Crackdown On Foreign Criminals In Pattaya

[webfact]

SAFE HAVEN

Police get tough on Pattaya's criminal migrants

PATTAYA: -- The days when foreign paedophiles and criminals could retire in peace in Pattaya - a Thai beach resort infamous for its prostitution and sleazy nightlife - are numbered, at least according to immigration police.

On Thursday, Pattaya's Immigration Office will officially launch the country's first Transnational Crime Data Centre, equipped with a staff of 12 and a 6-million-baht (184,615-dollar) computer system dedicated to tracking down nefarious expats.

"Pattaya may have been a heaven for foreign criminals in the past, but now we have the technology to spoil their paradise," said Police Colonel Athiwit Kamolrat, Chonburi Immigration Police Superintendent.

The centre, plastered with photos of alleged criminals wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Interpol, Bangkok-based embassies and Thai authorities, sits above Pattaya's Immigration Office, a busy place visited by hundreds of expatriates a day.

Pattaya, a beach resort in Chonburi province about 100 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, has one of the largest expat communities in Thailand, estimated at more than 70,000 more-or-less permanent residents.

"Every foreigner who lives in Pattaya for a long time needs to come here to renew their visas, and when they do we put their name and address in our computer base," said Police Lieutenant Colonel Prapansak Prasansuk, deputy superintendent of Chonburi immigration.

The centre also receives calls and emails from more than 700 hotels, guest houses and service apartments in Pattaya whenever a foreigner checks in for more than 24 hours.

A law requiring that all foreigners who stay in a place for more than a day must be reported to immigration police has been on the books for years, but now it is being enforced.

"Some guest houses and serviced apartments didn't want to report to us because they were avoiding taxes, but I told them we are not responsible for collecting taxes, just for collecting foreigners," Athiwit said. "In recent months the call-ins have increased 130 per cent."

Those who fail to report foreigners face fines.

With the improved surveillance of resident foreigners in Pattaya, immigration police are well positioned to make arrests of any foreigner facing a warrant abroad, as long as the warrants are on their database.

Since October 2009, Pattaya immigration police have assisted with the arrests of seven human traffickers, primarily dealing with child prostitution rings, and about a dozen foreign criminals facing arrest warrants either abroad or in Thailand.

Embassy police officers based in Bangkok attribute Pattaya's improved performance primarily to Police Lieutenant General Wuthi Liptapallop, the new head of the Immigration Bureau, who after taking office earlier this year made it his mission to crack down on foreign criminals in the kingdom.

"It's all linked to Wuthi," said one European diplomat. "It used to be very difficult getting assistance from the Thai police, but now something definitely has happened."

To what extent and for how long the Pattaya crack down persists remains to be seen. There is a good deal of scepticism, given the ingrained corruption in the city.

"There are a large number of foreign gangsters operating in Pattaya, and without exception they are all paying off the police," said one British crime reporter who specializes in Pattaya.

Pattaya's recent history includes a long list of illustrious criminals.

There was Wolfgang Uelrich, a German national who defrauded tens of thousands of dollars from his countrymen through a bogus animal- welfare charity. He used the charity to invest in bars, restaurants and various businesses in Pattaya, and was eventually extradited to Germany where he was found guilty of fraud.

Rene Larsen, a convicted Danish drug trafficker, was a resident of Pattaya and proud owner of a palatial residence in the 1990s before he was extradited to Copenhagen.

Both men were known to have close connections with the Pattaya police force.

"Corruption in these cases has decreased in Pattaya, because now we have concrete evidence to present against them," Athiwit said.

"But for the crackdown to work we need to have similar centres in Phuket, Samui, Chiang Mai and other tourist destinations."

The bigger question for observers is whether the crackdown will continue after Wuthi's term expires.

"In Thailand, for the long term, one never knows," said one Western diplomat.

-- The Nation 2010-08-04

[TAWP]

As a pragmatic person in this case I say: Good, hope it turns out well.

[Frankythai]

Very good this crackdown, I hope they will spread it all over this beatifull country.

Please do not stop.

And stop those who give us (the NON offenders) a bad bad name all over the world.

[jayjay0]

I hope they get them all and send them back where they come from. I really don't think that will hurt Pattaya's main business that much. It is already taking a beating.

They are going to be hanging pictures of wanted Criminals all around there office I wonder if they will have Mr. Thaksin up there?:jap:

[Crushdepth]

They'll be rounding up those $&$@$! tailors then. Good.

[bkkjames]

Now if they would only get as tough with the local element 

[whatchamacallit]

I wonder how does one report a guest? Go to immigration and fill out a form? Is it available online? Can one just call it in? If a farang reports a guest will they give him/her any problem? Any info guys?

