Aus Hon Con in tense talks over Phuket jet-ski incident

[RigPig]

If Karon police confiscated my passport for extortion, is go over to chalong police station and report it stolen by police.

Then you would have 2 payments to make instead of one

[andreandre]

Mrs Siriporn sounds like a lovely woman.

Pic of her on PW she looks like one too,,,,

[KarenBravo]

I think you'll find that this "threat" etc will all be sorted out behind closed doors and that the honorary consul will be told to "wind his neck in".

[Bagwan]

He didn't resolve anything, he didn't conclude the investigation and he didn't actually do anybody any favours, especially himself. Highlighting these issues, while honourable was largely pointless without any game changing and permanent addendum to the Mafia/local authority rule book on how to maximise revenue from tourists. Again, whilst brave and righteous, it's pointless trying to impose western ideals on an asian culture, no matter how infuriating, that is doing very well by itself thank you very much.

The rules are set by the natives end of story. The natives get to live very well off the income and no doubt send their kids to the best schools, drive around in the flashiest cars etc as a direct result of this black money, not that different from a crooked businessman in the west.

The natives see the value in token gesture 'meetings' and 'crack downs' but these actions are very blatantly appeasements and smoke screens. If the Australian Consulate wishes to have no further issues with Jet Ski/Tuk Tuk scams then the only answer is to issue a blanket ban on all Australians from using these facilities.

While it may be true that he wasn't able to achieve much, it cannot be denied that Larry Cunningham has moved the situation to centre stage. If the Aussie Embassy do not raise the roof over this and ensure that the matter is raised to Foreign Minister level, and desist from making idle threats but make known that promises to harm Thailand or its peoples in some way will be met, then they will lose the respect of many. Enough is enough. Larry's patience has clearly snapped and I am sure that he will rightly receive plaudits for those natives of nations whose cowed representatives have merely wrung their hands over the situation.

i realise that it is well within the bounds of my phantasies, but I for one would have cheered if the USMC Provost Sergeant when trying to extract two US Marines from the clutches of the beach mafia some months ago, had sent for reinforcements and a squad of fully booted, spurred and armed Marines turned up. Your move Somjai.

Surely even Thais would recognise that, should at some time down the road any harm befall Larry or his business, they will be held to account - and the crap will really be in the fan then.

[cracker1]

I don't know this man but can not help thinking Thailand needs more like him if the Country wishes to expand it;s Tourism business. Am also surprised that other country reps have not shown support ?

[chooka]

Every single person reading this very scarey article must, as I will, write a polite but firm letter/email to the blatently corrupt Govenor and his side kick Mrs. Siriporn fully backing Consul Cunningham and pointing out the reality of the never ending abuse of tourists on the island.

When a low life side kick can show such disgrtaceful disrespect to the Austrailian Government Consul it very clearly shows the uttercontempt that they have for every single one of us. This just can not continue. Set up a temporary mail account to protect yourself and fire off mails/letters.

. I believe this is his email??

• Phuket Provincial Governor's Office.

  Narisorn Road, Muang, Phuket 83000

  Tel 076-222886, 076-354875 | Fax 0-7622-0361 | Hotline : 67927

  | E-mail:

Do we remember this??

Friday, June 14, 2013

PHUKET: A historic meeting between 18 European Union ambassadors and Phuket's Governor today is likely to see a concerted Thai and international effort made to address Phuket's growth and safety issues.??

I will also email the Austrailian embassey in Banhgkok suppporting Mr. Cunningham;

That is a GREAT idea ...I was going to write to support Larry, but this is even better! I will do both!

This is such a frustrating problem ...you would think things like this might tend to happen, more when a place was on the decline, and locals were desperate, yet Thailand and Phuket, keep getting more and more tourism ...no matter what they do, which means they should be/could be making money, growing every year, without resorting to crap like this. I could go on a rant about why this is, but I am sure most of us have an opinion already about that, (and can do without my rant)!

I hope many posters here will also write and complain, or support, as needed. Good post and thanks for passing on the info to make it easy for us!

