Phuket Acts To Clean Up Jet-ski Woes

[Insight]

I watched the video. it all looked quite real, though at the end it looked like it might have been staged, because there was a handshake. A handshake after a shake-down? And the farang leader (Captain of Brit Royal Guards) seemed quick to agree to Bt.35,000 extortion fee (which his subordinate, the jetski driver, had to pay), even though every one at the tense scene knew it was a complete shake-down. It all comes clear when you know there's a rifle at the scene in the hands of a Thai, and those Thais looked like they wouldn't hesitate to use it - or, at the very least, they'd stick with Thai tradition of ganging up and using every weapon within reach - metal pipes, chains, you name it. The idea of a fair one-on-one fight never caught on in this part of the world.

So, in lieu of the stakes, I too would have paid $1,000 and saved my skin. Though I would have called the Tourist Police before handing over the cash, unless it was deemed impossible to do so. I would be inclined to say to the extortionists, "Ok, let's call the brown shirt cops then." ...but it's roughly 99% sure that the regular cops would side with the thugs pulling the scam and, as mentioned earlier, are probably getting a cut of the proceeds.

Personally don't think there's anything unusual with either the handshake or the amount agreed to be honest. The handshake occurred because as far as the jet-ski mafia were concerned, it was still a "negotiation" (sounds silly I know), with an outcome everybody agreed with at the end.

The price was 30,000 baht because the marine went and opened his mouth before the sergeant arrived. The sergeant originally wanted to go along with 10k - an amount I thought was more reasonable if the marine did actually do the damage (which is never really established), but JJ mafia-boy instantly refuted it saying the marine had already offered much more, so he had to go along with it.

Just my less-than 2c's. I hope this series makes a difference, but we all know how long these "clean up's" last...

[KevinBloodyWilson]

I think the bloke who thought of "Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted" must have spent a bit of time in Thailand.

Its the old Thai story. Only do something when you have no choices left, then pretend you are doing it voluntarily, pro-actively and sincerely (who knows, the stupid farang who don't understand Thailand or Thais might just be stupid enough to fall for it).

Until then smile and enjoy the share-outs.

[TheWalkingMan]

Do what i did, take photo's of the jet ski from all sides, then he tell me don't want to rent to you hahahahah

No need to rent to smarty people.

TheWalkingMan

[LaoPo]

i dont believe for a single second that the jet ski operators will comply with ANY rules set by anyone.

I don't know if the Phuket Governer has the balls or not but confiscating some jet-ski's for 1 week would help; if they breach the law for the second time...take those monsters away for 2 weeks etc.

Until they've learned their lessons. Than...they will comply with the rules. They will only learn if you touch their bread....rice in this case

LaoPo

[bridge]

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.

Agreed .... that old chestnut ... blame the Burmese

[Seismic]

First time I saw this was 1982 in Pattaya, So I really think that the "official comments" are so much hot air. It's just the normal way of business for these guys, same as the motorbike rentals.

It will all blow over and they will be back to scamming frightened tourists in a couple of weeks.

Edited September 13, 2009 by Seismic

[thaibeachlovers]

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

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

4 minutes 30 secs

The one I watched was 10 minutes long. You can watch the whole show in 4 sections, including about the volunteer police in Pattaya, and the girl arrested for marijuana at the FMP.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I watched the video. it all looked quite real, though at the end it looked like it might have been staged, because there was a handshake. A handshake after a shake-down? And the farang leader (Captain of Brit Royal Guards) seemed quick to agree to Bt.35,000 extortion fee (which his subordinate, the jetski driver, had to pay), even though every one at the tense scene knew it was a complete shake-down. It all comes clear when you know there's a rifle at the scene in the hands of a Thai, and those Thais looked like they wouldn't hesitate to use it - or, at the very least, they'd stick with Thai tradition of ganging up and using every weapon within reach - metal pipes, chains, you name it. The idea of a fair one-on-one fight never caught on in this part of the world.

So, in lieu of the stakes, I too would have paid $1,000 and saved my skin. Though I would have called the Tourist Police before handing over the cash, unless it was deemed impossible to do so. I would be inclined to say to the extortionists, "Ok, let's call the brown shirt cops then." ...but it's roughly 99% sure that the regular cops would side with the thugs pulling the scam and, as mentioned earlier, are probably getting a cut of the proceeds.

It could be the the police were called and did arrive....

