Several motorbikes were stolen last week in Vientiane, and most of them were of the Thai-made Honda Wave model.
Some bikes were stolen in a period of just five or 10 minutes, leading police to speculate that the thieves must have used a master key to steal the bikes.
Mr Ounkeo Souksavan, who lost his Honda Wave on Sunday, said he went to an Internet café at 7:30pm in Phonsinuan village, Xaysettha district of Vientiane.
He parked his bike in the front of the café and spent 30 minutes on the Internet, and then emerged to find his motorbike missing.
“People nearby told me that there had been three men standing in the front of the café, but they didn't know whether they owned any of the motorbikes in the front of the shop,” he said.
This has been a problem in the area in the past, and the managers of the Internet café had even put up a sign inviting motorbike owners to use one of the shop's padlocks to lock up their motorbikes.
So far, five motorbikes have been stolen from this stretch of road, and only one has been returned to its owner.
A police officer at Sisangvone village group, Mr Phouvan Sichanthavong, told Vientiane Times that 10 motorbikes had been stolen in July in his village group, seven more compared to June, and that most had been the Thai-made Honda Waves.
He added that police have returned half of the stolen bikes to their owners.
He said he thought the main reason was that it was school holidays, and that a number of students in the area had been experimenting with amphetamines, which led inevitably to the compulsion to steal other people's valuables.
“The thieves we arrested in June in our village group were mostly students and foreign residents,” he said.
He added that the students they caught were usually between 16 and 25. Their parents did not pay enough attention to them, and this led them to misbehave. Other people they had arrested had been older and unemployed.
Mr Phouvan said some of the perpetrators had sold the stolen bikes in neighbouring countries, while others had dismantled the bikes and sold the parts to shops.
The Deputy Chief of the headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet Phommaly, added that some young thieves also took stolen bikes into other provinces to sell.
“Really, I think it is the owners' mistake for not taking care of their property,” he said.
He didn't comment when asked about suggestions that police may have been involved in some motorbike thefts.
In Vientiane , a popular pastime among young people is to modify their Chinese motorbikes with Thai parts, to enhance the quality and make them last longer.
A number of other Vientiane police officers told Vientiane Times that after stealing motorbikes, thieves often abandoned the vehicles in the parting lots of hospitals, nightclubs and long-term parking lots for several days, to throw police and owners off the scent, before retrieving them later.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Laos may be hit by heavy rain, high risk of flood
Laos, a landlocked country, may be hit by heavy rain in its northern regions and the capital from August 15 to 17, due to the tropical storm ‘Sepat' that is bearing down on the Philippines said an official of the Weather Forecasting Unit yesterday.
The Chief of the unit, Mr Vandy Duangmala, the heavy rain will also move from the capital and down to central part of the country later on.
“The rain will not only be caused by ‘Sepat', but also by the low-pressure system over the northern and central part of Laos,” he said.
The unite received information via a satellite covering the entire Asian region, which measures the motion of weather patterns, including wind, clouds, rain and storms.
“In our region, we can see all the weather patterns in other countries through the satellite. We can then take this information to analyse it in our country to create our database, because we have to know where the storms begin and use the data to track them as they progress,” he explained.
The unit has forecasting stations in other provinces of the country, which are not able to receive the same information from the satellite. However, the provincial stations measure the weather in local areas and are able to transmit all information to the centre in Vientiane.
Besides these remote stations, there are four additional stations, in the capital, Savannakhet, Champassak and Luang Prabang provinces, that directly send the latest weather information to all airports every 30 minutes, he added.
“We now have 21 stations in our country, but it is clearly not enough to collect all of the information, especially in provinces,” he said.
The unit predicted last month that some provinces would soon be facing floods rather than drought.
If heavy rainfall occurs as predicted at the end of the rainy season, it will result in extensive flooding and could cause serious damage in lowland areas.
The southern provinces could be strongly affected by annual hurricanes originating from Siam Bay in Thailand and the Pacific Ocean .
The hurricanes create consistent rainfall throughout the southern part of the country, and often result in major flooding.
By the end of the rainy season, the water level in the Mekong will rise, and the riverbed will be unable to accommodate the large amounts of water entering from its tributaries. Most of the Mekong's tributaries are in Laos , adding a further high risk of flooding.
The Chief of the unit, Mr Vandy Duangmala, the heavy rain will also move from the capital and down to central part of the country later on.
“The rain will not only be caused by ‘Sepat', but also by the low-pressure system over the northern and central part of Laos,” he said.
The unite received information via a satellite covering the entire Asian region, which measures the motion of weather patterns, including wind, clouds, rain and storms.
“In our region, we can see all the weather patterns in other countries through the satellite. We can then take this information to analyse it in our country to create our database, because we have to know where the storms begin and use the data to track them as they progress,” he explained.
The unit has forecasting stations in other provinces of the country, which are not able to receive the same information from the satellite. However, the provincial stations measure the weather in local areas and are able to transmit all information to the centre in Vientiane.
Besides these remote stations, there are four additional stations, in the capital, Savannakhet, Champassak and Luang Prabang provinces, that directly send the latest weather information to all airports every 30 minutes, he added.
“We now have 21 stations in our country, but it is clearly not enough to collect all of the information, especially in provinces,” he said.
The unit predicted last month that some provinces would soon be facing floods rather than drought.
If heavy rainfall occurs as predicted at the end of the rainy season, it will result in extensive flooding and could cause serious damage in lowland areas.
The southern provinces could be strongly affected by annual hurricanes originating from Siam Bay in Thailand and the Pacific Ocean .
