Tuk-Tuks: No More Beatings, Blockades – Warns Phuket Police Chief

[webfact]

Tuk-tuks: no more beatings, blockades – warns Phuket police chief

Tuk-tuks parked at the end of Soi Bangla.

PHUKET: -- The commander of the Phuket Provincial Police yesterday ordered the tuk-tuk drivers responsible for beating two Dutch tourists in Patong earlier this month to turn themselves in or face stiffer punishment.

Commander Pekad Tantipong and Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakao chaired a meeting with representatives of tuk-tuk co-operatives at Patong Police station to discuss the beating of Unobovd Alcawbimel, 19, and Bootaman Frans Jelle, 20, on August 1.

Maj Gen Pekad also reprimanded the tuk-tuk drivers for blockading Soi Bangla in protest following the beating.

The fight broke out in the early hours of August 1 allegedly after the two tourists refused to pay 1,000 baht in damages after one of them walked into a parked tuk-tuk.

A police officer nearby tried to intervene, but was allegedly restrained by the assailants. To end the fracas, the policeman fired a warning shot into the air, reports said.

The tuk-tuk drivers then set up a blockade in front of Soi Bangla to protest “unfair treatment” by police.

The two Dutchmen were treated at Patong Hospital for injuries sustained in the fight.

“According to the information [provided], a tuk-tuk organization blockaded the road because they were not happy with the police handling the incident,” Maj Gen Pekad said.

The tuk-tuk drivers claim that police did not respond quickly enough to prevent a fight, he said.

“Whatever the problem, purposely blocking a road is not the way to solve it. It is also against the law. You can blockade the police station, but not public roads.

“This type of behavior will only ruin Phuket’s reputation as a tourist destination and cause trouble for people,” he added.

“I understand that the drivers became angry because they thought the police did not pay attention to their problems. There was a delay in police response and I have asked Col Arayapan and my deputy commander to order their officers to be more active,” Maj Gen Pekad said.

“This is a lesson to be learned,” he added.

One of the tuk-tuk drivers claimed that a police officer hit him in the chest with a gun during the altercation.

“If a police officer hit him with a gun, he did not intend to do it. I agree that if this happened it is the officer’s responsibility, but we need to talk out these problems, not block the road,” he said.

Maj Gen Pekad remained firm in his intent to punish those responsible for the fight.

“Nobody will be exempt from punishment for this. Police have photos of the four tuk-tuk drivers who participated in the fight – and we have their names.

“Tell them that they must surrender to police, and if they do, their punishment will be reduced,” Maj Gen Pekad told the tuk-tuk drivers at the meeting.

“I understand there will be no more protests on the roads. There will always be a way out, but blocking the road is not one of them,” he said.

The meeting did not address whether or not the policeman involved in the incident fired a warning shot.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/_n10830

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-08-16

[LivinginKata]

Sounds good. We will have to wait and see if the police chief is serious .... or gets a fast transfer out of here ...

[anon467367354]

The fight broke out in the early hours of August 1 allegedly after the two tourists refused to pay 1,000 baht in damages after one of them walked into a parked tuk-tuk.

is it actually possible to do 1000 baht's worth of damage by walking into a tuk tuk? Somehow this seems to defy the laws of physics everywhere except Phuket.

[DiamondKing]

The fight broke out in the early hours of August 1 allegedly after the two tourists refused to pay 1,000 baht in damages after one of them walked into a parked tuk-tuk.

is it actually possible to do 1000 baht's worth of damage by walking into a tuk tuk? Somehow this seems to defy the laws of physics everywhere except Phuket.

In the initial report it said it was Mini Buse drivers not Tuk Tuks

Guess its changed now

DK

[LivinginKata]

In the initial report it said it was Mini Buse drivers not Tuk Tuks

Guess its changed now

DK

Care to give us a link to that 'initial report'

Here on Thaivisa the first report was headlined "2 Dutch tourists assaulted by Tuk-Tuk drivers in Phuket"

Link ---->

[steelepulse]

The initial report has been wrong and was written by a BKK post writer that thinks a tuk tuk is a noisy 3 wheeled vehicle, hence the use of the term minibus.