[MaiChai]

I have lived in Thailand 15 years and well I know Thailand and Thais. Anyway we went to Phuket for a weekend break a couple of weeks ago, and it was ripoffs every 3 meters. If it was not mini buses wanting to charge you 200baht to 'taxi' you to your hotel less than a km away, it was various other scams, not to mention the Patong/Airport taxi mafia!!! Very disappointed with the weekend and won't be returning there. Only decent thing was the free Chang sponsored Joey Boy concert on the beach. Last time I enjoyed Phuket was about 15 years ago. I can only say Thailand is 'over developed' as a tourist destination, and there are more interesting places in the world (Vietnam comes to mind). What happened to Thailand?

[LaoPo]

I have lived in Thailand 15 years and well I know Thailand and Thais. Anyway we went to Phuket for a weekend break a couple of weeks ago, and it was ripoffs every 3 meters. If it was not mini buses wanting to charge you 200baht to 'taxi' you to your hotel less than a km away, it was various other scams, not to mention the Patong/Airport taxi mafia!!! Very disappointed with the weekend and won't be returning there. Only decent thing was the free Chang sponsored Joey Boy concert on the beach. Last time I enjoyed Phuket was about 15 years ago. I can only say Thailand is 'over developed' as a tourist destination, and there are more interesting places in the world (Vietnam comes to mind).

What happened to Thailand?

For me it was 25 years ago since I last enjoyed Phuket and haven't been back since.

It's shameless greed what's happening in Thailand and it's like a pyramid, from the top to way down; so many people.... so greedy, it's disgusting.

I think I'm not the only one who has visited many countries but the greed and ripoffs in Thailand beats them all. Such a pity in such a wonderful country with -mostly- wonderful people.

However, in the end we spoiled them ourselves, giving tips as if money was free and growing on trees in our Farang countries; after a while they thought it to be(come) normal, receiving extra money (from "stupid Farang" ) for the normal work they were doing since centuries, working, serving, creating.

And, since we were all so enthusiastic about Thailand, we told our family, friends, coworkers.....come to beautiful Thailand; and the tourists came in hordes..millions of them.

And greed has been growing since.

LaoPo

Edited September 13, 2009 by LaoPo

[caf]

i dont believe for a single second that the jet ski operators will comply with ANY rules set by anyone.

I don't know if the Phuket Governer has the balls or not but confiscating some jet-ski's for 1 week would help; if they breach the law for the second time...take those monsters away for 2 weeks etc.

Until they've learned their lessons. Than...they will comply with the rules. They will only learn if you touch their bread....rice in this case

LaoPo

Why should he?

The bottom line is upward cash flow must be maintained.

[brahmburgers]

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people who have been ripped off - went back after hours and trashed the jetski shed. ...maybe wearing ski masks, maybe carrying weapons. The extorting punks who've been ripping people off for years sure deserve as much.

I wonder how much money they've pulled in just from that one scrape on the jetski?

At an average extortion revenue income of $3,000/week, lets say they've had the vehicle 2 years, That's close to half a million dollars, above what they've gotten from rental fees - from just one vehicle - and how many jetskis for rent are there on Phuket?

Do the car/motorbike/boat rental folks pull the same scams? Wouldn't surprise me.

I'll take a wide swath away from Phuket and anywhere else I hear about blatant rip-offs.

[RickBradford]

They will only learn if you touch their bread....rice in this case

Spot on.

The only way these people ever learn is if you hit them straight in the hip pocket.

It would be marvellous if the video had a significant effect on jet-ski rentals so that several of these grubs went under, or found themselves in debt to bigger mafia than they are. Then we could watch them grovel as they try to get the business back.

Crackdowns only work in places where the authorities have any control over people, which is not the case here. It's about money, money, money.

[mca]

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

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

4 minutes 30 secs

The one I watched was 10 minutes long. You can watch the whole show in 4 sections, including about the volunteer police in Pattaya, and the girl arrested for marijuana at the FMP.

Sorry I didn't make it clear. 4 mins 30 is the point in the video where the gun comes out.

[pedro01]

I have to say that in all my time here, I've never been scammed by a Jetski operator, although I've been rescued by a few.

Even if scams were not a fact of life here, you are taking yourself out on the water. You need to do at least a rudimentary check that the jetski is OK.

[KarenBravo]

The previous governor was "removed" from office and transferred because he was going to shake things up.

The Thais with vested interests have the power to get a troublesome governor off their backs.

This governor retires in a years time as he gets to the retirement age of 60.

