Tourists warned not to ride jet-ski in Phuket or Pattaya

PHUKET – One of the strongest warnings yet for tourists not to ride jet-skis in Phuket or Pattaya has been published online today under the heading: ‘Jet-ski at your own peril in Phuket and Pattaya.’

The cover story at the Indian site, bangaloremirror.com, goes on to add: ”Police are ‘hand-in-glove’ with the mafia.”

Some of the harshest language we’ve read is used in warning Indian vacationers, being attracted by the appeal of Thailand’s beaches in increasing numbers, to stay away from jet-skis.

”The Eden of their dreams has a dark underbelly which reveals itself on the beaches of Phuket and Pattaya – a local mafia-run jet ski scam which has ripped off scores of foreign tourists,” the article says.

”The racketeers’ modus operandi is simple: they rent out jet skis, which have some damage in a not-so-discernible place, to vacationers at attractive rates.

”Then, when the joyride is over, they pounce on the unsuspecting tourists for having caused the ‘damage’ and extort huge amounts from them, quite often at knifepoint.”

Phuketwan is not able to verify the contention that knives are flashed frequently in Phuket and Pattaya – we have yet to hear of a case on Phuket – but threats and intimidation are certainly part of the process.

The claim that insurance has brought an end to problems with jet-skis on Phuket is not accurate, according to honorary consuls and police and volunteers at Kathu Police Station in Patong.

Most often, claims on Phuket these days involve demands for the cost of the jet-ski being out of action. If tourists crash a jet-ski, the haggling over the cost of repairs can take hours, often with the jet-ski operators hurling insults and gathering around the tourists in numbers.

Even if the damage is covered by insurance, the operators usually seek extra cash for the period that the jet-ski is out of action. Most often lately, the settlement cost has been 15,000 baht – 3000 baht a day for five days – with an extra 1000 baht for ”paperwork” taking the total cost to 16,000 baht.

Where two jet-skis have been involved, the total cost is 32,000 baht – even if one of the jet-skis has only lost a layer or two of paint.

The magazine provides details of a case in which Bangalore man Raul Shanth and his father hired jet-skis in Pattaya, taking the precaution of photographing the jet-skis first.

Even though the father-and-son produced the photographs after the operator claimed the jet-skis had been damaged, the pair ended up paying.

”Raul’s is just one of the many ugly encounters faced by foreign tourists in Phuket and Pattaya,” the article says. ”At least four jet ski scams take place everyday, and many of the victims are from India.”

The Thai Consul-General, Chanchai Charanvatnakit, told the magazine: ”The Thai government is concerned about the jet ski scam. As we are an open society, there will always be some black sheep.

”We have asked the police and the tourist police to take stern action against such scamsters. We have also asked the local authorities in Phuket and Pattaya to take utmost care in protecting the interests of tourists.”

Continuing scams on Phuket, verified by Patong police and honorary consuls, are likely to be raised when Phuket’s honorary consuls meet with Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Phuket officials in May.