US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK7242

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 BANGKOK 007242 
 
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INFO ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS 
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SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, TH 
SUBJECT: PATTAYA: THAILAND'S EXTREME CITY 
 
REF: A. 1992 BANGKOK 41165 
     B. 2004 BANGKOK 4819 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR SUSAN M. SUTTON FOR REASON 1.4(D) 
 
1.    (SBU) SUMMARY.  The sea-side port city of Pattaya is 
one of Thailand's major tourist destinations, second only to 
Bangkok, and a significant contributor to the Thai economy. 
Attracted to the 'anything goes' reputation that centers 
around Pattaya's sleazy nightlife, over 4 million foreigners 
and 10 million Thais visit the area each year, making it a 
hotbed for vice, police corruption and transnational crime. 
As one of Thailand's major tourist spots, Pattaya could be a 
'soft target' for terrorists, but local officials are taking 
steps to beef up security.  With a sizable American ex-pat 
community living there year round, a primary port of call for 
U.S. Navy warships, and, unfortunately, the location of a 
significant number of non-natural Amcit deaths in Thailand, 
Pattaya remains a city of interest to Embassy Bangkok.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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BACKGROUND:  PATTAYA AND ITS SURREAL LURE 
----------------------------------------- 
 
2.    (SBU) Pattaya is located in the province of Chonburi, 
which is home to a significant amount of industry and 
abundant in natural resources.  Pattaya itself was a sleepy 
fishing town until the 1960's, when it became a major R&R 
point for US forces during the Vietnam War.  Pattaya soon 
earned a reputation for its raucous nightlife, and as the 
local economy boomed from the sudden influx of tourism, 
significant foreign and domestic investment followed.  Today 
Chonburi is one of the wealthiest provinces in Thailand, 
thanks to the presence of international industry, a natural 
deep water port, and sizable Air Force and Naval bases. 
 
3.    (SBU) At the heart of Chonburi's economy is Pattaya. 
Nearly 4 million foreigners come to Pattaya each year, along 
with 10 million Thais.  Just two hours away from Bangkok, 
Pattaya has the closest beaches to the capital, making it an 
easier excursion than the beaches in the South.  Pattaya is 
inexpensive compared to other locations in Thailand.  Pattaya 
also prides itself on offering something for everyone, 
whether the tourists are retired couples or families seeking 
all-ages entertainment.  Despite Pattaya's attempts to market 
themselves with broad appeal, the vast majority of Pattaya's 
tourists are single men seeking an extreme nightlife. 
Although only 5% the size of Bangkok, Pattaya's red-light 
district is larger than all of Bangkok's major red-light 
districts combined. 
 
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TO LIVE AND DIE IN PATTAYA 
-------------------------- 
 
4.    (C) POLOFF spoke with several Thai officials based in 
Pattaya, to include the Mayor of Pattaya, the Police Chief of 
Pattaya, the President of Pattaya's Business and Tourist 
Administration, and the Member of Parliament (MP) 
representing the people in Pattaya, as well as one of our 
local American wardens and a local newspaper reporter.  All 
of the Thai officials were unanimously proud of their close 
coordination between themselves and Thai immigration 
officials, and feel they have a very solid grasp on the 
numbers of foreigners who live in and visit Pattaya.  Their 
latest figures show that between 300-400 Americans live in 
Pattaya year round, although our warden believes this figure 
doubles if you include people who spend significant periods 
of the year (3  months) there.  The Police Chief commented 
that the Americans were the fourth largest group of ex-pats 
living in Pattaya, after the Germans, Japanese, and the 
English.  According to newspaper reporter Somphon Yotthasak 
from the Thai Rath (one of Thailand's largest newspapers), 
Russians and Scandinavians are also moving to Pattaya in 
increasing numbers and buying up significant amounts of real 
estate.  Whereas the Japanese living in the area work in the 
industrialized sectors, the Germans, Brits, and Americans 
that live in the area are either retired or involved in the 
service industry.  Most of the Americans living in Pattaya 
are retired--many of them Vietnam Veterans who fell in love 
with Thailand during the war--but there are also many Amcits 
operating small businesses in Pattaya, which range anywhere 
from chartering scuba dives to managing go-go bars.  Thai 
officials believe that native-Pattayans number under 100,000, 
but migrant workers, mainly from the poor Northeast (Isaan) 
region of Thailand swell the population to roughly 500,000. 
The mayor of Pattaya also commented that several thousand 
Thai Muslims live peacefully in Pattaya, and they often 
receive visitors from the volatile South without incident. 
 
