British Couple Fights Bangkok Airport Extortionists

[britmaveric]

another interesting scam that was told by a client of mine was when he bought about 10 cartons of cigerettes at a middle east stop over(he was allowed to and i am not 100% sure the exact amount) His intention was to take them back to the UK after his short holiday in thailand probally buying more on the way back. when he arrived at swampy a airport official approached him and ask him what was in the clearly visable duty free bags...he said cigerettes is that ok he asked? the friendly guy said sure no problem and waved him through nothing to declare. As soon as he went through he was pounced on by customs and to cut a long story shory he was held for 5 hours with a trip to an external detention centre with seven other people in a similiar position and was forced to pay 70,000b and had the cigerettes confiscated.

It was obvious that the guys at the conveyor belt were working with customs as in hindsight he said they were all looking at him smiling and talking into walky talkies.....

mind you it did not stop him, next time he covered them with a suit jacket and walked straight through....

Only allowed 1 carton of fags entering thailand, and of course there will be problems. Anything over that you are fined for each pack of fags in the carton. So yes it will get rather expensive if you get caught.

Edited July 20, 2009 by britmaveric

[Chip73]

Got a warning from a friend just a few days ago in the form of anecdotes involving an Indian, a Singaporean and a Malaysian (all separate cases) who were each arrested after a duty-free employee, unbeknown to them, slipped an extra item into their shopping bags as they paid at a shop (unspecified) in Bangkok Airport. They were imprisoned until they paid varying amounts up to 70,000 baht for their release. Apparently, when the Indian Embassy was asked for help they replied that this is quite common and they are powerless as all their attempts to contact the Thai authorities are ignored.

This was followed by a report of similar occurrences in Dubai.

I was somewhat sceptical at first but after reading the above am much less so.

[Thighlander]

Always a good way for the airlines to reduce the passenger load on an overbooked flight; have a few passengers arrested.

This whole scam may be bigger than they would like to think. I remember in 2006, at DM, they approached me and made comments about my soda and candy bar I had purchased. "So you picked up a few items?" It was like they had weight sensors in the floor or something.

In Mexico, when they arrest the spring break student/drunks, they call their parents and say--"Your son is in trouble in Mexico, he will be allowed to leave on the next flight out, otherwise he will have to stay in jail. You need to pay for one way coach ticket--3500 USD." So the kid's 399 tour package to Mexico just cost his mother an extra 3500. You can bet your ass that the airlines are kicking money back to the police, which almost makes me want to start ranting about the airline employees.

Edited July 20, 2009 by Thighlander

[Electra]

This story gave me such a bad feeling in my stomach, that I'd like to puke. I settled down in this country a long time ago and i do know a lot about Thailand's history. Burma's economic status is about 40 years behind Thailand, but why? There's only one reason: The tourism. Red shirts, yellow shirts, problems in the South.....inflation...and a lot more. Lose the tourism and it's time to live like people in Myanmar. I think it's pretty easy to understand. They like the English pound a lot.......is there an Investigation going on now? And what the heck is a Sri Lankan doing there to solve 'problems'. Of course it's not his real name and we'll hopefully see some people arrested. But those who created this shit.

To be realistic, tourism generates around 6% of GDP in Thailand. Clearly, this is not a trifling sum and the sector provides employment to many who otherwise would not be able to find alternative work easily but tourism per se is by no means as critical as you seem to believe.

[jackspratt]

I have never made a comment about kp being involved in this particular scam.

Though there appears to be a lot of comment about them over the years.

From your posts I am not sure you do "know the score" actually. I think you are quite naive.

3 selected quotes from you on this subject caf - despite your disingenousness at times, others can make up their minds as to what you position is vis a vis KP and the "scam".

You seem to be listing all the little people (referring to KP employees - jackspratt comment) , if you get my drift

I think we have all read the reports and stories of the history of KP. Rather too many stories all pointing in the same direction.

