Soldiers arrest Koh Phangan jet ski operator

[webfact]

Soldiers arrest Koh Phangan jet ski operator


Image: Daily News

KOH PHANGAN:-- Soldiers turned up at a Koh Phangan beach Sunday to take action against a jet ski operator.

In conjunction with local police they removed six jetskis that were operating on Thong Nai Pan beach, reports Daily News.

The jetskis were operating in contravention of ordinances issued to protect the environment

Prapaporn Banthaopol, 42, owner of the operation was taken in for questioning.

The arrest was part of a long running operation to rid the beach of jet skis after locals had complained that the operator was adversely affecting both the tourist trade and marine life of the beach.

Locals said that prawns used by villagers to make gapi or shrimp paste had steadily been disappearing as a result of the jetskis.

Illegal operators face a jail term of six months and a fine of 50,000 baht.

Source: Daily News


-- 2016-04-11

[craigt3365]

Why did it take the soldiers to deal with this? Sad that the police couldn't handle it....

[HooHaa]

Why did it take the soldiers to deal with this? Sad that the police couldn't handle it....

what a deliciously typical thaivisa response.

one would think that you would be content in the knowledge that steps were being taken to banish the jetskis.

interestingly, koh phangan does not seem to have had the same issues with jetski scammers as samui, pattay and phuket.

i knew an operator there a few years back and never once hear a bad word against him.

i have certainly not heard of any issues on thong nai pan with jetski rip off, and this would indicate the issue is more environmental than criminal.

[Pomthai]

There are many reasons to discourage or even ban jet-skis however "Scaring away prawns?" come on.....

[richard_smith237]

While I agree with the removal of the Jet-Ski's operations from this beach there remains a lot missing.

The Jet-Ski operations else where (Pattaya, Samui, Phuket) that have been so problematic for tourists could do with very similar treatment. I wonder why the Military have not been tasked with targeting these...

Additionally, it seems rather convenient to blame the decline of the local 'shrimp & Prawn' on the Jet-ski operations. I can't see 6 jet-ski's have such a dramatic effect, I would suspect over farming / fishing to be a far more likely culprit.

[craigt3365]

Why did it take the soldiers to deal with this? Sad that the police couldn't handle it....

what a deliciously typical thaivisa response.

one would think that you would be content in the knowledge that steps were being taken to banish the jetskis.

interestingly, koh phangan does not seem to have had the same issues with jetski scammers as samui, pattay and phuket.

i knew an operator there a few years back and never once hear a bad word against him.

i have certainly not heard of any issues on thong nai pan with jetski rip off, and this would indicate the issue is more environmental than criminal.

Deliciously typical thaivisa response

Really? I didn't know there was a delicious AND typical thaivisa response!

No reason to ban jet skis as long as they are not hurting the environment or involved in the scams. Which, by the way, do happen on KPN. A quick Google search will show you.

I'm amazed any prawns are left in that bay. It's transited by dozens and dozens of long tail boats all day long. They're probably worse than the few jets skis that get rented.

[Bsd]

There is a lot more than just the prawns involved in this. Yes there have been complaints about scams and operators following people back to their hotel rooms.

And to answer the question about why it took the army to do this. Well lets just say someone in local government was "finding reasons" not to do anything. This is the second time in a year that the army have taken jetskis away from Thong Nai Pan hopefully something will stick this time.

There is another thread on the forum that has details from the last time, some of the other reasons for the removal are listed in there.

[ezzra]

The soldiers are now 6,000 better off, they will let off with, don't do it again ok? kind of warning,

and for the all tea in China, you will find back doing the same thing in a few days from now what

with the busy holiday coming up.....

[Basil B]

Why did it take the soldiers to deal with this? Sad that the police couldn't handle it....

Or wouldn't...

[Lampang2]

Local police don't fine the hands that feeds them.

[luudee]

as always, the punishment is a joke ....

two weeks later he will be out there doing his thing again ...

[Lampang2]

as always, the punishment is a joke ....

two weeks later he will be out there doing his thing again ...

Nature (money) always finds its way.

[colinneil]

I suppose that i can look forward to more prawn cocktails now.

Takes the Army to do something, police wont because if they did they would lose their kickbacks from jet ski operators.

[Bsd]

The soldiers are now 6,000 better off, they will let off with, don't do it again ok? kind of warning,

and for the all tea in China, you will find back doing the same thing in a few days from now what

with the busy holiday coming up.....

as always, the punishment is a joke ....

two weeks later he will be out there doing his thing again ...

I have been told that the soldiers were refusing gifts of cold bottles of water from restaurants yesterday.

As I said earlier and discussed in the old thread last time the soldiers came in and took a couple of jetskis off each operator, that kept the beach free for 6 months. This time the word from on high (in the army) was take everything and make sure they never return.

I will report if I see any out on the beach again.

[Basil B]

Should have sent the Navy...

They could have towed them out to sea and used them for gunnery practice.

[Classic Ray]

They are a bloody noisy nuisance wherever they are. Suggest they toe them away and have a bonfire!

