Chinese man arrested for offering illegal Pattaya travel on TikTok

Police officers arrested an illegal Chinese tour guide at Pattaya Floating Market on Thursday for illegally operating a travel agency and offering travel packages on the TikTok application.

Pattaya Tourist Police received a tip-off about illegal foreign tour guides from the Department of Tourism. The department reported that these foreign tour guides were taking foreigners, especially Chinese nationals, to multiple tourist attractions in Pattaya.

Tourist Police officers then monitored the illegal tour guide at Pattaya Floating Market on August 22 until the guide, later identified as a 41 year old Chinese man named Wang Hao, arrived with three foreign tourists.

Wang was seen taking the three tourists to buy tickets to the floating market and showing them around. Once his illegal activity was confirmed, police revealed themselves and arrested Wang.

During questioning, Wang admitted that he did not have a licence for his travel agency and did not have a tour guide permit either. He advertised his travel agency on TikTok and primarily contacted his customers via the WeChat app. He charged tourists 500 yuan, or about 14,500 baht, each for a six-day trip.

Wang was taken to Nongprue Police Station, where he faced three charges including:

• Section 8 and 101 of the Emergency Decree on Foreigners’ Working Management: working without a work permit. The penalty is a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 baht, deportation, and a ban on applying for a work permit for two years.
• Section 15 and 80 of the Tourism Business Act: operating a tourism business without a licence. The penalty is imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 500,000 baht.
• Section 86 of the Tourist Business and Guide Act: working as a tour guide without a permit. The penalty is imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both.

In a related report, a Thai bus industry group called on the government to take action as Thai transport companies are struggling with the cut-rate prices of Chinese bus companies. Long-stay foreigners were also found to be working illegally as drivers, taking job opportunities from locals due to officials’ inaction.