Phuket Governor denies foreign mafia's presence in tourism industry

[webfact]

Phuket Governor denies foreign mafia's presence in tourism industry
Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut denied Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak’s allegations that foreign mafias are operating in Phuket.

The complaint of foreign mafia presence in Phuket was filed by Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak to the DSI headquarters in Bangkok on July 10 (story here).

“Phuket does not have any foreign mafia – just some groups of foreigners who are trying to benefit from the tourism industry. However, many of them have already been arrested,” Gov Maitri said.

In a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, the governor gathered all relevant organizations to prepare the necessary documentation for DSI officers who are expected to be on the island to tackle illegal foreign businesses using Thai nominees, illegal airport taxi drivers and foreign mafia presence next week (story here).

During their crackdown in Phuket, the governor said he would request the DSI distribute a 251 million baht budget for more CCTV cameras on the island as a way to increase the safety measures taken to protect locals and tourists.

“Right now, Phuket has 1,419 CCTV cameras. We would like to ask the DSI for 251 million baht so we can set up an additional 2,550 cameras across the island,” he said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Phuket-Governor-denies-foreign-mafia-s-presence-in-tourism-industry-21700.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-07-20

[JulesMad]

Yeah right..... No foreign mafia in Phuket Phuket is only for the local mafia, and CCTV will make sure it stays that way

Dream on, mr governor....

[lee b]

Liar. Cant be bothered writing anymore!

[stevenl]

I must say I think he is right, I don't see the foreign mafia here.

The only 'mafia' are the tuktuk co-operations, and they are really 100% Thai.

[Tatsujin]

As I posted in another topic:

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time

Except here in Thailand, it's you can fool all of the people all of the time. Shame it doesn't work so well with those pesky foreigners who can see through all of the bullshit.

[Tatsujin]

On another note, the real Mafia that are here all wear uniforms . . . I'm sure you know what I mean.

[doorEman]

THB 250 million for 1000 CC camera...hemmm, I wonder how much that would actually cost and who is the mafia?!

But for sure there are organised foreign criminals and money here...that is Thailand. Only recently is it more obvious on Phuket, but take a look at Samui and Pattaya...Phuket is becoming the same.

[thaicbr]

I must say I think he is right, I don't see the foreign mafia here.

 

The only 'mafia' are the tuktuk co-operations, and they are really 100% Thai.

100% Thai AND his family :D

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Valentine]

Not sure if my maths are correct but 98,000 per camera!!!

[daiwill60]

HAhaha needed a good laugh this morning.

Just came back from Pattaya, and to see the number of foreigners working in places, in jobs that are normally reserved for thai's only, suggests to me that there must be some slippery "turn the other way", handouts going from someone to someone else, as I am sure , must also be the case in places like Phuket and Samui by the sound of it .

I don't know Phuket , but how many cameras do they need? Are there enough places to fix so many cameras onto ?

Edited July 21, 2013 by daiwill60

[jaiyen]

How the hell are they going to monitor approx 4000 CCTV cameras ? Cameras do not make Phuket or anywhere else safer, they only possibly show a crime being committed if they happen to be working. The bad Thai people arent worried about cameras. This has been clearly shown in

the past.

[newermonkey]

The Governor should do some resaerch before making silly statements. Of course there are "mafia groups" opperating in every area in Thailand and everywhere in the world.

The term maffia is a loose disciption given to "any" crime gang, infomation i found after googleing for 5 seconds:

The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra, in English "Our Thing")^{[citation needed]} is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct

[steelepulse]

Not sure if my maths are correct but 98,000 per camera!!!

That's correct, these are gold plated cameras, or else they are normal 10K baht cameras with 88K per camera going elsewhere.

[bigbamboo]

What a horse's ass this governor is.

Or should that be a horse's head?

Edited July 21, 2013 by bigbamboo

[timewilltell]

I guess it depends on your definition of the word Mafia.

[DualSportBiker]

Source: BigBrotherWatchUK.org

Local councils in the UK use 51,600 cameras at a cost of £515 million to install, operate and maintain over 4 years. That is £9,980 each, or £2,495 per camera per year. That equates to approximately 470,000 Baht or 120,000 per camera per year.

1,419 cameras would place Phuket 2nd in the ranking of most cameras in a UK city. Adding 2,500 more would mean more than 3 times higher than the highest local authority in the UK. London is not listed as 1 location so cannot be compared directly...

[capt_canada42]

Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak’s, yes I am foreign mafia I have been taking in kids and old people and giving them a life educating them paying medical costs and teaching them how to work even though i am not allowed to adopt them, in Phuket for years and helping Thai people for 32 years ... repairing medical equipment in Mission hospital for free .. trying to make the roads safer .. saving swimmers lives at the beaches and bringing back the dead who drowned and trying bring them back to life ... although to late ... taking stones off the road that people put under the tires of the trucks and cars so they don't roll but leaving the stones there when they leave so motor bikes in the night don't hit the stones .. burying dead dogs that were left in the middle of the road .. I could go on and on but won't your a jerk what do you do beside open your big mouth Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak ... would you stop your car and remove a stone so a bike doesn't hit it I doubt it loud mouth ...

Edited July 21, 2013 by capt_canada42

[stevenl]

Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak’s, yes I am foreign mafia I have been taking in kids and old people and giving them a life educating them paying medical costs and teaching them how to work even though i am not allowed to adopt them, in Phuket for years and helping Thai people for 32 years ... repairing medical equipment in Mission hospital for free .. trying to make the roads safer .. saving swimmers lives at the beaches and bringing back the dead who drowned and trying bring them back to life ... although to late ... taking stones off the road that people put under the tires of the trucks and cars so they don't roll but leaving the stones there when they leave so motor bikes in the night don't hit the stones .. burying dead dogs that were left in the middle of the road .. I could go on and on but won't your a jerk what do you do beside open your big mouth Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak ... would you stop your car and remove a stone so a bike doesn't hit it I doubt it loud mouth ...

