Action needed in Phuket, not more hot air
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The DSI chief is making a song and dance about a crackdown, when arrests are long overdue
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is poised to launch a major crackdown on “criminals” targeting tourists in Phuket as part of a government strategy to sustain one of the most important industries in the country.
The launch starts with the naming of 11 people and groups in question but falls short of saying exactly what the authorities will do next.
DSI chief Tarit Pengdith made the announcement about the plan himself at a media briefing last week.
He talked about extortion and scams on the resort island and said legal action could be taken.
While a crackdown on illegal activities should be welcomed, it is somewhat odd for the authorities to toss out the names of suspects. Tarit said it was a “message to them to stop” their illegal activities.
This is strange law enforcement methodology and strategy. Perhaps these suspects have yet to cross the line; perhaps the DSI wants to project itself as the force to be reckoned with.
Interestingly, while the launch is being prepared in Phuket, a senior police officer in Pattaya, Thailand’s sin city, came out and said his city has no problem with criminal activities.
Perhaps the DSI should be ask why one city is singled out but not the other. Maybe the DSI doesn’t want to bite off more than it can chew. Maybe as officials source suggest - the DSI has yet to secure the cooperation of local law enforcement in Pattaya, thus, holding back formal announcement of a crackdown there.
For the newly established Centre for Preventing and Suppressing Organised Crimes Targeting Tourists to have any teeth and credibility, there has to be serious political will at the policy-making level.
There have been too many complaints from locals and the international community, including Bangkok-based embassies, about the harassment and rip-offs involving bona fide visitors to these destinations.
Why did the government have to wait until a group of European ambassadors issued a public demand for better protection for their citizens? Surely Thai officials and public know better than foreigners about the kind of abuses that local and foreign visitors face.
From crooked taxi operators to jet-ski scam artists, as well as allegations of flimsy law enforcement and foreign criminal gangs roaming the streets of these major destinations, Thailand is all over international and local social media outlet.
If we are serious about preserving the tourism industry, and our image in the international community, much more has to be done.
But the damaged reputation is not beyond repair. Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak said he wants Phuket to be a paradise for tourists. That is good. But it means eliminating the rip-offs. And to do that involves all of us. Not empty promises from politicians who are here today and gone tomorrow.
We shouldn’t have to wait for foreign ambassadors to raise these embarrassing issues. We know better and should do something about it.