Facebook started "The Arab Spring." It helped to topple regimes.

Maybe it can be used to put unofficial sanctions on the Phuket mafia. Eg. jet-skis, tuk-tuks.

There are two facebook pages running on the jet ski scams.

[ozyjon]

the boy made jet-ski sunk to the ground [sea bed], which is not covered by insurance jet-skis don't sunk they have buoyancy tanks to avoid this so unless the tanks were compromised 555, deliberate 555, it can't happen,,, why don't people boycott these scum everywhere in Thailand, just go up to them look around interested and walk away (with your money and sanity) JET_SKI'S DON'T DO IT -- NOT WORTH IT they sunk everywhere. ~~~\ o / ~~~

[NamKangMan]

Every single person reading this very scarey article must, as I will, write a polite but firm letter/email to the blatently corrupt Govenor and his side kick Mrs. Siriporn fully backing Consul Cunningham and pointing out the reality of the never ending abuse of tourists on the island.

When a low life side kick can show such disgrtaceful disrespect to the Austrailian Government Consul it very clearly shows the uttercontempt that they have for every single one of us. This just can not continue. Set up a temporary mail account to protect yourself and fire off mails/letters.

. I believe this is his email??

• Phuket Provincial Governor's Office.

  Narisorn Road, Muang, Phuket 83000

  Tel 076-222886, 076-354875 | Fax 0-7622-0361 | Hotline : 67927

  | E-mail:

Do we remember this??

Friday, June 14, 2013

PHUKET: A historic meeting between 18 European Union ambassadors and Phuket's Governor today is likely to see a concerted Thai and international effort made to address Phuket's growth and safety issues.??

I will also email the Austrailian embassey in Banhgkok suppporting Mr. Cunningham;

That is a GREAT idea ...I was going to write to support Larry, but this is even better! I will do both!

This is such a frustrating problem ...you would think things like this might tend to happen, more when a place was on the decline, and locals were desperate, yet Thailand and Phuket, keep getting more and more tourism ...no matter what they do, which means they should be/could be making money, growing every year, without resorting to crap like this. I could go on a rant about why this is, but I am sure most of us have an opinion already about that, (and can do without my rant)!

I hope many posters here will also write and complain, or support, as needed. Good post and thanks for passing on the info to make it easy for us!

Facebook started "The Arab Spring." It helped to topple regimes.

Maybe it can be used to put unofficial sanctions on the Phuket mafia. Eg. jet-skis, tuk-tuks.

There are two facebook pages running on the jet ski scams.

2000 Facebook pages too short. The world needs to know about this crime here.

[Torrens54]

Well there you go, they hit a six from medium pace bowler, Australia,your turn to bat...

Australia's turn to bat??? You've got to be kidding.

With Kevin "Foul-Mouth" Rudd (to many, known as Kevin RUDE) as Prime Minister and about to be stumped at a Federal Election,

the entire matter will "go through to the keeper" who is also facing dismissal by the Aussie Electorate. Simply means, the OZ Government couldn't give a "Tinker's Curse."

Edited August 31, 2013 by Torrens54

[RigPig]

The thing is that he is really doing them a favour, long term, but all they can see is him interfering in their short term money making venture!!!

[Tywais]

Regarding 'sinking' the jet ski, perhaps he was practicing jet ski diving. But you can see they are quite buoyant and have to work at getting them under water.

[Mises]

My pennies worth:

I have not used a jet ski for about 9 years but when I did use them in Thailand and elsewhere they do not (as others have said) sink. I am a barefoot water skier and used to high speed falls, I have a padded shorty wetsuit. I have flipped them many times (mainly just for fun) and never once got water in an engine because when you fall off the safety lanyard cuts the engine. They can get water in the engine but it is very very rare. See this You tube and note it does not end with "strip engine to remove water"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzU_22jASoU

Therefore it is a scam and no need for any payment whatsoever.

