Phuket dive industry moves against police arrests, alleged shakedowns

[rooster59]

Phuket dive industry moves against police arrests, alleged shakedowns

The Phuket News

 

The Phuket dive industry is moving to counter police arrests for teaching tourists dive lessons in swimming pools, and allegations of ‘shakedowns’ for cash by police. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot / file
 

PHUKET: Key representatives from the Association of Thailand Underwater Sports (ATUS) today (Jan 6) met with the Acting Chief of the Phuket Employment Office to discuss action to be taken over the recent spate of arrests of dive instructors across the island.

 

“We learned about the spate of arrests of dive instructors only yesterday (Jan 5),” Ratanapon Promchu, Manager of the Phuket-based ATUS office, told The Phuket News today.

 

“I went to meet with the Phuket Employment Office this morning. I talked with them about the gap between what a dive instructor needs to do and the registered place of work in the work permit,” she explained.

 

Ms Ratanapon confirmed that she was aware that in making some arrests, officers had dive instructors pulled out of training pools in the middle of classes, causing much alarm to the tourists learning to dive.

 

“That is how they do their job when they find instructors teaching lessons in a swimming pool that is not at the registered address in the work,” was all she would say on that point.

 

“In fact, the main issue is that every dive instructor must have the registered address of the company they work for entered in their work permit – but in reality, if there is no swimming pool at the company’s main office, the dive instructor will need to conduct classes at a location where there is a swimming pool,” Ms Ratanpon explained.

 

“With any lessons, of course the instructor must teach students in a swimming pool, then the students must practice in the sea.

 

“For this we need to find a solution. The current situation with only the company’s registered address entered in the work permit does not match reality – and police are arresting people for only doing their job.

 

“I am working on ways to solve this problem. I will present to the Phuket Employment Office a list of recommendations when the draft is finished,” Ms Ratanpon said.

 

Full story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-dive-industry-moves-against-police-arrests-alleged-shakedowns-60536.php#Km8yQVJsrPO5bIO3.97

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2017-01-07

 

 

 

[NamKangMan]

 

"I will present to the Phuket Employment Office a list of recommendations when the draft is finished,” Ms Ratanpon said. -  the recommendations should be submitted to the Central Government in Bangkok, as this is a nation wide issue, not just a Phuket issue. 

 

That said, I'm not surprised Phuket officials do not apply any common sense or discretion when upholding this law, as there is a quick baht in it for them.

Edited January 7, 2017 by NamKangMan

[bokningar]

Polis just being creative in getting New Year bonus .

Or did every one get a receipt? 

[DoctorG]

Is the ocean flagged as their place of employment?

[williamgeorgeallen]

i have had problems with the wrong address in my work permit in pattaya. should have been a small fine but resulted in me loosing about 80k thb over 2 years. they make it extremely difficult to add an address in an existing work permit then roll you for not doing it.

i just got a one year visa for my girl for new zealand. to work she just ticks a box on the visa application form and she can work anywhere and for anyone. visa was 250nz$, no need for an additional work permit. was easy and straight forward. the opposite of my my experiences over the last 8 years with work permits and visas for thailand. not that she needs to work as she is full time raising our kids. when the thai official came to my business and nabbed me he kept saying 'same your country' of course it is very different.

Edited January 7, 2017 by williamgeorgeallen

[steelepulse]

I'm not in the dive industry, but I can't see the police wanting to "compromise" on this issue as it's a nice earner.  They can choose to enforce whenever they need to top up the black label fund.

[wakeupplease]

They do not seem to like the Farang anymore time to move on like the tourists have, There is a very nice place just down the road?

[elgordo38]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

allegations of ‘shakedowns’ for cash by police. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot / file

Shakedowns by police? heaven forbid. No wonder they cheat on their exams. 

[NoBrainer]

The just need to have "Can work at any location" in their work permits.

 

I had that about 15 years ago when I repaired computers in Phuket. Had to go to customers premises to do repairs sometimes.

[farcanell]

Another example of Thailand shooting itself in the foot.

[KIWIBATCH]

How absolutely bloody ridiculous is this carry on...for Gods sake it's about time the police grew up and applied some common sense.....I teach at a school on level 3 of the school building...on Wednesdays between 10 and 11am I walk with the students down the Soi 300 metres to a Thai temple for their weekly merit making session (I am only acting as a minder with other Thai teachers helping as well)......does my work permit allow me to do this....no it doesn't...if you apply RTP logic....another farang teacher (with a work permit)..walks a group of students directly across the soi from school to the local swimming pool and gives them swimming lessons.......should we be preparing for "shakedown" from the local dumpties....seems so.......grow up Thailand for Gods sake..!!!! 

[SteveB2]

Following a few close shaves, I had my lawyer correct this little issue at the local Chonburi labor office a few years ago.

 

It all had to be done one step at a time so as to avoid overloading the officials of course... 

 

Simply add:-

• "Teaching water sports in the Gulf of Siam (or Andman Sea?)" covers all 'Open Water Ocean dives'
• "Teaching water sports in Chonburi province (Phuket province?) hotel swimming pools" covers all hotel swimming pool 'confined water training'

 

For those staying here long term in Thailand, the progressive deprecation of scuba diving as a valid reason to obtain an education visa and it's 'undesirable profession status' (as informed to me by  Chaeng Wattana (BKK) Immigration HQ, 2016)  should affect everyone's thinking as to where us foreigners continuing permission to work in this profession is heading - would anyone like to predict what will happen in the next 5 years?

 

Note:

Any foreigner working in any permitted profession here in LOS, very much needs to get their ducks in a row and make no assumptions.

The hotel swimming pool and the ocean are obviously places of work, and thus have to be entered as a formal place of work in the WP exactly as the Phuket employment office stated. 

I even had a shake down few years ago while working for a large company that spread over several co-joined townhouses - each townhouse address had to be entered in the WP as a place of work.

 

[gk10002000]

13 hours ago, NoBrainer said:

The just need to have "Can work at any location" in their work permits.

 

I had that about 15 years ago when I repaired computers in Phuket. Had to go to customers premises to do repairs sometimes.

That seems pretty sensible to me.  good example.  Many foreign workers in the industrial or manufacturing or engineering consultation areas no doubt have to go to different plants or factories to check on things, and of course probably are hundreds of other examples and occupations.

[ChakaKhan]

I gave up on trying to work here long ago

Now im just a tourists--as thais force me to be...

[Elkski]

I met many dive masters on Phi phi who had no WP.   They made like 20$us a day.   

[stevenl]

8 hours ago, Elkski said:

I met many dive masters on Phi phi who had no WP.   They made like 20$us a day.   

Divemasters will always be illegal.

 

The problem in this case is that people arrested were in possession of a workpermit (yes, sometimes through a shady construction) and paid their way out of it.

[elgordo38]

On 1/7/2017 at 7:30 AM, NamKangMan said:

Central Government in Bangkok

A really overworked phrase. All roads lead to Bangkok. Time to decentralize a bit.