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4.1 Richter earthquake in Chiang Mai followed by aftershock
Nopniwat Krailerg
An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale shook
Chiang Mai on December 4, at 04.34 pm.
The Office of the Earthquake and Meteorological
Department reported the center of the quake was at latitude 18.7 degrees
north, longitude 98.5 degrees east, which would place it at about 40
kilometers to the west and a little bit south of the city.
Shortly after the first tremor, at 04.58 pm, an
aftershock was felt, measuring 2 on the Richter scale. This was felt by
citizens in Hang Dong, San Pa Tong, Muang including Mae Rim district, Chiang
Mai and Lamphun, especially by those who were in tall buildings. People in
the Doi Suthep area also felt the ground shake, causing great excitement for
a while. Many, including reporters in the Chiangmai Mail office, said
they heard a sound like a bomb before the earthquake.
Woraphot Khunawi-wathanakul, northern forecasting officer
of the Meteo-rological Department, department of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT), said the center was between Muang district
and Hang Dong district, in Chiang Mai. Although there was considerable
vibration there were initially no reports of any damage. This earthquake was
not a violent one, being only in the medium range.
The last earthquake felt by the Office of Earthquake and
Meteorological Department in Chiang Mai was on September 18, when vibrations
were felt from a quake whose center was on the Burma-India border about 800
kilometers from Chiang Mai.
Police are directed to
crack down on games shops and step up security for visitors
Saksit Meesubkwang
Chiang Mai’s governor has placed officers on alert
to monitor the amusement and game shops, and said he will ensure that
officers who neglect their duties will be punished.
Suwat
Tantipat, Chiang Mai governor checks knives that police have seized from
youths.
Governor Suwat Tantipat in cooperation with Pol. Maj.
Gen. Jiruj Promobol, Chiang Mai Provincial Police commander and Pol. Col.
Chamnan Ruadreuw, deputy commander, hosted a press conference on crime
suppression in Muang district.
Suwat said that he would like police to concentrate on
crime in the city during the high season, which is now underway.
 Chiang
Mai governor Suwat Tantipat in cooperation with Pol. Maj. Gen. Jiruj
Promobol, Chiang Mai Provincial Police commander and Chumporn Sangmanee,
head of Muang district chief officer check O-Zone internet shop on
Chotana Road.
Pol. Col. Yuthachai Puaprasert, Muang Chiang Mai
Police Station superintendent led officers to arrest 66 illegal laborers,
eight criminal cases and to seize 55 motorbikes, weapons and many knives.
Most of the offenders are Tai tribesmen who have entered Thailand
illegally and are causing trouble for foreign tourists, such as
possession snatching.
After the press conference, the governor visited the
police box at Thapae Gate. Officers had checked 200 people and found one
man with traces of amphetamines in his system. He was identified as
Suthad Jamjang, 26, living at Tambon Mae La Luang in Mae La Noi, Mae Hong
Son.
After that, the governor headed police and volunteer
officers to check the O-Zone online games shop located on Chotana Road at
Tambon Chang Puek. There were many youngsters there playing games. Police
took their details and the owner’s cooperation was sought in closing
his shop on time and not allowing youngsters to get up to mischief on the
premises.
The governor said that he knew parents were worried about their
children spending time in playing online games and neglecting their
studies, and that police have a special directive to monitor these
outlets.
Tai people celebrate the year 2100 at Wat Koo Tao
Saksit Meesubkwang
Tai ethnic people held a celebration at Wat Koo Tao on
November 30 to celebrate their New Year, which began on December 1 and is
the year 2100 in the Tai calendar. Amongst the festivities, which continued
through
to the early morning of
December 2, were traditional dance and music and a competition in which 40
beautiful girls wore traditional dress.
According to the historical records, Tai New Year began
in the Buddhist era year 450. In recent times the Tung Mao cultural
association in the north of the Shan State in Burma has reinstated Tai New
Year so that it will continue to be passed down through the generations as
part of the Tai culture.
There is a significant Tai population in Chiang Rai,
Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Chanthaburi and Bangkok, and many are active in
keeping the old traditions and identity alive.
