Patong Police Chief Col Anotai Jindamanee told The Phuket News, “At around midnight on Wednesday (Mar 6) I took a group of police officers to monitor the area around Malin Plaza following complaints by locals about a group of tourists riding motorbikes fast and making loud noises.
“We didn’t find anyone acting in this way on the road, however, we found a group of foreigners drinking together at a bar around Malin Plaza so we told them not to make noise when riding away on their motorbikes,” Col Anotai said.
He continued, “We didn’t tell them to not ride but we told them not to rev their engines and to keep the noise down to avoid disturbing people in the area.”
The officers set up a checkpoint near the plaza to monitor road users in the area.
“We caught and fined tourists who were not wearing a helmet and those who did not have a driving licence,” Col Anotai said.
"Yesterday (Mar 7) a group of local people came to meet me at the police station. I told them that Patong Police are ready to help make Patong peaceful,” he explained. “I asked them to keep a lookout for police and to set up a LINE group that I will be a member of, in order to send information, photos and videos of any disruptive behaviour in Patong.”
After the meeting with the locals, Col Anotai held a meeting with his officers and ordered them to strictly monitor the roads with checkpoints in key areas.