There are people who appear to have led a rather sheltered life in LOS and probably only go into KP to renew their rose coloured spectacles

[fsuthai]

8k pound is a massive amount! They should have fought it if they were innocent, why did they pay? did they steal it? giving in to these scams/extotions will make it continue! if you get in trouble you call your embassy and take it from there, REMEMBER INNOCENT UNTILL PROVEN GUILTY. Things need to change in Thailand

Sorry but calling your embassy will likely help you no more than calling the Chamber of Commerce back home. Somewhere "we the people" were led to believe that our embassies and consulates are there to help us with any problems when abroad. NOT!!! I think they exist only to promote big business and house CIA/MI5/Mossad, etc. agents. They overcharge for services we need and probably get kick-backs from the shyster lawyers they recommend!

There is so very little courtesy, respect, honesty, sincerity around anywhere today and, unfortunately, I have to blame the 'government gone crazy' actions & policies of the Bush/Cheney administration for much of it. Thailand can not continue to let this rampant corruption flourish. And we falanges living here need to help any way possible, rather than just criticize. Otherwise, the tourist trade will begin to rival that of Burma and the emboldened but impoverished criminals will start targeting us.

Just shrugging our shoulders and saying "TOT" when we read or hear about bad things happening, to others, just isn't going to hack it. I'm happy to acknowledge all of the favorable aspects of living here and don't look for flaws but we must stay alert and willing to confront evil whenever...and wherever.

[TPI]

How I see it is this : The original scam was put into place from the outset , possibly by involvement of the staff at KP and orchestrated by Mr.Sri Lanka or wherever he came from. They report the tourist for stealing , the police are called. The tourists are taken to the police station and interviewed , Mr Sri Lanka being the interpreter tells the worried tourists how much trouble they are in . The police have no idea what Mr Sri Lanka is saying and the Tourists are non the wiser either as they dont speak Thai .

Then Mr Sri Lanka tells the tourists he can keep them out of jail , which could be months before it goes to court , even though the police, possibly if they are not involved in the scam , have told them they are free to leave. Panic sets in and the tourists take what Mr Sri Lanka says as the truth. They know already he is the police interpreter and possibly trust him. He then tells them he can sort all this out so they wont have to spend any more time in jail and they agree to go with him. He puts them in the hotel , tells them to stay put , dont do anything to make matters worse for yourselves and let me do what I can .Then he tells them after they spend a few worried days in the hotel , its going to cost 8k GBP for everything to be dropped and for their freedom . MERRY CHRISTMAS Mr.Sri Lanka . I bet he is enjoying himself in his tea plantation at home by now.

If the police are involved Then they will get whats coming to them if proven . Somehow I have a feeling the police did their jobs for a change and on finding no evidence , released them . Hopefully we will get to the bottom of this but I dont think there is going to be anything happening other than to make others aware, but if it happens to you , maybe you or me would feel the same as them , scared stiff, especially if your only a tourist and know about the places like the BKK Hilton etc .

Very astute!

[MegWong]

I hope the Foreigners get a fair trial in Bangkok.

I always trust the justice system where I live.

Court are not easily corrupted, especially for such a small matter as shoplifting.

[Thighlander]

Could we get the name of that hotel near the airport. 900 per night is good out there. Of course, the park by the 7-11 at the city bus terminal ain't too bad.

Hey Newbie, welcome! See you at Spicy.

[winsorooi]

Just DO IT. Boycott KING POWER, let it falls. I am sure the staff in KING POWER had involved the scam. I will never visit King Power. I am Canadian and living in Bangkok. I do not see any reason to take such high risk to do your shopping there. So scary !

Everybody should boycott or avoid king power shops, anyway it's always more expensive than on the streets.

[givenall]

Holy toledo batman. I have never heard of this happening before. Are they only hitting up British ? This could hurt tourism more than the protests do.

If you read the article fully you will see that they are targeting not just the British.

