Police Launching Tourist ' Safety Zones ' In Khao San, R C A, Patpong

[webfact]

Police launching tourist 'safety zones' in Khao San, RCA, Patpong

By Liam Aran Barnes

Khao San Road Photo: Kevin Poh

BANGKOK: -- Too afraid to leave the safety of your cramped, dank Khao San guesthouse for fear of being attacked by marauding gangs of troublesome transvestites, accosted by young kids armed with rasping wooden frogs, or badgered by tenacious tuk-tuk drivers? Don’t fear Thailand tourists, help is on the way!

In an attempt to minimize crime and enhance “confidence” amongst fragile foreign tourists, Bangkok’s boys in blue are set to crank up security in designated “safety zones”, including Khao San Road, Royal City Avenue and Patpong Road, the Bangkok Post reported this week.

Members of the tourism industry, concerned that the aplomb of helpless travelers could be blemished, welcomed the proposed campaign.

“On Khao San Road, foreign tourists often face problems [including] transvestite gangs who drug tourists and steal their valuables,” said Jiravit Chayavoraprapa, an executive at Buddy Group, which runs numerous hotels and restaurants located down Bangkok’s most renowned tourist road, in addition to establishments in Koh Samui and Ching Mai.

Full story: http://www.coconutsb...an-rca-patpong/

-- COCONUTS Bangkok 2012-10-25

[soi41]

I don't if this is funny or just sad? Safety zones where only the police have the right to scam tourists?

Anyone following the news,the last couple of weeks, can not be unaware of that behind many serious crimes committed in Thailand, is a Pol Col or a Pol Maj. All from drugs to murders. And it is not a big secret, that the masterminds behind the drugtrade in Patpong (bulldoze it ) are the BIB. So if you want to create "safety zones", maybe BIB-free would be a good start!

[Thai at Heart]

isn't there a police box at the end of each of these roads?

[Nisa]

What is sad, from my personal view is, to see Thailand moving in the direction of catering to the whinny weak tourists instead of folks coming here who can take care of themselves, are not idiotic enough to think this is not only some modern country that rates on par with the US and much of Europe but also think it should be safer and with less crime. Great for Thailand to continue to move in the right directions but sad to see things continue to move in the direction of there being no reason to be here over just staying back in the west.

Edited October 25, 2012 by Nisa

[Bluespunk]

"The initiatives, which will also be implemented in nationwide traveler hotspots such as, Pattaya and Phuket, will pave the way for the Kingdom to hit its tourist revenue target of THB2 trillion in the coming years."

Ah ha! Explains a lot.

Edited October 25, 2012 by Bluespunk

[bigbamboo]

What is sad, from my personal view is, to see Thailand moving in the direction of catering to the whinny weak tourists instead of folks coming here who can take care of themselves, are not idiotic enough to think this is not only some modern country that rates on par with the US and much of Europe but also think it should be safer and with less crime. Great for Thailand to continue to move in the right directions but sad to see things continue to move in the direction of there being no reason to be here over just staying back in the west.

To be honest some tourists (aka holidaymakers) really shouldn't travel anywhere where they are left to their own devices. On the other hand it's amazing how the presence of a few strapping cops can make a difference. Perhaps if the Thai police on patrol were taller, fitter and wore a more distinguished uniform like they do in the UK that might help instead of seeming to melt away into the background as they do now.

[BeforeTigers]

OK, I'll say it:

So <deleted> is a safety zone?

[Nisa]

What is sad, from my personal view is, to see Thailand moving in the direction of catering to the whinny weak tourists instead of folks coming here who can take care of themselves, are not idiotic enough to think this is not only some modern country that rates on par with the US and much of Europe but also think it should be safer and with less crime. Great for Thailand to continue to move in the right directions but sad to see things continue to move in the direction of there being no reason to be here over just staying back in the west.

To be honest some tourists (aka holidaymakers) really shouldn't travel anywhere where they are left to their own devices. On the other hand it's amazing how the presence of a few strapping cops can make a difference. Perhaps if the Thai police on patrol were taller, fitter and wore a more distinguished uniform like they do in the UK that might help instead of seeming to melt away into the background as they do now.

