Indonesian tourist’s false Thai honeymoon drama debunked

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of KhaoSod

 

A viral clip of an Indonesian woman‘s outcry on social media, claiming her honeymoon trip to Thailand collapsed because her husband was denied entry for not carrying cash, sparked significant attention.

 

However, Thai immigration authorities have debunked the story as a fabrication for content creation, further uncovering that the woman is a frequent traveller to Thailand and an online merchant.

 

The incident unfolded when the Indonesian Embassy in Thailand issued a warning to its citizens planning to visit Thailand to carry their passports, trip itineraries, and sufficient funds to avoid being deported by Thai immigration. Following this advisory, a clip posted by an Indonesian tourist, under the TikTok username Herjastipbkk, went viral.

 

In the video, she claimed that during her January honeymoon trip to Thailand, she passed through immigration, but her husband was detained and deported for not having cash on hand. Despite her attempts to withdraw money from an ATM to prove their finances, her husband was still sent back, which led to the cancellation of their trip, and they opted to honeymoon in Japan instead.

 

The video went viral in Indonesia, garnering 24.5K views and 1,476 comments, casting a negative light on Thai tourism and immigration.

On February 29, Thai Immigration Police Division 2 chief and spokesman revealed that after investigating the claims made by the Indonesian tourist, it was discovered that the woman, named here as Farida (a pseudonym), had travelled alone to Thailand via Don Mueang Airport on flight FD395 from Jakarta on January 4. CCTV footage showed no evidence of her husband accompanying her, contrary to her allegations.

 

She was granted entry into Thailand and left the country on January 16, after a 13-day stay, not immediately as she had claimed in the clip. The investigation also found that Farida frequently travelled to Thailand and speculated that she concocted the story to generate content for her online business, reported KhaoSod.

 

Immigration procedures

 

A meeting was held yesterday, February 28, attended by the Indonesian Embassy’s representative and Thai tourism officials, where Thai immigration clarified their procedures. They emphasised that the focus during immigration checks is primarily on travel plans and accommodation bookings, with cash just being a supplementary element since many travellers now use credit cards and e-payment systems.

 

They noted that foreigners are often denied entry for failing to present valid travel plans or accommodation bookings, sometimes attempting to deceive officials with fake documents. Some Indonesian citizens have been tricked into flying to Thailand with the intent to cross over to neighbouring countries for call centre jobs, a situation that poses a risk of human trafficking.

The Indonesian Embassy had previously thanked Thai immigration for screening and preventing such incidents.

 

Thai Immigration welcomed Indonesian tourists and confirmed the government’s visa-free policy. The Tourism Authority of Thailand acknowledged the clarity provided by immigration and planned to inform the Minister of Tourism and Sports about the measures and the discussions that had taken place.

 

by Nattapong Westwood

Picture courtesy of KhaoSod

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-02-29

 

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[bamnutsak]

20 minutes ago, webfact said:

The video went viral in Indonesia, garnering 24.5K views

 

"Viral"?24,500 views. OMG!

 

I understand that Thai officials feel insulted but honestly why make a deal out of this?

 

Just let it die, and be subsumed by tomorrow's viral video.

 

But no, Thai officials think they have to win every argument so give this more life.

 

 

[StayinThailand2much]

42 minutes ago, webfact said:

On February 29, Thai Immigration Police Division 2 chief and spokesman revealed that after investigating the claims made by the Indonesian tourist, it was discovered that the woman, named here as Farida (a pseudonym), had travelled alone to Thailand via Don Mueang Airport on flight FD395 from Jakarta on January 4. CCTV footage showed no evidence of her husband accompanying her, contrary to her allegations.

 

She was granted entry into Thailand and left the country on January 16, after a 13-day stay, not immediately as she had claimed in the clip. The investigation also found that Farida frequently travelled to Thailand and speculated that she concocted the story to generate content for her online business, reported KhaoSod.

 

So, only because they could not spot the husband on CCTV, and because she 'frequently travelled to Thailand', they "...speculated that she concocted the story..."? - What if the husband used another immigration line (and there were many Indonesians lining up)? Did they question IOs in their investigation, or check their computer system? If so, why wasn't that mentioned in the report? 

Edited February 29 by StayinThailand2much

[SABloke]

25 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

 

So, only because they could not spot the husband on CCTV, and because she 'frequently travelled to Thailand', they "...speculated that she concocted the story..."? - What if the husband used another immigration line (and there were many Indonesians lining up)? Did they question IOs in their investigation, or check their computer system? If so, why wasn't that mentioned in the report? 

 

No, not only that. The next paragraph that you quote clearly states that she was in Thailand for 13 days (contrary to her claim). So it's fabricated.

[ChrisY1]

41 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

 

"Viral"?24,500 views. OMG!

 

I understand that Thai officials feel insulted but honestly why make a deal out of this?

 

Just let it die, and be subsumed by tomorrow's viral video.

 

But no, Thai officials think they have to win every argument so give this more life.

 

 

Yea....viral....and there's only 300 million Indonesians...and agree, let it pass. But, Thais must have the last word!

[Cabradelmar]

Netizens, viral-videos, influencers... the madness and selective outrage is beyond ridiculous. Please stop. I beg you.

[Parker2100]

I still believe the woman. I have experienced such problems at Don Muang with Immigration.

 

Everybody comes in Individually.  They don't process a couple together.

 

So, showing a picture of her alone just after getting past the Immigration desk means nothing.