I think TV and forms like TV should publicized the stores like King Power and department stores who condone this behaviors and the tourist boycott this places. Soon or later the stores will recognize that this day and gage these news travel fast and is not good business and will do something about crook security guard and police who do these SH T

[britmaveric]

Why shop King Power anyways?? (more expensive then buying items in thailand or in your home country - duty free is supposed to be cheaper King Power is not)

[robokop]

............... and Thailand takes another hard shot to the kidneys, staggering now against the ropes, we shall see what the media can dish out next to put the final nail in the coffin. It just goes to show you if you are not fit enough to play with the big countries don't go into the ring!!

Oz

This will not stop those Thai crooks pulling this crooked scam or just changing the routine. If you have not noticed, that while tourism is way down, there is more than enough suckers still going to Thailand to make all of these crooks happy. The watering hole has not dried up for these crooks, just the tourism trade has dried up. There are still way to many people who travel without heading any warnings of being ripped off by Officals in the Thai Govt who should be protecting the tourism trade instead of ripping off the tourists.

[loganberry]

I absolutely cannot even believe how stupid the public and government sector is in this damned country! A family member and I were kidnapped and extorted within our own house for nearly 3 days several years back. It was the same zig-zag scam but with a much bigger threat hanging over our heads if we didn't pay. In the end we lost millions of baht and the lawsuit against the police went nowhere as the accused police officers disappeared instead of naming the higher-up officer still in office that officialized the scam with his presence. This story about people at the airport strikes a major nerve... what the hel_l is this country coming to? I feel very sorry for what these people were put through. Something that really does scar you for a long time.

Why the hel_l hasn't the translator been arrested for being involved in a criminal activity? They have certainly arrested and convicted people of less here... so get that dirty scumbag off the streets as well! Idiots!

[walterego]

The translator will be out of the country or safely banged up in a cupboard in his emabssy yelling "theres nobody home" if he knows what is good for him. The options for him are not good if he gets caught in countryJail, huge bribes or its likely he might accidentally fall from a balcony at Khun Yai Nois house.

It is sad if this hurts tourist policing as much as they need to be better screened I think that tourist police 'in theory' at least is a good idea. (maybe if they are screened better and paid, the % of people who would do it for free long term out of the goodness of their heart must be small indeed (hats off to those that do though)).

there are still a lot of questions to be answered and I would be most interested to read a transcript of the victims statement.

As was outlined earlier... where is his mobile phone luggage bill receipts for payee for the hotel etc etc and so much needs to be outlined in order for the victims to protect their own truthfull integrity. These are questions that need to be asked in an investigation and the victims need to be thorough in providing detailed accounts. From what I am getting so far it seems to be very fragmented information.

Perhaps the check out chic/guy just wanted to knock of a new wallet and new the likely outcome. I look forward to the outcome of a full foreign investigation.

I am suprised the HR dept of this KP store have not made a public statement they are probably still consulting their lawyers perhaps.

In the meantime I am asking myself what i can do that is positive for the 'victims' these for me include-

sending ccorrespondence of this event to Australian news sources (they already know but it helps them to think it is of public interest the more they get)

sending email to the brit Consulate/embassy asking for explanations.

email to KP asking for a public announcement explanation investigation and/or statement and expressing disatisfaction in their store until they do.

I think it is important if we can get the lawyers or victims contact of some sort because according to posters here there may be countless other victims of the same 'alledged' case hopefully they can consolidate and assist as their information may prove invaluable to support allegations of the victims.

Footnote: I am suprised though I understand the worry of Libel by our Thai Visa site. As i am obviously wrong in assuming that you are not responsible for any allegations I might make (or anyone else) against anyone that are unsubstantiated on this site surely somewhere in the terms of agreement I take full responsibility for my own posts. However I stand corrected on that matter now. Is TV hosted in Thailand? perhaps a hosting offshore might make it easier for us to have free speech. (my understanding of this matter is limited but it sounds a bit unusual)

Edited July 20, 2009 by walterego

[walterego]

btw: Does anyone know if this has been reported on any of the main stream Thai language news outlets?

I often wonder if Thais ever get to hear about stuff like this. I rarely notice this kind of thing in the Thai media,(then again I rarely take much notice of the Thai media as I dont think in Thai language) lots of cute Pandas though.

