Phuket Sandbox drama: Tourist flees hotel to find Thai wife

[webfact]

Picture: Manger

 

Manager reported that fears about tourists disappearing from their hotels in Phuket came true yesterday.

 

After the first five days of the Phuket Sandbox reopening of the country went without a hitch, there were some problems. 

 

One tourist who had not turned on tracking on his app was found not to have checked in at his hotel.

 

Instead he went straight to find his wife and child at his house in Rawai.

 

He was soon brought back into the system and returned to his hotel that he had booked. 

 

Another man, aged 83, was staying at a hotel in Thalang and went out without his phone or passport, just with his wallet.

 

He was discovered at 4.30 am wandering near a department store in Wichit sub-district.

 

He couldn't remember where his hotel was and was tired and hungry. He appeared to have Alzheimer's.

 

Wichit police gave him food and drink before getting him back to his hotel safely.

 

A third person had a personal emergency abroad and was allowed to return home and not complete the 14 day required stay. 

 

Governor Narong Wunden gave details at City Hall yesterday. 

 

Picture: Manger

 

Provincial police chief Pol Maj-Gen Pornsak Nuannoo said that the hotels in each case informed 191 if there was a problem. He said there was liaison with all concerned including the Tha Chatchai provincial border crossing utilizing the Mor Chana app.

 

Pol Col Thanet Sukchai assured the public that these were the only three problem cases. He assured the nation that no one has left Phuket among the tourists.

 

The man in charge of the tracking from a firm called SIPA, Pracha Atsawatheera said the tourist who had gone to see his wife at his home had not turned on location finding on the app ever since he was in the airport. 

 

He only turned it on when he got home to Rawai.

 

Matters were explained to him and he was taken back to where he should be, his hotel. 

 

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[Phuketshrew]

The only sensible answer is to chain them up to stop them leaving the hotel ...

[4MyEgo]

 

"Instead he went straight to find his wife and child at his house in Rawai".

 

He miss she so muk.

Edited July 7, 2021 by 4MyEgo

[4MyEgo]

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

Another man, aged 83, was staying at a hotel in Thalang and went out without his phone or passport, just with his wallet.

 

Ah yes, quality tourists.....got it, thank you.

[ezzra]

When you have thousands of tourists under controlled circumstances, it bound to have a few problems and an unusual behavior among the lot, and i'm sure the authorities are aware and ready for it...

[darksidedog]

33 minutes ago, webfact said:

Instead he went straight to find his wife and child at his house in Rawai.

I think if I had been away from my family for a long long time and finally managed to get back, given its supposedly not quarantine I have entered, I would have bailed on the hotel and gone straight home too. Wrong to classify him as a tourist too, when he clearly isn't one.

[Dart12]

Having successfully dodged all security, the scum with no covid, not being a very bright criminal, turned on his Bat signal while in his lair to attract the the Benny Hills to get a ride to the hotel, thinking it was Grab app.

[khunphil]

8 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

I think if I had been away from my family for a long long time and finally managed to get back, given its supposedly not quarantine I have entered, I would have bailed on the hotel and gone straight home too. Wrong to classify him as a tourist too, when he clearly isn't one.

I thought after the first day, you were allow to go anywhere, by day .I mean sleeping in your hotel, then leaving in the morning to visit and why not stop to meet some friends, then back in the evening to your hotel. If this is allowed, why taking the risk to stay there by night ? Or maybe you cant do that ?

[smedly]

52 minutes ago, webfact said:

Instead he went straight to find his wife and child at his house in Rawai.

As I mentioned before - The lunacy of this whole thing exposed 

 

He can go to his home where he and his wife and child live and spend all day there with them - they can all also go out and about freely in Phuket but when the clock strikes ## he must be in his hotel room under curfew - what the ..., this makes no sense at all and is clealry a money gouging exercise - what exactly is the point of this other than that. Forced to book an expensive hotel room he neither needs or wants.  

 

It has also been reported (unconfirmed) that guests are not allowed anyone into their rooms

Edited July 7, 2021 by smedly

[Mickeymaus]

37 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

83 and confused and wandering around at 430 am.......how did he even get there???? looking for his teerak?  

But he was clever enough to leave his tracking device in the hotel room. With the wallet in the pocket he was ready for fun. Who ever will think that he is not an expat living there but a tourist that escaped his "prison". 

[smedly]

27 minutes ago, ezzra said:

and an unusual behavior

you find this unusual behavior - seriously

 

What I find unusual is someone being forced to stay in a hotel when they clearly already have a home in Phuket 

[Mickeymaus]

3 minutes ago, smedly said:

you find this unusual behavior - seriously

 

What I find unusual is someone being forced to stay in a hotel when they clearly already have a home in Phuket 

Obviously he doesn't care about restrictions. He could give Covid to family members. They should send such people back home to the country where they came from. 

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by Mickeymaus

[smedly]

2 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

Obviously he doesn't care about restrictions. He could give Covid to family members

but only at night - right

[Karma80]

17 minutes ago, smedly said:

As I mentioned before - The lunacy of this whole thing exposed 

 

He can go to his home where he and his wife and child live and spend all day there with them - they can all also go out and about freely in Phuket but when the clock strikes ## he must be in his hotel room under curfew - what the ..., this makes no sense at all and is clealry a money gouging exercise - what exactly is the point of this other than that. Forced to book an expensive hotel room he neither needs or wants.  

