ABOUT 200 volunteers protested at Phuket City police headquarters on Saturday, accusing seven police of beating up three volunteers.
The fighting allegedly took place earlier that day when officers took exception because one of the volunteers was carrying a handgun.
One of the police asked the volunteer why he was carrying the gun, according to reports. The volunteers involved in the dispute said they were beaten and kicked when there was no need for violence.
The three men radioed other volunteers all over the island, who assembled at Phuket City police headquarters about 4pm, and spent the next three hours there.
The volunteers met with Phuket police chief Major General Pekad Tantipong. He contacted Region 8 and organised to have the three officers transferred off Phuket immediately, as the volunteers had demanded.
Thai volunteers work with regular police, the Army and the Governor, fulfilling all kinds of roles, much as the Tourist Police volunteers work with regular officers.
The volunteers are a vital ingredient in policing Phuket because the island has only 1100 regular officers to cope with a population that balloons to a million or more in the high season months.
Because Phuket's needs are calculated on the basis of the 320,000 registered voters, all of the services and infrastructure on the island are inadequate for its true population.
The fighting allegedly took place earlier that day when officers took exception because one of the volunteers was carrying a handgun.
One of the police asked the volunteer why he was carrying the gun, according to reports. The volunteers involved in the dispute said they were beaten and kicked when there was no need for violence.
The three men radioed other volunteers all over the island, who assembled at Phuket City police headquarters about 4pm, and spent the next three hours there.
The volunteers met with Phuket police chief Major General Pekad Tantipong. He contacted Region 8 and organised to have the three officers transferred off Phuket immediately, as the volunteers had demanded.
Thai volunteers work with regular police, the Army and the Governor, fulfilling all kinds of roles, much as the Tourist Police volunteers work with regular officers.
The volunteers are a vital ingredient in policing Phuket because the island has only 1100 regular officers to cope with a population that balloons to a million or more in the high season months.
Because Phuket's needs are calculated on the basis of the 320,000 registered voters, all of the services and infrastructure on the island are inadequate for its true population.
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While the police acted out of order and over the top, the idea that volunteers think its OK to break the law and carry their own guns around is just crazy.
Posted by LivinLOS on December 14, 2009 12:56