PHUKET: The Director of Kathu interrupts the interview. He has just heard that a group of time-share touts are operating in Karon right now.
He makes a couple of telephone calls to high-ups in the neighborhood, seeking their help to reinforce his team. Both say they can't oblige.
Not for the first time, Veera Kerdsirimongkol is on his own. But flying solo isn't going to stop him.
On Phuket, the international holiday island where even Chinese tourists now know that the police and Immigration are infested with corruption, Khun Veera is a stand-out.
''There have been calls already to my boss [at the Interior Ministry,] asking for me to be moved,'' he said. ''But as far as I'm concerned, I'm here for the long haul.
''And as long as I am here, I will enforce the law without regard to who is breaking the law. Big or small, it's all the same to me.''
All this comes as Khun Veera heads out the door and off to Karon, on Phuket's west coast, south of Patong.
Where are those pesky time-share touts?
Nowhere to be found today. Perhaps they were told the enforcer was on the way - there's no way of knowing for sure whether they were tipped off in much the same way as Khun Veera was tipped off.
Enforcing the law on Phuket is often a game of hide and seek.
Yet drawing a blank has been rare for Khun Veera, whose strike rate on raids of all kinds since he took on the district director's job in March has been high.
Projects on the hilltops that appear to have gone unseen by authorities with poor eyesight are being spotted by Khun Veera, who has 20/20 vision.
Coming up, expect more action on time-share touts, jet-ski scammers, hilltop property developers, drug-takers and water thieves.
Water thieves? Yes, water thieves. High on Khun Veera's list of things to do is an investigation of what happened to the water that used to flow in large quantities over Kathu waterfall.
For some reason - perhaps Phuket-style ''global warming,'' in other words, upstream thieving - the waterfall is distinctly drier these days.
Could it be reappearing in water trucks destined for sale at high prices to Phuket's resorts? Stay tuned.
Khun Veera has six issues that he aims to be concentrating on in his attempt to clean up Kathu.
His territory takes in a large slice of the middle of Phuket, including Patong. In Phuket's nightlife hub, local authorities admit that 14 local departments and authorities all have a stake in Patong corruption.
Bribes, extortion, rip-offs, scams . . . you name it. And in the end, guess who pays? That's right, the Phuket tourist. Always.
So Khun Veera's campaigns have the virtue of being just what the island needs, for residents as well as visitors. He has no argument with the scale of corruption on Phuket.
It's eveywhere, fuelling greed, bringing with it victims among tourists, residents, and future generations of Phuket people.
Thailand needs the revenue from tourism, so the corruption that is gradually crippling Phuket strikes directly at the future of the entire country.
For now, Khun Veera's focus is on his own patch, Kathu. He has six priorities:
KHUN VEERA has already made multiple arrests along the hillsides above Patong, Karon and Kamala and more recently on the foreshore at Kalim. There will be more. ''We will not people take public land for their own use. This is pretty simple. The theft of public land is one of Phuket's most serious problems.''
HOW IS it that the number of umbrellas keep rising each year, as more and more of Phuket's beaches disappear beneath commercialisation for private profit? ''Some of Phuket's best beaches now have six rows of umbrellas and the people in the front rows have their toes in the water,'' Khun Veera says. ''This is pure greed.'' [Phuketwan believes that only an independent Phuket Beach Authority can protect and save Phuket's beaches.]
THERE HAS been no end to problems with jet-skis and rip-offs, and use of the noisy, pollutiong machines has expanded to beaches where they are not supposed to be operating. Khun Veera - unlike Phuket's Marine Office 5 - sees the need for controls, not compromise.
''THE TOUTS operate on the edge of the law and attract people to invest under false lures and promises. They should be stopped,'' he says. So far the touts have escaped arrest.
''WE HAVE been making raids at least once a week and those raids will go on until everyone tests negative to drugs,'' Khun Veera said. ''We won't stop until we have clear signs that there is no drug-taking, and no weapons to be found, either. The message is getting through. I still notice a high proportion of ladyboys appear to be drug-takers.''
''HOW CAN people steal water from one of Phuket's most appealing tourist attractions? It's just basic theft. We will catch these people and throw the book at them.''
Khun Veera believes Phuket was once ''a lovely place'' and a natural asset for Thailand. ''Now it's crowded with greedy, self-interested people who are only interested in money,'' he said.
His arrival appears to be well-timed in view of last week's powerful agitation for change by Chinese Ambassador Guan Mu, who wants an end to corruption so that tourists are properly protected.
American officials are also likely to support the regulation of taxis and tuk-tuks and the introduction of standard fares following the rip-offs inflicted on the crews of visiting warships.
With the European Union ambassadors meeting on Phuket on June 14-15, problems that some local officials say do not exist are likely to be highlighted.
If there was no corruption, Khun Veera would have little to do. Yet some tasks seem to be more difficult than others.
''You know, we have cracked down on the Patong touts with iguanas and slow lorises,'' he said. ''We think there's only one iguana tout left operating now because we haven't spotted any slow lorises lately.''
Like corruption and bribery on Phuket, just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not still there.
One question we forgot to ask Khun Veera: why aren't all Phuket's police, Immigration officers and local authorities enforcing the law?
He makes a couple of telephone calls to high-ups in the neighborhood, seeking their help to reinforce his team. Both say they can't oblige.
