Danish Embassy Warns Against King Power Dutyfree

[glegolo]

Bullshit.

I was duped by this sad, sad story. I was so incensed that I went to KingPower's web site to write them a nasty note (http://www.kingpower.com/2009/index.php) when I see they are running the videos.

The Chinese broad STOLE the wallet and the Brit puffter helped her do it.

They ought to get jail time - they are screwing it up for the rest of us.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are completely missing the point here.

The point is that it is completely unacceptable to extort large sums of money from people regardless of whether they have committed a petty crime or not.

King Power employees MUST know about this and be complicit in the extortion. There is likely a kick back to the manager of the store or this wouldn't happen.

If King Power claim this isn't the case then maybe they would like to explain why none of the shoplifters are prosecuted and the cases mysteriously dropped by the police despite the evidence. They publish this video evidence of the British guy yet took no action, this demonstrates that someone inside the company knows all about it, why else would they allow them to go free when they have the evidence to secure a conviction and compensation through the courts.

This story will help to destroy King Power, and rightly so.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What???? Missing the point?????? they steal and they should go to prison for that, and they screw it up for the rest of us!!

To me it is nothing strange with this, you steal you go to prison. if you as a policemen steal you go to prison and lose your job..

What are we missing here...

glegolo

[jayceenik]

See the video about the british couple here.....

And make your own opinion.

I believe King Power!!!

http://www.kingpower.com/2009/popup/pop_case3.html

Zappergeck

Looks to me as if she is putting something in her bag - definately! I guess that is illegal everywhere or will it pass in the UK?

Sad how people at once start their racist thai bashing.

And I am a Dane!

I've watched the videos three times (case 1 & 2). Case 1 is way to vague to even hint at shoplifting. Case 2 might be a case, but I wouldn't bet my sweet s...s on it! The videos are definitely non-conclusive. One would need to know a lot more (where and at what moment were they addressed about the alleged theft? and a few more questions would need to be answered).

Theft or not, asking 11,000 Dollars is just beyond reality.

VDOs non-conclusive to me too!

[geriatrickid]

I think there is consensus that;

1. This sri Lankan chap, Tony is the point man for an extortion ring and that,

2. There is extortion by the police officers stationed at the airport.

The fact that some of the people detained at the KP stores really were shoplifting provides an excuse for the extortion. Shoplifting is a common occurrence, so why should this shock anyone? I think bringinging KP into this merely allows the police to hide behind actual crimes.

The net result? Ever since the story broke, on my 3 trips through swampy I try to avoid the stores, not even browsing. However, the stores are busy with visitors, so I don't think the warnings have been read or heard. I would go so far as to say that despite the uncontrolled corruption within police ranks, no foreign government gives a sh*t.

When I see the US, Aus. and UK navies/military visit Thailand and frolic, what message does it send the powers that be? I think it says, as long as you are with us, you can roger our citizens a bit, but not serious injuries, please. Thailand won't do anything until they get a kick in the nuts and that emans tourists staying away in droves, i.e. a boycott.

[john b good]

At last, an unequivocal warning that it is the Thai police who pose a threat to passengers.

Let the smiling hypocrites that constitute what passes for the authorities in Thailand wriggle their squirming little way out of that one.

Well done the Danes, at least they have laid the allegation where it truly belongs unlike the weasely British embassy who seemingly prize a pusillanimous approach to the Thai over and above their responsibility to their own citizens.

Agreed but given the "you can't blame the soooo nice Thai people for anything" brigade on here, one truly hopes that none of them work in positions of influence or the law as doing something about this needs people with backbones and balls. Did anyone really believe that the people behind all these scams are anyone but the scamming, cheating, lying Thais who occupy positions of authority and are largely unaccountable ?

Shame on you who back up these corrupt individuals.

My sentiments exactly.

AND, I am not surprised in the least that another scam has been exposed here in the realm.

BUT!! do not expect there to be any change to the way business is done here.

As for it being Suvarnabhumi what more could one expect from an operation that has been tainted long before construction ever began.

Anyone who hasn't been through Changi in the past year should take a look to see what a real airport looks like but then Singapore is the cleanest country in Asia (# 4 in the world) in terms of corruption, and where does Thailand sit "somewhere around 90th in the world.

Furthermore if you buy something from one of the Changi airport outlets and then find the same article downtown at a lower price and return within 30 days to the shop in the airport where you made the original purchase they will (if you have the name of the shop in town and it's location "where it was cheaper") they will refund 2x the price difference.

