Danish Embassy Warns Against King Power Dutyfree

[Electra]

I wonder if they try these childish games on fellow Thais?

Why bother when the dividend from extorting foreign passengers is much higher?

[snip]

[Bjerget]

I'm Danish so if you want a direct translation contact me!

[AnaisNin]

Such thing will not get the attention of PM Mark.

He is too busy keeping Thaksin out of Thailand.

[vahack]

Corruption in Thailand is not only condoned but encouraged. I had my own taste of it at the airport when the Animal Contol scumbags there held my parrots ransom when my sister brought them into Thailand from the USA. I had to liberate a few hundred dollars from my wallet to free my animals even though the paperwork was ok.

thats funny. my Thai neighbor has a son who works at BKK. he brought her home a parrot that he 'liberated' from the airport about 4-5 months ago. wonder if it was one of yours.

regarding the airport thing. i have no comment because corruption is pretty subtle up in Isaan. ive had problems in Bangkok with hotels, stores and restaurants screwing me over, but the only police corruption i see is when i get stopped for speeding.

if the BKK scams are real tho, i think we'll see the dollar at 40b within the year. u can only put so many nails in a coffin.

[Dap]

I wonder if they try these childish games on fellow Thais?

Everyday Thai citizens don't have that kind of dosh and the HiSo are "hands off" because no one want to put their own butts in a sling.

[EmanuelSWE]

let this be known, officials extorting tourists is not good PR, especially since her "offense" is practically nothing, crossing a line!! <deleted>!!!

[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.

[puipuitom]

Coming here you get rippedoff and now even leaving. Amazing Thailand land of smiles. Ha Ha.Only when they have the chance to ripp you off.Green shirts here we come.

see the police checking especially motorbike drivers: when they even THINK they can rip you off, they will do.

Once arrested while .. through the visor of my helmet they could not see my face... ( yes, opposite Carrefour, aside of On Nut skytrain station )

[AnaisNin]

Funny that we only heard about Farang shoplifters. What about Thai?

Either 1. Thai people caught are silenced by the police.

Or. 2. Thai people can steal as much as they like.

[george]

I'm Danish so if you want a direct translation contact me!

Please post a translation, as Google Translate may or may not be correct.

Thanks!

[poldebol]

The poll is a classical example of what the question should not be. It is ridiculous that you lead people to say that they think tourists are NOT stealing at the airport.

Of course tourists are shoplifting. They do so everywhere. (Besides, research on this subject show that the staff is responsible for around 50% of the theft of items in shops. Of course they blame it on the customers.)

But, the fact that customers steal does not mean there is no police scam.

The questions could be something like this:

Do you think customers at the BKK intl airport steal? yes/no/ don't know

Do you think that there is a scam going on at BKK, targetting innocent tourists? yes/no/ don't know

If yes:

Do you think that it is likely that Thai police officers are in on the scam? yes/no/ don't know

[puipuitom]

Tourists warned of Thailand airport scam

Bangkok airport duty free

-- BBC 2009-07-20

For business I have to go a 4-5x/yr to Thailand. You must be crazy to buy whatever at the airport: prices of whatever are higher till a LOT higher than downtown Bangkok or wherever in Thailand. Even often at the plane you can buy drinks and cigarettes cheaper.

[1927]

What a sad story....

I may be bit paranoid but i will avoid the duty free at all costs now ...

[BlackJack]

pathetic

[Murf]

Posted Today, 2009-07-20 22:08:46

Funny that we only heard about Farang shoplifters. What about Thai?

Either 1. Thai people caught are silenced by the police.

Or. 2. Thai people can steal as much as they like.

1. Maybe the police know the Thais won't wear the bullshit. Which is true.

2. The police are small minded, like a lot of Thai people and think that westerners are millionaires, so can afford the exessive amount.

[OldenAtwoody]

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.

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

[givenall]

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.

I don’t blame the foreign news to warn everyone about the scam, which make tourist to stop spending money in places like King power or some shopping stores. I dont know why the official don’t do anything to protect the tourist. Or may be they are in with the scam and that is why nothing happens.

[NedKelly]

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 !

[minxwhale]

Tourists warned of Thailand airport scam

Bangkok airport duty free

-- BBC 2009-07-20

For business I have to go a 4-5x/yr to Thailand. You must be crazy to buy whatever at the airport: prices of whatever are higher till a LOT higher than downtown Bangkok or wherever in Thailand. Even often at the plane you can buy drinks and cigarettes cheaper.

You're right. Duty free in BKK is much higher than in any other Duty Free shops I've seen, even in Japan.

Plus that King Power gives me the creeps. They're a bunch of corrupt bastards and have a monopoly on duty free at ALL international Thai airports.

I hope this news gets out across the world so that King Power will one day perish under the weight of its overpricing and poor service.

What a sad state of affairs this country has become. Add this to the gem scam, the "royal palace is closed" scam, the taxi tout scams at the airport and I wonder why the people Tourism Authority in Thailand don't address one of the main problems that's killing tourist opinion of this quickly eroding kingdom.

[animatic]

What a sad story....

I may be bit paranoid but i will avoid the duty free at all costs now ...

You are not paranoid if they ARE out to get you,

for stepping outside I line, you can not see.

[Serpico]

As far as the poll, I think they are scamming shoplifters and setting up innocent people too.

Thai Police are a criminal organization.

This isn't the only scam run by Police against visitors.

