Police were alerted to the German by local residents in Rawai who were concerned that his behaviour in recent times had become increasingly erractic and aggressive, with reports of the man brandishing knives and axes to threaten neighbours.
Checks were then made on the man’s identity to reveal that he had overstayed his permitted visa by 500 days.
Subsequent collaboration between Chalong Police Station, the Phuket Provincial Police Office, the Tourist Police, Phuket Provincial Immigration and local community leaders launched the operation “Suppress the Crazy German Uncle” by submitting a search warrant to the Phuket Provincial Court, which was approved.
Police reported that when they visited the man’s house in Soi Naya, Rawai yesterday (Apr 5) he acted in a very suspicious and aggressive manner when confronted by suddenly running back into his house and locking the door.
The German national then shouted that if anyone tried to enter the house he would fight them “until his death.” He also brandished a weapon (unnamed in police reports) and threatened the officers before proceeding to throw items at them from his house.
Officers managed to gain access to the property before successfully managing to placate the German man and disarm him. He was then taken into custody at Chalong police station and will face charges in due course, although police did not specify what the charges would be at time of press. Likewise police reports did not detail any specifics on the man such as his name or age.
The outcome was a very satisfactory one for the German man’s neighbours, police said, as he had become a constant nuisance and danger. Many people, concerned with his aggressive outbursts, had attempted to reason with him but to no avail.
Police added that if any similar behaviour is witnessed by anyone in the area then they should contact Chalong police to deal with the situation in the correct manner.
The bust of the German man is just one case in the ongoing crackdown on illegal behaviour and activity by foreigners in Phuket and across the country.
In just the past week in Phuket alone there have been numerous cases, including: an incident in Karon where a drunken Russian man was tased by police following an outbreak of unruly and aggressive behaviour in the lobby of a hotel; a Russian man arrested in Srisoonthorn for operating an illegal vehicle rental venture; the arrest of three separate Russian men for working illegaly as a tour guide at Pak Phra Beach, at Prompthep Cape and Big Buddha; a Ukrainian woman travelling on a Portuguese passport threatening a woman taxi driver with a knife amid a dispute over a taxi fare; an Austrian man charged of assault after he started choking his taxi driver for being told not to smoke in the taxi; the bust of a Russian money-laundering scam at eight locations across the island; and the raid on a Russian business in Cherng Talay illegally operating a business through a nominee shareholder.
Yesterday’s incident in Rawai came after it was confirmed on Tuesday (Apr 2) that the court hearing for Swiss expat Urs Fehr is expected to be held in the next few weeks.
Fehr is charged for allegedly kicking a woman doctor sitting on steps in front of his rented luxury villa at Yamu Beach in Pa Khlok in February, a high-profile case that many people claim initiated the extensive crackdown that is now being witnessed.
Last month two New Zealand men were arrested and will face five charges for assaulting a Traffic Police officer and taking away his handgun in a case that made national and international headlines, further placing the spotlight on Phuket’s besieged image as a top-class tourist destination.