From Andrew Drummond, Bangkok, July 4 2009
An Irish scientist arrested in Thailand and accused of shoplifting at Bangkok’s international airport yesterday fled with her husband and one year old son.
Irish Mail on Sunday July 5 2009
Dr. Angela ‘ Ashie’ Norris, from Dublin, a scientist working for the international fish farming company Marine Harvest in Letterkenny, boarded a European bound flight after checking out of the city’s five star Metropolitan Hotel.
Last night they were all back at their home in Churchtown, Dublin.
Dr. Norris had been seized by Thai police at the request of King Power for alleged shoplifting after attending an International Symposium as a guest of a Kasetsart University, Bangkok.
Prior to their departure husband Dr. Ronan Loftus, a director of IdentiGen, the Dublin based company which tracks DNA in food, had flown from Dublin with their one year old son Aran. Since then he said he had been in regular contact with the Irish Ambassador in Kuala Lumpur Eugene Hutchinson and Eóin Duggan, the Deputy Head of Mission.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs have been fully informed.”
The Bobbi Brown eyeliner. But its cheaper at Bloomingdales and high street stores
Ronan Loftus
The non executive Chairman of IdentiGen, Dr. Patrick Cunningham is Chief scientific advisor to the Irish government.
Dr. Norris, 41, the mother of three boys, aged 5, 4, and 1, was arrested on Thursday June 24, after allegedly stealing a ‘Bobbi Brown’ eyeliner worth 900 Thai baht (18.87 Euros) from the duty free zone at Suvarnabhumi International airport in Bangkok - a kilometre long area of duty free and designer shops, including branches of Harrods and Boots, run by King Power.
The arrest came in the middle of an international scandal over the Duty Free Zone in which claims were made that people arrested there for alleged shoplifting were being shaken down for vast amounts of money to gain their freedom.
The Irish Embassy along with other Embassies in Thailand is considering updating their travel advisory to Thailand. On Thursday last week the British Embassy was the first Embassy to issue a warning about commercial area at Suvarnabhumi International airport.
“This advice has been reviewed and reissued with amendments to the Crime section (shops and stalls, particularly in market areas and at Suvarnabhumi Airport).
“You should also be careful to observe demarcation lines between shops and stalls, particularly in market areas and at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Taking items from one shop’s area to another is likely to be treated by shop staff as suspected theft. You may be arrested by the police and asked to pay a substantial fine and/or face imprisonment”
This followed the case of a British couple from Cambridge, Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin, both IT specialists who were forced to pay out the equivalent of 9337 Euros for their freedom after being accused of stealing a Givenchy wallet worth 140 Euros from an airport duty free shop.
Dr. Norris was arrested as she awaited a late night flight back to Dublin via London. She had been in Bangkok at the invitation of Kasetsart University for the ‘10th International Symposium on Genetics and Aquaculture.”
“I had been cooped up in the conference for four days and had no time to do shopping. So at the airport I bought some stuff for my children and then decided to treat myself to some make-up”.
She had approached the cashier with two items she said. She presented her boarding card and credit card and signed the slip.
Two minutes after she left she shop she said she was surrounded by security guards employed by King Power, a company run by a Thai businessman and polo playing chum of Britain’s Prince Charles.
“They were shouting at me. ‘You! You! You go jail six months!’ I did not know what they were talking about. They took the eyeliner off me and started waving it in my face. I said I had paid for it, but when I looked at the receipt it was only a receipt for 576 baht (12 Euros) for the Bobby Brown lipstick.”
Rajatewa Police station Bangok airport
“They took me to the airport police station and then to a police station outside the airport. It was terrifying. The cell was filthy and stank and was full of mosquitoes. I paced the cell all night. I did not want to sit or lie down.”
“What do I do?” she asked the Irish Mail on Sunday last week. “I have never been away from my baby son for more than four days. I have to do whatever it takes to get home.”
“ I did not steal the eyeliner. I did not intend to steal the eyeliner. But I did leave the shop without paying for it. Of course I may have to pay to go free.
