Phuket Acts To Clean Up Jet-ski Woes

[GungaDin]

If authorities are bent on prosecuting films made in Thailand which besmirch Thailand, then they've got a whole heck of a lot of prosecuting to do.

They'd need a staff as big as the staff that is supposedly checking the 5.3 million Red Shirt signatures for veracity just to tackle the soap operas on TV. Each program portrays Thais as screaming infantile emotionally-whacked imbeciles. - Am I wrong?

I've been reminded of this because a Thai gal has recently moved in with me and, surprise, she spends much of her time filling the once-peaceful house with high pitched screaming of Thai females on TV.

<snip>

You are spot on!

I have a u-beaut TV & I refuse to connect the aerial, it's DVDs or nothing.

If it's a Thai movie, I just hand her the wireless headset. Peace reins!

[xminator]

Since several supporters been trying to tell that there is similar laws in western countries - lets say the government tried to cover up a scandal by using law against whoever uncovered the said scandal. In any western country that would be the signal for massive press coverage. No western minister trying a similar coverup would still be in office the next week. I bet Nixon would have loved to have his own version of thai law when the shit hit his fan...

[Trouble]

What if the tourists do actually damage the jetskis? Loss of earnings and repair costs. We all know that LOS is the Land of Scams, but I think that the film showed the tourists in a very bad light too, with drunks laying all over the beach. No wonder tourists are not liked. Their disrepect for the Thai culture is deplorable and gives us all a bad reputation.

I quite agree about the TV program showing the tourists in a bad light. Let's face it, the excessive drinking whether it be at the Full Moon Party or on Walking Street in Pattaya, is bound to cause problems. Obviously the Full Moon Party is just that, a party. Young people getting smashed on booze. Remember it is all furnished at a profit by the Thai vendors and bar owners.

As to the disrespect for the Thai culture, I can't agree with that. I went to one of those traveling Las Vegas type shows outside of Bangkok one time and some of the Thais were very drunk and to make matters worse got into fights throwing chairs, bottles, etc. The police came in and got control of the situation only for it to explode again. They finally shut down the show and everyone had to leave. Drunken youths in Thailand is not only the farang as anyone who has been around Pattaya can verify. Getting drunk is not showing disrespect for culture, but most likely it is the attempt to escape ones culture whatever the country. When one is drunk, one sometimes does stupid things, it is not disrespect of a culture. Culture really is no more than a set of shared attitudes, values, and practices. As one can see around the globe, culture is constantly shifting in any country. I am sure that the ruling elite in Thailand would like to keep the "cultural values" of 100 years ago when they were at the top and everyone else was there to serve them. Thai culture is no more static than the culture of any other country. This idea of some sanctified Thai culture is a load of crap in a constantly changing world. In fact it seems that a good number of posters would agree that scamming the farang is a central pillar of Thai culture. Sorry but I see cultural values constantly changing everywhere. Things we acepted as the norm 30 years ago are gone. It is not the farangs disrespecting Thai culture but the Thais themselves who are changing their cultural values, for better or worse, most because they are trying to survive in a world that is not very fair. It is not the farang disrespecting Thai culture but the Thais themselves trying to scam the tourists, the police known to be on the take in every which way, Thai families selling their children into prostitution, but to name a few. That is the changing Thai culture like it or not. Let's face facts, Thailand is known throughout the world as a place where anything goes. The farangs have not done this to Thailand, they have done it to themselves.

Let me state that I find the majority of the Thai people that I have come in contact with to be sincere, warm and kind. But with so much corruption in government, the police force, the military, business connections and bribes to those in power being the most important element in the way they do business, it is easy to see why those positive things one associates with Thai culture seem obscured at best.

Edited September 19, 2009 by Trouble

[toret]

Although I believe the concept of having someone who can help with language challenges is a good one, there will be a time when these "Volunteers" piss off the wrong local creating more of a challenge then they bargained for.

Like that farang volunteer guy who disappeared without a trace after a disagreement with some jet-ski operators at Chaweng Beach, Ko Samui?

