Tha Chatchai Police defends ‘pointless’ patrol pickup, rental car at Phuket Check Point
PHUKET: Tha Chatchai Police have responded to a complaint online that a patrol pickup truck that remains parked at the Phuket Check Point is a pointless waste of resources, and questioned why a rental car is allowed to remain parked at the checkpoint all day.
In a post online, Tha Chatchai Police thanked the “Rabbit Moonshadow” Facebook group for raising the issues, but noted that the person who made the post “might not be aware of all the issues”.
The statement issued was not attributed to any particular officer, but signed off as by the Tha Chatchai Police. The current Tha Chatchai Police Chief is Col Kanchawit Phoprasit.
The pickup truck mentioned in the Rabbit Moonshadow post, shown in a photo parked at the Phuket Check Point, remains there on standby in case it is needed, the police statement said.
“Phuket Check Point is an important checkpoint of Phuket. It is used to prevent crimes such as drugs, firearms and [catching] criminals attempting to flee Phuket, all of which affect tourism, which is an extremely important [source of] income for Phuket people,” the statement read.
“There is only one way to enter and exit Phuket by land, and that is to go through the Phuket check Point. Therefore, it must be a strong checkpoint and must be ready to operate 24 hours a day for the safety of residents of Phuket and those on duty,” the statement continued.
“The police station has therefore arranged for a vehicle to be prepared to give chase immediately if a perpetrator attempts to flee or if there is an incident involving two cars,” the statement explained.
Tha Chatchai Police pointed out that there is a police vehicle at each end of both bridges, Thao Thepkasattri Bridge leading onto the island and the Thao Srisoonthorn Bridge leading off the island.
Regarding the rental car that remains parked at the checkpoint, Tha Chatchai Police said a rental car remains at the checkpoint 24 hours a day in case it is needed.
The Rabbit Moonshadow post said the rental car had remained at the checkpoint for four months, with the supervising officer walking past it, oblivious that a private car remained parked at the checkpoint.
The police statement countered that at different times other rental cars were brought to the checkpoint, but no rental cars were permitted to remain at the checkpoint for 24 hours, or even long periods of time without moving.
“It is not a waste of taxpayers’ money. Such cases may be misunderstood,” the statement said.
Regular Traffic Police work only during the day. At night, patrol officers use the vehicles to perform their duties “in order to achieve the full value of use”, the statement added.
Tha Chatchai Police said that it was necessary to issue the statement so that the public understood the reasons for such instances, in police performing their duties and management of police functions, and assured that police “will do their best to protect”.
“The people of Phuket are to be kept safe from illegal things and various threats, according to the intent of the commander,” the statement concluded.
