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Phuket daily news
Online English-language newspaper for Phuket, Thailand, with daily news.
Online English-language newspaper for Phuket, Thailand, with daily news.
Pattaya & Thailand
News Update
News stories featured on this page are mostly shortened versions of articles gathered from various online news resources. Reference sources will be made available at the bottom of each article. News stories will be updated daily or when appropriate. News Archive Thailand News Links Thailand Visa News
02/ Sep/ 2010
Thailand's 40 Richest Get Far Richer In 2010: Forbes
Despite weeks of political violence that partially disrupted economic life in Bangkok this year, the combined wealth of Thailand's 40 richest people increased by 46 percent from 2009, according to a study by Forbes magazine.
Dhanin Chearavanont, owner of Thailand's largest agribusiness conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), is now the country's richest man with net worth of US$7 billion, according to Forbes, which said the top 40 were now worth $36.5 billion.
The latest report comes only three months after the worst political violence in recent Thai history, in which 91 people were killed in clashes between troops and anti-government protesters.
The red-shirt protesters, largely drawn from the rural and urban poor, complain they have no voice in a country where the richest 20 percent earn about 55 percent of the income, while the poorest fifth take just 4 percent, according to the World Bank.
Three quarters of the tycoons on the Thailand's 40 Richest list added to their fortunes thanks to a stock market that has boomed despite the unrest and a strong Thai currency.
Topping the list for the first time and the biggest gainer in dollar terms, Dhanin Chearavanont, 71, stepped up from second place last year to overtake Chaleo Yoovidhya - the 78-year-old co-owner of energy drink company Red Bull. His wealth rose by $4 billion over the past year, far outpacing Chaleo, who added just $200 million to $4.2 billion.
Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, 66, founder of Thai Beverage Pcl, which owns and distributes Chang beer and the "Thai whisky" brands Mekhong and Sangsom, was ranked number three with $4.15 billion.
Ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra was ranked only No. 23 in the Thailand's 40 richest list, with his worth put at US$390 million.
In a report in July, Forbes said Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej was the world's richest monarch in 2010 for the third year in a row with a fortune it put at US$30 billion, but that includes the assets of the Crown Property Bureau. Reuters Forbes
01/ Sep/ 2010
Thai Hospital Seeks Donations To Send Comatose German Tourist Home
A Thai hospital is seeking donations to send a German home after providing 62,500 dollars worth of free treatment to the comatose patient, hospital sources said Wednesday.
Mathias Stefan Koch, 39, was admitted to Songklanakarind Hospital in the southern town of Had Yai on October 25 after sustaining a head injury at the city's airport which left him in a coma. The hospital tried to contact Koch's relatives via the German embassy but failed to find anyone willing to take the man home.
This week the hospital set up a Fund for Assisting the Patient Named Mathias Stefan Koch in an attempt to raise 400,000 Baht (12,500 dollars) from the public to buy air tickets to transport Koch and accompanying doctors and nurses to Germany.
"We have treated him free of charge for the past 10 months, and now he's starting to come out of his coma, although he still can't speak," said Sukanya Panthomrawee, the head of the hospital's patients' rights and entitlement division. Mrs Sukanya also said the hospital had spent about two million Baht on drugs and medical treatment for Koch since October.
"We're not asking for the money back," Mrs Sukanya said. "At this hospital we also often provide free treatment to refugees, such as Burmese labourers in Hat Yai who have no money."
Koch, who hails from Bamberg in Germany and reportedly has a mental illness, was staying at a guest house in Songkhla before his accident.
Hat Yai Police said that Koch had bought a plane ticket from Hat Yai to Bangkok, dated October 26, 2009, but he showed up at the airport a day in advance. "Koch had knife wounds on his arms and neck, apparently from self mutilation," the police said. "He had tried to get into the departure lounge but he was told to come back the next day. Then he went upstairs and attempted to jump into the departure area, causing his head injury."
So far, the hospital had raised only 25,000 Baht for the Koch fund, Sukanya said. Donations are being received at the Siam Commercial Bank, account 565-4-39248-5.
"We can confirm it's not a hoax," said an official at the German Embassy in Bangkok, which has a strict policy of not providing financial assistance to its citizens in a foreign country. DPA
01/ Sep/ 2010
Thai Boy, Aged 9, Killed In Bangkok 'School Gang' Shooting
A violent confrontation between Bangkok vocational school students on Wednesday morning has resulted in the death of an innocent nine-year-old boy. He was shot dead when a group of youths on motorcycles fired gunshots on his school bus on Ramkhamhaeng Road at about 7am.
Reportedly, the third-grader, Jatuporn Ponpaka, 9, was on his way to school alone when up to 20 students from the Bangkapi School of Technology who had followed the bus on their motorcycles and wanted to "cause trouble" with students of a "rival" college - the Bangkok School of Industrial Technology - attacked the bus, which was fully loaded with passengers at the time. The students reportedly opened fire when the bus stopped at an intersection, and bullets hit the schoolboy.
The boy was shot twice as he was was getting off the bus and the group of students fired at least three shots at the bus. The bus driver sped away from the scene and rushed to a nearby hospital where the wounded boy was admitted for treatment. However, he later died from gunshot wounds to his head and chest. Reportedly, the gang of youths were "attempting to attack a group of rival students" from another tech school, who were on the same bus.
Unbelievably, following the accidental shooting of the boy, the same group of youths continued to hang around at the scene and "hurled beer bottles and bricks at the next bus." A resultant police search of the two schools found several knives and other items hidden by the students in case of a rival attack.
Police explained that "the two schools are located on the same road and are notorious for having problems and fights. We are still trying to identify the culprits.” Pattaya Daily News
UPDATE: Two Thai teenagers aged 16 and 19 were arrested on suspicion of murder on Thursday over the shooting of the nine-year-old boy on his way to school in Bangkok, police said.
The 16-year-old murder suspect, whose name has been withheld to protect his identity, appeared at a police press conference with his face hidden by a balaclava and confessed to firing the shots that killed the boy Wednesday morning. "I did not intended to hurt him. I apologise to his family," he told reporters.
The male teenagers are both vocational students and have both been charged with murder. AFP
01/ Sep/ 2010
Serbian Gang Wanted Over 4.3M-Baht ATM Robbery In Rayong
Police have begun to close-in on three foreign men, believed to be of Serbian nationality, who are suspected to have robbed a Bank of Ayudhya ATM in Rayong and stolen over 4 million Baht from it. The heavily damaged ATM, stolen from a Rayong branch on August 27, was found dumped on a field in Sattahip two days later and found to be devoid of all cash (approx. 4.3 million Baht).