[surangw]

"Phuket Acts To Clean Up Jet-ski Woes, EXTORTION OF TOURISTS:

some would say the key word is "acts"

just act like they are doing something

[Thongkorn]

I have been reading Some of the replays to this thread , most seem to have gone off topic , The person in Question is a lieing cheating person and it can be proved, go on you tube and look for yourself. It does not only happen it Phuket i have seen it personal ,In Pattaya, I watched an Arab looking man get conned , he objected and said he would go to the police , He did because the police station was Just across the road , , On beach road to be exact, The police came out with him went across the road took one look and told him to pay, and walked back to the police station. after a few minutes of heated debate, he paid up and disappeared ,Then believe it or not the same policeman came back and Spoke to the person who runs the Jet skis , He was handed some thing and went on his way back to the police station.Thailand is corrupt from top to bottom , that cannot be defended in any way, The fact is Thailand needs the Falang more than Falang needs Thailand ,And Thailand knows it , Religion is nothing to do with it and as for the sex industry That also is conveniently not stopped . The mans a lier and he has been caught out , instead of trying to blame every body , blame him because maybe this is the straw that has brocken the cammels back,Thais should be having a go at him and nobody else , he got to cocky and now Thailand will pay indirectly,

[LaoPo]

For example, the vast majority of the Chinese cannot even understand Chinese (their mother tongue), not to mention English.

.are you a stand-up comedian ? Is that why the Chinese never watch television ?

LaoPo

[Bagwan]

The local population consider JJ a heroic Robin Hood type of figure - robbing of the dumb rich farang to give to the poor locals.

Huh? You sure about this? Which poor locals benefit from the largesse of this modern day Robin Hood? I suggest that this crook is simply amassing enough of the folding stuff so that he can buy his way onto politics - and then really collect.

If anybody is dumb it has to be the Thais for accepting that criminal activity is acceptable. Such an attitude explains why they have for the politicians and police they have. If the locals are so smart why is it that they assume a look of wonder when their calculators confirm the amount they should charge me anything up to 20 seconds after I have already told them?

[honoluludave]

Thailand has many not so secret, dirty little secrets. And untill it is caught on video and exposed to the rest of the world, the Thai goverment has what is known as plausible deniability. Once its dirty laundry is exposed and the Thai goverment is left with egg on their face. Their solution is not to fix the problem, but to go after the whistle blower. this just discourge others from blowing the whistle and the Thai goverment can go back to looking at their country with rose coloered glasses.

[balo]

I don't understand why someone in here believe the documentary is staged , its well produced and put together in a dramatic way but ofcourse its the truth .

Do you really think the British Royal Marines would play along if it was staged?

Just stay away from Phuket , its so many other nice places and islands in Thailand.

[Serpico]

Go to flick and search for 'thai tourist mafia'.

Even the Tourist Police are scamming visitors.

[warmwater7]

Jet ski video maker faces prosecution

Police admit extortion of tourists hard to stop

PHUKET: -- A Thai video production company involved in the filming of alleged extortion of foreigners by a Phuket jet ski operator is to be prosecuted for sending the recordings abroad for broadcasting without permission.

Wanasiri Morakul, director of the Thailand Film Office which comes under the Tourism and Sports Ministry, yesterday said police had traced the tapes to a company called Black Sheep Productions.

She said the managers of the company, which had produced the Big Trouble In Thailand series for Bravo All News station in England, admitted to holding the copyright for the recordings.

More here http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2404...ces-prosecution

-- Bangkok Post 2009-09-18

" BORADCASTING WITHOUT PERMISSION".........................................................................ma

kes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

[mca]

Phuket acts to clean up jet-ski woes

Officials would also look into reports that some operators use Burmese workers as jet-ski boys.

What, again? They do this every month!

It's dem evil Burmese, dat's wot it is, I'm tellin' ya.

When my bag was stolen on the beach in Phuket in 1999, fingers were pointed at the Burmese nearby, while the real culprit, caught later, was in fact a little Thai girl. When my wallet was stolen in 2007 in Bangkok, I was told it cannot have been a Thai, as 'Thais don't do such things, but it probably was a Filipino or other foreigner' pickpocket. (Reviewing the day in 2007, I am very sure now that the thief was a female Thai uni student.)

