Tourism News

Tourism News Phuketwan Tourism News
facebook recommendations

NEWS ALERTS

Sign up now for our News Alert emails and the latest breaking news plus new features.

Click to subscribe

Existing subscribers can unsubscribe here

RSS FEEDS

Robert Oakly, happy to be heading off Phuket after a ''rock-star'' holiday

Tourist Attacks ATM And Wins Card Back

Monday, May 7, 2012
PHUKET: For Robert Oakly, a New Zealand tourist, the holiday on Phuket started to go pear-shaped about 4am this morning.

It was about then that the ATM machine outside a branch of the Bangkok Bank in Kata, a west coast beach destination on Phuket, declared he had failed at his third attempt at a transaction.

The machine announced it was keeping the card. But Robert Oakly had a plane to catch. He was heading off on a flight home later today.

What to do? In Mr Oakly's case, the solution appeared to be simple: rage against the machine. In need of recovering his card before his flight, he took to the ATM with a rock.

However, the rock didn't work as effectively as he'd hoped. People nearby heard the noise, called police, and he was arrested virtually rock-handed.

After a lot of talking at Chalong Police Station in southern Phuket and negotiations with the bank manager, Mr Oakly found himself no longer caught between a rock and a hard place.

In the deal, he paid the bank 22,000 baht for damage to the ATM. And in exchange, he got his card back.

It is not known whether Mr Oakly, 55, was also supplied with a new PIN number to complete the transaction.

But he did manage to pack his bags at Best Western Ocean Phuket Resort, where police took the photo above, and catch his flight off Phuket.

Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

gravatar

I can understand his frustration ... BUT I think he was lucky to get off so lightly.

Posted by Logic on May 7, 2012 21:35

gravatar

Pardon my pedantic moment Ed. but you appear to be suffering from RAS syndrome. ATM machine = Automated Teller Machine machine and PIN number = Personal Identification Number number. What is RAS syndrome you ask? Why it's Redundant Acronym Syndrome syndrome of course. :)

Posted by Joe on May 8, 2012 00:11

gravatar

Where did he get the 22,000 baht, withdrawn from the ATM with a non-working card?

Posted by stevenl on May 8, 2012 07:09

Editor Comment:

You don't need a PIN to transfer funds, only to get cash.

gravatar

Costly exercise 22,000Baht which could have led to a jail sentence. After the second attempt he should have taken the card and returned to the bank when it opened with his Passport and if everything was OK proceeded with a manual withdrawal via a cashier. Very lucky he was not detained pending a trial and sent to jail for criminal damage presumably caught on CCTV.

Posted by Adam on May 8, 2012 13:07

gravatar

Editor Comment:

You don't need a PIN to transfer funds, only to get cash.
In a bank transaction, yes but if this was ATM..[was it?]
How? both my banks,as soon as you put in the card you then first up have to enter PIN before any transaction can occur..

Posted by davidj949 on May 8, 2012 17:51

Editor Comment:

I guess the ATM didn't figure in his transaction with the payment to the bank, just as ATMs don't figure in payments for goods and services.

gravatar

if you go into a bank with your Passport (not sure if the same for Thai nationals) and your card you can withdraw cash if funds are available. The name on the card I presume will need to match your Passport. I have done this with no problem.

Posted by Adam on May 8, 2012 21:36

gravatar

if only a tuk tuk driver was there wanting fare payment from the withdrawal.
threatened with a 3 foot iron bar the ATM would have given back the card.

Posted by traveller on May 9, 2012 01:17

gravatar

Having discussed this with my wife, our nine-year-old son and an aging Labrador, we came to the unanimous decision that there was no alcohol involved. Case dismissed.

Posted by Sam W on May 10, 2012 18:15

gravatar

Same happened to me in China, but got the card back next morning from the bank. Now I always travel with 2 bank cards and my Visa card and if I lose them I can always go online and use Western Union to send myself some money.

Posted by Wayne on February 21, 2013 21:15


Wednesday October 9, 2024
Horizon Karon Beach Resort & Spa

FOLLOW PHUKETWAN

Facebook Twitter