News Forum - Court acquits final 3 accused in zero-dollar tourism case, citing insufficient evidence

[Thaiger]

The final 3 defendants in a zero-dollar tourism scam exposed in 2016 were acquitted by the Thai Supreme Court yesterday. The court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove the case against the 3. The zero-dollar tourism scam involved cheap package tours for Chinese tourists, who would be accommodated in cheap hotels, and taken to certain restaurants and on shopping tours where they were sold overpriced products. Thai PBS World reports that a network of operators, including hotels, restaurants, shops, jewellery stores, and coach services were all in on the scam, which was operated by the same group of […]

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[HolyCowCm]

Yeah yeah yeah. And who is this really protecting in the end? I am sure they could pull phone records and trace movements and actions of these operators. Even following the baht trail. So again, who is this really protecting?

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

36 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

Thai PBS World reports that a network of operators, including hotels, restaurants, shops, jewellery stores, and coach services were all in on the scam,

But cannot be named because they can sue under Thai law as no proof 

[Guest1]

No need, to name 'em. That are mostly the businesses with excessive sized bus parking areas on their private ground to accomodate (before covid) the fleed of package tourist every day. There is this fleet now parked, by the way. Also this technics is know for long in the western travel industry, called "Ai-packages". Or does anyone think, Ai-Hotel packages in the caribian, in Egypt or southern Africa are bringing a lot money in to that countries? Only what is needed, to run the operation there. If that cant be covered by the extras, people oay on site. Chinese have always been good, in cooying the west. Oh , Russian travel operations in Thailand, same same

 

[HolyCowCm]

12 minutes ago, AdvocatusDiaboli said:

But cannot be named because they can sue under Thai law as no proof 

It is pretty far reaching if you concider 2500 tour busses and countless of companies. Yes another news company's article states 2500 and points to countless of tour operators. It states the court says this is normal practice that these bus agencies rent out their services to agencies who engaged in tourism related activitities, and that infact no Chinese tourst was ever over charged, or how put which is even more classic, were not overpriced.. For CM, I know of many places that seemed set up just to cater or only sell to the Chinese tourists brought in by busses. Now closed but I would gather could pop up in an instant over night back into a store.

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

1 hour ago, HolyCowCm said:

For CM, I know of many places that seemed set up just to cater or only sell to the Chinese tourists brought in by busses.

But I wonder if they Bought only …. Made in China, sold in Chinese own stationary shop ….. Brown Envelopes, … only way to keep up the semblance of zero-dollar tourism case, But lost out as they would have had to pay a substantial amount in those Brown Envelopes to Thais. Or did Xi put his foot down and put the hard word on the Thai Government?