Back to this topic, call me skeptical but the past history of these tuk tuk drivers and their surly mood and quick triggers to resort to violence, suggests that this will not be the last time something like this violent outburst will occur.

[Farang0tang]

"You can blocade the police station but not public roads"

Don't understand that remark.

Its legal to block police station, but illegal to block public roads?

Besides, if they blocked the police station, thats not going to help the issue of slow police response is it!

Edited August 16, 2011 by Farang0tang

[bombis]

The initial report has been wrong and was written by a BKK post writer that thinks a tuk tuk is a noisy 3 wheeled vehicle, hence the use of the term minibus.

Back to this topic, call me skeptical but the past history of these tuk tuk drivers and their surly mood and quick triggers to resort to violence, suggests that this will not be the last time something like this violent outburst will occur.

normally there are always 2 sides to a story. Not really possible to make any judgement based on this article. Maybe some tuk tuk drivers can get aggressive.... but why nobody states the fact that here are just as many drunk foreign idiots on the roads of phuket these days so i could very well imagine those 2 having done something stupid or even getting aggresive themselves. Who knows? Of course the police job will be to protect the tourists under any circumstances.

[LivinginKata]

Back to this topic, call me skeptical but the past history of these tuk tuk drivers and their surly mood and quick triggers to resort to violence, suggests that this will not be the last time something like this violent outburst will occur.

Ain't that the truth ....

[CantSpell]

normally there are always 2 sides to a story. Not really possible to make any judgement based on this article. Maybe some tuk tuk drivers can get aggressive.... but why nobody states the fact that here are just as many drunk foreign idiots on the roads of phuket these days so i could very well imagine those 2 having done something stupid or even getting aggresive themselves. Who knows? Of course the police job will be to protect the tourists under any circumstances.

We must not be living in the same country...

In Phuket, stories have only 1 side: Tuk-Tuk = always right, Tourist = pay now, or else...

Those Tuk Tuk occupy all the streets, pavements, sidewalks and everywhere possible in Patong..

Cant even park a car in center of Patong... Should consider it a miracle that tourists do not bump into tuk tuk on a daily basis..

And police protecting the tourists?? Hope you are cynical hehe

Edited August 16, 2011 by CantSpell

[laurentbkk]

Get rid of those tuk tuk taxis .....would be the best present for tourists.

[Sadiegirl1975]

No more Tuk Tuks. Just make them illegal. Not roadworthy for transporting passengers. (like the salengs) A world class destination like Patong (tongue in cheek) should have real taxis and not these little clown cars! Every time I see one I expect a dozen clowns to jump out.

Edited August 16, 2011 by Sadiegirl1975

[Fishface]

Its impossible to do 1000 bahts worth of damage to a tuk tuk even if you knocked a mirror off. We all know what happened, late at night, short of customers "hey you, pay 1000 baht '.

Well they are going to be a lot short of customers in the future . These tuk tuk drivers scare me and I dare not get in them , I will walk if at all possible and that would include 5 kM or more. Patong needs proper metered taxis in taxy ranks not this vigilante group of thugs in modified death traps totally unsuitable for phukets hills. And that goes for every where in Thailand.

I know some one who went to Penang yesterday and came back the same day with a tourist Visa. Monday Morning 10 am no one there.

[SamDezeure]

The fight broke out in the early hours of August 1 allegedly after the two tourists refused to pay 1,000 baht in damages after one of them walked into a parked tuk-tuk.

is it actually possible to do 1000 baht's worth of damage by walking into a tuk tuk? Somehow this seems to defy the laws of physics everywhere except Phuket.

I dunno what kind of car you drive, but a thousand baht of damage is very little actually. If a drunk for example falls against your car and tries to hang on to the mirror and cracks it off with his 90 kg of drunken bodyweight, its going to cost alot more... Just to give you an example: one mirror of a fortuner with the LED light blinkers inside (original from Toyota and I have the original invoice as well) was 11.870 Baht...

so YES a thousand baht of damage is easy to do... and not only in Patong but everywhere...

[Puccini]

...

