Phuket Acts To Clean Up Jet-ski Woes

[LivinLOS]

These documentaries are just a hyped up mainly excauated load of nonsense.

Take a look on Utube at the uncut interviews and scenes. It`s obvious that most of it is semi staged, plus the bar fights and street yob sagas, you'll find these in any British towns after the pub and club animal chunking out times. Also the story about the young girl facing drug charges and her loser boyfriend. I was hoping she would have gone down for a least a year as an example to those who think Thailand is a soft touch.

That JJ who during an interview admitted that he is not a full Thai, but half Dutch, is wallowing in all the fame and is always guaranteed to put on a good show in front of the cameras.

It`s all done for gaining high viewer ratings, profit and entertainment at the expense of the Thais, damaging the already badly hit tourist industries and Thailand's image around the world.

I am sure that for the Thais and the ex-pats that helped create and produce this rubbish are looking at a very grim future career wise in Thailand and perhaps even deportation for the Farang police who participated in this without official approval.

What the UK's towns are like is irrelevant. If everything were justified on the basis of it happens somewhere else in the world then there would be a free for all. As you well know, British TV is full of similar programmes about what goes on in British cities.

I also suspect you know that there are tourist scams all over Thailand. If you truly cared for the country, you would be happy for these to be exposed so that Thailand's tourist industry can clean itself up and improve.

Whilst foreigners focus on the scams, local Thais stare in shame at the debauchery

shown in the documentaries! Thailand is a Buddhist country and respect should be given to its religion.Why do foreigners come to Thailand to practise such debauchery?Do you not come to enjoy the sun,the sea, the natural beauty, the food and the culture?Thais have to protect their young and shield them from this hedonistic lifestyle and culture so different from theirs.

Just getting your money is a heavy price to pay for eroding their culture, their religion and corrupting their young!

Are you able to do that next door in Malaysia? You would have been whipped even before you go cavorting at the beach!Maybe foreigners should be more sensitive and have more respect for the host country. After all you are the guests and guest do not misbehave!

Your blaming Farangs fro Thailands hookers and bars ??

Putting the cart before the horse no ??

[LivinLOS]

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)

Sigh.. And for the umpteenth time..

The difference is when you get ripped off there you can go to the police and they help you.. Here they help the person doing the ripping off !!

[mca]

Whilst foreigners focus on the scams, local Thais stare in shame at the debauchery

shown in the documentaries! Thailand is a Buddhist country and respect should be given to its religion.Why do foreigners come to Thailand to practise such debauchery?Do you not come to enjoy the sun,the sea, the natural beauty, the food and the culture?Thais have to protect their young and shield them from this hedonistic lifestyle and culture so different from theirs.

Just getting your money is a heavy price to pay for eroding their culture, their religion and corrupting their young!

Are you able to do that next door in Malaysia? You would have been whipped even before you go cavorting at the beach!Maybe foreigners should be more sensitive and have more respect for the host country. After all you are the guests and guest do not misbehave!

Another Thaivisa poster with a somewhat tenuous grip on reality.

[beekaykay]

Nothing ever seems to be done about the scams against tourists here unless there's international media involvement.

Simply because Thai's dont have any respect for the individual rights of 1 person (whether Thai or Farang) now get a Country behind you and its like the way the Thai's fight 100-1, no chance

[ramidin]

i believe it when i see it .

Me too! Been going on unchecked for yaers, not just jest skis but motorbikes, cars, whatever. Anything rented particulalrly in Phuket and Pattaya.

The same jet ski scam plays out in Pattaya police station near every day.

Anyone remember the scam where the renters taking the ferang passports, then were stealing their own motorbikes the day before the ferangs were supposed to fly back.

Unfortunately, the problem is endemic, tourists are just considered fair game.

[LivinLOS]

Anyone remember the scam where the renters taking the ferang passports, then were stealing their own motorbikes the day before the ferangs were supposed to fly back.

Unfortunately, the problem is endemic, tourists are just considered fair game.

Seen exactly that when I was in the cop shop one day.. Rentor claiming the bike is stolen.. Guy due to fly the next day.. And the rentor had his passport.

The rentor got up and walked out and the policeman even said to the tourist "I believe you, I see him in here many time with same thing, stolen every month.. But you rent his bike and now you must give him the bike or its value".. So even when the police knew it was a con they were in no mood to come down against the Thai.

