Chinese tourist tricked into purchasing 1.4 million baht counterfeit Hermes handbag in Bangkok

After being duped into purchasing a counterfeit Hermes crocodile leather handbag from a seller in Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong district, a Chinese tourist expressed frustration over the lack of a government agency to protect tourists’ rights.

The victim, 27 year old Deng, wife of a Singapore-based Chinese businessman, enlisted a lawyer to report the incident to the media yesterday, January 10. She recounted purchasing the 1.4 million baht bag on October 1 through the seller’s Instagram, only to have it deemed fake the next day by a Thai luxury goods authentication institute.

Despite multiple police complaints, the seller refused to refund the purchase price, instead offering to buy back the worthless replica at a 420,000 baht discount.

Through an interpreter, Deng, who had lived in Thailand for some time, lamented the lack of recourse for short-term tourists duped by counterfeit sellers, reported KhaoSod English.

She implored the country’s leaders to address the issue, worried it could discourage tourism and shopping.

“I would like to ask the country’s leaders to help in this matter. I am worried tourists experiencing what I did might be afraid to visit Thailand.”

In related news, Expressway Traffic Police officers reported a large black bag found on the outbound lane of Chaeng Watthana Road to Pak Kret Police Station, Nonthaburi on December 7.

The bag, discovered on the expressway, contained a camouflaged backpack filled with various types of ornamental gold, weighing no less than 100 baht. Officers could not immediately identify whether the jewellery was real or fake.

In other news, a 61 year old shopkeeper from Udon Thani suffered significant financial loss due to counterfeit banknotes. Buaphan Somsud filed a complaint with the local police station on November 23 after discovering someone had used 50 baht counterfeit notes in her shop’s top-up machine.

Buaphan, who owns a grocery store in the Ban Lao community, reported the incident to the Deputy Inspector of Udon Thani Police Station.