Attempted Kidnapping Tests Pattaya's Safety

The fading fears in Pattaya that anyone can be shot for 10,000 baht by a passing motorcycle passenger or a team of men can abduct foreigners at night and hold them for ransom are eerily reminiscent of what actually goes on in cities in the Philippines now. The Philippines fails to stop increased violent crimes by trying to rely on a strong national government.

Thailand, in sharp contrast, relies on a system of local controls to assure the incidents of serious crimes are eliminated as much as possible. This is why political violence in the capital city does not cause nation-wide anarchy.

Thailand’s provincial level, district level, sub-district level and city or town level all filter down the likelihood of serious criminal organizations or violent, mass responses to political unrest. This is the case in the Chonburi, Banglamung, Nonprue, Pattaya City levels of crime suppression.

As Pattaya grows with the region's strongest and most powerful family, the Kunplome brothers, at the helm, incidents of serious crimes like murder, assault and abduction have been greatly reduced.

Chairman Wittaya Kunplome is the Chairman of the Chonburi Provincial government and his younger brother is Pattaya City’s illustrious, American-educated, technically-savvy and world traveled, Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome.

Pattaya is also fortunate to have Thailand’s most sophisticated, cutting-edge crime deterrent, recording and response capabilities thanks to Pattaya’s computerized Command and Control Center, CCTV video surveillance system and its Call Center telephonic response capabilities. Revenues used to purchase and maintain this technology come from room tax and other taxes collected from Pattaya’s tourists and VAT and gasoline taxes from local residents.

Pattaya remains one of the safest cities in the world relative to its daily, transient tourist population, and now the crime rate for serious crimes is even statistically lower, although awareness of this accomplishment may not be apparent after reading sensationalized tabloids and websites in Pattaya.

"Acts of violence, intimidation or threats will not be tolerated. Pattaya now has a very low incidence of serious crime relative to all other international resort and convention destinations and the current administration is deeply committed to safety as a primary concern,” Mayor of Pattaya Itthiphol Kunplome said to the Pattaya Times newspaper and website reporters.

Recently, this was put to a test when an order to kidnap a local foreigner was contracted by either another foreigner or a vindictive Thai lover.

“Our CCTV monitoring system in public places, the expanded 24-hour Call Center, increased police patrols and Pattaya’s state-of-the art Command and Control Center at Pattaya City Hall insure Pattaya maintains its low crime rate and people remain safe to enjoy all the wonders of Pattaya. Public acts of violence are responded to immediately with use of these technologies and faster police response as in the recent case of the assault and attempted kidnapping of Mr. Svein Holtekjolen," the visionary mayor added.

A failed, dramatic public, night-time abduction of a foreign businessman in Pattaya on a busy street in the wee hours of Christmas morning exemplifies the vast improvements over the last two years in overall monitoring and tracking capabilities of Thailand’s most modern Command and Control Center and improved promptness of the Pattaya Police’s response.

After showing his son the wonders of Walking Street Norwegian Property Developer Svein Holtekjolen boarded a blue baht bus on Second Road headed north to his home.

As the father and son were discussing the fun they had shared a blue Toyota car cut off the baht bus they were riding on Second Road near Central Pattaya Road and the father was pulled out of the baht bus and wrestled to the ground by three men.  He was beaten and the attack looked like revenge to the baht bus driver and other passengers.

The baht bus driver challenged the five men in the car to explain their actions and was told by the ring leader they were police sent to arrest Mr.  Holtekjolen.

This is not a Standard Operating Procedure of Thai police officers so both the baht bus driver and Mr. Holtekjolen were not buying the story. Mr. Holtekjolen challenged the men who were in street clothes to show their Police badges and their arrest warrant.

Four of the five men, realizing their charade were exposed quickly attempted to grab the local property developer, but he resisted and fought with the men who jumped back into their car and the awaiting driver sped away up Central Pattaya Road.

The quick thinking Norwegian used his mobile phone to call 1337, the Pattaya City 24-hour call center.  The operator quickly dispatched police to intercept the fleeing vehicle.  She then alerted the Command and Control Center.  The police monitoring the CCTV screens were already on to the attempted kidnapping and were tracking the blue Toyota on a series of monitors as it entered different vectors.

The surveillance team in City Hall watched as the criminals sped up Central Pattaya Road, right onto Third Road, past the flyover and left onto Thappraya Road.

Officers dispatched by the Call Center spotted the vehicle in the Jomtien area and a high speed chase ensued which ended in a road accident as another baht bus driver helped block the car being pursued by police near the Foodmart on Thappraya Road south of Thepprasit Road.

The would-be kidnappers fled the Toyota and ran half a kilometer trying to hide at the View Tallay 2 condominium development of Thappraya Road near Jomtien Plaza, but the CCTV cameras caught it all.

The Pattaya Police easily caught the men with the help of the CCTV cameras, the Command and Control Center staff and Mr. Holtekjolen’s prompt call to the 1337 Call Center for help.

The five men were arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping, assault, fleeing from police, causing an accident and impersonating police officers. None of the five men were or had ever been police officers. The men were identified as Prayat Silakul, 44, Witthaya Chanthuek, 39, Pairote Riangnarang, 37, Prasert Tanwej, 35, and Pran Ratprakhon, 39.

After an hour-long interrogation, the men allegedly confessed to the attempted kidnapping charges. They told police they had followed the victim from Walking Street, but did not admit he was their intended target. Police found they had used a fake license plate on the sedan and seized two more fake plates from inside the vehicle.

The police believe the motive for the brazen, public attempted abduction was to send some sort of a message to the wealthy Norwegian Pattaya property developer or to hold him hostage for ransom.

Several of the suspects’ mobile phones all had the same last number contacted. Police traced the number to a Thai man in Pattaya who Police suspect may have a connection with one of the former Thai wives of Mr. Holtekjolen.  Another scenario under consideration is that a foreigner living in Pattaya paid someone to hire a team to abduct Mr. Holtekjolen for ransom.

It is a fact that most violent crimes committed against foreigners in Pattaya are perpetrated by either Thai lovers’ gone mad or other foreigners attacking them or hiring Thais to attack them.

The buzz at a local Pattaya bar Norwegians frequent says it is not Mr. Holtekjolen’s ex-wife who paid the five men to kidnap him, but another foreigner he considered a friend that wanted to collect money for ransom. This seems to jive with the Pattaya Police investigation as the facts unfold and both scenarios are plausible.

The combination of improved police training, citizen involvement, Closed Circuit TVs taping the entire central Pattaya area and the ability of the 24-hour Call Center to speed help to victims assures improved safety, even when deliberate, planned attempts to commit crime by organized teams occur on these rare occasions in Pattaya.