The two rented cars used in the ATM robbery, a silver Toyota Tiger and a blue Isuzu D-Max, have now been tracked to the TCC Car Center on Sukhumvit Road. The car rental business owner said the two vehicles, at the time of the ATM theft, had been hired out by three Serbian nationals, who were identified off official documents presented at the time of hiring the cars. The owner of the car rental firm also professed that the three men hadn't explained what they intended to use the cars for, and that he consequently had no knowledge of their involvement in the ATM robbery.
Obtaining the cell phone numbers of the three suspects from the car rental contract, police were able to ascertain that two of the signals had recently been significantly active in Sakaeo province at the Thai-Cambodian border. Investigations with Immigration Police at the Aranyaprathet border crossing then revealed that two of the foreign suspects had crossed the border into Cambodia on August 28. The third suspect, identified as Mr. Dejan Maricic from Serbia, has been traced to an "unknown location in Bangkok and is being monitored by police."
Investigators are now engaging with Cambodian authorities over the two fugitive suspects, while a manhunt for the third man is reportedly underway. Pattaya Daily News PattayaOne
31/ Aug/ 2010
Thai School Teacher Caught Caning Students On Video
Video footage exposing a Thai teacher caning students at a Catholic boarding school in Nakhon Ratchasima has appeared on Thai television recently. The teacher, not certified by the Teacher’s Council of Thailand, has subsequently been suspended by the school.
The footage was aired on Thai television Monday, showing an art teacher caning several students at the St. Mary’s School in Nakhon Ratchasima. Over 40 Thai students have since come forward with complaints about the uncertified teacher’s use of corporal punishment - forcing the school to suspend him from duty. No professional sanctions have been taken against the man, but parents of the children involved have filed complaints with police over the beatings.
In the video, secretly taken by a student, the teacher uses a cane, wrapped with electrical cable, to hit the backsides of several students, allegedly over the "state of their living quarters." Pictures of scarred buttocks were also shown on television; evidence that the teacher had been doling out this punishment for sometime before students took action.
The Education Ministry allows the use of verbal warnings, probation and termination by teachers, where it is deemed necessary, but prohibits the use of inhumane or violent punishment, although the use of corporal punishment is not unusual in rural Thai schools. Pattaya Daily News
31/ Aug/ 2010
Grenade Hits State-Run Television Station In Bangkok, No Wounded
A suspected grenade exploded in the compound of state-run NBT television station on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road Tuesday afternoon, damaging several vehicles, but causing no injuries in the latest in a spate of unclaimed attacks in the capital.
The device, believed to be an M79 grenade, was deflected by trees before landing and detonating in the outdoor parking lot of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) at 1.45pm, just after lunchtime, Bangkok police said.
The latest attack was the fourth grenade explosion in five weeks in the Thai capital, which is still rife with political divisions and under emergency decree. The earlier attacks left one person dead and a dozen wounded.
No one has claimed responsibility for any of the explosions, but the government says the recent attacks justify keeping Bangkok under the state of emergency that was initially imposed in early April during anti-government protests and riots.
State-run NBT has frequently been criticized by anti-government red-shirt protesters for reporting that favors the government.
Police said initial theories that the grenade had been launched from the Don Muang expressway overlooking the compound were unlikely, since police were on the expressway at the time of the attack. AP
30/ Aug/ 2010
Canadian Youtube Winter Olympics Sensation Dies In Fall From Train
A Canadian, who gained widespread internet notoriety after rushing the 2010 Vancouver Olympic torch procession to light a cigarette, has been found dead in Thailand last week, apparently after falling off a running train.
The dead body of Jordan Ashley Krull, 26, was found around 500 meters from a railway station in Ratchaburi province on Tuesday last week. The Canadian was suffering from a severe head injury and is suspected to have "fallen from a train in unknown circumstances."
Police believe that he may have fallen from an inbound train while standing in an open doorway or step of the locomotive, or perhaps while standing between two carriages. Krull only carried his ID card, Canadian passport, a train ticket and 8,000 Baht in cash on him.
Krull, in somewhat of a backpacking adventure and equipped with little resources but a small bag and his notebook, had previously visited Shanghai, Hong Kong and Pakistan, before his untimely demise in Thailand.
At 26, Krull found his 15 minutes of fame as the gangly, long-haired hooded figure, who appeared rather nonchalantly to rush the 2010 Winter Olympic procession in Canada - lighting his cigarette on the heavily guarded torch, before being bungled by security guards. The incident was captured on an amateur video and posted on Youtube under the title “Jesus arrested at Olympic Torch rely in Vancouver after stealing flame”.
It is thought that Krull will be cremated in a Buddhist monastery in Thailand before his ashes will be flown back to Vancouver for an official funeral service involving family and friends. PDN
29/ Aug/ 2010
Grief-Stricken American Father Commits Suicide After Son Plunges To Death
Only four days after the accidental death of his four-year-old son, who had fallen from a 10th-floor balcony at the View Talay 2 Condominium in Jomtien Tuesday afternoon - reportedly after playing on a chair placed near the railing, a grief-stricken American father decided to end his own life in a rented room at the Jomtien Plaza Condominium on Jomtien Beach Road.
On Saturday afternoon, police found the body of Mr. Brett James Wolfe, a 40-year-old kickboxing instructor from the US, who had been raising the toddler on his own, lying on the bed of the room he had rented a day after his son's tragic death. Nearly 30 tablets of a white and purple medicine were found in a glass next to his hand, and his mouth was full of saliva. Police also found a black backpack containing his clothes and passport. On a table, a picture of him and his son had been placed, along with a note saying “I love my son Michael," which police kept as evidence.
The building keeper stated that Mr. Wolfe had checked in at around 12.00 pm on August 25. She said she initially thought he was a tourist on holiday, and when she asked how long he wanted to stay for, he replied "for two to three nights" only but was not "quite sure" yet. He then paid for the first night and checked in.
On Saturday, she wanted to collect the outstanding rent from him. She first knocked on his door, but when there was no answer she used a spare key to open the door. She then found the man's dead body lying on the bed and alerted the police.
Police suggested that Mr. Wolfe - who had previously lived on the Philippines, where his son was born, and was divorced from "his wife from overseas," presumably the Filipino mother of the boy - had been "sent into a fatal spiral of grief, depression and sorrow" after the tragic death of the four-
year-old toddler he had been raising on his own since the divorce. Pattaya Daily News
28/ Aug/ 2010
American Drugged, Robbed By Thai Woman In South Pattaya Hotel
An American tourist, who took a Thai woman back to his hotel room after a drinking session on Walking Street, woke up early Saturday morning to find that he had been drugged and robbed of all his valuables and cash in his rented room at the S.T. Court in South Pattaya.
Reporting to the police in a state of semi-consciousness from being drugged, Mr. James Edward Porter, 45, an American national, explained to investigators that he was woken up by staff of the hotel, to find that he had apparently been drugged and robbed by an unidentified Thai woman he had met on Walking Street and taken to his room in the early hours of the previous morning.