It's nice, if you can always point the finger at foreigners, or minorities, e.g. muslims, hill tribes, etc. etc...

Going off topic a bit but I remember a couple of year back there was an incident where the local KK-BKK train was found to be infested with ticks, bedbugs etc. A spokesman for the SRT said it was because of dirty foreigners (or words to that effect) that caused the infestation.

For a country that's so big on not losing face a lot of officials etc certainly go out of there way to say something that practically guarantees they'll look dumb as dogsh@t.

[mca]

A Thai video production company involved in the filming of alleged extortion of foreigners by a Phuket jet ski operator is to be prosecuted for sending the recordings abroad for broadcasting without permission.

Wanasiri Morakul, director of the Thailand Film Office which comes under the Tourism and Sports Ministry, yesterday said police had traced the tapes to a company called Black Sheep Productions.

She said the managers of the company, which had produced the Big Trouble In Thailand series for Bravo All News station in England, admitted to holding the copyright for the recordings.

Ms Wanasiri said normal videos made by Thais do not require prior approval from the ministry's Office of Tourism Development.

But the people responsible for the Big Trouble In Thailand series, which has been a big hit on YouTube, had violated Article 34 of the motion picture law by not having the contents examined by a Tourism and Sports Ministry film committee before they were broadcast abroad.

The company's managers could face 12 months in jail and/or a fine of up to a million baht.

Seksan Nakawong, director-general of the Office of Tourism Development, said the film-makers also violated Article 23 of the same law for making a film tarnishing the reputation of Thailand.

Sasisupa Sungvaribud, president of the Film Production Services Association, said the recordings took the form of a reality show and the events depicted were obviously staged and scripts written for the film.

It's either laugh or cry really isn't it?

I think when people like Khun Seksan and Khun Sasispupa open their gobs they do more to tarnish the reputation of Thailand than a million fly on the wall documentaries but of course the target audience for their comments aren't foreigners. It's for people like a woman I used to work with who insisted that the only people in Thailand who went with hookers were westerners.

Metaphorically speaking this place is a living example of The Emperors New Clothes. Clear peoples minds of this concept an Thailand will be up and running.

[YORKSHIREPUD]

Anyone got the youtube link of the Tourist threatened with gun?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rh9SRp9Hc

4 minutes 30 secs

THANKS FOR THE LINK MATE, THAT'S A NORMAL ALMOST EVERY DAY SCENE HERE AS I'M SURE WE ALL KNOW HERE IN BEAUTIFUL THAILAND, DO ANY OF YOU REMEMBER DIRECTLY AFTER THE TSUNAMI, THE POWERS THAT BE STATED TO THE MEDIA THAT THEY ARE GOING TO GET RID OF THE JET SKI'S (IN PHUKET THAT IS) BY NOT RE-ISSUING A CERTIFICATE LICENSE, WELL THEY ARE STILL CARRYING ON PLYING THEIR EVIL EXTORTIONATE TRADE, THE POWERS THAT BE ARE AS CORRUPT AS THE TRAFFIC COP WHO STOPS YOU TO TRY TO GET TEA MONEY FROM YOU FOR NO REAL REASON OTHER THAN HE WANTS SOME CASH FROM YOU TIT.

ONE MORE THING, GOING BACK TO THE TSUNAMI OF WHICH I WAS INVOLVED, AGAIN, DIRECTLY AFTER BECAUSE OF ALL THE INJURIES CAUSED BY DEBRIS,THE WORST CAUSED WAS FROM THE " CHEAP TO MAKE ---HEAVY WOODEN SUNBEDS " IN A PANIC TO TRY TO REGAIN SOME COMPOSURE, IT WAS DECLARED THAT THEY ARE NOW BANNED ON THE BEACHES IN FAVOUR OF THE UPVC TYPE !!!!!! BEEN TO THE BEACH LATELY ????? TIT THIS (IS) THAILAND !!!!!

