Graft Probe Starts Into Entry Fees At Thai Marine Parks

[webfact]

Graft probe starts into entry fees at marine parks

By Janjira Pongrai

Pongphon Sarnsamak

An internal investigation into corruption over admission fees at marine parks is underway, following allegations by tour guides and operators of dive tours that corrupt officials have been pocketing more than Bt1 billion of state revenue each year.

Director-general Sunant Arunnopparat of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) said yesterday that initial results of the inquiry could be detailed next week. He vowed to punish officials implicated by evidence.

The probe is headed by Ratchada Suriyakul Na Ayuthaya, director of the National Parks division.

"We will this week get all details about the graft. The officials who behaved in a scandalous manner will be punished," Sunant said.

The issue was discussed at yesterday's meeting of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, with deputy panel chairman Naris Khamnurak saying he had heard about the graft two years ago. The only action taken was corrupt officials were transferred, but never penalised or prosecuted.

Naris said the DNP never carried out certain measures it pledged to undertake according to an agreement with the House committee. These included the sale of admission tickets via convenience stores to keep records and numbers, and to install security cameras at the entrances of all marine parks or piers where tourists entered.

Naris said if the measures were adopted the chance for graft would have been cut or made impossible. He called on Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti to publicly announce his stance on this issue and other corruption scandals involving "his" agencies.

Saran Jaisa-ard, a senior DNP official, said seven marine parks had been closed due to coral bleaching at reefs that were popular dive sites.

"Off-site" dives at 20 sites off the Similan Islands and another 15 off Tarutao Islands were still allowed. Offenders or tour operators who violated this regulation would face a minimum fine of Bt1,000.

Head of Phi Phi-Nopparat National Marine Parks Niruth Phutthiphong admitted that graft in the admission fee system was a big problem. But he claimed to have resolved this by removing officials suspected of benefiting illegally or getting kickbacks from operators of dive tours and tour guides.

"We will no longer allow those operators of diving tours and tour guides who did not pay the full admission fee [bt400 per head for each foreign tourist and Bt20 for each Thai] to enter the national marine park areas."

Niruth said he discussed the problem with the Krabi governor but dive tour operators and guides opposed any change.

-- The Nation 2011-01-26

[Deeral]

So essentially the Parks Dept is investigating graft in the Parks Dept.?

Isn't there a conflict of interest here?

[saintofsilence]

"The issue was discussed at yesterday's meeting of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, with deputy panel chairman Naris Khamnurak saying he had heard about the graft two years ago. The only action taken was corrupt officials were transferred, but never penalised or prosecuted."

This is one of the reasons Thailand has so much corruption no one seems to get penalised or prosecuted to the full extent of the law , its just a smack on the wrist .

[Deeral]

"The issue was discussed at yesterday's meeting of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, with deputy panel chairman Naris Khamnurak saying he had heard about the graft two years ago. The only action taken was corrupt officials were transferred, but never penalised or prosecuted."

This is one of the reasons Thailand has so much corruption no one seems to get penalised or prosecuted to the full extent of the law , its just a smack on the wrist .

...and presumably even after the officials were removed the graft continued?

[Soupdragon]

"The issue was discussed at yesterday's meeting of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, with deputy panel chairman Naris Khamnurak saying he had heard about the graft two years ago. The only action taken was corrupt officials were transferred, but never penalised or prosecuted."

This is one of the reasons Thailand has so much corruption no one seems to get penalised or prosecuted to the full extent of the law , its just a smack on the wrist .

...and presumably even after the officials were removed the graft continued?

A publication that cannot be mentioned here wrote that officials pay between 5-10 million baht to get these highly lucrative posts. A crackdown is just smoke to give themselves deniability. Edited January 26, 2011 by Soupdragon

[Robby nz]

Head of Phi Phi-Nopparat National Marine Parks Niruth Phutthiphong admitted that graft in the admission fee system was a big problem. But he claimed to have resolved this by removing officials suspected of benefiting illegally or getting kickbacks from operators of dive tours and tour guides.

"We will no longer allow those operators of diving tours and tour guides who did not pay the full admission fee [bt400 per head for each foreign tourist and Bt20 for each Thai] to enter the national marine park areas."

Liked that bit...

So he is highly peed off with the operators for spoiling his good thing and will find a way to get back at them.

[jayjay0]

So essentially the Parks Dept is investigating graft in the Parks Dept.?

Isn't there a conflict of interest here?

Kinda like when the army took the engines of barges loaded them up with refuges and set them adrift out in the middle of nowhere.

Abhist said the army was going to look into it.

Edited January 26, 2011 by jayjay0

[Crushdepth]

So essentially the Parks Dept is investigating graft in the Parks Dept.?

Isn't there a conflict of interest here?

And as usual the only people punished so far are the tour operators, aka 'the informants'.

"We will no longer allow those operators of diving tours and tour guides who did not pay the full admission fee [bt400 per head for each foreign tourist and Bt20 for each Thai] to enter the national marine park areas."

