German tourist beaten over Chiang Mai bar bill

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Tourist beaten over Chiang Mai bar bill

By Thanakorn Wongnang 
The Nation

 

Image: Manager

 

A German tourist on Thursday filed a complaint with police, saying he was assaulted by staff at an allegedly over-priced karaoke bar in Chiang Mai. He said he refused to pay the Bt10,000 bill.

The 35-year-old Arthur Wojciechowski, who sustained facial bruises, told Muang Chiang Mai deputy inspector Boworn Somboon that he was strolling near Tha Pae Gate when a tuk-tuk driver invited him to visit the "Together Karaoke" bar on Chang Klan Road on March 26. 

 

Several women sat with him and he himself drank four small beers but the bill came at Bt10,000.

 

He said he tried to call the police but the staff attacked him, before forcing him to pay Bt5,000 and dumping him outside the bar. 

 

A passerby called an ambulance. 

 

The bar owner would be interviewed, Boworn said.

 

Chang Khlan apparently has several unlicensed karaoke bars used to trick foreigners with high bills and assaulting them if they refuse to pay. Many closed after a police crackdown but had since reopened, a source said. 

 

Last October, a Korean man filed a complaint against a Chiang Mai karaoke bar for forcing him to pay a Bt160,000 bill. The man managed to get Bt120,000 back after negotiations with the bar owner.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30366713

 



-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-28

[NCC1701A]

8 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Arthur Wojciechowski,

i thought Germany had to give Poland back.

[NCC1701A]

23 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

He said he tried to call the police but the staff attacked him, before forcing him to pay Bt5,000 and dumping him outside the bar. 

my friends said i got to Thailand too late and that everything was changing.

 

glad to see they were wrong.

[Sparkles]

Yes another one. should we be surprised ? If its your first time here and you hadn't done your homework,lesson learned.

 

They may well interview the bar owner who will deny anything and wouldnt it be good idea to interview the tuk tuk driver that set off the path of this ongoing scam.

 

If the authorities cant clean up the karaoke bars, they know are unlicensed, what hope is there. Yes its not hard to theorise who owns them

[bluesofa]

39 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Chang Khlan apparently has several unlicensed karaoke bars used to trick foreigners with high bills and assaulting them if they refuse to pay. Many closed after a police crackdown but had since reopened, a source said

I'm guessing now: The crackdown lasted for about two weeks?

It was no doubt instigated by bad publicity in the press and on social media.

[observer90210]

Hope he remembers next time the golden rule,  in any drinking hole in Thailand.

 

You order 1 drink for you - you pay straight on delivery. And that's it.

 

No waiting for the total bill as it does get tempting for the employees to rip you off and cheat.

[steven100]

it seems some folks are just not travel savy  .....  in any country, if someone who you don't even know invites you to any drinking establishment, bar, kareoke, gambling den or otherwise .....  you should smell trouble straight away.

[KMartinHandyman]

Sounds like they settled for half the contested bill and only gave him half a beat down.

[JamJar]

I walked into one of those karaoke bars, in Phuket Town. Wanted to know what it was all about.

Didn't really understand all the wailing and the flowers. In the event they sent someone out who could speak a little English and she convinced me to go in.

 

She sat next to me and pinched me from time to time....saying something like.... sabai.

Eventually I understood the she wanted me to buy her a SPY wine cooler. I duly consulted the menu and the price appeared entirely reasonable. Something like 30 to 60 baht, don't remember exactly.

She seemed to think I had a penchant for one of the girls wailing on stage(not true at all) and offered to call her over. I declined.

After I'd had enough of all of the wailing, she asked for 100 baht for herself. I declined, suggesting that she pay me for sitting with her(I had no idea as to how these things worked). 

She was friendly and pleasant (apart from the pinching which she must has thought was flirting) even accompanying me to the toilets. Though I had to stop her from entering. ????

 

All in all a positive experience. Though no reason for a westerner to visit one, unless on a business trip with the locals.

 

 

 

 

[smedly]

34 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

You order 1 drink for you - you pay straight on delivery. And that's it.

 

No waiting for the total bill as it does get tempting for the employees to rip you off and cheat.

Good advice but I would add - if you don't know the place ask the price before ordering and pay the bill immediately - there have been many reports about these types of bars in Chang Mai and other places

 

If I go to a bar I am not familiar with and they are not showing a price list then I ask before ordering and immediately check the bill, some bars don't like this for very obvious reasons, their ability to rip me off diminishes dramatically 

[GoodieAfterDark]

Not very smart to go to a bar in a foreigner country by yourself. Specially if you can not communicate with the precious ones and their pimps. 

[rumak]

3 hours ago, steven100 said:

it seems some folks are just not travel savy  .....  in any country, if someone who you don't even know invites you to any drinking establishment, bar, kareoke, gambling den or otherwise .....  you should smell trouble straight away.

don't know how many old timers will admit it...... but my sense of smell long ago was not quite as good as it is now.    always easy prey to pick on the misadventures of inexperience.  that he is 35 means nothing, look at how many older guys come here and are none the wiser

 

[sapson]

This scam has been in the news countless times over the years, along with the jet ski scam, however arresting people for vaping is higher up the crime busting agenda of the total joke big jerk!

[richard_smith237]

15 minutes ago, sapson said:

This scam has been in the news countless times over the years, along with the jet ski scam, however arresting people for vaping is higher up the crime busting agenda of the total joke big jerk!

I think you may be referring to chief of immigration Surachate Hakparn.

 

Pi$$ing on your bash a little...   Immigration deal with Immigration issues, overstays, visa's etc... Crime, any crime, be it tourists caught vaping, tourist being beaten up by bar-thugs etc is not an immigration issue and nothing to do with Big Joke, Chief of Immigration.... 

