Crisis of tourist safety

The string of bad PR incidents that have left behind an alarming number of dead and seriously injured visitors to the Kingdom are greatly compounded by inaction or worse on the part of police and can only be countered by strict reform of local law enforcement agencies

Published: 2 Dec 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

On Tuesday in Australia, Channel Nine's A Current Affair programme called the actions of Koh Samui police "callous, calculated and evil" as they attempted to extort money last month from a man after his fiancee, 24-year-old dancer and sportscaster Nicole Fitzsimons, died in a motorcycle accident.

On Thursday in The Sun, a British tabloid, a prominent story about a violent attack in October by a machete-wielding "rape gang" of Thai youths on a young British couple in Ao Nang, Krabi, included many details of other such cases, scams and safety issues around the Kingdom.

The Evil Man of Krabi YouTube video, made by the father of an alleged rape victim also in Ao Nang, Krabi, in July, has garnered more than 500,000 views since Oct 23.

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bew
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Discussion 55 : 09 Dec 2012 at 11.0855
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Crisis in police force breeds crisis in tourist industry!
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thefarang
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Discussion 54 : 04 Dec 2012 at 12.5454
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I've been saying this for some time now but the Thai government's biggest problem is the free flow of information. The internet has given Thais the ability to express their outrage from behind anonymous usernames and farangs to spread details about negative experiences across the globe in minutes. Stuff that used to get swept under the rug is now all over Facebook and Twitter within hours and the Thai government seems to be helpless to stop it.

The writing is on the wall, Thailand needs to clean up its act or risk watching their precious tourism dollars and foreign investment go to their neighbors.
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thefarang
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Discussion 53 : 04 Dec 2012 at 12.4553
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Another aspect that makes it difficult is, as whatajoke said about NYC. Personally, I feel Bangkok is much safer than NYC or London but the difference is that everyone knows that if you even hint at offering a bribe to a NYPD officer or a London cop they'll throw you in jail before you can put the money back in your wallet.

In other words, the problem stems from the fact that the system is so corrupt, people don't even know what honesty is.
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Modin
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Discussion 52 : 03 Dec 2012 at 14.5752
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This is not just a problem for the police it is a problem for all the people. The "face saving" techniques used time after time by the police, not to mention the outright bribery, has become a cancer on the whole nation. These stories are going back overseas and are already making thousands of tourists go somewhere else. Their money would have been spent travelling here staying in hotels and guesthouses, eating food, buying other things.... the money they bring not only goes into local pockets and employs us but then we spread that money around the entire economy. By spitting in the face of those who come here we make ourselves poorer!
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geoffo
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Discussion 51 : 03 Dec 2012 at 02.2451
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A global magazine just ran a story titled " A Face Saving Side of Thailand". The thrust of the article is how long can Thailand hide its judicial indifference to foreigners. The Krabi rape prompted the article.

He refers to the 1972 downing of a Cathy aircraft from a bomb planted by a Thai policeman killing 81 people including the mans wife and child and the murder of two tourists in Pai by a Sgt Uthai. He was charged but released on bail. Uthai then beat his young wife to death.

He concludes Thai authorities too often excuse their own, especially when crimes involve foreigners but in the court of public opinion Thailand is now losin
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franklin
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Discussion 50 : 02 Dec 2012 at 21.2850
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Anybody seen a Yingluck anywhere? Will the crimes against tourists be handled/ignored same as those against southern Thais for the past decade? What does the Thai government take seriously?
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bluebkk
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Discussion 49 : 02 Dec 2012 at 20.3849
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Isn't this an urgent problem Chalerm should handle?? Or does he prefer to send his police to intimidate the opposition only???
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mrajg2u
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Discussion 48 : 02 Dec 2012 at 19.2648
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The Bangkok Post asked the question some time ago ...
'Farang cannot know Thainess'
This article should make things crystal clear for foreigners about what it means to be THAI
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jacksprat
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Discussion 47 : 02 Dec 2012 at 19.1947
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"bad-intentioned people such as Europeans" - Ah, yes. Those nasty Europeans are to blame for all of Thailand's troubles. They should be banned from entering the country.
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samurai
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Discussion 46 : 02 Dec 2012 at 17.5646
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Just like the problems of the Deep South, official corruption, official tardiness, nepotism etc. it is much easier for ministers and police chiefs to talk their way out and sweep things under the carpet, the tourists will eventually come back, they must think. Imagine how many wheels a police chief must have greased to end up where he is to finally see a return of investment and suddenly, he's forced to clean up his act over another case of police brutality. That's never going to happen in the long run. Unfortunately, that's the police culture. If its too hard to solve, find a scapegoat. If its a foreigner, it's "ka-ching"
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