 

It has also been reported (unconfirmed) that guests are not allowed anyone into their rooms

 

The whole program was driven by the hotel industry advocates whose membership was facing closures as cash reserves dwindled. You can turn up, spend all day drinking in loosely disguised restaurants, sleep with a prostitute, but you must be home on time Cinderella. Because "safety".

[Whale]

They seem to have failed to mention the party from UAE whom one has tested positive for COVID and is now in isolation, the rest of his group have been transferred to ASQ.

[Thechook]

18 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

Obviously he doesn't care about restrictions. He could give Covid to family members. They should send such people back home to the country where they came from. 

 

Doe's covit only spread at night

[BE88]

26 minutes ago, khunphil said:

I thought after the first day, you were allow to go anywhere, by day .I mean sleeping in your hotel, then leaving in the morning to visit and why not stop to meet some friends, then back in the evening to your hotel. If this is allowed, why taking the risk to stay there by night ? Or maybe you cant do that ?

 

I think you no know Thai wife.... sex only the night....

 

The man had no choice, he chose sex and police

 

 

[Bluespunk]

“Phuket Sandbox drama: Tourist flees hotel to find Thai wife“

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

One tourist who had not turned on tracking on his app was found not to have checked in at his hotel.

 

Instead he went straight to find his wife and child at his house in Rawai.

How can you flee from a hotel you never checked into?

[kotsak]

44 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

I think if I had been away from my family for a long long time and finally managed to get back, given its supposedly not quarantine I have entered, I would have bailed on the hotel and gone straight home too. Wrong to classify him as a tourist too, when he clearly isn't one.

It fits their propaganda when we clearly know that the majority ain't tourists. It sells well abroad though..

[wprime]

1 hour ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

83 and confused and wandering around at 430 am.......how did he even get there???? looking for his teerak?  

 

Haha reminds me of when they closed Sukhumvit Square - there were all these old farangs wondering around looking for their bar.

[Kelsall]

As Baretta used to say, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."

 

[NCC1701A]

1 hour ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

83 and confused and wandering around at 430 am.......how did he even get there???? looking for his teerak?  

escaped from Hua Hin. 

[ThailandRyan]

Sounds to me like they got the big spenders into the country they wanted and then some who do not like to play ball or listen to the rules.  A man with Alzheimers, you have to wonder if he came with family or alone, and if his family knows where he is.  Sad reality.  Just talked to a friend in the US, lives in Vegas, his sister and her family saw the Phuket sandbox advertised and started the process, but when they found out the logistics of what, where, and how, they said no way and are going to Cozumel for 2 weeks instead.

[DFPhuket]

I'm in the sandbox now. The reality is that you only need to stay in your room until after your first test comes back (mine took 10 hours). After that you are free to come and go as you'd like. You must have your QR code scanned once a day at the hotel and leave your tracking app turned on. But you don't really have to sleep in the hotel bed each night. 

 

The sandbox folks, who (mostly) had Western vaccines, a PCR test before the flight, another test when landing, and then a 3rd and 4th test, are at much less of a risk to have or pass on Covid that the locals living in Phuket. 

[BangkokReady]

Sensationalist misleading headline:

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Tourist flees hotel to find Thai wife

 

Instead he went straight to find his wife and child at his house in Rawai.

 

Actual truth:

 

Resident of Thailand, returning through Phuket Sandbox, stays in his house with his wife and child rather than the hotel he was meant to be in.

 

Really bad use of "find" and "flee" as well.  It's highly unlikely that it was anything other than him returning to his home to be with his family, who were expecting him.

[BangkokReady]

1 hour ago, darksidedog said:

Wrong to classify him as a tourist too, when he clearly isn't one.

 

Sorry, the truth rarely makes a good headline.

[internationalism]

"Instead he went straight to find his wife and child at his house in Rawai. He was soon brought back into the system and returned to his hotel that he had booked."

but there is no obligation, whatsoever, to stay at booked hotel. 

Anybody can rent airbandb, go to it's own home. The government needs only money from ALQ 

[Gecko123]

He booked out of the hotel he was booked into, and narrowly avoided being booked for not following sandbox rules.

[Mickeymaus]

6 minutes ago, DFPhuket said:

I'm in the sandbox now. The reality is that you only need to stay in your room until after your first test comes back (mine took 10 hours). After that you are free to come and go as you'd like. You must have your QR code scanned once a day at the hotel and leave your tracking app turned on. But you don't really have to sleep in the hotel bed each night. 

 

The sandbox folks, who (mostly) had Western vaccines, a PCR test before the flight, another test when landing, and then a 3rd and 4th test, are at much less of a risk to have or pass on Covid that the locals living in Phuket. 

They obviously have different regulations for different locations. In Koh Samui you are not allowed to leave the hotel the first 3 days. 

 

•   Day 1-3: Can leave the hotel room for designated areas in the hotel only;

•   Day 4-7: Can travel within designated routes and on tour programmes on Ko Samui only;

•   Day 8-14: Can travel within Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao;

•   Day 15: If the last test on Day 12-13 is negative, can go anywhere in Thailand.

 

https://thepattayanews.com/2021/07/06/an-extensive-faq-for-foreign-tourists-who-want-to-visit-koh-samui-koh-tao-or-koh-phangan-the-samui-plus-program-starting-from-later-this-month/

[OneMoreFarang]

I wonder what they do if the phone of one of those tourists has no battery charge anymore.

Imagine in the morning you go out to the beach and at noon the police is watching for you because your tracker signal is off since hours.