I know some one who went to Penang yesterday and came back the same day with a tourist Visa. Monday Morning 10 am no one there.

Please tell me if I got this right. Somebody went by tuk-tuk from Phuket to the Thai consulate in Penang on Monday, 15 August 2011. He arrived at the consulate at 10 am and there was no-one there, ie the consulate was closed. He returned by tuk-tuk to Phuket on the same day with a tourist visa.

Question: how much did he pay for the tuk-tuk ride? Did he refuse to pay and was beaten up? Did tuk-tuks blockade a road because of it?

[blackthorn2005]

The fight broke out in the early hours of August 1 allegedly after the two tourists refused to pay 1,000 baht in damages after one of them walked into a parked tuk-tuk.

is it actually possible to do 1000 baht's worth of damage by walking into a tuk tuk? Somehow this seems to defy the laws of physics everywhere except Phuket.

The 'damage' was that the mirror was moved when contact was made, that is why the charge for the 'damage' is so low. These scum should drive of into the sunset, towing all the jet skis and never be seen again.

[elistu]

And there was me thinking that these two Dutch fellas walked into a tuk tuk, I didn't see the bit where it said they were tuk tuk drivers sitting in fortunas!

The fight broke out in the early hours of August 1 allegedly after the two tourists refused to pay 1,000 baht in damages after one of them walked into a parked tuk-tuk.

is it actually possible to do 1000 baht's worth of damage by walking into a tuk tuk? Somehow this seems to defy the laws of physics everywhere except Phuket.

I dunno what kind of car you drive, but a thousand baht of damage is very little actually. If a drunk for example falls against your car and tries to hang on to the mirror and cracks it off with his 90 kg of drunken bodyweight, its going to cost alot more... Just to give you an example: one mirror of a fortuner with the LED light blinkers inside (original from Toyota and I have the original invoice as well) was 11.870 Baht...

so YES a thousand baht of damage is easy to do... and not only in Patong but everywhere...

[KeyserSoze01]

The initial report has been wrong and was written by a BKK post writer that thinks a tuk tuk is a noisy 3 wheeled vehicle, hence the use of the term minibus.

Back to this topic, call me skeptical but the past history of these tuk tuk drivers and their surly mood and quick triggers to resort to violence, suggests that this will not be the last time something like this violent outburst will occur.

normally there are always 2 sides to a story. Not really possible to make any judgement based on this article. Maybe some tuk tuk drivers can get aggressive.... but why nobody states the fact that here are just as many drunk foreign idiots on the roads of phuket these days so i could very well imagine those 2 having done something stupid or even getting aggresive themselves. Who knows? Of course the police job will be to protect the tourists under any circumstances.

You've never been to Patong, have you?

[WarpSpeed]

normally there are always 2 sides to a story. Not really possible to make any judgement based on this article. Maybe some tuk tuk drivers can get aggressive.... but why nobody states the fact that here are just as many drunk foreign idiots on the roads of phuket these days so i could very well imagine those 2 having done something stupid or even getting aggresive themselves. Who knows? Of course the police job will be to protect the tourists under any circumstances.

We must not be living in the same country...

In Phuket, stories have only 1 side: Tuk-Tuk = always right, Tourist = pay now, or else...

Those Tuk Tuk occupy all the streets, pavements, sidewalks and everywhere possible in Patong..

Cant even park a car in center of Patong... Should consider it a miracle that tourists do not bump into tuk tuk on a daily basis..

And police protecting the tourists?? Hope you are cynical hehe

Which is why they didn't see the Policeman's treatment as "addressing their needs". He actually placed the beating of 2 people as his first priority and intervened regardless of who was at fault which is how it should be until it can be sorted and they still held him back from doing his job?

That in and of itself in a civilized country with laws is a serious offense worthy of at least a warning shot in the air. A single policeman who feels he may be threatened by a mob has the RIGHT and the duty to defend himself and any potential victims and holding him back in any way justifies any defensive actions he may take after that including hitting someone in the chest with his gun intentionally or not if need be..

