PHUKET: A British man has been tricked into going to a Phuket police station where he was arrested for overstaying his visa and now faces further investigation for fraud.
The man, Paul Christopher Ridden, 58, is also allegedly in debt to the British tax office for 20,000 pounds and likely to be arrested the minute he sets foot back in Britain.
An Australian named Dennis lodged a complaint with police in the southern district of Chalong yesterday but Mr Ridden was not at his home when officers visited.
Today the police organised for a friend to telephone Mr Ridden and call him to Chalong police station to sign some papers on his friend's behalf.
When Mr Ridden responded to the ruse, Colonel Boonlert On-Klang was waiting.
''I looked at his passport and discovered that his visa expired more than 90 days ago,'' Colonel Boonlert said.
Mr Ridden will face court tomorrow as police continue their investigations. Dennis the Australian has alleged he paid Mr Ridden 70,000 baht to have his visa renewed and for other services that were not disclosed immediately.
Overstayers who have been on Phuket for this length of time illegally usually spend time in Bangkok Detention Centre before being sent home.
Mr Ridden is likely to be greeted on arrival by welcoming British tax officials.
The man, Paul Christopher Ridden, 58, is also allegedly in debt to the British tax office for 20,000 pounds and likely to be arrested the minute he sets foot back in Britain.
An Australian named Dennis lodged a complaint with police in the southern district of Chalong yesterday but Mr Ridden was not at his home when officers visited.
Today the police organised for a friend to telephone Mr Ridden and call him to Chalong police station to sign some papers on his friend's behalf.
When Mr Ridden responded to the ruse, Colonel Boonlert On-Klang was waiting.
''I looked at his passport and discovered that his visa expired more than 90 days ago,'' Colonel Boonlert said.
Mr Ridden will face court tomorrow as police continue their investigations. Dennis the Australian has alleged he paid Mr Ridden 70,000 baht to have his visa renewed and for other services that were not disclosed immediately.
Overstayers who have been on Phuket for this length of time illegally usually spend time in Bangkok Detention Centre before being sent home.
Mr Ridden is likely to be greeted on arrival by welcoming British tax officials.
So the guy was accepting 70,000 baht from people to (presumably illegally) renew their visas somehow by acting as some kind of agent, yet his own visa had expired 90 days earlier? I swear you couldn't make up some of the shenanigans that the expats on this island get up to.
Posted by Bartholomew on September 6, 2011 19:15