“To fight the case I would have to wait for up to a year if I pleaded not guilty and several months even if I were to plead guilty. They have you and they know it.”
It was not immediately clear how Dr. Norris left Thailand. She did not appear in court but claimed authorities told her she had no case to answer. But she also claimed just hours before her departure that her passport had not been returned and no longer trusted anybody. The Irish government may have given her a second passport in her married name.
Her husband Ronan, the Director in charge of Global Development for IdentiGen said: “What is happening here is outrageous and needs to be exposed. It’s a national scandal.”
Dr Loftus has also worked for UNFAO, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation.
On June 25th Dr. Norris was given bail in the sum of 100,000 Thai baht (2097 Euros), after contacting Thai friends who said they would negotiate with the police, and then released from Rajatewa Police station near the international airport.
Late on Thursday she told the Irish Mail on Sunday: “I spent all day at the police station and prosecutor’s office. My understanding from both the police chief and the prosecutor is that there is no case to answer. They said that my passport would be returned and Immigration Police would stamp me out of the country”.
But when she went to Immigration Police Headquarters on Friday she said she was arrested again.
Close to tears she said: “We do not know what is going on. We do not trust anybody. Thailand has a public holiday for the first three days of next week. We cannot even talk to anybody. We have to leave.
“ I have only been to Bangkok once before, twenty years ago, after I left University.
“Then my friends and I fell for the local jewellery scam. By the time we reached Australia we had virtually no money left”
(The jewellery scam is a famous Bangkok scam. Tourists are told they have arrived on a special day when the government is giving massive discounts on jewellery for selected tourists. They can pay for their holidays with the profits, they are told.)
Husband Ronan, 43 added: “We have no choice but to leave. We have people who will help us. The Irish Government is being supportive.”
K.P. Company Ltd, which trades under the name King Power is owned by Vichai Ratsriaksorn, President of the Siam Polo Club and Ham Polo Club, just outside London. He has a stable of 100 polo ponies.
King Power insists it has sold evidence against the Britons, Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin, and Dr. Norris.
Managing Director Sombat Dechapanichkul said: “The evidence (CCTV) clearly shows that Mrs. Norris only presented one item to the cashier. We would like to confirm that none of our staff are involved in (any) extortion and scam.”
To support their case King Power have been putting up video clips on the internet. ( http://www.kingpower.com/2009/index.php#). Travel Trade Report in an article this week says that King Power feel victimised over the recent allegations. The company is expected shortly to put up video of Dr. Norris.
Stephen Ingram denies that the video clip implicates him and is suing for 1 million Thai baht for wrongful arrest and imprisonment. The video appears to show Xi Lin putting he wallet in her shoulder bag while Stephen Ingram looks on.
He says he has no evidence that King Power is in on the scam but was told that part of his money had already been paid to security staff at King Power.
Dr.Norris says that what she saw does not implicate her either. Dr. Norris, author of ‘Breeding for business’, needed to return home to her family and her work for Marine Harvest, which is one of the two biggest salmon farming companies in the world.
Said Stephen Ingram: “The scam does not happen until you get to the police station. We had to pay, and for that we got letters from the prosecutor’s office and police saying there was no evidence against us. The only other choice was a year in jail. But we were innocent anyway”, he told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
He said that the principal dealer, a Sri Lankan police volunteer/ translator, Sunil Rathnayaka had tried to scam him right up to the last minute. We had already paid out the equivalent of £8000 then as we were leaving he asked for another £1000. We just did not have it.
“He boasted that he had dealt with 160 other cases. He had three houses. He claimed he did it to help people. He did not need the money.”
Rathnayaka, who receives the money at an account of Siam Commercial Bank at Big C in Rajdamri Bangkok, had approached Dr. Norris, but disappeared when the scandal broke. “Don’t get a lawyer. I am the only person who can help.” he had said.
The British Embassy says that some 25 of its citizens have been arrested over the last two and a half years. They are liaising with other Embassies to build a fuller picture of what is going on.
The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs says that Dr.Norris had been given full consular support.
