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2009-08-08 11:45:16
By Jonathan Head
BBC News, Bangkok
Bangkok's showcase new international airport is no stranger to controversy.
Built between 2002 and 2006, under the governments of then-Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, the opening date was repeatedly delayed.
It has been dogged by allegations of corruption, as well as criticism of the
design and poor quality of construction.
Then, at the end of last year, the airport was shut down for a week after being
occupied by anti-government protesters.
Now new allegations have been made that a number of passengers are being
detained every month in the duty free area on suspicion of shoplifting, and
then held by the police until they pay large sums of money to buy their
freedom.
That is what happened to Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin, two IT experts from
Cambridge, as they were about to board their flight to London on the night of
25 April this year.
They had been browsing in the duty free shop at the airport, and were later
approached by security guards, who twice asked to search their bags.
They were told a wallet had gone missing, and that Ms Lin had been seen on a
security camera taking it out of the shop.
The company that owns the duty free shop, King Power, has since put the CCTV
video on its website, which does appear to show her putting something in her
bag. However the security guards found no wallet on either of them.
Despite that, they were both taken from the departure gate, back through
immigration, and held in an airport police office. That is when their ordeal
started to become frightening.
Interpreter
"We were questioned in separate rooms," Mr Ingram said. "We felt really
intimidated. They went through our bags and demanded that we tell them where
the wallet was."
The two were then put in what Mr Ingram describes as a "hot, humid, smelly cell
with graffiti and blood on the walls".
Mr Ingram managed to phone a Foreign Office helpline he found in a travel
guide, and was told someone in the Bangkok embassy would try to help them.
The next morning the two were given an interpreter, a Sri Lankan national
called Tony, who works part-time for the police.
They were taken by Tony to meet the local police commander - but, says Mr
Ingram, for three hours all they discussed was how much money they would have
to pay to get out.
They were told the charge was very serious. If they did not pay, they would be
transferred to the infamous Bangkok Hilton prison, and would have to wait two
months for their case to be processed.
Mr Ingram says they wanted 8,000 ( about $13,000) - for that the police would
try to get him back to the UK in time for his mother's funeral on 28 April.
But he could not arrange to get that much money transferred in time.
'Zig-zag' scheme
Tony then took Ms Lin to an ATM machine and told her to withdraw as much as she
could from her own account - 600. He then withdrew the equivalent of 3,400
from his own account.
According to Mr Ingram this was then handed over to the police, and they were
both forced to sign a number of papers.
Later they were allowed to move to a squalid hotel within the airport
perimeter, but their passports were held and they were warned not to leave or
try to contact a lawyer or their embassy.
"I will be watching you," Tony told them, adding that they would have to stay
there until the 8,000 was transferred into Tony's account.
On the Monday they managed to sneak out and get a taxi to Bangkok, and met an
official at the British Embassy.
She gave the name of a Thai lawyer, and, says Mr Ingram, told them they were
being subjected to a classic Thai scam called the "zig-zag".
Their lawyer urged them to expose Tony - but also warned them that if they
fought the case it could take months, and they risked a long prison sentence.
After five days the money was transferred to Tony's account, and they were
allowed to leave.
Mr Ingram had missed his mother's funeral, but at least they were given a court
document stating that there was insufficient evidence against them, and no
charge.
"It was a harrowing, stressful experience," he said.
The couple say they now want to take legal action to recover their money.
'Typical' scam
The BBC has spoken to Tony and the regional police commander, Colonel Teeradej
Phanuphan.
They both say Tony was merely helping the couple with translation, and raising
bail to keep them out of prison.
Tony says about half the 8,000 was for bail, while the rest were "fees" for
the bail, for his work, and for a lawyer he says he consulted on their behalf.
In theory, he says, they could try to get the bail portion refunded.
Colonel Teeradej says he will investigate any possible irregularities in their
treatment. But he said any arrangement between the couple and Tony was a
private affair, which did not involve the police.
Letters of complaint to the papers here in Thailand make it clear that
passengers are regularly detained at the airport for alleged shoplifting, and
then made to pay middlemen to win their freedom.
The Danish Embassy says one of its nationals was recently subjected to a very
similar scam, and earlier this month an Irish scientist managed to flee
Thailand with her husband and one year-old son after being arrested at the
airport and accused of stealing an eyeliner worth around 17.
Tony told the BBC that so far this year he has "helped" about 150 foreigners in
trouble with the police. He says sometimes he does it for no charge.
The British Embassy has also warned passengers at Bangkok Airport to take care
not to move items around in the duty free shopping area before paying for them,
as this could result in arrest and imprisonment.
Here are a selection of your comments:
A similar system operates in Cambodia. Police arrest foreigners in the street
and you are contacted by someone who claims to have influence with the police
and judges and who asks for large sums for your immediate release, which
doesn't happen. I was even told at my friend's trial that the police would
provide witnesses of my friend's offence if more money was not immediately
provided. Even though there was no evidence against him and he was acquitted, a
large sum had to be paid to the prison authorities for his release. John Smith,
Doncaster, England
Two friends and I travelled to Bangkok 29 December 2008. We were really worried
about the situation there, as the airport had just been closed for some time
several weeks before. Aside being quite harassed by taxi drivers who wanted to
take us to hotels they no doubt received commission from, the experience wasn't
very trying at all. Connor, Chicago, IL, USA
Another scam at Bangkok Airport is when the Thai customs meet passengers off
airplanes from Dubai/Qatar where there is cheap duty free. The customs tell
passengers to put duty free items inside their check-in luggage when they take
it off the carousel - or they will be prosecuted for smuggling. They then tell
people that it will be OK not to show or declare any duty free items. When the
passengers reach the arrivals area, the customs pounce and you are arrested and
taken to customs head office at BANG NA and told to pay four times the duty or
go straight to jail. There is an ATM machine next door to the customs office.
Your goods are kept by the officers and they then pocket the money you have
paid them and you are free to go without any criminal record. Paul Grant,
London, UK
Same happened to me in April this year. The police arrested me and charged me
approx 400. There were 5 of us in our group, we purchased 1000 cigarettes at
Heathrow, but on leaving the plane at Bangkok the police approached me and told
me to keep them in one bag. I did as I was told, and that was the set up, so
when I got through customs with the other four people they arrested me and
would not accept what we told them. They took copies of my passport and made me
sign at least six documents, all in Thai. They would not give me copies so at
this moment I don't know what I signed. They escorted me to an ATM. I have been
in touch with the British consulate who asked me if I want to make a complaint
but I don't want to go to another country and find they have done something to
my passport. I will never return to Thailand again, it was the scariest time of
my life. Lynn Ward, UK