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Now inside every SaturdayFebruary 25 - March 3, 2017 44 Pages / 20 BahtTHE NATION

‘SHE HAS TO STAY IN THAILAND UNTIL HER CASE IS PROCESSED’

Russian touristjailed, detained inPhuket for ‘feedingfish’ at Koh Racha

Activists nowawait Krabicoal plant‘backdown’MASS rallies were held inKrabi after the PM approveda hotly-debated coal-firedpower plant. The governmenthas now ordered for a newEnvironment and Health Im-pact Assessment study, whichactivists are now awaiting.

Story on Page 3

Under Article 17, DMCR officers may detain tourists for standing on coral; touching, collectingor feeding marine animals; and polluting the environment. Photo: Gazette file

Beware of unethicalagents and part with yourdeposit carefully.

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By Kongleaphy Keam

A RUSSIAN tourist spent two nights injail for feeding fish at Koh Racha beforepaying 100,000 baht bail to be releasedfrom a holding cell at Phuket ProvincialCourt on February 21.

Her passport has been held by the courtand she is not permitted to leave the coun-try until after her case is tried. Her initialhearing is not until March 6.

Olga Smirnova, 53, was arrested byMarine and Coastal Resources Department(DMCR) officers at Koh Racha Yai onFebruary 19 and was later taken to ChalongPolice Station where she was charged with“feeding fish in a forbidden area or in anarea with coral reef”, the maximum pun-ishment for which is a year in prison, a100,000-baht fine, or both.

Police were unable to provide thename of the tour operator, but said thatMs Smirnova purchased the tour inPatong and maintained that her tourguide did not inform her of the rules re-garding feeding fish.

Officials said they allowed for MsSmirnova to be released on bail the sameday that she was arrested.

“She could not raise the requiredamount of 100,000 baht (approxUS$3,000), so she had to stay in the hold-ing cell at the police station for two nights,”Lt Sakarin Sangjaroen of Chalong Policeadmitted to the Gazette.

“As per Thai law, a suspect can stay ina police station holding cell for a maxi-mum of 48 hours. After that we have tosend them to court jail, which we did,” headded.

Ms Smirnova was bailed out by herfriend who paid the money on her behalf.

“At this stage, we are waiting for theresults of a ‘criminal background’ checkbefore submitting the case to the prosecu-tor. We cannot say exactly how long thatwill be. Generally, the process takes about

a month,” said Lt Sakarin.Last month, a Chinese tourist was also

arrested and jailed for catching and keep-ing two fish at a beach on Racha Island.The arrest was made after locals reportedthe man collecting live fish in a water bottleat Plub Pla Beach, the same beach MsSmirnova was arrested at.

The punishment was levied as per Ar-ticle 17, which gives DMCR officersenhanced power and allows for the estab-lishment of any regulations in an areadeemed under threat of environmental deg-radation.

Previous legislation allowed DMCRofficers to use the Wildlife Preservationand Protection Act BE 2535 (1992) – inwhich coral is considered a protected ani-mal – to catch and turn over to the policeanyone suspected of harming marine life.

Under that act, officers could not arrestpeople for harming any marine life otherthan coral. The punishment was a fine of

up to 40,000 baht, up to four years inprison, or both.

However, under Article 17, DMCR of-ficers may now detain tourists for harmingany marine life, not just coral.

Last month, the DMCR issued a ‘lastwarning’ to all tourists visiting the island.Signs explaining what constitutes illegalbehavior were also set up at Ao Patok, AoSiam and Ao Tue, in Thai, English, Rus-sian and Chinese.

“All tour guides must first bring visi-tors to a central meeting point, where theywill undergo an ‘orientation’ and be in-formed about these laws and guidelines,”said Suchat Rattanaruengsri, Region 6head of the DMCR.

The rules prohibit boats from drop-ping anchor when parked at Racha YaiIsland, and visitors from standing oncoral; touching, collecting or feedingmarine animals (including coral); andpolluting the environment.

2 PHUKET GAZETTE February 25 - March 3, 2017

Diversions placed forcollapsed Rawai bridge

German jumpersurvives 9thfloor fall

Woman set onfire by abusiveex-husband

Wall collapseson Rawai expat

Messy Katawiring causesfire, blackout

‘Foot waving’foreignercriticized

Sleepy taxidriver crashesin Thalang

The bridge on the road around the Nai Harn lake in the area of Naiharn Beach collapsed earlier this week.It is now under construction, with the budget of 1.3 million baht, by Rawai Municipality. The project isexpected to be completed in 2-3 months. During this time, authorities have asked commuters to use thediversion instead, signs for which were placed at the site in English and in Thai. Photo: Rawai Municipality

A GERMAN tourist survived ajump off a 9th floor hotel roofin Phuket on February 20 andsmashed through the roof of acafe below.

“Bernhard Schartl was lyingon the ground of a local noodlehouse on Soi Sansabai in Patongat about 5:30pm. There was alarge hole in the ceiling rightabove him, which he had fallenthrough,” said Lt Col WeerapongRakhito of Patong Police.

Mr Schartl’s left arm wasbroken and he sustained severalother injuries in the fall.

“According to staff at the ho-tel, Mr Schartl loves drinking andhas done so almost every daysince he checked into the hotelwith a Thai woman on February12,” said Col Weerapong.

Police found a letter in hisroom with contact details of hissister “to foot the bill”.

– Kritsada Mueanhawong

A WOMAN sustained burns to30 per cent of her body afterher ex-husband allegedly hither, emptied a bottle of lighterfluid over her body and then sether on fire on February 20.

Rungruedee Sithibut, 43, isemployed as a cleaner at theThepkrasattri MunicipalityKindergarten. Her ex-husbandcame by and the two reportedlyhad an argument before he sether on fire and fled.

Ms Rungruedee was taken toThalang Hospital for treatment.

“We are hunting for the sus-pect and hope to apprehend himsoon,” said Capt KraisornBoonprasob of Thalang Police.

– Winai Sarot

A PORTUGUESE man was in-jured after a wall collapsed inhis house in Rawai on Febru-ary 19.

Rescue workers arrived at

the scene to find the 3.5-meter-high wall broken into pieces onthe floor.

“We found Abel Eduado sit-ting nearby with a bloodyfour-inch wound on his rightleg. We administered first aidbefore taking him to DibukHospital,” said Panupong NaTakuatung of Rawai Rescue.

Rescue workers believe thatconstant hammering to fix an-other part of the house, orshoddy construction, may havebeen the cause of the incident.

– Winai Sarot

A TRANSFORMER explodedafter a jumble of electric wiressparked on February 19 inKata, causing thick, blackclouds of smoke and hours ofblackout in the area.

The incident occurred nearthe heavily trafficked KataBeach Resort junction. Crowdsof tourists and locals gatheredat the scene, watching thesparks and flames in shock.

Residents nearby used fireextinguishers to help put outthe flames and prevent themfrom spreading to their homes.

Karon Municipality rescueworkers and fire-fighters ar-rived at the scene and spentabout 20 minutes battling theflames.

“Luckily, no one was in-jured. We believe the sparksstarted because of the messywires,” said Supaichai Janpet,head of the Karon Municipal-ity rescue team.