Interior Ministry acts to reduce road accident toll
Saksit Meesubkwang
Deputy Minister of the Interior Sermsak Pongpanit was the
main speaker on December 2 at a seminar on the prevention of road accidents.
Covering 17 Northern provinces, the seminar was attended by police officers
and local administrative officials, with more than 2,000 delegates at the
Lotus Pang Suan Kaew Hotel, in Chiang Mai.
Sermsak said that during each New Year and Songkran
festival there were many deaths and injuries from road accidents. With
people traveling to and from their hometowns or visiting friends there is a
lot more traffic on the roads, and alcohol consumption is the main cause of
the accidents.
The Ministry of Interior intends to reduce this risk to
peoples’ lives and property. This Northern region
seminar was the first of itskind to be held, and others will follow in
different regions throughout the country.
Delegates heard that the aim is to reduce road accidents by at least 15
percent during the coming year.
Mauritania will create desert garden at expo
Chiangmai
Mail Reporter
Mauritania is to create a desert garden at the
International Horticultural Exposition, adding its name to the
increasing number of countries who will be participating in this event,
which will take place between 1 November next year and January 31,
2007.
The expo is part of the celebrations organized in
honor of His Majesty the King’s 60th anniversary of succeeding to the
throne, and his 80th birthday, which occurs in 2007.
Mauritania’s desert garden will be created in an
area of 500 square meters, and there will be a Mauritanian cultural
show on December 4, the country’s national day.
Projections are that the International Horticultural Exposition will
eventually feature 30 countries. To date 13 have confirmed their
participation, namely Spain, Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia,
India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Mauritania, Belgium, Iran, and
Qatar.
Suan Buak Had becomes a night park for family fun
Gets teenagers away from amusement areas says Deputy Mayor
Saksit Meesubkwang
 Suan
Buak Had Public Park, soon to be a Night Park.
Suan Buak Had public park has now become a night park,
thoroughly lit in every area, patrolled by police, and with facilities for
young people and families to enjoy themselves.
Pornchai Jitnavasathien, Chiang Mai deputy mayor, said
that society is changing, and it is easy for family members to drift apart.
With an attractive leisure space they can all enjoy as a family in the
evenings, the individual members can spend more time together.
“Teenagers can enjoy themselves as there is a stage in
the middle of the pool and they can sing and dance here instead of spending
their time and money in amusement places,” said Pornchai. Youngsters are
allowed to show their abilities on the new stage from 5-10 p.m.
everyday.
The deputy mayor mentioned that in the interests of security there are no
unlit areas in the park. Cigarettes and alcohol are not allowed to be sold
in the park or in the immediate vicinity. Two police officers are posted
there to ensure the safety of visitors.
Burmese return two foreign journalists who strayed into Wah territory
Nopniwat Krailerg
Two foreign journalists who had inadvertently strayed
over the border and into a Wah troop area, where they were promptly
arrested, have been returned to Thailand by the Burmese authorities.
They are Aude Pierey, 28, a French national and Kris
Coppieters, 31, a Belgian national of French extraction, working as
reporters with Airin magazine, which presents tourism and sport in France.
They had been riding a motorcycle along a mountain ridge at the Thai-Burmese
border and had entered a Wah troop area on the Burma side, where they were
detained by the Wah and Burmese armies.
Thai soldiers had learned from informants there were two
foreigners arrested by the Burmese army at an area opposite Mae Fa Luang
district. Their officer contacted the Burmese to check the story, then Thai
officials requested the Burmese government to send the two back to Thailand.
On November 27, Lt. Col. Surin Saengkham, head of
Thailand-Myanmar Township Border Committee (TBC), Mae Sai, Chiang Rai
together with Pha Muang Task Force officers and Mae Sai immigration officers
traveled to the Thai-Burmese Relationship Bridge in Mae Sai to pick up the
two foreigners.
The officers across the border had participated promptly, said Lt. Col.
Surin, who told Chiangmai Mail that both foreigners went to the ridge
of the mountain for para-gliding without supervision and had inadvertently
entered Burmese territory.
