SURAT THANI - Police are hunting for a couple who used counterfeit 500-baht banknotes to pay for goods at local shops in Phunphin district on Tuesday.
Benjaporn Jindaruang, a 53-year-old grocer, said the couple arrived at her shop in a black Honda Civic car in tambon Tha Sathon in the morning.
A good-looking woman got out of the vehicle and ordered seven litres of petrol, which cost 210 baht. She paid with a 500-baht note and quickly left after receiving the change.
The grocer then checked the note and discovered it was fake. It did not bear a watermark or a real metal strip.
Mrs Benjaporn said the couple also bought 50-baht of vegetable oil at another nearby store. They also paid with a fake 500-baht note and drove away too quickly for the shop owner to catch them. although he tried to drive after them, she said.
Surat Thani police chief Apichart Boonsriroj said he had received reports of fake banknotes being passed in other areas and had ordered all local police stations in the southern province to be on the look out for the couple.