– Winai Sarot

A TAXI driver was injured af-ter he fell asleep at the wheeland crashed into a concrete pil-lar in Thalang on February 20.

“The collision occurred onthe northbound ThepkrasattriRoad near Muang ThalangSchool at about 4am. TheToyota was pretty banged up atthe front.,” said Lt SunanPetnhu of Thalang Police.

Tourists Ruan Huiqiang andYing Leyan, both 23 years old,were bruised and shaken, whilethe driver, Thornpon Seewan,32, sustained injuries on hishead and chest. The trio wastaken to Thalang Hospital.

“Mr Thornpon told us thathe had picked up the touristsfrom Patong and was heading

to Phuket International Airport.He said that since it was earlyin the morning, he fell asleepand lost control of his taxi,”said Lt Sunan.

The driver was charged withreckless driving causing injuriesand property damage and willbe taken to the Thalang PoliceStation after his recovery.

– Winai Sarot

B200K worthof ya bahseizedA MAN was arrested withabout 200,000 baht’s worth ofya bah (methamphetamine)pills while trying to enterPhuket on February 19.

“We caught him at the TahChat Chai checkpoint just as hehad arrived in Phuket fromNarathiwat,” said Lt ColThawat Tansakun of Tah ChatChai Police.

The suspect, Apisee Ya, 26,had nearly 1,400 pills in hispossession. He confessed toand was charged with posses-sion of a category 1 drug withintent to sell.

“The drugs were uncoveredduring a random check – we areclosely monitoring all busesand vehicles entering Phuket.

We will question him further tobroaden our knowledge aboutthe drug network he is a partof,” said Col Thawat.

– Kritsada Mueanhawong

A FOREIGNER who stuck hisfoot out the window of a pas-senger van has received a lotof criticism on social media af-ter pictures of the incident wereposted online.

The pictures were taken twoweeks ago by a Facebook user,who wished to remain anony-mous, driving behind the vanon Thepkrasattri Road near theBang Kho junction in KohKaew. He says he passed thevan later and saw that it was aforeign passenger.

While some made light ofthe incident by saying it was afunny new way of greeting in-vented by foreigners, otherssaid they understood thatpeople came to Thailand to re-lax and enjoy themselves, butthat this kind of behavior wasinappropriate and dangerous.

The Facebook user said thatthe purpose of posting the pic-tures was not to shameanybody, but just to let othersknow how they are expected tobehave in Thailand, and thatforeigners should considerwhether or not they would dosomething like that in theirhome country.

The user also said that tourcompanies, guides and trans-port operators should informtourists about refraining fromunacceptable behavior thathurts the image of Phuket as atourist destination.

– Winai Sarot

Touristsrescued afterboat crashFORTY four Italian and Frenchtourists were rescued on Feb-ruary 16 after a speedboatcrashed into an underwaterconcrete pole near Rassada.

The boat left the Gypsy Pierbehind the Westin Siray Bay re-sort in Rassada at about 10am.The crash occurred less thanfive minutes into the journey. Apassing tourist boat helped res-cue everyone on board.

“We have yet to learn whythe concrete structure is there,”said Phuket Marine Officechief Surat Sirisaiyas.

– Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET GAZETTE 3February 25 - March 3, 2017

Protestors outside the Government House. Photo: The Nation

Protestors await officialorder on coal plant EHIA

British big bike riderkills elderly local man

The owner of the big bike sustained minor injuries. Photo: Winai Sarot

B16mn ‘red light’ trafficcams installed in Phuket

Gov Chokchai with officials at the meeting. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

FIVE new high-tech ‘red lightcameras’ were launched on Feb-ruary 16 in response to Phuket’srecognition as one of the fivemost dangerous provinces forroad travel in Thailand.

“These cameras can helpcatch those who are speeding,not wearing helmets or runningred lights. A computer then au-tomatically prints a penaltynotice, which will be sent to thedriver’s house,” said GovernorChokchai Dejarmornthan.

“The main purpose of this isto change bad driving behaviorin Phuket and scare people intoobeying traffic laws,” he added.

Governor Chokchai met withPhuket Provincial Police Com-mander Teeraphol Thipjaroenand Deputy Chair of the ‘ThaiRoad Safety Network (TRSN)’Dr Wiwat Seetamanotch atPhuket Provincial Police Sta-tion to discuss details of theproject. Gov Chokchai con-firmed that the budget for the

project is 16 million baht.Cameras have been placed at

the Khao Lan junction onThepkrasattri Road; the ChaoFah West and Kwang Road junc-tion; the See Kor (Kathu-PatongRoad) junction; the Kamala junc-tion; and the Komaraphat Roadjunction in Phuket Town.

“The reason for choosingthese five spots is that a lot oftraffic violations have been re-ported there over the years. Lastyear, Khao Lan junction re-corded 43 accidents, 2 deathsand 23 injuries. See Kor junc-tion saw 28 accidents, 1 deathand 33 injuries, and the ChaoFah West-Kwang Road junc-tion saw 51 accidents and 46injuries,” said Gov Chokchai.

According to statistics by theSRF, Thailand has the second-highest number of roadaccidents and deaths in theworld, with one accident or ca-sualty every 40 minutes.

– Kritsada Mueanhawong

A THAI man was killed after aBritish man crashed into him inThalang on February 20.

Chawalit Sritha, 69, wasriding a Honda Wave and col-lided with Adam Howard’sYamaha big bike.

“Mr Chawalit was criticallyinjured and taken to ThalangHospital where he was laterpronounced dead. Mr Howardwas treated for minor injuries,”

said Capt Kraisorn Boonprasobof Thalang Police.

The Yamaha broke into twopieces. The Honda was dam-aged at the rear end.

“Witnesses said that MrChawalit was riding out from thesoi and had almost crossed theroad when the speeding Yamahacame in and crashed into hisbike,” said Capt Kraisorn.

– Winai Sarot

THE National Energy PolicyCommittee (NEPC) has resolvedto continue the construction of acontroversial 870-megawattKrabi coal-fired power plant,Prime Minister Gen PrayuthChan-o-cha announced on Feb-ruary 17. The decision was madeby the committee during a meet-ing at the Government House,amid an uproar about the valueof the plant and Thailand’s fu-ture energy policy.

Large crowds of protestersgathered outside GovernmentHouse in Krabi awaiting the de-cision on the plant, which hasdrawn much resistance from lo-cals and environmentalactivists over the years.

“This is totally against thegovernment’s own initiative of‘Krabi Go Clean’. We don’t minda power plant, just not a coalplant that will ruin the environ-ment and drive tourists away,”said Amarit Siripornjuthakun,head of the Krabi Tourism Coun-cil of Thailand.

“It will affect tourism forsure. Tourists come to Krabi tobreathe fresh air and see un-spoiled natural beauty – not tobreathe in black smoke and ruintheir health. Electricity Gener-ating Authority of Thailandrepresentatives said they willhelp those who live within afive-kilometer radius, but what

about the rest of us?” MrAmarit added.