What about the cigarette Police that stalk every foreigner that is smoking and fines them up to 10,000 bt.

Or the gem scam? It's run by the Police. Every taxi or TukTuk parked near hotels are working for them now.

How about all the Police searches going on near Asoke and Soi 22 ? Pulling farangs out of taxies and searching them..then extorting huge amounts if they 'find' something.

And who puts all those mangled Cambodian beggars all over town every morning? The Police. Diverting donations meant for the poor into the pockets of Thai authorities.

Have you been to the Grand palace or any other tourist place lately? Mobs of scammers, trying to divert people into scam bars, restaurants, gem shops, tailors, massage places...all run by Thai Police.

What happened to all the Russian hookers that were around? They are arrested and put to work in Police owned brothels.

If they see crime, they want a piece of it.

They don't care about their Country. They are out of control and untouchable.

[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.

[thaiphoon]

Such thing will not get the attention of PM Mark.

He is too busy keeping Thaksin out of Thailand.

I think you have hit the nail on the head.

[Rogerde]

Corruption is the core of the Thai society, a recent example, I drove my Thai wife to a polling station to vote in a recent election and then we drove back home again, 30 minutes later the candidate she voted for accompanied by a helper arrived at the house.

The candidate proceeded to talk to her and then went on to talk to her parents. A few moments later the helper came up to her and tried to hand her 100Baht for voting for his friend, when she refused he looked shocked and surprised.

The point is this, with such base line corruption nothing is surprising, and everything is possible.

[ekkamai]

I guess this represents as good a reason as any, not to shop in King Power, EVER! Who wants to run the risk of

a scam like this one. What a lowbrow operation. I give the Danes alot of credit for speaking out. Maybe the Thai

authorities will be awakened by this one. The police in this country are perhaps the most corrupt, and least

competent of any group or organization you will run into here. Stay clear of the police, under all circumstances.

The general rule of thumb here is that if a foreigner has ANY interaction here, with the police, it will not turn

out well for them. The police in Thailand do very little law enforcement. It is all about income padding, and

income supplement. It is rarely about crime solving. They are a bankrupt, corrupt, illicit crime syndicate. Not

a law enforcement organization.

What about the Tourist Police? Somebody must have something positive to say about them.

And by the way, many years ago I was in trouble with the French police over a mixup of some rented skis. I went to the police to get a report for my insurance, but they nearly ended up putting me in the slammer. They didn't ask for money, but it was a small village, and I was per definition the bad guy. Really nasty experience.

People in uniform seem to get the idea that everyone is supposed to be scared of them. (How about US immigration)

Here in Thailand it just seems to get worse and worse.

[thaiphoon]

I don't get it. Things seem to be getting completely out of hand. Anarchy.

Please Mr. PM: DO something serious to save the reputation of Thailand. And hurry up.

Easy solution - send the corrupt police to prison

[poldebol]

A few months ago, I read the travel advice given by a few embassies. Most of this advice was about the same things you read in many travel books: never point with your feet, how to wai, do not touch the head etc.

I think the Danish embassy has done the right thing. More embassies should do so. The problem is that embassies are more interested in the economic relations of their country with Thailand than with the fate of their citizens staying here.

Nevertheless, what is on paper has to be recorded and is annoying to them.

Therefore it is not a bad idea if foreigners who stay here comment on the so called travel advice of their embassy. A good written comment about the real dangers facing tourists in Thailand might even get your national press. Do not exaggerate, stick to the facts. Do not let the paranoia of TV influence you. After all, would you rather stay in Chechnya?

[samjaidee]

george

what do you think of the video shown this evening on channel 5 around 18:20 (bkk time) regarding the british couple who (lady) appeared to have dropped something into her purse?

perhaps, this was an exceptional case different from others who were wrongly accused?

it is something that we all need to reevaluate? right? or do you have another take on this?

Living in Vietnam, I haven't seen the video but since they didn't find the wallet in the lady's possession when they detained the couple then would it not be safe to assume that whatever she dropped in her bag was something else and not the wallet in question.

Any comments from people who have seen the King Power video would be welcome.

[ekkamai]

As far as the poll, I think they are scamming shoplifters and setting up innocent people too.

Thai Police are a criminal organization.

This isn't the only scam run by Police against visitors.

What about the cigarette Police that stalk every foreigner that is smoking and fines them up to 10,000 bt.

Or the gem scam? It's run by the Police. Every taxi or TukTuk parked near hotels are working for them now.

How about all the Police searches going on near Asoke and Soi 22 ? Pulling farangs out of taxies and searching them..then extorting huge amounts if they 'find' something.

And who puts all those mangled Cambodian beggars all over town every morning? The Police. Diverting donations meant for the poor into the pockets of Thai authorities.

Have you been to the Grand palace or any other tourist place lately? Mobs of scammers, trying to divert people into scam bars, restaurants, gem shops, tailors, massage places...all run by Thai Police.

What happened to all the Russian hookers that were around? They are arrested and put to work in Police owned brothels.

If they see crime, they want a piece of it.

They don't care about their Country. They are out of control and untouchable.

OUCH. I hope you are not right - at least not to that extent.

[LaoPo]

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

And make your own opinion.

I believe King Power!!!

That video was discussed into lengthy detail here on TV since many weeks; it's nothing new.

Where are the videos on the Kingpower website from the other passengers who were scammed and extorted ?

LaoPo