Pattaya’s supposed crackdown on graffiti artists has gone as most previous crackdowns: A miserable failure.
On Sept. 30, Pattaya’s deputy mayor vowed legal action against graffiti vandals and people plastering advertisements on public property. Police and city officers were tasked with finding those painting and writing on Provincial Electricity Authority transformer cabinets.
Three weeks later and two big new PEA boxes next to the Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) offices at the intersection of Third and Central Roads near Big C Extra were covered in permanent red ink scribblings in Thai, with commentary on personal problems, politics and society.
Deputy Mayor Manote Nongyai had said last month that electrical transformer cabinets around the city were being defaced by spray paint and advertisements.
Manote said a 1992 law makes defacing utility boxes a criminal offense. Anyone caught tagging an electrical box or putting stickers or ads on one can face a fine of up to 5,000 baht.
But, based on three weeks of “crackdown”, the vandals have little to fear.
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