The location of the plant isreportedly part of the wetlandsprotected under the RamsarConvention, an internationaltreaty for the conservation andsustainable utilization of wet-lands, and was marked out as aprotected zone in 2001.

Police cracked down on theprotest outside the Govern-ment House on February 18,arresting 16 protesters includ-ing three leaders of thedemonstration. Legal expertscondemned the move, sayingit was a severe violation of theprotesters’ rights and de-manded that they be releasedimmediately. Officials saidthey were acting with author-ity under the absolute power

of Article 44 in the interimcharter. As at press time, fiveof them were released.

On February 20, the govern-ment seemingly accepteddemands from protesters andordered that the Environmen-tal and Health ImpactAssessment (EHIA) of theKrabi coal-fired power plant berestarted from the beginning. Aclear instruction and officialorder on the EHIA study wasexpected to be issued by thegovernment after the Cabinetmeeting on February 21. How-ever, while the prime ministeraddressed guidelines and a pre-ferred timetable of at least oneyear for the revisited EHIAstudy, the Cabinet did not issuea written order.

– The Nation

4 PHUKET GAZETTE February 25 - March 3, 2017

High profilefigures offer toprovide bail

New formatset for policereshuffle

Green skytrainplans moveone step closer

Secretaries cutin media procouncil

Laos agrees tohelp in nabbinglese majestesuspects

HIGH-profile figures havecome forward to provide bailfor Jatupat Boonpataraksa, astudent activist who has beendetained since December 22 forsharing on his Facebook accounta BBC Thai article deemed in-sulting to the Monarchy.

The non-profit ‘Thai Law-yers for Human Rights Center’on February 22 filed a petitionwith the Khon Kaen provincialcourt to seek bail for Mr Jatupat.

According to Jatupat’s lawyerKrisadang Nucharat, the petitionreasoned that the investigationinto the case is complete, with thepolice already forwarding it toprosecutors.

The 25-year-old activist is alaw student at Khon Kaen Uni-versity and should be given thechance to continue his studies,Mr Krisadang said.

Philosopher and activist SulakSivaraksa also joined withJatupat’s father Viboon Boonpa-taraksa to contribute bail.

Article 44asked to berevokedTHE THAI Lawyers for Hu-man Rights Centre (TLHRC)has called on the NationalCouncil for Peace and Order(NCPO) to revoke the Article44 order against the PathumThani-based DhammakayaTemple and to use normal ju-dicial procedures instead.

The TLHRC said in a state-ment that the use of the Article44 order might lead to humanrights violations.

The order authorizes offic-ers to take actions beyond theirusual duties in line with normaljudicial procedures, such asseizing an area, controlling in-frastructure, searching prem-ises, vehicles and persons aswell as dismantling structuresor barriers.

These actions could affectthe rights and liberty of at least6,000 people within the com-pound, many of whom havenot been accused of anywrongdoing nor are the sub-jects of arrest warrants.

The lawyers said the orderwas also against the rule of law,as it specifically applied only tothe temple, and it might also beagainst other international trea-ties that Thailand has ratified.

AN IMPENDING reshuffle ofthe police will focus on decen-tralizing the administration ofthe Royal Thai Police (RTP), ahigh-ranking police source saidon February 20. The changesfollow the order by Prime Min-ister General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, as chief of the NationalCouncil for Peace and Order,under Article 44 of the interimcharter that was published inthe Royal Gazette.

Police positions of the levelof deputy commander and belowwill be reshuffled, the sourcesaid, but the planned adjustments

are not much different from theprevious format although therewill be clearer steps.

As per the National PoliceAct 2004, each division’s com-mander was required to submita list of candidates for promo-tion for the national policechief’s consideration before thecandidates are screened by aboard for appointment.

PM Prayuth invoked sweep-ing powers based on Article 44to issue an order on April 26,2016 amending the act autho-rizing national police to appointofficers directly. The amend-ment was made after the 2015appointment of deputy superin-tendents and inspectors wasdelayed until last year.

Under the new format, eachcommand chief will set up acommittee comprising deputycommanders to screen candi-dates. The names compiled bythe panel will then be forwardedto the national police chief, whowill chair a board also compris-ing deputy national police chiefsto consider appointments.

THE National Reform SteeringAssembly’s (NRSA) media re-form committee has agreed tocut the number of permanentsecretaries that will sit on the

media professional councilfrom four to two after protestsfrom news outlets.

The permanent secretarieson the council will come fromjust the Culture Ministry andthe Prime Minister’s Office.The two vacant seats will befilled by representatives fromindependent agencies – theNational Human Rights Com-mission and the ConsumerProtection Board.

Media outlets, however, re-mained unsatisfied with thechanges.

Thepchai Yong, president ofthe Confederation of Thai Jour-nalists, said on February 21 thatregardless of the number ofstate officials on the council,the intention remained clear –the new body was an attemptto control the media.

“These mechanisms are un-precedented,” the veteranjournalist said. “Plus, once thecouncil has such authority, in-terest groups will come aboutand intervene.”

The permanent secretariesthat would sit on the panel wereusually appointed by politicians,Thepchai noted. “And not all‘media representatives’ could betrusted, because anyone couldestablish an organization andsend representatives to sit on thecouncil,” he said.

Mr Thepchai said the lawshould be reviewed because itwas not in line with thegovernment’s promise to returnthe country to democracy. So, themedia would continue to opposethe regulatory bill, he said.

“We will meet with the Na-tional Legislative Assembly andthe government,” Mr Thepchaisaid. “We will put more effort[to oppose this] because thiscould have great impact.”

THE State Enterprise PolicyCommittee on February 20 ap-proved the first batch of rail-transport system installationsfor BTS Skytrain Green Line’stwo extended routes.

The batch is worth 23 billionbaht and due to open in 2020.

Firstly, the route will be ex-tended to the North from MoChit to Kukot via Saphan Maiand then will be extended Southfrom Bearing to Samut Prakan.

The total budget for theproject is 84.52bn baht.

The committee, chaired byDeputy Prime Minister SomkidJatusripitak, instructed TheKrungthep Thanakom Co Ltd,a state enterprise under theBangkok Metropolitan Admin-istration, to conduct the processof finding an operator for thetwo extended routes, said BMAGovernor Pol General AswinKwanmuang.

The operator will not bearthe cost until the BMA is ableto pay back the company, start-ing from 2029, he said.

Previously, the BangkokMetropolitan Council decidedto not approve BMA’s proposalasking for a budget for assettransfer of the Green Line’sextensions from Mass RapidTransit Authority.

ARMY Chief Gen ChalermchaiSitthisart said Laos has agreedto consider Thailand’s proposalto help tackle Thai criminals in-cluding anti-monarchy dissi-dents in its territory.

The Army Chief returnedfrom his two-day official visitto Laos to meet high rankingsecurity officials there.

Gen Chalermchai said hehad expressed concerns overthe moves against Thailand inLaos and asked the counterpartto help Thailand in the matter.

The army chief said he didnot discuss with his counterpartabout extradition. But the se-curity bodies were responsiblefor that and were currentlyworking on it, he said.

The army chief with otherhigh-ranked officers paid anofficial visit to Laos duringFebruary 20 and 21.

