hi all, i was browsing the lonely planet forum, and there were some postings about crime against tourists in samui and a few in phi phi. Is this accurate? I always thought it was very safe. thx

What kind of "crime against tourists" are you talking about?

I assume you're referring to the odd item being taken from a guesthouse, etc, which is the sort of thing you see posted on Thorntree. If that is what you are referring to, I'd say that petty property crimes are everywhere. You need to watch your stuff in Thailand, just as you do in any other place in the world. Thailand's crime rate is fairly low, especially in contrast to much of the rest of the world (like where you live).

actually it was sounding like a briton was killed in samui and that a girl died in phi phi which was met with little fanfare. i get the feeling this is exaggerated or possibly not true, which is why i figured i'd ask on this site

Do you have any other info on this so someone (like JamesA) can respond? How was the Brit killed (in an accident? a murder?) and how did the girl die on Phi Phi?

Violent crimes against tourists are almost non-existent in Thailand.

I stopped looking at that particular forum years ago as in my opinion just so much posted was too 'opinionated', if that makes sense, probably doesn't, but too many things being hyped into extremes.
Anyway, I know nothing of those cases and again, I considor Thailand far safer than most places in the world, and I only realise just 'how' safe when I visit other countries.
I do not hesitate a second going 'anywhere'. Problems happen 'anywhere' in the world but Thailand is on simple balance a very very safe place to be, or visit.
An incident occuring to a person of one nationality should not be considored as more or less importance than of another nationality, sadly though media and others often do not see it that way.

Sadly the news is true. Its all over the news here in the UK. Apparently she was hit over the head with a blunt instrument and dumped in the sea. She was found by a Jet Skier... so very very sad. That is all the info i have heard i just feel so very sorry for the family.
She was not a lone traveller and was with a friend on a 2 week break.

yes, i now searched the UK papers and it is true. hoping they find the person who did it soon. and hoping this is an isolated incident and that it is as safe as everyone says..

This is really sad - she wandered away from her friends on the beach to talk to her mother on her mobile and that was the last time she was seen alive. She was only 21 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4576688.stm

I saw a similar post on FlyerTalk that indicated a lot of crime and unfriendliness to tourists on Samui. Some of what it said is this:

Here are some recent letters to the editor from the Bangkok Post:

"No one to defend Samui's reputation

Recent weeks have seen many letters in the English-language press pointing out the glaring troubles Koh Samui is facing. As a long-time resident and tourism business owner I, like many others, stand to lose if these letters have an effect on tourist arrivals. As the letter from "Name Withheld" (Postbag, Dec 21) came one day after an incident with an irresponsible taxi driver who turned violent when I dared to blare my horn at him, I feel compelled to write.

Name Withheld's letter was arguably the most dramatic and ardent plea yet. I was tempted upon finishing NW's letter to consider that had Phuket been the victim of a string of so many intensely critical observations, articulate voices from that island's movers and shakers would have come forward and pointed out the unfairness of the sweeping generalisations. I wondered, where are the voices of Samui's civic and business leaders? Is there no one to come forward and defend the island's reputation?

I suspect that, like myself, they all realise that things have gotten so out of hand, bad publicity may be the only hope for the changes so desperately needed.

ANOTHER NAME WITHHELD
Koh Samui

Horrible people live on Samui

While touring through the North of your beautiful country I noted repeated negative stories and letters relating to Koh Samui, which almost caused me to avoid the island. But I did not, and instead, took the opportunity to evaluate conditions for myself.

There, for the first time, I encountered an almost overwhelming number of mean people. This was especially surprising, and barely unbelievable, after meeting so many wonderful Thais in other places; but I guarantee your readers that that is exactly what happened, and in spades.

Reports of murderous driving are vastly understated, but the high probability of death or injury by motorbike was overshadowed by the continuous hassle with street people. Most particularly, the threatening Thai men-cum-cab drivers of that ilk, who push the boundaries of civilised people.

Residents told me they live in fear of the mafia and the police who resemble them (or maybe vice versa). And yes, like so many others, I was attacked for no apparent reason, and then discovered that a police report is a joke (to them); and my hospital bills far exceeded the fine given to the Thai man who attacked me from behind.

The unprovoked attack, which would have been assault with a deadly weapon and/or attempted murder in any civilised place, is all too common on Samui and hardly remarkable. The attacker was friendly with the police and totally unconcerned. He laughed as he paid a small fine and then threatened me again as he walked out the door. The policeman giggled.

My embassy is unaware of any pattern developing, but perhaps the walls and barbed-wire surrounding them obstructed their view. Nevertheless, in a short time I heard many strong-arm and intimidation stories from other tourists, and from local residents powerless in the face of massive police corruption.

It is surprising to discover that a tourist's life is worth less than 1,000 baht on Koh Samui; but the experience was reminiscent of that last year when a policeman killed two Western tourists; except I was not drinking and did not know my attacker; and it happened in broad daylight and in full view of more than 100 Thai people.

Significantly, not one Thai person responded to cries for help, or telephoned the police when asked to do so. In fact, they locked their doors and turned their backs.

