Minister of Tourism and Sports investigates mafia taxis in Phuket

[webfact]

Minister of Tourism and Sports investigates mafia taxis in Phuket

PHUKET, 15th October 2013 (NNT) - The Minister of Tourism and Sports has led a team of officials to Phuket to launch an investigation into complaints of illegal taxis along Pa tong beach, Phuket.

According to Tourism Minister Mr. Somsak Pureesrisak, the authorities received numerous complaints from the embassies of an EU country and China that a number of their citizens had become victims of harassment and theft as well as extortion while holidaying in Phuket. Rumors had it that most taxis were operated by Phuket mafia gangs.

Mr.Somsak said that this trip was to look into the complaints, adding that the Ministry of Tourism and Sports would urgently try to find solutions to the problems. It would also constantly monitor the progress of its efforts to get rid of mafia-operated cabs.

However, the plan to ensnare the mafia taxis did not work thanks to media reports. The team then approached cab drivers on the streets and asked them to abide by the law.


-- NNT 2013-10-15

related:
Foreign ambassadors list 7 changes needed for Phuket
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/674710-foreign-ambassadors-list-7-changes-needed-for-phuket/

[laurentbkk]

" Rumors ?????????????????????????????????? had it that most taxis were operated by Phuket mafia gangs "

Soon they will say that tourists only fantasy about their complaints and everything is according to the law ... wanna bet ?

[steelepulse]

>>However, the plan to ensnare the mafia taxis did not work thanks to media reports. The team then approached cab drivers on the streets and asked them to abide by the law.

So does this mean the end of the investigation by asking drivers to abide by the law?

[sawati]

Mafia taxis in Fucket??...No shot man??...First time i heard it...

[LivinginKata]

" Rumors ?????????????????????????????????? had it that most taxis were operated by Phuket mafia gangs "

Soon they will say that tourists only fantasy about their complaints and everything is according to the law ... wanna bet ?

Well, according to the Gov, we foreigners are the cause of all the trouble

[NomadJoe]

Lot's of investigating going on but not much action so far.

The solution is so simple. Institute 10B songtheaws across the island like in so many other tourist areas in Thailand. The taxi's and tuk tuks will all go away. I will even help with the route planning:

Coastal route: Kata to Surin.

Rawai, Nai Harn, Chalong, Kata loop.

Phuket town to Patong.

Phuket town to the airport.

Sorted.

[Guest]

Lot's of investigating going on but not much action so far.

The solution is so simple. Institute 10B songtheaws across the island like in so many other tourist areas in Thailand. The taxi's and tuk tuks will all go away. I will even help with the route planning:

I had to double check that the above was written by NJ, not NKM

[uty6543]

Who hasn't investigated Phuket's mafia taxis? I want to read who has done something about them. THAT WOULD BE NEWS!!!!

[bubblegum]

"However, the plan to ensnare the mafia taxis did not work thanks to media reports. The team then approached cab drivers on the streets and asked them to abide by the law"

Must be my English but I don't understand a word of what it's trying to say.

Ensnaring the mafia taxis did not work because of the media ???????????????????

[kannot]

They couldnt investigate a turd floating off the coast let alone wipe it out!

The scams go right to the top the VERY VERY top that cannot be discussed.

Edited October 15, 2013 by kannot

[hellodolly]

" Rumors ?????????????????????????????????? had it that most taxis were operated by Phuket mafia gangs "

Soon they will say that tourists only fantasy about their complaints and everything is according to the law ... wanna bet ?

Well, according to the Gov, we foreigners are the cause of all the trouble

Link please

while I have you on the line could you use your position as a moderator to see about getting another button such as the I like one only this one would say now that is funny.

Also room for more em cons. There is no way in the world to put enough up to justify this OP Next thing you know they will have the education ministry investigating taxi mafias.. then it will be the department of commerce who ever that is can't tell with Yingluck flying all over the world making trade deals. But she could put the Army in the line up to investigate Taxi mafias in Puckett's various locals.

[hellodolly]

Lot's of investigating going on but not much action so far.

The solution is so simple. Institute 10B songtheaws across the island like in so many other tourist areas in Thailand. The taxi's and tuk tuks will all go away. I will even help with the route planning:

Coastal route: Kata to Surin.

Rawai, Nai Harn, Chalong, Kata loop.

Phuket town to Patong.

Phuket town to the airport.

Sorted.

Not sure where else other than Pattaya they have that service and Pattaya dosen't have that good a service for the tourist.

You have to know the routes. We in Chiang Mai just use Tuck tucks and trucks similar to the baht buses except you can tell them where you want to go and they will take you there, Better than having to know all the different routes and stops in the whole city.

[hellodolly]

They couldnt investigate a turd floating off the coast let alone wipe it out!

The scams go right to the top the VERY VERY top that cannot be discussed.

Now there is a post that a that's funny button would garner a lot of support for.

[pablodiablo]

thai people never see the big picture, they always go for the fast buck, they dont understand the damage they do when they let this sort of thing go on with little or no penalty, i have lived in thailand for 10 years now, there are 2 types of thai retarded or very smart there is no middle ground, the sooner they wake up the better, give cambodia 5 to 10 years and they will leave thailand in the dust'

[Bluespunk]

'However, the plan to ensnare the mafia taxis did not work thanks to media reports. The team then approached cab drivers on the street and asked them, to abide by the law'

Ah, now those two sentences are comedy gold.

