Phuket Police Need Help From Tourists: Investigator

[webfact]

Phuket Police need help from tourists: investigator

Phuket Gazette

Pol Maj Thammasan Boonsong of the Patong Police advises tourists to have patience if they get into a dispute in Phuket.

PHUKET: -- Foreign tourists who are victims of crime in Phuket all too often leave the country before police can investigate their claims, allowing perpetrators to continue roaming the streets in search of new victims, a Patong Police investigator has said.

"I want foreign tourists who are victims of crimes in Phuket to cooperate with us when we investigate their cases, but they always rush back to their home countries after getting their stolen belongings back. This makes it impossible for police to press charges against the thieves as there isn’t enough evidence to secure a conviction. Eventually the suspects will be released and return to the streets to take part in more crime," Pol Maj Thammasan Boonsong told the Phuket Gazette recently.

"Police request that tourists stay in Phuket for questioning, but usually they refuse because they just want to return home. This is why police have not been able to remove thieves from Patong.

"On top of this, the tourists sometimes complain to the police when they don’t get their things back quickly. Many times police officers do catch the thieves with the stolen goods, but their victims don’t want to become involved, so they avoid helping the police. Without victims we cannot subject suspects to the full legal process," he said.

"As a result, police are powerless to bring to justice known serial thieves, he said.

"We are always arresting the same individuals. Mostly the thieves are ladyboys working in Soi Bangla. We receive a report of a tourist being robbed once every week or two. Another issue is that some tourists think that it’s easy to find drugs in Patong and they are tricked into buying fake drugs. For example, they buy fake marijuana made from the leaves of local plants [that resemble it]….

"Occasionally the foreigners get angry with the 'drug' dealers because they were tricked. Then they turn violent. The dealers then simply report the foreigner’s violent behavior to the police, because the tourist is not likely to be honest about the reason for his aggression. In the end the tourist only loses his money," he said.

In reality, the idea that drugs are easy to come by in Patong is untrue, he maintains. "Our drug suppression team is constantly arresting drug dealers and seizing their contraband," he said.

Inebriation is another common cause of problems, he said.

"When it comes to tourists fighting with taxi and tuk-tuk drivers, it nearly always involves drunken tourists. It starts with something small, such as the fare for a ride or damage done to a vehicle," he said.

Maj Boonsong advises patience and caution in such cases.

"Instead of resorting to violence, the tourist should wait for the police. The police will attempt to negotiate a solution. If they don’t wait, with one party being drunk and the other not willing to give in, a fight will ensue. Other taxi drivers in the vicinity see this going on and step into assist their friend. Invariably this appears to onlookers as a mob of taxi drivers beating a tourist. Most of these altercations occur from 2am to 3am, and nearly always with a drunk tourist," he said.

"A good example is when a drunken tourist is playing with a tuk-tuk or taxi and the vehicle ends up getting damaged. The driver asks for compensation, but the drunk tourist cannot speak coherently and the situation escalates into a violent confrontation.

"In circumstances such as this the tourist should just wait for the arrival of the police, so that they can negotiate a peaceful settlement," he advised.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2011/article11646.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-12-08

[sungod]

Ah, I see.................so everything is the tourist's fault then.

[Jimi007]

Ah, I see.................so everything is the tourist's fault then.

Of course! If they didn't come to Patong and spend their money and get drunk, there wouldn't be thieves or so many rip off Tuk Tuks. So tourists should just not go to Patong!

[F1fanatic]

Works for me.

The tourist most of the time has a pre-scheduled flight and is not 'rushing back home' - just catching their pre-booked flight.

Good to see though that little has changed.

[slapout]

The major needs to be assigned to a smaller island with no contact with the outside world. Dick Tracy he is not. The murder victims cannot hang around and give evidence, so few convictions on this score also.

They must look long and hard to find this type of officer to promote and give a little authority.

[Jimi007]

The major needs to be assigned to a smaller island with no contact with the outside world. Dick Tracy he is not. The murder victims cannot hang around and give evidence, so few convictions on this score also.

They must look long and hard to find this type of officer to promote and give a little authority.

I think here the job goes to the highest bidder.

[steelepulse]

Not to mention that those who do stay to press charges, often find themselves facing charges and then given the choice of dropping their charges, or getting stuck here. Any reason why those caught with the merchandise can't be prosecuted without the victims being present?

[Tanuki]

What a bunch of @^*#! Would be easier to catch criminals if the entire police force wasn't all in one single location waiting to collect 500 baht from each tourist without enough sense to wear a helmet. "known" "serial" thieves can't be put away without the victim being present? Really??

How pathetic

[Orgathai]

"This is why police have not been able to remove thieves from Patong."

ROTFLMAO

[impulse]

"but they always rush back to their home countries after getting their stolen belongings back."

Yeah, Right.

[LivinginKata]

Long winded rant about Thailand and Thai police removed.

