THEPHUKETNEWS.COM
FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2013
PHUKET NEWS
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THE SURVIVOR I thought I had died – ship crewman A
In addition to being sent to high-ranking people, copies of the poison pen letter were scattered all over Kathu.
Kathu district chief denies poison pen accusations Tanyaluk Sakoot reporter4@classactmedia.co.th
KATHU DISTRICT CHIEF Veera Kerdsirimongkol has described accusations made against him in a poison pen campaign as “absurd”. Thousands of copies have been distributed to everyone from the Minister of Interior down. Mr Veera has built a reputation as an official who is prepared to take on encroachers and other corrupt people, but the letter, dated July 1, alleges that his actions have all had one aim – to extort money for himself. Copies were sent to the Minister of Interior, the Governor of Phuket, the Damrongtham Centre, and various media outlets. Thousand were also distributed around Kathu. “Dear Kathu people,” the letter begins, “Kathu district is a tourism centre and was a peaceful place until Mr Veera started causing trouble all around. We can no longer stand this.” It then gives a list of his alleged extortions, among which it lists: That he set up a check point to catch drug users. Fourteen addicts were caught but only five were sent for rehabilitation. The letter alleges the rest were released after paying B8,000 apiece. An excavator and three 10-wheel trucks were found working on a site in the Phanturat Hills. Kathu officials did not investigate the owners; they just asked for B200,000 per vehicle not to pursue the matter. Mr Veera illegally took possession of an area of land at the back of Bangwad Reservoir, behind the Phuket Country Club, and built a
Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol. road to it. Many pubs and restaurants in Patong have been approached to pay him money. Illegal immigrant workers have had to pay Mr Veera B500 each, or the construction company employing them has had to pay B10,000 per worker camp. Every Thai massage shop in Kathu District has been checked and is paying money to Mr Veera. The letter concluded by alleging that Mr Veera “wants to recover the B5 million he had to pay to a Pheu Thai politician to get his post as Kathu District Chief. “If he does not leave Phuket before July 31, the people of Kathu will close the Kathu District Office and roads, and will take other protest measures.” Mr Veera told The Phuket News, “I already know about this. It is absurd. I would be mad if I really did all of this. “The Governor of Phuket knows what kind of person I am. I am not a politician who has to explain everything. I simply believe in doing the right thing.” He said that his deputy, Siripong Leepasit, had registered a complaint about the letter with Thung Thong Police Station on July 8.
bubakar Siddique, the first crew member of the stricken Bangladeshi cargo ship Hope to be plucked from the sea last Friday (July 5), has spoken about the ordeal he suffered until he was rescued by a Royal Thai Navy helicopter. Mr Siddique, speaking to the Dhaka newspaper, The Daily Star, said that around midnight on Thursday (July 4) he and second officer Mobarak Hossain noticed that the ship was listing after the cargo in the hold shifted to one side. They alerted the skipper who ordered all crew to assemble on deck. After sending distress calls, the crew waited for rescue. “We waited on the ship for one and a half hours until the electricity died, stopping the engine,” said Mr Siddique. The captain then ordered crew to abandon ship. “When it became impossible for us to stay on the ship, we launched a life raft and 12 of us jumped overboard.” Some, including Mr Siddique, made it to the raft, he said. Others did not.
Abubakar Siddique speaks with a nurse as he is carried away from the Thai Navy helicopter that rescued him. After floating around for a while they saw the German container ship Buxmoon approaching. When some of the crew on the life raft tried to catch lines thrown from the Buxmoon, the raft turned upside down. “I thought I had died,” Mr Siddique was quoted as saying by The Daily Star. “But when regained my senses I found myself just
under the life raft. I didn’t have my life jacket any more but I managed to grasp a rope attached to the raft.” He then climbed onto the upturned raft. “The crew of Buxmoon noticed me and they tried five or six times to reach me, but strong waves pushed the raft away.” He saw the Buxmoon fade into the distance. Mr Siddique sat on the
upside-down raft until morning, when the Buxmoon returned. Once again, amid heavy rain and high winds, they were unable to get him on board. Finally, several hours later, he saw a Thai Navy helicopter coming for him. Within minutes he was at last being winched to safety and the flight to a warm, dry hospital bed in Phuket.
High drama on the Andaman ALL OF THE ROYAL THAI Navy’s (RTN) training in sea and air-sea rescue was put to the test on Thursday last week (July 4) and the days following, after a Bangladeshi-registered cargo ship with 17 crew on board ran into severe weather south of Phuket. The vessel, the 97-metre, 5,550-ton MV Hope, owned by Singapore-based Manship Pte Ltd and sailing from Malaysia to Bangladesh with a cargo of clay for the pottery industry, was travelling across the track of the Southwest Monsoon. As waves that one crew member described as bigger than any he had seen in his decade at sea hammered at its port flank, the cargo ship wallowed, yawed and rolled alarmingly. Soon after midnight on Thursday, the cargo of clay shifted in the hold and the ship took on a heavy list to starboard. The captain sent out distress calls and then told the crew to meet him on deck with their life jackets on. An hour and a half later the ship’s power supply failed and with it the engines. The Hope was now at the mercy of the seas and the skipper gave the order to
Listing heavily but still afloat, the Hope is taken in tow by the tug Confidence. Photo Royal Thai Navy abandon her. Five of the crew were lucky; they made it away from the Hope on a life raft and were picked up by the German container ship Buxmoon, which had arrived through the lashing wind and rain and heaving seas in response to the SOS calls. The RTN sent patrol ships and helicopters, and one of the latter picked up a sixth crewman and flew him to Phuket. (See story on this page for his personal account.) That left another 11 members of the crew unaccounted
for. They had jumped overboard but failed to make it to the life raft, and were left floating alone in the Andaman. The following day two were found dead. But hopes were raised when two more, and then a third were found alive and were flown to Phuket. That left six of the 17 crew unaccounted for. Meanwhile, the Hope – despite the fears of the skipper and crew – did not sink. It drifted southeast, almost lying on its side, until it was brought under tow by an ocean-going
tug Confidence on Monday. It has now been taken into Langkawi where the cargo is expected to be offloaded before any necessary ship repairs are made. Insurer’s agents who boarded it said that there were no signs of leaks in the hull. Sadly, at time of going to press, no more crew members have been found and the search was called off on Monday (July 8). There were reports that fishermen had come across four bodies in life jackets off the coast of Krabi, but these were as yet unconfirmed.