[Scouse Twoccer]

Why did it take the soldiers to deal with this? Sad that the police couldn't handle it....

What difference does it make who helped whom to make the arrest? There were a number of jet skis involved perhaps there was a need for a few personnel to impound them?

[Scouse Twoccer]

The soldiers are now 6,000 better off, they will let off with, don't do it again ok? kind of warning,

and for the all tea in China, you will find back doing the same thing in a few days from now what

with the busy holiday coming up.....

"The soldiers are now 6,000 better off..."

What does that mean, are you reading the same OP as everyone else?

[Scouse Twoccer]

I have been told that the soldiers were refusing gifts of cold bottles of water from restaurants yesterday.

As I said earlier and discussed in the old thread last time the soldiers came in and took a couple of jetskis off each operator, that kept the beach free for 6 months. This time the word from on high (in the army) was take everything and make sure they never return.

I will report if I see any out on the beach again.

Well make sure that you report to the correct place; that would be the authorities, not Thaivisa, of course.

[samuijimmy]

Some duplicate posts have been removed...

Please keep it friendly guys!

[Scouse Twoccer]

They are a bloody noisy nuisance wherever they are. Suggest they toe them away and have a bonfire!

Not unlike those bloody motor bikes like that in your avatar to which the same thing should happen.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Scouse Twoccer

[seedy]

Flaming post removed

[cgtours]

Why did it take the soldiers to deal with this? Sad that the police couldn't handle it....

Because the owner is an Island Mafia and they are Island Police. Just like the situation in Koh TAo and some other Islands. Better the ARMY.

[sanukjim]

Why did it take the soldiers to deal with this? Sad that the police couldn't handle it....

Because like all the other times the Army is involved it's one of the operation that either a man of the bib owns or is getting a bribe from.The All Night clubs pay in excess of 100,000 baht to stay open then the Army says raid the place just to show the bib who the bosses rely are.

Edited April 11, 2016 by sanukjim

[Jim walker]

Shame for the poor jetski owner especially if he had already paid the police for his protection been paying off the wrong people then again it would be nice to be able to swim in a beach in Thailand without worrying if one of your kids will have his head smashed I'm with a jetski

[Ulic]

"A long running operation" I don't understand. Just go down to the beach, arrest the

operator. Tow all the jet-skis back to the police impound yard. Arrest the owner

when he turns up to complain his jet-skis have been stolen. A 30 minute operation

and a little waiting time. Operation done.

[Paul Kernell]

Why did it take the soldiers to deal with this? Sad that the police couldn't handle it....

Because like all the other times the Army is involved it's one of the operation that either a man of the bib owns or is getting a bribe from.The All Night clubs pay in excess of 100,000 baht to stay open then the Army says raid the place just to show the bib who the bosses rely are.

Brown envelope, Wrong pocket.

[Thechook]

While I agree with the removal of the Jet-Ski's operations from this beach there remains a lot missing.

The Jet-Ski operations else where (Pattaya, Samui, Phuket) that have been so problematic for tourists could do with very similar treatment. I wonder why the Military have not been tasked with targeting these...

Additionally, it seems rather convenient to blame the decline of the local 'shrimp & Prawn' on the Jet-ski operations. I can't see 6 jet-ski's have such a dramatic effect, I would suspect over farming / fishing to be a far more likely culprit.

yep over fishing and raw drains and sewage flowing out to sea doesn't help either

[Bsd]

"A long running operation" I don't understand. Just go down to the beach, arrest the

operator. Tow all the jet-skis back to the police impound yard. Arrest the owner

when he turns up to complain his jet-skis have been stolen. A 30 minute operation

and a little waiting time. Operation done.

They did that last time, well something similar. It lasted about 6 months before the charges were dropped (not by the army) and the jetskis were back.

So this time the army have been waiting until the are sure they have enough evidence to close the operations down for good.

I know that it is easy to sit back and say that so and so is bad so just lock him up but you need the proof to keep holding them. This is just like why they can't go straight after the big "influential people" since they don't do the acts themselves, you have to start at the bottom and follow the money and orders back up.

[craigt3365]

"A long running operation" I don't understand. Just go down to the beach, arrest the

operator. Tow all the jet-skis back to the police impound yard. Arrest the owner

when he turns up to complain his jet-skis have been stolen. A 30 minute operation

and a little waiting time. Operation done.

They did that last time, well something similar. It lasted about 6 months before the charges were dropped (not by the army) and the jetskis were back.

So this time the army have been waiting until the are sure they have enough evidence to close the operations down for good.

I know that it is easy to sit back and say that so and so is bad so just lock him up but you need the proof to keep holding them. This is just like why they can't go straight after the big "influential people" since they don't do the acts themselves, you have to start at the bottom and follow the money and orders back up.

The police know exactly who controls and runs this operation. They've got all the proof they need. Sadly, corruption comes into play. And nothing gets done.

It will be interesting to see how things play out here in Pattaya now that the mayor is gone, and soon, many who were under him. All being replaced by the military.