PHUKET GAZETTE 5February 25 - March 3, 2017

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Key areas investors must watch

The decision on Obamacare is one of the major factors for investors to watch out for. Photo: NY

Women top tourism target

TRUMP has been in office lessthan a month and already someof his most strident critics areacting as if it’s the end of theworld. However, what investorsneed to remember is the fact thatTrump faces an extremely hos-tile national/Washington DCpress along with plenty of op-position from within his owngovernment (such as Federalbureaucrats fearful of any effortto ‘drain the swamp’) and evenwithin his own party (the so-called ‘establishment Republi-cans’ still bitter over their defeatin the primaries).

While there are plenty of dis-tractions being created by bothTrump and his opponents, theseare the three key areas that in-vestors need to keep a firm eyeon for this year:

1. Tax Reform: Earlier thismonth, Trump announced thathe would be releasing his ‘phe-nomenal’ tax plan in the nextfew weeks. That news sent theS&P, Dow and Nasdaq torecord highs and triggered abroad-based dollar rally. Keepin mind that any kind of largescale tax reform will be diffi-cult to pass when there are somany entrenched special inter-ests. However, the markets willremain happy – so long as they

see progress on any tax reformplans being made.

2. Obamacare: So far, theonly real move by the Trumpadministration againstObamacare has been to scrubpositive language about it onthe HealthCare.gov websiteand to issue an executive orderto ‘minimize the financial bur-den’ of it on insurers andhealthcare providers. Keep inmind that long-time Obamacarefoe Tom Price, a RepublicanCongressman who’s an orthope-dist by training, has only justbeen sworn in as the new sec-retary of HHS. Price coulddecide to keep the law on lifesupport by altering the benefits

required to be provided by in-surers or he could just prettymuch blow up the whole thingby altering enforcement of theindividual mandate. Beyondsuch tinkering, repealing and/or replacing, it won’t happenovernight – especially withhealth care accounting for asmuch as one-fifth of the US’seconomy and disagreement oruncertainty among Congres-sional Republicans over whatto do about the law.

3. Immigration: Trump’stravel ban on travellers fromseven majority-Muslim coun-tries is more or less a distractionor a proxy fight as the real fightwill be over other more dra-

matic immigration policychanges. In Silicon Valley, anestimated one-third of theworkforce is foreign-born withtech companies keeping a waryeye on any effort to restrict H-1B visas (a move that would bewidely popular with Americanworkers) or immigration ingeneral. However, most bigtech companies have a pres-ence overseas where work caneasily be shifted to and there arealready reports that cities likeVancouver are trying to capi-talize on the uncertaintysurrounding any future immi-gration changes.

We may not know for certainwhat Trump’s tax reform or

Obamacare plans will ultimatelybe; but if they are well receivedby business and investors alike,stocks will definitely movehigher. Likewise, immigration isan emotional hot button issue;but one that ultimately has littleimpact on the top or bottomlines of most stocks when com-pared to tax reform and fixingor repealing Obamacare.

My job for my clients is tomake money over time and thisrequires me to ignore politicsand focus 100 percent of myattention of the price action ofour stocks and funds regardlessof what the new president istweeting.

It is important to stay in-vested in the leading sectorsand stocks until the trendchanges. The leadership stocksand sectors currently are intechnology (software, semicon-ductors), industrials and steel;even emerging market coun-tries such as Thailand andRussia look good.

Don Freeman, the President ofFreeman Capital Management, isa fee-only Phuket-basedregistered Investment Advisor withthe US Securities ExchangeCommission (SEC) who has over15 years of experience providingpersonal financial planning andwealth management advice withan emphasis on investing in low-cost ETFs to both working andretired expatriates.

THAILAND needs more fe-male tourists – particularly fromJapan and India - as they usu-ally spend more than male trav-ellers, according to KobkarnWattanavrangkul, the Ministerof Tourism and Sports.

“Currently, female Japanesetourists represent 30 per cent oftotal arrivals. We should in-crease the portion to half, ormore than 600,000 in the fu-ture,” Ms Kobkarn said.

India is becoming an emer-gent source market for femaletravellers.

“In general, female travel-lers spend over 15 per centmore than males do. If we cansecure more female tourists itwould help drive [our] entiretourism,” Ms Kobkarn added.

The rise of female tourists isseen as partly attribute togreater opportunities forwomen in general.

“Women’s economic partici-pation and empowerment arefundamental to strengthening

women’s rights and enablingwomen to have control overtheir lives and exert influencein society. It is about creatingjust and equitable societies,”Ms Kobkarn said.

She said women often facediscrimination, with some ex-periencing exclusion becauseof factors such as ethnicity orcaste and that tourism andsports would help empowerwomen tourists around theworld.

The roles of women inThailand’s national develop-ment have not yet been fullyestablished. Factors that affectwomen’s participation in thesocio-economic field includeinadequate gender awareness inthe policy and planning process,social stereotyping, structuralbarriers, cultural impediments,lower educational attainment,lower socio-economic status,and power sharing issues withthe opposite sex.

– The Nation

Volume 24 Issue 8

6 PHUKET GAZETTE February 25 - March 3, 2017

Do you have an opinion to voice?Email Editor@PhuketGazette.net

Officials need to reprioritize

Rethinkingpower

Re: Russian arrested, may faceprison term for feeding fish,Feb 20

100k bail and up to 40k finefor feeding fish but plough yourtaxi into a motorbike and getdone 400 baht – someone’s pri-orities are seriously wrong!

Mister ReeGazette forum

Phuket’s beaches instate of decline

Duncan Worthington’s ar-ticle is spot-on.

Some of the best beaches inthe world are in inexorable de-cline because of the authorities’refusal to forge the simplest ofsolutions.

I was at Nai Harn Beach re-cently. The sea is no longerconsistently limpid and clear.Partly because of unregulatedwaste discharge, but also be-cause there is no public toilet.Let alone a shower. Hundredsof bathers, most using the seaas a public convenience. Downthe road is an elaborate outdoorgym which hardly anyone uses.

Rattled in RawaiLetter to the editor

Conditions ripe foranother disaster

Re: Speeding British biker killsPhuket local, Feb 21

Only a matter of time beforeit happens in Kamala. Tourists onnoisy rentals speeding betweenthe lights. Lighting at night ispoor, policing non-existent,someone is going to end up deador very seriously injured. I hopethis British rider’s extensive holi-day insurance is going to help thefamily of the man he killed.

Denver OwensFacebook

Locals need to stopbeing ignorant

Re: Photos of foot waving for-eigner criticized in Phuket, Feb18

‘Stories’ like this only showforeigners just how ignorant lo-cal people can be. “..considerwhether they would do that intheir home country”? Well ofcourse they would, and do; in the

Quite easy to cleanup Phuket beaches

Re: Opinion: Time to clean upPhuket’s beaches, Feb 19

It is quiet easy; the beachesare already cleaned of the tour-ists the government chased toneighboring countries, so treat-ment of wastewater is not apriority anymore. At the Layan

Hope he is punishedappropriately

Re: Phuket woman set on fire,ex-husband wanted by police,Feb 20

What a little coward thatman must be! I hope he getspunishment commensuratewith the pain and permanentdamage he has inflicted on her.

