Big Trouble in Thailand

General chat about life in the Land Of Smiles. Discuss expat life, relationship issues and all things generally Thailand and Asia related.
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caller
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Post by caller »

I'm amazed you are all so certain the jet-ski thing was staged! Please tell how?

I thought it a shoddy reflection on tourism and Thai tourism areas.

Isn't that what the programme set out to do?

I posted my initial response elsewhere on HHAD. I found other things on at the same time more interesting.
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Post by Super Joe »

caller wrote:I'm amazed you are all so certain the jet-ski thing was staged! Please tell how?
Well it was that mafia/underworld figures could detain Royal Marines in a workshop type place while they extorted money from them but did not have the means to prevent a cameraman from filming it. Since when do mafia types allow themselves to be filmed against their will.
As I said previously this damaged jet ski scam is real by all accounts, not saying the scam is fabricated.

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Post by caller »

But all of this talk of 'mafia' for what is a pretty well known and executed scam on the unwary, hardly fits in with the picture of serious gangsters! Is that what the 'mafia' do now? I have my doubts.

I thought they were just low-life scammers trying to save face, with a big gun?
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STEVE G
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Post by STEVE G »

I just watched it and it's nothing really shocking, a few people ending up in jail who are admitting to being involved in drugs, one complaining because a jail in Thailand is a bit shabby and a few drunk people.
I'm just glad I've never been to a 'full moon party' because it looks really silly.
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Post by redzonerocker »

caller wrote: I thought they were just low-life scammers trying to save face, with a big gun?
eh? low life scammers?? :shock: :?
he's a businessman, he said so himself! it's on film if you want proof!!! :wink:
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Post by Roel »

Obviously the jet ski argument was staged. Quite a common thing to do on television but usually they mark it "reconstruction" which they did not. The "heated" argument is filmed from at least 5 or 6 different angles. When J.J. comes out with his rifle the script let him say "he, don't film" but they make sure we get a crystal clear close-up from the rifle before the camera is "forced" to stop! Entertaining though.
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Post by BaaBaa. »

STEVE G wrote:I'm just glad I've never been to a 'full moon party' because it looks really silly.
I wouldn't have a problem if somebody napalmed the thing after watching that video.

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Post by redzonerocker »

BaaBaa. wrote:
I wouldn't have a problem if somebody napalmed the thing after watching that video.
'the full moron party' would be a more apt name :thumb:
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Post by pitsch »

I just managed to download it by torrent in 23 hours and 1 minute (90% during the night and 10% during this day).

I don't like the nervous camera, but it was quite interesting to look at some darker sides which I know only by hearsay.

All tourists know about the rigorous drug laws, but some cannot keep their hands off.
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Post by BaaBaa. »

pitsch wrote:I just managed to download it by torrent in 23 hours and 1 minute (90% during the night and 10% during this day)
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It took me about 25 mins.
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Post by STEVE G »

BaaBaa. wrote:
STEVE G wrote:I'm just glad I've never been to a 'full moon party' because it looks really silly.
I wouldn't have a problem if somebody napalmed the thing after watching that video.

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I must admit that I'd never really thought about what the party was all about, but after watching this it seems that it's some sort of flourescent painted, drug assisted gurning competition.
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Post by Spitfire »

STEVE G wrote:.....drug assisted.........
That's about the size of Steve, 'full moon wasters and idiots'. A congregation of losers.
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Post by Nereus »

In Pattaya also:

http://greatsouthern.thewest.com.au/Reg ... tID=162122

Scam ruins Thai holiday
1st September 2009, 16:30 WST

An Albany couple forced to pay their way out of a Thai tourist town have warned other holiday-makers to be wary of scams.
On the final day of Irina and Richard Ball’s stay in Pattaya, south of Bangkok, Richard, with Irina’s brother who flew from Russia to join them, hired jet skis from the beach.
After their time was up the owners demanded the equivalent of almost $1000 for damages they allegedly caused.
“It was a little crack, it would have cost no more than $20 to fix but we knew we hadn’t caused it,” Mrs Ball said.
“We called the police and they said four people had been caught in the same scam that day but we just had to pay up.
“You’re in a different country and you’re helpless.”
The Balls managed to argue the price down to $400 but the experience ruined their holiday.
“The rest of the holiday was great but it left a bitter taste,” Mrs Ball said.
“After we paid the money the jet ski owners all laughed and now we know there’s warnings all over the Internet about it.”
Department of Commerce – Consumer Protection senior regional officer Iris Thomas echoed the Balls’ warning.
“Holiday-makers should talk to people who’ve been to that place before and be wary,” Ms Thomas said.

ALBANY ADVERTISER

It is never going to stop if this comment is correct:

“We called the police and they said four people had been caught in the same scam that day but we just had to pay up". :guns:
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Post by Spitfire »

Jet-Ski JJ Arrested: 'I Will Ban Them' Warning

By Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian
Thursday, September 10, 2009
WINAI ''JJ'' Naiman, 28, has been arrested and charged following an altercation about damage to a jet-ski in Patong that was telecast to an audience on the other side of the world.

The altercation, with British marines who were taking leave on Phuket, was filmed and became part of the premier episode of a television series that screened in Britain on Monday.

Having become instantly identifiable as ''JJ'' the jet-ski man, Mr Naiman now faces counts of demanding money with threats and possession of a weapon.

A special screening of the television show, 'Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand,' took place at Kathu Police Station today with Mr Naiman and local media and police as the audience.

The first in the eight-part series went to air on British television on Monday night, bringing concerns about jet-ski scams on Phuket to a climax.

Thais who have seen the show are shocked at the image of tourism in Thailand that it portrays, with the jet-ski incident and Phang Ngan drug-taking the most alarming in a series of incidents.

Phuket's Governor, Wichai Praisa-nob, has been urged by the Deputy Prime Minister and senior diplomats from Australia and Britain to crack down on the scams.

Concern at the highest level comes as a similar crackdown takes place at Suvarnabhumi international airport in Bangkok, where gangs of illegal taxi drivers and extortionist tourist guides are being arrested.

Thailand now appears keen to clean up its tourism image, but the valuable industry will probably pay a high price for years of neglect and corruption.

The 'Big Trouble' series is likely to be sold for screening in other countries and will appear on television around the world for years to come.

Police at Kathu station said Mr Naiman had a history of involvement in similar incidents, in which operators claim large sums for pre-existing damage to jet-skis.

The governor, who went to the police station in Patong before attending a summit on the jet-ski issue, rejected an appeal from Mr Naiman's family for bail.

He said that although the weapon involved was a BB gun, intimidation of the kind shown on television was unacceptable.

''Jet-skis are allowed to operate as a sport in Patong, not as a business,'' he said. ''Unless this kind of activity stops, we will ban them all.''

Phuket's neighboring Andaman coast tourism provinces of Phang Nga and Krabi already have bans in place on jet-skis.

Source - Phuket Wan

Seems something has been done now it's gone international, looks like it's could be popular everywhere. Bit of a bombshell for TAT I think. Funny to see that idiot at the cop shop, justice is served, surprisingly.
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Som nom na!
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