Thailand to ban Full Moon parties

[Banano]

SURAT THANI: The governor of Surat Thani province -- which includes Koh Tao -- said today (September 18) that the island would no longer host spin-off parties of the 'full moon' beach raves which draw backpacking hordes to neighbouring Koh Phangan



Following the recent murders of two British holidaymakers on Koh Tao early Monday morning (September 15) major concerns on tourists’ safety have been raised.

The murders are the first in the area involving foreiners since December 31, 2012, when British tourist Stephen Ashton, 22, was shot dead at a New Year's Eve party on Koh Phangan after getting caught in the crossfire of a gun fight between two local gangs.

"We don't want any more crimes," Governor Chatpong Chatraphuti said, adding that hotels and resorts would have to install new security cameras and lighting.

The military government vowed to restore Thailand's reputation as the "Land of Smiles", embarking on a clean-up of resorts after a series of complaints about scams, assaults and even police extortion, particularly in Phuket.

The battered bodies of David Miller, 24 and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found on the southern resort island of Koh Tao early Monday morning.

Distraught relatives of Ms Witheridge broke down in tears and hugged each other ahead of a police briefing in Bangkok today (September 18) as the investigation continued to draw a blank.

Meanwhile, Thailand's military ruler Prayuth Chan-Ocha yesterday (September 17) drew criticism after questioning the safety of female tourists wearing provocative clothing in the kingdom.

"They think our country is beautiful and is safe so they can do whatever they want. They can wear bikinis and walk everywhere," Gen Prayuth told government officials.

But, he asked, "Can they be safe in bikinis … unless they are not beautiful?"

The British embassy in Bangkok said it had contacted the Thai Foreign Ministry raising its "concerns" over his remarks and asking "for clarification", according to an embassy statement.

Police today continued to hunt for clues on Koh Tao as post-mortem examinations of the victims' bodies in Bangkok found no DNA links to 12 people police have questioned so far.

Those include two of Miller's British friends who were asked to stay in Bangkok pending the forensic results -- and several Burmese migrant workers.

The British men were now "free to return home," regional police commander Lt Gen Panya Maman said.

Experts tested traces of semen and a hair found at the crime scene but could not find a match.

With no arrests and an apparent lack of new leads, it is unclear where the police investigation can turn after nearly four days scouring sparsely populated Koh Tao.

Thailand's key high season for tourists is just two months away and the kingdom is desperate to reassure visitors after a year which saw takings slump because of political turmoil, followed by the coup

http://www.thephuketnews.com/koh-tao-ba ... -48789.php

[Banano]

Good to see Thailand is changing, it was about time to kick out all these broke and drunk Western backpackers as they don't bring any values to the country.

Thailands has been ruined by westerners and military junta wants to clean it up,
sometimes its not good thing when place has it all such as girls, cheap food and drinks, flights, accommodation, as it attracts too many people and soon after place becomes just another western colony, value of a white american has gone down the toilet, even p4p is not cheap anymore either and most hotter ones are reluctant to do long time

[starchild5]

Full Moon Parties are not banned...Its just the spin off's happening in Kao Tao Island where the murder took place

[Yohan]

Good to see Thailand is changing, it was about time to kick out all these broke and drunk Western backpackers as they don't bring any values to the country.

Thailands has been ruined by westerners and military junta wants to clean it up...

To be fair, you cannot blame the foreigners for that murder case.

As this article correctly said, the last incident killing an unrelated foreigner in that area was caused accidentally by a local criminal and not by the foreigners.

It would be better to clean up the local gangs, Thailand is full with criminals who are NOT foreigners.

text from the article:
The murders are the first in the area involving foreigners since December 31, 2012, when British tourist Stephen Ashton, 22, was shot dead at a New Year's Eve party on Koh Phangan after getting caught in the crossfire of a gun fight between two local gangs.

It is totally unclear who were killing these 2 foreigners now - but likely locals, just my opinion, considering the circumstances. In Thailand, foreigners killing foreigners is very rare despite millions are visiting this country for nightlife. Almost always when a foreign woman is killed, even together with other foreigners nearby, the murders were local Thai gangs.

Islands are always critical in Thailand, as they are used by criminal locals using motor boats, there is little police on islands and a local who knows the area can easily escape by motorboat. A paradise for Thai drug dealers, of course with Western foreigners as their customers.

[Rock]

Good to see Thailand is changing, it was about time to kick out all these broke and drunk Western backpackers as they don't bring any values to the country.

Thailands has been ruined by westerners and military junta wants to clean it up...

To be fair, you cannot blame the foreigners for that murder case.

As this article correctly said, the last incident killing an unrelated foreigner in that area was caused accidentally by a local criminal and not by the foreigners.

It would be better to clean up the local gangs, Thailand is full with criminals who are NOT foreigners.

text from the article:
The murders are the first in the area involving foreigners since December 31, 2012, when British tourist Stephen Ashton, 22, was shot dead at a New Year's Eve party on Koh Phangan after getting caught in the crossfire of a gun fight between two local gangs.

It is totally unclear who were killing these 2 foreigners now - but likely locals, just my opinion, considering the circumstances. In Thailand, foreigners killing foreigners is very rare despite millions are visiting this country for mightlife. Almost always when a foreign woman is killed, even together with other foreigners nearby, the murders were local Thai gangs.

Islands are always critical in Thailand, as they are used by criminal locals using motor boats, there is little police on islands and a local who knows the area can easily escape by motorboat. A paradise for Thai drug dealers, of course with Western foreigners as their customers.

That's not the impression I get from reading the local English media. Foreigners die hear quite a bit, often from murder, and those cases are a mix of Thai on foreigner and foreigner on foreigner. Also, I calculated the death rate of visiting Brits (number of British deaths in Thailand / total number of British arrivals to Thailand) for one recent year not long ago and the number was quite high (I think it was as high as 80 per 100,000 or something in that ballpark).

[Yohan]

The prison population in Thailand is one of the highest in this world, and for sure not all inmates are foreigners.

The behavior of some Western foreign tourists, with drunk British people in a group as no. 1 by my opinion, is disgusting. However there is a difference between bad behavior and criminality.

About the murder rate among foreigners, I was thinking about Western tourists. If something happens it is mostly drug and alcohol related. Usually not out of planning a certain crime in advance.

I doubt if these millions of people visiting Thailand coming from Western countries are all so-called 'criminal tourists'.
Yes, of course, many are coming only for girls, or boys etc. but are willing to spend some money too.

It's usually the Thai girl cheating the stupid foreign guy and not the other way.

Most foreign criminals - with the intention of criminal activity - are from neighboring countries, entering Thailand by land route, for example the Myanmar thief, and known as violent those many Cambodian robbers and burglars. Even the Thai are afraid of them.

I have my own rooms in Pattaya and Jomtien, and we are never out past midnight. - Thailand is not so safe, there are plenty of Thai gangsters and Thai police is very corrupt.

When we are travelling around we prefer not to stay on small islands overnight. Small Thai islands, not too far away from the mainland, have always been a meeting point for criminals usually operating out of motorboats. We never had any serious problem in Thailand.

Thailand is a great place for vacation and retirement for me and my family, but it is sometimes really necessary to stay away from certain places and certain people, regardless if Thai, Western or Asian foreigners.