A Story Of Terror

[jhonny red]

A story of terror..

In a normal evening in our restaurant(not a bar)at 10pm you have 5 people,claiming to be part of some autorised group for the licensing of music. I point out that we don't use any player,our music comes from the official decoder of U B C Thailand,therefore,does not required any license.

In a corner my wife( thai nationality) was working with her private pc,at that point one of this person saw my wife using the pc,and start saying that we need a license and that we can't use any mp3 file,so we have to pay a fine,i then remind to them that we do not use any mp3 player and then i asked to see some id card,from that moment onit was a hell,they started to be brute and screaming,telling to my wife to climb in their car immediately.

My very scared says to them,she has to close the restaurant first( at that time we had customer) but this guys even more badly forcing my wife to go with them,then i asked to my customer to please live.

I ran into town to the police station,where i found this people sitting in a makeshift office(outside the station) already with others 4-5different unfortunate person,noting the head of this so colled pubblishing group tried to compromised with all the unfotunate person,saying that they have to pay a fine for the license,at that point i realized that some figures payd(different amount) and then leaving without any more question.

Thencomes our turn,this gentleman is asking us to pay the fine( much better for you he sayd) if we don't pay he will put my wife in jail( can he????).

I then,stupefied wonder,we are talking about paying for some license or for serious crime,to make that put my wife in jail????????

I asked at that point,on the advice of my lawyer,to see the document of the publishing company or office they work for,and some id.

Then they start to threaten us,saying that we were now in seriuos trouble,and so we been taken inside the police station,from that point on we have to talkwith the head police officer in duty that night,we explained the situationto the officer( my lawyer was in telephone line telling me not to pay because it is a scam)

Again i was asking for explanation,but the officer very coldy say that we have to pay 50000 thai bath or he will put my wife on jail,terrified we tried to figure out why all this,we explained that we have a young child at home,and at that time of night( was midnight at this moment) was no easy for us to be there.

And brutally forced us to follow them,we have no credit card with us,only two atm card with limited availability,we proposed to pay 5000 bath( cash only available at that time) and the day after without problem we would return with our lawyer to pay( if any) the difference,and at that point the police officer was visibly upset,he sayd again or we pay now or just go in jail,then my wife start to cry desperately and ask the police officer to accept the 5000 bath,saying that she is not a criminal and she never has done anything to hurt anyone in her life,but the adamant police officer make us get up and lead us to the gate of the jail.

I was desperate and with my little knowledge of thai language i knees down and pray the police officer to do not put my wife in jail,an i say ok i will pay but i can't find that amount at that time,so he went to talk with the gentleman of the publishing company,when he comes back he say that it's ok to pay just only 30000 thai bath,i repeat to him that i was not sure if i have that money,he was very angry and he say he was sik of my talking,he need to go sleep,so he definitely put my wife behind bars.

My wife start to despair and i could not stan up to that scene,so i started to run( i recently had a serious surgery) and i reach the first atm i taken all the money i had 27500 bath ,i ran back and i showed what i got even the recipe from atm so i can demostrate that i had no more money, and once again both the police officer and the gentleman,puffin and saying some thing that i do not understand about i am farang,they say again or i pay 30000 now or just go f.....k away and come back tomorrow with money ,.then my wife can get out.

At that point i did not know what to do more,seeing my wife clinging to the iron bars and cry,i was myself givin in to despair.

Once again i check my wallet and magically in a recess folder i found 50 euro that i put there for emergency but i do not remember having.

Again i ran to the lord of the license group and i told him...look i got 27500 plus 50 euro(2500 bath) then makes 30000 please accept it and let go my wife from jail.

The gentleman took the money whit a nod,put them in is poket and he did call the police officer saying that we were ok,they did take out my wife,they took all fingerprints and picture like she was a murderess,make a police report(they don't give us a copy or any recipe for the money we payd,zero nada nunca,they took our pc saying we can take back in twoo ar tree weeks.

So completely under shock leaving the police station,we ask to the mister license office guy,now we have payd at least we have a licence now???

An the guy giving us a laughing say i give you my business card if some one ask for the license let coll me!!!! Can you belive it.

On the way back we where speechless and shoked,its been two days and my wife still crying,and saying she had to shower many times coz she can't get the smell of this night away.

This experience has shaken us and our belives,after 12 years living here with out ever having done anyting wrong,worked and paying taxes honestly,we where treated like beggars,my wife even she is thai can't belive how her country turning in this,if this is the thailand of today perhaps better evaluate if it is that so amazing as they say in the magazini.

Sadman

[rgs2001uk]

^^^^^, congratulations you have just been scammed, read here, next time phone 191.

[taninthai]

Oh dear not good at all,have heard of this happening in change mai and Phuket but never in ao nang,real shame usually the police in ao nang are not to bad but seems things are changing,it's more lower ranking police in ao nang the main police are krabi town sometimes I know the ao nang police try to hide things from the krabi police station as they seem to take things more serious in krabi.

