Chinese visitors were the subject of a police complaint on Friday by marine protection officials for snapping pictures with rare water life off the coast of Koh Racha.
During a Thursday diving trip in Phuket province, Chinese tourists Sanyang Qin and Wen Zhang were charged for holding up a starfish and stepping on coral reefs. Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa claimed that their acts were in violation of a law prohibiting damage to the coastal environment.
In a statement on his personal Facebook page on Saturday, Varawut stated, “We collaborated with the provincial tourism police, marine office, and a tour operator to bring in the perpetrators. They admitted to misconduct, and now they are facing charges.
They might receive a two-year prison sentence and a 200,000 baht fine if found guilty.
After seeing pictures and videos of tourists posing with aquatic life on social media, authorities started an inquiry. Monsoon Garbage Thailand, the marine environmental watchdog website that released the images first on Thursday, demanded officials to inquire into the tour operator’s licensing.
The tourists were her clients, according to Sirikwan Saengravee, manager of Jinyang Holiday Group, who also apologized for the event.
According to Sirikwan, “On behalf of the company, we are deeply saddened by this incident and we are ready to improve and take better care of our customers.” The company has instructed our diving instructors to advise our Chinese consumers more forcefully going forward.