I remind members about Thaivisa rule 8) Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed towards all Thais.

Posts that do not respect this rule will be removed and warnings/suspensions may be issued.

[drdoom6996]

The major needs to be assigned to a smaller island with no contact with the outside world. Dick Tracy he is not. The murder victims cannot hang around and give evidence, so few convictions on this score also.

They must look long and hard to find this type of officer to promote and give a little authority.

I think here the job goes to the highest bidder.

Phuket, Pattaya and Chaing Mai are all rumored to have BIB that have paid the authorities to work in those areas. More falangs, more money for the BIB.

[FOODLOVER]

Blaming the tourists, how pathetic.

[Kilgore Trout]

All I hear are excuses and this guy attempting to actually blame victims of crime; and defend the perpetrators.

Unbelievable. The Phuket police are worse than the crooks

[khaowong1]

Actually, I see where he's going with this. If the ripped off tourists would stick around longer, they can make even more money from these tourists by ripping them off again. This guy looks to be a shoo in to be the next Minister of Tourism. He's came up with a whole new ball game.

[pomchop]

What a joke. Maybe if the tuk tuk MAFIA did not rip off tourists by charging MORE THAN A NEW YORK CITY TAXI there might not be so many disputes? Maybe if the police would spend ten minutes watching the jet ski MAFIA they might notice WHY tourist get upset. I guess this policeman hasn't noticed that the tuk tuk MAFIA has also beaten up several THAI tour van/taxi drivers who DARED to pick up a tourist at a hotel without their permission. I guess he hasn't noticed that the tuk tuk MAFIA has claimed most all public street parking as their own and will beat you senseless if you DARE park in one of their spaces.

Yes there are no doubt some drunken tourists who complain when they are being ripped off and some who are just generally bad people....but to try and BLAME the tourists for all the confrontations? Give me a break. This guy sounds like he is the spokesperson for the Mafia.

[jeanelie]

What a joke. Maybe if the tuk tuk MAFIA did not rip off tourists by charging MORE THAN A NEW YORK CITY TAXI there might not be so many disputes? Maybe if the police would spend ten minutes watching the jet ski MAFIA they might notice WHY tourist get upset. I guess this policeman hasn't noticed that the tuk tuk MAFIA has also beaten up several THAI tour van/taxi drivers who DARED to pick up a tourist at a hotel without their permission. I guess he hasn't noticed that the tuk tuk MAFIA has claimed most all public street parking as their own and will beat you senseless if you DARE park in one of their spaces.

Yes there are no doubt some drunken tourists who complain when they are being ripped off and some who are just generally bad people....but to try and BLAME the tourists for all the confrontations? Give me a break. This guy sounds like he is the spokesperson for the Mafia.

Agree.

[saroq]

What's really amazing is that he's prepared to put his face and name to such idiotic comments.

[Boss]

What a joke. Maybe if the tuk tuk MAFIA did not rip off tourists by charging MORE THAN A NEW YORK CITY TAXI there might not be so many disputes? Maybe if the police would spend ten minutes watching the jet ski MAFIA they might notice WHY tourist get upset. I guess this policeman hasn't noticed that the tuk tuk MAFIA has also beaten up several THAI tour van/taxi drivers who DARED to pick up a tourist at a hotel without their permission. I guess he hasn't noticed that the tuk tuk MAFIA has claimed most all public street parking as their own and will beat you senseless if you DARE park in one of their spaces.

Yes there are no doubt some drunken tourists who complain when they are being ripped off and some who are just generally bad people....but to try and BLAME the tourists for all the confrontations? Give me a break. This guy sounds like he is the spokesperson for the Mafia.

I couldn't agree more, Well formulated Pomchop. It's the Thai logic and the total abscence of empathy that we see. Land of smiles my ...

[jimbeam1]

When I first started reading the OP, I thought good, some +s here, then, - - - - -s. That guy just made it look very bad for Pucket?

His last sentence/paragraph, just about said it all. Chink, chink?

jb1

Edited December 10, 2011 by jimbeam1

[BigJohnnyBKK]

I wouldn't be surprised if his goal isn't to get the victim tourists to stick around longer so the BiB can increase their total net revenue per-incoming, now that the absolute numbers are so low.

There's a reason why he cited the example of tourists complaining about being ripped off by fake drug dealers 8-)

It's very smart to get the hell out of Dodge ASAP after being exposed to any sort of attention by the police, sticking around to " help" will just result in your being further victimized.

It is quite true that victims of crime are routinely further subjected to intimidation and extortion by the police during the "investigation",

Not to mention the fact that so many scams are actually organized by or at least done in collusion with the BiB.

This guy sounds like he is the spokesperson for the Mafia.

The police **are** one of the biggest and worst mafias in Thailand, so speaking publicly on behalf of the BiB is by definition being a spokesperson for "the Mafia".