Read "We will no longer allow operators that don't pay tea money to enter".

[jaltsc]

So essentially the Parks Dept is investigating graft in the Parks Dept.?

Isn't there a conflict of interest here?

I've consulted all the English-Thai dictionaries. There is no such term as "conflict of interest" in the Thai language. You must be talking about some other country.

[phiphidon]

So essentially the Parks Dept is investigating graft in the Parks Dept.?

Isn't there a conflict of interest here?

And as usual the only people punished so far are the tour operators, aka 'the informants'.

"We will no longer allow those operators of diving tours and tour guides who did not pay the full admission fee [bt400 per head for each foreign tourist and Bt20 for each Thai] to enter the national marine park areas."

Read "We will no longer allow operators that don't pay tea money to enter".

Or you might find an incredible increase overnight of qualified Thai divers paying 20 baht per entry and a corresponding decrease in foreign divers, books balanced, problem solved.

[DoctorG]

So, for every one farang diver that doesn't enter, they now need to find 20 Thai divers to take his/her place.

Good luck with that guys. :jap:

[webfact]

DNP looks to end massive corruption

By The Nation

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) is considering measures to deal with corruption at national marine parks reportedly costing the government Bt1 billion a year in lost entrance-fee revenue.

DNP deputy director-general Dr Thirapat Prayoonsit said yesterday that he had proposed a number of measures to DNP chief Sunan Arunnopparat.

The first, he said, was to dispatch an inspector-general to check on national parks more frequently. A second was to carry out random checks on tourists to determine whether they had admission tickets.

A third measure, Thirapat said, was to sell park admission tickets in convenience stores.

Thirapat denied a report that the heads of some well-known national marine parks were given their jobs based on bribes they had paid to politicians.

"I believe the assignments are based on their qualifications," he said.

Marine national parks have caught the media limelight recently following last Friday's closure of dive spots to tourists because of widespread coral bleaching.

Many claim the failure of the authorities to limit numbers of tourists has made the coral-bleaching problem worse.

In fact, the DNP has been trying to limit the number of tourists visiting famous national parks since 2007. But yesterday Thirapat admitted the move had not been successful, especially at marine national parks where boats could sail in from any direction.

"We will work harder on this," Thirapat said.

Thirapat said the DNP would also hold talks with diving-tour operators next month on the need to limit numbers of tourists at each attraction.

"Boats should not crowd in at a particular spot at the same time," Thirapat said.

Koh Phangan Tourism Association chairwoman Wannee Thaipanich admitted she was worried that too many tourists would flock to Koh Tao after nearby islands became off-limits.

"If they show up in huge numbers, they may hurt the local environment and coral reefs," she said.

In a related development, Boonsom Boonsob, 50, and Porjet Ploenjit, 25, were arrested and fined yesterday for bringing tourists to the closed diving site at Nopparat Thara Beach in Phi Phi Islands National Park.

"We have already blacklisted them," said park chief Nirut Puttipong, adding that the pair were the first in Krabi to be punished for violating the ban.

-- The Nation 2011-01-27

[AleG]

Marine national parks have caught the media limelight recently following last Friday's closure of dive spots to tourists because of widespread coral bleaching.

...

In a related development, Boonsom Boonsob, 50, and Porjet Ploenjit, 25, were arrested and fined yesterday for bringing tourists to the closed diving site at Nopparat Thara Beach in Phi Phi Islands National Park.

I do get the impression that divers are getting the short end of the stick on this issue, as far as I know that beach is used for snorkeling tours, not diving, and most of the closed dive sites are actually shallow reefs also mostly frequented by snorkelers.

Nothing bad about snorkeling if done properly, but with few exceptions that's not the way it's done by most tour operators.

[Mitker]

Thirapat denied a report that the heads of some well-known national marine parks were given their jobs based on bribes they had paid to politicians.

"I believe the assignments are based on their qualifications," he said.

and I believe pigs can fly

[asiawatcher]

I love the fine - a minimum of Baht 1,000. That'll work -

[phiphidon]

So, for every one farang diver that doesn't enter, they now need to find 20 Thai divers to take his/her place.

Good luck with that guys. :jap:

I was inferring that they could do a bit of creative accounting i.e still keep the farang monies paid in and when asked where the money is they reply that only thai divers are coming hence the low returns. Sorted. (And yes I am well aware of how many thai divers are out there )

[Deeral]

DNP looks to end massive corruption

By The Nation

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) is considering measures to deal with corruption at national marine parks reportedly costing the government Bt1 billion a year in lost entrance-fee revenue.

DNP deputy director-general Dr Thirapat Prayoonsit said yesterday that he had proposed a number of measures to DNP chief Sunan Arunnopparat.

The first, he said, was to dispatch an inspector-general to check on national parks more frequently. A second was to carry out random checks on tourists to determine whether they had admission tickets.