[SteveH]

So far not many VT members claiming that they have been ripped off by jet ski operators

You know why ?

We know better than to rent one. It's the unsuspecting that do!

[Thai at Heart]

Whilst foreigners focus on the scams, local Thais stare in shame at the debauchery

shown in the documentaries! Thailand is a Buddhist country and respect should be given to its religion.Why do foreigners come to Thailand to practise such debauchery?Do you not come to enjoy the sun,the sea, the natural beauty, the food and the culture?Thais have to protect their young and shield them from this hedonistic lifestyle and culture so different from theirs.

Just getting your money is a heavy price to pay for eroding their culture, their religion and corrupting their young!

Are you able to do that next door in Malaysia? You would have been whipped even before you go cavorting at the beach!Maybe foreigners should be more sensitive and have more respect for the host country. After all you are the guests and guest do not misbehave!

Yes those dastardly foreigners, creating, living with, employing, exploiting, and funding a sex industry that they have to travel half way around the world to visit. I could give you a dozen Christian quotes about removing the plank from your eye and the such, but I will keep short and sweet.

The Thai sex industry is Thai owned, Thai operated, Thai staffed, Thai policed, governed under Thai law, taxed in Thailand, policed by Thais', and is believe it or not in Thailand.

There is not foreigner here who can have any effect on closing it. That lies with Thailand and its people.

[Bukseeda]

I was a witness to an accident in Bangkok a few years ago. It was without doubt the Thai driver's fault (the other driver was a westerner). What looked like a thai businessman from one of the nearby office blocks also witnessed it and when the police turned up he told them that it was the Thai driver's fault. The Thai driver went absolutely crazy at him saying things like "you're Thai, why are you helping the foreigner?". To his credit, the witness stuck to his story - he seemed to be someone "respectable" and the police had no choice but to do the right thing.

Another experience - I was in Phuket in 1998 with a friend and his Thai gf. He was trying to but some sort of souvenir and the price he was being quoted was a rip-off. The gf said to him "you don't need to buy it here, it's much cheaper in Bangkok". The woman on the stall got angry with her saying "why are you helping the farang. I am Thai!". The fact that she was a stranger whilst he was a bf didn't seem to occur to her.

Anyway, the point is there is tremendous pressure for a Thai to take the Thai's side - even when they know it's wrong.

[mca]

The Thai sex industry is Thai owned, Thai operated, Thai staffed, Thai policed, governed under Thai law, taxed in Thailand, policed by Thais', and is believe it or not in Thailand.

Not to mention 99% of the customers are Thais.

[KevinBloodyWilson]

Whilst foreigners focus on the scams, local Thais stare in shame at the debauchery

shown in the documentaries! Thailand is a Buddhist country and respect should be given to its religion.Why do foreigners come to Thailand to practise such debauchery?Do you not come to enjoy the sun,the sea, the natural beauty, the food and the culture?Thais have to protect their young and shield them from this hedonistic lifestyle and culture so different from theirs.

Just getting your money is a heavy price to pay for eroding their culture, their religion and corrupting their young!

Are you able to do that next door in Malaysia? You would have been whipped even before you go cavorting at the beach!Maybe foreigners should be more sensitive and have more respect for the host country. After all you are the guests and guest do not misbehave!

Yes those dastardly foreigners, creating, living with, employing, exploiting, and funding a sex industry that they have to travel half way around the world to visit. I could give you a dozen Christian quotes about removing the plank from your eye and the such, but I will keep short and sweet.

The Thai sex industry is Thai owned, Thai operated, Thai staffed, Thai policed, governed under Thai law, taxed in Thailand, policed by Thais', and is believe it or not in Thailand.

There is not foreigner here who can have any effect on closing it. That lies with Thailand and its people.

And there is no chance whatever that will happen. Camel, needle, eye.

[andyww]

The word now on the street is that JJ is going to be hung out to dry, and that is is "not Thai" so its OK for him to be guilty. Apparently being 50% Dutch means he is 100% not Thai.

[tropo]

The video was just a lot of nonsensical drama.

'

The marine policemen "Tim" called JJ a "crook" and "corrupt", yet he immediately told JJ they'll pay him 30k and then leave after they started shouting at each other....then the commentator mentions that JJ's 3 boys surrounded the 9 marines and the camera focuses on one fat Thai boys (out of 3) moving forward one step.

