New Kathu police chief moves to improve Patong

PHUKET CITY: At his first Phuket Provincial Security Council meeting yesterday, new Kathu Police Superintendent Pol Col Grissak Songmoonnark told Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit that he had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Patong business leaders aimed at lifting the town’s image among tourists.

Col Grissak, 46, said that he had invited representatives of various groups in Patong to attend a series of meetings at Kathu Police Station. Among the groups represented were the night entertainment industry, he said.

“I have signed an MOU with entertainment industry leaders in Patong. They have agreed to have their female service staff dress in a more modest fashion while on their way to work.

“Many of the female service staff wear revealing clothes on their way to work and are seen by students returning home from school. We don’t want students to get the feeling that this type of dress is normal,” Col Grissak said.

“Although nightclubs already check IDs, I would like to ask for cooperation in preventing minors from frequenting any areas where coyote dancing is going on. Otherwise they might try to engage in such behavior themselves,” he added.

Col Grissak also said that in the effort to crack down on the sale of illegal narcotics, nightclub owners had been asked to have their staff search customers and report any leads to the police.

Tuk-tuk and taxi drivers will soon be asked to sign an MOU aimed at lifting service standards, eliminating overcharging and limiting the number of taxis on the roads in an effort to relieve traffic congestion, he said.

The number of tuk-tuks in Patong swells to as many as 500 at night, when drivers who operate in other parts of the island during the day all converge in Patong in search of fares, Col Grissak noted.

Among the changes he would like introduce are having all drivers in uniform and having more designated parking areas.

As for the new one-way traffic system, the public still has until the end of the month to suggest further improvements after which time the system will be finalized, he said.