BRITAIN'S Foreign Office is reported to be reviewing its travel advice for Thailand amid fresh media coverage of a Bangkok airport scam and the ''harrowing ordeal'' of an Irish traveller.
In another blow to tourism in Thailand, the Irish newspaper the Kilkenny People relates the experience of Dr Angela Norris and adds that it ''should serve as a warning to people travelling there.''
Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and its British counterpart are reviewing their travel advice for their countries' citizens in Thailand.
Dr Norris, 41, who went to Thailand to address a conference, told Irish media she was surrounded by security guards as she left the duty free section at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
''They were shouting at me: 'You! You! You go jail six months,'' Ms Norris told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
She was accused of the theft of an eyeliner, taken to the airport police station then to Rajatewa police station near the airport, where she was detained overnight ''in filthy conditions.''
Released on bail, her passport was retained by Thai authorities - and when she went to Immigration police to retrieve it, she was arrested again, the newspaper reports.
''What is happening here is outrageous and needs to be exposed. It's a national scandal,'' said her husband, Ronan Loftus, who was forced to fly to Thailand to help his wife escape the ordeal.
The family did not disclose the amount of money that had to be paid, but a pair of British tourists revealed recently that they were forced to pay 9400 pounds for their own release after being held by an airport gang in Bangkok.
That couple, Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin, were also falsely accused of shoplifting in the airport.
The newspaper reports that the British Embassy subsequently issued a warning to people travelling to Bangkok: ''You should be careful to observe demarcation lines between shops and stalls, particularly in market areas and at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
''Taking items from one shop's area to another is likely to be treated by shop staff as suspected theft. You may be arrested by the police and asked to pay a substantial fine and/or face imprisonment.''
Many tourists from Europe bound for Phuket come and go via Bangkok.
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In another blow to tourism in Thailand, the Irish newspaper the Kilkenny People relates the experience of Dr Angela Norris and adds that it ''should serve as a warning to people travelling there.''
Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and its British counterpart are reviewing their travel advice for their countries' citizens in Thailand.
Dr Norris, 41, who went to Thailand to address a conference, told Irish media she was surrounded by security guards as she left the duty free section at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
''They were shouting at me: 'You! You! You go jail six months,'' Ms Norris told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
She was accused of the theft of an eyeliner, taken to the airport police station then to Rajatewa police station near the airport, where she was detained overnight ''in filthy conditions.''
Released on bail, her passport was retained by Thai authorities - and when she went to Immigration police to retrieve it, she was arrested again, the newspaper reports.
''What is happening here is outrageous and needs to be exposed. It's a national scandal,'' said her husband, Ronan Loftus, who was forced to fly to Thailand to help his wife escape the ordeal.
The family did not disclose the amount of money that had to be paid, but a pair of British tourists revealed recently that they were forced to pay 9400 pounds for their own release after being held by an airport gang in Bangkok.
That couple, Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin, were also falsely accused of shoplifting in the airport.
The newspaper reports that the British Embassy subsequently issued a warning to people travelling to Bangkok: ''You should be careful to observe demarcation lines between shops and stalls, particularly in market areas and at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
''Taking items from one shop's area to another is likely to be treated by shop staff as suspected theft. You may be arrested by the police and asked to pay a substantial fine and/or face imprisonment.''
Many tourists from Europe bound for Phuket come and go via Bangkok.
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Phuketwan Phuket News
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5 years here, and its beginning to make me sick!
Posted by Sean on July 9, 2009 17:12