5.    (C) Apart from being a retirement destination, Pattaya 
is the place people go to party.  The Thai police estimate 
that roughly 100,000 Americans visit Pattaya each year, and 
DoD personnel assigned to Embassy Bangkok place the number of 
service members visiting Pattaya for a port call at up to 
10,000 per year.  The Thai police believe that the largest 
numbers of tourists are from Taiwan, Germany, and the 
Scandinavian countries.  There is also much talk about the 
rise of Russians visiting Pattaya.  Although only 50,000 
Russians visit each year, they charter 100 flights a year 
directly from Moscow to Pattaya, and Thai officials estimate 
that their numbers are increasing by 15% a year (by 
comparison, most nationalities are increasing their visitors 
by 3-4% a year).  The Russians and the Scandinavians come to 
escape the long winters at affordable prices.  Other large 
groups of visitors include Indians (75,000 / year) and 
Middle-Easterners (70,000 / year), as well as increasing 
numbers from Korea and Vietnam. 
 
6.    (SBU) Embassy Bangkok's American Citizen Services (ACS) 
unit is intimately familiar with Pattaya. According to the 
ACS Chief, Thailand has one of the highest rates in the world 
of death by non-natural causes for Amcits.  After Bangkok 
itself, most Amcit deaths in Thailand occur in Pattaya: this 
year 21 of the 106 non-natural Amcit deaths in Thailand have 
occurred there.  The leading causes of death are traffic 
accidents (usually involving alcohol), drug overdoses 
(ranging from laced cocaine to using Viagra without a 
prescription), suicides (from heartbroken loners) and 
homicides.  An increasing number of crimes against U.S. 
service members are committed by transvestites.  There are a 
number of arrests of Amcits each year, mostly involving 
immigration violations for overstaying their visas, but also 
a pedophile or two.  Many American fugitives have taken up 
residence in Pattaya over the years, along with people who 
should be getting treatment for mental illness, but are not. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
VICE CENTRAL: WHEN THE SOLUTION IS PART OF THE PROBLEM 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
7.    (C) According to local police and politicians, the most 
common crimes in Pattaya are petty thefts committed by local 
youths.  When it comes to safety for foreigners, there were 
universal concurrences from our warden, the Thai Rath 
reporter, and Thai officials that Pattaya is generally safe 
for tourists, and that all of the police elements are sincere 
in keeping things orderly.  The one exception to this, 
however, is a big one: staying away from the 'dark 
businesses.'  This reference to Pattaya's infamous nightlife 
centers around prostitution, which inevitably attracts drugs, 
extortion, the mafia, and possibly trafficking in persons. 
The Thai police claim they only arrest 30-35 people a month 
in Pattaya, with 4-5 of them being foreigners.  Police claim 
that the most common crime committed by foreigners involves 
drunk and disorderly conduct, but that a few times a year 
they arrest a pedophile. 
 