Of course the governor can't stop these scams, he needs the income, can you imagine how much he paid for the posting? This is how it works here, I do try to ignore it and find most Thais extremely pleasant honest people but it is getting worse and if I could afford to live in Singapore I would do so. Meanwhile I just keep my head down and avoid trouble, life is still better here in Phuket than in any other place I have lived but I am glad I don't have a business or own assets here. It is the businesses catering to the average western tourist that are stuffed but why should the mafia care, there are plenty of Russians, Chinese, Indians and others more than making up for the lost westerners (inc Aussies) and filling the hotels all year instead of 4 months.

However, politicians being corrupt is a simple truism: in the UK we had Tony Blair lying about WMD to support the US neocon's war in Iraq (grab for oil) and lo and behold when he retires he got £2 million a year non-jobs with US banks. Current PM Cameron and foreign secretary Hague clearly had the same idea but were thwarted last week by Parliament. It seems the French prime minister who knows he is history at the next election has been bought though. Cameron will have to settle for his cut from the £350,000 a year rent his father in law gets from wind farm subsidy. Oh, and the deputy UK PM's wife was appointed to the board of a wind turbine manufacturing company shortly after he became deputy PM. She is reputed to receive some £250,000 a year. So it is the same the world over, just a bit more outlandish in Thailand.

I applaud the Australian consul but suspect his real estate business is suffering from Phuket's current bad image so there may be more to his motives. No one would sell him life insurance though, he is brave - or foolish.

[vijer]

Unbelievable, the blatant coercion between the jetski mafia and the Phuket government is an embarrassment to Thailand and should be dealt with severely. All under the watch of the DSI, shamefull.

55555 The DSI, the only thing they ever do is talk. In the last 2 years I have never heard of any follow through by the DSI. Maybe if they were after a foreigner they might actually prosecute.

[pomchop]

Absolutely amazing to me sometimes is that in the day of facebook, travel websites, advice columns, forum after forum, page after page on google that so many tourists apparently can still show up in Thailand having apparently done ZERO research or reading before they arrive.

There are you tube videos and who knows how many pages on the web and in guide books WARNING over and over about jet ski scams, the grand palace scams, jewelry store scams, and tuk tuk scams.......and YET day after day after day year after year these OBLVIVIOUS tourists get sucked into scam after scam.....perhaps they are aware of the scams but figure that IT WON"T HAPPEN TO ME...

Not excusing in any way the scams but at some point you might also ask <deleted> is wrong with these TOURISTS to fly to a foreign country without spending ANY TIME reading or learning about what they might expect.

Perhaps the scams should be called a STUPID TAX?

Other than the Phuket tuk tuks where you may have NO CHOICE but to be ripped off tourists could avoid the jet skis and jewelry stores and others by just SAYING NO. If they did that the jet ski bunch would very quickly be OUT OF BUSINESS which would be a wonderful thing...not only to prevent the scams but also for those of use who actually would like to sit on a beach and not have to LISTEN to a bunch of jet skis and speedboats roaring around non stop.

Hawaii OUTLAWED them several years ago as they found that MOST tourists actually enjoyed sitting on the beaches and having a bit of PEACE AND QUIET and that their children actually enjoyed swimming without having to worry about getting hit by some hopped up idiot on a jet ski.

[VegasVic]

There's the answer loud and clear.

We don't like foreigners here, we don't want foreigners here, EXCEPT for as long as we can screw them over and then send them home as soon as possible afterwards.

Oh, and please stop making a fuss, it's making us look bad in the press.

It does indeed look as though the phuket mafia has adopted a "churn em and burn em" philosophy, the problem with that way of thinking is that once you run out of suckers to churn and burn, you have no more business. It's kind of like what has happened on Wall Street in the U.S., the retail investor has been repeatedly raped for years to the point that they have all but dissappeared, the U.S. stock markets volume is now almost 80% due to high frequency trading and eventually they will get tired of (or profit margins will shrink to make it non profitable) screwing each other over and the markets will crash. Same sort of thing will happen in Phuket, Samui, Pattaya or where ever else this sort of corruption is allowed to flourish, at some point they will run out of suckers to feed off of and then they will turn on each other

[Tatsujin]

There's the answer loud and clear.