“The issue of the travel advisory is under discussion with our Consular Division, our mission in Kuala Lumpur and the Consulate in Bangkok.
I can confirm that we have no record of any similar arrests of Irish citizens at Suvarnabhumi airport.”
Great news and “som nom na”!!
This airport scam is just too much, think I’ll visit another country instead, such a shame
So those bloody polo ponies are even more expensive than we thought. I knew Vichai had a polo establishment here, but not in the UK as well. Even the name ‘King Power is the epitome of nouveau riche banality. And they have already been at odds with SBIA over taking up space they hadn’t paid for. I think we can safely assume that KP began to think of itself as God after its cosy little association with old Thickskin.
If KP had any real integrity, it would try to protect its image. The message I get so far, is that it’s beneath them to do anything.
I am glad Ashie’ Norris is back safe in Ireland with her family. Thailand better wake up and relize bad news travels fast. The world is in a recession and tourist are thinking twice about where they are going to spend their money.You have to have the rule of law and you can’t accept corruption.
The honest people of Thailand are the ones that will be hurt by the scandal. The corrupt police and King Power employees need to be thrown in jail along with the Sri Lankan police volunteer/ translator, Sunil Rathnayaka needs to serve jail time and then deported. This is a pattern of scandal that has happened again and again to innocent people in Thailand. I hope people will boycott King Power at the airport and let everyone know what could happen to you if you shop there. Hopefuly there will be some justice coming to the corrupt police and officails involved in this scandal but this is Thailand and I doubt it. They will simply let the story quite down and sweep it under the rug and act like it never happen.
Comprehensive list of common tourist scams in Thailand.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=676476
http://www.bangkokscams.com/scams-in-bangkok/index.php
James: I think I need to point out once again for legal reasons and for reasons of balance. there is no evidence to implicate King Power in the scam. And they have specifically denied any of their staff are involved in any extortion or scam. They do give the local police a present every year I understand but this is not abnormal. Similarly we cannot blame the British Embassy, which has also became a whipping boy in the British case, even though the Irish DFA seems to have been more hands on.
There does seem to be a consensus though ’scams’ in Thailand weigh heavily with a lot of people.
Of course people are scammed eveywhere else including my home country (UK)whereI lived for 35 years. Although contrary to many posters’ opinion of the place on other sites I was never ever robbed, burgled, mugged, walloped or cheated etc, except of course by state enterprise monopolies, during a game of rugby, or in the course of doing a showdown as a journalist.
(I did write a lot of stories about people who were of course)
Having said that I would prefer monopolies to be in the hands of the state.
except for a video and a statement on the Irish woman from KP the ball seems to be in the court of The Times. I wonder if KP were contacted by the Times reporter before writing and submitting the story. Would they have written that story if they had been provided with the video and the statement that is now available on KPs webpage - perhaps you could contact The Times and the reporter and ask for comment.
No need. Have had many conversations with The Sunday Times correspondent before and after publication in The Sunday Times. I cannot give you their opinion but can tell you that the main point of concern was the cash scam being carried out on people arrested at the airport, guilty or otherwise. As the British couple had documents (albeit paid for) saying they were innocent and also they denied the charge I do not not think any editor would go into print suggesting they were guilty for fear of a massive libel suit. All they could do is also present the King Power argument. They knew about the CCTV of course. Of course they spoke to KP.
There were other points too including the fact that the couple were not caught in possession. No CCVT or Ingram handling the wallet, until they tried to thrust it into his hand, he says for a re-enactment.
Futher I understand there are now also comprehensive statements in Thai on the police computer which had to be re-written after the ‘they are innocent’ documents were issued thus ensuring the police had all sides covered.
That might suggest that police fitted up the first statement to make the couple look guilty and fitted up the second statement to make the couple look innocent. And everybody had to sign all over again!
Neither statement appears to be true!
ok - I would have expected KP to have given some comment to the reporter if they were aware a story such as this was going to print in the Times. There should be more than enough footage from other cameras at the airport to back up KPs claims in their report on the actions of the couple when approached by the airport security/police. I would expect all bins in an airport to be covered by a camera.
another website has a quote saying they could also have retrieved their bail.
