Three executives surrender over ‘zero-dollar’ tours

[webfact]

Three executives surrender over ‘zero-dollar’ tours

SUPACHAI PHETCHTHEWEE,
KESINEE TAENGKHIEO
THE NATION
 

 

BANGKOK: -- THREE executives of tour operators surrendered to police yesterday in response to arrest warrants for their alleged role in a “zero-dollar tour” network, which is deemed illegal and damaging to the Thai tourism industry.

 

OA Transport executive Thongchai Rungrojrangsi, 60, Royal Gems executive Saithip Rungrojrangsi, 35, and Fu-an executive Winij Chanmanee, 69, showed up at Bangkok's Phya Thai Police Station along with their lawyers to acknowledge charges of conspiring in secret activities with unlawful intention; to cause damage to the local tourism industry; to operate illegal and unfair tour businesses; and violating the Anti-Money Laundering law. 

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Three-executives-surrender-over-zero-dollar-tours-30297078.html

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2016-10-07

[starky]

Why cant they just pay the 1000 baht a head? Ahhhh cos the trough on these 3 is waaaay deeper than that

[trogers]

A haircut that is ready for a long stay at Bangkok Hilton...

[AGareth2]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

conspiring in secret activities with unlawful intention;

wow

secret activities?

sex/tourism?

[ChrisY1]

And they're not Chinese.......!

[Emster23]

"... to cause damage to the local tourism industry;...."

I'm pretty sure that is one of those professions reserved for Thais only.

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, ChrisY1 said:

And they're not Chinese.......!

Wow, you are right.  I stand corrected for criticizing the Thais for not going out and getting business. 

 

Most knowing and wily Thai businessmen will open up off shore accounts for international business to avoid Thai taxes.  Their money probably sits in a Hong Kong bank account registered to a Cayman company; no reporting and nearly no taxes. 

[Sphere]

So, are these "executives" owners / shareholders?

 

Or, just minions that "didn't consult" owners / shareholders on this business strategy?

[chrisyork]

I don't quite understand the problem with this scam.... It apparently involves selling very cheap tours and then "capturing" the tourists and selling them over-priced goods and services.... The money stays in Thailand. So what's the problem?

 

[overherebc]

4 minutes ago, chrisyork said:

I don't quite understand the problem with this scam.... It apparently involves selling very cheap tours and then "capturing" the tourists and selling them over-priced goods and services.... The money stays in Thailand. So what's the problem?

 

 

The places they are 'herded' to to spend money are all owned by 'a person' who can get the money back to China. That's the way I read it, but, maybe I'm wrong.

[DisainaM]

the law, that a chinese person has to spend 3.000 Baht a day, was not in force,

 

why was it illegal, to invite lets say 90.000 Chinese persons to thailand ?

 

Many companies invited their people to thailand and paid for everything,

 

that means, you can not spend the money in this way.

 

OK, you will cause traffic jams, you will cause a break down of the infra structure,

that the government will assume a progressive attack (from Thaksin ?)

[slapout]

The  executives are not in a high enough social status to be allowed to make the huge sums???"? reported, so they will be wrist slapped, sternly lectured and turned loose to come up with a different scam.

 

Collecting down payments on condos at planning stage and then the funds and executives disappear into the favorite hide hole of the year seems popular, the list is long, never really changes just a little variation is added so it is not so apparent.

 

Land Of Scams is the more accepted meaning of los to many potential investors and it may be deserving of a real number 1 hub ranking.

[Rancid]

What's the point of having to put up with hordes of ill-mannered Chinese tours if the local economy doesn't actually benefit? Think the government has done the right thing here, many posters have suggested on other threads that Chinese tours, as opposed to other nationalities, do little to benefit the local Thai businesses, seems the government agrees. And yes its about Chinese operators, often using front people, capturing every dollar and repatriating it back to China.

 

The Japanese used to do the same in Oz back in the 80's, the local businesses were not at all happy about it.

[JAG]

If ,as is likely, these are established profitable businesses what are the chances that they will be "seized", and continue operating under new "more appropriate" ownership?

[waldroj]

The scam continues !!!

 

Seems they omitted to mention that OA Transport executive Thongchai Rungrojrangsi is none other than the founder of Royal Gems (http://www.royalgems.co.th/en/about#undefined3).

 

It's a real family affair - as well as the daughter being listed as an executive of Royal Gems, The Nation article also tells us Rungrojrangsi's wife is president of OA Transport, and his son is an executive.

 

This family are certainly royal gems - one wonders where Winij fits in.

[elgordo38]

3 hours ago, chrisyork said:

I don't quite understand the problem with this scam.... It apparently involves selling very cheap tours and then "capturing" the tourists and selling them over-priced goods and services.... The money stays in Thailand. So what's the problem?

 

Don't the Thai's have this market cornered?

[Pdaz]

If it clears the abundance of OA Transport coaches out of Pattaya I'll be happy. There are close to 40 of them  (other companies too ) entering/exiting the wat near my house on a daily basis.. Destroying the road and creating a nuisance for the locals. 

[elgordo38]

1 minute ago, Pdaz said:

If it clears the abundance of OA Transport coaches out of Pattaya I'll be happy. There are close to 40 of them  (other companies too ) entering/exiting the wat near my house on a daily basis.. Destroying the road and creating a nuisance for the locals. 

Making money does create collateral damage. You should have maybe scoped out your location before making the plunge on where to live. Location, location, location. After all the LOS does not smile on everyone. 

[Pdaz]

Did scope out the location. It's a very nice location thanks. Quiet, peaceful, No overlooking neighbors. I was there a long time before the coaches arrived.

