TPB chief gets to work

TPB chief gets to work

The dynamic and sometimes controversial leader of the newly formed Tourism Police Bureau (TPB) is off to a roaring start. Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan led heavily publicised raids on Koh Samui last week. This week he's in Phuket, targeting what he calls "mafia operations" on that tourist-friendly island. The high-profile Pol Maj Gen Surachet is making current headlines but there are questions about his priorities.

Pol Maj Gen Surachet's actual title right now is acting deputy commissioner of the new police unit. Soon, he is expected to be assigned permanently. In an interview with this newspaper in September, Pol Maj Gen Surachet said it was his ultimate ambition to serve in the tourist police. The complicated criminal opportunities and networks that exist in Thailand in large part as a result of the welcome which this country extends to foreign tourists badly need a tough policeman to take charge.

The openness of Thailand attracts tens of millions of foreigners. They are welcome, and not least because they help to make the country run. Tourism has expanded in recent years, going from an estimated 6% of GDP less than a decade ago, to roughly 10% today. The vast majority of foreigners also contribute to the country's image as welcoming. Also in recent years, tourism in their own country has attracted more and more Thai people.

The millions of people on holiday have a downside. Splash-spending and having a good time attracts the lowlifes who target tourists and foreign visitors. Their crimes range from pickpocketing and petty theft to violence such as robbery and mugging. Con men cheat on prices and run elaborate schemes of chicanery to separate tourists and their cash. The jet-ski scammers who fake damage to their boats and the jewellery-store touts with their lies about temple closures are just two of the best known.

In addition, the openness of Thailand attracts both criminal class and fugitives from abroad. To help tourists, authorities make it simple to enter the country. Over the years, foreign criminals have been caught and deported, but they keep coming. Illegal workers are a constant bugbear, from the unqualified teachers and tourist guides to the organised gangs of boiler-room stock peddlers and drug traffickers.

Pol Maj Gen Surachet, in last week's raids on Samui, targeted the tiny part of the foreign community suspected of working illegally. The result was uninspiring. For example, a guesthouse operator was discovered to have marijuana -- certainly a lawbreaker but hardly a major public menace. Before heading to Phuket early this week, the tourist policeman raised his sights only slightly, saying he would target overstaying, illegal foreign workers in language schools and football operations.

He is on the right track but one hopes he will target worse and more influential criminals. Confidence tricksters like the jet-ski operators need to be cleaned out, once and for all. They are not just law-breakers but provide a terrible image of the country when foreigners go home.

There are dangerous "mafia" gangs, as Pol Maj Gen Surachet well knows and has discussed. They prey mostly on their own people, from their own countries. This is just as unacceptable as the other crimes. Indeed, the often discussed mafia-diven property deals in Phuket and elsewhere have resulted in serious violence including murder.

Pol Maj Gen Surachet deserves support as he begins his time at the Tourism Police Bureau. But he also must earn respect by targeting and taking down the big fish with the minnows. Drug trafficking gangs, extortion rings and fugitives from justice must be disabused of the notion that they, too, are welcome in Thailand.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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