[robertson468]

Actually, I see where he's going with this. If the ripped off tourists would stick around longer, they can make even more money from these tourists by ripping them off again. This guy looks to be a shoo in to be the next Minister of Tourism. He's came up with a whole new ball game.

And of course the Police are going to pay the extra charges for hotel bills, re-booking flights and subsistence costs for meals etc? Not to mention leaving any valuable item that has been stolen, with the Police until the case eventually comes to court. I think this Guy must be on some of that stuff made from local plants .

[Hooters]

tourists fail to report drug dealers that sell imitation grass so they get violent with dealers who reports the attacks to the police.

:blink: what was the point of that statement?

[IAMHERE]

What's really amazing is that he's prepared to put his face and name to such idiotic comments.

Not sure he is taking much of a chance here: after all his main audience is likely other than the Farang.

[wxyz]

"A good example is when a drunken tourist is playing with a tuk-tuk or taxi and the vehicle ends up getting damaged. The driver asks for compensation"

hahaha, how is it the tourist fault? drunk or sober? was the tourist driving the taxi or tuk-tuk?

[Japhrodisiac]

"I want foreign tourists who are victims of crimes in Phuket to cooperate with us when we investigate their cases, but they always rush back to their home countries after getting their stolen belongings back. This makes it impossible for police to press charges against the thieves as there isn’t enough evidence to secure a conviction."

So, they have the criminal, have the goods, return the goods to the victim, and can't convict because of a lack of evidence? And he goes on record saying this?

The police here are just laughable, not be taken seriously, unless their focus is on you of course, and then you need a lawyer. My friend was arrested recently and he was kept 2 days in jail, they tried to extort 4m baht from him, then released him and dropped the trumped up charges. To make the dropped charges official they want him to pay 100,000 baht to accelerate the proceedings. Of course he can't leave back home until they officially drop the charges so he's stuck. His lawyer is advising him to negotiate the 'drop charges fast amount' - it's just all a complete gong show.

[harrry]

Som 40 years or so ago Singapore had the same problem with crimes against tourists. As the tourist were not around when the case went to court to give evidence the case was always dismissed.

Singapore solved this by paying airfares and accomodation in singapore at good hotels for the victgim in selected cases to return to give evidence. People then knew they could not get away with crime against tourists so easily.

[Japhrodisiac]

Som 40 years or so ago Singapore had the same problem with crimes against tourists. As the tourist were not around when the case went to court to give evidence the case was always dismissed.

Singapore solved this by paying airfares and accomodation in singapore at good hotels for the victgim in selected cases to return to give evidence. People then knew they could not get away with crime against tourists so easily.

Video record a statement that is witnessed by the police and sign an afadavit. If you can't convict petty thieves caught red handed then something bigger is wrong, and having people fly back halfway round the world is not the issue.

Things don't get fixed when the police really don't want to fix it.

[harrry]

Som 40 years or so ago Singapore had the same problem with crimes against tourists. As the tourist were not around when the case went to court to give evidence the case was always dismissed.

Singapore solved this by paying airfares and accomodation in singapore at good hotels for the victgim in selected cases to return to give evidence. People then knew they could not get away with crime against tourists so easily.

Video record a statement that is witnessed by the police and sign an afadavit. If you can't convict petty thieves caught red handed then something bigger is wrong, and having people fly back halfway round the world is not the issue.

Things don't get fixed when the police really don't want to fix it.

Most countries give the right to defendants to cross examine their accusers and witnesses against them. This is what is missing when someone leaves. An affadavit does not cover this.

[Japhrodisiac]

Som 40 years or so ago Singapore had the same problem with crimes against tourists. As the tourist were not around when the case went to court to give evidence the case was always dismissed.

Singapore solved this by paying airfares and accomodation in singapore at good hotels for the victgim in selected cases to return to give evidence. People then knew they could not get away with crime against tourists so easily.

Video record a statement that is witnessed by the police and sign an afadavit. If you can't convict petty thieves caught red handed then something bigger is wrong, and having people fly back halfway round the world is not the issue.

Things don't get fixed when the police really don't want to fix it.

Most countries give the right to defendants to cross examine their accusers and witnesses against them. This is what is missing when someone leaves. An affadavit does not cover this.

This is usually the way it is done in the west where everyone pleads innocent even if caught red handed but not the way it is done in Thailand generally, where the police make the purp reenact the crime and/or file a confession. The video and affadavit would serve as backup to the confession and reenactment if necessary. The officer in question alludes to having the purp, the goods, the victim caught red handed, all at the same time at the time of arrest, then it's the foreigner's fault that the police fail to convict. "The foreigner always flees" issue is a red herring. Who is going to fly back to a country where they are robbed on their own dollar and time? Who can wait around for months until a trial comes up? People have jobs and lives of their own. If there is a will to do better, they will fix it, but there is no will, only talk. It has been this way long before I came here in the mid 90's and will be for many years to come.