PHUKET: The owners of ferries plying between Phuket abd Phi Phi have been told to check staff more thoroughly after an Australian tourist organised the arrest of two crewmen who stole a valuable laptop from his luggage between the islands.
Phuket police are still pursuing a third man allegedly involved in the theft - and now suspected of other Phuket-Phi Phi ferry thefts.
Australian tourist Evan Russell Darnley-Pentes discovered his bag had been looted after returning with a friend from Phi Phi to Phuket on Sunday. His Apple MacBook Pro laptop had been taken.
Before leaving Rassada Pier in Phuket City, where the Phi Phi-Phuket ferries dock, Mr Darnley-Pentes was able to alert the ferry firm to the theft and watched security camera footage taken during the voyage.
Mr Darnley-Pentes used his mobile telephone to take a copy of the security camera footage and went straight to Phuket Tourist Police. As a result, two crew members were arrested when the ferry docked in Phuket from Phi Phi the following day.
The arrested pair, Manat Jantra, 23, and Tawatchai Arema, 29, told police the main culprit who actually took the laptop was a friend they knew as ''Son,'' who has yet to be apprehended.
Police later recovered the stolen laptop, valued at more than 40,000 baht, from a computer shop at Big C where the stolen goods were bought for 8000 baht. The purchaser now faces a charge.
One of the men admitted he tried to cover the security camera's lens as the theft took place just 10 minutes after the ferry left Phi Phi on its 100-minute voyage back to Phuket.
Passengers often leave backpacks and other bags on lower decks of ferries while enjoying the voyage on the upper decks.
All ferry companies have been warned to check the honesty of their staff more thoroughly.
Tourists travelling between Phi Phi and Phuket have been advised to watch their luggage carefully and to inform the ferry firms if any items appear to have been stolen.
Phuket police are still pursuing a third man allegedly involved in the theft - and now suspected of other Phuket-Phi Phi ferry thefts.
Australian tourist Evan Russell Darnley-Pentes discovered his bag had been looted after returning with a friend from Phi Phi to Phuket on Sunday. His Apple MacBook Pro laptop had been taken.
Before leaving Rassada Pier in Phuket City, where the Phi Phi-Phuket ferries dock, Mr Darnley-Pentes was able to alert the ferry firm to the theft and watched security camera footage taken during the voyage.
Mr Darnley-Pentes used his mobile telephone to take a copy of the security camera footage and went straight to Phuket Tourist Police. As a result, two crew members were arrested when the ferry docked in Phuket from Phi Phi the following day.
The arrested pair, Manat Jantra, 23, and Tawatchai Arema, 29, told police the main culprit who actually took the laptop was a friend they knew as ''Son,'' who has yet to be apprehended.
Police later recovered the stolen laptop, valued at more than 40,000 baht, from a computer shop at Big C where the stolen goods were bought for 8000 baht. The purchaser now faces a charge.
One of the men admitted he tried to cover the security camera's lens as the theft took place just 10 minutes after the ferry left Phi Phi on its 100-minute voyage back to Phuket.
Passengers often leave backpacks and other bags on lower decks of ferries while enjoying the voyage on the upper decks.
All ferry companies have been warned to check the honesty of their staff more thoroughly.
Tourists travelling between Phi Phi and Phuket have been advised to watch their luggage carefully and to inform the ferry firms if any items appear to have been stolen.
Yet another reason to avoid Koh Phi Phi
Posted by Anonymous on September 12, 2012 10:14