 

 

(unless a foreigner accused of a crime in Thailand has fled Thailand and Immigration are seeking extradition etc)

 

[sapson]

26 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I think you may be referring to chief of immigration Surachate Hakparn.

 

Pi$$ing on your bash a little...   Immigration deal with Immigration issues, overstays, visa's etc... Crime, any crime, be it tourists caught vaping, tourist being beaten up by bar-thugs etc is not an immigration issue and nothing to do with Big Joke, Chief of Immigration.... 

 

 

(unless a foreigner accused of a crime in Thailand has fled Thailand and Immigration are seeking extradition etc)

 

 

[Thaiwrath]

5 hours ago, lespaulTV said:

According to my estimation, 76.1% of thai people are scumbag.

Another TV poster who has never been anywhere except 'bar areas'. You will be amazed, but once you venture away from these areas, your figure is way off the mark.

I am not saying all Thais are saints, but, believe me, the majority of normal Thais would rather do you a favour than not.

Nice try at bashing though. 

[bojo]

At least he got a few beers for his money.....

Back in London's Soho in the early eighties, with strict licensing regs- a non alcoholic beer, masquerading as the real deal and Ribena dressed up as wine for the lady would cost £100 quid. All because one was sittting close up with a topless barmaid. Taking into account inflation, he got himself a bargain........

[JimmyJ]

Hopefully this makes all the German papers.

 

The only way anything like this seems to get improved is when Thailand's  financial interests/tourism get hit.

[AloisAmrein]

Typical way how Thailand welcomes tourists. Boycott Thailand and his gangsters, protected by corrupt police and government.

[ShortTimed]

Hopefully this makes all the German papers.
 
The only way anything like this seems to get improved is when Thailand's  financial interests/tourism get hit.

Will Germans have much sympathy for a guy who got ripped off for going to a place of prostitution?

Oh thats right, he had no idea what was going on. He was led there against his will.

[AloisAmrein]

We should do the same to Thais here in Europe. We can already now see the big outcry in Thai medias and newspapers. Thailand is the top of hypocrisy.

[AloisAmrein]

9 minutes ago, ShortTimed said:

 

Will Germans have much sympathy for a guy who got ripped off for going to a place of prostitution?

Oh thats right, he had no idea what was going on. He was led there against his will.

 

Why do you need to defend corrupt and criminal behavior of Thai bar owners? Are you in the same boat with them? Shame on you! This is very common in Thailand and has to be published not only in Germany but also worldwide. As other many crimes in Thailand against tourists and immigrants.

[Destiny1990]

Oh solly no cctv today..

[Katia]

13 hours ago, steven100 said:

it seems some folks are just not travel savy  .....  in any country, if someone who you don't even know invites you to any drinking establishment, bar, kareoke, gambling den or otherwise .....  you should smell trouble straight away.

Especially if you're then flocked by women... it's not like he's a looker that he would think it would make sense.

[justin case]

maybe TV crew or booth should be at every airport giving business cards with the website ????

[Sticky Wicket]

9 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I think you may be referring to chief of immigration Surachate Hakparn.

 

Pi$$ing on your bash a little...   Immigration deal with Immigration issues, overstays, visa's etc... Crime, any crime, be it tourists caught vaping, tourist being beaten up by bar-thugs etc is not an immigration issue and nothing to do with Big Joke, Chief of Immigration.... 

 

 

(unless a foreigner accused of a crime in Thailand has fled Thailand and Immigration are seeking extradition etc)

 

He seems to stick his oar into all kinds of matters that are non immigration.

Just yesterday he was poking his nose into vaping. What has that got to do with him.

He's just a brown nose tourist copper who has got lucky being backed by old Fatty, the king of the xenophobes

[Peterw42]

The guy doesn't look like he was beaten up or needed an ambulance, a 5,000 bill baht doesn't sound excessive if the guy was there for a couple of hours and buying lady drinks. 

[ShortTimed]

Why do you need to defend corrupt and criminal behavior of Thai bar owners? Are you in the same boat with them? Shame on you! This is very common in Thailand and has to be published not only in Germany but also worldwide. As other many crimes in Thailand against tourists and immigrants.

 

I am saying that the only people gullible enough to believe this guys tale of being an innocent victim are those who have an anti-Thai bias.

 

Everybody else reads this guys story and sees through it.

 

I highly doubt one German family will have this guys experience because they do not go to bars at night looking for naked ladies.

 

[Fred31]

13 hours ago, JamJar said:

I walked into one of those karaoke bars, in Phuket Town. Wanted to know what it was all about.

Didn't really understand all the wailing and the flowers. In the event they sent someone out who could speak a little English and she convinced me to go in.

 

She sat next to me and pinched me from time to time....saying something like.... sabai.

Eventually I understood the she wanted me to buy her a SPY wine cooler. I duly consulted the menu and the price appeared entirely reasonable. Something like 30 to 60 baht, don't remember exactly.

She seemed to think I had a penchant for one of the girls wailing on stage(not true at all) and offered to call her over. I declined.

After I'd had enough of all of the wailing, she asked for 100 baht for herself. I declined, suggesting that she pay me for sitting with her(I had no idea as to how these things worked). 

She was friendly and pleasant (apart from the pinching which she must has thought was flirting) even accompanying me to the toilets. Though I had to stop her from entering. ????

 

All in all a positive experience. Though no reason for a westerner to visit one, unless on a business trip with the locals.

 

 

 

 

Wow, you're a bundle of fun, ok with the groping but too stingy to give a bar girl a couple of quid?

[Sticky Wicket]

4 minutes ago, Fred31 said:

Wow, you're a bundle of fun, ok with the groping but too stingy to give a bar girl a couple of quid?

She was begging. I always tip, give a few quid if they don't blatantly ask.