richard peters

As an investigative journalist I saw ‘jet-ski rip offs’ daily in front of “Royal Garden Plaza” in Pattaya involving both visiting westerners and Thais, especially in late afternoons. Thin coatings of water soluble paint or putty disguised previous damage that was definitely not recent, with exorbitant repair and compensation fees being quoted. Police were often involved and victims were told to settle “now” to avoid additional costs, so Pattaya City Hall correctly advised that all complaints should be handled by their “Consumer Affairs Department.” However, after business hours, the unprotected victims were usually physically threatened by large numbers of jet-ski ‘staff’ and in Phuket a victim was threatened with a firearm. Similarly, helpful bystanders, who tried to intervene were often threatened, so one wonders if the somewhat biased statement by “petercool” was connected to some ‘volunteer police’ being dismissed for unethical behaviour or should he be “dope tested.”

it is interesting to see your comments all of which i have read in the local press . i cannot find any investigative journalist under the name of richard peters . are you based in thailand or just another story teller .

As an Investigative Journalist, - using your own name is an excellent way to end up in trouble or deceased. Some of the reports were written by me as a freelancer for different publications. Myself & associate journalists had plenty of photos and video footage and were often on the scene because the scams happened so frequently... PS.- I have now retired from "Sleazeville" to a more sedentry country lifestyle.

As an investigative journalist I saw ‘jet-ski rip offs’ daily in front of “Royal Garden Plaza” in Pattaya involving both visiting westerners and Thais, especially in late afternoons. Thin coatings of water soluble paint or putty disguised previous damage that was definitely not recent, with exorbitant repair and compensation fees being quoted. Police were often involved and victims were told to settle “now” to avoid additional costs, so Pattaya City Hall correctly advised that all complaints should be handled by their “Consumer Affairs Department.” However, after business hours, the unprotected victims were usually physically threatened by large numbers of jet-ski ‘staff’ and in Phuket a victim was threatened with a firearm. Similarly, helpful bystanders, who tried to intervene were often threatened, so one wonders if the somewhat biased statement by “petercool” was connected to some ‘volunteer police’ being dismissed for unethical behaviour or should he be “dope tested.”