Does anyone really think that this, (or, any other) scam will be stopped?

[caf]

I have lived in Thailand 15 years and well I know Thailand and Thais. Anyway we went to Phuket for a weekend break a couple of weeks ago, and it was ripoffs every 3 meters. If it was not mini buses wanting to charge you 200baht to 'taxi' you to your hotel less than a km away, it was various other scams, not to mention the Patong/Airport taxi mafia!!! Very disappointed with the weekend and won't be returning there. Only decent thing was the free Chang sponsored Joey Boy concert on the beach. Last time I enjoyed Phuket was about 15 years ago. I can only say Thailand is 'over developed' as a tourist destination, and there are more interesting places in the world (Vietnam comes to mind).

What happened to Thailand?

For me it was 25 years ago since I last enjoyed Phuket and haven't been back since.

It's shameless greed what's happening in Thailand and it's like a pyramid, from the top to way down; so many people.... so greedy, it's disgusting.

I think I'm not the only one who has visited many countries but the greed and ripoffs in Thailand beats them all. Such a pity in such a wonderful country with -mostly- wonderful people.

However, in the end we spoiled them ourselves, giving tips as if money was free and growing on trees in our Farang countries; after a while they thought it to be(come) normal, receiving extra money (from "stupid Farang" ) for the normal work they were doing since centuries, working, serving, creating.

And, since we were all so enthusiastic about Thailand, we told our family, friends, coworkers.....come to beautiful Thailand; and the tourists came in hordes..millions of them.

And greed has been growing since.

LaoPo

Spot on Laopo. And unfortunately I can't see any change being allowed.

[Lithobid]

I love this country, I really do, you can smell the anxiety of the Thai's over this new TV program. They're thinking, "Oh no! that man so bad, he has a gun!, we should make new law!"

Only in this country would new sanctions come about from a foreign produced TV series, instead of an INGRAINED sense of ETHICAL MORALITY.

Then again, only in this country would they continue to be so transparent with their political motivations, and still stick to their guns, that they HONESTLY feel that way.

LOS, the circus never leaves town.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Lithobid

[kurnell]

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

[eastlight]

Treat it like an Avis rental - you do check the car, dont you? Record it is better.

Dont rent is even smarter - let them go broke

Correct! Just who in their right mind would rent a jetski in this country?

[Jingthing]

How about this ploy?

1. Boycott all jetski rentals

or

2. Insist to cross out all unfair damage related text on the contracts (if they have contracts) with signatures of the owners included. When they say no, walk away.

[britmaveric]

Need to be smart about it....

Inspect for damage all the way around (write down), and take photo(s).

Stay away from shore, and do not bump into anything period. Even tiny bumps these bastards will get you for. If you do all of this, chances are pretty remote these lads will try one on.

[PoorSucker]

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

We don't rent.

We know the scams.

[tartempion]

Do what i did, take photo's of the jet ski from all sides, then he tell me don't want to rent to you hahahahah

Do what I do, don't ever rent jet skis.

Even don't understand what it might bring, except money to thieves/scammers

[koheesti]

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people who have been ripped off - went back after hours and trashed the jetski shed. ...maybe wearing ski masks, maybe carrying weapons. The extorting punks who've been ripping people off for years sure deserve as much.

I'm sure those Royal Marines could have come back with some interesting toys from the ship and extracted some sort of payback. Ten or 15 Thai/Burmese thugs wouldn't stand a chance.

[cdnvic]

I'm sure those Royal Marines could have come back with some interesting toys from the ship and extracted some sort of payback.

No, the "good stuff" is kept quite securely. This isn't a movie.

(well, it kind of is....)

[koheesti]

I'm sure those Royal Marines could have come back with some interesting toys from the ship and extracted some sort of payback.

No, the "good stuff" is kept quite securely. This isn't a movie.

(well, it kind of is....)

So the Queen has the only key? I'm sure the boys could find a way if they wanted to. Getting ripped off and having their lives threatened with a rifle might be motivation. In the video, the RMs seemed to out number the locals and the guy with the rifle was close enough to grab the rifle from him before he'd have a chance to raise it to shoot. I also hope they have enough training to be able to handle a 70kg guy with a pipe coming at them. I'd like to think that the camera helped hold back the RMs. But probably not now that I remember that incident with the Iranians a few years ago.