******S

[GungaDin]

So far, not one newspaper outside Thailand has picked up on this story,

with the exception of the Hollywood Reporter & he got the story screwed up.

Can anyone find this story outside of Thailand?

[caf]

from Gavin theproducer

The over-reaction to the series is sad. It was simply a pro ‘Cops’ type show with an Eastern flavour. Alas, that ‘Eastern flavour’ has left a nasty taste in my mouth. I realise now I should have applied for a job with TAT instead and churned out those soft-focused, dreamy ads. Now, there’s nothing fake or set-up about those, is there? That’s the REAL Thailand. There are certain things that should be left ‘unseen’ in Thailand as I have learned. So, roll on a less electrifying Episode 3 which, I will admit, is fake – because I actively only included content which would NOT damage Thailand’s reputation abroad

[mca]

^ BADABOOM Gavin!

[brahmburgers]

The local population consider JJ a heroic Robin Hood type of figure - robbing of the dumb rich farang to give to the poor locals.

Huh? You sure about this? Which poor locals benefit from the largesse of this modern day Robin Hood? I suggest that this crook is simply amassing enough of the folding stuff so that he can buy his way onto politics - and then really collect.

If anybody is dumb it has to be the Thais for accepting that criminal activity is acceptable. Such an attitude explains why they have for the politicians and police they have. If the locals are so smart why is it that they assume a look of wonder when their calculators confirm the amount they should charge me anything up to 20 seconds after I have already told them?

That's an interesting dynamic: 'people on the street' reaction. I agree, if there was a serious crackdown on Phuket/Pattaya beach extortions, that the likes of JJ could make the right kind of noises and turn himself in to a local town hero. Human psychology is infinitely strange.

Examples: big time drug dealers in Colombia, or jet plane bombers from Libya, or bank robbers or abortion clinic bombers from midwestern US, .....just a microcosm of the types who can wind up being hailed as heroes - if the winds of publicity blow their way.

Similarly, there's a man who has taken a significant amount of Thailand's resources (mostly money) out of Thailand, all gained by underhanded means, and tucked it away in numbered bank accounts and dubious projects overseas - and he too is hailed as a hero by some.

Very strange species we are.

[Siriam]

Officials would also look into reports that some operators use Burmese workers as jet-ski boys.

Ilarious, with the exception of one or 2 "chiefs" they are all burmese, and then what... does it make any difference?

The mastermind is THAI, those burmese would die to keep a work like that one, and BTW they do what they are told to

[phuketrichard]

dup

Edited September 20, 2009 by phuketrichard

[phuketrichard]

It's not just the jet ski operators ripping off tourists.

It starts at the airport on arrival and continues the entire trip.

Outside EVERY hotel is a gang of Tourist Mafia punks intimidating and defrauding hotel guests.

The Police wont chase them away and the hotel manager wont even have the courtesy to warn their customers to not use these taxies.

The manager is in on it or too afraid to interfere.

How does this picture of taxi cabs outside the hotel betweeen soi 4 and 6 have anything to do with Mafi. They hang there and wait for passengers from the Dynasty and other hotel. You dont need to use them and u for sure can ask for them to turn on the meters which sometimes they will as i stay at the crown and use them.

as far as the jet ski scam its been going on as long as i have lived in Phuket (going on 22 years) nothing will ever change.

When u rent a car u check it only a fool would not do the same with a jet ski. I myself havbe never rented them and advise eveyone to do the same

Everyone complains about the Thais ripping them off but its the tourist that allow this to go on. Day in day out is see stupid tourist not check prices for rides, rent jet skies, Get ripped off and its all cause of the lie that the thais put out there theat the are "nice "people. I had a thai partner years and years ago and he told me "never trust a thai as we dont trust each other" Farangs dont trust each other in theri own country but i think they all leave their brains at home and feel cause the guy or girl is smiling they wont be ripped off.

Wake UP. The thais are only doing what everyone else is, trying to make a living anyway they can. The thais dont ever see the big picture cause they live for today and dont realize that all this affects the people that are planning a trip here.