Bob SullivanGazette forum

Krabi badly needs awaste incinerator

Re: Threat of mass rallies af-ter Krabi coal plant approved,Feb 18

Krabi has to build a waste in-cinerator! Instead of importingcoal, they can burn all the plas-tic lying right in front of theirhouses. The problem then wouldbe the expensive and compli-cated air filters to remove thebigger part of the toxic exhaust.I do not know whether they couldmanage that.

Ernst Ruetimann, TrangGazette forum

RECENT protests against construction of the proposed coalburning electricity generating plant in Krabi is a classic caseof the NIMBY (‘Not In My Back Yard’) phenomenon, andone which is also seriously testing the government’s resolveover the public’s right to protest.

It is difficult to believe that the year is 2017 and we are stillburning coal, which conjures up bleak images of sooty, impov-erished child laborers from the time of the industrial revolution.

Yet three centuries – and a great deal of global warmingand several nuclear meltdowns later – we are still relying oncoal for our power needs.

Proponents point out that coal is still a relatively cheap andefficient source of fuel and that considerable progress has beenmade in reducing its environmental impacts, especially air andwater pollution. Unfortunately, the so-called ‘clean coal’ wehave all heard so much about is still a long way down the roadand only reduces, but does not eliminate toxic emissions.

Coal burning generates more pollution than any other stan-dard fuel source and is a huge contributor to global warmingby pumping enormous amounts of not only carbon dioxide, butalso the worst of all greenhouse gasses, methane, into the air.

Residents of Nua Khlong in Krabi, the proposed site ofthe plant, cannot be blamed for mobilizing and protestingagainst such a facility in their area.

It might be a bit of a stretch to argue that Krabi’s ‘pris-tine’ natural environment would be threatened by such aplant when, in fact, most of the province has been in a stateof degradation for decades as a result of unsustainable de-velopment associated with the tourism industry boom, as wellas the vast rubber and palm oil plantations that actually makeup most of the rural landscape in the South.

The government has agreed to review the project’s envi-ronmental impact report, but maintains that the project willeventually become a reality in some form.

The government needs to rethink its devotion to such afilthy and outdated technology and seriously push for morealternative sources of power, such as producing bio-gas fromleft over biomass from palm and rubber plantations.

Beach end of the national park,the turds from the project ontop and probably the hotelsthere are lying on the beach atlow tide and smelling disgust-ing. I am a foreigner and after12 years here still don’t under-stand why the governmentcannot set, or even recognize,the priorities.

EricGazette forum

rest of the world, these things arenormal. Only in Thailand are feetsomehow ‘dangerous’, but ridingmotorbikes with no helmets andtalking on the phone while on thewrong side of the road.... well,that’s just fine. Priorities anyone?

CaptainJackGazette forum

PHUKET GAZETTE 7February 25 - March 3, 2017

Keeping Phuket property dealings honest

It is unwise to place a ‘reservation deposit’, unless it is truly safe. Photo: Tumisu/ Pixabay

I HAVE written quite a few ar-ticles over the years, hopefullyin a balanced way, on reserva-tion deposits, property invest-ments and purchases in Phuket,which have always included aword of caution about how prac-tices in Thailand on property de-posits can vary significantlyfrom other Asian property in-vestment destinations, such asHong Kong and Singapore.

Certain elements of Phuket’sproperty community arecomplicit and intent on damag-ing a fragile market that requiresreputable and ethical businesspractices to underpin and main-tain the investment climate.

The reason I felt inclined towrite about this issue is becausean almost identical scenario hasrecently occurred twice inquick succession, as lightningis never supposed to strike, inrelation to the same set of cir-cumstances, but entirely diffe-rent properties.

Let me set out the scenario:foreigner contacts an agent andidentifies a ‘re-sale’ or second-

hand property for sale. Agent per-suades foreigner to place a‘holding deposit’ or ‘reservationdeposit’ to ‘prevent the propertybeing sold to another party’. For-eigner is told he/she shouldengage a law firm and check theland, the property and review thelegal structure before committingto a full sale and purchase agree-ment and completion. Foreigneris explicitly told, and the reser-vation agreement states that thedeposit is ‘refundable’.

This is where the issue lies.Most people believe refundable

means that subject to reasonableconditions, you can obtain a re-fund. In some cases, a refund isconditional – but on very cleargrounds. Most people will, un-fortunately, take a word‘refundable’ at face value.

Two recent incidents havetriggered my concern. In thefirst, the law firm representingthe buyer found out there wasno legally registered accessfrom the public road to theproperty itself. The solution forthis issue was uncertain andcould have taken months, if not

a year. The buyer asked for thedeposit back, but the requestwas denied outright.

In the second instance, theseller simply contacted the buy-ers – who had moved all of theirbelongings by shipping con-tainer to Phuket – and stated hewouldn’t sell, even with a bind-ing agreement in place. Thebuyers tried to ascertain whathad happened, and worked outthe seller was pocketing the cashfrom high season rentals andtaking a risk that he could sellthe property again later. The

seller then, in violation of thecontract, later offered an alter-native date. The buyers refused,and then the seller pounced onthe refusal and stated he wouldpocket the reservation deposit.

In both instances, the agentheld the deposit ‘safe’ for thebuyers, but refused to handback the deposit ‘safely’. Theagent also changed from ‘bestfriend and regular dinner date’to ‘generally un-contactableand unwilling to discuss’.

This has created two courtcases, which would be com-pletely unnecessary if mattershad been handled more profes-sionally, more ethically andfrankly speaking, with less trustprovided by the buyers.

So, as I have repeated overthe years – don’t place a reser-vation deposit unless it truly issafe, the other party or the in-termediary can absolutely betrusted, the deposit truly is re-fundable, or is something yousimply don’t care about losing.

Desmond Hughes has been anowner and operator of his lawfirm in Thailand for 14 years, andis a senior partner at HughesKrupica law firm hugheskrupica.com

8 PHUKET GAZETTE February 25 - March 3, 2017

Benefits of vinegar consumption

Weight loss is one of the benefits of consuming Apple Cider vinegar. Photo: pexels

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is holding a festival from March13-15 to commemorate Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisunthornfor protecting Phuket from being attacked by the Burmese. Thefestival will include performances about historical events, boothsselling local products and local foods. Photo: Gazette file

Thailand offers free touristvisa for another six months

Air or sea tourists can enjoy visa-free trips. Photo: Gazette file

ONE thing in common at nearlyall the centers I work at inPhuket is giving clients AppleCider vinegar. Either clientshave it as a salad dressing or it’sgiven with water before meals.

A lot has been written aboutits remarkable healing proper-ties. Is it a true health wonderor is it mostly fiction? I am al-ways weary of any foods andelixirs being singled out, but Ithink this ‘super food’ hasmany beneficial properties. It’snot about the minerals it pos-sesses, but that it contains aceticacid, which plays an importantrole in gut function.

