Counterfeit banknotes creating alarm

CRIME

The public can bring charges against shops that refuse to accept 1,000 baht banknotes for fear they might be counterfeit, police say.

Deputy Metropolitan Police chief Pol Maj-Gen Amnuay Nimmano said yesterday people who are issued counterfeit notes by ATMs can also file charges against banks with police.

Banknote forgers would be liable to life imprisonment and people who knowingly pass fake notes face one to 15 years in jail, he said.

The police chief spoke out after reports that many vendors were refusing to accept 1,000 baht banknotes from customers and that people were choosing to withdraw less than 1,000 baht from ATMs at each transaction, to avoid receiving 1,000 baht banknotes.

Twatchai Yongkittikul, secretary-general of the Thai Bankers Association (TBA), said the public should not panic about fake notes.

"There is no problem about receiving counterfeits from ATMs," he said. "All banks check banknotes before they put them in ATMs."

He said even though the number of forgeries had increased, there were still relatively few in circulation.

The TBA would monitor the situation and call a meeting with its members to develop a strategy if the problem became any worse, he said.

Bangkok Bank, the country's largest bank, said it was training counter tellers to check banknotes carefully, especially 1,000 baht notes. The number of counterfeits increased significantly over the festive season.

Giant retail stores report finding fake notes in many provinces. If there is doubt about a note's authenticity, clerks ask customers to pay with another note. Machines to check watermarks on notes have also been installed in toll booths.

Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Preawpan Damapong has ordered police to track down the forgers and distributors.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, counterfeiters were arrested in two districts with phoney 500 and 1,000 baht notes.

In Nan's Chiang Klang district, Nim Ganpai, 50, went to make a 4,500 baht deposit to pay her bank loan, only to be told one of the 1,000 notes was counterfeit.

She said she received the note when she sold a cow two months ago.

In Tak, 1,000 baht notes were not being accepted at the border market in Mae Sot district after counterfeits were found. The fake notes were so similar to real notes that some were said to have been deposited at banks.

"I have changed my payment method and now use an ATM to transfer funds, or a cheque. It is so hard to check if the notes are real," said Tak chamber of commerce president Suchart Treeratwattana.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, Namphon Songklang, 40, a butcher at Mae Kim Heng market in Muang district, said when customers pay in 1,000 baht notes, vendors get together to help inspect them. If the note is deemed to be fake, they detain the person and alert police. Some vendors had earlier phoney notes.

In Trat, customs officers are watching for fakes, but because of staff constraints search people only if they look suspicious.

People are allowed to take no more than 200,000 baht out of the country at a time.