Yeah, sure, it was the media who tipped off the taxis.

[madmitch]

Of course we foreigners are the source of all the problems.

If we hadn't started to come in our droves to Phuket, the taxis would simply operate as they do in the rest of Thailand, catering mainly for locals.

Foreigners arrive, this in turn attracts money grabbers from all over Thailand who in turn set up both legal and illegal "co-operatives".

No farangs, no taxi mafias. So it is our fault.

[samuibruno]

cambodia already leading thailand on many fronts

[oMega69]

cambodia already leading thailand on many fronts

Indeed !

Cambodia is the place to be. Growing very fast now.

I hope not the Russians will <deleted>*kit up .

[sz1a]

"The team then approached cab drivers on the streets and asked them to abide by the law."

Is this true? I feel like NNT might not get their facts straight because they always have these quirky weird plot twists in their stories.

[pomchop]

Lot's of investigating going on but not much action so far.

The solution is so simple. Institute 10B songtheaws across the island like in so many other tourist areas in Thailand. The taxi's and tuk tuks will all go away. I will even help with the route planning:

Coastal route: Kata to Surin.

Rawai, Nai Harn, Chalong, Kata loop.

Phuket town to Patong.

Phuket town to the airport.

Sorted.

Not sure where else other than Pattaya they have that service and Pattaya dosen't have that good a service for the tourist.

You have to know the routes. We in Chiang Mai just use Tuck tucks and trucks similar to the baht buses except you can tell them where you want to go and they will take you there, Better than having to know all the different routes and stops in the whole city.

Pattaya actually has a very workable system of songtaeows running several loops around the main areas ...of course some Pattaya guys still WHINE because they have to pay ten baht and some thais pay five. Some whine because the songtaeow doesn't go right to their doorstep. Some whine because there are too many songtaeows.

Perhaps a week or two in Phuket would stop the Pattaya whiners.

If a bunch of songtaeows starting doing a loop around patong beach at twenty baht it would put the tuk tuk mafia out of business and make for some very happy tourists who could hop on and off without some kind of confrontation.. Add in some Leave When Full songtaeows to the other beaches and tourists would certainly use them. The problem is that if someone showed up with songtaeows the taxi mafias would likely BEAT THEM TO DEATH...and the "investigators" would be unable to determine what happened even though anyone with half a brain could figure it out.

Oh how lucky to live in Chiang Rai where we have songtaeows, tuk tuks, motorcys, buses, vans etc that provide all kinds of local services at low/fair prices...And best of all we have regular Bangkok style a/c taxis that will USE THE METER and the meter rates are actually BELOW Bangkok rates.. Drop rate is 30 baht and then 10 baht per km.

[UncleJ]

Listen up guys. Please stop scamming and assaulting our visitors.

Yea I know they are just farangs but I'm getting some heat from upstairs.

Just ease off a bit.

[Suffinator]

Nothing new here - he's been told on numerous occasions and decided to simply ignore it. Time for action? Don't hold your breath; another exercise in rhetoric with a goodly dose of TAT reporting that the sh*t bucket is blooming roses and that people are falling over themselves to get here.

[Xonax]

They couldnt investigate a turd floating off the coast let alone wipe it out!

The scams go right to the top the VERY VERY top that cannot be discussed.

Now there is a post that a that's funny button would garner a lot of support for.

I would rather have a dislike button!! And why limit the likes to a very small number per day??

[kannot]

Better let the "ministry of funny walks" investigate this one I'd say, would probably get farther.

[NamKangMan]

They couldnt investigate a turd floating off the coast let alone wipe it out!

The scams go right to the top the VERY VERY top that cannot be discussed.

Actually, investigating turd floating off the coast would be quite difficult because there are that many floating out there now it would be hard to identify the suspect turd. :)

[Ulic]

Like every government. Initial investigation, set up a committee to investigate, report back to the relevant persons, study the report,

form another committee to come up with a solution, report back to relevant persons, study report, form another committee to study

how to implement the solutions and the cost involved. Report back to relevant persons. Apply to government in Bangkok for funding

money for implementation of solution to problems. Wait........... If the government or any one in charge of looking into this problem changes,

start back at the beginning so it is someone you trust putting the study/solution together and you will get your share of thick brown envelopes.

[Carrerakiss]

Thai politicians don't do themselves any favors do they? How to defend one who talks and acts this way? Does he really not realise how stupid he sounds and looks?

I can only think that it was his turn to visit Phuket and trot out some sound bites in order to show some activity. But please, sound like you are tougher than this report suggests. You can't get rid of mafia by tickling them with feathers.

[mok199]

talk talk talk,every one knows they are the scum of the earth,parasites,low life,weasels,but ''mafia''hahhaha i think not....just because they use intimidation and ''saftey in mumbers'',please dont raise them to level of mafia....''whats the difference between a thai cabby and a mud shark?? ......one is a scum sucking bottom feeder ......the other one is a fish........

[bristolgeoff]

the mafia taxi people will hide for awhile,then come back.just like the swampty taxi mafia,still there but dressed in a suit on the ground floor

[BestBitterPhuket]

The minister will lose face big time if the complaints continues to come. This is ammunition for the yellows.