The hurricanes create consistent rainfall throughout the southern part of the country, and often result in major flooding.
By the end of the rainy season, the water level in the Mekong will rise, and the riverbed will be unable to accommodate the large amounts of water entering from its tributaries. Most of the Mekong's tributaries are in Laos , adding a further high risk of flooding.
Police arrest fake officers
Vientiane police have arrested and charged two people with impersonating custom officers, and using this position to exploit illegal traders.
Deputy Chief of the Vientiane Police Headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet Phomaly, said on Tuesday that on July 24, police arrested Mr Somlet, 39, and Mr Ke, 48, in Akat village in Sikkhottabong district, allegedly in the act of posing as customs officers and fining traders who had smuggled goods from Thailand.
The accused are both residents of Dankham village, Sikkhottabong district, Vientiane.
The police also seized 712,500 kip (2,500 Thai baht), which the two men are alleged to have taken from the illegal traders under the pretence of issuing a fine, Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet said, adding that the men were now being detained for inquiry.
Early investigations show that the men posed as both customs officers and police officers; they are alleged to have stationed themselves on the bank of the Mekong in Akat village and issued fake fines to a number of traders who were smuggling goods from Thailand.
They are also alleged to have taken money from people they caught crossing the border as illegal migrants, Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet added.
He said the men had apparently been carrying out these activities since early 2007, but police were not tipped off until July 24, which is when the men were arrested and charged.
The men claimed they had posed as police and customs officials as a way of getting money to feed their families.
Most of the victims of the fraud were illegal traders and people from other areas who did not know them.
“The men threatened the illegal immigrants with arrest if they did not pay an on-the-spot fine,” he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet said local residents could no longer tolerate what was happening in their village, and reported the men to the police.
“We went to the area and staged an arrest on the same day,” he said.
He admitted that one of the reasons the men were able to get away with posing as officials for so long was that the Vientiane police headquarters did not deploy police officers in the area, and only occasionally carried out security inspections there.
He explained that cases of illegal immigration in the area were rare, and as a result, most police officers were deployed at the official Lao-Thai border checkpoint.
Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet said the police headquarters was preparing a report of the investigation to submit to the court. If the accused criminals were found guilty, they would face several months in prison, he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet urged local residents to report such incidents in their area, and emphasised the importance of always verifying the identification of people claiming to be police officers.
“Every police officer is issued with an ID card,” he said.
Deputy Chief of the Vientiane Police Headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet Phomaly, said on Tuesday that on July 24, police arrested Mr Somlet, 39, and Mr Ke, 48, in Akat village in Sikkhottabong district, allegedly in the act of posing as customs officers and fining traders who had smuggled goods from Thailand.
The accused are both residents of Dankham village, Sikkhottabong district, Vientiane.
The police also seized 712,500 kip (2,500 Thai baht), which the two men are alleged to have taken from the illegal traders under the pretence of issuing a fine, Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet said, adding that the men were now being detained for inquiry.
Early investigations show that the men posed as both customs officers and police officers; they are alleged to have stationed themselves on the bank of the Mekong in Akat village and issued fake fines to a number of traders who were smuggling goods from Thailand.
They are also alleged to have taken money from people they caught crossing the border as illegal migrants, Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet added.
He said the men had apparently been carrying out these activities since early 2007, but police were not tipped off until July 24, which is when the men were arrested and charged.
The men claimed they had posed as police and customs officials as a way of getting money to feed their families.
Most of the victims of the fraud were illegal traders and people from other areas who did not know them.
“The men threatened the illegal immigrants with arrest if they did not pay an on-the-spot fine,” he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet said local residents could no longer tolerate what was happening in their village, and reported the men to the police.
“We went to the area and staged an arrest on the same day,” he said.
He admitted that one of the reasons the men were able to get away with posing as officials for so long was that the Vientiane police headquarters did not deploy police officers in the area, and only occasionally carried out security inspections there.
He explained that cases of illegal immigration in the area were rare, and as a result, most police officers were deployed at the official Lao-Thai border checkpoint.
Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet said the police headquarters was preparing a report of the investigation to submit to the court. If the accused criminals were found guilty, they would face several months in prison, he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Sengphet urged local residents to report such incidents in their area, and emphasised the importance of always verifying the identification of people claiming to be police officers.
“Every police officer is issued with an ID card,” he said.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Former Italian footballer superstar to visit Laos
Former Italian national team captain and famous World Cup player Roberto Baggio will visit Laos from September 3-5 to promote 2007 World Food Day's theme, “The Right to Food” as a Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Friday's press conference about Baggio's visit was led by FAO Representative to Laos , Mr Serge Verniau, and Vice President of the Lao Journalists' Association, Mr Somsanouk Mixay, at the association's office.
Baggio will arrive Vientiane on September 3, and will give a football demonstration at the National Stadium on September 4, at a time to be decided by the Lao National Sports Committee and the FAO.
According to a report from FAO, the FAO Ambassador programme began in 1999 with the main purpose of attracting public and media attention to the fact that many millions of people continue to suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition in a time of unprecedented plenty - an unacceptable situation.
FAO Ambassadors make a personal and professional commitment to address the universal humanitarian issues that underpin FAO's mission: to build a food-secure world for present and future generations.
Using their talents and influence, the ambassadors draw the old and the young, the rich and the poor into the campaign against world hunger, with the aim of making Food for All a reality in the 21 st century and beyond.
Super-striker Baggio was named FAO Ambassador at World Food Day in 2002.
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