My Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai was gently rocked by a magnitude 3 earthquake, today, at 6.45am, with its epicenter in the centre of the city.

Although the quake only lasted 5 to 10 seconds, the quake was sufficiently significant to cause people to dash out onto the street in alarm; however there were no reports of any damage or casualties.

There are nine active fault lines in Thailand, the one near Chiang Mai being the Mae Tha Fault, about 30 kilometres away from the city. About 55 kilometres long, this fault has generated 23 quakes during the past 28 years, the most severe having been a quake of magnitude 5.2 on the Richter scale in December 1995.

Apparently linked to the charges against Pettit, a Buddhist monk and a layman accomplice have been arrested by the same Chiang Mai police team, accused of procuring under-age boys for rent to foreign paedophiles.
Phra Vissanu Tejdhammo of Wat Pa Lan and layman Surasak Kaewman (51) each face 6 charges of sex abuse and taking children away from the control of their parents.

‘Pattaya Daily News’ reported today that police say the monk, while dressed as a layman, would attract children from hilltribe villages and take them to Kaewman’s house in the city. There, Kaewman seduced them before introducing them to clients.

Police say that the monk’s handphone has images of Kaewman having sex with boys, 6 of whom were found in his house when he was arrested. Also found in the house was a baseball bat, electric prod and condoms.

Article contributed by David Hardcastle, Copyright David Hardcastle 2010

Roger Pettit Arrest: The accused mans face is not shown here as he in presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

Sixty-seven year old Roger Leslie Pettit from Brighton, England, was arrested at his Chiang Mai condo on Tuesday this week, charged with child sex and drug offences.

Police said that pornographic films and 42 methamphetamine tablets were found in Pettit’s condo.

The arrest could be the first in Thailand since such offences were added to the responsibilities of the Department of Special Investigations, as announced this week by the Justice Minister.

The Ministry has just published a guidebook on the prosecution of foreign alleged child sex offenders which includes guidelines on high bail sums and the seizure of passports.

Pirapan Jalirathavibhaga, Justice Minister, admitted that different Thai agencies had lacked co-ordination and foreign suspects had “used these loopholes” to flee the country, sometimes returning under new names to resume their exploitation.

The DSI had added child sex abuse to its agenda as it “falls within the frame of human trafficking” added Pirapan.

Photographs of the arrest of Pettit by 2 specialist police officers based in Chiang Mai were posted briefly on a national website forum, prior to the whole thread being removed yesterday.

Article contributed by David Hardcastle, Copyright David Hardcastle 2010

The San Miguel Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes began yesterday at the Gymkhana Club with a day of entertaining action and big hitting.

The start to Round 1 was perhaps too early for Darjeeling from the UAE who, despite the first six of the tournament from Nick Harvey, succumbed to tight bowling and some good running in the final over from the Lanka Lions.

The Irish Pub from Chiang Mai provided a display of more fine bowling from Maki to overcome the Tokyo Dingbats.

The Gloucestershire Gipsies (2007 Cup Winners from England and clearly determined to lift it again) held the Zimbabwean Floggers & Robbers to 41 with some careful fielding and went to win without wicket loss, although the game saw the first retirement with 30 runs from Floggers’ Simon Grant.

A close finish saw the Shanghai Hot Dogs just beat the Yorkshire Puddings. The first game of the “Gentlemen’s” half of the tournament also saw the first ‘golden duck’ earned by Ray Matti of the Ios Malakas, who were unable to surpass the score set them by the Darwin Dilettantes.

The Lik Lik Wombats from Australia put up a strong challenge, but could not match the Surrey Vagrants (2008 Cup winners from England) whose fielding produced a good run out and two fine catches just inside the boundary. Ashwell Martlets from England just scraped past New Zealand’s Taranaki Taverners’ in a tense battle which was made much easier to win by a wide in the final over with a penalty of four runs.

The Australian Maythais, this year with the benefit of the legendary “TC”, Trevor Chapell, set a target that was too hard for the local team the Stuffed Beavers to reach.

The local young lads of the Thai Thevada team fielded most effectively and curtailed a battling Sa Pa from Vietnam, and followed to win the game with steady batting and lots of running. The Wombats from Oz (with almost single-handed outfielding from Dasher) just didn’t have enough spirit (or Irish Coffee) in them to beat the Gentlemen Englishmen of Blythswood.

