The Phuket Provincial Court will reopen its tourist section to help visitors to the province settle court cases following a recent surge in litigation linked to tourists.
Acting chief justice of the Phuket Provincial Court, Kriangsak Rodpunshoo, recently presided over a meeting about reopening the section.
He said the large number of Thai and foreign tourists in Phuket has caused a surge in criminal and civil cases in which tourists are involved.
The rise in cases is affecting tourists' confidence in their personal safety and the potential risks to their property, and is also having a spillover effect on tourism in general across the nation, said Mr Kriangsak.
"Proceedings in the tourist case section will help ensure justice for tourists when a criminal or civil dispute, or a dispute with a state agency, arises so they can receive legal protection," he said "This will build tourists' confidence and create a good image of Phuket province and tourism in Thailand as a whole."
The section first opened on Sept 24, 2017, but its operations ceased due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of its functions include assisting tourists in filing complaints in consumer protection cases, arranging negotiations, tracking down witnesses who are also tourists, and issuing subpoenas to sued entrepreneurs.
The development follows a recent case in Phuket involving two New Zealand tourists who have been banned from visiting the country again after attacking a traffic police officer on March 16. They were charged with robbery, obstructing an officer while on duty, attacking an officer of the law, driving without a licence, and bribery.