Southern Thailand

Thailand, Malaysia Keep Rohingya Refugees at Bay

Rohingya passengers on a boat that was found drifting off the coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea on May 14, 2015

LANGKAWI – Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis abandoned at sea by human traffickers have nowhere to go after Malaysia turned away two boats crammed with more than 800 migrants, and Thailand kept at bay a third boat with hundreds more.

“What do you expect us to do?” Malaysian deputy home minister Wan Junaidi Jafaar said. “We have been very nice to the people who broke into our border. We have treated them humanely but they cannot be flooding our shores like this.”

“We have to send the right message that they are not welcome here,” he said, just days after about 1,000 refugees landed on the shores of Langkawi, a popular resort island in northern Malaysia near Thailand. Another 600 have arrived surreptitiously in Indonesia.

Fears are growing about the fate of thousands of people crammed into beat-up ships off the coasts of Malaysia and Thailand

The Thai prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, said his government did not have resources to host refugees.

“If we take them all in, then anyone who wants to come will come freely. I am asking if Thailand will be able to take care of them all. Where will the budget come from?” Prayuth said. “No one wants them. Everyone wants a transit country like us to take responsibility. Is it fair?”

South-east Asia, which for years tried to quietly ignore the plight of Burma’s 1.3 million Rohingya, finds itself caught in a spiralling humanitarian crisis. In the last three years, more than 120,000 members of the Muslim minority, who are intensely persecuted in Buddhist-majority Burma, have boarded ships to flee to other countries, paying huge sums of money to human traffickers.

But faced with a crackdown by security forces of various countries, the smugglers have been abandoning the ships, leaving an estimated 6,000 refugees to fend for themselves, according to reliable aid workers and human rights groups.

“This is a grave humanitarian crisis demanding an immediate response,” said Matthew Smith, executive director of nonprofit human rights group Fortify Rights. “Lives are on the line.”

Rohingya migrants stand in a queue to board a Malaysian navy ship in Langkawi

Despite appeals by the UN and international aid agencies, no government in the region – neither the Thai, Indonesian nor Malaysian – appears willing to take them in, fearing that accepting a few would result in an unstoppable flow of poor, uneducated migrants.

Wan Junaidi said about 500 people on board a boat found on Wednesday off the coast of northern Penang state were given provisions and then sent on their way. Another boat carrying about 300 migrants was turned away near Langkawi island overnight, according to two Malaysian officials.

Meanwhile, Thai authorities also spotted a boat with migrants on the sea border between Thailand and Malaysia.

They had been given food and water, Captain Chayut Navespootikorn, a senior naval official, said.

“To bring them into our country is not our policy,” he said. “If they need fuel or food to go on to a third country we would help them with it.”

Malaysia, which is not a signatory to international conventions on refugees, is host to more than 150,000 refugees and people seeking asylum, the majority from Burma. More than 45,000 of them are Rohingya, according to the UN refugee agency.

But because they have no legal status, job opportunities are limited. They also have little or no access to basic services such as education and healthcare, and are vulnerable to arrests and deportation. A small number are resettled in third countries.

Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch Asia accused Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia of playing “a three-way game of human ping pong”. At the same time, the three countries and others in south-east Asia have for years bowed to the wishes of Burma at regional conferences, avoiding all discussions of state-sponsored discrimination against the Rohingya.

Denied citizenship by national law, members of the Rohingya minority are effectively stateless. They have limited access to education or adequate healthcare and cannot move around freely. They have been attacked by the military and chased from their homes and land by extremist Buddhist mobs.

Wan Junaidi said it was time to put pressure on Burma, a former pariah state, to address the Rohingya crisis.

“You talk about democracy, but don’t treat your citizens like trash, like criminals until they need to run away to our country,” he said.

Migrants believed to be Rohingya rest inside a shelter after being rescued by fishermen at Lhoksukon in Indonesia’s Aceh Province on May 11

Increasingly over the years, Rohingya boarding boats in the Bay of Bengal have been joined by people from neighboring Bangladesh, most of them seeking an escape from poverty.