Mr. Porter stated that he had been drinking in an unnamed bar on Walking Street, when the lady "approached him and they spent some time drinking together until he became drunk," after which he took her back to his room where he "suddenly lost consciousness." So far, it remains unclear whether the woman was a freelance prostitute plying her trade in the Walking Street area or was a regularly employed "bar girl" in the venue where Mr. Porter had been drinking.
According to Porter, the offender stole a gold bracelet worth 150,000 Baht, a gold necklace worth 100,000 Baht, a digital camera, 200,000 Baht in cash, his passport and his hotel room key.
Investigations revealed that the hotel staff had not collected any information regarding the identity of the lady, but there was CCTV surveillance which police have inspected and filed. PDN
27/ Aug/ 2010
British Phuket Murder Suspect Arrested At UK Airport
Fugitive British murder suspect Lee Aldhouse, a Muay Thai fighter, who was wanted for the brutal stabbing murder of an American following a bar brawl, has been detained by airport authorities as he was trying to enter the UK, the Phuket Gazette has learned.
Phuket Police are now compiling evidence to try and have the kickboxer extradited to Thailand to be charged for the stabbing murder of 23-year-old American Dashawn Longfellow, reportedly also a kickboxer, on August 14.
Aldhouse, 28, was the target of an international manhunt for almost two weeks, after he allegedly followed the American back to his apartment and stabbed him after the two had engaged in a bar fight in Rawai earlier in the night. Thailand will now seek the extradition of Lee Aldhouse "as soon as possible." The Nation
UPDATE: The Phuket Gazette reports that Aldhouse's Thai girlfriend, a native of the northeastern province of Udon Thani, "played a key role in helping the Englishman escape Thailand."
Following the stabbing murder, as "all police units were immediately put on high alert," Aldhouse and his girlfriend "hired a taxi to take them from Phuket to Koh Samui. Along the way they got a bus to Bangkok, then made their way to the Klong Yai checkpoint at the Cambodian border."
Phuket police reports that "Aldhouse was able to depart the country into Cambodia at the remote checkpoint, which has no on-line connection with Thailand's Immigration database ... Immigration police only realized Aldhouse had slipped out of the country six hours after the fact."
27/ Aug/ 2010
Tiger Cub Found Hidden Among Toys In Suvarnabhumi Airport Luggage
A two-month-old tiger cub was found hidden among stuffed tiger toys in the baggage of a woman heading to Iran from Thailand, wildlife protection officials said Friday.
The 31-year-old Thai woman, who has not been named, was arrested Sunday night after the tiger was spotted by X-ray staff in overweight luggage destined for the cargo hold.
An official from the Wild Fauna and Flora Protection Division said the tiger cub had been drugged and placed in the bag with the toys - apparently to make it look as if it were a stuffed animal. "He was very calm, half asleep and half awake when we rescued him," he said.
The cub was discovered at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport and has since been sent to a rescue centre. It is not yet known whether the animal was wild or had been bred in captivity.
The woman, who admitted carrying the tiger, according to officials, now faces four years in jail, a 40,000-Baht fine or both for possessing and smuggling an endangered animal. AFP
27/ Aug/ 2010
Grenade Explosion At King Power Shopping Complex In Bangkok
A security guard was seriously injured in a grenade explosion on Bangkok's Soi Rangnam near the King Power duty-free shopping centre on late Thursday evening. The explosion - the second attack at the shopping centre in less than a month - was reportedly "aimed at causing chaos" in the capital.
The grenade attack occurred at approx. 11pm Thursday night, only a few metres from the site of an earlier grenade blast less than a month ago, on July 30. The 24-year-old security guard at the shopping complex was seriously injured in the blast and sent to Rajavithi Hospital with "shrapnel wounds to his head and body". The man remains in critical condition but is no longer in a coma. Six glass windows were also shattered and fragments of what was identified as an M79 grenade were found at the scene.
Newin Chidchob - a banned politician and the de-facto leader of the Bhumjaithai party, a coalition partner of the Democrat-led government of premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, reportedly also had dinner at a restaurant in the King Power shopping complex on late Thursday evening. Newin Chidchob and King Power owner Vichai Raksriaksorn, whose company also operates a large duty-free outlet at Suvarnabhumi Airport, reportedly have close links.
The latest grenade attack near the King Power shopping mall is the second attack in less than a month after a first on July 30, when a garbage scavenger was critically wounded when a grenade hidden in a rubbish bin near the duty-free shopping mall exploded. A couple of days earlier only, a bomb had exploded at a bus stop near a shopping mall in Bangkok's Ratchaprasong area.
Thailand's prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Friday ordered security agencies to be vigilant after the third bomb blast in central Bangkok in less than two months, saying that Bangkok would be the last location where the current state of emergency would be lifted. Thai News Agency
26/ Aug/ 2010
Briton, Thai Wife Arrested At Bangkok Airport Over Red-Shirt Rallies
A second British national and his Thai wife were arrested over their alleged involvement in violent anti-government "Red Shirt" protests earlier this year, police revealed on Thursday.
Keith Wayne Bush, a 49-year-old from Manchester, was nabbed on arson charges at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday after arriving on a flight from the United Arab Emirates, said Thai immigration police. His Thai wife, Alisa Bush, 33, was also arrested when she went to meet her husband at the airport.
A court in Chiang Mai approved arrest warrants against the pair on May 28 for allegedly trying to burn down a town hall, participating in an illegal rally and inciting unrest, Police Colonel Pakpong Sai-ubon said. "Both denied all the charges," he said.
Pakpong said the Briton fled Thailand shortly before the arrest warrant was approved.
The Manchester man is the third Westerner to be arrested in connection with the protests, which sparked a series of clashes between redshirt anti-government demonstrators and armed troops in April and May, leaving 91 people dead and almost 1,900 wounded.
Another Briton and an Australian were sentenced to six weeks in prison, and were released only after pleading guilty to violating a state of emergency through their participation in the mass rally, which was seeking immediate elections.
Following a brutal army crackdown on their rally encampment on May 19, militant demonstrators set dozens of buildings ablaze in Bangkok, as well as a number of town halls in the northern and north-eastern provinces. Thai authorities have used their emergency powers to arrest hundreds of protesters, including most top red-shirt leaders, who have been charged with "terrorism." AFP
26/ Aug/ 2010
Immigration Police Catch Swedish Fugitive During Visa Extension
A Swedish fugitive, hiding out in Pattaya since November 2009, became one of the first victims of the Chonburi Immigration Police’s new transnational criminal system when he was arrested while checking in at immigration offices in Jomtien Beach.
Mr. Amini Kamran, 37, was wanted on a Swedish arrest warrant issued in May for illegally selling 37.6 million Baht in drugs and medical products over the Internet.
Facing a six-year jail term in Sweden, Mr. Amini fled his home country for Thailand where he had been hiding out in Pattaya under the guise of a language student since November 13, 2009.