Edited August 16, 2011 by WarpSpeed

[saroq]

The fight broke out in the early hours of August 1 allegedly after the two tourists refused to pay 1,000 baht in damages after one of them walked into a parked tuk-tuk.

is it actually possible to do 1000 baht's worth of damage by walking into a tuk tuk? Somehow this seems to defy the laws of physics everywhere except Phuket.

I dunno what kind of car you drive, but a thousand baht of damage is very little actually. If a drunk for example falls against your car and tries to hang on to the mirror and cracks it off with his 90 kg of drunken bodyweight, its going to cost alot more... Just to give you an example: one mirror of a fortuner with the LED light blinkers inside (original from Toyota and I have the original invoice as well) was 11.870 Baht...

so YES a thousand baht of damage is easy to do... and not only in Patong but everywhere...

Do you know what a Tuk Tuk is? It's not a car and there's no way you can cause 1000 baht damage by walking into one.

[saroq]

...

I know some one who went to Penang yesterday and came back the same day with a tourist Visa. Monday Morning 10 am no one there.

Please tell me if I got this right. Somebody went by tuk-tuk from Phuket to the Thai consulate in Penang on Monday, 15 August 2011. He arrived at the consulate at 10 am and there was no-one there, ie the consulate was closed. He returned by tuk-tuk to Phuket on the same day with a tourist visa.

Question: how much did he pay for the tuk-tuk ride? Did he refuse to pay and was beaten up? Did tuk-tuks blockade a road because of it?

I don't understand the point of this post either.

[iSabai]

What would seem to be the easy answer to this ongoing problem would be to have fewer total tuk tuks on the streets. Fewer tuk tuks would result in a greater number of fares for the remaining tuk tuks to share. Which would keep those remaining drivers busier, and should result in lower costs to the customers due to an increase in business per driver. Each driver would make way more money than they would sitting around all day doing nothing, and just waiting to cash in on two or three exorbitant ฿600 - ฿800 fares to make their day.

But then I'm not holding my breath. In fact, I'm not even sure why I bothered posting this...

[ScubaBuddha]

Extortionate thugs that need to go.

It happened before, it will happen again: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/354908-throng-of-tuk-tuk-drivers-deliver-major-beat-down-to-two-tourists-on-patong

Absolutely ridiculous that it has gotten to this level with no interest from authorities to fix it. "A warning?" Laughable.

One only needs to do a quick search of Thaivisa or Google and you can get a very good idea of the severity of the situation of tuk tuks/taxi's in Phuket and the endless string of empty promises. And this is just a partial list.

The Sydney Morning Herald: Phuket rip-off: the trouble with tuk-tuks

Fodor's Travel Guide: Phuket Tuk Tuks and exorbitant charges.

Lonely Planet Travel Guide: Phuket tuk tuk warning

Tripadvisor: Phuket's Tuk Tuks are still at it.

iPetition: Governor Wichai - ban the Phuket tuk-tuks!

Making Phukets Tuk Tuks, Taxi's Fair

Phukets tuk tuks shared among top officials

Tuk tuk problems solved soon: Phuket Governor

Thaivisa: Tuk Tuks clearly a bane to Phuket tourism

Phuket Tuk-tuk Driver Attacks French Family for parking in 'wrong place

Tat 'worried' About Phuket Tuk-tuk Gangs

Tuk Tuk standoff in Karoni

War on taxi mafia

Tuk tuks no good

Time for action

A recent visitors comments about the taxi mafia

Phuket Taxi: Primitive transport

Would you believe it..Police citing the taxi mafia?

Beating the taxi fares/

Phuket Public Transport: Cartels continue in the driver's seat

Honorary Consuls Meet In Phuket To Discuss Jetskis, Pollution And Tuk Tuk Mafia

Phuket consuls keep pressure on tuk-tuk, jet-ski scams

Phuket tuk tuk fares in the firing line

Tuk tuk driver questioned over sexual assault of British girl.

Paradise Lost

Phuket officials tackle tuk tuk blockades

Good old Phuket tuk tuks at it again

Phukets must do's and don'ts

How do you get around Phuket cheaply?

Swedish Tourist Punched by Tuk Tuk driver.

