A Thai guide and an illegal Chinese guide have been arrested for cheating a Chinese tourist caught littering in Pattaya by altering the receipt after paying a littering fine for him.
China's Jiang Yuhang, 35, and Thai tour guide Udom Sia Yia, 39, were arrested on warrants issued by the Pattaya provincial court on Tuesday for colluding to falsify official documents.
The Chinese man was also charged with working as a tour guide without a licence or work permit. Mr Udom was charged with allowing an unlicensed person to use his tour guide licence.
Tour operator Wicharn Promwichai, an executive at the travel agency Thai How Are You, was also arrested and charged with hiring an illegal tour guide and hiring a foreign national with no permit to work, police told a news briefing on Wednesday.
Their arrest follows a complaint by a male Chinese tourist that the duo reportedly cheated him. They showed him a receipt for payment of a littering fine with the figures altered from 2,000 baht to 3,000 baht. He was required to pay it.
A photo of the altered receipt was posted on PattayaWatchdog Facebook page, and the pair were heavily criticised.
The tourist, Yu Jianmin, filed a complaint with tourist police and immigration officers at Suvarnabhumi airport after returning from Pattaya on Monday. Mr Yu accused the two guides of cheating him over the size of the fine.
He admitted he had dropped a cigarette on the ground at Laem Bali Hai pier in Pattaya on Oct 5.
An official saw it, charged him with littering in a public place and said he would take him to the Pattaya city office to pay the fine.
The Chinese guide intervened, saying the tour boat was about to leave and he should give his passport to Mr Udom, who would handle payment of the fine. When the boat returned to the pier later, Mr Udom gave him back the passport and a receipt with the figures altered to show 3,000 baht.
Mr Yu said when he questioned the amount, Mr Udom said that in the event a passport was taken, the fine would be 5,000 baht, but he had negotiated it down to 3,000 baht. The tourist was not convinced and wanted to file a complaint with Pattaya police. The two guides tried to talk him out of it.
The tourist filed a complaint with tourism police and immigration officers at the airport on Monday. Pattaya police then searched for the accused.