Thailand mulls ID wristbands, curfews for tourists

[siampolee]

HiSoLowSoNo So post # 88.

A safe area is maybe an area with no Thais around?

Frinton on sea is rather a pleasant place no outside influences are tolerated there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frinton-on-Sea

[Bernard Flint]

Whether a good idea or not, the couple HAVE been identified,but i do except that identification of someone lost/drunk could be useful.

However

I thought that the hotels should notify immigration within 24 hours, with details of guests anyway

[NongKhaiKid]

"Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said she had approached hotels over the idea of handing out wristbands to help identify tourists that get lost or into trouble."

Or make them stand out even more as a target.

Exactly! Cause...ya know...there isn't any other way to figure out easily they're not native

Residents, expats, people who work here are not tourists. For potential assailants these bands will make clear who the easier target is.

When will one of these official geneses ' mull ' giving resident foreigners another colour of band to prove we are not tourists ?

[Commerce]

"Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said she had approached hotels over the idea of handing out wristbands to help identify tourists who get lost or killed."

How low can they get, all for tourism? ,deleted, ers

[mauGR1]

Next, fine every tourist who's not wearing the wristband... It should work great.

[ikke]

Who selected this person for the job as Tourism Minister. Oh yes I remember now. Time to get rid of this useless minister and reform this Ministry.

It appears she got the job because she is married to Thai Police Major General Chonnasith."

[jpeg]

I received a news text which said that also under consideration was the creation of tourist ' safe areas ' on islands and in resort areas etc !

I can imagine tourists flocking to be herded into a compound, ghetto or whatever anyone wants to call it.

By designating ' safe ' areas they are in essence saying outside them is bandit country so why would anyone bother visiting such a country ?

Once again open mouth without engaging brain.

My first thoughts too. Has Thailand morphed into the Congo

[icare999]

Thailand is a very safe country. I have been here 2 years and I haven't so much as seen any trouble. The only problems here in Thailand appear to happen in the places most people know to avoid anyway - Pattaya, Phuket and Bangkok. I am sorry for anyone who gets into trouble here or gets hurt but it doesn't take a genius to work out that there is a certain risk to going to Pattaya and getting extremely drunk. The same would apply to a tourist visiting England, don't go to St Annes in Nottingham and get extremely drunk or try to purchase drugs in Moss Side in Manchester. It is of course not ideal but at the same time, getting in trouble in Thailand seems entirely avoidable to me.

Before i settled down to a quite peaceful life many many years ago i used to get drunk as a lord as they say in Bangcock and in my drunken stupor went to places most would consider risky to say the least I did this many times and never not once lost any money (not that id really know being so pissed but their was always plenty in my wallet at end even when i did not recognise my sleeping companion). I used to do same n Pattaya Phuket and again never any problem or trouble. I fondly remember those says but was always amazed since i was such an easy target that in every occasion after visiting many dives and low places not once in perhaps 500 times over 5 or so years the slightest problem (except due to my state fairly often in lower reagoons of my body.

Long time ago now so maybe a lot has changed and maybe lucky I'm now so old and derepid i prefer a good film and bottle of whisky with my wonderful wife (she does not partake in whisky and I'm restricted to 1 bottle a session now and again)

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Was she really the brightest they could find to lead one of the most important departments for this country?

[zydeco]

This is beginning to sound a bit like the yellow badges marking the Jews in pre-war Germany! Any 'mark' or 'brand' would only have a detrimental effect. Officials, more thinking before publishing should be the order of the day!

And perhaps a little more thinking before comparing the proposal to Auschwitz.

[slapout]

I would support enactictment/enforcement of a baseball rule for BIB, politicians, civil servents, etc on pubic payroll; 3 strikes/mistakes and your out of a job, to reapply for employment would require 2 years of temple/public service, and written and oral testing to determine IQ, as well as capibility to take care of your personal requirments/needs and those of the job being sought..

Anyone married, related, or in business with any policemen (active or retired) would be only considered for ''gopher'' positions and press interviews would count as a strike.

[grantbkk]

It's funny and pathetic but typical of these poor Thai ministers required to think out loud periodically. An address and telephone number would be helpful I suppose. However, the idea of wearing a "If Found Dead or Unconscious Please Return To" wristband should be optional. Never going to happen.

[Alwyn]

wow.. Is this woman allowed out without supervision?

[Thai at Heart]

“The next step would be some sort of electronic tracking device but this has not yet been discussed in detail.”