[DMasut]

8k pound is a massive amount! They should have fought it if they were innocent, why did they pay? did they steal it? giving in to these scams/extotions will make it continue! if you get in trouble you call your embassy and take it from there, REMEMBER INNOCENT UNTILL PROVEN GUILTY. Things need to change in Thailand

But is there any law in Thailand that recognizes "your innocence until proven guilty"?

I do not think there is.

[hardy1943]

8k pound is a massive amount! They should have fought it if they were innocent, why did they pay? did they steal it? giving in to these scams/extotions will make it continue! if you get in trouble you call your embassy and take it from there, REMEMBER INNOCENT UNTILL PROVEN GUILTY. Things need to change in Thailand

UK, US, Germany and other Western civilized countries, Yes . Thailand , this a way of life.

Look at their mind set with the double standard of pricing and park admission and so on.

[Benjie]

According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the presumption of the innocence of a criminal defendant is best described as an assumption of innocence that is indulged in the absence of contrary evidence (Taylor v. Kentucky, 436 U.S. 478, 98 S. Ct. 1930, 56 L. Ed. 2d 468 [1978]).

[DMasut]

btw: Does anyone know if this has been reported on any of the main stream Thai language news outlets?

I often wonder if Thais ever get to hear about stuff like this. I rarely notice this kind of thing in the Thai media,(then again I rarely take much notice of the Thai media as I dont think in Thai language) lots of cute Pandas though.

Yes it gets reported more often than in English papers.

Yes every Thai person knows of the widespread corruption being so rampant.

Yes Thai people hear these stories from their relatives and friends who are the police committing the acts.

If you live in Thailand long enough and mix with the locals you will see it first hand and even experience it happening to you as well.

Most expats have their own stories, but considerate the cost of living in paradise.

The Thai Government under Thaksin made some real inroads towards corruption, organized crime, money laundering, etc. but funny enough PM Thaksin and family got caught up in the same scandal his administration sought to fight.

This type of corruption has existed in Thailand for over a 1,000 years. To eradicate it would put those fighting it live's at risk since nobody living off of the tit of corruption wants to give up the money that is 5 or 10 times more than their job pays.

Every Embassy representing every country in Thailand can tell you they have scores of files and stories of their citizens having problems of extortion, false arrest on trumped up charges. But since Embassies only being 'diplomatic missions' are limited to what they can do. Most have filed protests to the Thai government only for it to be apologized for when caught 'red handed' then filed and forgot by their Thai counterparts.

Thailand doesn't either seem to care or understand that their future is eroding because of this corruption.

The way they poorly treat foreign investment and residents... not letting farang own land only leads to more corruption, exploitation and extortion.

Double Standards and Two Tier Pricing systems supported by the Thai Government

For all there is to love of Thailand, and there is alot, there is equally something that takes away.

[walterego]

Ok, i hear you. I dont know if this type of thing really is 'news' though on Thai TV etc I know When Farang swingers get caught having a party it is all over every newspaper from Essarn to Surat Tani. I wonder if Thais at a working class level really do see that crime is not just affecting them (as is covered in their media) but affecting them by proxy via targeting of foreigners.

Has THIS story been covered in main stream thai language news?

[walterego]

Well i stand corrected. Before anyone takes a stance in defending poor innocent Farangs like i was inclinned to do. I didnt realise but King Power has a release on their website

please watch the CTV footage video!

http://www.kingpower.com/2009/index.php#

looks pretty clear cut n dry to me. Same thing in Australia though CTV alone is rarely enough for a conviction (- one cant tell if she he intended to permanently possess the wallet, or if she walked back inside the store later to replace it etc) Wonder how much the fine would have been for just owning up to it.

Shame shame!

Edited July 20, 2009 by walterego

[walterego]

(doesnt excuse the 'free enterprise' that occured later... but who can really believe them after watching the video) they lost 8000 pounds got no record (watch the video) Som nam na.

[Joe1241]

This video was on the Thai News at 4 AM on CH3 with the Newspaper Morons showing the videos claiming the Farangs stole the stuff. Seeing the video on that website shows the same thing they showed on TV.