Hippocrates, the father ofmodern medicine, said, “Alldisease begins in the gut”.Well, our gut needs acidity tofunction and acetic acid is agreat source. What about allthose who say alkalize or die?It’s all about specifics. Toomuch alkalinity in the wrongplaces (like the gut) decreasesdigestion and the gut’s abilityto keep bad bugs down. How-ever, too much acidity in theblood can lead to acidosis andtissue breakdown. This is whythe gut loves acidity, but ahealthy gut has buffers tohandle the high acidity.

INCREASE IN INSULINSENSITIVITY

There are many studies sup-porting that vinegar improvesinsulin sensitivity and helps tolower blood sugar responses af-ter meals. In 2004, a study citedin the American DiabetesFoundation’s publication Dia-betes Care found that takingvinegar before meals signifi-cantly increases insulin sensi-tivity and dramatically reducesthe insulin and glucose spikesthat occur after meals.

A 2005 study cited in the

Journal of American DieticiansAssociation showed that vinegarimproves insulin sensitivity dur-ing consumption of ahigh-carbohydrate meal by 19-34per cent. A 2007 study cited inDiabetes Care, shows the simpleact of taking vinegar at bedtimemoderates waking glucose con-centrations in adults with type 2diabetes by about 4-6 per cent.

WEIGHT LOSS

The most important first step inlosing weight in my opinion isbalancing blood sugar and im-

proving insulin sensitivity, so itmakes sense it will help peoplelose weight.

In one study (2009 Kondo T,Kishi M, Fushimi T, Ugajin S,Kaga T.), overweight partici-pants lost an average of twopounds over the four-week pe-riod, by simply consuming twotablespoons of vinegar prior totwo meals each day . Someeven lost up to four pounds.

For those who are overweightbecause they overeat, adding vin-egar has shown to increasefeelings of satiation with a studyshowing increased feelings of

fullness making people eat 200-275 fewer calories for the rest ofthe day (Ostman E1, GranfeldtY, Persson L, Björck I. 2005).

BUG KILLING ACTION

Hippocrates used vinegar forwound cleaning over two thou-sand years ago. Vinegar has sev-eral studies indicating its disin-fection action and is regularlyused as a food preservative, as itinhibits bacteria like E. coli fromgrowing and spoiling our food.

ALTERNATIVES

Apple Cider Vinegar is the cur-rent favorite among the healthcircles but there is another pos-sibility and that is Thailand’sanswer to Apple Cider vinegar– Coconut Cider vinegar. I haveread that the mineral content ishigher, which makes sense ascoconut water is mineral rich.I use both regularly, either add-ing a dash with my meals (com-bined with olive oil and herbsand spices to make a nice dress-ing). I also consume a teaspoonin a cup of water before mealsto help digestion.

A word of warning: don’t gocrazy and start swilling thebottle as the acid can damagetissue and cause problems. In-stead, always dilute vinegarbefore consuming by addingsmall amounts to water.

THE Cabinet has decided toextend the free-visa incentivefor foreign tourists by anothersix months.

Under the measure, visa feeswill be waived at all Thai em-bassies and consulates untilAugust, though visas on arrivalwill still cost a thousand baht.

On February 21, Govern-ment spokesman SansernKaewkamnerd said that waiv-ing visa fees from December toFebruary had increased foreignarrivals by 12 per cent.

The move was first intro-duced on December 1 afterarrivals from China plummetedby 30 per cent due to the crack-down on zero-dollar tours.

Officials say they hope thatextending the fee waiver willgive Thailand’s tourism indus-try a boost as it heads into whatis traditionally a low season.

Earlier, it was announced thatvisitors from Singapore, Indo-nesia and Brunei and 46 othercountries now need to apply fora tourist visa if they make morethan two trips to Thailand vialand. However, air or sea tour-ists can still enjoy the visa-freetrips for up to 30 days at a time.

“This is a worrying inconve-

nience,” Songkhla Tourism In-dustry Council chairmanSurapol Kampalanonwat said.

Songkhla welcomes millionsof tourists from Singapore, In-donesia and Brunei via itsland-based checkpoint, bringingin more than a billion baht inrevenue annually.

– The Nation

PHUKET GAZETTE 9February 25 - March 3, 2017

The Emerald Buddha figurine is housed inside Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok. Photo: JPSwimmer

The story of the Emerald Buddha

THE Emerald Buddha is one ofThailand’s most revered arti-facts. Contrary to its name, itis actually carved out of jade.It is a figurine of the seatedmeditating Buddha. A beauti-ful and ancient piece of art, itdraws tens of thousands of visi-tors to the Grand Palace andWat Phra Kaew every year.

No one really knows whocarved it or where it originated.Some speculate that it wascarved in the north of Thailand,more than five centuries ago.Others believe that the style ismore closely related to Sri Lanka.

An interesting legend takesus back to the early 15th cen-tury in Chiang Rai. Amid aviolent storm, an old Chedi wasstruck by lightning and rippedopen. After the storm passed,the abbot of the temple walkedup to the Chedi and noticed anold Buddha statue with an em-erald green nose.

He took the image out of theChedi, began peeling off thestucco it was covered with, andfound a beautiful emerald

green Buddha statue.When news spread of the

abbot’s discovery, peopleflocked to pay their respects.King Sam Fang Kaen of Lannaheard about it and insisted onbringing the Emerald Buddhato Chiang Mai, his capital city.

The King sent his elephantto transport it to Chiang Mai.However his elephant kept go-ing to the city of Lampanginstead, which he saw as a signthat the guardian spirits wantedit to stay in Lampang. He or-dered a temple to be built where

the Emerald Buddha was in-stalled with great veneration.

In 1468, King Tiloka of Lannabrought the statue to Chiang Mai,where it remained for almost ahundred years, until the mid 16thcentury. At that time, PrinceChetthathirath, crown prince ofLan Xang, (modern day Laos),was invited to occupy the throneof Chiang Mai.

After being crowned, theyoung king decided to returnhome to Luang Phrabang in1552. He took the Emerald Bud-dha with him. A few years later,

the Burmese attacked LuangPhrabang and forced KingChetthathirath to flee toVientiane. He took the EmeraldBuddha with him, where it re-mained for the next 200 years.

In 1779, during the reign ofKing Taksin, a rebellion wasbrewing in the Laotian territo-ries, which King Taksinordered to be stopped. In thewar that followed, Vientianewas captured and brought backunder Siam’s hegemony. On hisway back to Thonburi, ChaoPhraya Chakri, leader of the

King’s forces, brought the Em-erald Buddha with him. KingTaksin ordered the statue to beinstalled in Wat Arun.

When King Taksin was de-posed in 1784, Chao PhrayaChakri was crowned King RamaI. One of his first acts as king wasto move the capital from ThonBuri, on the western banks ofThe Chao Phraya River, to theeastern side. There he built amagnificent capital, at the cen-ter of which was the GrandPalace, with a temple built tohouse the Emerald Buddha. Thistemple became known as ‘WatPhra Kaew’, or the Temple of theEmerald Buddha.

The statue is a symbol ofgreat veneration among Thais.During the early days whenBangkok was first establishedas a city, it was often paradedin the streets to ward off eviland mitigate the spread of dis-ease and other calamities.

