Thailand
Tourist scams at Bangkok airport
Bangkok's showcase new international airport is no stranger to controversy.
Built between 2002 and 2006, under the governments of then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the opening date was repeatedly delayed.
It has been dogged by allegations of corruption, as well as criticism of the design and poor quality of construction.
Then, at the end of last year, the airport was shut down for a week after being occupied by anti-government protesters.
Now new allegations have been made that a number of passengers are being detained every month in the duty free area on suspicion of shoplifting, and then held by the police until they pay large sums of money to buy their freedom.
That is what happened to Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin, two IT experts from Cambridge, as they were about to board their flight to London on the night of 25 April this year.
They had been browsing in the duty free shop at the airport, and were later approached by security guards, who twice asked to search their bags.
They were told a wallet had gone missing, and that Ms Lin had been seen on a security camera taking it out of the shop.
The company that owns the duty free shop, King Power, has since put the CCTV video on its website, which does appear to show her putting something in her bag. However the security guards found no wallet on either of them.
Despite that, they were both taken from the departure gate, back through immigration, and held in an airport police office. That is when their ordeal started to become frightening.
Interpreter
"We were questioned in separate rooms," Mr Ingram said. "We felt really intimidated. They went through our bags and demanded that we tell them where the wallet was."
The two were then put in what Mr Ingram describes as a "hot, humid, smelly cell with graffiti and blood on the walls".
Mr Ingram managed to phone a Foreign Office helpline he found in a travel guide, and was told someone in the Bangkok embassy would try to help them.
The next morning the two were given an interpreter, a Sri Lankan national called Tony, who works part-time for the police.
They were taken by Tony to meet the local police commander - but, says Mr Ingram, for three hours all they discussed was how much money they would have to pay to get out.
They were told the charge was very serious. If they did not pay, they would be transferred to the infamous Bangkok Hilton prison, and would have to wait two months for their case to be processed.
Mr Ingram says they wanted £7,500 ($12,250) - for that the police would try to get him back to the UK in time for his mother's funeral on 28 April.
But he could not arrange to get that much money transferred in time.
'Zig-zag' scheme
Tony then took them to an ATM machine at the police station, and told Ms Lin to withdraw as much as she could from her own account - £600 - and Mr Ingram then withdrew the equivalent of £3,400 from his account.
This was apparently handed over to the police as "bail", and they were both made to sign a number of papers.
Later they were allowed to move to a squalid hotel within the airport perimeter, but their passports were held and they were warned not to leave or try to contact a lawyer or their embassy.
"I will be watching you," Tony told them, adding that they would have to stay there until the £7,500 was transferred into Tony's account.
On the Monday they managed to sneak out and get a taxi to Bangkok, and met an official at the British Embassy.
She gave the name of a Thai lawyer, and, says Mr Ingram, told them they were being subjected to a classic Thai scam called the "zig-zag".
Their lawyer urged them to expose Tony - but also warned them that if they fought the case it could take months, and they risked a long prison sentence.
After five days the money was transferred to Tony's account, and they were allowed to leave.
Mr Ingram had missed his mother's funeral, but at least they were given a court document stating that there was insufficient evidence against them, and no charge.
"It was a harrowing, stressful experience," he said.
The couple say they now want to take legal action to recover their money.
'Typical' scam
The BBC has spoken to Tony and the regional police commander, Colonel Teeradej Phanuphan.
They both say Tony was merely helping the couple with translation, and raising bail to keep them out of prison.
Tony says about half the £7,500 was for bail, while the rest were "fees" for the bail, for his work, and for a lawyer he says he consulted on their behalf.
In theory, he says, they could try to get the bail portion refunded.
Colonel Teeradej says he will investigate any possible irregularities in their treatment. But he said any arrangement between the couple and Tony was a private affair, which did not involve the police.
Letters of complaint to the papers here in Thailand make it clear that passengers are regularly detained at the airport for alleged shoplifting, and then made to pay middlemen to win their freedom.
The Danish Embassy says one of its nationals was recently subjected to a very similar scam, and earlier this month an Irish scientist managed to flee Thailand with her husband and one year-old son after being arrested at the airport and accused of stealing an eyeliner worth around £17.
Tony told the BBC that so far this year he has "helped" about 150 foreigners in trouble with the police. He says sometimes he does it for no charge.
The British Embassy has also warned passengers at Bangkok Airport to take care not to move items around in the duty free shopping area before paying for them, as this could result in arrest and imprisonment.
