SIANGTAI newspaper, the most popular Thai-language daily on Phuket, has called on the new Phuket Governor and the Phuket police commander to crack down on entertainment venues that stay open into the early hours.
In a front-page headline and an inside opinion article, the newspaper draws a link between late-opening venues and crime.
The prominent commentary follows the killing this week of a man who was gunned down when he left the Say Yes pub in the southern beach resort of Karon at 4.30am to smoke a cigarette.
In a direct call to Phuket Governor Tree Ackaradecha and Phuket Police Commander Major General Pekad Tantipong, the Siangtai report says: ''People who are out after the official closing time have too many accidents and too many arguments.''
It names the Chalong police station, responsible for Karon and southern Phuket, as being especially neglectful in not closing venues in accordance with the law.
''Our message to the new governor is to make a priority of bringing these venues under control across the whole of Phuket. Some of these places stay open until close to daybreak.
''Crimes of robbery and rape, assaults and even killings take place because these venues are allowed to break the law.
''Because the venues are allowed to flout the rules, it seems to many people as though Phuket has no law.
''Phuket's chief of police, Major General Pekad Tantipong, should not turn a blind eye to what is happening for everyone to see.''
The murder of former US marine DaShawn Longfellow, allegedly by British kickboxer Lee Aldhouse, took place after the two men fought early one morning, in a bar at Rawai, also in the Chalong police district, in August.
In late September, one Phuket man took a public stand against a bar that he said stayed open until 6am every day, keeping his children awake and ruining the lives of his family.
A-nek Simanork, a neighbor of the Laguna bar in the Rawai area, says a man with a gun once threatened to kill him if he complained. Yet police and local authorities had consistently failed to enforce the 1am law on bar closing times, he said.
His complaints were published in themanager.co.th, one of Thailand's most popular online sites.
The former Governor of Phuket, Wichai Praisa-ngob, made a bid in September just before retiring to introduce entertainment zones on Phuket. He was suggesting them for Patong and Phuket City, and for international tourists only.
American's Trip to Life's Other Side on PhuketIn a front-page headline and an inside opinion article, the newspaper draws a link between late-opening venues and crime.
The prominent commentary follows the killing this week of a man who was gunned down when he left the Say Yes pub in the southern beach resort of Karon at 4.30am to smoke a cigarette.
In a direct call to Phuket Governor Tree Ackaradecha and Phuket Police Commander Major General Pekad Tantipong, the Siangtai report says: ''People who are out after the official closing time have too many accidents and too many arguments.''
It names the Chalong police station, responsible for Karon and southern Phuket, as being especially neglectful in not closing venues in accordance with the law.
''Our message to the new governor is to make a priority of bringing these venues under control across the whole of Phuket. Some of these places stay open until close to daybreak.
''Crimes of robbery and rape, assaults and even killings take place because these venues are allowed to break the law.
''Because the venues are allowed to flout the rules, it seems to many people as though Phuket has no law.
''Phuket's chief of police, Major General Pekad Tantipong, should not turn a blind eye to what is happening for everyone to see.''
The murder of former US marine DaShawn Longfellow, allegedly by British kickboxer Lee Aldhouse, took place after the two men fought early one morning, in a bar at Rawai, also in the Chalong police district, in August.
In late September, one Phuket man took a public stand against a bar that he said stayed open until 6am every day, keeping his children awake and ruining the lives of his family.
A-nek Simanork, a neighbor of the Laguna bar in the Rawai area, says a man with a gun once threatened to kill him if he complained. Yet police and local authorities had consistently failed to enforce the 1am law on bar closing times, he said.
His complaints were published in themanager.co.th, one of Thailand's most popular online sites.
The former Governor of Phuket, Wichai Praisa-ngob, made a bid in September just before retiring to introduce entertainment zones on Phuket. He was suggesting them for Patong and Phuket City, and for international tourists only.
Latest A life in limbo has come to an end for American Dean Mancuso. His strange existence on Phuket has left him in a cell, facing uncertainty and worried about his daughters.
American's Trip to Life's Other Side on Phuket
Phuket Moon Tides Pound Beach Road
Photo Album Rising concerns mirror the tides as waves pound Phuket's famous beach road scenic route, putting stretches at Kalim and Kamala under water.
Phuket Moon Tides Pound Beach Road
Phuket Goes Pink and Blue as Resorts Open
Photo Album Two resorts on Phuket, one pink and one blue, open on Phuket next week. We went for a preview and found only one welcoming.
Phuket Goes Pink and Blue as Resorts Open
Huge Whale Flops on Beach North of Phuket
Latest A female sperm whale, a slightly smaller version of the largest creature in the sea, has been discovered on a beach north of Phuket and buried there.
Huge Whale Flops on Beach North of Phuket
Phuket Tourism Crush Tipped to Smash All Records
Flights, numbers surge Records are likely to be smashed as Phuket enters a crucial phase of growth in tourism and property without a complete strategy in sight.
Phuket Tourism Crush Tipped to Smash All Records
first I urge the phuketwan to stay on top of this. you have brought it out in the open with reporting. now don't let it die. power of the typewriter and factual reporting is needed. this attitude, behavior, and what ever you want to call it effects everyone. probably even more so Thais and their families.
yes i have a choice. i can leave at anytime. but many others don't have that luxury.
for the best of me i can not understand any other reason why except money, greed, and corruption. the rest of Thailand and for that matter pretty much the rest of the world operates quite well with 1am-2am closing.
Posted by john s on October 9, 2010 12:27
Editor Comment:
John, it's more than 30 years since we used a typewriter. All Phuketwan has done is pass on in English what has been said in Thai at one public meeting and in the Thai-language media. In many places, round-the-clock opening - or something very close to it - is permitted. We have no problems with that more sophisticated concept being introduced here, provided such a move has the support of the majority, the venues are strictly controlled, and the sleep of law-abiding residents is not disturbed.