Two foreigners arrested for taking selfie video with marine animals

[pazz]

Just for educational purposes.

Two foreigners arrested for taking selfie video with marine animals

PUBLISHED : 2 SEP 2020 AT 13:59

Two foreigners arrested for taking selfie video with marine animals

SURAT THANI: Two foreigners, long-stayers on Koh Phangan island, have been arrested after posting a video on Facebook of themselves toying with marine animals while diving in a protected area off the coast.

In the video, the two were seen tickling marine life with a selfie stick and taking their photos with them.

The clip went viral and drew criticism on social media - and irritated Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa. He instructed the Marine and Coastal Resources Department to find out who the two men were, what they were doing in the area and whether they held diving permits and other licences required by the law.

Mr Varawut also told permanent secretary Jatuporn Burusapattana to instruct officials to take legal action against the two men……

 

[Jack Hammer]

I like it

 

[lexvil]

$3200 fine!

 

[XfiXit]

Good for them.

The thread title is a bit misleading tho. #clickbait

It is not the fact that they made "selfie(ish) video's" that got them arrested, it is the fact they annoyed the fish, and touched them without good reasons.

Are "selfie videos" a thing now? I got to get myself a gopro and get jailed for likes nowadays? Mkay....

 

[pazz]

I guess we can play the semantics game. If they hadn’t taken the video and posted it, they probably would not have been arrested.

Hopefully, this incident serves as a good lesson for divers and dive ops. Look, take a picture but don’t touch has been around for a long time, and it always made me angry when I saw divers violating this practice.

An update:

Two western tourists to be deported for catching protected marine species

September 3, 2020

Two western tourists to be deported for catching protected marine species – Thai PBS World

Two western tourists, who took a selfie of themselves holding one of Thailand’s species of protected marine wildlife while scuba diving, are to be deported after their tourist visas were revoked…..

 

[String]

There does appear to be a little more to this rather than just fish abuse.

These people own a restaurant, work as a chef, own a speedboat and a dive centre. That isn't what tourists do or tourist visas allow.

Its possible that they did what always happens to a foreigner after a complaint - check visas and found they were in violation of their visa hence deportation.

You do sadly see this stuff going on a lot there but most arent stupid enough to post selfies and videos of them doing it to youtube.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Are they married to Thai women?

 

[stevenl]

Are they married to Thai women?

One of them yes, other one I don't know.

 

[chillyinCanada]

One of them yes, other one I don't know.

Could be interesting then.

 

[Rickk]

Put me right in the middle of the camp that believes that a foreigner should always be very careful about making sure that all conditions of your visa are in order and yo u follow all local laws. People who work on a tourist visa then get deported deserve that and they deserve the losses that will go along with their not being at their restaurant, dive shop or whatever after they leave.

Here in the Philippines you can drive on a foreign license for the first 90 days in country, after that you need to convert it. Many foreigners do not do that claiming that they are never asked how long in country when stopped. However give the police or immigration a desire to deport them, and they will find a reason. It only costs less than $US20 to convert and I did mine in and out in less than an hour.

It just isn't worth it to break any laws, even the spirit of the law in case you think you have found a loophole, when you are a foreigner, subject to deportation and not granted the civil protections you may take for granted from your home country.