BANGKOK, 13th April 2017 – The Prime Minister has ordered that the perpetrators of a recent travel scam that duped 600 people into buying fake budget tickets to Japan be brought to justice.
According to Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, has ordered her to enforce legal penalties against all those involved in the incident, due to the severity of the damage.
The ministry is putting together a campaign to raise awareness of con artists and other criminals, as well as their methods, in order to prevent these cases from recurring.
On Tuesday, an estimated 600 Thai tourists were left stranded at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, after they were conned into a deal including a trip to Osaka, Japan. The travelers eventually discovered that the Osaka-bound chartered flight did not exist. They claimed they paid a company 9,730 baht for their imagined trip.
Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office Omsin Chiwaphruek, who is also in charge of the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB), disclosed that the company, WealthEver, had registered with the Department of Business Development as a Nakhon Sawan-based business for the import and export of beverages. However, its real business was selling dietary supplements. He encouraged people to report suspicious businesses on the OCPB hotline 1166.
