Clean-up at Bangkok airport
24th July 2009
Thailand’s government has ordered a crackdown on illegal activities at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport.
The move follows the false arrest and imprisonment of a British couple in April. Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin from Cambridge were arrested for allegedly stealing a Givenchy wallet worth £121 from an airport shop.
After being questioned by police, the couple were then taken to a run-down motel on the perimeter where they were asked for £8,000 ‘bail money’ by a Sri Lankan interpreter known as ‘Tony’. Their passports were confiscated.
They sneaked out one day and took a taxi to the British Embassy in the city, where officials told them they were the victims of a scam.
However, they transferred the money to Tony’s account, their passports were returned to them and they received a document saying no charges would be brought against them.
Reports from Thailand say many travellers from around the world have fallen victim to this scam at Suvarnabhumi.
Ingram and Lin’s decision to go public with their story seems to have spurred the government into action. The couple have said they are willing to return to Thailand to press charges against ‘Tony’ and the police.
As well as a crackdown on the extortionists, the authorities are also clamping down on unlicensed taxi drivers and accommodation touts preying on new arrivals.
Thailand’s tourist industry has suffered a bad year, with violent anti-government protests and a sit-in at the airport in April leading to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to advise against travel to Bangkok.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has been reported as saying that visitor numbers are at their lowest for 49 years.
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