Stephen Ingram is trying to get his bail back as we speak.
I believe that this story should be published in many travel and opinion sites around the world. This airport corruption has being going on for some time…
Possilby a boycott of duty-free at the airport would also work.
So who is this Sunil fella? Doubt it that he is he listed here:
http://www.facebook.com/people-index/Sunil%20Ratnayake
If this fella is a Sri Lankan…possibly some of the embassy personnel in Bangkok could speak with the Sri Lankan embassy? There are ways of doing this quietly…
She deserved it! Look at the video before you comment.
Jarppi: The video of Dr. Norris is not up yet, or at least I cannot see it. Are you confusing this with the ‘British couple’ video. If not please give me the new link. Thanks
It is time for the UK and Irish governments to GROW A PAIR!
Do the TAT (Thailand Tourist Authority) have offices in London and Dublin?
CLOSE THEM FOR 1 YEAR!
Deport their staff and stamp their passports “PERSONA NON GRATA”.
After a year, and if and when Thailand gets the act together, then they can negotiate re-opening them.
To the UK and Irish nationals, get on your government’s case to take action. If this happens to a US citizen, that what I am doing.
Smoking Joe: Shall we string ‘em up too? Actually TAT have no control over private or police business like this. Once again there is no evidence as such linking King Power to any scam, only that their prices are high!
They can comment and they do if tourism is brought into disrepute.
Many any years ago a governor of TAT condemned the policy of letting Thai businessmen open up camps of ‘Long Necked’ Padaung hill tribe people. There are more of these camps then ever, at least one promoted by TAT.
Why would we want to close TAT offices abroad? They are rather nice little bits of Thailand.
“Why would we want to close TAT offices abroad?”
If the Thai government is faced with getting the agency that promotes tourism closed in countries they want to bring tourists from, they might be more serious about stopping this corruption.
The West has been doing this with copyright violators on CDs and DVDs. They should be doing it with this.
You had a link to TTR weekly’s article “Shoplifting shock for Suvarnabhumi’s image”. That article has people from TAT, the tourist police, and the local police commenting on this situation.
The classic language of butt covering.
Sort of like that line from the movie “The Big Easy”:
“Why you’re not under arrest Mister Wyngarde. Did Pryde give you that impression? Pryde I want you to apologize to Mister Wyngarde right now”
So yes, CLOSE TAT DOWN NOW!
It’s surprising that no one is coming at this problem from the obvious angle… If the Valentine Resort (the “pink hotel”) is the preferred destination for taking the detainees offsite while shaking them down and it happens on a regular basis, it doesn’t take much of a leap to figure the owners of the hotel are probably in on the scam.
So who owns the place? Hard to say since the online business registration records list it as being in liquidation. Hardly surprising since that’s one of the time-tested local methods for dodging creditors and taxes. And conveniently once a business goes into liquidation there’s no longer an online listing of a Managing Director, but it does confirm the address at least.
By the way the business registration number for Valentine Resort Co., Ltd. is 0115550002328.
The phone number on their sign also gives you a chance to do a reverse lookup, and it’s not uncommon for a Thai business phone to be listed in the name of the Managing Director or a high-level employee. Andrew’s photo is too small, but there’s another here-
http://teakdoor.com/thailand-hotels-resorts-and-guest-houses/27163-suvarnabhumi-airport-cheap-hotel.html
Unfortunately neither of those numbers yields a name via any of the usual sources. (phonebook.tot.co.th is usually best) But going back to Google a search for “Valentine Resort” brings up this page-
http://www.grumpyexpat.com/blog/2008/09/valentine-resort—suvarnabhum.html
A couple of different phone numbers, and these DO yield a name… A Mr Anand J######. Plug his name into Google again and you get some rather interesting results… He’s strongly associated with local government in Samut Prakan Province where *gasp* Suvarnabhumi is located, and most particularly he’s got an email address with the CDD.