Tim insisted the damage was old damage because he knows about fiberglass. Why pay them anything at all? Paying 35k that the solo young guy was earlier intimidated into offering is pretty weak considering the "facts".

The gun was shown just before the screen was blanked out. It's impossible to know the context of the gun incident.

All drama.

It's surprising they didn't use a dramatic musical score to highten the tension.

[tropo]

Another experience - I was in Phuket in 1998 with a friend and his Thai gf. He was trying to but some sort of souvenir and the price he was being quoted was a rip-off. The gf said to him "you don't need to buy it here, it's much cheaper in Bangkok". The woman on the stall got angry with her saying "why are you helping the farang. I am Thai!". The fact that she was a stranger whilst he was a bf didn't seem to occur to her.

There was a greater chance she was just hired company and wouldn't care how much he spent. Didn't this fact occur to you?

[animatic]

Whilst foreigners focus on the scams, local Thais stare in shame at the debauchery

shown in the documentaries! Thailand is a Buddhist country and respect should be given to its religion.Why do foreigners come to Thailand to practise such debauchery?Do you not come to enjoy the sun,the sea, the natural beauty, the food and the culture?Thais have to protect their young and shield them from this hedonistic lifestyle and culture so different from theirs.

Just getting your money is a heavy price to pay for eroding their culture, their religion and corrupting their young!

Are you able to do that next door in Malaysia? You would have been whipped even before you go cavorting at the beach!Maybe foreigners should be more sensitive and have more respect for the host country. After all you are the guests and guest do not misbehave!

Your blaming Farangs fro Thailands hookers and bars ??

Putting the cart before the horse no ??

Not just that, but farang's are a tiny fraction of the prostitution problem in Thailand.

The VAST majority is Thai on Thai. All you need to is drive through the countryside and count the

semi discrete mia noi auditioning hotels with hide your car garage screens,

kariaoki/massage bars with barely legal girls who don't speak word one of English

with tones of beat up or tricked up little bikes outside, and NO ONE SINGING...

And massage shops with not a farang in sight, but the girls dressed to please,

not in matching uniforms to work normal massage. It's not just Issan girls,

but the poor girls all over. And many just wanting to "keep up with the Jones's"

anyway they can because the kow tow society encourages APEARANCES of upward mobility,

within your circle, but not too far.

The High so's stare in mock shame, sure the older women are pissed, because they can never corral their men.

and some of the pols try to play the moralist card periodically, but then go and debauch the faollowing weekend.

The commerce minster is a former giant Soapie operator, there are more hookers in Bangkok openly working than

Any of 2 dozen nations I have been to. This is a game of FACE SAVING, and making proper 'appearances' to the outside world,

much more than any morals compunctions.

[caf]

The video was just a lot of nonsensical drama.

'

The marine policemen "Tim" called JJ a "crook" and "corrupt", yet he immediately told JJ they'll pay him 30k and then leave after they started shouting at each other....then the commentator mentions that JJ's 3 boys surrounded the 9 marines and the camera focuses on one fat Thai boys (out of 3) moving forward one step.

Tim insisted the damage was old damage because he knows about fiberglass. Why pay them anything at all? Paying 35k that the solo young guy was earlier intimidated into offering is pretty weak considering the "facts".

The gun was shown just before the screen was blanked out. It's impossible to know the context of the gun incident.

All drama.

It's surprising they didn't use a dramatic musical score to highten the tension.

So if you were in that situation you would not have paid would you? Most prople have paid under threat in these jet ski and other scams. I don't think you would be any different. If the police were called and they told you to pay, would you still not pay?

[caf]

Another experience - I was in Phuket in 1998 with a friend and his Thai gf. He was trying to but some sort of souvenir and the price he was being quoted was a rip-off. The gf said to him "you don't need to buy it here, it's much cheaper in Bangkok". The woman on the stall got angry with her saying "why are you helping the farang. I am Thai!". The fact that she was a stranger whilst he was a bf didn't seem to occur to her.

There was a greater chance she was just hired company and wouldn't care how much he spent. Didn't this fact occur to you?

But she did care. Read the post again.

[caf]

Whilst foreigners focus on the scams, local Thais stare in shame at the debauchery

shown in the documentaries! Thailand is a Buddhist country and respect should be given to its religion.Why do foreigners come to Thailand to practise such debauchery?Do you not come to enjoy the sun,the sea, the natural beauty, the food and the culture?Thais have to protect their young and shield them from this hedonistic lifestyle and culture so different from theirs.