In a thrilling last-ball cliffhanger finish the Gymkhana Cavaliers from Chiang Mai beat the Awali Taverners from Bahrain. Perhaps the best performance of the day was by the Drifters from England who, with great bowling, a rare (for them) catch and lightening fielding, followed by fine opening batting from Rob Hall and Lantra Fernando, defeated the South Africans of Almar by the beginning of the fourth over. The worry will now be that the Drifters may have difficulty arriving intact for their 8.45am start today.

An entertaining first day’s play was completed by Players’ section matches between teams who were making their second appearance of the day; the Gloucestershire Gipsies soundly beat the Shanghai Hot Dogs and Yorkshire Puddings battered the Floggers & Robbers.

All proceeds from the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes go towards promoting the game at the junior level in Thailand. The action continues daily this week from 9.00am until dusk with the finals on Saturday 3rd April.

Entry to the delightful 112-year-old Chiengmai Gymkhana Club in the northern capital is free and a large variety of excellent food and drinks are available.

If you cannot come then you can listen and watch online – for more information, check out http://www.chiangmaisixes.com

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THE $120-billion Asian liquidity booster known as the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI)has morphed into a multilateral agreement from the bilateral, and is now governed by a single pact instead of several.

In a joint statement, finance ministers and central-bank governors of the Associaiton of Southeast Asian Nations plus 3 (Asean+ 3) announced on Wednesday the mutation of the CMI’s multilateral nature takes effect that day.

In the event of a liquidity crunch, a country in the initiative can draw a percentage of its contribution. China and Hong Kong together, plus Korea and Japan, contributed a total $96 billion to the pool, while the 10 Asean members contributed an aggregate $24 billion.

This means any member with a need of foreign currency may tap from the communal pool for balance-of-payments support as and when necessary. The resource was planned after the region plunged into the 1997 financial crisis, but the first steps were done bilaterally.

A press statement of the CMI participants said, “Each participant is entitled, in accordance with the procedures and conditions set out in the agreement, to swap its local currency with US dollars for an amount up to its contribution multiplied by its purchasing multiplier.”

Almost 100 monks, from Wat Umong in Muang district in Chiang Mai, the home province of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have joined the red shirt rally violating a Buddhist regulation that bars them from taking part in political activities.

The monks are defiant, even to the point of saying “so, defrock us then!”, they are determined to remain at the rally and to serve as what they call a ”human shield”  between the protesters and the police.

In a recent letter to the Office of National Buddhism (ONB), the pro-red shirt monks attempted to justify their participation in the rally by saying their presence would serve as a warning to the government not to use force against the demonstrators.

But the monks are treading a fine line when they speak on stage at the UDD’s rallying point at the Phan Fa Bridge. Some were also seen riding pillion on red shirt motorcycles during the movement’s mass mobile rally through Bangkok last Saturday.

Around 50 Chiang Mai based classic cars – including the whole Antique Cars Museum collection – have been sold to the enormous Jesada Technik Museum at Nakon Pathom, west of Bangkok.

The tiny green mystery car from the 1940’s, though to be based on a British Austin design, was a popular exhibit in the north’s only old car museum, owned by Khun Kietisak Singkra. But it was included in a the sale of some 45 cars, now among the 700-plus vehicles at Jesada on a 10 rai site with investment of some 500 million baht.

The Chiang Mai collection, sold for an undisclosed sum thought to be around 10 million baht, included a rare pre-war diesel saloon – a Hanomag from Germany – and a smart, original Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire from 1950’s England.

Visitors to the privately owned Jesada, open 7 days a week and with no admission fee, can also see a rare Tatraplan rear-engined limousine from Czechoslovakia (seen here alongside one of countless Mercedes) bought some years ago from Khun Kietisak and recently restored.

Unrestored is a former member of Chiang Mai Fire Brigade, a 4-door Magirus Deutz fire tender which has been sadly neglected since disappearing from Chiang Mai some 10 years ago. It was specially equipped for moving cars away from burning buildings. It now awaits tender loving care in a field full of fire engines and army trucks in the same condition, or worse.

Jesada was started 6 years ago on a beautiful stretch of the Vakon Chaisi River near the world famous Rose Garden tourist centre. Owner Khun Jesada Dejsakulrit exports fire engines to France and Germany and began importing cars from those countries. As a formally established museum, no excessive import duties are paid.