What is the CDD? It’s a branch of the Minstry of Interior which is historically hand-in-glove with the Royal Thai Police. Per the debatable Wikipedia entry for the MOI: “From then on [since 1932] the Minister became an appointed position within the Cabinet of Thailand. Most Minister had been a member or retired member of the Police.”-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Interior_(Thailand)
Hardly an open and shut case, and it’s not unthinkable there are two Mr Anand J######’s with strong ties to Samut Prakan, but it’s a starting point for further research and investigation. Might be worth it, Andrew, to send someone to the Department of Business Development to pull the full historical record for Valentine Resort including the shareholder lists and see if any interesting names or ranks appear.
I hate my own country, I want to move and bring my kids up in better country.
dtd you read article on hit men ?
I too hope the impetus is not being lost in the two recent cases. Pressure from the people now back in the UK and ROI may help keep this on the front burner.
But let’s see. TIT. It may just go away - until, of course, the next time. Then it will be news reports, speculations, videos, comments from the ” hang them high brigade”……….
I hope not.
Drummond fan: Ref: Hit man. Well that’s a bit off subject. But yes I did. I am afraid I am a little cynical. A journalist interviews a hit man, the interview is in all probability set up by police. What does it tell us? Yes there are people prepared to kill for a few bob and they don’t get caught and they are happy to talk about the skills of the trade. Something wrong here I think.
“ I did not steal the eyeliner. But I did leave the shop without paying for it.”
In most legal systems, that is theft.
I have taken a strong interest in this case involving Ms NORRIS. I posted your links in this case onto Trip Advisor Thailand Forum - ‘Do not visit Thailand unless you want to be jailed’. There was a lot of discussion about the story, with a few people in denial about the whole scam at Bangkok Airport. There was a couple of people rubbishing you Andrew as not credible. Now today, Trip Advisor has removed the posts and a subsequent post regarding King Power. No reason given. Is this censorship?
Its all very well getting carried along on the wave of righteous indignation but isn’t the real message that you have no rights or protections in this country if you are not prepared to bribe your way out trouble. If you’ve got the cash then you’ll be alright. In Pattaya well informed people tell me that peadophiles get a free pass if they have the cash. If they are broke then that’s a different matter and justice will have to take its course (with some financial assistance from the foreign country involved naturally). But a few undeniably respectable upper middle class people get shaken down at the airport and its front page news… In a country where you can appoint a commerce minister with a background like the present one, have the PM deny the mass murder of refugees by the military on CNN and have a politicized media mogul point the finger at a “higher power” attempting to assasinate him the idea of an airport shakedown seems pretty tame…
Foreign minister charged with terrorist activities? No problem. We need him for the ASEAN conference. Serving ISOC officers with homicidal reputations that include hundreds of deaths? According to the latest constitution these are the only people that we can trust to run the country in an emergency… Entire foreign press corps under threat of prison for Lesse Majeste? Lock them up and throw away the key…
Travel advisory for foreign nationals should simply say this…
You may think you are exploiting Thailand and the Thai people but you and your money are welcome only for as long as the money lasts. Thai’s don’t like you and your colonial mentality. They accept your sex tourism because it pays. They accept your FDI because you will have great difficulty repatriating any of your investment capital once it is committed… Thai people decimate their environment for a quick buck, mercilessly exploit their rural poor and they will destroy you in a heartbeat if you don’t pay the “fee”. No cash to payoff whoever is shaking you down? You shouldn’t be here…
Jaded: Wow. You got a lot off your chest there. Can’t say I agree with all you say though.
Pfh: I get rubbished a lot it comes with the turf. People can take or leave what I write. I put stuff up here because people do not as a rule get to see a lot in the newspapers, or want more information which has been cut from newspapers for space reasons.
Trip Advisor probably pulled their blog because posters were getting out of hand. I never saw the blog so cannot really comment.
Writing stuff like I, I am bound to make enemies sometime. I try to tell is as it is.
