Durian scam: Street vendor gets seven years for scale trickery

A woman in Chumphon province has been caught red-handed and faces severe consequences after duping customers with a rigged scale at her roadside durian stall.

The scandal unravelled when a suspicious customer, who purchased two durians weighing 16 kilogrammes for 1,640 baht, discovered a significant discrepancy upon shipping the fruits to their mother. The actual weight turned out to be a mere 11.68 kilogrammes. Outraged, the customer reported the fraud to the Department of Internal Trade.

Undercover officers swiftly took action. They visited the vendor’s stall and observed her using a modified digital scale. This cunning device had black tape strategically placed to obscure the weight and unit price, leaving only the total price visible to the buyer. This trickery misled customers into believing they were getting their money’s worth.

Further investigation revealed multiple violations of the Weights and Measures Act. The vendor was using an uncertified scale, a scale with inaccurate readings, and had tampered with the equipment, reported Pattaya Mail.

Her fraudulent activities didn’t stop there, she was also charged under Article 271 of the Criminal Code, which deals with fraud and carries a hefty penalty of up to seven years in prison and a fine of 280,000 baht.

In related news, a Thai woman is creating a buzz on social media after posting videos and pictures of herself selling durian in a bikini on a roadside in the northern province of Kamphaeng Phet.

The sexy 22 year old durian vendor sparked controversy on Thai social media two years ago for wearing a bikini while selling the fruit. Some netizens complained that her appearance, not the quality of the product, was the reason for her success.

In other news, a heated confrontation at a durian stall led to a dramatic arrest in Samut Prakan when a disgruntled man drew a gun in a threat of violence.

The incident, which was captured on CCTV, occurred around 7.10pm on Wednesday, May 8, when the man approached the stall after arguing with a woman across the street.