Two Phuket Tourists Assaulted, Says Commander
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One of seven men charged over drugs in Phuket City
Photo by phuketwan.com
Two Phuket Tourists Assaulted, Says Commander
By Chutima Sidasathian
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
PHUKET police commander Major General Pekad Tantipong says two cases involving assaults on Australians recently show that not all Phuket people are showing the right approach to tourists.
The commander, based in Phuket City, has organised for all communications to embassies to be channeled through his office. The move is a breakthrough triggered by the quarterly meetings between the Phuket Governor and honorary consuls and embassy representatives.
Case One About two weeks ago, an Australian damaged a jet-ski in Patong. The operator demanded 3000 baht a day to cover the cost of downtime, but the tourist said that should be covered by insurance. The operator struck the tourist and the tourist reported the incident to Patong police. Major General Pekad insisted that the man appear in court. He was fined 1000 baht and jailed for one month, suspended on a two-year good behavior bond.
Case Two Two days later, an Australian on a motorcycle damaged a car on the beachfront at Patong. The woman who owned the car asked for 1500 baht in compensation, which the tourist thought was too much, and in the argument that followed, the woman's boyfriend hit the tourist. In the court case that followed, the boyfrfiend was fined 1000 baht and sentenced to three months in jail, suspended on a two-year good behavior bond.
Major General Pekad said that he insisted both cases go to court, even though often police on Phuket are reluctant to do more than fine perpetrators because of the hefty documentation involved in taking a matter to court.
He said that assaults on tourists and rip-offs remained unacceptable and he would continue to take a hard line in such cases.
''Tuk-tuks remain a problem but my impression is that it's only the 10 percent who tend to cause trouble,'' he said. ''The rest are law-abiding citizens.''
With 1100 police for the whole island, staying on top of crime was always the priority, he said. While figures for crimes remained about the same, arrest rates had risen, he said.
For Phuket City, the number of crimes so far this year were as follows: January 233; February 181; March 322; April 345; May 227; June 388; July 410; August 309, September 248; to October 4, 59.
Major General Pekad was at a media presentation today at Phuket City police station where seven alleged drug sellers and one man who allegedly had possession of an illegal gun were presented.
Senior officers showed special interest in Somchai Jooddeche, 18, who had an octopus tattooed on his face and his eyes tattooed with permanent ''eyeliner'' and a large teardrop.