Malicious posters usually start using the following words in connection with my name, ‘tabloid’, ’sleazy’ ’sensational’ News of the World’ and so on. I have pretty much worked the full gambit of British media, including for Panorama, World in Action, Observer (where I provided the launch film for their film arm), Times,Guardian, Telegraph etc. But then again I have also worked for the News of the World,and with the Mirror, Sun, and Fox TV as field producer. So people can take their pick! On the plus side it gives me a pretty good insight on how pretty much all the mainstream media works and my relationship with all is professional.
Furthermore I can live with it. It’s better than no reaction.
The News of the World (which seems to have lost the plot completely) and SUN have millions of readers, including I suspect most of my critics, who are all in denial. These newspapers have no pretentions as to what they are.
Of course for the last 20 odd years since I went on strike during the Wapping Industrial dispute I have really just worked for myself.
Andrew, you would know better than me, but there does not seem to be much publicity being given to the latest scam at the air port, 3 different people who have arrived very recently, have been accosted/confronted/threatened by men in similar clothing to the customs staff, “after” they have been through customs, and are out in the public area of the Bangkok airport. Baggage forcibly taken, trolleys commandeered,and with out any subtly, asked for money. With one lady, who was immediately petrified, gave what she had in her purse, and was left a nervous wreck. The men laughed as they counted their spoils, surely this must all be on camera, or do they do it in an area where they know it cannot be filmed. A Taxi driver whom i have used for nearly 20 years, told me not to leave the main area, near exit 3 until i see him, otherwise i may have trouble.It seems to be getting worse, if that is possible. KK.
Kevinkitch: Maybe they are Customs officers? Would appreciate more details either by phone or email.
Almost all legal systems, including Thailand, require the element of intent to be proven, even in a shoplifting case.
The airports of Thailand have been a stalking ground for crooks for as long as I can remember. A Japanese couple went to get a cheap unlicensed taxi to Bangkok and the wife was murdered and the husband left for dead, must be 20 years ago.
The Thai government feign indignation and offer all sorts of goodies to make up for it, but once it’s off the front pages, it’s business as usual.
You only have to walk out of International departures and hear the howling banshees screaming from over the road for Pattaya punters to see that the airport is barely under control, and Thais of ill repute can walk in and out of the arrivals lounge at will.
I’d rather just grab the overpriced AOT limo and be escorted out of the building, where I can have a smoke and get into my taxi at my leisure.
At least I know I’m not going to get ripped off.
AS for shopping in BKK airport, it’s mostly overpriced, and if I do by anything, I check the receipt before I leave (funnily enough, I was doing that before I read about the unfortunate “shoplifters”.
Thailand isn’t as bad as people make out if you have half a brain cell and realise you’re in a poverty-stricken foreign country.
Just one small comment, since other folks have said most relevant things already. In his last post, Chico said something about poverty-stricken. I would contend it’s not so much a poverty-striken country as a police-stricken country.
This is all very scary stuff. I live in Bangkok but pass through Suvarnhabumi airport once every 2 to 3 months for work. I have to admit that so far I have not had any problems, but this being Thailand you never know what might happen the next time.
The story of the customs officers approaching people once they have already cleared customs sounds familiar, and I’ve heard different versions. One is that it’s really officers who approach people who passed through the “nothing to declare” lane, but where they suspect they should have declared some goods. This is usually limited to people who carry such goods in plain sight, and in my opinion this is stupid (from the traveler), but legal.
I also know that there have been cases, with some arrests, of people posing as police and/or customs officials and shaking people down once they exit the terminal. The government seems to crack down on such things once in a while, but after some time the problem just comes back.
The fact that the taxi touts are still allowed to operate on the premises, and that in the baggage claim area it’s stated that the AOT taxis are the only official taxis even though the public, metered taxis are right outside, shows that the people running the show at the airport really don’t care what happens to the travelers, and just want to line their pockets with some extra cash.