For those fleeing, the first stop until recently was Thailand, where migrants were held in jungle camps until their families could raise hefty ransoms so they could continue onward. Recent security crackdowns forced the smugglers to change tactics, instead holding people on large ships parked offshore.

Initially they were shuttled to shore in groups on smaller boats after their “ransoms” were paid. But as agents and brokers on land got spooked by arrests – not just of traffickers but also police and politicians – they went into hiding.
That created a bottleneck, with migrants stuck on boats for days and weeks.

Southern Thailand

Tourists Rescued After Longboat Sinks in Rough Seas Off the Phi Phi Islands

Two tourists and a Thai longboat operator were safely rescued after their boat capsized in stormy seas in the Phi Phi islands off Krabi province on late Sunday. The incident happened in Ao Nang bay at about 11am.

A speedboat owned by Narayana Marine spotted the capsized longboat and was able to provided assistance. Two Chinese tourists, one a young girl, a Thai tourist and the longboat operator were rescued.

A rescuer from the speedboat jumped into the rough seas and swam to the tourist clinging to the capsized longboat and gave them life vests. They were then hauled by rope to the safety of speedboat. The rescuers said the young Chinese girl was severely traumatized.

The tourists were taken to Phuket where they received medical treatment and then released. The Thai longboat operator is facing charges for unsafe operation of a boat and for not having the required life safety equipment.

According to the Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association, safety briefings should be given to tourists before they depart on tours, and that visitors follow their own common sense, avoiding boats that are overcrowded and badly maintained.

On average, 20 people die in boat accidents each year, many of them due to badly maintained speedboats that shuttle tourists between the islands along the coast. They are frequently overcrowded and staffed poorly trained operators and crew.

The agencies in charge of regulating safety and licensing tourist boats, such as the Maritime Police, are frequently understaffed, with inadequate resources.

Tourists Being Rescued in the Phi Phi Islands

Many Tourists Choosing to Explore Thailand with a Campervan

Many Tourists Choosing to Explore Thailand with a Campervan

News

Phuket Lifeguards Report Three Tourist Drownings in Two Days

Lifeguards in Phuket caution swimmers: File Image

Authorities on Thailand’s resort island of Phuket report an American man and a Thai woman were found dead on Mai Khao beach on Monday, and a Russian man drowned off Phuket’s Surin beach on Sunday.

According to Police, local villagers alerted authorities that two bodies had washed ashore on a beach in Thalang district.

Phuket police identified the deceased American man as Mr. James Newman, 45, the Thai woman as identified as Ms. Waranya, 49, a nurse from Surin. The police officer also did not reveal the relationship between the two.

Investigators discovered no evidence of violence against them, he added. According to preliminary findings, they booked into a hotel in Mai Khao on Sunday.

Phuket police believe the two were swimming when one was washed away from the beach by the strong tide while the other attempted to help but was unsuccessful. The victims bodies were taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for autopsies.

Mr. Newman became the second American to drown is Phuket in less than two weeks. Last Tuesday, Mr. James Du Bois was discovered washed ashore at Nai Harn Beach in Muang District (main city) of Phuket.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Russian Mr.Apostolov Aleksei, 64, drowned near Surin Beach in Thalang. Police stated that there were no traces of violence on Aleksei’s body. The Russian man had stayed in a condominium in Tha Lang. His body was also taken to the Vachira Phuket Hospital.

tourists phuket

Tourists Drowning in Phuket

Lifeguards in Phuket have cautioned beach goers to be extremely wary of rough seas and posted red flags on sites deemed hazardous for swimmers. Phuket, a renowned tourist destination in Thailand, has had a disturbing number of drowning deaths. This tropical paradise, famous for its beautiful beaches, draws millions of visitors each year.

But the attraction of its clear waters conceals major perils. Many vacationers overlook the power of rip tides and the unpredictable weather patterns. Lifeguards do their best, but they are frequently understaffed. Warning signs and flags are often ignored or misunderstood, resulting in tragic incidents. The lack of awareness and respect for the ocean’s power is a major contributing element.

