PHUKET: The Marine Police, the Tourist Police and the Anti-Human Trafficking Division are seeking to take additional corrupt payments from Phuket's nightclubs, bars and pubs, Patong officials said today.
The three groups had asked for their share of corrupt payments already being made to 13 or 14 organisations, the President of the Entertainment Association of Patong, Weerawit Kuresombut, said today.
''It's like a big [corruption] cake,'' he told Phuketwan before going into a meeting with Phuket Governor Maitree Inthusud at Provincial Hall in Phuket City. ''Everybody wants to eat it.''
Phuket's tourists are the ones who pay for all the corruption on Phuket, Khun Weerawit said. ''If the corruption continues to grow at this rate, the tourists who come to Phuket will go to other destinations.''
Patong officials are known to have been trying to limit the scale of corruption payments for several years.
Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukban, who attended today's meeting, was also at a public meeting in Patong two years ago where Mayor Pian Keesin told hundreds of people that Patong businesses could not afford to pay bribes to any more organisations.
The identity of the 13 or 14 groups that already are paid bribes was not revealed today, but they are believed to include virtually every official group that has any connection with tourism on Phuket.
Governor Maitree closed today's meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall to the media. However, Phuketwan spoke to Khun Weerawit and Deputy Mayor Chairat before they entered.
''Larger nightclubs pay about 100,000 a month in bribes,'' Khun Weerawit said. ''This scales down to about 10,000 baht for a pub.
''Bars, depending on their size, will pay upwards of 1000 baht a month in corrupt money.''
He said some of the bars had sought to be reassigned as restaurants to avoid the payments.
Members of the entertainment association had told Khun Weerawit that ''bribe brokers'' sometimes sought to act as middlemen for a commission, offering to deal direct with police and other groups taking illegal payments.
Khun Weerawit said there were as many as 300 bars and nightlife outlets that were part of the Patong ''cake.''
''I'd say the income from discos, nightclubs, bars and pubs amounts to about 10 million baht in income a day,'' he said.
Businesspeople in the entertainment industry on Phuket recognise the damage that corruption causes to tourism but have never been able to do anything about it because virtually everyone is in on it.
Khun Weerawit urged the continuation of the unofficial policy to allow bars to open past 2am for the safety of tourists.
''If we are forced to close on time, the tourists will go to 7-Eleven to buy alcohol and continue to drink at Patong beach and other beaches,''he said.
''The environment in the bars and discos is much safer,'' he said.
Phuketwan has seen police attempting to close Soi Bangla bars at 2am. It's extremely difficult when tourists are clearly enjoying themselves.
The three groups had asked for their share of corrupt payments already being made to 13 or 14 organisations, the President of the Entertainment Association of Patong, Weerawit Kuresombut, said today.
''It's like a big [corruption] cake,'' he told Phuketwan before going into a meeting with Phuket Governor Maitree Inthusud at Provincial Hall in Phuket City. ''Everybody wants to eat it.''
Phuket's tourists are the ones who pay for all the corruption on Phuket, Khun Weerawit said. ''If the corruption continues to grow at this rate, the tourists who come to Phuket will go to other destinations.''
Patong officials are known to have been trying to limit the scale of corruption payments for several years.
Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukban, who attended today's meeting, was also at a public meeting in Patong two years ago where Mayor Pian Keesin told hundreds of people that Patong businesses could not afford to pay bribes to any more organisations.
The identity of the 13 or 14 groups that already are paid bribes was not revealed today, but they are believed to include virtually every official group that has any connection with tourism on Phuket.
Governor Maitree closed today's meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall to the media. However, Phuketwan spoke to Khun Weerawit and Deputy Mayor Chairat before they entered.
''Larger nightclubs pay about 100,000 a month in bribes,'' Khun Weerawit said. ''This scales down to about 10,000 baht for a pub.
''Bars, depending on their size, will pay upwards of 1000 baht a month in corrupt money.''
He said some of the bars had sought to be reassigned as restaurants to avoid the payments.
Members of the entertainment association had told Khun Weerawit that ''bribe brokers'' sometimes sought to act as middlemen for a commission, offering to deal direct with police and other groups taking illegal payments.
Khun Weerawit said there were as many as 300 bars and nightlife outlets that were part of the Patong ''cake.''
''I'd say the income from discos, nightclubs, bars and pubs amounts to about 10 million baht in income a day,'' he said.
Businesspeople in the entertainment industry on Phuket recognise the damage that corruption causes to tourism but have never been able to do anything about it because virtually everyone is in on it.
Khun Weerawit urged the continuation of the unofficial policy to allow bars to open past 2am for the safety of tourists.
''If we are forced to close on time, the tourists will go to 7-Eleven to buy alcohol and continue to drink at Patong beach and other beaches,''he said.
''The environment in the bars and discos is much safer,'' he said.
Phuketwan has seen police attempting to close Soi Bangla bars at 2am. It's extremely difficult when tourists are clearly enjoying themselves.
Let's fantasise for a minute....suppose the corruption was totally ended tomorrow. Would the businesses reduce their prices? I don't think so.
Posted by Ga on November 14, 2012 13:09