British Couple Arrested In Patong

[george]

British couple arrested in Patong

PHUKET TOWN: A British couple arrested for working illegally in Thailand were released yesterday after posting bail of 200,000 baht each with Phuket Provincial Court.

Pol Lt Col Panudej Sookwong, Superintendent of the Phuket Tourist Police, identified the couple as 38-year-old Timothy Jones and his wife Frances Christodolou, 40.

Their arrests followed an allegation by a tourist that the pair swindled her out of 10,200 baht for a trip to Phi Phi Island that never materialized.

“A tourist named Paulene [surname not provided], also from Britain, came to the Tourist Police booth in Patong on December 6,” he explained. “She said she had been cheated by a tour company run by ‘Mr Tim’, who promised her a tour to Phi Phi Island.

“On the day arranged for the tour, a car was supposed to pick her up from her hotel. But it never arrived, so she reported the incident to the Tourist Police,” he said.

Tourist Police escorted the woman back to the Holiday Inn, where she called the couple to ask for her money back. Christodolou came to the hotel, apologized for the mistake, and repaid the woman full.

After winessing this, the Tourist Police moved in and asked Christodolou to accompany them for questioning at the Kathu Police box at the Taweewong-Bangla Junction, where she was later joined by Jones.

Officials from both the Kathu and Tourist police then took the couple to their apartment at Toy Residence in Nanai Rd. An inspection of their passports revealed that both had visas that had expired on August 3, and that they were therefore in the country illegally. They also found evidence that the pair had been operating an unregistered tour company.

“We found more than 10 copies of invoices they issued to customers as well as advertising brochures which read, ‘Mr Tim can help you with everything – diving tours, sea-canoing, island trips, motorcycle rentals’ and so on,” he said.

He added that ironically – given that the couple had overstayed their visas for more than four months – their brochures also listed “visa runs” among the many services they offered.

He said that the investigation failed to turn up any evidence that the couple were involved in organizing “sex tours”, as was reported in at least two other newspapers. Police are, however, investigating the pair for operating an unregistered tour business.

“They had contacts with many travel companies and told the customers that if they booked trips through them they could get a 5-10% discount,” Col Panudej explained, adding that the couple also used contacts within hotels to drum up business.

When asked why alleged swindlers would apologize to customers and return money to them, Col Panudej told the Gazette that it was possible that the pair were unaware that their activities were illegal.

He added that investigators also found a document issued by the Kathu Police giving the couple permission to do research “on the effect of Sars in Phuket”. He said he believed they may have used this to ward off any police officer curious about their activities.

--Phuket Gazettte 2203-12-10

[fat_bald_farang]

..."didn't know they were doing something illegal..."

this is a joke. these are the sort of people that we don't want in thailand. i suggest lock them up and throw away the key. perhaps 3 years in a thai jail, then deportation and banned for life from the los.

fatty

[dr_Pat_Pong]

FBF ...they were not unaware newbies. Guilty as sin. The Colonel was being too kind.

[webfact]

running illegal business, overstay since August, bail 200 K ????

My friend was locked up in Suan Phlu -

overstayed his visa 4 days only... had an air ticket,

did not run any "illegal business"

What's it all about?

Double standards?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Web ...was your friend caught in the recent hysterical clean out time, were there questions of visa agents and/or dodgy stamps ? Did he get kicked out of the country, and was he declared persona non grata ?

[webfact]

it happened during one of these "pee parties" on Sukhumvit

arranged by the cops...

Unfortunately he carried his passport as "required by the law"

- 4 days over - Guilty as charged -

I know he asked to let him go and pay overstay at the airport...

No chance... !

I'll try contact him to get some details. He's already back home :-)

[mrvietnam2001]

..."didn't know they were doing something illegal..."

this is a joke. these are the sort of people that we don't want in thailand. i suggest lock them up and throw away the key. perhaps 3 years in a thai jail, then deportation and banned for life from the los.

fatty

Don't want these types of lowlifes anywhere. Keep them in their own countries where they belong.

Further to this.... by PM

You censored my post you jerk off?