We don't like foreigners here, we don't want foreigners here, EXCEPT for as long as we can screw them over and then send them home as soon as possible afterwards.

Oh, and please stop making a fuss, it's making us look bad in the press.

It does indeed look as though the phuket mafia has adopted a "churn em and burn em" philosophy, the problem with that way of thinking is that once you run out of suckers to churn and burn, you have no more business. It's kind of like what has happened on Wall Street in the U.S., the retail investor has been repeatedly raped for years to the point that they have all but dissappeared, the U.S. stock markets volume is now almost 80% due to high frequency trading and eventually they will get tired of (or profit margins will shrink to make it non profitable) screwing each other over and the markets will crash. Same sort of thing will happen in Phuket, Samui, Pattaya or where ever else this sort of corruption is allowed to flourish, at some point they will run out of suckers to feed off of and then they will turn on each other

Short-term thinking, the bane of Thailand lol

[wolf5370]

He didn't resolve anything, he didn't conclude the investigation and he didn't actually do anybody any favours, especially himself. Highlighting these issues, while honourable was largely pointless without any game changing and permanent addendum to the Mafia/local authority rule book on how to maximise revenue from tourists. Again, whilst brave and righteous, it's pointless trying to impose western ideals on an asian culture, no matter how infuriating, that is doing very well by itself thank you very much.

The rules are set by the natives end of story. The natives get to live very well off the income and no doubt send their kids to the best schools, drive around in the flashiest cars etc as a direct result of this black money, not that different from a crooked businessman in the west.

The natives see the value in token gesture 'meetings' and 'crack downs' but these actions are very blatantly appeasements and smoke screens. If the Australian Consulate wishes to have no further issues with Jet Ski/Tuk Tuk scams then the only answer is to issue a blanket ban on all Australians from using these facilities.

While it may be true that he wasn't able to achieve much, it cannot be denied that Larry Cunningham has moved the situation to centre stage. If the Aussie Embassy do not raise the roof over this and ensure that the matter is raised to Foreign Minister level, and desist from making idle threats but make known that promises to harm Thailand or its peoples in some way will be met, then they will lose the respect of many. Enough is enough. Larry's patience has clearly snapped and I am sure that he will rightly receive plaudits for those natives of nations whose cowed representatives have merely wrung their hands over the situation.

i realise that it is well within the bounds of my phantasies, but I for one would have cheered if the USMC Provost Sergeant when trying to extract two US Marines from the clutches of the beach mafia some months ago, had sent for reinforcements and a squad of fully booted, spurred and armed Marines turned up. Your move Somjai.

Surely even Thais would recognise that, should at some time down the road any harm befall Larry or his business, they will be held to account - and the crap will really be in the fan then.

I've always wondered how that guy has managed to stay alive for so long - he has no qualms scamming foreign sailors and marines on RnR. These guys do not take such likely - and pulling a gun on the British naval officer (that got him a month lock up when the video hit the airwaves) is really asking for it. I suspected that on the next trip over, him and his thugs would be high on the reacquaintance list. However, it never happened and he and his ilk persists.

[Bender]

For years we have all this crap about jet-ski scam, and nothing absolutely nothing was done.

We can not expect nothing from the officials. So should we burry our head in the sand?

Easy answer: make some noise! On this forum, we are few thousands members. I repeat make some noise.

Express your disgust of this island, inform your family, friends, friends of friends. MAKE SOME NOISE.

In others words just call for a total boycott of phuket on TV...

[kannot]

Look more to the top of the tree, so the Police are at almost the top then the army then??................surmise yourself WHERE it really all stops!!

[kannot]

I don't know this man but can not help thinking Thailand needs more like him if the Country wishes to expand it;s Tourism business. Am also surprised that other country reps have not shown support ?

Many others probably have but are now in the cemetery.

[waza]

kudos to Australian Honorary Consul Larry Cunningham a true blue, dinky di bottler

Phuket official and standover person. Siriporn Tantiphanyatep:

''And it is not wise to always say bad things about Phuket while you are still living and doing your business in this city.''

