PHUKET: A Myanmar national working on the construction of a large sewage treatment pond for Patong Municipality was found dead behind a small closed hotel near the construction site early yesterday morning (June 3). 

patong crime economics tourism By Eakkapop Thongtub

The man had been electrocuted while attempting to steal power cables, or even a transformer, at the back of the hotel, said police.

Patong Police were called to the scene, behind the Patong Dynasty hotel, on the corner of Soi Rath-U-Thit 200 Pi 2 and Phra Metta Rd, at about 2am.

Officers at rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation arrived to find the body of the man, later identified as 23-year-old Min Min Ao, tangled in power cables at the bottom of a power pole that was also supporting a small transformer.

Power had to be shut off before Mr Min Min Ao’s body could be recovered and taken to Patong Hospital.

The foreman of the construction camp where Mr Min Min Ao was staying said that the young man had not been seen at the camp since 7pm the night before.

Concerned for his whereabouts, two friends went searching for him. After initially failing to find him, the pair came across the body of their friend while returning to the workers’ camp, located near the construction site of the sewage treatment pond near the Rath-U-Thit 200 Pi 2 Bridge, which crosses the Pak Bang Canal.

Pongphat Patongsap, owner of the Patong Dynasty hotel on the corner of Soi Rath-U-Thit 200 Pi 2 and Phra Metta Rd, where Mr Min Min Ao’s body was found, said he did not hear the news until 9am yesterday.

“This morning [June 3] I brought flowers, incense and candles to tell the deceased that I offer my forgiveness, and to tell him that he is dead so let’s not not disturb each other. Let’s go back to the home country to see relatives and find his wife and children at home,” Mr Pongphat said.

Mr Pongphat’s Patong Dynasty hotel, a seven-story guesthouse, has been closed for about three years, and is not the only target of people stealing power cables and other items, he said.

The back of the hotel was sectioned off with the standard green cloth when the construction of the sewage treatment pond started some three years ago, Mr Pongphat said.

The cloth obscured the view from the street giving thieves ample opportunity to steal what they wanted, mostly the hotel’s electrical equipment, he said.

“The thieves break in at night and have stolen the property five times already, worth hundreds of thousands of baht,” Mr Pongphat said.

Rungrak Warittrakul, who is the owner of the Raha Gold Residence, or Sharaya Style Patong, a few doors down the street to the north, and the owner of the Raha Grand Hotel on the south side of the bridge, said her hotels had been targeted by thieves as well.

“While the hotel has been unable to open for three years, at least three burglaries have been carried out. Among the items stolen have been two elevators,” Ms Rungrak said.

“We have no income. The building does not have a transformer. The cooker has been stolen. There have been three reports of theft and about six people have been caught,” she said.

“The hotel is now closed and using solar power because the transformer has been stolen. And if you want a new transformer, you need to spend about B300,000.

“We have had to endure this for years now. There is no entrance to the hotel because the road is closed. There is no definite date when it will be finished, because they keep pushing ti back. We have asked for a streetlight in front of the hotel and they will not even give it,” she said.

“I want the government to help alleviate our suffering. Give us some entrance to the hotel, and now the building is cracked because of the pile driving. I would like to ask the responsible agencies here to help us as well,” said Ms Rungrak.

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