Jeez, at 48 years old, I'm hardly into fist fighting but guys like you really need to be punched in the face you ###### lowlife.

###### you

Tom Pilitowski

USA

Does this make your day go faster?

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

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free ... it expects what never was

and never will be ..." Thomas Jefferson(1816)

Mr Vietnam

Fixed the spelling Mr V.D.

[mraloha]

TOS Edit by ######.

Have a problem with this you PM me.

[jack]

*** it really makes me mad when i hear about farangs that behave like this.

??

mraloha

What did they do that makes you so mad , they did no harm to anyone else , how can you compare their behaviour to the example you gave in regards to tenants ... sure this ladies behaviour was inappropriate and caused pain and suffering for others .

They were providing a service, something went wrong with an arrangement they made and they refunded all the money back with an apology .... seems like correct behaviour to me ...

somebody called them scum ... others want them sent home or to jail ...(fat bold farang) am I missing something here ?

Their crime was overstaying their visas and operating as a business without appropriate authorisation .... They did not harm any individuals intentionally .

What next ... the death penalty ?

[taxexile]

What next ... the death penalty ?

now you're talking!!!

[meemiathai]

10,200 baht for a tour to Phi Phi Island!

Are they that expensive?

I agree that the couples weren't doing something really evil. But still they did knowingly break the rules, and that was inappropriate enough to have caused bad influence to the society, I think. Who knows their behaviour didn't cause pain and suffering for others?

[bluebear]

It reads like the whole story is not there.

The car doesnt turn up and she goes straight to the police. Did she try to contact the tour company first?

A bit ironic the couple overstayed as one of the services they offered was Visa Runs

But, a bit dodgy running a tour operators with no thai partner. Maybe they thought it was just like the west where anyone could open a business.

[Guest IT Manager]

Just to re-iterate... that means re-state, name names and the post is edited or deleted.

Take your private squabble elsewhere, this is not the place, and that is clearly stated in the Forum Terms of Service.

Re vietblonks post, I am working on an appropriate response as soon as I can convene a meeting of the Admins. While you wait, have a look through postings by others about you. It's important to get a feel for the prevailing view.

If you feel a round of thumping will do you good, fine, but I suggest that premised on how many times you have shared about your immense wealth, it may be germane to point out that my view that it doesn't need brains to have money is richly proven in your PM threat.

[taxexile]

I'm hardly into fist fighting but guys like you really need to be punched in the face you ###### lowlife.

such eloquence, such logic.

surely not the american way of doing things???

dontcha just love it.

would you talk like this face to face??

i think you are a cowardly man.

so inadequate in so many ways.

take your vicious bile elsewhere, i find your rantings offensive in the extreme.

[Guest IT Manager]

To clarify, vietblonks' post was edited to change "England" to "their own country".

It was hard to put up with after the last carry on between her and Chonabot.

Lastly, I haven't canned him, though I am thinking about it, but I want to make this categorical statement:

Read it very very carefully before flaming me.

"Not all the American people I have met are <deleted>, but all the <deleted> I have met, except one, are American".

And that is the last I will say about the moron, except I wonder if he should have signed himself Pillockowski.

[WilliamIV]

am I missing something here ?

Their crime was overstaying their visas and operating as a business without appropriate authorisation .... They did not harm any individuals intentionally .

Of course they have harmed - ALL of us potentially ...

When Police discover such blatant disregard for the Immigration,

Company & employment Laws here - then other innocent

tourists / residents will come under scrutiny - unnecessarilly.

Wake Up - you are missing the point ...

Bill

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Their crime was overstaying their visas and operating as a business without appropriate authorisation .... They did not harm any individuals intentionally .

The harm caused by them and their ilk is to add to the general disrepute in which farangs are held because of their contemptuous disregard to the laws of the host country.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Sorry Bill...we said the same things, but I missed your post ...sorry.

[jack]

Ok point taken , potential to further damage farang reputation etc ...

I just have problems with penalties fitting the crime and find that posting comments such as 3 years jail and banned for life a little to hard to comprehend ...

perhaps a 5 year ban and a significant fine is a little more reasonable ..