Will TAT act on jetski rip-offs?

Imagine there are groups of young Thai men who extort money from tourists on a daily basis?

The ripped-off amounts are Bt10,000 to Bt60,000 each incident. Would that be important enough for the TAT or the Yingluck administration to take notice?

In an average month during the "high season", roughly 600 tourists have their Thai vacations ruined on the beaches of Pattaya and Phuket, and the extortionists steal between Bt3 million and Bt5 milion from their victims during that time. Local law enforcement is weaker than the perpetrators, so they are unable to stem the problem, even if they wanted to. Indeed, it's possible that local police are in on the scams. I am, of course, referring to jetski operators at major Thai beach resorts. The most common ruse is the false claim that the jetski shell has been dented or scratched during its rental. Even if that were true, a bit of epoxy and some sandpaper would fix the dent, costing about Bt80. Not only are the claims false, they're backed up by threats of severe bodily harm.

These are not isolated events, they happen multiple times each day in plain sight. Because local authorities are helpless or afraid to assist, it should fall upon regional authorities to step in and police the situation. If that's not possible, then the only conclusion is that Thailand tolerates hundreds of tourists being ripped off monthly. It may be mai pen rai for the Thai authorities, but it's a big deal for tourists, and many such stories are going viral on Internet travel sites.

Kip Keino

Ban Nam Lat