Once more, not enough blankets
Saksit Meesubkwang
Although there are an estimated 175,000 people at risk
during the winter weather, Chiang Mai has only 30,000 blankets available to
assist them, mainly provided by donations.
Governor Suwat Tantipat said that the temperatures in
remote areas and the highlands are falling fast, and every district is being
asked to be aware of those who may be in trouble and to give them urgent
assistance where needed. This will come under the 10 million baht natural
disaster budget that each district has, with another 50 million baht
available for the province generally. The budget has been depleted by the
recent flooding.
The governor said that information from the Rescue
Services office in Chiang Mai found there were almost 175,000 people at risk
but the service has only 30,000 blankets; 11,000 are from the Department for
Rescue Services, 5,500 from the provincial rescue center, and 12,000 from
Chang beer. That is not enough and provincial staff have been directed to
help the most serious cases first.
A two million baht budget has been allocated to buy
11,000 blankets for giving out, especially in the upland areas. The governor
said that the elderly, disadvantaged children and the disabled will receive
help first.
Since this situation appears every year at this time, it prompts the
question, what happened to last year’s
blankets, and the year’s
before?
Night Safari hits back at NGO claims
Soft opening free admission claimed to be runaway success
Nopniwat Krailerg
The
guide cars in Chiang Mai Night Safari can serve about 2,000 people per day.
The initial tentative stream of visitors to Chiang Mai
Night Safari, which had a soft opening free of admission charges starting on
November 18, quickly increased from 500 people on the first day to 5,000,
and then swelled to 10,000, causing a strain on the internal transportation
system as the guide cars can handle only around 2,000. However it should not
be forgotten that free offers are rarely under-subscribed.
The Night Safari will remain open until December 14, when
it will close briefly ready for its official opening date of January 1. The
double priced entrance fee will be 250 baht for adults, 125 baht for
children and 500 baht for foreigners. The road will also be widened at this
time to prevent the build-up of traffic, said Sa-Nga.
Director Sa-Nga Euatrakul said that the organizations
protesting against the project lacked knowledge and the correct information
to properly assess the situation. For example, there has been criticism from
NGOs that the project, which needs a huge amount of water, lacks an
efficient water system.
Protesters have said it will deplete the underground
reservoirs which will have a consequent effect on the ecology of Doi Suthep
10 to 20 years from now, or that it will have to draw water from the same
source that supplies Chiang Mai city and surrounding areas.
Sa-Nga said the water draw-off will not affect citizens or the
underground springs and reservoirs, and that the Department of
Underground Water Resources had studied this matter before the project
started.
Poverty will be eradicated by 2008, says Community Development Office
Nopniwat Krailerg
Chiang Mai Community Development Office predicts that the
government policy of eradicating poverty from the province will have been
achieved before 2008.
Head of the office, Somsak Suthisan said that in 2003 there
were 229,525 households in Chiang Mai having an income of less than 20,000 baht
per year per person, and that by 2004 the figure had decreased to 76,368
households. This survey indicates that the organizations concerned with helping
to eradicate poverty were having a beneficial effect.
He added that the number of poor people registered in Chiang
Mai was 296,835. Three teams of officers headed by the three governors is
tackling the problem, with each team being responsible for eight districts. The
program is expected to be complete by 2008.
The poor in these regions will be very pleased to see this statistical
improvement, and are fervently hoping this will result in
a better life for them and their families. We are all waiting.
Wrap up well warns Met Center as temperatures plunge
Chiangmai Mail
Reporter
Temperatures are falling sharply now, warns the Northern
Meteorological Center, and there will be instances of thick fog.
A cold air mass has moved across the region from China, and
the North, along with the fog, is now experiencing temperatures of between 13
and 15 degrees, while around the mountain peaks temperatures of 6 to 8 degrees
are being recorded. The fogs are causing difficulties and delays for air and
land transport.
The Meteorological Center warns all citizens to protect themselves from the
cold by wrapping up well and taking care of pets and plants, and also to be very
careful when traveling through areas affected by fog. There will be frost on the
hilltops, say the weathermen. Citizens are advised to closely follow the weather
reports.