Good on you.

But what is the connection with the subject?

[capt_canada42]

Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak’s, yes I am foreign mafia I have been taking in kids and old people and giving them a life educating them paying medical costs and teaching them how to work even though i am not allowed to adopt them, in Phuket for years and helping Thai people for 32 years ... repairing medical equipment in Mission hospital for free .. trying to make the roads safer .. saving swimmers lives at the beaches and bringing back the dead who drowned and trying bring them back to life ... although to late ... taking stones off the road that people put under the tires of the trucks and cars so they don't roll but leaving the stones there when they leave so motor bikes in the night don't hit the stones .. burying dead dogs that were left in the middle of the road .. I could go on and on but won't your a jerk what do you do beside open your big mouth Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak ... would you stop your car and remove a stone so a bike doesn't hit it I doubt it loud mouth ...

Good on you.

But what is the connection with the subject?

I am Foreign Mafia ... in da tourist industry ..

[unanimosity]

On another note, the real Mafia that are here all wear uniforms . . . I'm sure you know what I mean.

Yes, of course, but that doesn't mean they don't do some good along the way finding lost balls, reading greens, and fetching beers.

[unanimosity]

Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak’s, yes I am foreign mafia I have been taking in kids and old people and giving them a life educating them paying medical costs and teaching them how to work even though i am not allowed to adopt them, in Phuket for years and helping Thai people for 32 years ... repairing medical equipment in Mission hospital for free .. trying to make the roads safer .. saving swimmers lives at the beaches and bringing back the dead who drowned and trying bring them back to life ... although to late ... taking stones off the road that people put under the tires of the trucks and cars so they don't roll but leaving the stones there when they leave so motor bikes in the night don't hit the stones .. burying dead dogs that were left in the middle of the road .. I could go on and on but won't your a jerk what do you do beside open your big mouth Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak ... would you stop your car and remove a stone so a bike doesn't hit it I doubt it loud mouth ...

Has it occurred to you that patting yourself on the back and all of what you consider your virtuous acts may be viewed as meddlesome interference by a culture of Buddhists?

[unanimosity]

How the hell are they going to monitor approx 4000 CCTV cameras ? Cameras do not make Phuket or anywhere else safer, they only possibly show a crime being committed if they happen to be working. The bad Thai people arent worried about cameras. This has been clearly shown in

the past.

Cameras, alarms, and police are about as much deterrent against the commission of crimes as firemen and fire engines are a deterrent against fires being started, except that firemen actually show up at some point and put themselves at risk trying to combat what they could not prevent.

[jpinx]

Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak’s, yes I am foreign mafia I have been taking in kids and old people and giving them a life educating them paying medical costs and teaching them how to work even though i am not allowed to adopt them, in Phuket for years and helping Thai people for 32 years ... repairing medical equipment in Mission hospital for free .. trying to make the roads safer .. saving swimmers lives at the beaches and bringing back the dead who drowned and trying bring them back to life ... although to late ... taking stones off the road that people put under the tires of the trucks and cars so they don't roll but leaving the stones there when they leave so motor bikes in the night don't hit the stones .. burying dead dogs that were left in the middle of the road .. I could go on and on but won't your a jerk what do you do beside open your big mouth Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak ... would you stop your car and remove a stone so a bike doesn't hit it I doubt it loud mouth ...

Has it occurred to you that patting yourself on the back and all of what you consider your virtuous acts may be viewed as meddlesome interference by a culture of Buddhists?

Not at all - american "missionaries" have been meddling in other people's lives for too long already Missionary Mafia maybe

[belg]

yes maffia is a thai only business

they might give a "business" licence to some local groups, for lets say 51% or more of the takings

[fire and ice]

As I posted in another topic:

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time

Except here in Thailand, it's you can fool all of the people all of the time. Shame it doesn't work so well with those pesky foreigners who can see through all of the bullshit.

With articles like this I'd say most Thias are not being fooled most of the time but just too lazy to do anything about it.

Edited July 21, 2013 by fire and ice

[hellodolly]

“Phuket does not have any foreign mafia – just some groups of foreigners who are trying to benefit from the tourism industry. However, many of them have already been arrested,” Gov Maitri said."

Next thing you know he will be denying Phuket is an island, It is just some land with water all the way around it.

[marell]

The governor shows a rare and intuitive grasp of the situation. There is no foreign mafia in Phuket and the reasonable sum of 251 million Baht will get rid of them....until next time. This guy deserves a Cabinet post.

Edited July 21, 2013 by marell

[marell]

Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak’s, yes I am foreign mafia I have been taking in kids and old people and giving them a life educating them paying medical costs and teaching them how to work even though i am not allowed to adopt them, in Phuket for years and helping Thai people for 32 years ... repairing medical equipment in Mission hospital for free .. trying to make the roads safer .. saving swimmers lives at the beaches and bringing back the dead who drowned and trying bring them back to life ... although to late ... taking stones off the road that people put under the tires of the trucks and cars so they don't roll but leaving the stones there when they leave so motor bikes in the night don't hit the stones .. burying dead dogs that were left in the middle of the road .. I could go on and on but won't your a jerk what do you do beside open your big mouth Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak ... would you stop your car and remove a stone so a bike doesn't hit it I doubt it loud mouth ...

So...do you have a WP for this?

[slipperylobster]

having boots on the street would be cheaper.....and perhaps aid prevention.