Jet Ski Scam Pattaya When Will It Stop

[tropo]

I read the first few pages and the last 10 there's so much here not surprising I missed it.

I understand. 51 pages and over 1200 posts is too much to sift through.

[IAMSOBAD]

Its sad We Can't Use our collective power to cause some positive change.

I'm very proud of the ones that try.

This is our home too.

These scams make our home look like the wild west.

I will keep doing what I can with tourist warnings...writing emails and other things not allowed to mention.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[rubberduck]

Does somebody know how many normal versus corrupt jetski guys there are at Pattaya beach ? How to recognise the good ones ?

[IAMSOBAD]

One guy at Cozy Beach named Bank is an independent jet ski operation. I saw many people rent from him and never a claim of damage...just happy faces.

What a unique sight.

Most if not all between Dusit to Walking St. Pattaya beach are Mafia connected.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[wwex]

Does somebody know how many normal versus corrupt jetski guys there are at Pattaya beach ? How to recognise the good ones ?

I think you have to leave ID with them, just think of it as loaning money, look at the guy and ask yourself if you would lend him money? most of them look like they would rob their own mothers, and thats because they would, they work on the beach to pay for their drug addictions because their mothers have no money left

[tropo]

Does somebody know how many normal versus corrupt jetski guys there are at Pattaya beach ? How to recognise the good ones ?

I've always had good experiences on Koh Larn. Maybe I was lucky.

I did rent a jetski at the north end of Beach Road once without drama. That was before I read about the scams.

In light of the scams, I wouldn't take the chance now.

[balo]

_{The Jomtien jetski guys looks normal to me , dont think you will havea problem there.}

Edited May 11, 2013 by balo

[yoslim]

TOnight 7pm opposite Mike's shopping, a group of Indians, two BIB, one jet-ski.. not sure what was going on, looked like they were negotiating some big contract on the beach

Edited May 24, 2013 by yoslim

[toenail]

This whole episode makes me think that the mayor is making a cut from the scam. Yes, I know he made a PR appearance to the jet ski scammers last summer and "scolded them". He has so much power, he only has to put the police on it or his own "hit men". He definately is connected with this scam or else he would faithfully, consciously make an attempt to stop this bad situation which gives Pattaya a bad name. come on, it is a no brainer that he could wipe this out within 2 days. And just think how the Western countries would handle this...or Japan...or Singapore...or Indonesia

[DiNiro]

The Mayor has been holding meetings about this for years and years but for some reason isn't able to come up with a solution to halt the multi million baht fraud. Estimates are THB 400,000 a day.

He also stated "it's complicated."

We call it daylight robbery.

[MrWorldwide]

I lump this in with overpriced hostess bars/gogos and assorted other scams - knowing how it works I just ignore any business peddling any of the above. Agree that its a blight on tourism in Thailand, but I would hope that word has spread sufficiently to stop newbies getting hammered. Not sure that I agree with the above comment re Indonesia - if anything, its even more corrupt than Thailand : unless you know someone in high places or make enough noise to get them involved, I expect that its just as easy to get ripped off anywhere on the archipelago. If the only scum in Asia were residents of Thailand, it would make international travel a whole lot simpler

[DiNiro]

It was 2 years ago the Mayor went to the beach and "warned" the punks.

He also stated he knew which police officers he can trust.

That means he also knows the ones he cannot trust.

Question:

Why does the city employ untrustworthy police?

[Langsuan Man]

Since the majority that appear to be scammed are Indians, I don't understand why the hotel and tourist agencies that cater to Indians don't post signs telling their Indian customers of this scam

Or is someone going to come here and tell us that the Indians are in on the scam

[gmac]

It was 2 years ago the Mayor went to the beach and "warned" the punks.

He also stated he knew which police officers he can trust.

That means he also knows the ones he cannot trust.

Question:

Why does the city employ untrustworthy police?

Judging by the lack of action it would appear that the ones he can trust are the ones bringing him his cut of the take!

[DiNiro]

You would have to be a scumbag of the first degree to stand by and let this continue.

[wobblyjohn]

Maybe it would be a much nicer place if jet-ski's were banned from Pattaya's main beach and restricted to the small beach at the side of Bali High pier

Easy to put up warning signs explaining the potential risks

[wwex]

TOnight 7pm opposite Mike's shopping, a group of Indians, two BIB, one jet-ski.. not sure what was going on, looked like they were negotiating some big contract on the beach

saw that, the police arrived almost before the jetskis came in and the odd thing was they knew where to look to find the damage before anyone showed it to them, obviously been through the routine so many times they have forgotten to pretend

met a farang thats been offered a job as a mediator, 10% commission

[StealthEnergiser]

2 Indian Medical Students caught-up in Pattaya Jet Ski Scam

Posted on June 6, 2013

at 9:23 am

Late on Wednesday Night, Pattaya’s Tourist Police dealt with two Indian Medical Students who were forced by a group of 5-6 Jet Ski Operators to hand over the equivalent of 45,000 Baht in cash for minor damage the pair were alleged to have caused to Jet Ski’s they had rented earlier in the day.

