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Sihanoukville Police Target Tuk-Tuk Mafia


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Hard to imagine Snooky tuk tuk drivers wearing uniforms.  :blink:

 

 

SIHANOUKVILLE (Khmer Times) – Municipal officials and the police have started identifying and registering the city’s previously unregulated tuk-tuk and moto drivers, following a constant flow of complaints about them from tourists and business owners, officials say.


They said the plan will see drivers registered, given photo identification and even uniforms, but tuk-tuk and moto drivers interviewed by Khmer Times said this was all news to them. 


With more than a million tourists drawn to Sihanoukville’s warm waters and sandy beaches every year, business owners and residents are calling for controls and regulations on the city’s public transport drivers who have a reputation for fleecing tourists.  


Visitors to Cambodia’s most popular coastal destination often leave with negative views of tuk-tuk drivers. These drivers, as well as a spike in crime during Khmer New Year and a lengthy, high-profile feud between two Russian businessmen, have contributed to Sihanoukville’s unwanted “Wild West” image – a perception officials and local residents are working hard to change. 


Violence and Threats 


A Singaporean bar manager who has lived in Sihanoukville for eight years told Khmer Times that negative experiences with the city’s drivers are not always limited to overcharging. Violence and threats are not rare. 


“Recently I saw a tuk-tuk driver grab a tourist by the neck and threaten him over a fare dispute,” he said,” adding that the tourist was convinced he had agreed to pay $5 for his journey while the driver demanded $7.


A 19-year-old female tourist from England was reportedly assaulted by a motodup driver after returning from a beach to her guesthouse without the correct currency to pay her fare. She was traveling alone and had only recently arrived in Cambodia. 


When she tried to pay the driver with a combination of Thai baht and US dollars, he punched her in the face, leaving her bloodied and bruised outside her hotel, said staff at the guesthouse.  


The owner of her guesthouse, who asked not to be named, said the girl left soon after without filing a complaint to the police. “She was clearly shaken and upset. We looked after her, but she didn’t want to involve the police,” he said. 


Tuk-Tuk “Mafia”


An “association” of drivers in Sihanoukville, often labeled a mafia, allegedly control the city’s tuk-tuk and moto fares. The cost of even a short journey for a tourist here can be notoriously high. 


A tuk-tuk trip that costs as little as $2 in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap could cost a tourist up to $10 in Sihanoukville. But local residents, including expats, are usually able to negotiate more reasonable prices.  


Motorcycle taxis are more reasonably priced. It is also widely alleged that fares are kept high to encourage the rentals of scooters, which benefits the city’s traffic police who still target foreign drivers for substantial fines and bribes. 


Regulation on the Way


While there is no suggestion that all, or even a large number, of tuk-tuk and moto drivers in Sihanoukville are violent or threatening, the growing concern in the community is that there are not enough ways to hold those accountable. 


A requirement for moto and tuk-tuk drivers to be officially registered and more easily identifiable would help combat criminal drivers, according to the Sihanoukville Tourism Association. 


Brigadier General Chuon Narin, the new Chief of Police for the province, said the issue was very much on his radar. “We’ve already begun the process of registering all tuk-tuk drivers in the city,” he told Khmer Times. “I want to have all of their details, pictures and phone numbers.”


General Narin wants registration documents and driver photos in all tuk-tuks as well as a hotline to allow customers to complain or report crimes. Traffic police will eventually implement these measures.  


Investors and tourists require better protection, General Narin stressed. “We’re here to protect foreigners and tourists. That’s our duty, and that’s why I’m here.”

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/12285/sihanoukville-police-set-sights-on-tuk-tuk----mafia---/

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Well,as someone who has spent quite a lot of time in Snooky,all i can say to this report is ?....BOLLOX.Of course tuk tuk drivers everywhere will try to ask a high price to tourists,the tourists job is to haggle them down -duh!

Youre far more likely to be ripped off in Thailand....

As for the police ripping off tourists,i dont mind giving them the odd dollar for a motorcycle offence,theyre not as bad as the thai police,and if you really want ripping off big time by the police,go to India,theyre Premier League cunts...

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Yesterday tuk tuk drivers were in the news. Today it's pedophiles in Snooky.

 

 

Phnom Penh, June 16 (IANS/EFE) A 59-year-old Mexican man was arrested in Cambodia, accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl in the tourist city of Sihanoukville, media reported on Tuesday.

 

Cambodia Daily newspaper confirmed that the police arrested the Mexican on Sunday, acting on a rape complaint filed by the young girl's family.

 

The Mexican embassy in Vietnam, which corresponds to Cambodia as well, is yet to confirm the arrest.

 

In the 1990s, Cambodia became a favourite international haunt for paedophiles who enjoyed impunity riding on a corrupt police and justice system.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/mexican-arrested-in-cambodia-for-sexually-abusing-minor-115061601086_1.html

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Getting a form of transport in any third world country is a necessary evil.. and takes some of the pleasure out of the trip when one is ripped off , that along with all the scumbags that abound in the bars and beaches... i walk as much as possible and try to avoid contact with any locals in as far as im just here for sex or business...hard nosed .. yes ,  you bet and i dont care ... im  cold , cynical and heartless.

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