Discussing this matter with several high-level island officials, all whom insisted they not be quoted fearing for their own lives, I was encouraged in the strongest possible terms to urge tourists with similar experiences to write to newspapers and travel magazines and shout these outrages loud and often. I promise to do so.

My life is worth more than a few baht but my resources will be used to warn every English-language publication possible about the animals running loose on Samui. I loved my visit to Thailand (excluding Samui), but unfortunately most westerners will probably not make that fine distinction after reading my account of it.

NAME WITHHELD"

I hope that someone such as JamesA can confirm that this is not what I can expect when we visit Samui this year.

where is koh samui in relation to other islands such as phuket? i'm also curious if this is an accurate reflection of the island..ie is this a case of overreacting visitors or of (gulp) a tourist industry covering up?

samui is about 1/2 way to 2/3 way down the east coast....

on my one visit there i encountered nothing but nice helpful people...

i find this trash talk above not helpful to me as a potential tourist or to the island's reputation....i dismiss it totally....

go and see for yourself...its a fabuous place...

on another plane....think about thailand....is it an unfriendly place to tourists....NO....so why would this small island which has so much going for it be??????? no....it is paradise...

Well said BOB. Whilst of course the tragic events on Koh Samui cannot be denied, bad things happen in all coutries. Thailand has to be one of the friendliest countries i have ever been too, so am really hoping that it doesnt suffer yet another drop in tourism.
Of course we must all excercise caution WHEREVER we go....

The reason this incident causes so much uproar is because it is so rare. (Not, of course, to deny the seriousness or tragedy of this incident.) Unfortunately, all the "trash talk" as Bob calls it, obscures the reality that we are talking about VERY rare violence against tourists. It also obscures the fact that Thailand is one of the most welcoming places in the world to foreign tourists.

I would venture a guess that all of us posting on this board (except for the ex-pats in Thailand) live in places that have much higher crime rates and MUCH higher rates of violent crime.

while I agree that a lot of us live in cities of high crime (although NYC is pretty safe these days!), it is not "trash talking" to bring up subjects that are being heavily covered in the press, especially since it is in the region of this board's subject matter. TOTALLY agree that it is rare and Thais are wonderful people, but it is also true that there there is more articles than usual on some incidents in that particular area. Just take a look at Phuket Gazette (phukette.gazette.com). We shouldn't be raising any unnecessary alarms by any means, and hey, I'm definitely still going to the region and plan on spending lots of $$, but we shouldn't leave out any negative topics either. It's an open forum..

Jacqui, I wasn't referring to you as "trash talking" but to some of the activity on the Lonely Plant's Thorntree. I agree that this forum is a place to air all kinds of questions.

Usually one gets in trouble hear because of attitude or actions. Sometimes there is a limit to what the locals will put up with from arrogant foreign tourists. Especially on the islands with more corrupt police. But there is a level of crime everywhere, even here. Last week a foreigner was murdered at Omni Tower, where I stay.

Brad...I read about that. Wasn't that the 54 year-old Danish resident? I thought about it because I remember your mom posted, months ago, that she has a Danish friend that lives in that building, right? I didn't realize that it was the Omni where this took place. Happy Travels!

Bob...I cut out the page on crime for you. It was from yesterday's Bangkok Post. I'll mail it to you with your magazine. I can't find your original thread asking about crime. Maybe it was under another thread. I don't remember. Happy Travels!

Crime,both small and large is out of control on Samui.Tourists are attacked quite frequently.Since October 1st there have been 3 reported rapes one of which involved a 12 year old Swedish girl..Within the last month there have been 3 murders icluding the recent sad case of the young British girl.

The other two murders involved local Thai's and both occurred at Solo bar in Chaweng...a place incidently packed with young tourists.On December 11th I missed one of these killings by just seconds.The body of an off duty Thai policeman who had been shot no less than 5 times in the head was lying on the ground.The uniformed police had not yet arrived and a tourist had caught a bullet in the leg.But for the grace of God there could have been more people killed that night..maybe even me if I hadn't stopped at the seven eleven on the way to the bar.

Samui may once have been a safe haven but its time for a reality check ..does 3 murders in almost as many weeks on a small tourist island sound like a safe place to you? They sure would be up in arms if Samui was the Isle of Wight!

From violent attacks to rape to murder and right down to the smaller crimes such as the taxi mafioso that will overcharge and refuse to use their metres Samui is becoming less and less desirable as a place to visit.

Lawlessness is rife,the local police very weak and central Government needs to take control now before the good folk of Samui who are trying to make a decent and honest living are adversely affected by all the bad publicity the island is getting both in the Thai and the world press.

Just search around the internet and you will see an increasing amount of bad press from both expats and tourists concerning how crime on Samui is escalating out of control...they cannot all be wrong.

I found out the murder at Omni was a Dutch guy who was stabbed to death in his room. They suspect it was a ladyboy, and think he/she will be caught. Supposedly he was tortured before he was killed. Sounds like he was here for the wrong reasons.