BUT, again this is Singapore.

Edited July 21, 2009 by john b good

[anon467367354]

Bloody hel_l........no-one seems to have mentioned 'Tony' who miraculously appears as an interpreter.......what the f%$#@k.....hes in it up to his greasy sri lankan armpits and needs to be tapped ! they are all <deleted>......c'mon Thailand open your eyes and wake up to the world. faaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrkkkkkk !

I read the article, and it said Tony worked for the police. But the Thai people said it was a private matter between Tony and the couple. No shame represents this country

[bdenner]

IMO it's yes to both but there is no option for that. The tourists are stealing BUT it appears inconclusive from the videos that it is the couple in question. The dreaded Tony, KP security and staff, and police are involved in a scam.

[fantuzi]

Well, I'm coming to Asia for 3 weeks...only 6 days of which I'll spend in LOS.

I'm off to Bali instead. The writings on the wall....

RAZZ

You never heard about Bali rip-offs?tricks on rigged calculators in money changers shops?

stealing trained monkeys?

You better stay in LOS.

[seri thai]

Undecided on whether the couple are guilty or not, but don't believe King Power (as in the company) to be a part of the subsequent extortion attempts by the police.

This year has given Abhisit plenty of reasons for complete police reform from the top down. As much as it's a daunting task it's starting to cost Thailand dearly.

The sensible thing would be some transparency from King Power and the Airport Authority and dare I suggest, the boys in brown

Lest we forget, they are both (all )monopolies. The problem as mentioned by another poster is not necessarily guilt or innocence but the accusations of extortion and menace which appears to be exerted by the Royal Thai Police and becoming a source of further international embarrassment

It would be wise for the government to be seen to organise another interminable, rambling, inconclusive investigation in order to put the consciences of foreign diplomats at rest and soothe the ruffled feathers of the battery chickens that pass through the carcass stripper thats called Amazing Thailand.

I'd also suggest a sign over the entrance/exit similar to the one at Aushwitz" "Geld Macht Frei"

Further improvement might be to change the names of those organisations fouled up in this to simply "Power" and "Thai Police" to avoid a lese majeste allegation and all that entails in this "fin de siecle" game of musical chairs.

[seri thai]

Well, I'm coming to Asia for 3 weeks...only 6 days of which I'll spend in LOS.

I'm off to Bali instead. The writings on the wall....

RAZZ

You never heard about Bali rip-offs?tricks on rigged calculators in money changers shops?

stealing trained monkeys?

You better stay in LOS.

Stealing trained monkeys?? Not from Suvarnabhumi I hope!

[Khabom]

Secondly, Kingpower should prove that they are completely innocent but, seeing that the press reports are widening, they behaved cowardly so far and did NOT condemn the extortions. Are they sure that some of their staff are involved...or not ?

Did they question their staff, the employees who were working at that particular shop and time ? Not a single word from them.

They simply submitted a video....."proving" that the UK couple was guilty, in their opinion.

That's weak, very weak and they have to face the damage which will be immense.

And: where is the video from the Irish Lady Doctor ? Where is the video of the Danish girl ?

LaoPo

Not a single word from Kingpower? Did you look on their website?

There's video evidence and a detailed explanation of three seperate incidents, including an Irish girl (I don't know if it's the doctor you refer to).

The subsequent actions of the Thai police make it very easy for real shoplifters to jump on the scam bandwagon and plead the victim.

I disagree that the onus is on Kingpower to "prove that they are completely innocent", it seems to me that they are getting the sharp end of the stick in all this when they are simply trying to protect their property from thieves.

[brahmburgers]

easy enough...

I will never buy anything or enter the duty free stores in the airport. I would gather that if you never enter the store you cant be accused of shoplifting.

Perhaps not a real solution to the problem, but it is certainly the one I will use.

We've all seen how, in Thailand, if there's one successful biz (scam) all of a sudden a bunch of identical businesses pop up like mushrooms after a rain. Who's to say this extortion scam at the airport will be limited to just KP. The same modus operandi could readily be adapted at stores throughout touristy areas.

I was duped by this sad, sad story. I was so incensed that I went to KingPower's web site to write them a nasty note (http://www.kingpower.com/2009/index.php) when I see they are running the videos.

The Chinese broad STOLE the wallet and the Brit puffter helped her do it.

They ought to get jail time - they are screwing it up for the rest of us.

Even if they stole (which isn't conclusive), they shouldn't be shaken down for 8,000 pounds - going in to a Sri Lankan's personal bank account.