Moslems say Islamic committee selection not transparent
Saksit
Meesubkwang
Moslems in Chiang Mai have protested to the governor that the
selection of the Chiang Mai Islamic committee had a hidden agenda and that the
process was corrupt.
The committee selection was held on November 24, with the
assistant governor as head of the election process. Imams from 13 mosques in
Chiang Mai had presented the 23 candidates.
The protesters say that the selection process was neither transparent nor
honest. Almost all of the 15 selected candidates are representatives from Chiang
Mai outer area mosques while the representatives from inside area mosques were
not selected.
Mae Hong Son trying to hold on to long-neck Karens
Humanitarian or financial reasons?
Chiangmai Mail Reporter
Long-neck
Karen village in Baan Huay Duea Muang, Mae Hong Son (Photo by Saksit
Meesubkwang)
Mae Hong Son tourism might be in trouble if the long-neck
Karens return to Burma, removing one of the region’s most alluring tourism
sights, and the province is in discussions with the Burmese authorities to allow
the tribal people to continue living on Thai soil.
“Mae Hong Son will negotiate with Burmese representatives
one more time to request the Burmese government to continue allowing long-neck
Karen people to live in Mae Hong Son, and in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai,” said
Mae Hong Son governor Direk Konkleep.
Wisoot Buachum, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Mae Hong Son
office said that if the Burmese government were to take back those people, it
would certainly affect tourism. Long-neck Karens are Burmese people who fled
their own country because of war. Their settlements in Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai
and Chiang Mai have become tourist attractions.
Angry Thapae residents petition governor over endless cable installation
Saksit
Meesubkwang
Residents and business people along Thapae Road in Muang
Chiang Mai, exasperated by the slow progress in laying the underground telephone
and electricity cables, have petitioned the governor, requesting an early
completion to the project.
They say the project has been going on for two years and
there is no completion date being given.
The petition says that work is being done at night, causing
the residents lack of sleep. The drilling and digging are shaking the ground,
cracking the windows in houses and shopfronts, and cracks have been found in a
pagoda at Wat Mahawan. Aditionally, the construction equipment is obstructing
the entrances to shops, affecting their business.
Srisuda Chawachat, one of the Thapae residents who organized
the petition, said they would never attempt to stop municipality development
work. However, this project has been going on for two years, and that was too
long. They could no longer put up with the noise and the disturbance, and the
damage to their property. Residents still don’t know when all this will be
finished.
Chiangmai Mail has been informed by Pornchai Jitnavasathien, Chiang Mai
deputy mayor who is responsible for the project, that he has already warned the
workers to speed up. He predicts the job will be finished by December 31.
According to the schedule, the work should have been completed in October but
the activities associated with Songkran and Loy Krathong along this road,
together with the flooding, had slowed progress.
One for the record books as world’s longest Lanna flag is displayed
Preeyanoot Jittawong
and Kittiyaporn Kanjam (student trainee MFLU)
The world
longest Toong parade started from Yuparaj Wittayalai School.
What can probably claim to be the world’s longest Toong, or
Lanna style flag, was displayed on November 25 in front of the King Rama VI
Monument in Chiang Mai.
Measuring 1,060 meters in length the flag was made by Yuparaj
Wittayalai School as part of its centenary celebrations.
The date was chosen to mark the birthday of Her Royal
Highness Princess Petcharat Rajsuda, patron of Yuparaj Wittayalai School, on
November 24, and the passing-away date of King Rama VI, who had granted the
school its name, which falls on November 25.
Chiang Mai governor Suwat Tantipat presided over the ceremony
in which a thousand students and teachers of the school gathered at the
monument. The Toong was then paraded, with many people having written messages
and poems, about 5,000 in all, that were adhered to the flag. The parade was
necessarily a brief one, covering the 300 meters from the school to Thapae Gate
and back again.
The Toong is on display at the school until December 24, and
after that it will be kept at Wachirawutanusorn Chamber and taken out every year
at this time from now on.
