PHUKET: Newly appointed Patong Police Chief Colonel Tassanai Orarigadech has been welcomed to his new role by business owners from the Patong Entertainment Association.
Col Tassanai was presented with flowers by the group outside the entrance to the Patong Police Station.
“I lived in Patong for ten years so I can truly say that I am a Patong resident. This is like coming back to my home,” he said.
“We are willing to do anything that can help make people happy. I am not worried to be Patong Police Chief, as Patong people are very nice and the community cooperates well with our police officers,” he added.
Patong Entertainment Association greet up new Patong police chief, also brought the Pineapple Eyes Network or Thousand eyes project for effective tourism area security and protection in Patong, yesterday(June 16).
Well-known Patong business figures, Preechawut “Prab” Keesin of the Pisona Group spoke to Col Tassanai about several issues around the safety and commercial prosperity of the town.
“The ‘Pineapple Eyes Network Safety Tourism City’ is a continuation of the ‘24 hours Clean Bangla’ project and the ‘Thousand Eyes’ project. These projects included the installation of CCTV around Patong and especially in Bangla Rd. The aim of these projects are centered on people’s safety. We also have social media group for people to post incidents in order increase police officer’s awareness dangerous or criminal activities,” said Mr Preechawut.
“The proposal for extending the closing times of entertainment venues is currently under consideration by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. It is our hope that it will be adopted as we believe that the extended hours will benefit the economy and encourage investment in Patong,” he added.
Col Tassanai then spoke briefly about some of the major issues he would be responsible for tackling as Police Chief.
“Phuket province is a tourism destination. So, the primary duty of police is work effectively with both residents and tourists. I will do my best.”
He then spoke about sex shows, a hot button issue following the recent army led raid on a sex show venue in Patong (see story here)
“As for sex shows, we are continually working on it. We will not let any of these shows continue to exist an their will be no exceptions,” said Col Tassanai.
He then added, “Counterfeit goods are also a continual problem and we have to arrest the vendors as it seriously damages our tourism image (see previous story here). Also, we are in the process of finding a solution to the taxi parking area issue that will suit everyone affected.” (See story here)
“We have to pay more attention to tourists’ safety and security. The warning signs are still along Patong Beach and more police will patrol the area during the night. More lights were also installed and CCTV has been checked and repaired in high risk areas,” he said.