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Foreign customer flees Patong phone repair shop bill

A foreign man was captured on CCTV allegedly running out of a phone repair shop in Patong, Phuket, with his repaired device after failing to pay the bill.

Footage posted by TikTok user @tonmai_pkt shows the episode on August 21. The shop employee gave chase but was unable to catch the man, according to the video.

The clip was published on August 25 and has prompted online debate over how repair shops should handle customers who cannot pay once work has been completed.

CCTV shows dispute over repaired phone

According to @tonmai_pkt, the man had brought his phone to the shop for repairs but did not have enough money to settle the bill after the work was done.

The CCTV footage shows him speaking to an employee while holding the repaired phone. He appears to look through his belongings before producing a 20-baht banknote.

IMG_1201.jpeg

Picture courtesy of TikTok @tonmai_pkt

The employee indicated that this amount was insufficient and attempted to take the handset back. The man refused to return it, then suddenly ran from the shop with the device.

The TikTok user made light of the speed of the escape in the caption, saying the foreign customer had his phone repaired without enough money, took the handset and fled.

Online reaction focuses on Phuket response

The video drew a substantial number of comments, including calls for action in Phuket. One commenter wrote: "How much longer will things like this keep happening? What should be done? Why do people in Phuket keep allowing this to happen? Phuket MPs, please help Thai people."

Another commenter said tourists without enough money should not come to Thailand, accusing them of creating problems for others. A separate commenter called for the man's visa to be revoked and for his embassy to be informed, though these were online opinions and not any reported official measures.

Video courtesy of Phuketinsta

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26 August 2026

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worgeordie Star Member

worgeordie

Advanced Member

He should have opened up a Gofundme , people like this make it harder

for long time expats, if he could not pay for phone repair ,how is he payimg

for his accommodation , how much could the repair been , you would think

the shop has his number, maybe the police could track him.

regards worgeordie

bendejo Diamond Member

bendejo

Advanced Member
15 hours ago, Point Arguello said:

Note I've noticed alot of 20,s & 30,s white male foreigners smoking cigarettes these days. That by construction is a bad sign.

Maybe it's the Bogart-Hunter Thompson wanna be tough guys doing the liquor and cigs schtick.

With the price of cigs in the U.S. maybe they travel to find places where they can afford it.

How much is a pack of cigarettes in the USA?

Price of a 20-cigarette pack vary significantly in the USA across the states and even across the localities in a given state due to the excise tax and sales tax differences. The average cigarette price (for a mainstream brand) range from $7.95 in North Carolina to $14.55 in New York with a national average of $10.25. Sales volume weighted average cigarette price in the USA is $9.75 – slightly lower than the unweighted average due to the higher sales volume in the states with lower cigarette prices.

In the top‑ten ranking in terms of highest cigarette prices, New York ($14.55), Maryland ($14.17), and Washington, D.C. ($13.94) dominate, followed by Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, and Minnesota, whose prices all exceed $12 per pack. These jurisdictions typically route tax revenues into healthcare, anti‑smoking programs, and general funds. But such aggressive pricing has unintended side‑effects: prior studies link these spikes to significant smuggling – New York alone saw an estimated 54% of consumed cigarettes being illicit between 2022 and 2024.

https://tobaccoinsider.com/usa-cigarette-prices-by-state/

That business about interstate tobacco smuggling in NY has been going since before I was born, which was in Truman days. I recall my grandfather one time brought home maybe ten unstamped cartons and asking him why he bought so many -- $2 per carton, smuggled up from the Dixie states.

SingAPorn Gold Member

SingAPorn

Advanced Member

Another one who will give a horrfic image against all westerners as people will always generalize no matter where or who.

pomchop Ruby Member

pomchop

Advanced Member
16 hours ago, Brettoj said:

Hers a tip, take the money before handing him the phone!

Yes that is one solution but I for one would hate to see that type of transaction become the norm....just imagine having to pay for a meal before you eat it. I hope they catch this moron idiot a hat and deport him for life. Thai people are generally very trusting but sadly jerks like this are slowly destroying that trust.

Joe Boy Walton Senior Member

Joe Boy Walton

Member
12 hours ago, Mr Awesome said:

Why not start somewhere? Smoking is generally reserved for the lower class. Smokers are awful people; they toss their cigarette butts everywhere except in proper disposable bins.

