Relax - Travellers alerted to Bangkok airport scam

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Travellers alerted to Bangkok airport scam

By Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent, The Straits Times | Mon, Aug 10 2009

Thai airport victims threatened with months in jail.

Keywords

bangkok

scams

suvarnabhumi

BANGKOK: An alleged extortion scam targeting foreign travellers shopping at duty-free shops in Bangkok’s international airport has turned up the heat on the Thai authorities.

In most instances, the victims claimed they were accused of shoplifting or theft, arrested and then made to part with a substantial sum of money to secure their release

Central to the scam is a man who helps mediate between the accused and the police - for a fee.

Britain, Denmark and Ireland have issued advisories warning their citizens to be on their guard.

A Thai Foreign Ministry official yesterday said the government was concerned and was doing everything it could to ensure the safety of tourists.

Allegations of the scam surfaced about two months ago in e-mails circulating among travellers which then found their way onto travel websites and blogs.

The allegations were unsubstantiated until two British IT professionals from Cambridge went public with their story.

On April 25, Mr Stephen Ingram and Ms Xi Lin were about to board their flight back to London when they were stopped by airport security. They were told that CCTV cameras had caught Ms Xi stealing a Givenchy wallet.

Even though no wallet was found after a search of their bags, the two were taken to separate rooms for questioning.

The next morning, a Sri Lankan by the name of Tony appeared and said he was an interpreter helping the Thai police.

He took the travellers to meet the local police commander. The two said they were told to expect to spend months in Bangkok’s notorious Bangkwang prison – the infamous "Bangkok Hilton" – before their case was heard. But they would be freed if they forked out US$12,250 (S$17,600) in "bail" money and "fees" for Tony. The couple, whose passports were confiscated, eventually paid up and had to sign papers apparently clearing them of the charges before they could leave.

The two Britons, who denied shoplifting, said recently they intend to go back to Thailand to sue for their money.

King Power, which operates the duty-free shops at Suvarnabhumi Airport, has put on its website CCTV footage showing the woman apparently putting something in her bag. But the footage is fuzzy. King Power insists this and other footage are all of shoplifting cases.

In June, a Danish woman was accused of stealing an item worth US$45 when she inadvertently crossed from one shop to another. As the airport has open-plan shops, it is easy for an unwary shopper to step out of a shop without knowing.

The Danish woman was taken to a police station, where Tony offered to help. She stayed at a nearby hotel for a week before she got the 250,000 baht (S$10,600) to pay him to arrange her release.

In the most recent case, an Irish scientist from Dublin, Dr Ashie Norris, 41, was accused of theft early last month after she apparently used her credit card to pay for two Bobbi Brown products but the receipt showed she had paid for only one. She managed to leave the country, reportedly with the help of Thai friends.

A check with other sources has shown up similar accounts. A Bangladeshi bank manager who was found with a lipstick in his pocket was detained until he could get money from Dhaka to pay his way out.

Bangkok is a favourite destination for Singaporeans. Nearly 800,000 of them visited Thailand in 2007, according to Tourism Authority of Thailand data.

Ms Ruth Lin, marketing and communications manager of SA Tours, said: "It is quite unfortunate...You will soon see governments, such as Australia, issuing travel advisories against visits to Thailand."

Since most visitors do not speak Thai, they are likely to panic when put in a situation like the Western travellers.

"It is foreigners now, but Asians could be also targeted," she added.

While there have not been reports of Singaporeans falling victim to the airport scam, at least one frequent traveller has now decided to stay away. "This is frightening," said Ms Irene Chua, who is in her 60s and has been to Thailand about seven times. "I am the kind of traveller who does not leave the airport without buying...I was planning to go (to Thailand) in December...but I am not going now."

nirmal@sph.com.sg

Additional reporting by Shefali Rekhi in Singapore

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