8.    (C) Pattaya's night life lends itself to a significant 
amount of organized crime.  At the forefront of crime in 
Pattaya is extortion, and at the forefront of the extortion 
racket are the police.  With the exception of the Police 
themselves, all of the Thai officials acknowledged that 
police corruption is widespread, although the officials 
downplayed its impact upon business.  Thai Rath reporter 
Somphon said that police make between 3000 baht ($75 USD) and 
10,000 baht ($250 USD) a month from each establishment so 
that they can operate unimpeded, depending on the size of the 
establishment and the laws they are breaking.  Nearly all of 
the bars involve some degree of facilitating prostitution, 
but the fee can also vary based on the legality of the 
business registration to how much after the 1 am closing 
times the bars stay open.  The President of Pattaya's 
Business and Tourist Administration acknowledged these 
figures were accurate, albeit reluctantly.  When asked to go 
into further detail, he hesitated and replied "its not an 
easy thing for me to talk about."  It's not hard to imagine 
why: on November 2nd, the editor of the local Pattaya Post 
newspaper was found dead in his BMW, shot in the back of the 
head.  The editor had recently exposed local police 
involvement with prostitution, and had been working on a 
larger expose' on police extortion when he was killed by 
unknown assailants.  Interestingly enough, Somphon claims 
that the police use some of their extortion money to fund 
their own operations, as they are not budgeted enough to do 
their jobs fully.  The Pattaya City mayor disputes this 
claim, though he is likely on the receiving end of the 
process.  Despite having four separate types of police units 
operating in Pattaya, the market is large enough for all of 
them to receive significant funds and for all of them to be 
satisfied with their intake. 
 
9.    (C) It is difficult to assess the true level of 
trans-national mafias in Pattaya due to conflicting 
statements from officials, inadequate evidence of crimes, and 
a difference in defining what organized crime actually is. 
Reporter Somphon and Chonburi-based Thai Rak Thai MP Sa-nga 
Thanasanguanwong believe that organized crime exists from 
foreign elements, though even they disagree as to which 
countries they came from.  Somphon believes the largest 
groups are German, Russian, and Scandinavian; MP Sa-nga 
believes they are Korean, Dutch, and German, while a recent 
article in the newspaper The Nation also referenced mafias 
from Pakistan, Australia, and Canada.  Conversely, the mayor 
and the police both say that there is virtually no 
trans-national crime at all.  (Comment: neither our contacts 
nor any of the newspapers mentioned the presence of organized 
crime figures from the US.  End Comment.)  Part of the 
problem is simply defining whether or not crimes committed by 
foreigners can be classified as organized crime.  According 
to the MP, the mayor, and the police, a lot of the ex-pat on 
ex-pat crimes are individual and personal, and not the work 
of larger criminal gangs.  Many of the newly reported crimes 
include real-estate fraud, but that has been linked to 
individuals instead of organized criminal groups.  Even 
reporter Somphon believes that violence among the ex-pats 
isn't about mafias competing for territory or business 
related, but a breakdown in relationships among friends. 
However, the November 7th killing of Dutch underworld figure 
John Mieremet is widely seen as a revenge killing for the 
murder of another Dutch underworld figure back in the 
Netherlands, causing police to rethink how Pattaya may be 
linked with trans-national crime. 
 
10.   (C) The main businesses of the organized crimes are 
believed to be extortion and drugs.  On the extortion side, 
ex-pat businessmen in the 'dark businesses' face a second 
level of payments to crime figures from their native 
countries, but not to anyone else.  The drug problems involve 
ex-pat residents of Pattaya selling drugs, mainly ecstasy, to 
their visiting countrymen.  The police are also closely 
watching the rise of Russian-speaking prostitutes appearing 
more openly in Pattaya.  According to the police, most women 
enter Thailand legally on an entertainment visa, knowing full 
well that they will engage in prostitution and knowingly 
accept it; therefore the police do not believe this rises to 
the level of trafficking.  All of the aforementioned parties 
believe that many organized crime figures on the run from 
their own countries hide out in Pattaya. 
 