 

 

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

On February 29, Thai Immigration Police Division 2 chief and spokesman revealed that after investigating the claims made by the Indonesian tourist, it was discovered that the woman, named here as Farida (a pseudonym), had travelled alone to Thailand via Don Mueang Airport on flight FD395 from Jakarta on January 4. CCTV footage showed no evidence of her husband accompanying her, contrary to her allegations.

 

She was granted entry into Thailand and left the country on January 16, after a 13-day stay, not immediately as she had claimed in the clip.

Caught out red handed.. CCTV to the rescue.

I wonder if she'll continue to be a regular visitor.

[Almer]

Give her a 10 year ban, and contact Interol, you can not make a government Thai dept look inept

[Docno]

See: Indonesians Denied Entry to Thailand, Embassy Implements 20,000 Baht Rules | Social Expat Doesn't seem to be an isolated incident, and Indonesia has provided some appropriate guidance to its citizens. That said, we can't be sure this really happened to her or if she exploited the issue for extra views. That's the bizarre world we now live in... 

[ukrules]

4 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Yea....viral....and there's only 300 million Indonesians...and agree, let it pass. But, Thais must have the last word!

They have now revealed a 'weak spot' on which they are ultra sensitive.

[Elkski]

They admit people use e payments and credit cards do get rod of the cash requirement or make everyone show cash at the window! 

[PETERTHEEATER]

My first thought upon reading the AN headline was why did she refuse him entry on their honeymoon?.....😀

[CanadaSam]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Caught out red handed.. CCTV to the rescue.

I wonder if she'll continue to be a regular visitor.

 

It wasn't just the CCTV, the fact that she said she left "immediately", and actually stayed 13 days according to immigration records proves her to be a liar.

 

So she did "defame" Thailand's immigration dept. and I would not be surprised if she finds herself behind bars the next time she visits.

Edited February 29 by CanadaSam

[khunpeer]

6 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

 

"Viral"?24,500 views. OMG!

 

I understand that Thai officials feel insulted but honestly why make a deal out of this?

 

Just let it die, and be subsumed by tomorrow's viral video.

 

But no, Thai officials think they have to win every argument so give this more life.

 

 

oversensitive!

[Jonathan Swift]

6 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

 

"Viral"?24,500 views. OMG!

 

I understand that Thai officials feel insulted but honestly why make a deal out of this?

 

Just let it die, and be subsumed by tomorrow's viral video.

 

But no, Thai officials think they have to win every argument so give this more life.

 

 

You don't know anything about "face" do you? 

[Bangkok Barry]

6 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

 

So, only because they could not spot the husband on CCTV, and because she 'frequently travelled to Thailand', they "...speculated that she concocted the story..."? - What if the husband used another immigration line (and there were many Indonesians lining up)? Did they question IOs in their investigation, or check their computer system? If so, why wasn't that mentioned in the report? 

 

I think you need to read the report again. Slowly, so that you understand it.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, Parker2100 said:

I still believe the woman. I have experienced such problems at Don Muang with Immigration.

 

Everybody comes in Individually.  They don't process a couple together.

 

So, showing a picture of her alone just after getting past the Immigration desk means nothing.

 

 

 

See my comment above.

[Thumbs]

This will blow up in her face when she actually travels to Thailand next, her passport will set off alarms 

[Dexxter]

Influencers are on the same social level as politicians and used car salesmen. Best avoided at all cost.

[Confuscious]

As soon as I read Tik-Tok, YouTube, Influencer, etc. in the heading, I go on to the next story.
That whole Social Media act, where everybody has become a "Specialist" on any subject and tells everybody what they should stop eating/stop drinking/stop doing because X/Y/Z has reached for me the point of ignore this whole thing.
I see daily on Facebook/Instagram literally tens of people with a story about something we eat/drink daily and showing a clip with worms warning that the consumption of that food/drink is bad to our health.
Social Media has reached the point where "False News" for the sake of reaching viewers has becoming over the top and is slowly killing itself now.
Not that I regret to see the the death of Social Media ...

 

[StayinThailand2much]

11 hours ago, SABloke said:

 

No, not only that. The next paragraph that you quote clearly states that she was in Thailand for 13 days (contrary to her claim). So it's fabricated.

 

Well, it's possible that she fabricated at least part of her story.

Edited February 29 by StayinThailand2much

[Jaggg88]

23 hours ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

My first thought upon reading the AN headline was why did she refuse him entry on their honeymoon?.....😀

....because he didn't provide her with the correct funds 🤣😂🤣

 

[Highlandman]

On 2/29/2024 at 4:34 PM, Jonathan Swift said:

You don't know anything about "face" do you? 

They think it's about keeping face, but when they act this way, they actually lose face. 

[Highlandman]

On 2/29/2024 at 3:25 PM, CanadaSam said:

 

It wasn't just the CCTV, the fact that she said she left "immediately", and actually stayed 13 days according to immigration records proves her to be a liar.

 

So she did "defame" Thailand's immigration dept. and I would not be surprised if she finds herself behind bars the next time she visits.

Denied entry more like it. Chances are she won't be returning anyway.

[Puccini]

On 2/29/2024 at 1:38 PM, Parker2100 said:

I still believe the woman. I have experienced such problems at Don Muang with Immigration.

 

Everybody comes in Individually.  They don't process a couple together.

 

So, showing a picture of her alone just after getting past the Immigration desk means nothing.

 

 

 

You're right. Just look at the he Indonesian exit and entry stamps in her alleged husband's passport and his boarding passes she posted on her social media channels, or did she not post that?