Again, what has this to do with the story? And your "smokers" statement applies to all smokers? Lower class and awful? Watch yourself getting off that horse dude, you might suffer re-entry burns.

Point Arguello Senior Member

Point Arguello

Advanced Member
5 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

It is a valid observation. The vast majority of young people no longer smoke tobacco. Those who do, typically come from a lower socio economic demographic: Less educated, less intelligent, and poorer than non smokers. Multiple studies from a cross section of countries have demonstrated this. This demographic characteristic coincidentally lines up with the foreigners most likely to be involved in anti-social activity. It's self evident, isn't?

3 hours ago, Joe Boy Walton said:

Again, what has this to do with the story? And your "smokers" statement applies to all smokers? Lower class and awful? Watch yourself getting off that horse dude, you might suffer re-entry burns.

What it's has to do with the story is its part of a profile: Even Stevie Wonder can id these lowlife (mostly white foreign males), with their sh*t shirts, sh*t shorts, and sh*t shoes. As well as a high percentage of cigarette smokers. So you see this sh*t lode of foreigner demographic are making everything for the good foreigners more difficult. There is a thread on Thai attitude changes for the worst in the Pattaya section . And it could be related to this said subset of foreigners, whether they commit a crime or not. Here are some correlations : cigarette smokers and foreigner crime in Pattaya. Screenshot_20260827_135953_ChatGPT.jpgScreenshot_20260827_135828_ChatGPT.jpgScreenshot_20260827_135757_ChatGPT.jpg1

Joe Boy Walton Senior Member

Joe Boy Walton

Member
45 minutes ago, Point Arguello said:

What it's has to do with the story is its part of a profile: Even Stevie Wonder can id these lowlife (mostly white foreign males), with their sh*t shirts, sh*t shorts, and sh*t shoes. As well as a high percentage of cigarette smokers. So you see this sh*t lode of foreigner demographic are making everything for the good foreigners more difficult. There is a thread on Thai attitude changes for the worst in the Pattaya section . And it could be related to this said subset of foreigners, whether they commit a crime or not. Here are some correlations : cigarette smokers and foreigner crime in Pattaya. Screenshot_20260827_135953_ChatGPT.jpgScreenshot_20260827_135828_ChatGPT.jpgScreenshot_20260827_135757_ChatGPT.jpg1

Plenty of Thais smoke mate. Correlation is not causation.

Mr Awesome Silver Member

Mr Awesome

Advanced Member
12 hours ago, Joe Boy Walton said:

Again, what has this to do with the story? And your "smokers" statement applies to all smokers? Lower class and awful? Watch yourself getting off that horse dude, you might suffer re-entry burns.

I say smokers are low-class people.

wensiensheng Ruby Member

wensiensheng

Advanced Member
10 hours ago, Mr Awesome said:

I say smokers are low-class people.

A number of the UK Royal family smoke. And Obama smoked although had made several attempts to quit, maybe he’s been successful by now.

I’m not a smoker, never have been, nor do my family smoke. But I don’t automatically think of smokers as low class. That’s a correlation that doesn’t hold water.

Mr Awesome Silver Member

Mr Awesome

Advanced Member
10 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

A number of the UK Royal family smoke. And Obama smoked although had made several attempts to quit, maybe he’s been successful by now.

I rest my case.

rocketboy2 Gold Member

rocketboy2

Advanced Member
10 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

A number of the UK Royal family smoke. And Obama smoked although had made several attempts to quit, maybe he’s been successful by now.

I’m not a smoker, never have been, nor do my family smoke. But I don’t automatically think of smokers as low class. That’s a correlation that doesn’t hold water.

Monica smoked in the White house as well.

Good Girl. thumbsup

wensiensheng Ruby Member

wensiensheng

Advanced Member
13 hours ago, Mr Awesome said:

I rest my case.

I thought it would be hard to come back with a more asinine comment than your original post, but congratulations, you passed the test with flying colors.

Clearly smoking and socio economic class are not correlated.

Captain Flack Star Member

Captain Flack

Global Moderator

Off topic post removed @Point Arguello this is the third time I have removed this off topic post. You had a public notice above, yet you again ignore moderation. If you post again, then expect a time out.

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