11.   (C) In addition to the police and foreign criminal 
elements, it is worth mentioning that Thailand's most famous 
crime lord, Kamnan Poh, lives in Chonburi just a few miles 
away from Pattaya.  Kamnan Poh has been a figure in politics 
and organized crime for decades, but was convicted of 
ordering the murder of a business rival last year (reftels). 
Currently free on bail while his case remains on appeal, 
reporter Somphon says that Kamnan Poh approves every 
construction contract in central Chonburi and receives a cut 
from each.  As Kamnan Poh faces the prospect of spending the 
rest of his life in jail, Somphon warns that his removal from 
the picture will create a huge power vacuum among criminal 
elements that will extend far beyond Pattaya city.  Three of 
Kamnan Poh's sons are active in the TRT; two of them are 
MP's.  Chonburi MP Sa-nga is a close friend and the personal 
attorney of Kamnan Poh, while the mayor of Pattaya is his 
protg. 
 
------------------------- 
A PRIME TERRORIST TARGET? 
------------------------- 
12.   (C) As one of Thailand's major tourism sites, Pattaya 
could provide a very ripe 'soft' target for any terrorist 
attack.  Pattaya shares many of the same characteristics as 
Bali.  There is the large number of foreigners, including 
many from the Middle East and other areas of concern, making 
it easy for would-be terrorists to blend into the crowds. 
During the high season, the streets are overflowing with 
pedestrians, creating an environment vulnerable to attacks on 
innocent civilians.  The large foreign tourist presence and 
Pattaya's reputation for being a 'city of sin' add to its 
attractiveness as a target by religious fanatics. 
 
13.   (C) Thai officials contend that other factors make 
Pattaya an unlikely target for terrorists.  They believe that 
the violence from the three southern, ethnic 
Malay/Muslim-majority provinces will be contained in the 
south and will not bleed over to Pattaya.  They also point 
out that Pattaya has been a safe place for members of terror 
groups traveling in the region to shelter temporarily, and 
they believe that terror groups would not want to jeopardize 
this satisfactory arrangement by launching a terror attack 
there.  But in any case, local officials have stepped up 
their security efforts.  The Thai police work closely with 
immigration officials and locals to track foreigners living 
in Pattaya.  The mayor claims that the police have trained 
hotel staffs and taxi drivers about watching for suspicious 
activities, and what to do should a bomb go off.  The Royal 
Thai Navy has EOD teams that routinely patrol the harbor. 
Most recently, Pattaya has installed 85 closed-circuit 
television (CCTV) cameras throughout the city, with 4 
separate command centers to track activities around the 
clock.  The Thai police mentioned they would like to work 
even more closely with American contacts at the Embassy, 
noting also that previous coordinations have gone well.  (In 
July RSO Bangkok conducted document fraud training with the 
Pattaya Police.  RSO Bangkok is also coordinating a similar 
training session with Thai immigration officials based in 
Pattaya.) 
 
---------------- 
PATTAYA'S FUTURE 
---------------- 
 
14.   (SBU) The tsunami had an indirect and positive effect 
on Pattaya, as many tourists afraid to visit the South head 
to the beaches of Pattaya.  The opening of Thailand's new 
Suvarnabhumi airport will also benefit Pattaya, as Thailand's 
largest international travel hub moves from a location on the 
opposite side of Bangkok to a location nearest to Pattaya. 
The president of Pattaya's Business and Tourist 
Administration says that Pattaya will add another 2000-3000 
hotel rooms--an increase of 10% over current levels--in the 
next two years.  Even at current levels, several officials 
believe that Pattaya can accommodate over 200,000 additional 
workers to meet the tourist demand. 
15.   (SBU) Comment.  As Pattaya continues to grow, so will 
the numbers of American citizens that go there to work, play, 
retire, and die. So, too, will grow the amount of criminal 
activities and risks associated with visiting there, though 
the Thais appear to be making genuine efforts to combat most 
of this (with the exception of their own extortion of local 
businesses).  Though Thailand will continue to place a high 
priority on the safety and security of Pattaya's residents 
and tourists, it will always remain vulnerable and a target 
to a potential attack, though none are foreseeable at this 
time.  For certain, the nightlife and illicit activities in 
Pattaya are still in full swing, probably due to the 
crackdown on nightlife in Bangkok (and specifically shrewd 
enforcement of the 1 am closing time) and the increased 
numbers of foreigners visiting the city.  End Comment. 
BOYCE