Might be worth going up to krabi police station see what's going on you handed over 30 k and have nothing to show not good

P.s were they going to thai owned places swell or just farang

Edited November 8, 2012 by taninthai

[jhonny red]

Thai owned restaurant...but the police office whre in krabi not ao nang

[taninthai]

Sorry just to confirm this all happened at the main police station in krabi town,if so not good at all ,certainly does seem ao nang is going the same way as Phuket and pattaya

[xen]

I can barely imagine how your wife and you felt being subjected to this abuse. I really hope it all turns out okay for you .

[jhonny red]

Tanks to all for support and wishes...it was very bed day..but we go on like allways

[likewise]

You should definitely take this matter to Krabi police station and talk to a superintendent. "We go on like always is NOT the right attitude, it means as much that you accept what happened !"

[taninthai]

I know these people can seem intimidating but you really need to stand your ground with them ,if they see any sign of fear they will walk all over you.

The other strange thing is you let them take your laptop,I think if someone come onto my property and tried to take my laptop without showing ID or any documents it would be ending up ina roll around on the floor ,as likewise says I would be inclined to try enquire more at krabi ,but then again tit and you don't really want to upset the wrong people.

These people must check out the bars and restaurants days before looking to see who's not local and has farang because I just couldn't see any of the locals standing for this.

[likewise]

Indeed Taninthai, I seriously doubt that a local Krabi bar/restaurant owner would put up with this. we are indeed in Thailand but that doesn't mean that you have to put up with all of the BS they throw at you, especially officials refusing to show ID and putting their hands on your personal belongings !

Sorry to hear this happened to you but do NOT let them walk all over you, even if that means a night in jail, I seriously doubt it would have gone further then that! This would have meant that they had to take you to krabi police station with your lawyer, that is certainly the option I would have chosen. It's about time these corrupt mofu's understand that not everybody puts up with their shit. By the way have they given you a official receipt of the 30K payment ?

Edited November 9, 2012 by likewise

[lumbye]

Thai owned restaurant...but the police office whre in krabi not ao nang

the restaurant must be in Krabi town too, after you wrote you ran to the policestation

[upena]

The copyright police scam been going on for years in Thailand. Sorry, they got you too.

[kevvy]

my wife started to cry when i read this to her .. please send me your restaurant address as i will be there in January

[osiboy]

such a sad story and i hope that you will find some justice hopefully thru getting more publicity , unfortunatelly your up against the biggest mafia in SE Asia and not easy to find a lawyer willing to take them on , hope you can get all the pulicity possible .

best wishes to you both , good luck . Osiboy

[mancub]

I'm a bit confused here...these extortionists are actually Krabi police or affiliates ,as I understand it ?

I,ve witnessed a similar shake-down in a bar in Ao Nang ( 100% Thai ownership ) , but not near the main tourist area , a year or so back. The owner coughed up around baht 10k for not having the "music licence " . She did this compliantly ,seemingly aware of the real threat carried by these people ,not just implied .

In the past , they would openly canvass all the bars ..skimming a few thousand off each .

Difficult to get any justice here ,when those you turn to for help ...those who supposedly "serve and protect " are the problem ,not the solution . As for enlisting the help of a lawyer......often you're simply paying more just to achieve the same results !

Just for info, there's a scam in progress being perpetrated by a motorcycle hire near the Bank of Ayyuthaya in Ao Nang ....you don't even need to have hired from them to become a victim ....drive/park your car/pickup in the vicinity and you may be accused of damaging a bike , followed by an outrageous payment demand and a visit by the thugs !!

[likewise]

Thanks for the heads up on that scam.

[PoodMaiDai]

No idea why everyone puts up with this.

[jhonny red]

Tanks again to all of you,it's very nice all support and suggestion you give to us.

1 the business it is in ao nang and 100% thai owned

2i know now we can stand and don't let this so colled rappresentative of publishin company inside our restaurant.

3 funny things is we don't have any cd,player,mp3 .

3 we been in krabi police station and we find out this KT publishin compani exist but can rappresent onli 10 foregin song and 60 thai,nono was in our pc.

4 the police say,nex time if happend,call ao nang police immediately( if no sleeping)

5 the police officer that night ( he did it but my wife was so shoked) should explain that if you don't want pay this people you should pay 50000 at the police as a bail,go to the court ( then this company never show) so the court cancel the charge and police give you back your money,just pay 2-3000 at the court.

6 at least we got back our pc.

7 now we gonna sue the KT company for kidnapiing my wife(as they grab her iside the restaurant)

8 the only company allowed to release license at 99% of all song( warner,emi,universal ,etc etc) it is MPC

Tanks again for all support

[likewise]

Go for it mate, file a complaint against the company and all that were involved that evening !

[grumpyoldman]

Go for it mate, file a complaint against the company and all that were involved that evening !

Ah yeah, great idea, sound advice in Thailand,make as much noise as possible against these extortionists and see how long you live.

Sorry for the experience OP.

[chrisinth]

Go for it mate, file a complaint against the company and all that were involved that evening !

Ah yeah, great idea, sound advice in Thailand,make as much noise as possible against these extortionists and see how long you live.

Sorry for the experience OP.

You know grumpyoldman, that is exactly the attitude that lets these people do what they do. I would hazard a guess that you have nothing to do with the entertainment industry?