Edited July 20, 2009 by Joe1241

[ppmacready]

Everybody should boycott or avoid king power shops, anyway it's always more expensive than on the streets.

In case you haven't noticed, Everybody IS ALREADY BOYCOTTING Thailand!

There new slogan should be The Land Of Lies!

On my return from a recent reconnaissance to the Philippines.Truly- The Land of Smiles! I booked a taxi from the Taxi stand ,for 1,500 baht.They gave me a ticket with 1,500 written on it.

As we left the Airport the taxi driver started to renegotiate the fare.I refused.On Koh Chang I left my car to have a puncture repaired.They replaced all my Yokohama tyres with shit tyres.They said the car didn't arrive with Yokohama tyres!We called the police but what could they do?My word against the garage, and they were his neighbours!Generally The Thais dealing with Falang are indolent,greedy and ruthless.And thats the officials!

May I reccomend the diving , women and service in Fillys!

[john b good]

British couple fights Bangkok airport extortionists

Two tourists were held by an airport gang until they paid up £8,000

Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin were falsely accused

of stealing from a shop at Bangkok airport. Photo: Michael Sheridan

A British couple who were falsely accused of shoplifting in Bangkok airport and were forced to pay £8,000 in bribes to secure their release are to take legal action for compensation.

They were the victims of an extortion racket that has ensnared other foreign travellers at the airport, which handles most of the 800,000 British visitors to Thailand every year.

Stephen Ingram, 49, and Xi Lin, 45, both technology professionals from Cambridge, were detained by security guards as they went to board Qantas flight QF1 to London on the night of Saturday, April 25.

They were accused of taking a Givenchy wallet worth £121 from a King Power duty-free shop and were handed over to the police. An official release order from the local Thai prosecutor’s office subsequently conceded there was no evidence against them.

They were freed five days later after a frightening ordeal in which they said they were threatened and held against their will at a cheap motel on the airport perimeter until they had handed over the money.

The bribes were paid to an intermediary named Sunil “Tony” Rathnayaka, a Sri Lankan national in his fifties who works as a “volunteer” interpreter for Thailand’s tourist police (motto: “To serve and to protect”).

“Our main motivation is to protect other innocent British tourists from being caught up in this nightmare,” said Ingram last week. “We intend to take every legal means to recover our money and obtain justice.”

Last week Rathnayaka admitted in a telephone interview that he had received cash and money transfers amounting to more than £7,000 from the Britons. He said the money was for police bail and for a payment to a figure he called “Little Big Man” who could withdraw the case against them.

“In Thailand everyone knows it’s like that,” he said. “They can go to jail or they can just pay a fine and go home. It is corruption, you know?”

Rathnayaka also agreed that the “bail” — about £4,000 — was never returned to Ingram and Xi. Thai law says bail should be refunded.

In a detailed statement the couple said they were first detained at an airport office of the tourist police and later taken to cells at a police station in an isolated modern building on the fringes of the airport.

Rathnayaka confirmed that he met them in the cells on the morning of Sunday, April 26, and arranged the “bail”. The police kept the couple’s passports. Rathnayaka then escorted Ingram and Xi to the Valentine Resort, a lurid pink motel a few hundred yards from the runways. They were to remain there for four days.

During that time, Rathnayaka warned them not to tell anyone about their plight, especially the British embassy, lawyers, friends, family or the press.

However, on April 27 they sneaked out of the hotel and found their way to the embassy, where they met Kate Dufall, the pro-consul.

According to the couple, she told them the embassy could not interfere with the Thai legal system and put them in contact with Prachaya Vijitpokin, a lawyer.

Vijitpokin and a colleague, Kittamert Engchountada, of the Lawyers Association of Thailand, urged them to stay in the country to fight the case and have since assembled a dossier for potential prosecutions.

However, Ingram said the couple were so terrified by this stage that they decided to meet the demands for money, which they raised by bank transfers from Britain direct to Rathnayaka’s account. The Sunday Times has copies of the transactions.

