Have we been scammed?
There was a story in The Times recently about a British couple who claimed they were scammed and falsely arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. There was a media outcry about the incident. The Times lead with:
A British couple who were falsely accused of shoplifting in Bangkok airport and were forced to pay £8,000 in bribes to secure their release are to take legal action for compensation.
More:
They were accused of taking a Givenchy wallet worth £121 from a King Power duty-free shop and were handed over to the police. An official release order from the local Thai prosecutor’s office subsequently conceded there was no evidence against them.
And yet King Power has posted up a video that shows what I’m fairly certain is the woman putting a purse in her bag and walking off with it. Watch the video and see for yourself. Assuming it is the same woman, and it does look like it, what the heck has happened?
Is anyone else confused?
July 10th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
News on another case with an Irishwoman and more details are here:
http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2009/07/05/irish-scientist-escapes-thai-airport-shoplifting-charge-in-flight-to-freedom/
July 25th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Even if they stole it (which I doubt), the incident is still corruption and extortion by the police, NOT legal system at work.
There are so many similar cases, that I somehow doubt this is anything else than extortion (I won’t say a scam — that’s too mild).