Denunciation via Facebook in Thailand ?
In the witch hunt launched in Phuket for several weeks to flush out the bad farang business men, a new step may soon be reached: public denunciation. At a meeting with entrepreneurs in Phuket yesterday the Department of Special Investigation of the city was seriously considering launching a Facebook page where anyone can upload a photo of a foreigner that he thinks works in Thailand illegally.
Following the revolt of taxi and tuk tuks drivers a few months ago, local police had already announced a major operation to control all aliens working Phuket, targetting especially tourism and travel agencies. So fat, is has not given so much results, the vast majority of farangs checked were completly legal and have work permits. Probably noting the ineffectiveness of this operation, the police did not give up and announces now its project to open a Facebook page where anybody can denunce without proof a foreigner who is believed to work in Thailand illegally by posting his picture. “If someone sees a foreign working without a work permit or having an occupation reserved for Thais, take a picture of him and send it to us, please” has Yanapol Yungyuen the Director General DSI requested. They will probably not indicate “Dead or Alive” and a reward amount below the picture. But who knows… A beautiful violation the presumption of innocence which will widen the gap between local and farang community in Phuket. If the Facebook page is just an idea for now and may be not created, this denunciation will whatever be possible by email, which has at least the merit of not being public. Why don’t they develop a smartphone app, it would be much more convenient? You take a photo with your smart phone and press the “Report” button and hop it is published on Facebook.
At this meeting with Phuket Thai entrepreneurs, Supachai Wattanaparinton, Vice-President of the Phuket Professional Guide Association has rightly mentioned, I’ve seen some but I did not think to photograph them – that foreign guides were working in Phuket even if this profession is not allowed to foreigners. “Foreigners use Thai people to record their companies (note: a farang can not own more than 49% of a company in Thailand), but give them very little money in return. I saw a woman who was the “owner” of a tourism company on an old bike and living in a tiny room location “, he said. On the issue of taxis, the Director of DSI suggested to the drivers to always use the meter for more transparency. And I could not agree more! I even say: “Let’s add a meter to the tuk tuks in Phuket!” but maybe I am a little to enthousiastic. He concluded the meeting by ensuring that the authorities would make every effort to ensure that tourism revenues fully go to Thai even if it means leaving a bad image of Tourism in Thailand. We would have liked to see the same determination to fight the jet skis scams in Patong and abusive tuk-tuks rates, just to give the impression of making as many efforts for farangs who constitute the majority of tourists on the island than the one deployed to fight them…
Thai police seems to love Mark Zuckerberg’s social network since it already published pictures of drunken drivers arrested to “punish” them.
