Victims seek bogus voucher case progress

Victims seek bogus voucher case progress

A woman shows accommodation and travel vouchers that she bought which turned out to be fake. About 60 scam victims mostly from Chon Buri province lodged complaints with the Central Investigation Bureau on Monday. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)
A woman shows accommodation and travel vouchers that she bought which turned out to be fake. About 60 scam victims mostly from Chon Buri province lodged complaints with the Central Investigation Bureau on Monday. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)

Victims of a fake travel voucher programme on Monday submitted a letter to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) commissioner asking him to follow up on their complaints about their invalid bookings in Pattaya.

Lawyer Rachapon Sirisakorn and 60 fraud victims went to the CIB to file the letter with Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, informing him that their case, stemming from a complaint with the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD) and Pattaya City Police Station in February, has not made progress.

The CPPD is under the command of the CIB.

Pol Col Thinattakon Wattanasaengprasert, superintendent in charge of investigations at the CPPD, said officers have been questioning victims and witnesses in the case.

They plan to collect evidence to send to court to obtain arrest warrants if the travel agency that distributed the vouchers is suspected to be involved in a scam, he said.

One victim said travel vouchers were bought from the travel agency Colour Ocean Group, which promised five-star services for villas, restaurants, squid-fishing trips and sightseeing spots in Pattaya.

However, in November, the vouchers were rejected by most hotels and restaurants because the travel agency had not paid for the services, victims said, adding that the agency has refused to issue refunds.

About 700 people signed their names in a petition over the matter but the number of victims is estimated to be more than 10,000.

Mr Rachapon said the police have not issued any summonses or made any arrests even though the complaint was filed in February.

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