Just getting your money is a heavy price to pay for eroding their culture, their religion and corrupting their young!

Are you able to do that next door in Malaysia? You would have been whipped even before you go cavorting at the beach!Maybe foreigners should be more sensitive and have more respect for the host country. After all you are the guests and guest do not misbehave!

Your blaming Farangs fro Thailands hookers and bars ??

Putting the cart before the horse no ??

Not just that, but farang's are a tiny fraction of the prostitution problem in Thailand.

The VAST majority is Thai on Thai. All you need to is drive through the countryside and count the

semi discrete mia noi auditioning hotels with hide your car garage screens,

kariaoki/massage bars with barely legal girls who don't speak word one of English

with tones of beat up or tricked up little bikes outside, and NO ONE SINGING...

And massage shops with not a farang in sight, but the girls dressed to please,

not in matching uniforms to work normal massage. It's not just Issan girls,

but the poor girls all over. And many just wanting to "keep up with the Jones's"

anyway they can because the kow tow society encourages APEARANCES of upward mobility,

within your circle, but not too far.

The High so's stare in mock shame, sure the older women are pissed, because they can never corral their men.

and some of the pols try to play the moralist card periodically, but then go and debauch the faollowing weekend.

The commerce minster is a former giant Soapie operator, there are more hookers in Bangkok openly working than

Any of 2 dozen nations I have been to. This is a game of FACE SAVING, and making proper 'appearances' to the outside world,

much more than any morals compunctions.

Good factual analysis

[animatic]

Another experience - I was in Phuket in 1998 with a friend and his Thai gf. He was trying to but some sort of souvenir and the price he was being quoted was a rip-off. The gf said to him "you don't need to buy it here, it's much cheaper in Bangkok". The woman on the stall got angry with her saying "why are you helping the farang. I am Thai!". The fact that she was a stranger whilst he was a bf didn't seem to occur to her.

There was a greater chance she was just hired company and wouldn't care how much he spent. Didn't this fact occur to you?

Well two thoughts on this last.

If she was hired company, then she was just protecting HER gravy train.

If she wasn't 'hired' then she was protecting her man from being burned.

Since they were a couple, she was looking out for them together.

And the rip off sales lady was just being jingoist and pissy... tough, that's sales.

My Mrs. says the same thing, and I say that when I want to talk them down.

Mai toursit, pom bahn ti Thailand.

I just estimate what the Mrs. told me is their wholesale cost, and add 15-20% and let them save some face.

But blame the wife for refusing to pay to high. They usually accept that.

[jackr]

Why do foreigners come to Thailand to practise such debauchery?Do you not come to enjoy the sun,the sea, the natural beauty, the food and the culture?Thais have to protect their young and shield them from this hedonistic lifestyle and culture so different from theirs.

Just getting your money is a heavy price to pay for eroding their culture, their religion and corrupting their young!

Are you able to do that next door in Malaysia? You would have been whipped even before you go cavorting at the beach!Maybe foreigners should be more sensitive and have more respect for the host country. After all you are the guests and guest do not misbehave!

What a completely out of touch load of crap... if Malaysia were set up along the same lines it would also happen there. I agree that most of the drunken specimens in this series should not even be allowed in but they were, not by foreigners, but by Buddhist Thais, to enjoy themselves with Thai people in Thai bars, Thai clubs and Thai hotels all run by Thais. This behaviour is also not ubiquitous, it is in specific areas of cities/resorts, while elsewhere the Thais themselvs do a good job of diluting their so-called culture.

I bet you also spout this garbage in front of your Thai friends/girlfriend/wife and don't even realise the disrespect you're bringing upon yourself for dissing your own.

[chmike]

My Mrs. says the same thing, and I say that when I want to talk them down.

Mai toursit, pom bahn ti Thailand.

I just estimate what the Mrs. told me is their wholesale cost, and add 15-20% and let them save some face.

But blame the wife for refusing to pay to high. They usually accept that.

No offense, but I can't imagine that any Thai who wasn't either adept at speaking English or had considerable experience deciphering what foreigners are trying to say when they string together a few random Thai words into what they think is a comprehensible sentence, would have the remotest clue as to what you are trying to say.