The incident occurred on Pattaya Beach and began when the two men, Mr. Rajkumar Ramachan Dran aged 27 and Mr. Prabhakar Tamilmaran aged 22 rented two Jet Ski’s for 30 minutes each at a price of 150 Baht each. When they returned to shore the Jet Ski Operator claimed there was damage on both Jet Skis and demanded the pair hand-over 2,000 US Dollars to cover the damage. By this time a group of men had surrounded them which made the two Indian’s fear for their safety.

Eventually the price was negotiated down to 1,400 Dollars which was paid to the men. continued

http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/90032/2-indian-medical-students-caught-up-pattaya-jet-ski-scam/

[DiNiro]

.............The case was then transferred to Pattaya Police Station for further investigation.

[StealthEnergiser]

.............The case was then transferred to Pattaya Police Station for further investigation.

With the amount of protection the scammers get makes you think if police have ownership in some of these jet ski's.

[wwex]

.............The case was then transferred to Pattaya Police Station for further investigation.

With the amount of protection the scammers get makes you think if police have ownership in some of these jet ski's.

for sure, in fact who does own them? its obvious that the owner is behind the whole thing and employs these gangs to scam on his behalf. I have never seen his/her name published anywhere. it must be on public record somewhere. no doubt his name cant be published due to Thai libel laws

Edited June 6, 2013 by wwex

[DiNiro]

Those crackheads that operate the jet skis are supervised.

The jet ski owners are watching them very carefully.

Easy to spot them.

[rinteln]

This whole episode makes me think that the mayor is making a cut from the scam. Yes, I know he made a PR appearance to the jet ski scammers last summer and "scolded them". He has so much power, he only has to put the police on it or his own "hit men". He definately is connected with this scam or else he would faithfully, consciously make an attempt to stop this bad situation which gives Pattaya a bad name. come on, it is a no brainer that he could wipe this out within 2 days. And just think how the Western countries would handle this...or Japan...or Singapore...or Indonesia

"This whole episode makes me think that the mayor is making a cut from the scam"

Agreed and actually at this stage can be the only logical conclusion as this is clearly not a "cant stop" issue, its a "wont stop" issue.

The opinion of whether city hall and the police have a cut on these scams is obviously not a debate anymore, we all know that they do. The issue here and the embarrassment is how they continue to try and make people believe its a "cant stop" problem when actually its a "wont stop". The fact its gone on for years within a small area only leaves 1 of 2 options/conclusions. Either they are trying to stop the scams but cant and thus must be the most incompetent police force in the world - if they cant stop a repeated crime at the same location by the same people. Or they are all in on the cut. Now I think the Pattaya police force are probably one of the worse that I have ever seen but surely cant be that bad at stopping crimes.

Conclusion................all in on it, always will be, always can be (new tourists, flesh meat) . Leave it, move on you will never change it !!

Edited June 6, 2013 by rinteln

[yoslim]

Outside Mikes shopping today, a happy farang couple rented a jetski, no hassle all smiles and they just walked away once done, no problem at all

[paddyjenkins]

Outside Mikes shopping today, a happy farang couple rented a jetski, no hassle all smiles and they just walked away once done, no problem at all

OK, looks like it was all just a rumour then, just unfairly accusing the locals of being dishonest thugs, or the Mayor must have solved it.

[wwex]

Those crackheads that operate the jet skis are supervised.

The jet ski owners are watching them very carefully.

Easy to spot them.

the owner just collects his money in his Mercedes at the end of the day

[yoslim]

Outside Mikes shopping today, a happy farang couple rented a jetski, no hassle all smiles and they just walked away once done, no problem at all

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/644615-2-indian-medical-students-caught-up-in-pattaya-jet-ski-scam/?utm_source=newsletter-20130606-1157&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

The scam was yesterday, it looks like they solved the problem overnight

Edited June 6, 2013 by yoslim

[tropo]

2 Indian Medical Students caught-up in Pattaya Jet Ski Scam

Posted on June 6, 2013

at 9:23 am

Late on Wednesday Night, Pattaya’s Tourist Police dealt with two Indian Medical Students who were forced by a group of 5-6 Jet Ski Operators to hand over the equivalent of 45,000 Baht in cash for minor damage the pair were alleged to have caused to Jet Ski’s they had rented earlier in the day.

The incident occurred on Pattaya Beach and began when the two men, Mr. Rajkumar Ramachan Dran aged 27 and Mr. Prabhakar Tamilmaran aged 22 rented two Jet Ski’s for 30 minutes each at a price of 150 Baht each. When they returned to shore the Jet Ski Operator claimed there was damage on both Jet Skis and demanded the pair hand-over 2,000 US Dollars to cover the damage. By this time a group of men had surrounded them which made the two Indian’s fear for their safety.

Eventually the price was negotiated down to 1,400 Dollars which was paid to the men. continued

http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/90032/2-indian-medical-students-caught-up-pattaya-jet-ski-scam/

"rented two Jet Ski’s for 30 minutes each at a price of 150 Baht each"?

Perhaps they meant 1500 baht each. If so, they got screwed on price too,.

[smedly]

oh just wait for the latest concerning this case

makes me sick reading it

[Rimmer]

More on that latest story with the Jet Ski's HERE