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.

You're joking right? You expect a farang to sit around for months under house arrest, paying for hotel and meals, while they wait for an uncertain verdict from a kangaroo court?

I would stay clear of all the duty free shops in the airport for sure until these scumbags are caught and convicted.Maybe they could become goverment polititions instead

the scumbags perpetrating the extortion (KP, cops, Tony, etc) won't be caught and convicted of anything. TIT, the absolute worst that can happen to them is they'll be warned not to do it again. If they were gov't, they might be assigned to an inactive post.

[virtualtraveller]

I'm a travel writer, and I've been following this, I'm incensed. It seems clearly a scam to me, perhaps the evidence is stronger against some than others but clearly King Power are working with the airport police to arrest anyone who is remotely suspicious of shoplifting, opening up graft opportunities. I've written to TAT and King Power and have advised fellow guide writers to make this clear in the books and on websites. The short of it is, fact or fiction, I'm advising my readers NOT TO SHOP IN KING POWER, it's too risky - you might pick up a bottle of booze the step over into an adjacent shop with no marked boundary and suddenly find yourself missing your flight and being at the mercy of airport police. It's really not acceptable for a country that counts on tourism and I'm pretty sure someone high up will eventually put a stop to the practice when King Power start to see it affecting their sales and the government are made aware of repeated bad press over this.

Yesterday it was the most read story on the BCC, which sort of negates millions on advertising spent recently on Discovery Channel to promote Thailand as a safe place. What a pity, we all work so hard to promote this destination and it gets ruined by a few dishonest people at the airport with very poor judgement. I guess the solution is for sites like this and others to relentlessly publicise the fact and bring each new report to the attention of the authorities so they realise just how damaging this is.

[animatic]

As the economy tanks,

so does the 'Get away from the wife and party with young things money',

for the local guys, and they are searching for ways to re-up their lifestyle.

No consideration is felt for Farangs; they don't even know how to wai properly,

and don't know how to kow tow, and so seem haughty, and fakey hi-so,

but still touchable, and need bringing down a notch.

'If I can bring them down below me, and make some scratch in the process ,

I have a good story to tell the mia noi, before I bang her senseless and drive home.'

King Power has really dropped the ball here, regardless of if they

THINK they have addressed this issue properly... They haven't.

Stopping it from continuing would be properly handled.

Mr. K.P. is close to the top guys now, all he need do is have a quiet word,

and half that local police station are transfered to Suburban Chaing Rai,

and the security staff rotated to Doi Itanon to watch the crop researchers.

Clearly that word was not had.

I go through the airport 8-15 times a year at least.

I went through 3 times last week alone...

I very carefully walked dead center line between all King Power counters.

No chance I am even on their cameras near counters.

Tough luck, no business from me or my friends anymore,

I no longer trust KP staff enough to do business there.

Maybe KP has stopped worrying about the income from expats living here

but we go through the airport more than most tourists and King Power

by letting this slide as they have, are losing ALL their local trade....

Expats talk to other expats, and they ALL have friends flying in to visit.

Shop lifting is a big problem for sure. But extorting the ALLEGED culprits,

does NOT cure that one bit, it just RUINS Thailands rep another notch.

A good scare IN the Airport, a fast fine 5 times the cost of the item,

and kick them out, would suffice. IF caught WITH the item 20m

or more away, not two feet outside of a UN-DRAWN line.

It's not like this isn't INSIDE a secured airport they can be found.

(What is with this 'well stocked' cash machine IN THE POLICE STATION...???)

I hope the Danes also check Asian country's embassies too.

What expat would shop at KP anyway. All they sell is overpriced souvenirs etc.

And by the way - why just leave it to the Danes. After all there are only just over 5.000.000 inhabitants!

Sometimes you need something to help the ears pop on landing,

a paperback or magazine, the newspaper etc.

I did, on a whim, buy two wedding aniversary watches last year,

neither lasted the month. Good batts. replaced with nearly dead ones,

had to spend 1,000 baht each for a watch guy to put them right,

besides the battery replacements.

Total scam, he pointed out where the guts didn't match the brand name....

Yet, sold as major world wide brand on concourse, of Suvarnabhumi from King Power.

With full branding displays etc.

Likely some 'staff ' snuck their knock offs in and resold the good ones...

CONJECTURE, but.... that explains the crap I was sold....

In any case;

never more, never more, said the raven.

[Acharn]

Wasn't King Power supposed to be kicked out in the first place ?

