Video Report: NCPO hotline chief investigator ditches Phuket call to prayer complaint

PHUKET: The chief investigator from the Prime Minister’s Office today confirmed that the national complaint center will not be taking any further action against a mosque at Cape Panwa for allegedly disturbing its neighbors by playing their daily calls to prayer too loudly.

Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong last Thursday was forced to disband a mob of more than 100 local Muslims outraged by the complaint, which was filed through the the national complaint center hotline in Bangkok (story here).

The mob threatened to blockade the Phuket Panwa Beachfront Resort, which they believed had filed the complaint.

Today, Orawn Khumsap, head inspector of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) complaint center, declined to name who filed the complaint, but was adamant that it was not the resort – a fact attested to last week by the hotel’s general manager, Denis Martin.

“We can confirm that the resort did not file the complaint,” Ms Orawan told a meeting at the Panwa Beachfront Resort.

“But we cannot reveal who did. That information is confidential.”

The mob last week disbanded only after Governor Nisit agreed to call a meeting to discuss the issue, at which the owner of the resort was to make a statement – a key demand of the protesters.

However, the resort owner was not present at the meeting today.

“The local residents have accepted the confirmation from the Prime Minister’s Office that the resort was not involved in the complaint,” said Narong Koombann, a community leader at Baan Ao Makham.

“And we will not continue our efforts to find out who did, since the claims made in the complaint were all false.”

The complaint specifically centered on the call to prayer being played at irregular hours and at a volume that allegedly disturbed local residents.

Mr Narong assured that the calls to prayer would continue to be played as usual.

“This has been our custom, part of our religion, for a long time,” he said

“The daily calls to prayer will be played at 5:30am, noon, 4pm, 6pm and 7:45pm, and for no longer than five minutes each.”

The issue of the volume of the calls to prayer was at was not addressed at today’s meeting.

— Voratuss Intasee