On August 5, he went to the Chonburi Immigration Office to extend his education visa. When his name was entered into immigration’s new Transnational Criminal Database system, the Swedish arrest warrant popped up and he was placed in custody.
The Transnational Crime Center officially opened this month, and pulls together warrants from law enforcement agencies all around the world as well as visitor information from hotels, guesthouses and condominiums in order to track down wanted foreign criminals.
The Swede’s visa was subsequently canceled, and he was prepared for deportation. He also was blacklisted from returning to the Kingdom. ScandAsia.com
26/ Aug/ 2010
Belfast Man Gets Life Sentence In Thailand For Drug Dealing
A Belfast man has been convicted of selling drugs in Pattaya and has been sentenced by a Thai court to life imprisonment.
Tommy McAuley, 49, was arrested in Pattaya in April last year. Thai police claim that the Briton from Northern Ireland sold drugs to teenagers in the resort city.
Pattaya Police, who alleged they had used an informant to buy a quantity of crystal ice (Yah Ice) from McAuley, alleged they had arrested him with 109 grammes of crystal ice in his possession, seven tabs of methamphetamine (Ya Ba), 11.4 grammes of cannabis, and 12 grammes of opium. Police also claimed he had a set of scales and 60 bags for packing the drugs in.
Reportedly, he also had on him 52,000 Thai Baht as well as the money provided by the informant when he was arrested in the sting operation.
McAuley will be transferred to Bangwang Prison, Bangkok, to serve his sentence, but will appeal his conviction, though it is understood an appeal can take anything up to five years. BBC
25/ Aug/ 2010
Tragic Balcony Fall Kills American Toddler In Jomtien
An American toddler has died after tragically falling from a 10th-floor balcony at the View Talay 2 Condominium in Jomtien late Tuesday afternoon. The four-year-old boy fell from the balcony after reportedly playing on a chair placed near the railing.
As police and medical officers rushed to the aid of the young boy, Michael Labadan Wolfe, 4, an American national born in the Philippines, his 40-year-old father, Mr Brett James Wolfe, who had been raising the boy on his own, was found frantically trying to perform emergency resuscitation procedures. Unfortunately the boy, noted to have been hugely popular with other residents at the condominium complex, died at the scene from his severe injuries. His body has now been taken for post-mortem examinations before being released to his father for funeral proceedings.
Reportedly, the boy had been playing on the 10th-floor balcony and is suspected to have climbed onto a chair adjacent to the railing, before tragically falling over the edge. According to security at the condominium complex, Mr. Wolfe was immediately on the scene attempting to revive his son before anyone else had noticed the incident.
A security guard explained that Mr. Wolfe was a local Muay Thai Kickboxing instructor, who had been raising the toddler on his own, and had been staying at the condominium for approximately five months. Pattaya Daily News
25/ Aug/ 2010
Swedish Pattaya Prostitute Killer Back In Sweden After Five Years Jail
46-year-old Swedish national Kenneth Eriksson is back in Sweden after serving only five years in Thai jail on charges of killing a prostitute in Pattaya.
The Swede was in 2005 convicted of manslaughter in the killing of a female prostitute in his hotel room at the Sawasdee Court and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Following the assault, Kenneth Eriksson hid the woman’s body in a trunk, which he then dragged out of the hotel and dumped at a construction site in South Pattaya, where the body was found a couple of days after the killing. The woman, identified only as a prostitute in her 30's, had serious wounds to the back of her head. Eriksson on the same day checked out of the hotel but security cameras had already captured images of him taking the murdered woman out of the hotel.
Earlier, hotel guests had heard screams from the Swede's 5th-floor room in the afternoon. Shortly afterwards, the long-term tourist left the hotel and visited a local bag shop. CCTV footage showed how he dragged the suitcase containing the victim through the hotel lobby to a waiting taxi.
Police in Thailand launched a manhunt for Eriksson, who eventually confessed and was arrested.
At one point, the Swede was facing the death penalty as prosecutors appealed the initial ruling of manslaughter, but the court ruled in favour of Kenneth Eriksson. And now, five years later, he has returned to Sweden ... ScandAsia.com
24/ Aug/ 2010
Seven Thai Youths Arrested Over Gang Rape Of Two Teenage Girls
Huay Yai Police today revealed the arrest of seven Thai boys, aged between 15 and 17-year-old, over the rape of two teenage girls during the recent Queen's Birthday celebrations in Pattaya.
According to police reports, both girls, Miss Fah (alias), 15, and Miss Neuy, 16, had been invited by a one of the offenders, identified as Mr. Noi, to a concert at the Somprasong Plaza in Jomtien on August 9. Believing him to be a close friend, the two teenage girls attended the concert at the behest of Mr. Noi, who transported them to and from the venue on his motorbike.
Following the concert, Mr. Noi explained to the girls that his motorbike was not running correctly, so he called two friends, identified as Mr. Bank and Mr. Arm, to come and help him take the girls home. Left with little choice,. The two girls accepted a lift home from Mr. Bank and Mr. Arm, now traveling on two separate motorbikes.
Under the impression that they were to be taken home by the two boys and that their "friend" Mr. Noi had also gone home, the two girls told police that they were taken to the Tara Resort in Huay Yai, where they noticed Mr. Noi drinking at a nearby Thai bar in the area.
The two men then forced Miss Fah and her friend Miss Neuy into a room at the resort, where two other young men were waiting already. In total, the girls told police investigators, that seven boys were involved in the subsequent gang rape. Three more offenders, other than those already in the room, allegedly appeared later on in proceedings.
Following the gang rape by the seven teenage boys, the girls finally managed to escape the gang of youths who had called more friends to take them to another location in Pattaya, by jumping off the still moving motorbikes while near the Big C supermarket in South Pattaya.
Initially, the victims did not tell anyone about the rape, but when one of the offenders, their former friend Mr. Noi, started "spreading the story at school," Miss Fah decided to tell her mother of the incident.
Last week, Miss Fah, her mother and Miss Neuy eventually reported the incident to the Huay Yai police station and, following a short investigation, the seven boys were arrested. Police, however, will still continue to investigate the case and attempt to locate and apprehend a further four to five young man thought to have been involved with the incident in some capacity. Pattaya Daily News
23/ Aug/ 2010
Columbian Burglary Gang Member Makes Second Escape Attempt PDN
22/ Aug/ 2010
Australian National Brutally Bashed, Robbed On Pattaya Soi 6 Pattaya Daily News
Suvarnabhumi Airport Link Begins Commercial Services On Monday Thai News Agency
20/ Aug/ 2010
Peruvian Gang Arrested For Attempted Pattaya ATM Robbery Pattaya Daily News
Thai Court Rules To Extradite Alleged Russian Arms Dealer DPA
Thailand To Deport Freed Australian Red-Shirt Protester AAP
19/ Aug/ 2010
Columbian Burglary Gang Member Shot During Escape Attempt Pattaya One Pattaya One
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News Update
News stories featured on this page are mostly shortened versions of articles gathered from various online news resources. Reference sources will be made available at the bottom of each article. News stories will be updated daily or when appropriate. News Archive Thailand News Links Thailand Visa News
02/ Sep/ 2010
Thailand's 40 Richest Get Far Richer In 2010: Forbes
Despite weeks of political violence that partially disrupted economic life in Bangkok this year, the combined wealth of Thailand's 40 richest people increased by 46 percent from 2009, according to a study by Forbes magazine.