Ingram and Xi were put on a British Airways flight to London early on Friday, May 1, having received their passports with official documents from prosecutors and police stating that no charges were to be brought against them.

They have said they are willing to return to Thailand and testify to try to stop the extortion if the government will guarantee their safety.

That could become a priority for Thailand, which has suffered a series of blows to its tourist industry through economic and political upheaval.

Inquiries last week established that Rathnayaka and his accomplices have continued preying on tourists who end up in police custody after being accused of theft from the airport duty-free shop. “I am just helping people,” he explained. “I don’t get paid to do this. All the embassies know me.”

Officials at the Danish embassy confirmed that a Danish woman fell into Rathnayaka’s hands about two weeks ago and was allowed to leave Thailand only after handing over more than £4,500.

When a Sunday Times journalist posing as a businessman in trouble contacted Rathnayaka last week, the first thing he said was: “If it’s a case, for example, of shoplifting at the airport duty-free then I can help. Bail is 100,000 baht (£1,800).” He later declined an interview, saying the Sri Lanka embassy — which employs him as an interpreter — had told him not to speak.

The Foreign Office said consular officials had offered to raise the case with the Thai authorities at the time but had been asked by the couple not to intervene.

A spokesman for King Power duty-free said the company had strict rules for evidence to be submitted to the police in shoplifting cases, but added: “We cannot control what happens after that.”

-- timesonline.co.uk 2009-06-28

However, on April 27 they sneaked out of the hotel and found their way to the embassy, where they met Kate Dufall, the pro-consul.

According to the couple, she told them the embassy could not interfere with the Thai legal system and put them in contact with Prachaya Vijitpokin, a lawyer.

So much for getting assistance from the British Embassy

[mrbp]

A TV poster reported in this forum recently that he was the target of a similar scam at the airport but as I recall the incident involved cigarettes. As I further recall not a single viewer believed his story and he took a lot of stick as a result. So, in light of the expose above, perhaps it's time to consign to urban myth the notion that such things don't happen here in Thailand and perhaps cut such posters a little more slack.

That is the strange quirk of the Thai forums. Anyone who has a horror story to tell about Thailand is accused of lying by know it all expats.

Why so many idiots think that they can accuse people of lying when these kinds of incidents are common knowledge is beyond me.

I wonder do they just do it to act clever or do they genuinely believe that people come to this forum to make up stories for fun?

[jayceenik]

Although it happend at a King Power store, there is no involvement of King Power itself. Let's not suggest it is or call for boycots etc.

Didn't know they are thai visa sponsors....

I correct my statement, it has now been proven they did not have anything to do with it

My remark was not entirely clear. Let me put it this way: Under Thai libel laws we can not allow that a company is being named and shamed. So let the company out of the discussion and don't suggest they are in on it.

Also our forum rules don't allow to call for a boycot of a certain company.

Is my saying that I'd feel most uneasy walking into a KP outlet at Big Swampy acceptable?

[CRUNCHER]

There are two wrongs here and neither is an excuse for the other.

First these two are thieves who deserve to be punished. This is no excuse, however, for the subsequent corruption involving definately Tony, almost certainly one or more police officer and possibly staff of King Power and maybe other airport staff.

This corruption, however, is no excuse to offer sympathy to a pair of thieves.

I would also add that corruption is a two way street involving not only a receiver, but a giver. Both are guilty.

[wackysleet]

Time to bring Thaksin back - there is no discipline in Thailand anymore - from anyone.

BR>Jack

Thaksin bondage and discipline is not what Thailand needs.

s/john.

not being a Thaksin fan myself, showing pictures of people trussed up like that without an explanation means nothing as they may have committed the most heinous crimes imaginable, and I do ask myself, if the new levels of scams/murders/and thefts are allowed to continue unabated by the current administration then they are certainly no better than Thaksin, for whatever the anti Thaksin brigade say, the present government have made absolutely no attempts at solving these crimes and they have been in power long enough now to at least make some inroads into these problems.