Poor swimming ability and alcohol consumption can add to the problem. Local governments have worked to improve safety measures, but the answer lies in better education and tougher enforcement.

Tourists must accept personal responsibility for their safety and obey all cautions. Every drowning death in Phuket serves as a sharp warning that nature’s beauty may suddenly become lethal if not treated with caution and respect.

Crime

Authorities in Phuket Arrest 98 Foreigners in Company Nominee Crackdown

Phuket Police question a Thai woman: Post Image

The Central Investigation Bureau police detained over 90 Russians in Phuket, Thailand during a crackdown on nominee companies, with assets valued at more than 1.5 billion baht taken.

Part of the operation, Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) commissioner Pol Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej said on Friday, police from the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECSD) searched accounting and real estate companies in the island province.

There are currently charges pending against 135 people and 96 juristic people.

Pol Gen Jirabhop stated of the people, 37 Thais served as nominees for foreign firms and 98 foreign nationals, the majority of them being Russians. The people were subsequently released on bond.

The foreign suspects were accused of operating companies by eschewing or breaking the law, and of having Thais or other non-foreign nationals assist or co-run companies that foreigners were not authorized to operate.

Pol Gen Jirabhop charged the Thai suspects with providing assistance or support to foreign nationals operating enterprises without the necessary legal authorization.

Russian businesses Phuket

Land and Assets in Phuket

Along with 196 passports, 108 work permits, documents pertaining to the formation of 800 companies, 1,601 company stamps, four electronic devices, and other items, seized during the crackdown were 225 bank accounts with 319 million baht in circulation, 245 land documents.

Including those for 96 condominium units worth about 1 billion baht and 43 title deeds covering 24 rai of land worth about 200 million baht. Police estimated the assets taken were worth more than 1.5 billion baht.

When locals protested to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin that foreign nationals—mostly Russians—had been operating enterprises and purchasing a lot of residential properties and land plots at astronomically high rates, the police operation was started.

According to Pol Gen Jirabhop, one of the activities that cost Thais jobs and harmed the economy was the operation of tour-related companies owned by foreign nationals.

The prime minister next gave acting national police commander Kitrat Panphet instructions to designate the appropriate agencies to look into the matter.

An inquiry by the CIB’s ECSD later revealed that, since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in early 2022, 59,717 Russian nationals had entered Phuket. They reported an incredibly high 1,603 new company registrations in the province.

ECSD commander Pol Maj Gen Phutthidet Boonkraphue cited instances of companies involving a single foreign woman, solely named Iana, 45.

She was discovered to be an executive and shareholder in nine companies, with a 38 million baht total registered capital: seven real estate companies, one service company, and one tour company.

Corruption Phuket

Fake Company Nominees

The chief of ECSD said that the firms were occupying three opulent apartment and condominium developments valued at more than 900 million baht.

The detectives discovered that Ms. Iana was nominated by a Thai woman going by the name Trithip. Additionally discovered to be nominees for 272 companies were Ms. Trithip and other Thai citizens. There were Thai shareholders solely in 142, and both Thai and international shareholders were present in the others.

Later, Pol Maj Gen Phutthidet stated, the detectives collected evidence to ask the court for permission to arrest people engaged in nominee businesses.

Ms. Trithip acknowledged under inquiry that she was employed to act as a nominee for 30,000 to 50,000 baht each company.

Pol Maj Gen Phutthidet reported that 85 foreign nationals had already received summonses from the investigators to answer allegations of exploiting Thai nominees. He said that the probe is being continued.

Russians looking for sun and water have come to love Phuket. The island’s mild weather and laid-back way of life appeal to many. Russian visitors and residents can be seen frequently taking advantage of the lively nightlife and stunning beaches.

Some of them have even launched their own companies, which boosts the local economy. Growing Russian population in Phuket is fostering a little but active cross-cultural interaction. Even though Phuket is far from home, its kind people and wide range of activities provide them comfort.

Source: Bangkok Post