Dhanin Chearavanont, owner of Thailand's largest agribusiness conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), is now the country's richest man with net worth of US$7 billion, according to Forbes, which said the top 40 were now worth $36.5 billion.
The latest report comes only three months after the worst political violence in recent Thai history, in which 91 people were killed in clashes between troops and anti-government protesters.
The red-shirt protesters, largely drawn from the rural and urban poor, complain they have no voice in a country where the richest 20 percent earn about 55 percent of the income, while the poorest fifth take just 4 percent, according to the World Bank.
Three quarters of the tycoons on the Thailand's 40 Richest list added to their fortunes thanks to a stock market that has boomed despite the unrest and a strong Thai currency.
Topping the list for the first time and the biggest gainer in dollar terms, Dhanin Chearavanont, 71, stepped up from second place last year to overtake Chaleo Yoovidhya - the 78-year-old co-owner of energy drink company Red Bull. His wealth rose by $4 billion over the past year, far outpacing Chaleo, who added just $200 million to $4.2 billion.
Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, 66, founder of Thai Beverage Pcl, which owns and distributes Chang beer and the "Thai whisky" brands Mekhong and Sangsom, was ranked number three with $4.15 billion.
Ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra was ranked only No. 23 in the Thailand's 40 richest list, with his worth put at US$390 million.
In a report in July, Forbes said Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej was the world's richest monarch in 2010 for the third year in a row with a fortune it put at US$30 billion, but that includes the assets of the Crown Property Bureau. Reuters Forbes
01/ Sep/ 2010
Thai Hospital Seeks Donations To Send Comatose German Tourist Home
A Thai hospital is seeking donations to send a German home after providing 62,500 dollars worth of free treatment to the comatose patient, hospital sources said Wednesday.
Mathias Stefan Koch, 39, was admitted to Songklanakarind Hospital in the southern town of Had Yai on October 25 after sustaining a head injury at the city's airport which left him in a coma. The hospital tried to contact Koch's relatives via the German embassy but failed to find anyone willing to take the man home.
This week the hospital set up a Fund for Assisting the Patient Named Mathias Stefan Koch in an attempt to raise 400,000 Baht (12,500 dollars) from the public to buy air tickets to transport Koch and accompanying doctors and nurses to Germany.
"We have treated him free of charge for the past 10 months, and now he's starting to come out of his coma, although he still can't speak," said Sukanya Panthomrawee, the head of the hospital's patients' rights and entitlement division. Mrs Sukanya also said the hospital had spent about two million Baht on drugs and medical treatment for Koch since October.
"We're not asking for the money back," Mrs Sukanya said. "At this hospital we also often provide free treatment to refugees, such as Burmese labourers in Hat Yai who have no money."
Koch, who hails from Bamberg in Germany and reportedly has a mental illness, was staying at a guest house in Songkhla before his accident.
Hat Yai Police said that Koch had bought a plane ticket from Hat Yai to Bangkok, dated October 26, 2009, but he showed up at the airport a day in advance. "Koch had knife wounds on his arms and neck, apparently from self mutilation," the police said. "He had tried to get into the departure lounge but he was told to come back the next day. Then he went upstairs and attempted to jump into the departure area, causing his head injury."
So far, the hospital had raised only 25,000 Baht for the Koch fund, Sukanya said. Donations are being received at the Siam Commercial Bank, account 565-4-39248-5.
"We can confirm it's not a hoax," said an official at the German Embassy in Bangkok, which has a strict policy of not providing financial assistance to its citizens in a foreign country. DPA
01/ Sep/ 2010
Thai Boy, Aged 9, Killed In Bangkok 'School Gang' Shooting
A violent confrontation between Bangkok vocational school students on Wednesday morning has resulted in the death of an innocent nine-year-old boy. He was shot dead when a group of youths on motorcycles fired gunshots on his school bus on Ramkhamhaeng Road at about 7am.
Reportedly, the third-grader, Jatuporn Ponpaka, 9, was on his way to school alone when up to 20 students from the Bangkapi School of Technology who had followed the bus on their motorcycles and wanted to "cause trouble" with students of a "rival" college - the Bangkok School of Industrial Technology - attacked the bus, which was fully loaded with passengers at the time. The students reportedly opened fire when the bus stopped at an intersection, and bullets hit the schoolboy.
The boy was shot twice as he was was getting off the bus and the group of students fired at least three shots at the bus. The bus driver sped away from the scene and rushed to a nearby hospital where the wounded boy was admitted for treatment. However, he later died from gunshot wounds to his head and chest. Reportedly, the gang of youths were "attempting to attack a group of rival students" from another tech school, who were on the same bus.
Unbelievably, following the accidental shooting of the boy, the same group of youths continued to hang around at the scene and "hurled beer bottles and bricks at the next bus." A resultant police search of the two schools found several knives and other items hidden by the students in case of a rival attack.
Police explained that "the two schools are located on the same road and are notorious for having problems and fights. We are still trying to identify the culprits.” Pattaya Daily News
UPDATE: Two Thai teenagers aged 16 and 19 were arrested on suspicion of murder on Thursday over the shooting of the nine-year-old boy on his way to school in Bangkok, police said.
The 16-year-old murder suspect, whose name has been withheld to protect his identity, appeared at a police press conference with his face hidden by a balaclava and confessed to firing the shots that killed the boy Wednesday morning. "I did not intended to hurt him. I apologise to his family," he told reporters.
The male teenagers are both vocational students and have both been charged with murder. AFP
01/ Sep/ 2010
Serbian Gang Wanted Over 4.3M-Baht ATM Robbery In Rayong
Police have begun to close-in on three foreign men, believed to be of Serbian nationality, who are suspected to have robbed a Bank of Ayudhya ATM in Rayong and stolen over 4 million Baht from it. The heavily damaged ATM, stolen from a Rayong branch on August 27, was found dumped on a field in Sattahip two days later and found to be devoid of all cash (approx. 4.3 million Baht).
The two rented cars used in the ATM robbery, a silver Toyota Tiger and a blue Isuzu D-Max, have now been tracked to the TCC Car Center on Sukhumvit Road. The car rental business owner said the two vehicles, at the time of the ATM theft, had been hired out by three Serbian nationals, who were identified off official documents presented at the time of hiring the cars. The owner of the car rental firm also professed that the three men hadn't explained what they intended to use the cars for, and that he consequently had no knowledge of their involvement in the ATM robbery.
