Thai Democrat MP Arrested At Hong Kong Duty-Free Shop

[webfact]

Democrat MP arrested at Hong Kong duty-free shop

Democrat MP Sakhon Kiewkhong has been arrested at the Hong Kong airport duty-free shop "out of misunderstanding".

In a phone interview, Sakhon said the cashier of the shop failed to scan the barcode of a purse worth HK$500 and officials at the shop tried to arrest him.

Sakhon said he resisted as he thought he had already paid for the goods as he had bought goods worth more than HK$3,000.

Sakhon said he was taken to a police station and after a thorough checking, it was found out that the purse was not scanned so he paid for it.

Sakhon admitted that the case was later cleared at a Hong Kong court.

-- The Nation 2011-01-24

[RKASA]

Man where is tony when you need him?

[angiud]

Some funny kind of revenge after the many 'accidents' at King Power Duty Free at Suvannaphumi??

[tigermonkey]

One can only imagine how differently that story would have played out if K. Sakhon were from Hong Kong ---- and he were arrested at a King Power shop in Suvarnibhumi Airport.

[Soutpeel]

Man where is tony when you need him?

Maybe Tony has moved shop to Hong Kong and this is a dry run !!!

The last two sentences interest me....Went to the Police station and the "matter" was taken care of, but then later it was cleared at court..???

If the "misunderstanding" was sorted out at the Police station, why did even get near a court, unless there was a case to answer ?

Was the esteemed MP sprung shop lifting ?..oh dear....dont suppose "do you know who I am" would carry much weight in Hong Kong

[TheWalkingMan]

Dear Lord,

I do not ask for much, but please let a youtube video of this surface and please make it go viral. Amen.

TheWalkingMan

[MegaRanter]

he resisted arrest and confirmed it.

He would have been tasered to bits if it was someplace else.

[animatic]

Some funny kind of revenge after the many 'accidents' at King Power Duty Free at Suvannaphumi??

Yes, the irony is rather thick!

[asiawatcher]

he resisted arrest and confirmed it.

He would have been tasered to bits if it was someplace else.

We could only but hope... LOL

[LaoPo]

Some funny kind of revenge after the many 'accidents' at King Power Duty Free at Suvannaphumi??

Indeed, but in HK you're at least not taken away to some obscure place outside the airport and "screwed".

LaoPo

[salty]

Maybe King Power have now opened a shopping centre in Hong Kong Airport.

Edited January 24, 2011 by salty

[housepainter]

The misunderstanding being that you get away with shop lifting.

[kuffki]

So just to get this right, in his case it was a big misunderstanding and it was OK to resist because he thought he was in the right, while when a foreigner is in the same situation, not only he is arrested but also extorted and if fails to give in to extortion, then its ok to be detained for whatever time it takes, while for him as stated in the OP, matter was cleared up later in court.

PS. Goof to hear he has spare $3000 to spend in duty free.Just wonder if it was personal money or states credit card

Edited January 24, 2011 by kuffki

[Credo]

Perfectly plausible. I often don't notice a bill that is $3,000 off.

[nikster]

Some funny kind of revenge after the many 'accidents' at King Power Duty Free at Suvannaphumi??

Yes, the irony is rather thick!

Karma at work.

[nikster]

Perfectly plausible. I often don't notice a bill that is $3,000 off.

Um, HK$ 3,000 ~= $380.

The purse apparently worth $50. Not sure it's worth getting arrested over...

[manarak]

he resisted arrest and confirmed it.

He would have been tasered to bits if it was someplace else.

err no... he resisted arrest by shop employees or their security. Not real police, more like carnival.

[Buchholz]

So just to get this right, in his case it was a big misunderstanding and it was OK to resist because he thought he was in the right, while when a foreigner is in the same situation, not only he is arrested but also extorted and if fails to give in to extortion, then its ok to be detained for whatever time it takes, while for him as stated in the OP, matter was cleared up later in court.

PS. Goof to hear he has spare $3000 to spend in duty free.Just wonder if it was personal money or states credit card

gosh... it is hard to come up with US$384.... cause that's such a huge amount of money....

[Buchholz]

Perfectly plausible. I often don't notice a bill that is $3,000 off.

The other paper has it as a wallet... with a staggering 1,984 baht (HK$500) price tag... and the misunderstanding was all cleared up at the airport police station (not at a court).

Never hurts to look at other news sources, particularly involving an unusual scenario.... of course, it also helps to accurately read the news that is posted, as well.

.

Edited January 24, 2011 by Buchholz

[kuffki]

So just to get this right, in his case it was a big misunderstanding and it was OK to resist because he thought he was in the right, while when a foreigner is in the same situation, not only he is arrested but also extorted and if fails to give in to extortion, then its ok to be detained for whatever time it takes, while for him as stated in the OP, matter was cleared up later in court.

PS. Goof to hear he has spare $3000 to spend in duty free.Just wonder if it was personal money or states credit card

gosh... it is hard to come up with US$384.... cause that's such a huge amount of money....