Yes, while the PPP was in their contract was terminated and they were ordered to leave. After the judicial coup, the policy was reversed because King Power is a big financial backer of Newin.

[Badbanker]

Sadly it seems KP does have a major shoplifting problem and they by their location do not have much chance to recover stolen things. Their only legal option is to forward an alleged case of shoplifting to the legal authorities.

In one interview with the MD of KP, he was a bit shocked to find out the that Police are taking large amounts of money to write up a document that cases are inconclusive and there is not enough evidence to prosecute. KP actually wanted a prosecution.

Anyone who is involved as a translator for the police cannot in any way be involved with collecting money in any form for ANY reason as that is extortion which is punishable by a jail term. This Sri Lankan Tony is also scamming on behalf of the Police he works for and should be punished.

Each embassy has a list of approved English speaking Thai lawyers that can get bail and resolve things like this for a minimum amount of money. Normally 20,000 baht bail!

When arrested do not lose your cool!

1. Call the embassy

2. Get a list of lawyers

3. Engage lawyers

4. Lawyers arrange bail

5. Get out of Jail

I have seen this happen many many times.

In the case of KP! I recommend a boycott of their service as they are close to being in collusion with the Police.

BB

[salty]

LIVERPOOL BEWARE

[Mario2008]

Each embassy has a list of approved English speaking Thai lawyers that can get bail and resolve things like this for a minimum amount of money. Normally 20,000 baht bail!

I wouldn't say they are approved by the embassy, your embassy will not vet them. They are simply on a list. Still, I would rather take one of one of those lists.

[sangfroid]

I don't think I'll ever set foot in a King Power shop again.

They are thieves and robbers. Years ago they had a promotion on "ruby" pendants. I was looking for a present for my daughter and bought one. When I got home the "ruby" turned out to be a garnet. Since that day I have never set foot in a King Power shop, and never will.

[Peter Bysouth]

Tourists warned of Thailand airport scam

Bangkok airport duty free

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok's showcase new international airport is no stranger to controversy.

Built between 2002 and 2006, under the governments of then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the opening date was repeatedly delayed.

It has been dogged by allegations of corruption, as well as criticism of the design and poor quality of construction.

Then, at the end of last year, the airport was shut down for a week after being occupied by anti-government protesters.

Now new allegations have been made that a number of passengers are being detained every month in the duty free area on suspicion of shoplifting, and then held by the police until they pay large sums of money to buy their freedom.

That is what happened to Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin, two IT experts from Cambridge, as they were about to board their flight to London on the night of 25 April this year.

They had been browsing in the duty free shop at the airport, and were later approached by security guards, who twice asked to search their bags.

Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin

Mr Ingram and Ms Xi were told they had to pay £7,500

They were told a wallet had gone missing, and that Ms Lin had been seen on a security camera taking it out of the shop.

The company that owns the duty free shop, King Power, has since put the CCTV video on its website, which does appear to show her putting something in her bag. However the security guards found no wallet on either of them.

Despite that, they were both taken from the departure gate, back through immigration, and held in an airport police office. That is when their ordeal started to become frightening.

Interpreter

"We were questioned in separate rooms," Mr Ingram said. "We felt really intimidated. They went through our bags and demanded that we tell them where the wallet was."

The two were then put in what Mr Ingram describes as a "hot, humid, smelly cell with graffiti and blood on the walls".

Mr Ingram managed to phone a Foreign Office helpline he found in a travel guide, and was told someone in the Bangkok embassy would try to help them.

The next morning the two were given an interpreter, a Sri Lankan national called Tony, who works part-time for the police.

They were taken by Tony to meet the local police commander - but, says Mr Ingram, for three hours all they discussed was how much money they would have to pay to get out.

police station

Mr Ingram and Ms Xi were taken to meet the local police commander

They were told the charge was very serious. If they did not pay, they would be transferred to the infamous Bangkok Hilton prison, and would have to wait two months for their case to be processed.

Mr Ingram says they wanted £7,500 ($12,250) - for that the police would try to get him back to the UK in time for his mother's funeral on 28 April.

But he could not arrange to get that much money transferred in time.

'Zig-zag' scheme

Tony then took them to an ATM machine at the police station, and told Ms Lin to withdraw as much as she could from her own account - £600 - and Mr Ingram then withdrew the equivalent of £3,400 from his account.

This was apparently handed over to the police as "bail", and they were both made to sign a number of papers.

Later they were allowed to move to a squalid hotel within the airport perimeter, but their passports were held and they were warned not to leave or try to contact a lawyer or their embassy.

