattaya office staff were enjoying a spot of lunch in a sub soi behind The Apichart Clinic on Pattaya Third Road in Central Pattaya when a young Thai man aged somewhere between 25-30 drew up on his Yamaha Fino Motorbike and proceeded to unzip and flash his genitals at the ladies.

The ladies were at first bemused - this doesn't happy everyday and they got out their phones and started to take pictures and video of the disgusting display. Emboldened the pervert boldly grabbed his boldness and started masturbating - all this caught on camera. The show was soon over as is the norm with Thai men and he put it away and rode off.

The ladies thought this was newsworthy so they posted the offensive episode on Facebook. Soon after they however realised that this episode was potentially more serious - what if next time he took his perverted actions a step further? They called the police who came along to study the video footage. No need for the ladies to give a description of the tosser as it was all caught on tape.

I talked to some lady friends about how they would deal with a similar situation. One suggested pointing to the offending member and laughing out load. Another had a more practical solution and involved two house bricks.

Tuesday 30 December 2014

Pattaya Journalists Spend a Day on Pattaya Beach

Being a journalist in Pattaya can be a tough job. Late nights attending gruesome accident scenes. Putting their lives on the line reporting on raucous rioters or just plain mind numbing hours of boredom attending an endless stream of Pattaya City Hall committee meetings.

News must be slow in Pattaya. A group of budding media moguls were given the onerous job of spending a day on the beach. Their task to report on tourist numbers, or lack of tourist numbers and what the foreign and Thai tourists get up to when they take their clothes off.

Well according to the Journos tourist numbers are healthy and folks seem to be taking advantage of the new beach regulations that have been set up where beach lovers can set up for their vitamin D fix without having to use the services of the beach brolly brigade.

Naklua North Pattaya Seafood Market

If you stroll down Walking Street in Pattaya on any evening and can tear your eyes away from the welcoming welcome girls who make such a welcome sight you will notice another bunch of welcomers brandishing menus and guiding you to their place of work at a nearby seafood restaurant.

The fish, crabs lobsters look great and the prices not so great. Still you are paying to dine in one of the regions prestigious if a little salubrious prime tourist traps.

Most of the seafood on display is caught locally and sold to wholesalers, restaurateurs and the general public at a sea side market in Naklua North Pattaya. Fresh off the boat and at prices that are half what you would pay in Walking Street this is the place to shop if you have a craving for crab have a hankering for Haddock or loony about lobsters.

There are a number of food stalls who, for a small charge will cook and present your recent purchases which you can enthusiastically devour at fold up tables and plastic stools or packed into Styrofoam to be taken home or consumed in a beach seafood picnic.

Years ago paid one of my regular visits to Naklua Seafood Market - I have a particular penchant for prawns. I bought a bunch of large shrimps to put on the barbi and a couple of giant sized live crabs. The first crab was very tasty and the second placed to one side for later.  The shrimp were succulent and when I turned to sacrifice the second crab - well I was to be disappointed it had done a runner and was never to be seen again.

Cambodian Construction Worker Chokes to Death on Chicken in Jomtien Near Pattaya

A unit of he Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation was on standby at a Jomtien location when they received a call asking them to provide assistance to a young man who was unconscious at the side of the road and apparently not breathing. The rescue Unit rushed to the scene on Soi Chayaupreuk 1 outside the entrance to Lalana Garden Village Housing Estate.

The victim a 27 year old Cambodian man appeared to have choked on a piece of fried chicken and collapsed. Medics cleared his airway and removed the chicken. CPR was administered as he was transported speedily to Banglamung Hospital.

A taxi driver on duty at his taxi rank outside of the housing estate that two young men who appeared to be inebriated had approached him asking for him to take them to Jomtien Beach. As he got on the bike he fell to the floor convulsing and a call for assistance was made.

Despite the efforts of emergency medics at the scene and the doctors at Banglamung Hospital the 27 year old Cambodian construction worker was declared dead at the hospital.

As is the custom The Cambodian Embassy will be notified of the death of one of it's citizens.

Na Jomtien Pattaya Traffic Checkpoints

Pattaya Police are utilising the power of the press to get their road safety messages across to the general public. Journalists and other members of the media being invited to observe and report on the activities of the fine boys  in brown as they set up extra traffic checkpoints across the region.

In Na Jomtien near Pattaya the highway traffic officers assisted by Pattaya police volunteers set up checkpoints at the crossroads by the region 2 Prosecutors building a place for reasons I won't go into I know very well. The crossroads is a busy spot with the main road to Huay Yai district crossing the multi lane Chonburi to Sattahip Sukhumvit Road highway.

The police are on the look out for motorcyclists and their passengers riding without helmets and peering through windows to spot motorists too lazy to click on their seat belts. When a stop is made paperwork is scrutinised, registration documents, driving licences and the like.

Whilst the journalists were there one motorist whose breath seemed to suggest that more attention was warranted. He was asked to blow into a breathalyser which suggested that he may have partaken of Seang Som rather than Som Tam. A group of teenage motorcyclists were pulled up for a chat. They turned out to be clean and their paperwork even cleaner.