But even if you were getting your meaning across, it's a total fallacy to think that most Thai merchants will magically respect you and lower their prices simply because you've told them you live in Thailand. Any savvy merchant will just work that into his spiel, tell you how "yes, you stay long time and are very smart" to appeal to your vanity, and charge you as much as he can anyway. All's fair in love, war, and bargaining...

And so far as your wife telling you the "wholesale" price and then you magnanimously adding a few extra baht, I've got news for you... Thais (particularly Thai women) are pretty lousy negotiators. Most Thais will simply take the asked for price and try to bargain that down 10-20% without any regard to the actual value of the item. And, unless you're bargaining on an item that your wife regularly buys in bulk, what on earth makes you think she knows the "wholesale" price? Do you think that when she asks the vendor, the vendor will then graciously let her know the true mark-up is so that knowledge can be used by your spouse?

The fact is that Northern and Southern Thais do their utmost to overcharge "snooty, rich" Bangkokians; Bangkok sellers do everything they can to take advantage of "up-country bumpkins" and foreigners (Japanese, Chinese, Westerners) will be charged as much as the seller thinks he can get away with, especially in tourist haunts. That's just the way it is (not just in Thailand) and anybody who doesn't like it should limit their shopping to established stores with fixed prices. Personally, I LOVE bargaining, especially with Thais.

[solds15]

Police furious over 'staged' video nasties

Clips 'not intended to harm tourism industry'

Widely distributed video recordings of foreign tourists reputedly being ripped off over damage to jet skis on Phuket and other incidents have been made to damage Thailand's tourism reputation, authorities say.The producers of the video clips - shown on British cable television and YouTube - and the victims of the alleged scams have denied the accusation.

Pol Lt Gen Santhan Chayanont, chief of Provincial Police Region 8 which covers the upper South, yesterday said efforts to tarnish Thailand's image might be coordinated.

The video clips show a female British tourist being arrested for marijuana possession at a full moon party on Koh Phangan and a British marine and a US marine being threatened to pay exorbitant compensation for damage to rented jet skis on Phuket in separate incidents.

The footage, in which Thai police appear, were broadcast as part of the series Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand on Britain's Bravo cable TV station and then spread to the internet.

Pol Lt Gen Santhan said the arrest of the British woman was real. She was found with marijuana in her possession. In her testimony through a translator, she confessed.

In the video clip she claimed she had to pay 80,000 baht to local police to be released on bail.

The other clips feature a Phuket jet ski operator, Vinai Naiman, also known as "JJ", demanding compensation from British and American clients, both marines on rest and recreation leave.

In the clip of the British marine, Mr Vinai was seen to go to a storeroom and return with a gun which he dangled by his side. Pol Lt Gen Santhan said the way clips had been made suggested a set up.

They had been edited to tarnish the image of both Thai tourism and the police force and presented only the negative side of the story through narrators, he said.

Pol Lt Gen Santhan ordered police investigators to find out if any Thai individuals were involved in the making of the footage.They could face criminal charges.

He also ordered his subordinates to run a check on the production of the clips and report the findings to him as soon as possible.

The producer of the video clips, Gavin Hill, and some of those involved told British freelance journalist Andrew Drummond the footage was not faked or stage-managed and there was no intention to damage Thailand.

They insisted they were prepared, if necessary, to make the incidents a diplomatic issue.

Phuket governor Wichai Praisa-ngob yesterday said the clips might have been produced by someone who stood to benefit from Thailand tourism losing its competitive edge.

Mr Vinai said he had demanded compensation for damaged jet skis from his foreign clients. But the compensation had been settled before the filming.

He said he had been tricked into appearing in the clip as the producers claimed they wanted to do a positive documentary about tourism in Phuket.

The gun he was seen holding was only an air gun, he insisted.

Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa said he did not think the controversy would have a far-reaching effect on the tourism industry.

Anusorn Salay, head of a club of jet ski operators on Phuket, yesterday said the club would establish procedures to prevent disputes over jet skis.

It would set rates for compensation based on where and how bad the damage was to a ski.

[ukrules]

He also ordered his subordinates to run a check on the production of the clips and report the findings to him as soon as possible.

It's a pity Pol Lt Gen Santhan Chayanont, chief of Provincial Police Region 8 doesn't order his subordinates to arrest people who rip off tourists rather than assist them in collecting the money and then taking a share.