On the same day, piggy banks that students had used to collect money were
opened and the entire amount came to 200,000 baht. The funds will go towards the
construction of the 100 Year Yuparaj Ruam Jai Building.
17 Northern provinces display products and skills at fair
Nopniwat
Krailerg
 Assoc.
Prof. Archara Wannasathit; president of cabinet spouse Northern Learning Center
(center), Suwat Tantipat; Chiang Mai Governor, and Weeraphan Samakkarn; Manager
of The Northern Study Center of Sufficiency Economy According to His Majesty’s
Initiative Support Center Mae Rim district, Chiang Mai joined together making a
statement.
A fair that demonstrated the art and benefits of
self-sufficiency and that featured the produce and skills of 17 Northern
provinces was organized in association with the spouses of cabinet ministers
last week.
Assoc. Prof. Archara Wannasathit, president of the Northern
Learning Center, Suwat Tantipat, Chiang Mai governor, and Weeraphan Samakkarn,
manager of the Northern Study Center of Sufficiency in the Economy, which is
under His Majesty the King’s Initiative Support Center in Mae Rim district,
conducted the official ceremony that was presided over by Pol Gen Chidchai
Wannasathit.
 Cultivating
demonstration in demonstrate plot in New Theory Agricultural Center area.
Cabinet spouses and cabinet members including Newin Chidchob,
Minster Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, Pracha Maleenont, Minister of
Tourism and Sport, and Yongyut Tiyapairat, Minister of Natural Resources and
Environment, were joined by the governors and their wives
of 17 Northern provinces
to participate in the ceremony.
There were many activities by government offices and private
individuals with exhibitions and demonstrations related to agriculture,
domesticated animals, fishery, and career counseling, mobile job providing,
vocational part-time job registrations for students, and OTOP products from all
17 provinces.
The group of cabinet spouses and senior government officers joined together
in planting 79 Indian laburnums, an auspicious tree, and releasing fish. More
than 50,000 people attended the fair.
CMU/Ohio University international project underway in Thailand
Suparie
Chatkunyarat
 Assisted
by CMU Ms Vasittha Chullobon and GLC Barbara Patche, GLC Director Greg Emery
described the project at their Chiang Mai North Rotary
Club.
From November 27 through December 14, sixty-eight students
from Chiang Mai University’s (CMU) Faculty of Humanities and Ohio
University’s Global Leadership Center (GLC) are providing research and
consulting services to fourteen Chiang Mai organizations.
Now in its third year, the project enables students to work
with Thai clients in student-teams advised jointly by CMU and GLC professors
(and supported by staff from Learning Holiday, Ltd. of Chiang Mai). The project
culminates in recommendations addressing research questions based on client
needs.
This is part of a larger academic endeavor for CMU’s students and one of
two overseas components that form the backbone of the GLC’s curriculum. Ohio
University’s Global Leadership Center is a two-year undergraduate certificate
program that prepares students to serve as internationally-minded, skilled, and
experienced leaders in all walks of life. This year’s project leaders are
Ajarn Panit Boonyavatana, Ph.D., Director of CMU’s English Department, and GLC
Director Greg Emery, Ph.D., MBA.
Traders in Hot district market hot under the collar
Nopniwat Krailerg
Stall holders at Hot district market in Chiang Mai have
protested to the director of the Department of Highways over legal action taken
against them for blocking the public thoroughfare.
The market traders say they have been there for 10 years, and
that their prosecution was unjust.
Stall owner Thiamchan Trichetthada, who was one of those prosecuted, said
that unless the legal action is withdrawn they will petition the Chiang Mai
governor and tell him that if that is the case, then all sidewalk stall holders
throughout the province should be prosecuted, making for a very hot issue.
One Tambon One Rescue Team project for all of Thailand by 2008
Nopniwat Krailerg
Deputy Minister of Interior Sermsak Pongpanit has declared
that by 2008, all Tambons around the country will have Tambon rescue teams for
primary rescue to get victims to hospital quickly and safely.