Please excuse me, my bad! Buchholz the high roller!!!!

After all 12000 is only decent monthly salary for university graduate!!!!

[kuffki]

Perfectly plausible. I often don't notice a bill that is $3,000 off.

The other paper has it as a wallet... with a staggering 1,984 baht (HK$500) price tag... and the misunderstanding was all cleared up at the airport police station (not at a court).

Never hurts to look at other news sources, particularly involving an unusual scenario.... of course, it also helps to accurately read the news that is posted, as well.

.

Please pardon me again, but i always thought to criticize others and appear more informed or intellectual it is always a smart option to post the link to the other media source or at least mention it, i mean, considering people are commenting on the story at hand NOT some other source

[Buchholz]

Perfectly plausible. I often don't notice a bill that is $3,000 off.

The other paper has it as a wallet... with a staggering 1,984 baht (HK$500) price tag... and the misunderstanding was all cleared up at the airport police station (not at a court).

Never hurts to look at other news sources, particularly involving an unusual scenario.... of course, it also helps to accurately read the news that is posted, as well.

Please pardon me again, but i always thought to criticize others and appear more informed or intellectual it is always a smart option to post the link to the other media source or at least mention it, i mean, considering people are commenting on the story at hand NOT some other source

If allowed to post the link, I would, but it's not allowed for the other paper.

Just because a news article isn't spoon fed onto the forum from admin doesn't mean one can't look elsewhere and post it here (if it's a permissible source) or mention it if it's not permissible.

[jackr]

Thailand 7255, Rest of world 1.

[webfact]

UPDATE

Democrat MP accused of shoplifting in Hong Kong

By The Nation

Democrat MP Sakorn Kiewkhong was arrested on Saturday at Hong Kong airport and accused of stealing an item from a duty-free shop, but he says the incident was a "misunderstanding".

The arrest took place while the MP was waiting to get a flight to Bangkok. He had just completed a working trip to mainland China with members of the House ad hoc committee on the Rubber Act.

In a telephone interview, Sakorn said the shop's cashier failed to scan the barcode of a wallet he bought worth 500 Hong Kong dollars (about Bt2,000) and officials at the shop tried to arrest him.

Sakorn said he resisted as he thought he had already paid for all goods he bought, worth more than HK$3,000.

After a thorough check at a police station, it was found later that the wallet was not scanned by the cashier, so he paid for it. The MP said the case was later dropped by a Hong Kong court.

Fellow Democrat MP Phichet Panwichartkul yesterday said he had learned that Sakorn carried many items he was buying in his hands and under his armpit, without using a basket, which caused the duty-free shop officials to mistakenly believe that he was stealing. He said Sakorn was fined in court for getting into a dispute with the shop's officials, not for stealing.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdee said the case was personal so it would not comment. He said the Thai Consulate-General in Hong Kong had offered advice and assistance to Sakorn in regard to the incident.

An informed source said the consulate-general had reported that the case was settled at a court that found Sakorn guilty of theft and fined him HK$5,000. Sakorn did not appeal against the verdict.

-- The Nation 2011-01-25

[tartempion]

Perfectly plausible. I often don't notice a bill that is $3,000 off.

Um, HK$ 3,000 ~= $380.

The purse apparently worth $50. Not sure it's worth getting arrested over...

At King Power Duty Free Suwanabhumi that's worth 20k baht tea money at least

[h5kaf]

The latest offering by the Nation says it all. He is a thief. He was fined by the court for theft and did not challenge the decision.

[Payboy]

The latest offering by the Nation says it all. He is a thief. He was fined by the court for theft and did not challenge the decision.

What! Why didnt he use " I thought I was on Thai territory" as the defence argument?

[webfact]

Democrats: Arrest of MP in Hong Kong a Misunderstanding

The Democrat Party leader says he has not seen any details about reports of the arrest of a Democrat MP by Hong Kong authorities.

Meanwhile, most Democrats believe the incident was just a misunderstanding.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjiva, as the Democrat Party leader said of the arrest of a Democrat MP for Krabi Sakhon Keawkhong in Hong Kong that he was planning to ask for more details from Agriculture Minister Supachai Phosu , who went on the same trip as Sakhon.

Sakhon was arrested at a duty-free store at the Hong Kong airport and was accused of stealing while he was traveling with the independent House Committee supervising a review of the Rubber Act.

Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiart, as the Democrat Party registrar, believes the arrest is simply a misunderstanding and said Sakhon will explain the incident soon.

-- Tan Network 2011-01-25

[Orac]

"Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjiva, as the Democrat Party leader said of the arrest of a Democrat MP for Krabi Sakhon Keawkhong in Hong Kong that he was planning to ask for more details from Agriculture Minister Supachai Phosu , who went on the same trip as Sakhon."

Surely he should be getting an explanation from the MP himself rather than someone who was on the same trip.

[jillwilliams999]

"under his armpit".