A third measure, Thirapat said, was to sell park admission tickets in convenience stores.

Thirapat denied a report that the heads of some well-known national marine parks were given their jobs based on bribes they had paid to politicians.

"I believe the assignments are based on their qualifications," he said.

Marine national parks have caught the media limelight recently following last Friday's closure of dive spots to tourists because of widespread coral bleaching.

Many claim the failure of the authorities to limit numbers of tourists has made the coral-bleaching problem worse.

In fact, the DNP has been trying to limit the number of tourists visiting famous national parks since 2007. But yesterday Thirapat admitted the move had not been successful, especially at marine national parks where boats could sail in from any direction.

"We will work harder on this," Thirapat said.

Thirapat said the DNP would also hold talks with diving-tour operators next month on the need to limit numbers of tourists at each attraction.

"Boats should not crowd in at a particular spot at the same time," Thirapat said.

Koh Phangan Tourism Association chairwoman Wannee Thaipanich admitted she was worried that too many tourists would flock to Koh Tao after nearby islands became off-limits.

"If they show up in huge numbers, they may hurt the local environment and coral reefs," she said.

In a related development, Boonsom Boonsob, 50, and Porjet Ploenjit, 25, were arrested and fined yesterday for bringing tourists to the closed diving site at Nopparat Thara Beach in Phi Phi Islands National Park.

"We have already blacklisted them," said park chief Nirut Puttipong, adding that the pair were the first in Krabi to be punished for violating the ban.

-- The Nation 2011-01-27

THe comments by various govt officials are revealing in themselves.

They are comparable to those of a 10 year old school child. It has to be obvious from the nature of their comments that until last week they had neve even heard of coral bleaching, yet they were in charge of the very places under threat!.

[Deeral]

THose who see this problem on a racial basis are just plain ignorant.Blaming Thai as opposed to Farangs is the mucky and ignorant talk of a typical racist.

[AleG]

THose who see this problem on a racial basis are just plain ignorant.Blaming Thai as opposed to Farangs is the mucky and ignorant talk of a typical racist.

Last time I checked this country, the government and various agencies responsible for safe keeping the Marine Parks are Thai, not farang; so tell us how and why shouldn't they be responsible for doing so in a professional and effective way?

[Deeral]

THose who see this problem on a racial basis are just plain ignorant.Blaming Thai as opposed to Farangs is the mucky and ignorant talk of a typical racist.

Last time I checked this country, the government and various agencies responsible for safe keeping the Marine Parks are Thai, not farang; so tell us how and why shouldn't they be responsible for doing so in a professional and effective way?

Explain?

[AleG]

THose who see this problem on a racial basis are just plain ignorant.Blaming Thai as opposed to Farangs is the mucky and ignorant talk of a typical racist.

Last time I checked this country, the government and various agencies responsible for safe keeping the Marine Parks are Thai, not farang; so tell us how and why shouldn't they be responsible for doing so in a professional and effective way?

Explain?

Problem comes mainly from mismanagement of parks.

Parks are managed by Thais.

Therefore pointing out that this problem comes from Thai mismanagement is not just not racist, it's a very evident point of fact.

Quite frankly, I don't know why you raised the racism card at all.

[Deeral]

THose who see this problem on a racial basis are just plain ignorant.Blaming Thai as opposed to Farangs is the mucky and ignorant talk of a typical racist.

Last time I checked this country, the government and various agencies responsible for safe keeping the Marine Parks are Thai, not farang; so tell us how and why shouldn't they be responsible for doing so in a professional and effective way?

Explain?

Problem comes mainly from mismanagement of parks.

Parks are managed by Thais.

Therefore pointing out that this problem comes from Thai mismanagement is not just not racist, it's a very evident point of fact.

Quite frankly, I don't know why you raised the racism card at all.

I think you need to read again the whole thread

[AleG]

I think you need to read again the whole thread

I did, no racial slurs or prejudices against Thais to be seen. So why do you bring up "THose who see this problem on a racial basis are just plain ignorant" then?

[Deeral]

I think it's past your bedtime!

[Bagwan]

I think it's past your bedtime!

What a petty and juvenile remark to make. In case you haven't noticed, in making such a response you have not only lost the argument, but demonstrated to those following this thread, your infantile thought processes. I doubt that many will take into serious consideration any further postings that you might make. A rosy future in Thai politics awaits you.

[Deeral]

I think it's past your bedtime!

What a petty and juvenile remark to make. In case you haven't noticed, in making such a response you have not only lost the argument, but demonstrated to those following this thread, your infantile thought processes. I doubt that many will take into serious consideration any further postings that you might make. A rosy future in Thai politics awaits you.

Up the wooden hill to bedfordshire to you too........funny how racists can't spot racism....or pretend not to. To paraphrase a Liverpool poet...THey're "pretending to be humanitarians, like cannibals on a health kick eating only vegetarians"