[justnbangkok]

EXTORTION OF TOURISTS

Phuket acts to clean up jet-ski woes

By SALINEE PRAB

THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Published on September 13, 2009

Gun-toting operator arrested, push for insurance cover

Video footage posted on YouTube showing a jet-ski rental operator threatening a British tourist with a gun would tarnish Thailand's reputation, whether the incident was real or fake, Phuket Governor Wichai Praisa-ngob said yesterday.

Wichai said he had written to embassies of several countries whose tourists complained about jet-ski operators in Phuket, to try to explain the problem.

Police have arrested a man seen with a gun in the video clip, but it is not yet clear if the incident was real or a stunt for a reality show in a foreign country.

Wichai said provincial authorities had received several complaints about jet-ski operators extorting money from foreign tourists from China, Japan and Australia, as well as some Thais, even before the YouTube footage.

He said they were trying to solve the problem but there was no clear evidence until the video emerged. Officials worked with police to arrest the person shown in the footage and he was now in custody at Kathu police station. He was reported to have confessed.

"The man's action, whether it's real or set-up for a show, is not right, especially if it was a set-up because it can be considered an intention to severely damage Phuket and Thai tourism," the governor said.

Officials called a meeting of jet-ski operators in Phuket and related agencies last week to set rules for jet-ski renting services. They plan to register and record the work history of jet-ski operators.

They will limit the number to jet-skis to 219 and try to get operators to have insurance to prevent problems in the event of rented jet-skis getting damaged.

Some 40 jet-ski operators and insurance companies were invited to try to set conditions for insurance next week, Wichai said, noting that this was a preferred solution.

"I'm not against them making a decent living out of this sport, but they must do it right and get into the insurance system. They can charge the insurance fee in the renting fee, say the usual Bt1,500 per 30 minutes could rise to Bt1,600."

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

Phuket had sent a letter explaining the problem to various embassies, initially focusing on countries whose citizens had filed complaints about jet-ski operators in Phuket such as the UK, Australia, China and Japan, Wichai said.

They would check with people who wrote complaints to see if the arrested man was the same person who extorted money from them. Officials would discuss the situation with legal experts about what they could do.

He hoped that efforts by the province and local agencies would restore tourists' confidence.

"This problem had been here a long time but the lack of evidence deterred authorities from doing anything much about it until now. This is the first time the allegation materialised," he said adding that they would seek the maximum penalty for offences - to warn others not to try such acts.

There were similar problems with car and motorbike rental businesses and some people's illegal acts were hurting honest business operators, he said.

-- The Nation 2009/09/13

It was faked. Newspaper didn't mention that the farangs used the jetskis for drug smuggling by vandalizing the jet skis. It's no wonder the thais want to charge more

[harleyclarkey]

I'll wait for hel_l to freeze over before I can expect the "Governor" (is that what he is??) of Phuket to do anything at all.

As for checking over the jet ski as pointed out above?? No chance. If it is not already in the water then they will tell you to get lost if you start to examine it.

Edited September 14, 2009 by harleyclarkey

[jombom]

I have lived in Thailand 15 years and well I know Thailand and Thais. Anyway we went to Phuket for a weekend break a couple of weeks ago, and it was ripoffs every 3 meters. If it was not mini buses wanting to charge you 200baht to 'taxi' you to your hotel less than a km away, it was various other scams, not to mention the Patong/Airport taxi mafia!!! Very disappointed with the weekend and won't be returning there. Only decent thing was the free Chang sponsored Joey Boy concert on the beach. Last time I enjoyed Phuket was about 15 years ago. I can only say Thailand is 'over developed' as a tourist destination, and there are more interesting places in the world (Vietnam comes to mind). What happened to Thailand?

Yes, I was there for 5 nights last week and will not be going back. Could not understand why lots of bars were charging 100 Bt for a Singha, when it is 45 to 55 Bt in many bars close to me in Jomtien. After discussing this with several Thais in Phuket, the only half-way rational explanation given to me was land prices. The Thai lady bar-owner told me she had to pay 70,000 Bt per month rent. This was not a big place - small bar with 5 bar stools, about 6 small tables with chairs, and room for 2 pool tables. She said the Thais working in Phuket were also caught in the same trap, and had to pay crazy prices to rent a room etc.

Interestingly, very few of the Thais working in Phuket, are actually from Phuket. Many are from Isaan, Bangkok, and the north near Chiang Mai.

My previous visit to Phuket was 4 years ago -- about 9 months after the Tsunami. It is sad to see that much of the goodwill at that time, seems to have evaporated, and has been replaced by greed.