#Thailand - 14,000 taxi drivers arrested in 12 months: police

More than 14,000 taxi drivers have been arrested and fined for breaking the law, including refusing to accept passengers, during the past year, a deputy tourist police chief said Friday.

Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, held a press conference in Phaholyothin with the Land Transport Department to announce results of the operation to clean up the taxi trade launched last September.

Surachet said police from several agencies, including tourist police, and 191 Special Operation police and officials of the Land Transport Department, have been enforcing the law against taxi drivers so passengers would not be exploited.

.

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.

 Surachet said 4,811 taxi drivers were arrested for refusing to accept passengers without justification, which violated Article 93 of the Land Traffic Act.

Source - TheNation 

#Thailand and Big Joke roll out the red carpet for VIP tourists: they mean the Chinese

A special lane at Suvarnabhumi airport has been inaugurated - it is for the ease and convenience of Chinese visitors. 

 Thailand's poster boy top cop Maj Gen "Big Joke" Surachet Hakpal - deputy commissioner of the tourist police - and Pol Maj Gen Pritthipong Prayoonsiri at Region 2 immigration have shaken hands on the deal that provided the new lane.

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

 Both major generals were at Suvarnabhumi yesterday evening for a PR exercise assuring Chinese media that everything was all well and good in Thailand for their nationals.

The TPB website said that Thailand did not want to be seen as taking advantage of the Chinese.

They said VIP measures were already in place to give them every assistance from the plane to their waiting transport outside the airport.

They said they were looking at short term and long term answers to problems faced by Chinese tourists.

 Though they did not mention if this was in response to bad press after the boat accident in Phuket recently that saw many Chinese cancel their holidays.

Thaivisa notes that the accident claimed many lives and has had the Thai authorities scurrying to repair the damage. Many will see the latest gesture as part of that and ask the question:

"What about other nationalities?"

Source - TheNation