Obtaining the cell phone numbers of the three suspects from the car rental contract, police were able to ascertain that two of the signals had recently been significantly active in Sakaeo province at the Thai-Cambodian border. Investigations with Immigration Police at the Aranyaprathet border crossing then revealed that two of the foreign suspects had crossed the border into Cambodia on August 28. The third suspect, identified as Mr. Dejan Maricic from Serbia, has been traced to an "unknown location in Bangkok and is being monitored by police."
Investigators are now engaging with Cambodian authorities over the two fugitive suspects, while a manhunt for the third man is reportedly underway. Pattaya Daily News PattayaOne
31/ Aug/ 2010
Thai School Teacher Caught Caning Students On Video
Video footage exposing a Thai teacher caning students at a Catholic boarding school in Nakhon Ratchasima has appeared on Thai television recently. The teacher, not certified by the Teacher’s Council of Thailand, has subsequently been suspended by the school.
The footage was aired on Thai television Monday, showing an art teacher caning several students at the St. Mary’s School in Nakhon Ratchasima. Over 40 Thai students have since come forward with complaints about the uncertified teacher’s use of corporal punishment - forcing the school to suspend him from duty. No professional sanctions have been taken against the man, but parents of the children involved have filed complaints with police over the beatings.
In the video, secretly taken by a student, the teacher uses a cane, wrapped with electrical cable, to hit the backsides of several students, allegedly over the "state of their living quarters." Pictures of scarred buttocks were also shown on television; evidence that the teacher had been doling out this punishment for sometime before students took action.
The Education Ministry allows the use of verbal warnings, probation and termination by teachers, where it is deemed necessary, but prohibits the use of inhumane or violent punishment, although the use of corporal punishment is not unusual in rural Thai schools. Pattaya Daily News
31/ Aug/ 2010
Grenade Hits State-Run Television Station In Bangkok, No Wounded
A suspected grenade exploded in the compound of state-run NBT television station on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road Tuesday afternoon, damaging several vehicles, but causing no injuries in the latest in a spate of unclaimed attacks in the capital.
The device, believed to be an M79 grenade, was deflected by trees before landing and detonating in the outdoor parking lot of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) at 1.45pm, just after lunchtime, Bangkok police said.
The latest attack was the fourth grenade explosion in five weeks in the Thai capital, which is still rife with political divisions and under emergency decree. The earlier attacks left one person dead and a dozen wounded.
No one has claimed responsibility for any of the explosions, but the government says the recent attacks justify keeping Bangkok under the state of emergency that was initially imposed in early April during anti-government protests and riots.
State-run NBT has frequently been criticized by anti-government red-shirt protesters for reporting that favors the government.
Police said initial theories that the grenade had been launched from the Don Muang expressway overlooking the compound were unlikely, since police were on the expressway at the time of the attack. AP
30/ Aug/ 2010
Canadian Youtube Winter Olympics Sensation Dies In Fall From Train
A Canadian, who gained widespread internet notoriety after rushing the 2010 Vancouver Olympic torch procession to light a cigarette, has been found dead in Thailand last week, apparently after falling off a running train.
The dead body of Jordan Ashley Krull, 26, was found around 500 meters from a railway station in Ratchaburi province on Tuesday last week. The Canadian was suffering from a severe head injury and is suspected to have "fallen from a train in unknown circumstances."
Police believe that he may have fallen from an inbound train while standing in an open doorway or step of the locomotive, or perhaps while standing between two carriages. Krull only carried his ID card, Canadian passport, a train ticket and 8,000 Baht in cash on him.
Krull, in somewhat of a backpacking adventure and equipped with little resources but a small bag and his notebook, had previously visited Shanghai, Hong Kong and Pakistan, before his untimely demise in Thailand.
At 26, Krull found his 15 minutes of fame as the gangly, long-haired hooded figure, who appeared rather nonchalantly to rush the 2010 Winter Olympic procession in Canada - lighting his cigarette on the heavily guarded torch, before being bungled by security guards. The incident was captured on an amateur video and posted on Youtube under the title “Jesus arrested at Olympic Torch rely in Vancouver after stealing flame”.
It is thought that Krull will be cremated in a Buddhist monastery in Thailand before his ashes will be flown back to Vancouver for an official funeral service involving family and friends. PDN
29/ Aug/ 2010
Grief-Stricken American Father Commits Suicide After Son Plunges To Death
Only four days after the accidental death of his four-year-old son, who had fallen from a 10th-floor balcony at the View Talay 2 Condominium in Jomtien Tuesday afternoon - reportedly after playing on a chair placed near the railing, a grief-stricken American father decided to end his own life in a rented room at the Jomtien Plaza Condominium on Jomtien Beach Road.
On Saturday afternoon, police found the body of Mr. Brett James Wolfe, a 40-year-old kickboxing instructor from the US, who had been raising the toddler on his own, lying on the bed of the room he had rented a day after his son's tragic death. Nearly 30 tablets of a white and purple medicine were found in a glass next to his hand, and his mouth was full of saliva. Police also found a black backpack containing his clothes and passport. On a table, a picture of him and his son had been placed, along with a note saying “I love my son Michael," which police kept as evidence.
The building keeper stated that Mr. Wolfe had checked in at around 12.00 pm on August 25. She said she initially thought he was a tourist on holiday, and when she asked how long he wanted to stay for, he replied "for two to three nights" only but was not "quite sure" yet. He then paid for the first night and checked in.
On Saturday, she wanted to collect the outstanding rent from him. She first knocked on his door, but when there was no answer she used a spare key to open the door. She then found the man's dead body lying on the bed and alerted the police.
Police suggested that Mr. Wolfe - who had previously lived on the Philippines, where his son was born, and was divorced from "his wife from overseas," presumably the Filipino mother of the boy - had been "sent into a fatal spiral of grief, depression and sorrow" after the tragic death of the four-
year-old toddler he had been raising on his own since the divorce. Pattaya Daily News
28/ Aug/ 2010
American Drugged, Robbed By Thai Woman In South Pattaya Hotel
An American tourist, who took a Thai woman back to his hotel room after a drinking session on Walking Street, woke up early Saturday morning to find that he had been drugged and robbed of all his valuables and cash in his rented room at the S.T. Court in South Pattaya.
Reporting to the police in a state of semi-consciousness from being drugged, Mr. James Edward Porter, 45, an American national, explained to investigators that he was woken up by staff of the hotel, to find that he had apparently been drugged and robbed by an unidentified Thai woman he had met on Walking Street and taken to his room in the early hours of the previous morning.