The attire of the EmeraldBuddha, intricately carved outof gold, is changed three timesa year, during the start of thehot, rainy and cool seasons.The changing of the attire mustbe carried out either by the kingor the crown prince in a solemnceremony.

10 PHUKET GAZETTE February 25 - March 3, 2017

P R O P E R T Y F O R S A L E

BULLETINS

G E N E R A L C L A S S I F I E D SP R O P E R T YF O R R E N T

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES PERSONAL

2-BEDROOM HOUSEIN CHALONG

In Ananda Gardens, a quietlocation close to ChalongPier and Home Pro. Newlydecorated inside and out. 2.7million baht. For further de-tails in English. Please call093-651 4162.

PATONG TOWER CONDOSTel: 080-692 6114. Email: phuketitalianaimmobiliare@gmail.com

HOUSE FOR SALE3 bedrooms, 3 shower, swimmingpool. Land 320sqm Near PSU.Price: 5 Million baht. Tel: 087-8926204.

LAND FOR SALE34 rai or 2 plots of 17 rai. Cha-note. Mountain and sea view.Easy access at Cherng Talay.Price: 3.5 million baht per rai.Located in Cherng Talay. Tel: 089-729 6244. Email: ninaphuket@hotmail.com

URGENT SALE BELOWMARKET PRICE

The Title Condo, Rawai. New, 2bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms. Un-furnished, never occupied.Building B, 2nd floor, sea view.4,946,617 baht (77,777 baht/sqm). Tel: 089-908 5754 (En-glish), 089-772 7136.

CAFE SPACE FOR RENTFantastic space is available in apremier location near ChalongPier.Location Chalong.Tel: 076-381765. Email: marketing@sea-bees.com

LAGUNA CHERNG TALAYLand plot 5.530sqm. Only 17.8million baht. Tel: 062-215 1802.Email: soipasak8@gmail.com

GOLF COURSE VIEWCONDO 1.69MB

Newly renovated Phuket golfcourse view condo: 58sqm,1.69 million baht. Located inKathu, Phuket CountryClub. Tel: 062-448 4825.(English).

BUILDINGFOR SALE / RENT

Brand new, 19 apartments, 2shops. Ideal for hotel / spa /medical clinic. Good location, lo-cated in Patong. Tel: 094-8870869 (English), 088-012 1425(English & Thai). Email: nuchylistings@gmail.com

THAI MASSAGEThai therapist with goodknowledge of private mas-sage. Sear-ching for Ger-man couple at Pa-tong. Tel:083-644 9229.

TUTORFOR 6-YEAR-OLD BOYSeeking full time tutor formy 6-year-old son. Qualifiedperson must be native En-glish speaking (or ad-vanced), hold a driving li-cence, have a minimum of 3years experience as a pri-mary school teacher, and bewilling to travel to Europe 4months per year. We offerhigh salary, accommodationand all traveling costs paid.For more information,please call 081-892 7847.Send CV to patrick@oceanic-global.com

OUTSOURCE COMPANY FOR SALE

126 skilled employees, 3 buildingsincluded, with a net profit of 17 mil-lion THB per year. Easy to man-age, ideal for foreign investment.Contact us for details. Tel: 081-8915932.

SALES MANAGERPrestigious Phuket devel-oper seeks experiencedsales manager for Patongarea. For more information,please call 089-016 0984.Send CV to patrick@oceanic-global.com

SCANDINAVIANRESTAURANT

Well-known restaurant forsale. Freehold, 3-storeybuilding in Krabi Town.Price: 7.1 million baht. Tel:089-591 0584 (English).

CLUBMEMBERSHIP

AVAILABLE

PHUKET COUNTRY CLUBLifetime Family Membership:Bargain price of 410,000 baht.Seller will pay transfer fee. Tel: 082-805 3403, +61-418-930818 (En-glish), 091-034 0495 (English &Thai). mikecahill1806@gmail.com

PHUKET COUNTRY CLUBLifetime family membership440,000 baht includes transferfee. Tel: 091-034 0495 (English),082-805 3403 (English & Thai).

BLUE CANYONMEMBERSHIP

Lifetime membership for sale690,000 baht plus transfer fee.Tel: 087-887 9506. Email: onobu.yukio@gmail.com

NEED EXTRA INCOMEUnique mini resort makesmoney, 4 villlas, 2 pools, of-fice, 1 rai by Laguna. 83-year-old owner needs to sella half or all. Expat can own.See and make an offer. Tel:089-594 4067.

RAWAI SEAVIEW LANDLand for sale in Rawai 50.10sqw(8.9x22.50m), Soi Suksan 2,Only 1.95 Million baht. Luxuriousand quiet area. Tel: 089-652 7005,086-594 8693. Email: thiti_y@hotmail.com

HUA HIN3-BEDROOM POOL

VILLAOnly 5 pool villas left, brand-new furnished villa. Plotsize: 450 sqm, living area:150sqm. 10-minute drive tobeaches, golf courses,shopping. 4.25 million baht.Tel: 087-821 1077.

HOUSE FOR SALE / RENTLocated in Boat Lagoon, 3 bed-rooms. Tel: 097-230 5717.

TENNIS CLUBFOR LEASE / SALE

Established for 10 years on1.5 acres with regular custom-ers. Due to the owner returningoverseas. Now the business isavailable for sale 9.5 million baht/rai. Located in Chalong-Rawai.For lease please call or sendemail. Tel: 081-569 6026 (En-glish & Thai). Email: patraporn_a@yahoo.com, www.phuketsport.com

LUXURY 1-BEDROOMAPARTMENT

Ground floor, 65sqm, centralPatong. Short or long term rent.Please send email for detailsand photos. Email: ianscondo21@gmail.com

LUXURY SEAVIEWPOOL VILLA FOR SALE

Hillside in Phuket Town.Near Mission Hospital. 5bedrooms with aircons, 6bathrooms, living room,maid's room, 40sqm swim-ming pool. 728sqm area. Forsale: 19.5 million baht. Tel:091-078 9595. Email: spectrum.phuket@gmail.com

PHUKET GAZETTE 11February 25 - March 3, 2017

J O B S / R E C R U I T M E N T

B O A T S & M A R I N E

W H E E L S &M O T O R S

TRUCK FOR SALE250,000 baht. Contact: Julie.Tel: 082-421 6414.

LAWYER WANTEDURGENTLY!

Prefer Thai female, 22-35years old. Bachelor's de-gree in law or equivalent. Email: admin1patong@ilo-phuket.com

OPERATIONS ASSISTANTWANTED

Required at weddings & eventscompany in Cherng Talay. Musthave experience in events andwork under pressure. Good or-ganizational skills, hard working,good administration skills.Please call 089-973 2159.

PROPERTYSALES & ADMIN

Siam Real Estate requiresa Thai person with goodEnglish language skills toassist with rental sales,admin & taking listings.Must drive, be computer lit-erate and have experiencein property. Tel: 076-383646.