Edited August 31, 2013 by waza

[kannot]

kudos to Australian Honorary Consul Larry Cunningham a true blue, dinky di bottler

Siriporn Tantiphanyatep.jpgPhuket official and standover person. Siriporn Tantiphanyatep:

''And it is not wise to always say bad things about Phuket while you are still living and doing your business in this city.''

I like the painted on eyebrows.

[Songhua]

kudos to Australian Honorary Consul Larry Cunningham a true blue, dinky di bottler

Siriporn Tantiphanyatep.jpgPhuket official and standover person. Siriporn Tantiphanyatep:

''And it is not wise to always say bad things about Phuket while you are still living and doing your business in this city.''

I like the painted on eyebrows.

I'd like to know why a Passport Office official should be involved in the matter at all.

[chooka]

kudos to Australian Honorary Consul Larry Cunningham a true blue, dinky di bottler

Siriporn Tantiphanyatep.jpgPhuket official and standover person. Siriporn Tantiphanyatep:

''And it is not wise to always say bad things about Phuket while you are still living and doing your business in this city.''

She definitely looks like a mean, nasty despicable piece of work. Imagine waking up to that every morning. Probably just needs a hug, any volunteers?

[kannot]

kudos to Australian Honorary Consul Larry Cunningham a true blue, dinky di bottler

Siriporn Tantiphanyatep.jpgPhuket official and standover person. Siriporn Tantiphanyatep:

''And it is not wise to always say bad things about Phuket while you are still living and doing your business in this city.''

She definitely looks like a mean, nasty despicable piece of work. Imagine waking up to that every morning. Probably just needs a hug, any volunteers?

Sure.... both hands around the neck should do it?

[chooka]

kudos to Australian Honorary Consul Larry Cunningham a true blue, dinky di bottler

Siriporn Tantiphanyatep.jpgPhuket official and standover person. Siriporn Tantiphanyatep:

''And it is not wise to always say bad things about Phuket while you are still living and doing your business in this city.''

I like the painted on eyebrows.

I'd like to know why a Passport Office official should be involved in the matter at all.

Maybe part of the agenda for the meeting was to derive a way of getting rid of this meddling farang without causing an international scene. Maybe she has a major stake in the Phuket scams.

[NamKangMan]

kudos to Australian Honorary Consul Larry Cunningham a true blue, dinky di bottler

Siriporn Tantiphanyatep.jpgPhuket official and standover person. Siriporn Tantiphanyatep:

''And it is not wise to always say bad things about Phuket while you are still living and doing your business in this city.''

She definitely looks like a mean, nasty despicable piece of work. Imagine waking up to that every morning. Probably just needs a hug, any volunteers?

I'm sure she has a nice bank account.

[chooka]

I was going to suggest putting something on youtube as theres more chance of something going viral from youtube. but i went to youtube and put in "jet ski scams phuket" and lots of people have already post clips about the jet ski scams there. you can click on this link and look http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jet+skis+phuket&oq=jet+skis+phuket&gs_l=youtube.12...266.4828.0.7485.15.7.0.1.1.0.516.2657.2-2j2j2j1.7.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.TLy-lQlshng or if that doesn't work, go to www.youtube.com and do a search the same as i did

Why don't a few expats/tourists get down to the consulate and show support for Larry. I'm not just talking about Aussies but all nationalities as his cause effects all. No need for placards with anti Thai slogans or anti scam slogans a simple "We support Larry." The media would know what is behind it and can report as they see fit and people could take a few pics and post on one of the current face book pages or send them into various international media outlets.

[hansgruber]

kudos to Australian Honorary Consul Larry Cunningham a true blue, dinky di bottler

 

Siriporn Tantiphanyatep.jpgPhuket official and standover person. Siriporn Tantiphanyatep:

 

''And it is not wise to always say bad things about Phuket while you are still living and doing your business in this city.''

I like the painted on eyebrows.

And the usual nose job to make them less issan.

[LivinginKata]

Off topic troll removed.