Rescue officers from Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
Office of provinces, municipalities, and TAO in Phitsanulok, Phrae, Nan,
Lampang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Mae Hong Son, and Lamphun practiced
according to the 6 th generation of
One Tambon One Rescue Team Training Course to help the victims at the field of
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation College Chiang Mai Campus. This training
course has both theoretical and practical sections which all trainees could pass
the specified criterion and had appropriate knowledge.
On this occasion, the deputy minister granted diplomas to 55 trainees.
The ‘tea party’ is over claims growers
Saksit Meesubkwang
Tea growers in Chiang Rai are angry over government proposals
to import tea leaves, saying it will undercut their prices, and on November 26
about 200 growers led by Chiang Rai Tea Cooperative president Kamjorn Manitwirun
traveled to Dusit Island Resort in Chiang Rai to present a petition to Dr
Thanong Bidaya, Minister of Finance.
Piyapan Nimmanheminda, deputy permanent secretary of the
Ministry of Finance, received the document from the assembly and said he would
present it to the minister.
Kamjorn said that Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, Agriculture
and Cooperatives Minister, planned to allow free trade in tea. The controversy
revolves around the buying of green tea leaves from local farmers, which if it
decreases or stops will cause hardship to 20,000 households. He said that the
local growers want the government to cancel the agreement to import duty-free
tea leaves because it will undercut the prices of the local growers.
Tea leaves vary in price from 80 baht per kilogram to 400
baht per kilogram, and Oo-Long tea from the garden is at least 1,000 baht per
kilogram.
Chiang Rai governor Worakiet Somsoi plans on promoting Chiang Rai as “Tea
City” but the growers fear that if prices fall they will be unable to meet
their payments to the Agriculture and Co-operatives Bank.
Vandals destroy 5,000 plant tissues at Doi Tung project
Chiangmai Mail
Reporter
Vandals broke into the gardens of the Doi Tung Development
Project and destroyed more than 5,000 spadix in the Plant Tissue Cultivation
Center.
Mae Sai Police Station in Chiang Rai received the report from
Dr. Rerg Sayamanon, deputy director of the project, on November 29. He said that
Linjong Kapanya, a head worker, had gone to check the tissue cultivation area
and found that 49 spadix gardens, containing in total 5,343 spadix stems valued
at 200,000 baht, had been destroyed by an unknown number of intruders. They had
used sharp knives to cut the spadix stems and left them beside the plant beds.
Investigators established that usually only one worker at a
time could enter the area, and that this had clearly been the work of several
people during the night.
The spadix had been cultivated from tissue over a four year
period by the Plant Tissue Cultivation Center, its responsibility under the Doi
Tung Development Project being the cultivation of many kinds of plant.
Police have submitted a report to the project directors,
saying they believe the vandalism may have resulted from a conflict between
workers and administrators.
District chief officer moved sideways after fake ID card scam revealed
Nopniwat Krailerg
The district chief officer for Mae Tang has been moved to a
non-operational post in the Department of Provincial Administration, just 24
hours after being found guilty of complicity in a scam to issue false identity
cards for aliens.
Department of Provincial Administration director Chanchai
Suntharamat signed the order on December 1 to transfer Prasert Indee, former Mae
Taeng district chief officer, by noon of the following day.
The Ministry of Interior worked in cooperation with the
office of the prime minister after villagers had reported that government
officers and other people in positions of responsibility were copying government
documents for aliens.
Police had discovered that the Mae Taeng district village headman was
collecting money from illegal immigrants, charging between 50,000 and 70,000
baht. Mae Sai police arranged for an alien to act as an undercover agent, and he
contacted the village headman to forge an identity card. When the agent received
his card, police moved in, arresting the headman and seizing the evidence. The
headman informed them that the Mae Taeng district chief officer was his contact.
Cool thief takes law official’s cash and cards from hotel room
Nopniwat
Krailerg
An audacious thief entered the hotel room of a senior law
enforcement official, who was in Chiang Mai on official business, and made off
with 100,000 baht and four credit cards.
Phu Phing police station was informed on December 2 by an
embarrassed Chatchai Promlert, acting director of the Department for Security
Services, that the room he had booked, in a very well known Chiang Mai hotel,
had been burgled only a few hours after he checked in.