See www.jesadatechnikmuseum.com

Local enthusiasts need not be disappointed for long. An expat enthusiast is moving to Chiang Mai from the south in 2 months time and bringing 32 immaculate classics, a collection which it is hoped will be open to the public for a few days per year.

Article contributed by David Hardcastle, Copyright David Hardcastle 2010

Thailand has received the International Association of Horticultural Producers’ permission to revive the flora festival in Chiang Mai later next year, where over 2 million visitors are expected throughout the 99-day event.

Somchai Charnnarongkul, director general of the Agriculture Department which is in charge of the project, said the “International Horticultural Exposition for His Majesty the King: Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2011″ will take place during November 9, 2011 and February 15, 2012 on a 470-rai area in Mae Hia district.

The event is to mark the 84th birthday of His Majesty in 2011 and the 80th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen in 2012 as well as the 60th birthday of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn in 2012.

He said that the event, featuring over 2.5 million trees and plants, should boost the export and tourism sectors. Initially, at leat 10 countries will join the exhibition.

Tens of thousands of supporters of deposed Thai premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, are gathering in Bangkok ahead of a mass demonstration this weekend aimed at bringing down the government.

Some 6,500 protestors, in trademark red shirts, staged early demonstrations in the capital on Friday, while thousands more are gathered in the rural north before starting the journey to Bangkok on Sunday.

Police says 14,000 protestors had left Thaksin’s home city of Chiang Mai for Bangkok although his supporters put the figure higher at 20,000.

A 50,000 strong security force will be deployed in the capital despite assurances from the protest organisers that the rally will be non-violent. The government has also enacted a tough security law that allows authorities to impose curfews and limit movements.

Rumours are circulating that the military may take advantage of possible chaos surrounding the rally to stage a military coup, says.Chiramuch Premchaiporn, editor of the website, Prachatai.com.

This weekend’s protest come two weeks after Thailand’s top court confiscated 1.4 billion dollars of Thaksin’s assets. They are the latest in a series of demonstrations that have taken place in Thailand since the Thaksin was toppled in a 2006 coup.

Construction could begin next year on Thailand’s first high-speed train network, says Deputy Prime Minister Trairong Suwannakhiri.

The first route planned in the 800- billion-baht programme would be a Bangkok-Rayong line, he said at an investment conference yesterday.

“I expect the [Abhisit Vejjajiva] government to stand until next year, when we will begin work on this project. It will be a programme that will serve the public for the next three or four decades,” Dr Trairong said.

The government envisions investing up to 800 billion baht from 2011 to 2032 in four high-speed routes linking each region with Bangkok, covering 2,000 kilometres of new track. Once the lines are complete, access to all corners of the country would be possible from the capital in less than five hours.

The Transport Ministry is to propose details of the investment plan to the cabinet within 60 days. Investment will be managed through public-private partnerships (PPP).

Tentative plans have allocated 56 billion baht for the Bangkok-Rayong route, 247 billion for a route from Bangkok to Padang Besar on the Thai-Malaysian border, 180 billion for a Bangkok-Nong Khai route in the Northeast and 210 billion for a Bangkok-Chiang Mai route.

Dr Trairong, who chairs a PPP committee for the Thai Khem Khaeng megaproject programme, said Rayong was picked as the priority as it was the least expensive and shortest of the four.

The Rayong route would also help support tourism and industry along the Eastern Seaboard.

“Another factor is that for the past 30 to 40 years, Rayong residents have had to bear the burden of industrial development in the region. We should now give something back to the community,” he said, adding that the high-speed train will cut travel time to Bangkok to less than one hour compared with more than three hours now by car.

He said top suppliers from Germany, France, China and Japan would be invited to bid for contracts.

Fare rates meanwhile would depend upon negotiations with private operators, although officials expect fares to the Malaysian border or to Chiang Mai to be set at around 1,000 baht per passenger with the Bangkok-Rayong route priced at around 300 baht.

Meanwhile, the State Railway of Thailand is moving forward with its own plans to improve existing rail track and crossings, procure new engines and carriages and lay another 764 km of double-gauge track by 2014. Out of the total of 170 billion baht budgeted for the programme, 4.6 billion in new investment will come this year.

Railway improvements are considered critical to help reduce logistics costs and lift the country’s overall competitiveness. By 2024, the SRT hopes to lay another 3,039 km of track to complement nearly 4,000 km now, with the country’s logistics expenses targeted to fall to 13% of GDP from 19% now.

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