Airport Scam

[khunstuart]

I just wnated to mention i do think its terrible what has happened too these people in regards of extortion. But did any of you see the video ////// power released of the British couple who were scammed. They can clearly be seen taking a wallet placing it on and shelf on the other side of the display, them the women picks up another object on that shelf and then places the wallet in here hand bag.Takes a thief to catch one in this case, only a 100 dollar wallet cast them allot more.my sympathy for them has gone after seing this if they had as much money as they calim to have been scammed for why not just by the thing.

[NamKhaeng]

Be warn of using your credit card at ////// Power duty Free!
My card was cloned thanks to the help of the staff of ////// Power. After returning home my card was used in Qatar for a small amount to test the card number but my bank blocked the card since about 1 hour earlier I used it in Canada. Visa did not want to tell me where my card was cloned, they only said it was in Thailand and since I only used my card at ////// Power I know where it was cloned.

[timjackelton]

They can clearly be seen taking a wallet placing it on and shelf on the other side of the display, them the women picks up another object on that shelf and then places the wallet in here hand bag.

Although I agree with your principal takes a thief to catch a thief

why not just buy the thing.

I congratulate you on this matter, but with respect the video is not conclusive as pointed out all the way back on page 5;

I have worked in retail and have caught and prosecuted thieves of all nationalities (including BRITISH and THAI). I have spent countless hours reviewing CCTV tapes.

In an English court when such CCTV coverage is presented as evidence "for" the prosecution, we generally replay it at a "normal" speed (not +20% time) and we are prevented from inserting red rings on the tape that may "highlight", obscure or mislead a magistrate or a jury.

The video supplied by ////// Power is inconclusive at best and attracts suspicion by it's format, speed and lack of resolution.

1. Although you can not apply English law in Thailand, I have to agree with pbeieio the video is not conclusive at all. The point is, the frame rate speed is very unusual indeed, the added red circle and then it suddenly speeds up, slows and speeds up again. The video has been "doctored: an English term for re-edited. I have analyzed this video at all speeds, and it is my view, many original frames have been omitted, very easy to do on any relative fast desktop computer. This style of editing causes the poor resolution submitted by ////// Power, it can also make someone look like they performed an action that they may not have done.

2. The ////// Power letter explaining events (a) they changed clothing (b) they did not sit together in a cafe and then (c) the wallet was not found in either suspects possession, then claimed to be put in a garbage bin. This story does not ring true for me as they were actually approached at the boarding gate whilst they were together. No fingerprint evidence has been provided (already pointed out by many forum members) and until this day no police comments on the progress of the promised investigation, zero, zilch or just plain nothing. This alone leads me to believe that some "big fish" at the airport are covering up something.

I have lived in Thailand long enough to know that something bad at the airport is happening and the government are reluctant to do anything about it as it may open a can of worms that they are not willing to make public.

Having said all of that above, I do not believe what some have been saying in other sections of the Bangkok Post that most Thais are corrupt. I am married to one and all my years of living here I have only contributed to the traffic cops favourite charity twice. I like villager and other members of this forum still prefer to live in Thailand than our home countries as for me the good things here far out weigh the bad so may be I too have become sanitised to the corruption that seems to be accepted in Thai society, that's the way it is and there is nothing much I can do about it.

Why I became so interested in this scam was purely because I can see the stupidity of this behaviour at the airport, (Thailand's primary international gateway for tourists) plainly just sickened me because I know how much damage this will do to the tourist industry, meaning the honest majority of Thais get hurt by the greedy few.

[bobbyd]

This will help!

Clear signs are needed at Suvarnabhumi airport so tourists know when they are leaving a shop's premises, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says.

The signs would prevent future conflicts between shoppers and duty-free staff, Mr Abhisit said yesterday.

Tourists have complained they have been falsely accused of shoplifting by duty-free staff because they did not realise they were taking goods from the shop premises, he said in his weekly public address.

Mr Abhisit visited the airport on Saturday to get first-hand information about problems at Suvarnabhumi.

The visit came after he promised on Thursday to clean up the issues affecting the airport's tourism image.

Other problems include dishonest taxi drivers, unlicensed tour guides and luggage theft.

The government was drawing up guidelines for agencies to implement, Mr Abhisit said.

His visit included a duty-free shop where a tourist recently complained he had been falsely accused by shop staff of stealing goods.

The shop staff told Mr Abhisit they had images taken from closed-circuit television cameras that prove the tourist had stolen the products.

Airports of Thailand Plc chairman Piyaphan Champasut, meanwhile, said 205 unlicensed taxi drivers and tour guides had been arrested and fined for operating illegally at the airport.

The arrests come as part of a crackdown implemented over the past week, Mr Piyaphan said.