SALES MANAGERPrestigious Phuket devel-oper seeks experiencedsales manager for Patongarea. For more information,please call 089-016 0984.Send CV to patrick@oceanic-global.com

FULL TIME NANNY FOR 6 WEEKS

Family in Rawai hiring a FULL TIMENANNY for 6 weeks. Must be na-tive ENGLISH speaker.097-2233705 (English). Email: fortnanachat@gmail.com

HONDA CB500XGreen book,13,000km, new tires,foreign owner. Asking 155,000 baht.Includes 2 side bags.Tel: 081-7872322. Email: jordanpatong@libero.it

ADVERTISING SALESThai national only, energetic &responsible, experience in ad-vertising sales and knowledge insocial media platforms. Locatedin Phuket Town. Tel: 089-474 4704. Email: info@theguidephuket.com

CAR FOR RENT500 BAHT / DAY

Isuzu Dmax, Highlander, 4doors, 2500CC, year 2008,manual gear. Located inRawai. Tel: 084-400 2668,081-415 4883.

PLUMBING DOCTORWe fix all plumbling issues.Contact Sumet. Facebook:Sumet Boonlorm. Tel: 081-396 5050 (English & Thai).Email: sumetphuket@gmail.com

WEBMASTER &DESIGN

Phuket's leading Real Es-tate Company is recruiting!Job description; Ensure theweb servers, hardware andsoftware are operating accu-rately. Design websites. De-bug issues that arise withthe performance of thewebsite, promotion of thewebsite/SEO. Ensure theweb-site works efficientlyand fast. Put content online(properties, promotions,news etc). Make newslet-ters and email automation(mailchimp, Kigo etc). Dealwith the hosting company oremail service provider tosolve problems or improveservices. Tel: 076-341045,081-459 0152. Email:info@propertyinphuket.com, http://propertyinphuket. com

VILLA MANAGER /TOUR SALES

Full time for immediate start.Thai national, good standardof English. 1.5 days off perweek. Salary + bonus. OTE30,000 baht. Ao Nang,Krabi. Tel: 075-637437,081-077 5698 (English).Fax: 075-637669.

KRABI BOAT LAGOONURGENT

1 Marina Manager. 2 GSAs.Email: sornkom.k@holidayinnkrabi.com

ONLINE MARKETINGMANAGER

We are a long-establishedreal estate agent and look-ing for a team player withonline marketing experi-ence. You will plan and im-plement performance-ori-ented online campaigns stra-tegically. You will work withSEM / SEA, email market-ing, and online media. Withyour sense of trends andinnovations in the fast mov-ing internet market you willidentify, optimize, and imple-ment them independently.The tasks range from mediaplanning, set-up Goo-gle adwords campaigns andmonitor our client’s. Formore information, pleasecall 081-891 6143 (English).Email: info@aonepropertyphuket.com

HOUSEMAIDSUPERVISOR

Main duties: organize andfollow up all the maids’ work,supervise cleaning scheduleof properties, inventory of villaduring cleaning and laundryservice. Great opportunity,high salary and benefits willbe given to the right candi-date. Tel: 076-341045.

STEAL OF THE YEARUS$95,000

2010 Supercat 38ft custom.2x100hp Yamaha, 4-strokeengines. US$12,000 fishingequipment. 2014 ColarmarkTender Boat (15hp YamahaEnduro 2-stroke engine).Please call 092-526 6011(Thai), +27-82-658 0100(RSA).

SESSA 20 MOTORBOATFOR SALE

20 foot walk-around motorboat,2007, includes trailer, 140hp 2-stroke Mercury engine, 9.8hpTohatsu spare engine, toilet,cushions, fenders, ropes, etc.740,000 baht. Thalang. For moreinformation, please call 090-1531833 (English).

SECOND HAND 2014ATV CAN-AM 1000 4HRSecond hand ATV. Year:2014. Make: Can-am. Color:yellow. Model: Renegade1000 X XC Miles. Hours: 4hours(+/-). Samut Sakhon.Tel: 034-423317.

12 PHUKET GAZETTE February 25 - March 3, 2017

Setting the professional bar higherBy Sahar Aftab Paliwala

WATCHARAPONG Saikaew,or Pom, as he is better known,is the Assistant Director ofEvents at Angsana LagunaPhuket and the first CertifiedMeeting Professional (CMP) inThailand. With a lucrative ca-reer and a four-year Hotel andTourism Management degreefrom Prince of Songkla Univer-sity under his belt, he is a proudflag bearer for the Banyan Treegroup, which is also where hestarted his career years ago.

He became interested in thecertification after he saw theletters ‘CMP’ in the signatureof one of his American clients.

“I became curious to seewhat it meant and so I did a bitof research and found that it isone of the most respected cer-tifications in this fieldworldwide. The requirementswere least 3 years of profes-sional experience, a 25 hourcertification course and an ex-amination,” says Mr Pom.

“No Thai body offered thecourse at the time, so I tookit up with TCEB (ThailandConvention and ExhibitionBureau) every opportunity I

got. TCEB is a state enter-prise, but managed indepen-dently. It seemed hopelessand taking the exam inSingapore or the US was avery expensive option.”

One of the goals of TCEB isto develop human capital andhave enough educated Thais inthis field.

“An event managementcourse was introduced a fewyears ago at some universities inThailand. Even though it’s a glo-bal field, the subject is less than30 years old. Additionally, thereis no standardization,” he says.

In July last year, a depart-ment under TCEB, called MICECapability Development De-partment offered the course forthe first time.

“TCEB formed a bootcampand flew in a trainer from theCIC (Convention IndustryCouncil), a group of profes-sional organizations andassociations working in thefield of meetings and eventmanagement. Most of the par-ticipants were industry experts,some with more than 30 yearsof experience, but they all hadto go through the classes to getthis credit in order to apply for

the examination,” says MrPom.

After attending a four dayscourse with 60 participants, MrPom waited for his ‘clearance’to come through, before enroll-ing for the exam.

“After the course was done,they checked our resume andbackground. Once I was giventhe green light, I enrolled forthe first sitting, which was be-ing held on November 4. Istudied all the material cover tocover, as we had been advisedto do. The exam was verytricky – not only are you un-aware of which questionscount toward your final score,but each question has a differ-ent, but unknown weight.Additionally, you cannot simplyuse your prior experience to an-swer the questions – you needto have a thorough knowledgeof international standards,which you can only gain bystudying the material,” he says.

Mr Pom says he chose CMPfor his own development, butit will also help set a positiveexample for other profession-als and improve the overallimage and competitive advan-tage of Thailand.

“However, I also feel a littlepressurized because I have tomake sure I maintain the stan-dard of my work. It has givena good image to myself andmy company, but also pushedme into the spotlight,” he says.

At Angsana, he handles allkinds of events, but specializesin Indian weddings. His loy-alty to the Banyan Treegroup, where hehas held severalp o s i t i o n sthrough- outthe course ofhis career, iseasily un-derstood.

“ T h e yinvest a lotin devel-o p i n gthe ca-reers oftheir staff. Atmost work-places it’s justtalk, but not here,” hesays.

Apart from work,Mr Pom enjoys traveland landscape pho-tography.

“I would love to

go to Japan ifI had thec h a n c e ,but thereare manya m a z i n glocationsto photo-graph inTha i l and

itself.”