Tuk Tuk Violence

Local expat gets major beatdown by 4 tuk tuk drivers.

Crazy tuk tuk driver tries to run me off the road.

Tuk tuk driver stabs Welshman

4 Aussie tourists beaten and stabbed by gang of tuk tuk drivers

Tuk Tuks in Patong

Tuk-tuks warned: ‘improve or die’

Tuk Tuk fares still to high: Consuls

PM turns spotlight on Phuket problems

Taxi driver charged with rape

Phuket Cruise ship passengers blockaded

Tuk tuk driver assaults a Canadian man after the man refused to pay the extortionate price for a 1 minute ride

Tuk-tuks blockade US military in Phuket.

Governor lays out strategy for war on ‘taxi mafia’

Tuk-tuk drivers in protest over access to port

Eco-tour firms protest tuk tuk ‘bullies’

Tourist Belted By Tuk Tuk Driver

Issues and Answers: Why aren't parking rules enforced (on tuk tuks) in Karon?

Issues and Answers: Tuk-tuks in Kata-Karon

Issues and Answers: Action on tuk-tuk rip-offs

Issuea and Answers: Why no bus between Kata/Karon and Patong? Answer: Bus driver was pulled from his bus and beaten by "competition."

Issues and Answers: "Government intervention will be needed to create a new taxi service in Phuket." - Pol Lt Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen, Deputy Traffic Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station

"Stay away from tuk tuks and ladyboys" Says Phuket Governor

[thommo46]

The Police Commander harps on more about the blockade of the road than the bashing and damage to a tuk tuk which caused the blockade later on. You think that he would be concerned more with the gun being fired, 2 tourist being bashed?????

[steelepulse]

It'll be interesting to find out the fines these thugs will have to pay. I'm going to say it's between 500-1000 baht for blocking traffic and the beating of the tourists will result in no fine as the CCTV footage couldn't establish who hit who!

[geriatrickid]

It'll be interesting to find out the fines these thugs will have to pay. I'm going to say it's between 500-1000 baht for blocking traffic and the beating of the tourists will result in no fine as the CCTV footage couldn't establish who hit who!

Better than nothing and it's all relative. Most of the drivers rent or finance their tuk tuks. After paying their fees to the small group that own these vehicles, they don't have much left over at the end of the day. That's a hit for some of them. The drivers are not the ones making the big baht. it's the handful of owners. Identify the owners and hold them accountable and the bad behaviour will stop. Wouldn't it be interesting to know which prominent people have an interest in the ttuk tuks?

[KarenBravo]

Wouldn't it be interesting to know which prominent people have an interest in the ttuk tuks?

Everybody knows already.........

[IAMSOBAD]

Let farang own and carry guns while living in this jungle of democracy. Bye bye tuk tuk.

Deputise all farang.

[elistu]

Maybe he drives a tuk tuk with fortuna mirrors glued on, the ones with the LED blinkers inside!!

The fight broke out in the early hours of August 1 allegedly after the two tourists refused to pay 1,000 baht in damages after one of them walked into a parked tuk-tuk.

is it actually possible to do 1000 baht's worth of damage by walking into a tuk tuk? Somehow this seems to defy the laws of physics everywhere except Phuket.

I dunno what kind of car you drive, but a thousand baht of damage is very little actually. If a drunk for example falls against your car and tries to hang on to the mirror and cracks it off with his 90 kg of drunken bodyweight, its going to cost alot more... Just to give you an example: one mirror of a fortuner with the LED light blinkers inside (original from Toyota and I have the original invoice as well) was 11.870 Baht...

so YES a thousand baht of damage is easy to do... and not only in Patong but everywhere...

Do you know what a Tuk Tuk is? It's not a car and there's no way you can cause 1000 baht damage by walking into one.

[ableguy]

The fight broke out in the early hours of August 1 allegedly after the two tourists refused to pay 1,000 baht in damages after one of them walked into a parked tuk-tuk.

is it actually possible to do 1000 baht's worth of damage by walking into a tuk tuk? Somehow this seems to defy the laws of physics everywhere except Phuket.

of course not just another scam from scunbags.