PATTAYA – Two tour guides were arrested for allegedly assaulting and threatening a Chinese family that refused to buy an expensive package-tour option.
Chaitoon Sroisaeng, 25, and Liu Longzhe, 58, of tour operator Thai Chang Chue, were taken into custody by Tourist Police Division officers July 12. Both were charged with assault and Chaitoon for working illegally as a guide.
The arrest came after the unidentified family of four filed a police report that they were attacked for refusing to purchase an additional tour option costing 11,000 baht each.
The family had been picked up at Suvarnabhumi International Airport by the pair and shown around Bangkok before being taken to Pattaya. There they were told that to continue their tour, they needed to pay 2,200 Chinese yuan each, or 10,900 baht. They refused.
Liu then allegedly warned the family they would not be safe if they did not pay up. The next day the threats continued and Liu allegedly hit family members with a hard object wrapped in a towel.
The family likely came to Thailand on an outlawed “zero-baht tour” where mainland travelers can visit the kingdom for little or no money, but then are hit up for additional options once they have arrived.
The government claims it shut down such tours, but incidents such as these continue to surface. In June, six Chinese tourists were abandoned in Pattaya by their guide after refusing to buy “extras” not included in their low-cost package.
