A DISPUTE between a French tourist on a Christmas holiday and a man wielding a weapon has ignited more debate on Phuket about tuk-tuks.
The incident provoked calls for a petition to the Governor banning all tuk-tuks, a knee-jerk reaction that confuses one violent episode with the future of public transport on Phuket.
The Director of Public Transport on Phuket, Kanok Siripanichkoon, said that solving Phuket’s public transport problems was hindered by the involvement of figures who control and benefit from the organised tuk-tuk monopolies.
**‘‘A proper solution is a long way off,’’ he said. ''Trains and light rails are expensive and unlikely to be affordable at this stage.
**
‘‘Puiblic transport is certainly needed to give residents and tourists more options.’’
In the incident that aroused passions among tuk-tuk opponents, the French tourist says he had his arm broken.
His wife and father were also assaulted by a man swinging the metal and wood stump of a beach umbrella in a public parking area, near the Kata Palm Resort.
The dispute was over a parking spot, the tourist told officers and Phuketwan.
The tourist, who was at Chalong police station today to report the incident, has a broken arm and would only give his name as ‘‘Didier.’’
He told Phuketwan, the only news organisation he spoke to at the police station, that he fears for the safety of relatives who live on Phuket.
His father, who was also at the police station, had cuts to his elbow. The tourist’s wife, the pair say, was also attacked, but she was not at the police station today.
Police identified the alleged assailant from bystander witnesses and the French family have identified him from photographs. The young man, Likit Teangtea, will be arrested once a warrant has been processed.
Sources in the Karon-Kata tuk-tuk organisation told Phuketwan this evening that the man was a tuk-tuk driver, although the French tourist was at pains to make clear earlier that he had no certain knowledge of this.
‘‘I’m not sure it’s a tuk tuk driver,’’ the tourist had said, talking exclusively to Phuketwan, although he clearly had his suspicions.
At 3pm on December 26, he said, he pulled up the family car in the Karon Municipality parking lot.
''It seems that the tuk-tuk or taxi driver came out of the little shed where all the drivers are sitting, and insulted us. He said we weren’t allowed to park, it was reserved for the police.
''We said ‘It’s nonsense’, because there was no sign. There were plenty of other cars. We actually left and were going to do some shopping.
''One specific gentleman, whom the police are investigating, came out with the bat as you can see there [pointing at the stump] the wooden and metal pole and went straight at me with all his strength and aimed at my head, trying obviously to kill me.
''I put my arm in front of me, so it broke my arm. My father jumped on him and got the bat away from him, so he went to get another one.
''He came back and tried to hit me again and missed me, he hit my wife and eventually my father disarmed him again, and he left and we left as well.
''As my arm was broken we called the police and we went to the hospital. It was operated on.
‘‘I think this gentleman was under the influence of drugs. He did not look healthy at all. As I told you, i would prefer if our names were not mentioned.’’
The French tourist said he was a regular visitor to Phuket and Thailand and this was the first time he had been subjected to aggressive behavior.
‘‘It happens, but I’ve never had any problems,’’ he said. ''Until now, I thought Thailand was safe for tourists but this experience means I don’t think I will come back to Thailand, ever.
‘‘I just come here to see my family, and they will fly to see us instead.’’
He said he had been in Phuket for two weeks.
On one expat online chat site today, some expats were calling for a boycott of tuk-tuks, plus a boycott of all firms advertising on tuk-tuks, over the incident.
Phuketwan has consistently highlighted the issue of a lack of a public transport strategy on Phuket, complicated by the growing numbers of tuk-tuks in a worsening economic climate for tourism.
Some people within the transport industry, including the leader of the Karon-Kata organisation that represents tuk-tuks, taxis and mini-vans in the region, see the need for improvements.
While the alleged assault on the French tourist is a criminal matter, the solution to Phuket’s public transport is an economic one that involves the future of drivers and their families.
Bron: Phuketwan
Theo