Tourists warned of Thailand airport scam

[AsahinaKimi]

Source: BBC NEWS


Bangkok's showcase new international airport is no stranger to controversy.

Built between 2002 and 2006, under the governments of then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the opening date was repeatedly delayed.

It has been dogged by allegations of corruption, as well as criticism of the design and poor quality of construction.

Then, at the end of last year, the airport was shut down for a week after being occupied by anti-government protesters.

Now new allegations have been made that a number of passengers are being detained every month in the duty free area on suspicion of shoplifting, and then held by the police until they pay large sums of money to buy their freedom.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8154497.stm

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Now you have to do more then beware of shoplifters..

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

1. Some cops in South Africa tried a similar scam on me,

the best part was the moron kept screaming his full name, rank and various threats while I was on the phone,

[customerserviceguy]

2. One of the many reasons

I won't go to countries without a First World justice system, or something pretending to be one most of the time...

[pitohui]

3. oh ffs don't come to the usa then i know plenty of wrongly convicted

seriously dude how do you live like that?

just stay out of the fricken duty free, it's a bunch of overpriced garbage anyway

honestly this chick probably was a shoplifter, did you get this far:

company that owns the duty free shop, King Power, has since put the CCTV video on its website, which does appear to show her putting something in her bag.

this couple didn't pay the amt of pay-off money they paid, because they thought they were so sweetly innocent -- their claim reeks highly of bullshit to me

read the entire piece -- their story smells, i particularly like the part where they were able to make the phone call to the embassy from their "blood-smeared" cell!!!!

and don't shop in duty free shops anyway, c'mon, you travel all around the world to buy overpriced scotch and perfume, um, don't think so

for some reason people think they should be able to travel about the globe and do things they wouldn't do at home, nope, prob. not

[Imajika]

5. Good post...

I lived in Thailand, and still travel back there quite often and your just as likely to get scammed here in the US as you are in Bangkok.

The part of the article you quoted kind of amazed me. They tell this sob story, and stuck right in the middle of it is the fact that the video seems to show this woman may indeed have shoplifted from the Duty Free shop.

Thailand is full of corruption and graft of various types, but most of it is "tea money" which is the price of doing business in the Land of Smiles. This situation may well be a case of both sides doing wrong. People are shoplifting and getting busted, and some Thai authorities are corrupt and working with "lawyers" to rip off these thieves.

So basically, try to avoid the duty free shop, but if you feel obligated to stop in, don't steal stuff.

[cosmicone]

7. Western tourists frequently push the envelope in

poor countries, knowing that because they have first world passports they can get away with it.

You are right, why pay twice in a Duty Free shop for something you can get in Walmart or Costco or Target?

[tomm2thumbs]

4. 'Freedom (and Duty-Free) Isn't Free'

(let's start selling shirts)

[grantcart]

6. This report mad me laugh out loud

I lived in Thailand for almost 20 years and my responsiblities took me to the airport over 100 times a year for several years and I never heard anything like this.

At one point there was a widespread con operation that was occuring at the hotels where foreigners were asked to sit in a rigged card game and they were guaranteed a percent. The game was rigged - against the foreigner and they would be held until they got a few thousand to pay off the con men. I assisted the police as an undercover foreigner and we busted the gang - Filipinos, most Thais simply do not have enough English to pull of a sophisticated scam in English.

What makes this rather far fetched is that the average policeman does not speak enough English to participate.

Thailand has a second smaller police force of Tourist Police that speak English and have separate authority. They are well regarded and are positioned especially in areas where tourists usually inhabit to ensure that shop owners and local police do not establish exactly this type of operation.

Now it is entirely possible that a rogue policeman (or even a poser) has set up a small operation and tagged, what 4 suspects, but it is laughable that this would become news at a time when people like Madoff are scamming people for billions.