Police boost festive security

PATONG: Extra uniformed police officers will be on duty in Patong over Christmas and New Year to reassure tourists about their security – and to reinforce Thai culture. About 90 officers from Patong Police Station, the Phuket Tourist Police, the Immigration Police, the Highway Police and the Marine Police joined municipal and hotel security officers at the Baan Sukothai Hotel in Soi Bangla last night. The meeting heard Pol Maj Gen Sanit Meephan, the national Commander of the Tourist Police, explain that the confidence of Thai and foreign tourists was important because of the revenue visitors brought to Phuket and to Thailand. Patrols will be visible in cars, on motorbikes and on foot, Maj Gen Sanit said, and the emphasis will be on retaining Thai ways. “Police should wai or say ‘Sawasdee’,” Maj Gen Sanit explained, then shake hands if appropriate. Tourists came to Thailand for the culture, he added, so “we should show our Thainess first.”