Chatchai said he had checked into the hotel in the Huay Kaew
Road area at 4 a.m. He had rested until 9 a.m., when he went downstairs to
welcome Deputy Minister of Interior Sermsak Pongpanit, who was in Chiang Mai to
lead a seminar on road accident prevention measures.
About 10.30 that morning, Chatchai went back to his room and found that his
belongings had been ransacked and his money and credit cards taken. The hotel
management and local police are seeking the thief as enthusiastically as
Chatchai.
Lost luggage results in full police investigation
Saksit Meesubkwang
Luggage kept in the hold of a tour bus disappeared and the
theft was reported to tourist police who seized the bus.
Pol. Lt. Col. Nattawut Chotekanchanawat, tourist police
inspector confiscated the tour bus driven by Setthi Boonmee, 42, living at
Tambon Pang Koong in Muang, Surat Thani, after two foreign passengers informed
the officers their belongings disappeared while being transported from Bangkok
to Chiang Mai on December 2. The two passengers claimed 4,000 US dollars was
missing, which they wanted the tour company that owns the bus to pay.
Autsathai Rattanadilok Na Phuket, head of Chiang Mai
Provincial Transport Office revealed after the officers sent the bus to the
office for checking, it was discovered the owner had not paid tax since June 30,
2005 so the bus company was prosecuted.
The transport head added that this act affected our tourism image. The Chiang
Mai Provincial Transport Office has cooperated with tourist police and sectors
concerned to solve this kind of problem. If anyone has any knowledge of the
theft, the informant should immediately contact police of transport office in
the area
Contract thieves make off with solar panels
Chiangmai
Mail Reporters
Two men have been arrested for stealing solar cell panels
that were being installed as part of Mae Hong Son’s pet project to make remote
villages self-sufficient in electricity generation.
The men were identified as Nopadet Kanokwong-amorn, 23, and
Anuwat Kaiwanpimon, 20, both living at Tambon Mae La Noi in Mae Hong Son. Seized
with them were 38 solar cell panels valued at a million baht and belonging to
TOT, as well as a pickup truck and two motorcycles.
Police caught the thieves on the Mae Top-Tha Pha Pum Road as
they were driving with the panels to the border. The men told the officers that
they were hired by a man named Pho (surname unknown) with 5,000 baht as a
reward.
Villagers had earlier informed police of the theft of solar
cell panels so officers were on the lookout for the miscreants. It is believed a
gang is behind the thefts.
Prisoner escapes escort officers and flees the scene
Chiangmai Mail Reporters
Somsak Jupaw, 21, an Akha tribesman arrested on charges of
drug dealing, escaped from his escorting officers when he was being transferred
to a court hearing on November 26 and fled into the forest. Almost 100 officers
backed by a search helicopter went looking for the prisoner but he was not
found. Police said he has probably crossed the border, where he has relatives.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Chamnong Kaewsiri, Chiang Rai Provincial
Police commander, has directed officers to continue searching the area around
Somsak’s home in Mae Fa Luang district. Officers manning checkpoints have also
been put on alert and notices are being posted for the general public.
The police and prison officers who were escorting the
prisoner now have to explain their dereliction of duty, and commander Chamnong
has said that those responsible face prosecution and possible imprisonment.
Perhaps they should also be considering fleeing the scene!
ASEAN and China drug cooperation seminar organized in Chiang Mai.
Nopniwat
Krailerg
An international seminar towards narcotic cooperation between
ASEAN and China was held in at the Imperial Chiang Mai Resort in Mae Rim, Chiang
Mai. Kamol Taiyapirom working on behalf of ONCB Northern Region revealed that
the ONCB and narcotic suppression organization of Burmese jointly held the
event.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Kritsana Pol-anan, secretary general of ONCB
presided over the seminar that was also joined by 60 representatives of UN and
international and private sectors. The UN has tried to suppress opium planting
and drug dealing at the Golden Triangle, so an association was created between
ASEAN and China. The seminar also studied works in Thailand and Burma regarding
alternative crops for opium in these areas.
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