Mr. Porter stated that he had been drinking in an unnamed bar on Walking Street, when the lady "approached him and they spent some time drinking together until he became drunk," after which he took her back to his room where he "suddenly lost consciousness." So far, it remains unclear whether the woman was a freelance prostitute plying her trade in the Walking Street area or was a regularly employed "bar girl" in the venue where Mr. Porter had been drinking.
According to Porter, the offender stole a gold bracelet worth 150,000 Baht, a gold necklace worth 100,000 Baht, a digital camera, 200,000 Baht in cash, his passport and his hotel room key.
Investigations revealed that the hotel staff had not collected any information regarding the identity of the lady, but there was CCTV surveillance which police have inspected and filed. PDN
27/ Aug/ 2010
British Phuket Murder Suspect Arrested At UK Airport
Fugitive British murder suspect Lee Aldhouse, a Muay Thai fighter, who was wanted for the brutal stabbing murder of an American following a bar brawl, has been detained by airport authorities as he was trying to enter the UK, the Phuket Gazette has learned.
Phuket Police are now compiling evidence to try and have the kickboxer extradited to Thailand to be charged for the stabbing murder of 23-year-old American Dashawn Longfellow, reportedly also a kickboxer, on August 14.
Aldhouse, 28, was the target of an international manhunt for almost two weeks, after he allegedly followed the American back to his apartment and stabbed him after the two had engaged in a bar fight in Rawai earlier in the night. Thailand will now seek the extradition of Lee Aldhouse "as soon as possible." The Nation
UPDATE: The Phuket Gazette reports that Aldhouse's Thai girlfriend, a native of the northeastern province of Udon Thani, "played a key role in helping the Englishman escape Thailand."
Following the stabbing murder, as "all police units were immediately put on high alert," Aldhouse and his girlfriend "hired a taxi to take them from Phuket to Koh Samui. Along the way they got a bus to Bangkok, then made their way to the Klong Yai checkpoint at the Cambodian border."
Phuket police reports that "Aldhouse was able to depart the country into Cambodia at the remote checkpoint, which has no on-line connection with Thailand's Immigration database ... Immigration police only realized Aldhouse had slipped out of the country six hours after the fact."
27/ Aug/ 2010
Tiger Cub Found Hidden Among Toys In Suvarnabhumi Airport Luggage
A two-month-old tiger cub was found hidden among stuffed tiger toys in the baggage of a woman heading to Iran from Thailand, wildlife protection officials said Friday.
The 31-year-old Thai woman, who has not been named, was arrested Sunday night after the tiger was spotted by X-ray staff in overweight luggage destined for the cargo hold.
An official from the Wild Fauna and Flora Protection Division said the tiger cub had been drugged and placed in the bag with the toys - apparently to make it look as if it were a stuffed animal. "He was very calm, half asleep and half awake when we rescued him," he said.
The cub was discovered at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport and has since been sent to a rescue centre. It is not yet known whether the animal was wild or had been bred in captivity.
The woman, who admitted carrying the tiger, according to officials, now faces four years in jail, a 40,000-Baht fine or both for possessing and smuggling an endangered animal. AFP
27/ Aug/ 2010
Grenade Explosion At King Power Shopping Complex In Bangkok
A security guard was seriously injured in a grenade explosion on Bangkok's Soi Rangnam near the King Power duty-free shopping centre on late Thursday evening. The explosion - the second attack at the shopping centre in less than a month - was reportedly "aimed at causing chaos" in the capital.
The grenade attack occurred at approx. 11pm Thursday night, only a few metres from the site of an earlier grenade blast less than a month ago, on July 30. The 24-year-old security guard at the shopping complex was seriously injured in the blast and sent to Rajavithi Hospital with "shrapnel wounds to his head and body". The man remains in critical condition but is no longer in a coma. Six glass windows were also shattered and fragments of what was identified as an M79 grenade were found at the scene.
Newin Chidchob - a banned politician and the de-facto leader of the Bhumjaithai party, a coalition partner of the Democrat-led government of premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, reportedly also had dinner at a restaurant in the King Power shopping complex on late Thursday evening. Newin Chidchob and King Power owner Vichai Raksriaksorn, whose company also operates a large duty-free outlet at Suvarnabhumi Airport, reportedly have close links.
The latest grenade attack near the King Power shopping mall is the second attack in less than a month after a first on July 30, when a garbage scavenger was critically wounded when a grenade hidden in a rubbish bin near the duty-free shopping mall exploded. A couple of days earlier only, a bomb had exploded at a bus stop near a shopping mall in Bangkok's Ratchaprasong area.
Thailand's prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Friday ordered security agencies to be vigilant after the third bomb blast in central Bangkok in less than two months, saying that Bangkok would be the last location where the current state of emergency would be lifted. Thai News Agency
26/ Aug/ 2010
Briton, Thai Wife Arrested At Bangkok Airport Over Red-Shirt Rallies
A second British national and his Thai wife were arrested over their alleged involvement in violent anti-government "Red Shirt" protests earlier this year, police revealed on Thursday.
Keith Wayne Bush, a 49-year-old from Manchester, was nabbed on arson charges at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday after arriving on a flight from the United Arab Emirates, said Thai immigration police. His Thai wife, Alisa Bush, 33, was also arrested when she went to meet her husband at the airport.
A court in Chiang Mai approved arrest warrants against the pair on May 28 for allegedly trying to burn down a town hall, participating in an illegal rally and inciting unrest, Police Colonel Pakpong Sai-ubon said. "Both denied all the charges," he said.
Pakpong said the Briton fled Thailand shortly before the arrest warrant was approved.
The Manchester man is the third Westerner to be arrested in connection with the protests, which sparked a series of clashes between redshirt anti-government demonstrators and armed troops in April and May, leaving 91 people dead and almost 1,900 wounded.
Another Briton and an Australian were sentenced to six weeks in prison, and were released only after pleading guilty to violating a state of emergency through their participation in the mass rally, which was seeking immediate elections.
Following a brutal army crackdown on their rally encampment on May 19, militant demonstrators set dozens of buildings ablaze in Bangkok, as well as a number of town halls in the northern and north-eastern provinces. Thai authorities have used their emergency powers to arrest hundreds of protesters, including most top red-shirt leaders, who have been charged with "terrorism." AFP
26/ Aug/ 2010
Immigration Police Catch Swedish Fugitive During Visa Extension
A Swedish fugitive, hiding out in Pattaya since November 2009, became one of the first victims of the Chonburi Immigration Police’s new transnational criminal system when he was arrested while checking in at immigration offices in Jomtien Beach.
Mr. Amini Kamran, 37, was wanted on a Swedish arrest warrant issued in May for illegally selling 37.6 million Baht in drugs and medical products over the Internet.
Facing a six-year jail term in Sweden, Mr. Amini fled his home country for Thailand where he had been hiding out in Pattaya under the guise of a language student since November 13, 2009.