Not for the first time, Veera Kerdsirimongkol is on his own. But flying solo isn't going to stop him.
On Phuket, the international holiday island where even Chinese tourists now know that the police and Immigration are infested with corruption, Khun Veera is a stand-out.
''There have been calls already to my boss [at the Interior Ministry,] asking for me to be moved,'' he said. ''But as far as I'm concerned, I'm here for the long haul.
''And as long as I am here, I will enforce the law without regard to who is breaking the law. Big or small, it's all the same to me.''
All this comes as Khun Veera heads out the door and off to Karon, on Phuket's west coast, south of Patong.
Where are those pesky time-share touts?
Nowhere to be found today. Perhaps they were told the enforcer was on the way - there's no way of knowing for sure whether they were tipped off in much the same way as Khun Veera was tipped off.
Enforcing the law on Phuket is often a game of hide and seek.
Yet drawing a blank has been rare for Khun Veera, whose strike rate on raids of all kinds since he took on the district director's job in March has been high.
Projects on the hilltops that appear to have gone unseen by authorities with poor eyesight are being spotted by Khun Veera, who has 20/20 vision.
Coming up, expect more action on time-share touts, jet-ski scammers, hilltop property developers, drug-takers and water thieves.
Water thieves? Yes, water thieves. High on Khun Veera's list of things to do is an investigation of what happened to the water that used to flow in large quantities over Kathu waterfall.
For some reason - perhaps Phuket-style ''global warming,'' in other words, upstream thieving - the waterfall is distinctly drier these days.
Could it be reappearing in water trucks destined for sale at high prices to Phuket's resorts? Stay tuned.
Khun Veera has six issues that he aims to be concentrating on in his attempt to clean up Kathu.
His territory takes in a large slice of the middle of Phuket, including Patong. In Phuket's nightlife hub, local authorities admit that 14 local departments and authorities all have a stake in Patong corruption.
Bribes, extortion, rip-offs, scams . . . you name it. And in the end, guess who pays? That's right, the Phuket tourist. Always.
So Khun Veera's campaigns have the virtue of being just what the island needs, for residents as well as visitors. He has no argument with the scale of corruption on Phuket.
It's eveywhere, fuelling greed, bringing with it victims among tourists, residents, and future generations of Phuket people.
Thailand needs the revenue from tourism, so the corruption that is gradually crippling Phuket strikes directly at the future of the entire country.
For now, Khun Veera's focus is on his own patch, Kathu. He has six priorities:
1. Stop Attacks on Public Land
KHUN VEERA has already made multiple arrests along the hillsides above Patong, Karon and Kamala and more recently on the foreshore at Kalim. There will be more. ''We will not people take public land for their own use. This is pretty simple. The theft of public land is one of Phuket's most serious problems.''
2. Save Phuket Beaches from Greed
HOW IS it that the number of umbrellas keep rising each year, as more and more of Phuket's beaches disappear beneath commercialisation for private profit? ''Some of Phuket's best beaches now have six rows of umbrellas and the people in the front rows have their toes in the water,'' Khun Veera says. ''This is pure greed.'' [Phuketwan believes that only an independent Phuket Beach Authority can protect and save Phuket's beaches.]
3. End Jet-Ski Scams
THERE HAS been no end to problems with jet-skis and rip-offs, and use of the noisy, pollutiong machines has expanded to beaches where they are not supposed to be operating. Khun Veera - unlike Phuket's Marine Office 5 - sees the need for controls, not compromise.
4. Stop the Time-Share Touts
''THE TOUTS operate on the edge of the law and attract people to invest under false lures and promises. They should be stopped,'' he says. So far the touts have escaped arrest.
5. End Drug-Taking in Nighspots
''WE HAVE been making raids at least once a week and those raids will go on until everyone tests negative to drugs,'' Khun Veera said. ''We won't stop until we have clear signs that there is no drug-taking, and no weapons to be found, either. The message is getting through. I still notice a high proportion of ladyboys appear to be drug-takers.''
6. Find the Kathu Waterfall Thieves
''HOW CAN people steal water from one of Phuket's most appealing tourist attractions? It's just basic theft. We will catch these people and throw the book at them.''
Khun Veera believes Phuket was once ''a lovely place'' and a natural asset for Thailand. ''Now it's crowded with greedy, self-interested people who are only interested in money,'' he said.
His arrival appears to be well-timed in view of last week's powerful agitation for change by Chinese Ambassador Guan Mu, who wants an end to corruption so that tourists are properly protected.
American officials are also likely to support the regulation of taxis and tuk-tuks and the introduction of standard fares following the rip-offs inflicted on the crews of visiting warships.
With the European Union ambassadors meeting on Phuket on June 14-15, problems that some local officials say do not exist are likely to be highlighted.
If there was no corruption, Khun Veera would have little to do. Yet some tasks seem to be more difficult than others.
''You know, we have cracked down on the Patong touts with iguanas and slow lorises,'' he said. ''We think there's only one iguana tout left operating now because we haven't spotted any slow lorises lately.''
Like corruption and bribery on Phuket, just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not still there.
One question we forgot to ask Khun Veera: why aren't all Phuket's police, Immigration officers and local authorities enforcing the law?
Best wishes to K. Veera for success.
Posted by D on June 3, 2013 11:04