Viral video lights fire under Koh Larn beach-cleanup efforts

PATTAYA:--The furor over an Internet video showing a Cambodian beach vendor kicking sand on a tourist who refused to rent a beach chair has lit a fire under Pattaya’s efforts to bring order to the island’s shoreline.

The day after arresting 25-year-old “Ping” for intimidating and assaulting a Russian woman in the 2013 video released on YouTube Sept. 5, Banglamung District Chief Sakchai Taengho, soldiers from the 14th Infantry Circle in Chonburi, and Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh returned to the island to lay down the law to 200 beach-chair vendors.

Pattaya, they explained, has launched efforts to enforce long-standing regulations on the operations and space used by chair and umbrella renters in hopes of staving off the type of military action that took place in Phuket, where soldiers removed every chair and structure on the sand. But behavior such as that depicted in the viral video - even if it occurred in October 2013 - jeopardizes those efforts by putting pressure on the National Council for Peace and Order to intervene, they said.

On Sept. 9, local government workers and Marine Department officials began a survey of Koh Larn’s seven beaches, measuring the width of the sand, how many chairs were deployed and what percentage of the sand is left for the public.

Sakchai said the goal is to increase the amount of beach where tourists can sit without needing to rent a beach chair. But the final determination of the percentage and the methods used to achieve it won’t be finalized until local officials meet with Chonburi Gov. Khomsan Ekachai within the next 30 days.

- See more at: http://www.pattayamail.com/localnews/viral-video-lights-fire-under-koh-larn-beach-cleanup-efforts-41073#sthash.H5LfS4CP.dpuf

-- Pattaya Mail 2014-09-12

I was under the impression that the % of beach available to the public was enshrined in the regulations the Army has reminded the locals about. I suspect that Chonburi Gov. Khomsan Ekachai will consult with the relevant army honcho to ensure they are on the same page when talking about how much beach is to be "hassle free" (or income free for the local authorities.)