On August 5, he went to the Chonburi Immigration Office to extend his education visa. When his name was entered into immigration’s new Transnational Criminal Database system, the Swedish arrest warrant popped up and he was placed in custody.
The Transnational Crime Center officially opened this month, and pulls together warrants from law enforcement agencies all around the world as well as visitor information from hotels, guesthouses and condominiums in order to track down wanted foreign criminals.
The Swede’s visa was subsequently canceled, and he was prepared for deportation. He also was blacklisted from returning to the Kingdom. ScandAsia.com
26/ Aug/ 2010
Belfast Man Gets Life Sentence In Thailand For Drug Dealing
A Belfast man has been convicted of selling drugs in Pattaya and has been sentenced by a Thai court to life imprisonment.
Tommy McAuley, 49, was arrested in Pattaya in April last year. Thai police claim that the Briton from Northern Ireland sold drugs to teenagers in the resort city.
Pattaya Police, who alleged they had used an informant to buy a quantity of crystal ice (Yah Ice) from McAuley, alleged they had arrested him with 109 grammes of crystal ice in his possession, seven tabs of methamphetamine (Ya Ba), 11.4 grammes of cannabis, and 12 grammes of opium. Police also claimed he had a set of scales and 60 bags for packing the drugs in.
Reportedly, he also had on him 52,000 Thai Baht as well as the money provided by the informant when he was arrested in the sting operation.
McAuley will be transferred to Bangwang Prison, Bangkok, to serve his sentence, but will appeal his conviction, though it is understood an appeal can take anything up to five years. BBC
25/ Aug/ 2010
Tragic Balcony Fall Kills American Toddler In Jomtien
An American toddler has died after tragically falling from a 10th-floor balcony at the View Talay 2 Condominium in Jomtien late Tuesday afternoon. The four-year-old boy fell from the balcony after reportedly playing on a chair placed near the railing.
As police and medical officers rushed to the aid of the young boy, Michael Labadan Wolfe, 4, an American national born in the Philippines, his 40-year-old father, Mr Brett James Wolfe, who had been raising the boy on his own, was found frantically trying to perform emergency resuscitation procedures. Unfortunately the boy, noted to have been hugely popular with other residents at the condominium complex, died at the scene from his severe injuries. His body has now been taken for post-mortem examinations before being released to his father for funeral proceedings.
Reportedly, the boy had been playing on the 10th-floor balcony and is suspected to have climbed onto a chair adjacent to the railing, before tragically falling over the edge. According to security at the condominium complex, Mr. Wolfe was immediately on the scene attempting to revive his son before anyone else had noticed the incident.
A security guard explained that Mr. Wolfe was a local Muay Thai Kickboxing instructor, who had been raising the toddler on his own, and had been staying at the condominium for approximately five months. Pattaya Daily News
25/ Aug/ 2010
Swedish Pattaya Prostitute Killer Back In Sweden After Five Years Jail
46-year-old Swedish national Kenneth Eriksson is back in Sweden after serving only five years in Thai jail on charges of killing a prostitute in Pattaya.
The Swede was in 2005 convicted of manslaughter in the killing of a female prostitute in his hotel room at the Sawasdee Court and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Following the assault, Kenneth Eriksson hid the woman’s body in a trunk, which he then dragged out of the hotel and dumped at a construction site in South Pattaya, where the body was found a couple of days after the killing. The woman, identified only as a prostitute in her 30's, had serious wounds to the back of her head. Eriksson on the same day checked out of the hotel but security cameras had already captured images of him taking the murdered woman out of the hotel.
Earlier, hotel guests had heard screams from the Swede's 5th-floor room in the afternoon. Shortly afterwards, the long-term tourist left the hotel and visited a local bag shop. CCTV footage showed how he dragged the suitcase containing the victim through the hotel lobby to a waiting taxi.
Police in Thailand launched a manhunt for Eriksson, who eventually confessed and was arrested.
At one point, the Swede was facing the death penalty as prosecutors appealed the initial ruling of manslaughter, but the court ruled in favour of Kenneth Eriksson. And now, five years later, he has returned to Sweden ... ScandAsia.com
24/ Aug/ 2010
Seven Thai Youths Arrested Over Gang Rape Of Two Teenage Girls
Huay Yai Police today revealed the arrest of seven Thai boys, aged between 15 and 17-year-old, over the rape of two teenage girls during the recent Queen's Birthday celebrations in Pattaya.
According to police reports, both girls, Miss Fah (alias), 15, and Miss Neuy, 16, had been invited by a one of the offenders, identified as Mr. Noi, to a concert at the Somprasong Plaza in Jomtien on August 9. Believing him to be a close friend, the two teenage girls attended the concert at the behest of Mr. Noi, who transported them to and from the venue on his motorbike.
Following the concert, Mr. Noi explained to the girls that his motorbike was not running correctly, so he called two friends, identified as Mr. Bank and Mr. Arm, to come and help him take the girls home. Left with little choice,. The two girls accepted a lift home from Mr. Bank and Mr. Arm, now traveling on two separate motorbikes.
Under the impression that they were to be taken home by the two boys and that their "friend" Mr. Noi had also gone home, the two girls told police that they were taken to the Tara Resort in Huay Yai, where they noticed Mr. Noi drinking at a nearby Thai bar in the area.
The two men then forced Miss Fah and her friend Miss Neuy into a room at the resort, where two other young men were waiting already. In total, the girls told police investigators, that seven boys were involved in the subsequent gang rape. Three more offenders, other than those already in the room, allegedly appeared later on in proceedings.
Following the gang rape by the seven teenage boys, the girls finally managed to escape the gang of youths who had called more friends to take them to another location in Pattaya, by jumping off the still moving motorbikes while near the Big C supermarket in South Pattaya.
Initially, the victims did not tell anyone about the rape, but when one of the offenders, their former friend Mr. Noi, started "spreading the story at school," Miss Fah decided to tell her mother of the incident.
Last week, Miss Fah, her mother and Miss Neuy eventually reported the incident to the Huay Yai police station and, following a short investigation, the seven boys were arrested. Police, however, will still continue to investigate the case and attempt to locate and apprehend a further four to five young man thought to have been involved with the incident in some capacity. Pattaya Daily News
23/ Aug/ 2010
Columbian Burglary Gang Member Makes Second Escape Attempt PDN
22/ Aug/ 2010
Australian National Brutally Bashed, Robbed On Pattaya Soi 6 Pattaya Daily News
Suvarnabhumi Airport Link Begins Commercial Services On Monday Thai News Agency
20/ Aug/ 2010
Peruvian Gang Arrested For Attempted Pattaya ATM Robbery Pattaya Daily News
Thai Court Rules To Extradite Alleged Russian Arms Dealer DPA
Thailand To Deport Freed Australian Red-Shirt Protester AAP
19/ Aug/ 2010
Columbian Burglary Gang Member Shot During Escape Attempt Pattaya One Pattaya One
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