[jbrewer]

As a pragmatic person in this case I say: Good, hope it turns out well.

same here

[GeeWee]

what about the Thai criminals ? Streetrobbery, gold stealing, mobile and money stealing ? When does police do something about them ?

[goldfinger]

They are going to be hanging pictures of wanted Criminals all around there office I wonder if they will have Mr. Thaksin up there?:jap:

we are not responsible for collecting taxes, just for collecting foreigners......

any questions???

[BlackJack]

is there some Pattaya profile the police could use like

bar owners

big bike shop owners

people that drive cars with big sound systems

people that start drinking beer at 7am

people with tattoos on their face

etc

etc

[bkkjames]

The way I read this as long as you only book the room for 23 hours they don't need to submit your info?

[TheBarbarian]

How interesting. In three months the chap is back asleep and he needs to retire. That is the way things go in Thailand. Moreover the chap oversimplifies the situation. As if a known hard criminal came to visit the immigration office with a passport in his or her own name. If that is the case he or she would be caught anyhow. The real story here is that the police from foreign embassies and interpol must deliver all the details including the location of the person that is wanted and the immigration police will support them while receiving all he praise. Not a bad deal for the person in charge and for the embassies and interpol people involved. the only thing that really has changed is that they get some help (for the time being).

[hungryhippo]

Why exactly do they need a 6 Million baht computer system to do this?

[Jingthing]

They are going to be hanging pictures of wanted Criminals all around there office I wonder if they will have Mr. Thaksin up there?:jap:

we are not responsible for collecting taxes, just for collecting foreigners......

any questions???

Yes, on the surface the tone sounds overly harsh towards ALL foreigners. So, be careful what you wish for, we are ALL suspects for these police.

[Gimbo]

The way I read this as long as you only book the room for 23 hours they don't need to submit your info?

So we should be completely safe in a short-time hotel then?

[nyles]

Why exactly do they need a 6 Million baht computer system to do this?

My laptop could do the same job and only costs 30.000 Bath :-)

[sedeflonga]

A lot of crime in Pattaya indeed. I hope they clean it up a bit. I wonder why they can not catch the guys at airport?

[Pria]

>>"There are a large number of foreign gangsters operating in Pattaya, and without exception they are all paying off the police," said one British crime reporter who specializes in Pattaya.<< That'd be Mr. Drummond I guess.

Can't wait to read the "explosive insight into foreign Pattaya gangs" in The Sun.

Then again, surely if a "British crime reporter" had such details the story/ies would have already been written so either there aren't any and it's a fabrication of The Nation or the "British crime reporter" is such a great reporter

[yumidesign]

They are going to be hanging pictures of wanted Criminals all around there office I wonder if they will have Mr. Thaksin up there?:jap:

we are not responsible for collecting taxes, just for collecting foreigners......

any questions???

yes well alarm bells rang for me on the above statement by the BIB, but what do you actually do with collected foreigners, make a new card game or what and what about the idea of innocence until proven guilty...... oh dear another really dumb idea not thought through in any way and the IT man is a friend or relative of who?

Edited August 4, 2010 by yumidesign

[SamritT]

All bad people should be arrested & put in jail. regardless if he/she is Thai or farangs.

[Dakhar]

Yea, but a comp designed for the "mentally challenged" is far more expensive

[Jingthing]

All bad people should be arrested & put in jail. regardless if he/she is Thai or farangs.

I think you mean criminals, not bad people, because whether a person is good, bad, or indifferent is very subjective.

[bkkjames]

I tend to agree with the earlier post about doing this at the airport / borders. Not only stops them from going to Pattaya but the whole country. One might also think that it would cut down on potential corruptive issues? 

Example: Tourist A) clears through Thai immigration = no need to check them again when they check into their hotel / apartment / boat etc.

Seems a bit bass akward to me to do it once they have already entered the country.

[Lancelot]

With Immigration appearing to be computerized, I've long wondered why the bad boy farangs were not shown the door

Time will tell whether this is another "public relations" type crackdown or the real thing...

[farangpattaya]

Why exactly do they need a 6 Million baht computer system to do this?

Haha yes, 12 people.......everyone a work station @ THB 30,000 makes THB 360,000

a heavy server of THB 100,000

a fast intranet-connection to the main-computer in BKK

and some other facilities..........

maybe THB 500,000 all together.

So, the first THB 5,5 mln already is in someones pocket.

Good project.

[Jingthing]

If it's getting really hot in Pattaya from the real crims, won't they just move on someplace else in Thailand?

[Lumumba]

So they should all discontinue payments pending arrest?

They should attach rewards for information on fugitives, with the tanking economy, the phone lines will all be busy a long time to come.

[SirMarjAlot]

Yep alot of people enjoy Pattaya's nightlife but too many scumbags resident there, needs a good culling of scumbags

But long live the nightlife there

[frtiz]

they'll just get their visas somewhere else.