To those who claim that the videos are conclusive proof that these people were rightfully charged, look again. The guy with the cigars, although stupid, isn’t looking at the counter when the box of cigars is placed on top of it. He’s packing whatever he just bought. When he looks up, he sees the cigars, and I can understand how he may have thought it to be a gift (like I said, stupid, but not unthinkable). The other footage where the lady supposedly puts the wallet in her handbag is far from clear. What I see on the footage is a woman adjusting the strap of her handbag. It’s impossible to tell if she’s still holding the wallet after that shot. The fact that the wallet was found in a garbage bin doesn’t help, as it could’ve easily been placed there by security if indeed a scam is going on. I’d like to see some footage of the wallet being dropped in the bin, but that’s not available, obviously…..
In my opinion this is not a KP scam. The cctv footage shows theft. The extortionist is the Sri Lankan who taught and convinced the local authorities or authorities wanna bees how to extort thousand and thousands of dollars they would not normally have had the nerve to do on such high dollar amounts being extorted.
Nobody Important: Edited. You have included stuff about Nigerian scammers, which although many of us are aware of is not really relevant to this post. Thanks.
You have a good point NP, but KP is like most companies here, taking the easiest possible way out. If people commit crimes against my visitors in my home, with perhaps the collusion of my family, servants and other guests, I would be in no small measure partly responsible. That is perfectly natural. That would not mean that I have to take all the guilt on my shoulders, but it might mean that I would have to review whether I was allowing the right people over my threshold and/or employing the right people. And perhaps I would also need to lay down a few rules over what I would and wouldn’t allow others to do once over the threshold. As Andrew says, there are perhaps more than 100 victims of this. Some may be guilty, some may not. There must be some doubt as to the shrewdness of KP’s security systems and policies toward their customers.
If I, as an individual, have to take such responsibilities - then it is not unreasonable to expect KP to act likewise. There is, unfortunately/fortunately, far more to retailing than just selling the product. Especially since ill-thought-out policies have a tendency to do immense damage to one’s image in the eye of the consumer. I would not expect many visitors to my house if I were turning a blind eye to the malign actions of others on the premises.
Thanks Old Snakes Head..I understand your point but nobody really knows the extent if any involvement of KP employees colluding with the Sri Lankan. I think the Sri Lankan can reach some of the employees. But I think a hundred or so shoplifters out of a million Farang visitors passing through the airport each year are quite reasonable numbers to expect and I suspect that most are guilty and as of now light is being shed at the proper moment when the Sri Lankin or others are possibly just starting to step up their game but with KP coming back so effectively with the proof against the shoplifters regarding these two high profile cases I strongly suspect the Sri Lankan has not gotten audience with upper management as far as colluding to commit extortion goes. Just my opinion. I have been out right ripped off at the airport before. One time by private taxi and the other by an established restaurant there, the waitress added a couple hundred baht on a bill that only cost a couple of hundred baht so I am a little aware and have some first hand experience getting ripped at the airport..
I’m not convinced those are acceptable numbers. But I suppose it will be interesting to see what percentage Andrew & others think might possibly be guilty.
Regarding the “scam” whereby incoming passengers have their possessions checked after passing through customs, the officials are actually officers from the Excise department (Samprasarmit). There is a makeshift area partitioned off from the greeting area where they work from. The Excise department is only interested in alcohol & tobacco not general merchadise or contraband like the customs dept.
Their modus operandi is to wear a wind breaker type jacket over their uniform while surreptitiously watching passengers exiting out into the greeting area. From what I have observed & been told it would seem that their main targets are those carrying duty free bags (especially from M.East airports like Dubai) and those that light a cigarette immediately after exiting the terminal.
The target is then asked (apparently fairly politely) whether they are carrying duty free goods & whether the officer can inspect their bags. I understand that they usually identify themselves as being Customs officers which isn’t true but I would guess that is because most people would probably not understand what the Excise department is. If found with more than their duty free allowance, the passenger is escorted to the aforementioned cubicle where negotiations take place. The penalties are extremely high, something like 10 times the applicable duties, taxes & VAT and an additional fine. Plus of course, confiscation of the goods.
