Gambling again tops crime statistics

PHUKET: Gambling cases once again topped the crime lists in Phuket for the period November 1 through 25, according to statistics released today by the Phuket Provincial Police. A total of 184 people were arrested for gambling in the course of 94 police raids. Following close behind were illegal immigrants, 173 of whom were caught in the same period. Drugs also occupied a significant place in the charts, with 36 people arrested for possessing and/or selling ya bah, and 96 arrested for possessing and/or trafficking in other narcotics. A total of 791 ya bah pills were seized during the raids. Good old-fashioned robbery and theft came next, with 50 cases reported and, to date, 33 arrests. A total of 21 people were apprehended for prostitution, while 11 were held for illegal possession of firearms. Twelve cases of violent crime were reported. Of these, nine involved assault occasioning actual bodily harm, with eight people arrested; and two involved attempted murder, with two arrests. Official police statistics showed just one murder, as yet unsolved – that of Bangtao Beach restaurateur Lor-man Karnjanasadoong. Another homicide, that of an unidentified man in the area of the Fishing Port on November 20, was not included in the statistics. Questioned about this, a police spokesman explained that there was not enough evidence to establish definitively whether the dead man was, in fact, murdered.