"I will be watching you," Tony told them, adding that they would have to stay there until the £7,500 was transferred into Tony's account.

On the Monday they managed to sneak out and get a taxi to Bangkok, and met an official at the British Embassy.

She gave the name of a Thai lawyer, and, says Mr Ingram, told them they were being subjected to a classic Thai scam called the "zig-zag".

Their lawyer urged them to expose Tony - but also warned them that if they fought the case it could take months, and they risked a long prison sentence.

After five days the money was transferred to Tony's account, and they were allowed to leave.

Mr Ingram had missed his mother's funeral, but at least they were given a court document stating that there was insufficient evidence against them, and no charge.

"It was a harrowing, stressful experience," he said.

The couple say they now want to take legal action to recover their money.

'Typical' scam

The BBC has spoken to Tony and the regional police commander, Colonel Teeradej Phanuphan.

They both say Tony was merely helping the couple with translation, and raising bail to keep them out of prison.

Tony says about half the £7,500 was for bail, while the rest were "fees" for the bail, for his work, and for a lawyer he says he consulted on their behalf.

In theory, he says, they could try to get the bail portion refunded.

Colonel Teeradej says he will investigate any possible irregularities in their treatment. But he said any arrangement between the couple and Tony was a private affair, which did not involve the police.

Letters of complaint to the papers here in Thailand make it clear that passengers are regularly detained at the airport for alleged shoplifting, and then made to pay middlemen to win their freedom.

The Danish Embassy says one of its nationals was recently subjected to a very similar scam, and earlier this month an Irish scientist managed to flee Thailand with her husband and one year-old son after being arrested at the airport and accused of stealing an eyeliner worth around £17.

Tony told the BBC that so far this year he has "helped" about 150 foreigners in trouble with the police. He says sometimes he does it for no charge.

The British Embassy has also warned passengers at Bangkok Airport to take care not to move items around in the duty free shopping area before paying for them, as this could result in arrest and imprisonment.

-- BBC 2009-07-20

I have watched the Video and read the report. They would get a guilty verdict from me.

I have met many UK citizens here who take a delight in stealing from Thais in fact they will steal from anyone. I used to run fishing trips so called friends stole the beer, I helped run a computer course and so called friends left their bins unpaid, Need I go on. The world is full of thieves The Saudi way is best cut off their hands. I was in business in UK and thieving was the biggest problem we had after staff helping themselves.

[sickinthailand]

Welcome to Thailand. The land of corrupted smile and scumbag police officers (including security guard!).

the land where corruption and abuse of power are highly practice and well accept.

people in many part of the country even see it as a must do to stay in power!

And please stop buy anything from king power, it is another very bad and corrupted company. Stop support them!

[rjk]

Thailand is the land of corruption from the very top to bottom. Unfortunately the country seems to continually shoot itself in the foot as these types of issues become publicly known outside of Thailand. Thailand has the capacity to be a leader in so many areas within the SEA region, however while these types of things continue to happen then Thailand will remain the second rate backwater it currently is.

[webfact]

I've watched the video as well. With all respect they are not that innocent as they pretend to be. IMHO they know that quite well and someone is trying to shift focus...

I trust in a court of law the verdict would be "guilty". No matter how bad or good KPower is - there's some visible evidence to support their accusation!

Would that story have made such headlines if the couple where from another country e.g. a non "civilized" country ?

All I wrote is MHO

Edited July 21, 2009 by webfact

[goatfarmer]

See the video about the british couple here.....

And make your own opinion.

I believe King Power!!!

http://www.kingpower.com/2009/popup/pop_case3.html

Zappergeck

The issue of guilt or innocence of the alleged shoplifters is a red herring. Shoplifting is a petty crime. Extortion is a seroius crime. If Kingpower, by its staff or contracted security guards, are involved in these affairs, they are involved in extortion. The video provides no justification.

[ekkamai]

to samjaidee living in vietnam

in reference to the video shown this evening by channel 5, the video narrator went on to say that the couple was arrested when they were in an eatery, sitting at different tables.

when the man saw the arrest of the lady, he walked away but was later arrested too. the shoplifted item (it looked like a dark wallet to me) was not found on the couple when searched. the missing item from the shop was later found in a trash can.

and in reference to the poll, just set up by thaitv--it needs to be much more specific for the poll to be meaningful. pls have someone from statistics 101 tries his/her hand on it.... lol (i like thaitv ok)

your TV should show the video of the british man when he threw the wallet, or your airport deosn't have cameras , that mean no security then !!!

thai people , you talk but you never prove . hope you got the meaning

Oh dear no. That would mean loosing face. That is what everything boils down to in LOS. Get a Thai to admit wrongdoing or just a small error is out of the question!