This “scam” has been going on since the latter days of Don Muang. Whilst these people are smugglers & certainly not blameless there are two reasons why I find the methods used by the Excise department distasteful. The first is that the penalties are extremely high & together with the threat of imprisonment, most people will meekly hand over whatever cash is demanded. The second is that after hundreds of personal trips through Don Muang & Suvarnabhumi and countless hours spent waiting around for incoming passengers I have often witnessed customs, immigration, police & various military officers blatantly buying and carrying out huge quantities of alcohol & cigarettes. That doesn’t make smuggling an extra carton of cigarettes ok but it does pale in comparison with the obvious impunity with which connected people can do the same thing on a much larger scale.
I once asked my lawyer on what legal basis the Excise department was able to search people in a public area. He was unable to answer that and I didn’t pursue it but I do wonder how legal it really is. As far as I am aware, the police in Thailand are not able carry out random searches in a public place except in exceptional circumstances.
Anyway, if you insist on carrying a little bit more than your entitlement into Thailand, get rid of the duty free bag & don’t smoke until you are well away from the arrivals area.
King Power have now the video of Ashie Norris on the web btw
As grainy as that video is and such low resolution there could very easily been two items places on the counter side by side.
Maybe the clerk is in on it. Every once in a while they do not ring up something, the person does not realize it, and they get caught for stealing.
Two of the three CCTV clips appear to show that some kind of theft occurred, whether intentional or not, and the third lady admitted leaving the store without paying for an item.
One of the other two guys stated that the scam started after arrival at the police station, thereby implying he was not contesting the original accusation.
Seems that the issue here is not that King Power reported the incidents, but the way in thich the “victims” were taken to the cleaners at th police station. Nothing new here, this has always happened in Thailand when a foreigner has been accused of a crime, with the barest of evidence.
The CCTV clip published is definitely not showing anything that can point a finger at a theft from either of the victims… the Video s are running at a faster pace so that everything u see happens so fast its very difficult to say whats going on…and more over I am working for a CCTV manufacturing company and a the video of any recoding is played at a normal pace.. not in fast motion. and in the 1st place how did they manage to notice the theft? with this video there is nothing that can be pointed at either victim… this is a complete scam… definitely the staff at the counter, the security and the management is involved in this whole issue… So better be careful or not fly there at all… What can u expect from a land wher the streets are full of Women iding cocks between their legs? Scams from Birth….. lol
These scams at King Power have been on the internet for more than a year and there have been several letters about them to the Bangkok Post and the Nation over the past few months. In these instances the scam’s victims have usually been South Asians.
As someone who has been to Thailand at least 3 times a year for the past 26 years I have only ever been scammed by the police. But it was usually for 1 or 2 hundred baht not enough to make you complain. It was always petty things like ash dropping from your cigarrette in the street or smoking on a baht bus but the best was a police owned bar selling alcohol during an election day and the owner having you arrested and demanding 200 baht for a fine(this was after I paid my 2500 baht bill). Sometimes the Thais are just crazy. He got his 200 baht but lost someone who willingly spent 2500 baht in his bar and told all his mates to avoid like the plague.
Too many inconsistencies aren’t there?
Changed to outer clothing!. Their carry-on luggage doesn’t seem big enough for that.
Their cases were searched to try to find the wallet AFTER it was said that it had been found in a bin!!!
Being asked to do a re-enactment touching the wallet.
Looking for something about dead farang teak wallahs in a Chiang Mai graveyard, I happened upon this rather striking evidence of the hi-so world in which Vichai King Power lives. Loadsa’ polo farms, personal airstrips and good-looking Argentine fillies. Far more bling than Delboy Trotter, but about the same mentality by the looks of things. Doubt we’ll be seeing the Nelson Mandela Polo Estate anytime soon, though. All handed to him on a big plate (but under certain conditions no doubt) by a kindred free market spirit:
http://www.siampolonews.com/
thailand in general is a scam, myself and two friends cleared customs in bkk and were then prodded into a police station at airport and our cigerets (about 100) were taken off the three of us and we were fined £500 for bringing them in thailand.. they said phone embasy but you will pay or be locked up.. other countrys need to put pressure on thailand to stop us getting scammed.. i am 37 but think about it if this was your 70 year old mother.. this is shocking.