I have been involved in a similar situation to that of the OP and therfore can whole-heartedly sympathize with them. In our case, it was very similar in that the music playing at the time was from one of the music channels on UBC. Two guys walked into the bar (apparently representing Grammy in this case) and walked over to the sound system. My wife asked them who they were and what they wanted. When they said who they were she asked for ID and when this was not produced, she told them to stay where they were, not to touch anything and called the police station.

They left before the police arrived. I know this was another place in Thailand, and another company involved (without the police involvement obviously), but if you don't stand up to these people, then it will continue to worsen as they see they can get away with more and more.

To the OP, take it as far as you can with the complaint approach through legal channels and make sure you get the names of those involved at the police station as well. Best of luck buddy!

Edited November 10, 2012 by chrisinth

[likewise]

Go for it mate, file a complaint against the company and all that were involved that evening !

Ah yeah, great idea, sound advice in Thailand,make as much noise as possible against these extortionists and see how long you live.

Sorry for the experience OP.

Well, my mate has done it in his case where I translated yet we are both still alive and perp is now in jail ! if everybody stays quiet it will not improve !! I have never let people walk all over me not here, not in Africa, not back home, yet still alive and kicking !

[likewise]

Fully agree with Chrisinth.

[rgs2001uk]

Seems this is the way to go,

Why do these scammers only show up at night and insist on cash only, theres two clues to begin with, next time write them a cheque and the next day cancel it.

These scum pray on fear, thats why many get scammed, best of luck to all.

[evadgib]

CCTV works wonders too:)

[Guest]

Story on The Phuket News

http://www.thephuketnews.com/threatening-scam-artists-force-couple-to-hand-over-b30k-34610.php

[likewise]

Good to see that all of these scams are getting more and more attention. It's about time that they put a stop to scammers and corrupt officials preying on people's hard earned money !

[wellred]

Sickening behaviour. I hope this guy ends up at the bottom of a ditch with a pool cue rammed up him.

So what happens now? Is there any way to get your money back? Have any of the police begun investigating?

Really hope you get your money back.

[iSabai]

I had posted this several months ago in a different forum (CM). The article is originally from the Phuket Gazette. Thought I'd copy/paste it here...

PHUKET: Operators of entertainment establishments that utilize copyright protected songs should be wary of personnel claiming to be royalty collectors, a statement issued by the Department of Intellectual Property has warned.

The warning, published last week on the Ministry of Commerce website, said that the department has recently received a number of complaints from establishment operators in Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.

The complaints were about groups, comprised of no fewer than five persons who reportedly were harassing operators of bars, restaurants, spas and other entertainment venues, demanding royalty payments on the basis of breach of copyright.

Claiming to be legally authorized by the original copyright owners, the suspects reportedly intimidated operators by threatening to have them arrested, resulting in even larger fines, the warning said.

The website also issued guidelines (below) to keep in mind when dealing with anyone claiming to be a copyright royalty collector.

Guidelines from the Department of Intellectual Property:

1. Ask to see an official police complaint stating the charges.

2. Ask to see an unexpired Power of Attorney authorizing the collection of royalties.

3. Inquire about which songs' copyrights were breached, and which copyright owners the songs were from.

4. Be aware that only a police officer is authorized to make an arrest.

5. Record the conversation and take photographs or video of the suspects and "officers".

Established operators are advised to report any incidents to the local police, and to review all copyright collection notification information from the central committee of goods and services by visiting ipthailand.go.th.

[BOBBYTIN]

^^^^^, congratulations you have just been scammed, read here, next time phone 191.

http://www.thaivisa....ks-at-it-again/

correct information,i had the same guys in my place 3 years ago,RKT publishing,they came at 11pm they tried to go on my computer,i would not let them,i told them to leave,they said my wife had to go to the police station. i knew we were being scammed,but there were 10 of them,and very aggressive. my wife went to takua pa police station.2 girls who did not come into our building came in to deal with my wife. we had my 5 year old daughter with us. the police said that we had to pay 30000b or my wife would go to jail,i was told to keep quiet for my own good. we paid. the next day ,we contacted RKT publishing,they denied that any one from them could do this. you tube is full of videos of this scam. end result. we contacted thai trade and commerce in bkk,there is one company that can give you a music permit. one stop music. it is 6000b per year. they also say,A/ if anyone comes in demanding you go to the police,ring 191 the call takes it to a higher level,B/ video all of them and refuse to let them go near your computer,they give a number of a lawyer in bkk to contact.C/ DO NOT go anywhere with them,phone the police,191 and as many friends as you can to come and video them.it is very scarey,but it is a scam.they have been known to come in to a place and use the internet,download their music,and they say that is breach of copyright. do not play music,thai music by request,they will ask you too play one of their limited artists. they must have an original court order,they have to come at a reasonable hour,not 11pm. it is easy to say dont pay,i am a 125kilo ex coal miner from yorkshire,but in the end we paid,as they put the fear of god into my wife. i am sorry this happened to you,i will copy the info given by the one stop music company,if that is aloud. but to anyone else,never,leave your premises,wait for the police to come. and ring 191 explaing there are a gang of men demanding money.