Fake Police extort money from English house owner in Banglamung.

An interesting case now from house number 98/1 in Soi Mapyailia 20 in Central Pattaya. Police Lieutenant Colonel Pirom, Deputy Chief of Banglamung Police was assigned to this case and made his way to the house, owned by Mr. Joseph Fitspatrick aged 57 from England who stays with his Wife, Khun Malissa aged 32.

On 24th January, they received a visit from five men, who claimed to be Pattaya Police Officers. The lead officer claimed he was a Police Captain and was holding a search warrant for the house. The couple assumed they were real police and allowed them to conduct the search. They uncovered 50 counterfeit football shirts and two packets of Marlboro Cigarettes. They confiscated the items and the Police Captain told the pair that if they wanted to clear the problem without the courts being involved they must go to Pattaya Police Station on 25th January at 3pm and must pay 80,000 Baht to the Captain who claimed he worked at the station.

The officers left and one hour later called them to change the location to the lobby of the Flipper Lodge Hotel in Soi 8 which then changed to the front of the Welcome Hotel in Jomtien. This aroused suspicion and the pair decided to make a complaint at Banglamung Police Station about the matter. They are now investigating this case and believe the group are not real police officers but a well organized gang who are targeting foreign house owners.

-Pattaya City News

Friday 27th January 2006

Fake Police extort money from English house owner in Banglamung.

An interesting case now from house number 98/1 in Soi Mapyailia 20 in Central Pattaya. Police Lieutenant Colonel Pirom, Deputy Chief of Banglamung Police was assigned to this case and made his way to the house, owned by Mr. Joseph Fitspatrick aged 57 from England who stays with his Wife, Khun Malissa aged 32.

On 24th January, they received a visit from five men, who claimed to be Pattaya Police Officers. The lead officer claimed he was a Police Captain and was holding a search warrant for the house. The couple assumed they were real police and allowed them to conduct the search. They uncovered 50 counterfeit football shirts and two packets of Marlboro Cigarettes. They confiscated the items and the Police Captain told the pair that if they wanted to clear the problem without the courts being involved they must go to Pattaya Police Station on 25th January at 3pm and must pay 80,000 Baht to the Captain who claimed he worked at the station.

The officers left and one hour later called them to change the location to the lobby of the Flipper Lodge Hotel in Soi 8 which then changed to the front of the Welcome Hotel in Jomtien. This aroused suspicion and the pair decided to make a complaint at Banglamung Police Station about the matter. They are now investigating this case and believe the group are not real police officers but a well organized gang who are targeting foreign house owners.

-Pattaya City News

Friday 27th January 2006

Sounds like the real McCoy to me

The officers left and one hour later called them to change the location to the lobby of the Flipper Lodge Hotel in Soi 8

-Pattaya City News

Friday 27th January 2006

Obviously lager louts posing as MIB

Wouldn't it have been smarter to keep the story out of the paper and instead set up a sting?

Sounds like the real McCoy to me

Me too. If they were real cops, then they just wanted to play it safe by collecting the money away from their premises, just in case the guy blabbed to Bangkok.

This would also explain why the police didn't set up a sting. They want everyone to think they were fake police officers.

They uncovered 50 counterfeit football shirts and two packets of Marlboro Cigarettes. They confiscated the items and the Police Captain told the pair that if they wanted to clear the problem without the courts being involved they must go to Pattaya Police Station on 25th January at 3pm and must pay 80,000 Baht to the Captain who claimed he worked at the station.

An 80,000 baht fine for having 50 fake shirts? This sky high penalty should have rung warning bells long before the stuff up of the money collection location.

How dumb could he be.......oh, hang on.........he was British. That explains it.

Mr Joseph Fitspatrick, sounds like a mick to me