AoT will also call a meeting with Bangkok Flight Services and Thai Airways International, the two contracted operators handling passenger luggage checking and transport at the airport, to discuss more measures to deal with luggage theft.

The measures will include cross-checks by AoT of luggage containers before they are transported to planes, to ensure nobody could steal passengers' belongings after they had been checked by the operators.

[timjackelton]

This will help!

Mr Abhisit visited the airport on Saturday to get first-hand information about problems at Suvarnabhumi.

Clear signs are needed at Suvarnabhumi airport so tourists know when they are leaving a shop's premises, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says.

The visit came after he promised on Thursday to clean up the issues affecting the airport's tourism image.

The government was drawing up guidelines for agencies to implement, Mr Abhisit said.

His visit included a duty-free shop where a tourist recently complained he had been falsely accused by shop staff of stealing goods.

The shop staff told Mr Abhisit they had images taken from closed-circuit television cameras that prove the tourist had stolen the products.

Wow a reaction at last, bobbyd are you working for Mr Abhisit? Only joking......I must have missed it, what is your source?

Did Mr Abhisit ask who this Tony guy was and what did he do with the bail money?

"Clear signs are needed at Suvarnabhumi airport so tourists know" where ////// Power is would probably not help their business!

Don't you just love the line "The government was drawing up guidelines for agencies to implement, Mr Abhisit said." Were there not any guidelines beforehand?

Oh yeah, now I feel more relaxed with the ////// Power shop staff telling the Prime Minister "the tourist had stolen the products." plural, unusual for Thais to use plural at the best of times, I thought the tourist was accused of taking one wallet.

Nope, I am not buying it just yet but it is a start in the right direction!

[bobbyd]

by timjackelton on Mon Aug 17, 2009 10:19 pm

Wow a reaction at last, bobbyd are you working for Mr Abhisit? Only joking......I must have missed it, what is your source?

Did Mr Abhisit ask who this Tony guy was and what did he do with the bail money?

I read it on the weekend in the Bkk Post or may have been in today's paper??

Don't know for sure the answers to your second question, however I imagine the bail money was divided amongst the players involved.

[timjackelton]

To bobbyd, oops found it ! My mistake

Airport shops to get clearer markings
Published: 17/08/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section BP,

Well that got through the system quickly, thanks for the post bobbyd now we know the source. Forgive me, for sounding a little coy, but it did read a little like a Mr Abhisit press office release.

[charliechang33]

Recently I purchased a perfume set from the ////// Power Duty Free at the airport,
it is a Hermes, Kelly set, with a bottle of perfume together with lotion set.
Upon arriving at my destination, presenting the gift to my guest,
suspiciously found the plastic wrap in the bottom of box was taped with scotch tape
instead of commercial seal, when opening, found the lotion was indeed missing,
left a big empty hallow hole in the gift box. Not to mention the embarrassment.....

I am pretty sure, it is not the Kind Power's intention to cheat,
I am very much sure, it is the "human factor", some crooked staffs have managed to stole part of merchandise....
well........knowing most of passengers will probably never fly back to complaint.

It shows the dishonesty and left a very bad taste at the gate of a nation.
All Thai must stand up and threw stones at the culprit.

[leila]

I have another story tell share. A friend emailed to me some times ago but not sure how true is it.


My Dept secretary informed on this. Her cousin was detained in Bangkok for stealing a box of cigarettes in a duty-free shop in Bangkok International Airport. He had paid for chocolates and a carton of cigarettes. The cashier put a packet of smokes into his bag and he thought it was a free pack. He was arrested for shop-lifting and the Thai Police extortion price was RM30,000 for his release. He spent two nights in jail and paid RM50 for an air-cond cell, 200-300 baht for each visitor, and RM11,000 for his final release.

The Police shared the money in front of his eyes. On top of that, he was charged in court and fined RM2,000 by the magistrate and handcuffed and escorted to his plane. His passport was stamped "Thief".While there, his relatives requested help from the Malaysian Embassy and was told that they are helpless, as M'sians are victimised similarly daily and letters and phone-calls to the Thai Authorities are ignored. He shared a cell with a Singaporean the 1st night who paid RM60,000 for his release. The 2nd night was an Indian national who paid USD70,000. Mind you this is not in a shack in downtown Bangkok but in a duty free shop in Bangkok's Int'l Airport.

BE WARNED.

OH, WOW!!! that really is injustice to the nth degree.

[critical]

I live in Thailand and travel a lot round the year to different countries. I for one, have stopped using the duty free for 2 reasons: First, as mentioned in this thread and second nothing on the airport duty free is cheap...you will find them cheaper on other airports on your way back to Thailand (example a JW Gold Label is more expensive on Thai duty free in comparison to HK or Singapore duty free).