Oh, this will be a paradise for tourists, treated as criminals with electronic devices.

Are these people serious coming up with ideas like that?

Welcome to the madhouse that is Thailand.

Instead of promising to clean up corruption and improve policing and safety, Thailand will give you a bracelet. Yes, these numpties are deadly serious.

[Fab5BKK]

They started with a mark, then they displaced them, then put them into camps, then... :-((

They already treat long term "residents" like criminals (90-day reporting)

it does stink

[NongKhaiKid]

Just think what's being mulled and the implications for tourists thinking about a vacation here.

' As a tourist you will be issued with a identification bracket and or being electronically tagged. On islands, beaches and tourist resorts there are designed areas in which you can safely enjoy yourself as they will be secured by armed security guards, police or military personnel.

It may not be safe outside these areas especially at night.

Enjoy your stay in Stalag Thailand. '

This is supposed to encourage visitors by telling them how safe their vacation will be ?

[Thai at Heart]

How about a permenenct curfew for law breakers, rapists, murders and the such.

[CockneyGit]

Here's a viable alternative to ID wristbands.

Don't rape and/or murder tourists..!!

[brubakertx]

Sounds great! Give a big bull eyes for all the thieves and ladyboy to go after the tourist with the most money.

Maybe they should tattoo all the criminals so we know who they are.

[Lupatria]

Are we still talking about a country where a Thai gets a 500 Thb fine after he attacked a tourist with a knife?

[kimamey]

Now the only delay with the implementing is that settling on the wristband's colour...red, yellow, or whatever the current flavor is...

They'll probably choose pink so most western men will refuse to wear it.

[wilcopops]

tattoos and armbands are a good idea............ARE THEY COMPLETELY INSANE?????

[wilcopops]

Are we still talking about a country where a Thai gets a 500 Thb fine after he attacked a tourist with a knife?

same as the new parking tickets!

[zydeco]

Now that several posters have seen fit to make comparison to the Nuremburg laws, might it be time to look at this a little more calmly. Is a tourist ID band at a resort/hotel such a bad idea?

I read on TV several times per year the stories of entire Euro-families getting themselves lost in the jungle, when they wander off the beaten path.

What is wrong with an ID band that helps those Euros who don't have enough sense to realize the hazards of getting lost in the jungle?

Some Thai finds them and can read where they are staying and get them back. If somebody wants to inflict harm, wristband or no will not make a difference.

This isn't entirely the goofy idea it's being made out to be. Nature is pretty tame in Europe and a lot of people have no idea what they are wandering into.

[GruF]

Hey, read the first post. I'm not a tourist any more so I don't think it will be a probiem. I just go to the village now.

[seajae]

yes, it is much easier to blame the farang than it is to get the thais to obey the laws, stop all the thai mafia/corruption that cause most of the problems and of course not make thais lose face by admitting they can be killers/corrupt/criminals. These people really are brain dead coming up with sh*t like this, pathetic.

[AGareth2]

how is a wristband going to protect you from a lethal weapon?

will it act like one of those amulets?

[kimamey]

How about a yellow T on our coats?

'Yellow' and the letter 'T' ?

Oh yes I see now. Tourists will fit in with both sides of the political divide.

[khunjamesjohnson]

Tourists arrives at the hotel:

"Welcome to Thailand.

Congratulations for getting thru the airport without getting scammed.

Don't overstay or you will be blacklisted. Here, wear this wristband and stay in the safety zone. Don't use the taxies and avoid the jet ski thugs. Prepare yourself for random body searches and piss tests.

The police are worthless so don't get into trouble and whatever you do, stay out of the King Power Duty Free shops when you depart.

And keep that wrist band on in case they find your corpse.

Have a nice stay."

[seajae]

Now that several posters have seen fit to make comparison to the Nuremburg laws, might it be time to look at this a little more calmly. Is a tourist ID band at a resort/hotel such a bad idea?

I read on TV several times per year the stories of entire Euro-families getting themselves lost in the jungle, when they wander off the beaten path.

What is wrong with an ID band that helps those Euros who don't have enough sense to realize the hazards of getting lost in the jungle?

Some Thai finds them and can read where they are staying and get them back. If somebody wants to inflict harm, wristband or no will not make a difference.

This isn't entirely the goofy idea it's being made out to be. Nature is pretty tame in Europe and a lot of people have no idea what they are wandering into.

and most hotels have business card with all the same info, it is also just as easy to carry without advertizing you are a newbie to the country and fair game for the crooks