Comments
Not only this incident.There are more things with Bagkok airport. Sometime ago, a tourist who bought somethings at one of the shops at the Bagkok airport,said the same: The salesman put an item and said that was their free gift and after they left the shop the police approached them and said they stole things from the shop, they showed what they bought and the payment invoice and police asked the payment receipt for the free gift and the tourists said they received it for free at the cashier and together they went to the shop's cash desk but the cashier refused that he gave it and said they must have stolen it from the shop. And the story began there like in the article, they were taken to police centre and after being really frightened they were able to withdraw some over US$ 5000 from the ATM machine and gave it all to the officer and in front of their eyes the money was shared between the salesman and the police. This is what Bangkok airport is. I am also very disappointed when I heard this.
Well, only a fool listens and believe in a single-sided story and it's totally absurd to call Thailand, a land of scams. I have been to Siam countless times and never had I any problems. In fact I grow to love and enjoy this kingdom and am thinking of migrating there permanently.
There are prisons in every country Including Ralph Newman s'. Ralph can get anecdotal evidences in his own country to back up his superficial thoughts and perhaps enlighten himself by interviewing those convicts there. His comments, obtuse and deem callow, proven how despicable he can be.
Therefore whatever commented by him is an iota to none.
Please do detail WWW searches and your will find that many tourists visiting ASEAN countries commit countless crimes namely theft, murders, scams, human trafficking, drugs, child pornography, money laundering, grave robberies for stealing and smuggling out our historical artifacts etc. They are numbering thousands and even a mere mistake is nothing as to protect ones' country, society and its sovereign. We ASEAN countries open our arms to welcome foreigners to live, understand, love our cultures and share our world but no, nowadays foreign criminals are using ASEAN countries as their number One spot for hiding and profiteering. It is a disgrace as whites are mainly the only people engage in child pornography. And now, we ASEAN are push to set up our own ASEAN Interpol in almost every ASEAN country for those purposes above. Therefore Ralph's land of scam is just a misnomer. There are many foreigners with PR in ASEAN country and Ralph should seek their opinions first before posting any comments.
And as for C Siam's Photo Mafia, a picture carry thousand words. By constantly posting/submitting pictures to National Geography or Asia Geo, you might just win yourself a photography award.
I would like to thank Mike for sharing the anecdotes. (Ralph, that is for you and do take a look at those confessions and videos) It might just sway you away from such stereotypical thoughts! And perhaps you might be able to gain some insights thus alleviating from such presumed omniscient self.
Well, only a fool listens and believe in a single-sided story and it's totally absurd to call Thailand, a land of scams. I have been to Siam countless times and never had I any problems. In fact I grow to love and enjoy this kingdom and am thinking of migrating there permanently.
There are prisons in every country Including Ralph Newman s'. Ralph can get anecdotal evidences in his own country to back up his superficial thoughts and perhaps enlighten himself by interviewing those convicts there. His comments, obtuse and deem callow, proven how despicable he can be.
Therefore whatever commented by him is an iota to none.
Please do detail WWW searches and your will find that many tourists visiting ASEAN countries commit countless crimes namely theft, murders, scams, human trafficking, drugs, child pornography, money laundering, grave robberies for stealing and smuggling out our historical artifacts etc. They are numbering thousands and even a mere mistake is nothing as to protect ones' country, society and its sovereign. We ASEAN countries open our arms to welcome foreigners to live, understand, love our cultures and share our world but no, nowadays foreign criminals are using ASEAN countries as their number One spot for hiding and profiteering. It is a disgrace as whites are mainly the only people engage in child pornography. And now, we ASEAN are push to set up our own ASEAN Interpol in almost every ASEAN country for those purposes above. Therefore Ralph's land of scam is just a misnomer. There are many foreigners with PR in ASEAN country and Ralph should seek their opinions first before posting any comments.
And as for C Siam's Photo Mafia, a picture carry thousand words. By constantly posting/submitting pictures to National Geography or Asia Geo, you might just win yourself a photography award.
I would like to thank Mike for sharing the anecdotes. (Ralph, that is for you and do take a look at those confessions and videos) It might just sway you away from such stereotypical thoughts! And perhaps you might be able to gain some insights thus alleviating from such presumed omniscient self.
The couple stole the items! Here is proof from the CCTV , they released the video of the couple stealing a wallet.
http://www.kingpower.com/2009/popup/pop_case2.html
It goes to show so many foreigners, breaking the law in a 2nd and 3rd world country, thinking they are always above the law in Asian countries. And it also proofs how people jump to the conclusion when they don't know the facts. Even BBC and CNN have been falsely reporting these stories, what were their sources? They have been taking stories from what this British couple told the press back home.
Photos of Thai Tourist Mafia here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/sets/
Good reason to not visit Thauland!
Thank you for this article. It is a timely reminder of how dangerous it can be travelling in or through Thailand - the Land of Scams. I frequently transit Bangkok (of necessity). My overwhelming experience is that the people I must deal with when in transit only see me as a potential source of money. Anecdotal evidence suggests it has got worse since the global financial crisis, as regular sources of alternative income for the locals dry up.
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