[Serpico]

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.

Sorry Richard.

These are not taxi cab drivers.

These guys are scammers posing as taxi cab drivers.

They park illegally and attempt to defraud every visitor that exits these hotels. They pay the cops and hotel manager so they can scam tourists.

Similar gangs are posted in front of EVERY hotel.

Now you know.

[TAWP]

No, they are a selection of taxi-drives that purposely target tourists to scam them.

But taxi-drivers they are. (And a very visible minority.)

[Lancelot]

Not just that, but farang's are a tiny fraction of the prostitution problem in Thailand.

The VAST majority is Thai on Thai. All you need to is drive through the countryside and count the

semi discrete mia noi auditioning hotels with hide your car garage screens,

kariaoki/massage bars with barely legal girls who don't speak word one of English

with tones of beat up or tricked up little bikes outside, and NO ONE SINGING...

And here I always assumed it was those naughty Viet Nam era GIs that introduced prostitution to the LOS

Cynicism aside, if all foreigners were suddenly banished from the Kingdom, the Thai sex industry would hardly skip a beat. Same goes for scams-the JJ crowd would adjust and figure out some relatively low risk ways to cheat their beloved fellow Thais.

The tiger never changes his stripes

[KevinBloodyWilson]

Not just that, but farang's are a tiny fraction of the prostitution problem in Thailand.

The VAST majority is Thai on Thai. All you need to is drive through the countryside and count the

semi discrete mia noi auditioning hotels with hide your car garage screens,

kariaoki/massage bars with barely legal girls who don't speak word one of English

with tones of beat up or tricked up little bikes outside, and NO ONE SINGING...

And here I always assumed it was those naughty Viet Nam era GIs that introduced prostitution to the LOS

Cynicism aside, if all foreigners were suddenly banished from the Kingdom, the Thai sex industry would hardly skip a beat. Same goes for scams-the JJ crowd would adjust and figure out some relatively low risk ways to cheat their beloved fellow Thais.

The tiger never changes his stripes

I think you are wrong about the sex industry, because Thailand is a hub of prostitution - probably the only hub it will ever be if you discount incompetence and corruption - which are linked of course.

I think you are spot on about the scams though, Thais who scam are unprincipled scammers and they would be just as happy to scam their own people as they are to scam foreigners - as I said before it carries a psychological reward for them.

It is surely a great pity though that this otherwise wonderful place is marred by an unnecessary but pretty much ubiquitous lack of ethics and integrity. This will catch up with them in the end and they will not be able to join the dots together. Thais seem almost completely unable to play the 'what if' game.

But, as I have said before, this is the house that Jack built and Jack likes it just fine.

Edited September 23, 2009 by KevinBloodyWilson

[Arkady]

The word now on the street is that JJ is going to be hung out to dry, and that is is "not Thai" so its OK for him to be guilty. Apparently being 50% Dutch means he is 100% not Thai.

If this is true and he is really still in jail, all I can say is it couln't happen to a nicer person. He must be chumping on the bit to get out and rip of the US sailors and marines who just parked their aircraft carrier in Phuket.

Even so I expect he will get off, since it is hard for Thais to see he has done anything unethical by ripping off foreign tourists. But yes, if they do need an example a half farang would be a perfect choice but this just looks like a farang ripping off other farangs and whipping out that gun for the camera meant he was asking for it. It has not been mentioned whether he had a licence for it. He said it was an air rifle but that needs a licence in Thailand too and it's hard to tell the difference between a an air rifle and a .22 rifle within a close look.

[Yoshitaka]

I watch the uncut version in youtube.

I don't think it is pre-rehearsed.

Looks like the tourist really break the machines and tried to run.

The repair may be a little expensive, but don't forget that these machinery are luxury imported items with heavy import tax. It cost more than a car in Thailand.

[caf]

I watch the uncut version in youtube.

I don't think it is pre-rehearsed.

Looks like the tourist really break the machines and tried to run.

The repair may be a little expensive, but don't forget that these machinery are luxury imported items with heavy import tax. It cost more than a car in Thailand.

The videos do not show he broke the machine or ran away. They did show threats with a gun. As you don't know the costs of jetskies you can't make comparisons can you? JJ is not the only crook in Thailand but he is sure as hel_l giving Thailand and Thais a bad reputation. Bit strange that you are reinforcing that international view.