The nature of incidents range from a foreigner who refused to pay for medical expenses for a stray cat he brought in a pet clinic to resolving a dispute between a tourist and a transsexual on Bangla Rd in Patong.
On Bangla Rd in Patong last night alone (Jan 17), Tourist Police who joined volunteers patrolling the island’s main party street were called in to help intervene in a fight where a British tourist had punched a Saudi tourist in the head, resulting in a blood injury.
Rescue workers were called in to provide first aid and take the Saudi man to hospital, while the British tourist was taken to Patong Police Station.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on Bangla, Tourist Police were called in to resolve an issue where a drunk Scottish tourist had no money to pay his bar bill.
Patong has kept Tourist Police busy over the past day, especially on the busy nightlife street Bangla Rd. In addition to resolving more disputes over tourists refusing to pay bar bills, officers were also required to intervene in an argument that had resulted from a “tourist’s misunderstanding” with a transsexual woman in front of Burger King. Later, both sides came to an agreement, Tourist Police noted.
Officers have also been called in to Patong Police Station to help mediate compensation over a Saudi tourist driving a car into seven parked motorbikes and to help mediate a Russian tourist refusing to pay for damages to rental car.
Tourist Police on patrol also joined officers from the Tourist Assistance Center (TAC) and foreign volunteers to mediate an American tourist damaging a jet-ski in a collision.
Elsewhere on the island, Tourist Police in the past 24 hours have helped resolve a dispute over a Russian driver backing into a tourist’s rental motorbike and refusing to pay damages.
They also provided assistance to a Ukrainian tourist who had an argument with her Russian husband. The officers took the woman to make a daily report at Wichit Police Station “to end the relationship” and found the woman a place to stay.
In addition to assisting in responding to an accident involving a collision between two motorbikes, Tourist Police helped coordinate assistance in the case of Russian tourists having a boating accident regarding medical treatment payments from tour companies.
Tourist Police also helped mediate in the case of Chilean tourists having problems with renting a condo. They had signed a rental contract but the condo owner had informed them that there were no rooms available as the traveler’s arrival date was postponed.
At the airport, officers helped recover American tourists’ luggage left behind in a tuk-tuk, while at Wichit Police Station Tourist Police helped by providing an interpreter in the case of an Italian tourist in a wheelchair resolve a dispute with a hotel that had cancelled his stay.
At Tha Chatchai, at the northern end of the island, officers responded to a call for assistance after a Ukrainian tourist was causing a disturbance at the Mak Prok PTT petrol station. The tourist was recommended to return to his accommodation.
In Phuket Town, after receiving a tip-off from local residents, officers arrived at Suang Luang (Rama IX Park) to find an American woman wandering around in the dark. She said her husband had left her for a relationship with a Thai woman and had taken her passport and all her belongings with him.
Concerned for the woman’s safety, the officers brought her to Phuket Tourist Police headquarters in Phuket Town so they could provide assistance.
While Tourist Police have full powers as officers of the Royal Thai Police, under their motto “We Serve. You’re safe”, their traditional role is to provide assistance to tourists and assist regular police in their operations.
Tourist Police can be contacted through their 1155 hotline, often promoted through their campaign “Your First Friend.”
The national police and emergency response 191 hotline does not have any foreign language services. People intending to call the 191 hotline in an emergency are strongly urged to have a native Thai speaker make the call.
Non-Thai speakers are strongly urged to instead use the Tourist Police ‘I Lert U’ app (available on Google Play and the App Store), which has even resulted in foreign tourists lost in the jungle in Phuket being found and safely recovered.