Not arguing the point that this is good for tourism and for those who want Thailand to be more like the west. I was simply saying I don't want it more like the west and I don't want to see police everywhere enforcing every law. One thing I like a lot about Thailand is people generally need to take care of themselves and people don't sweat the small stuff. Just my personal preference but I am glad for Thai people to see this country moving so quickly in the right direction of modernizing itself in so many areas and becoming more recognized as an industrialized nation ... I personally just prefer thing more middle of the road between 3rd world and industrialized.

[whybother]

What about Nana and Cowboy?

[rubl]

What about Nana and Cowboy?

Don't know about NaNa, but soi Cowboy is the area where those folks mentioned by Nisa come, the folks who can take care of themselves

[Nisa]

What about Nana and Cowboy?

Not to worry, they too will become family friendly eventually too.

[Songhua]

Things truly are looking up. Not only will they 'crank up security' against the marauding gangs, they'll be doing it in fluent english in five and a half months time.

[otherstuff1957]

There's a lot of pressure from the government to increase tourist arrivals.

I guess that they need money to pay for all that rice!

[asiawatcher]

What about Nana and Cowboy?

What about Walking Street? Patpong, Sukhumvit Soi 3... or better still at the entry and exit points of Phuket - much to do about nothing again.

Edited October 25, 2012 by asiawatcher

[Meisgq]

Why RCA? It's dead during the day and pretty safe at night. The clubs, and RCA owners, provide excellent security throughout the avenue to protect their business.

[HeavyDrinker]

Is this an attempt at being funny like that notthenation <deleted>?

[ezflip]

It will only work if you get rid of all the so called police force patrolling these sectors. They are just as bad as the ladyboys, and peddlers.

That being said, it will never work as the police stands to loose too much money...

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

OK, I'll say it:

So <deleted> is a safety zone?

Probably one of the first zones that the Southern terrorist will bomb if they want to take their campaign to a new level.

[hellodolly]

What is sad, from my personal view is, to see Thailand moving in the direction of catering to the whinny weak tourists instead of folks coming here who can take care of themselves, are not idiotic enough to think this is not only some modern country that rates on par with the US and much of Europe but also think it should be safer and with less crime. Great for Thailand to continue to move in the right directions but sad to see things continue to move in the direction of there being no reason to be here over just staying back in the west.

Well actually if the BIB do nothing the mentioned areas are still safer than many in the western world.

I agree with you it would indeed be a sad state of affairs to see Thailand catering to only monied tourists. Many of the back packer who frequent these areas add to the over all attraction of the area. There is lots of places in Thailand one can go with out having to worry about the so called problem areas.

I can just see it all now Khao San Road a mecca for tourist families. They could even open up a baby sitter service so Mom and Pop can go see the sights which will show pictures of what life used to be like there.

Edited October 25, 2012 by hellodolly

[HeavyDrinker]

Some bored junior journo on the BKK post has called a cousin on the police payroll asking for something, anything, to print and has got this.

In turn these coconut people have gone all OTT on it.

It won't happen for one simple reason that it would take far too much time, money and effort to set up and maintain.

If you don't think the coppers in said areas don't already have access to your info then you ain't been here too long...rather like the prat who wrote the article methinks...

Edited October 25, 2012 by HeavyDrinker

[seminomadic]

I don't if this is funny or just sad? Safety zones where only the police have the right to scam tourists?

Anyone following the news,the last couple of weeks, can not be unaware of that behind many serious crimes committed in Thailand, is a Pol Col or a Pol Maj. All from drugs to murders. And it is not a big secret, that the masterminds behind the drugtrade in Patpong (bulldoze it ) are the BIB. So if you want to create "safety zones", maybe BIB-free would be a good start!

Just last night a taxi driver was going on about the drug & taxi mafia ring run by the cops at pat pong.

Will tourists also be safe from being overcharged by ghost taxis in Pat pong?

As with most things we read about, this is nothing but lip service.

Brace for the future.

[seminomadic]

"Foreign visitors to Thailand are currently at the mercy of four major problems: crime, deception, disasters and, wait for it, degraded tourist attractions, he added."

I'm not sure they mean degraded, as that would mean the attractions were of some repute in the recent past and have now become less so - but Grand Palace/Wat Po/Sanam Luang aren't any less impressive than they were some years ago.

They must mean degrading tourist attractions, as in what the women do to themselves to entertain at certain upstairs venues.