[OzMick]

Have seen the video and agree the broad stole the wallet. Where was he? Nowhere in sight. So he gets outside and she shows him how clever she is by knocking off a cheap wallet. What would you do? Tell her she's a f...ing idiot and walk away, if you've got any sense.

You go to get a bite, she follows you in, but you don't even want to sit with her. When the Gestapo arrive, you try to quietly leave, but get arrested.

Please explain the crime committed by this man. And he's the one who had to shell out the major portion of the dosh. Take his case in isolation (forget her, she's just a caught thief) and there is nothing to justify pure extortion. It is not a crime to know a thief or I would be in jail because I married one.

I would love to hear the senior police officer involved explain the actions of his officers.

[barry]

as the worldwide recession worsens things will get worse

a good friend of mine recently came back from the philipines

as he got into the "TAXI" , 2 men got in back with him from each door

they put a gun to his head and took all his money....THIS HAPPENED AT THE AIRPORT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mrjlh]

The video is pretty clear as to what happen! There's no deception here. It's posted on Youtube. Again people start bashing without knowing all the facts. Fairly standard on the board.

youtube.com/watch?v=RbEN13z9Be0

You're right, it's crystal clear, I'll summarise it for you :

Hundreds of tourists have been accused of shoplifting (irrelevant if they did it or not), instead of being booked and charged with a minor offence something else happens.

Then they are kidnapped and falsely imprisoned in a hotel while the corrupt officials and a foreign outsider who masquerades as a negotiator attempt to extort as much money as they can from you with threats of further imprisonment if you don't comply. A payment is then made by the victim and then they are released.

It seems very clear to me.

I agree with you. It's not the fact of whether the person is "guilty or not" it is the fact that they do not get some form of "legal representation" at the beginning or a straight foward "see the Judge" approach. The crime here is the "extortion" by the police to get money for themselves. The system takes advantage of a foreigner in handicapped situation.

Now doubt has been put in place by not only the police, but if the couple lied about their actions what other things have they lied about? Who's telling the truth? With the video the couple lost their credibility in my mind. People say the didn't see the theft. Well it's there, they just don't want to accept it. Again it's what happened afterwards is the crime.

A clearly defined system and policy needs to be put in place that is easily understood by all, when it comes to crimes at the airports. In Thailand it "appears" you are "guilty" until you are proven "innocent". That ideal has to change. The problem is worsened by the fact that people at airports are on their way to other places for many reasons and the financial impact is great. If a person is "accused" of a crime, held and misses their flight, etc., but later found "not guilty" or absolved of any crime, the accusing agency or government holding that person should be liable for all costs inccuired by the party arrested and subsquently compensated for it. This has been upheld in International court in the past, so it makes sense to incorporate it universally at all airports. That's a good job for the ASEAN conferance people to decide. But if in fact the person is "guilty" then they pay the price. JMHO

[Old Croc]

The issue of guilt or innocence of the alleged shoplifters is a red herring. Shoplifting is a petty crime. Extortion is a seroius crime. If Kingpower, by its staff or contracted security guards, are involved in these affairs, they are involved in extortion. The video provides no justification.

Exactly! That's the crux of the matter. Yes there are shoplifters about, but the penalty must fit the (minor) crime.

Blackmail, extortion, kidnapping and false imprisonment are major offences and the perpetrators should be prosecuted to the full extend of a (civilized) law.

[moskito]

just wonder, is King Power not owned by one of Thailands EX Primeministers and Jetsetters?

Maybe you should question HIM on his next visit in your gloryous country England

I read the story of this guy with the cigarettes in Nongkhai. We all should quit smoking after that..... I know its not funny, but there

will be NOTHING HAPPEND and for sure no hassle for the mentioned Uniforms. They will not bite each other.

Good thing is at least, not ALL OF THEM are like these scumbags.

[mrmarkBKK]

At last, an unequivocal warning that it is the Thai police who pose a threat to passengers.

Let the smiling hypocrites that constitute what passes for the authorities in Thailand wriggle their squirming little way out of that one.

Well done the Danes, at least they have laid the allegation where it truly belongs unlike the weasely British embassy who seemingly prize a pusillanimous approach to the Thai over and above their responsibility to their own citizens.

well said...