Aug 7, 2009
Bangkok airport scam
The Thai government has vowed a crackdown at Bangkok's scandal-plagued Suvarnabhumi Airport.
BANGKOK - TRAVELLERS to Thailand have braved a variety of hazards in recent years but foreign governments are now warning about a new and different one: duty-free shopping at the airport.
BRITAIN and Denmark have updated their online travel advice to warn that Suvarnabhumi's sprawling duty-free zone has hard-to-detect demarcation lines between shops and patrons should not carry unpaid merchandise between them.
British couple Stephen Ingram, 49, and Xi Lin, 45, technology experts from Cambridge, took the alleged scam public in late June. Their ordeal was pieced together based on accounts from police, airport and embassy officials and an interview the couple gave to British media. The couple was approached by airport security before boarding a flight to London on April 25 and told that security cameras showed they had taken a Givenchy wallet.
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Several European tourists say they were falsely accused of shoplifting at the Thai capital's main airport and some recount being taken to seedy motels where they were shaken down for thousands of dollars by a shady middleman.
A British couple paid the equivalent of US$11,000 (S$15,799) to secure their release five days after being accused of stealing a Givenchy wallet that was never found, say police, who along with airport authorities deny any wrongdoing.
The Thai government has vowed a crackdown at Bangkok's scandal-plagued Suvarnabhumi Airport, which has barely recovered from last year's public relations disaster when anti-government protesters shut it for a week and stranded 300,000 visitors. The airport opened in 2006 and has been dogged by corruption allegations, taxi touts with 'broken meters' and baggage thefts - prompting a recent order for luggage handlers to wear uniforms without pockets. But the allegations of extortion take things to another level.
'We are quite concerned about this,' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Vimon Kidchob said on Thursday. 'The government of Thailand is doing everything we can to ensure the safety of tourists.'
It's hardly the image the self-proclaimed 'Land of Smiles' wants to project, particularly as Thailand's vital tourism industry faces its worst crisis in years after political instability, the global financial crisis and swine flu scares.
The scandal has spawned lengthy chatter on travel blogs about other scams to watch for in Thailand and a string of overseas travel advisories on the perils of duty-free shopping in Bangkok.
Ireland is warning its nationals to 'be extremely careful' when browsing at Suvarnabhumi (pronounced 'sue-WANNA-poom').
'We have received reports that innocent shoppers have been the subject of allegations of suspected theft and threatened that their cases will not be heard for several months unless they plead guilty and pay substantial fines,' says an Irish government travel advisory. It tells shoppers to keep receipts to avoid 'great distress.'
The advice was posted after a 41-year-old Irish scientist, who was visiting for an international genetics symposium, was accused of stealing Bobbi Brown eyeliner June 25. The embassy declined to discuss details of her case. -- AP
Bangkok airport scam
The Thai government has vowed a crackdown at Bangkok's scandal-plagued Suvarnabhumi Airport.
BANGKOK - TRAVELLERS to Thailand have braved a variety of hazards in recent years but foreign governments are now warning about a new and different one: duty-free shopping at the airport.
BRITAIN and Denmark have updated their online travel advice to warn that Suvarnabhumi's sprawling duty-free zone has hard-to-detect demarcation lines between shops and patrons should not carry unpaid merchandise between them.
British couple Stephen Ingram, 49, and Xi Lin, 45, technology experts from Cambridge, took the alleged scam public in late June. Their ordeal was pieced together based on accounts from police, airport and embassy officials and an interview the couple gave to British media. The couple was approached by airport security before boarding a flight to London on April 25 and told that security cameras showed they had taken a Givenchy wallet.
... more
Several European tourists say they were falsely accused of shoplifting at the Thai capital's main airport and some recount being taken to seedy motels where they were shaken down for thousands of dollars by a shady middleman.
A British couple paid the equivalent of US$11,000 (S$15,799) to secure their release five days after being accused of stealing a Givenchy wallet that was never found, say police, who along with airport authorities deny any wrongdoing.
The Thai government has vowed a crackdown at Bangkok's scandal-plagued Suvarnabhumi Airport, which has barely recovered from last year's public relations disaster when anti-government protesters shut it for a week and stranded 300,000 visitors. The airport opened in 2006 and has been dogged by corruption allegations, taxi touts with 'broken meters' and baggage thefts - prompting a recent order for luggage handlers to wear uniforms without pockets. But the allegations of extortion take things to another level.
'We are quite concerned about this,' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Vimon Kidchob said on Thursday. 'The government of Thailand is doing everything we can to ensure the safety of tourists.'
It's hardly the image the self-proclaimed 'Land of Smiles' wants to project, particularly as Thailand's vital tourism industry faces its worst crisis in years after political instability, the global financial crisis and swine flu scares.
The scandal has spawned lengthy chatter on travel blogs about other scams to watch for in Thailand and a string of overseas travel advisories on the perils of duty-free shopping in Bangkok.
Ireland is warning its nationals to 'be extremely careful' when browsing at Suvarnabhumi (pronounced 'sue-WANNA-poom').
'We have received reports that innocent shoppers have been the subject of allegations of suspected theft and threatened that their cases will not be heard for several months unless they plead guilty and pay substantial fines,' says an Irish government travel advisory. It tells shoppers to keep receipts to avoid 'great distress.'
The advice was posted after a 41-year-old Irish scientist, who was visiting for an international genetics symposium, was accused of stealing Bobbi Brown eyeliner June 25. The embassy declined to discuss details of her case. -- AP