Edited October 25, 2012 by seminomadic

[oldthaihand99]

What about Nana and Cowboy?

Nana already has a police presence; a tourist police "shop" on the corner at sukhumvit soi 4.

Moreover regular police are often seen nearby in the daytime, especially across the street between soi 3 and 5.

Furthermore, they regularly engage in night raids of ladyboy and female streetwalking sex workers.

It's a good way to supplement their measly $200/month wages with 1000 baht bribes, er, notes.

After all,Thai law, translated into English, states:

"Section 5. Any person who, for the purpose of prostitution, solicits, induces, introduces herself or himself to, follows or importunes a person in a street, public place or any other place in an open and shameless manner or causes nuisance to the public, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand Baht."

"Section 6. Any person who associates with another person in a prostitution establishment for the purpose of prostitution of himself or herself or another person shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to a fine not exceeding one thousand Baht or to both."

http://www.ilo.org/d...63/E96THA01.htm

As for "johns", i am not aware of any ever being punished by Thai law for consenting sex with an adult prostitute.

Edited October 25, 2012 by oldthaihand99

[Phatcharanan]

are not idiotic enough to think this is not only some modern country that rates on par with the US and much of Europe but also think it should be safer and with less crime.

Yeah. The idiotic tourists know how to stay away from the crime infested areas of their home countries.

[johna]

I now look forward to reading of tourist being fined for littering, not having their passports and general harassment from the BIB, this should hopefully discourage tourists from visiting the country.

[oldthaihand99]

I now look forward to reading of tourist being fined for littering, not having their passports and general harassment from the BIB, this should hopefully discourage tourists from visiting the country.

Fines for littering, whether real or imagined by Thai police, have already been occuring for many years. Likewise with harassment in other ways, e.g. traffic related situations.

Edited October 25, 2012 by oldthaihand99

[Nisa]

Will tourists also be safe from being overcharged by ghost taxis in Pat pong?

What is a "ghost taxi"? The term sounds familiar but not sure what it means.

[Nisa]

I now look forward to reading of tourist being fined for littering, not having their passports and general harassment from the BIB, this should hopefully discourage tourists from visiting the country.

Fines for littering, whether real or imagined by Thai police, have already been occuring for many years. Likewise with harassment in other ways, e.g. traffic related situations.

Never once heard anyone say they were fined for littering when they didn't. However, I know many folks, including myself, who have got nabbed for actually littering. You can complain all you want about having to pay small fines or donations for doing wrong and although you can actually complain about having to pay small fines for imagined wrong doings, I don't think it is a reality. There is no reason for the police to go after people for these types of things when there is no violation because there are so many folks actually committing the violations. When I got nabbed for throwing a butt down on the ground there were already 1 person waiting to paying (negotiating) the fine and while I was waiting the cop who got me got another guy who threw his butt down a few meters from the police stand.

Although not relevant, I still remember minutes before getting nabbed a security guy was up the driveway of a hotel I was walking by and he was making motions to me about smoking and shaking his head and hand to indicate "no". It wasn't until after I realized he was trying to warn me but ignorantly I thought at the time it was just more western influence of some stranger telling another they shouldn't smoke.

And yes, they do go after foreigners and not Thai people on these litter stings and I personally have no problem with that. Chances are we can afford it and it ain't are country to be littering.

Edited October 25, 2012 by Nisa

[HeavyDrinker]

Never once heard anyone say they were fined for littering when they didn't

You haven't been here that long.

This is one post you probably will struggle to apologise for Nisa hence your rather dull invented rambling pack of lies...

[FarangTalk]

And yes, they do go after foreigners and not Thai people on these litter stings and I personally have no problem with that. Chances are we can afford it and it ain't are country to be littering.

Which exposes it as a scam rather than enforcement.

One incident I witnessed at MBK outside National Stadium was to observe the Police actually removing the litter bins from outside the BTS station in order to "catch" more tourists in their scam.

I find the Thais far worse litterbugs than any foreigners. Most recently on a train journey I witnessed several Thais throwing litter from the moving train. No wonder this country is filthy.

Thankfully most Westerners grow up in countries where littering is properly Policed and the act of littering is no longer socially acceptable. Most have the good manners not to litter in another country when visiting or on holiday, I for one certainly would not.