Their coming and going doesn't effect me apart from seeing them parked in front of the Wat or having to overtake them as they dawdle down the road. It's just the businesses and the residents around the Wat that are suffering. They get no extra trade or compensation for their inconvienience. I dare say the Abbott is coining it though.

Unfortunately it's not just isolated to that area.

OA and other coaches are blocking the roads and causing nuisance throughout Pattaya.

Making money is fine.. But it's impact on the community needs to assessed and controlled.

Otherwise businesses will run rough shod over Joe Public with no thought beyond profit and greed.

[CantSpell]

3 hours ago, elgordo38 said:

Don't the Thai's have this market cornered?

 

6 hours ago, overherebc said:

 

The places they are 'herded' to to spend money are all owned by 'a person' who can get the money back to China. That's the way I read it, but, maybe I'm wrong.

 

Actually yes and no :)

 

Witnessed that some years ago in phuket: the phi phi day trip that Thai boat operators were selling 1500 THB per person on their brochure was actually sold by the guide at 3000 THB to the Chinese tourists.

1500 THB for the Thai operator so in a sense, it did not damage the operator at all.

1500 THB for the guide that may have been repaid to Chinese office...

 

Hotel was paid at the contract rate agreed by hotel and operator...

Hunt for zero dollar tour is half nonsense to me...

 

What if it was the only way to get the Chinese masses to travel :)

[Ulic]

9 hours ago, overherebc said:

 

The places they are 'herded' to to spend money are all owned by 'a person' who can get the money back to China. That's the way I read it, but, maybe I'm wrong.

I don't think any of the money ends up back in China. The Chinese are taking money out by various means.

Buying foreign real estate is one way. Last year one Chinese multi billionaire purchased a piece of art at

auction for 170 million USD. The artwork stays at his NY City apartment and he pays his visa bill. Thus

he gets his money out of the country without running afoul of Chinese currency transfer rules or limitations.

He has made many such purchases. In this case Chinese tourists purchasing gems may have their credit card

transaction processed in London, with a shell company based in Bahamas, Nevis, Cayman, etc...holding the

money. If this is happening the hotel owners, bus transportation owners, gem store owners and the Chinese

tour companies themselves can repatriate enough to pay the bills to run the service they provide but

hide the real profit from the government who wants there share. So while many Thais are employed so there

is a benefit the government is just concerned about their cut of the proceeds.  

[GOLDBUGGY]

I once unknowingly went on a Zero-Dollar Tour that my x-wife got out of Poland and what a Nightmare this almost turned into. If I hadn't taken my own steps to get away from them this would have ruined our holiday. There price was the lowest, and that should have been a warning sign, but they made all kinds of promises and excuse why. Last Minute Deal sort of thing was there biggest excuse. 

 

The Nightmare started as soon as we arrived in Thailand. We were supposed to be met by a Company Representative who was to help the Tourists with their Visas. Poland did not have a Visa Exempt then, so they had to purchase a Visa on Arrival. But I stayed back to help them as all the forms were either in Thai or English, and other than my wife and I, nobody could speak either of these languages. 

 

When we finally got through Immigration again we were supposed to be met by a Company Representative and taken from Bangkok to Pattaya on a Big Tour Bus, for one week before we started our 7 day Tour of Northern Thailand. But he still wasn't their! After waiting a couple of hours I finally got a hold of him through the airport help desk, to come and get us. 

 

When he finally showed up 3 or 4 hours late, instead of the Big Tour Bis we were promised we ended up all cramped in a Mini-van and headed to Pattaya. But he still managed to stop 2 times on the way for an hour each, to some road side stalls which 10 minutes would have been more than enough. I was naive to Thailand than and it's ways of doing business, so I was quite surprised to see the Tour Operator checking with everyone what they had bought their and from who.

 

We finally got to our hotel late at night, which was an okay hotel. But the next day we discovered how far away it was from everything. Way out in there in the Out-back, with nothing else around. We were just lucky the odd Baht Bus came around there to get to town. Most people were doubled up in the hotel rooms, but I wouldn't hear of it as I paid for my own room.

 

In short everything was 4th class including the whole tour. Things of interest, like the Palace, we got a very limited time and maybe an hour to visit. But we ended up spending almost a whole day at a Jewel and Silk Factory. For the Huge Floating Market, we got one hour, but on the way we must have stopped at 10 Road Side Stalls that sold nothing but junk and forced to stay their an hour each time. We were all cramped up in a mini-van like sardines, but if that wasn't bad enough the Tour Operator picked up his Girlfriend for half the journey and pushed one more in the back. Then the front tire blew a hole in it and with no spare took hours to fix in the hot sun in mid day.  

 

Our Hotel Rooms were something that needed to be desired. A View of a Brick Wall that covered the entire window. A decent hotel in Chiang Rai, and right next to a Fire Works Factory. We were advertise 2 night in Chiang Mai, in a 5 Star Hotel. I got the best room. But you couldn't get directly to my room from the hotel. You had to get off on the 4th floor then walk for miles to reach our room, in the Servants Quarters. My room had 5 small beds in it and shower big enough to wash your elephant. Not a table or chair in site.

 

I got out of the tour after the flat tire, and I think when we got to our hotel that night next to the Dynamite Factory. Flew Business Class back to Bangkok without telling them, and enjoyed the rest of my vacation. We ran into the rest of the group going back to Poland and there trip only got worst. They were forced to buy Visas to go to Myanmar for half a day for $50, and in which nobody was told about or expected, then were only allowed go to some open market and buy things their and not allowed to go anywhere else. 

 

I have no sympathy for these Zero-Dollar Tour Operators! They all should be shut down for good. They offer Tour Packages at reduced prices, then try to regain there cost through inflated junk sales or high priced ticket items. like jewelry.  They do nothing but ruin your holiday by trying to screw you every way they can and give Thailand a very bad name. .