Edited September 20, 2009 by phuketrichard

[KASABIAN]

drug taking aggressive yob that is a complete opposite way of behaviour compared to the Thai way of life.

We was attacked by 3 yaba taking Thais outside a temple! We saw them taking it as we went inside, when we came out one threw a rock at us the other 2 were running behind the bushes towards us, luckily we managed to getaway but it was very close. We only had ourselves to blame for going somewhere in the dark but you dont expect that kind of "behaviour" from the Thais do we?

[geriatrickid]

In 3 months, JJ will be back pulling in the money on the beach. The people that rent the jetskis do not read travel warnings, and don't research the places they travel to.

I will go one step further and say he will be quite the celebrity and plenty of silly European and Australian girls will be trying to get a shag from him. Beach boys usually have a harem of farang girls. He held his own against the big "bad" jocks and is a hero in an emo kind of way on youtube. What more could a 19 year old hairdresser/shop clerk from Perth or Bath want?

[caf]

The local population consider JJ a heroic Robin Hood type of figure - robbing of the dumb rich farang to give to the poor locals.

Huh? You sure about this? Which poor locals benefit from the largesse of this modern day Robin Hood? I suggest that this crook is simply amassing enough of the folding stuff so that he can buy his way onto politics - and then really collect.

If anybody is dumb it has to be the Thais for accepting that criminal activity is acceptable. Such an attitude explains why they have for the politicians and police they have. If the locals are so smart why is it that they assume a look of wonder when their calculators confirm the amount they should charge me anything up to 20 seconds after I have already told them?

That's an interesting dynamic: 'people on the street' reaction. I agree, if there was a serious crackdown on Phuket/Pattaya beach extortions, that the likes of JJ could make the right kind of noises and turn himself in to a local town hero. Human psychology is infinitely strange.

Examples: big time drug dealers in Colombia, or jet plane bombers from Libya, or bank robbers or abortion clinic bombers from midwestern US, .....just a microcosm of the types who can wind up being hailed as heroes - if the winds of publicity blow their way.

Similarly, there's a man who has taken a significant amount of Thailand's resources (mostly money) out of Thailand, all gained by underhanded means, and tucked it away in numbered bank accounts and dubious projects overseas - and he too is hailed as a hero by some.

Very strange species we are.

just one man. ?? and significant yes, but not the highest

[plaaduk]

In any given month, I meet about fifteen farang backpackers. Nearly all wind up going to Laos for extended vacations, and only use northern Thailand as a stepping off point. Laos may not be that great, but it's a heck of lot more enjoyable than Thailand - at least among their grapevine, and youngsters are surely in tune with what their peers are saying/thinking about destinations.

Today's backpackers are tomorrow's mid-range and upper range tourists. If they turn off to Thailand in their salad days, you can bet they'll seek better destinations when they're older.

Good to know- waiting for it in earnest to be on the trackers. If Bravo had pulled it I would have finally thought the uk had lost it.

what sort of code are you writing?

On the other hand,today's backpacker may be more sober when they become midrange or upper range tourist. They may in fact find Thailand more attractive

to take along a family for vacations.

As for backpackers flocking to Laos, my trip there 6 months ago showed that they are also not respecting Laotian Buddhist culture and practice.You will see notices put up even in toilets pleading for tourist not to "paw" each other or kiss in public but I saw a lot of that going on in public places.Whilst I understand that that is common in

Western societies, I would expect a little respect for local sensitivities.I found such

considerations absent! Does the craving for dollar override all other considerations?

[phuketrex]

There's a JJ in Koh Samui too!...from the Drummond site>>>

<h3 class="entry-title">Swiss couple flee jet ski operator in terror - Chaweng</h3> Published by Andrew Drummond on September 15, 2009 A Swiss couple were reported to have fled Koh Samui yesterday after telling local Embassy officials that they that the couple had been threatened with a beating and rape if they failed to pay 65,000 baht (2000 Swiss francs).

A source close to the Swiss Embassy said the couple were escorted to the airport by a consular representative and safely boarded a 3pm flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok after the threats by an operator on Chaweng Beach. “The woman was visibly shaking in the departure area.”

Officially the Swiss Embassy Consular department said they could not comment on individal cases and would neither confirm or deny the report. The couple could not be contacted to verify the report.

According to one Consular source, from data gathered together by foreign consular representatives between December and April this year there were in the region of 150 cases of tourists having to pay for damaged jet skis on Koh Samui, approximately one a day.

The controversial documentary series ’Big Trouble in Thailand’ is expected to highlight a jet ski problem in Chaweng in a later programme in the series.

[brahmburgers]

Officially the Swiss Embassy Consular department said they could not comment on individal cases and would neither confirm or deny the report. The couple could not be contacted to verify the report. According to one Consular source, from data gathered together by foreign consular representatives between December and April this year there were in the region of 150 cases of tourists having to pay for damaged jet skis on Koh Samui, approximately one a day. The controversial documentary series 'Big Trouble in Thailand' is expected to highlight a jet ski problem in Chaweng in a later programme in the series.

Among other things, Thais are very good copy-cats. News of scams spreads, and other unscrupulous Thais find new ways to rip off farang. The business model is: "if I can get lots of money and not get injured or get in trouble, I'll do it. Morals and decency, ha, what a joke." That's also Thaksin's business model, though it didn't work so well for him every time.

There's some shame on the Swiss officials and any other consular officials, if they toe the line of not commenting on scams. It's yet another off-shoot of "The Emperor Has No Clothes" mentality. I can understand consular officials are required to be exceedingly polite in their host country, but sometimes it's better to take the high road, and speak out when one sees blatant extortion taking place.

Perhaps unrelated, but if just one Army official had the balls (or compassion) to buck the 'follow the herd' mentality required in the Army, and had spoken out about the scores of detainees being suffocated at Tak Bai - it might have mitigated the tragedy that took place. No chance. This is Thailand, where any kind of 'whistle blower' is castigated. Whether what they're claiming is true or righteous, has zero to do with it. All that matters is 'follow your leaders, right or wrong.' Deviate and get punished for insubordination. That's all.

[ReeBkk]

TBH, I'm getting rather feed up of this........ don't we all love Thailand because of the countries relaxed and easy going way of life?

People do realize that, with a REAL cleanup comes REAL laws that have to be enforced?

If all the laws of the West were imposed over here would the country really be the same?

These things happen everywhere....I'm sure fellow Brits remember The Cook Report? All the scams that the show revealed are all still happening today........mechanics, plumbers, builders, moonlight taxi drivers.... many of them still fleecing the unsuspecting BRITISH public, let alone the immigrants who just expect England to be super expensive.

I'm certainly not condoning the actions of those who choose to rip people off. But (here we go, lol) TIT, if you don't wanna take people's advice, then learn the hard way.....(that's speaking from experience)

[KevinBloodyWilson]

TBH, I'm getting rather feed up of this........ don't we all love Thailand because of the countries relaxed and easy going way of life?

People do realize that, with a REAL cleanup comes REAL laws that have to be enforced?

If all the laws of the West were imposed over here would the country really be the same?

These things happen everywhere....I'm sure fellow Brits remember The Cook Report? All the scams that the show revealed are all still happening today........mechanics, plumbers, builders, moonlight taxi drivers.... many of them still fleecing the unsuspecting BRITISH public, let alone the immigrants who just expect England to be super expensive.

I'm certainly not condoning the actions of those who choose to rip people off. But (here we go, lol) TIT, if you don't wanna take people's advice, then learn the hard way.....(that's speaking from experience)

All of which is true. However, it isn't an either/or situation surely? Would Thailand not benefit from having more integrity at all levels of its society? Doesn't have to be a bureaucratic nanny-state like the UK is at present, but it could do with a little more honesty...

Actually Thai bureaucracy is probably worse than the UK right now come to think of it, but the oppressive political correctness hasn't arrived yet at least. Unless you count Thais never being in the wrong about anything as political correctness.