Man tries to bluff his way through Phuket checkpoint, police unravel ruse

Early yesterday morning, a man tried to bluff his way through a Phuket checkpoint by using his friend’s vaccination certificate to gain entry to the island and hopeful tourist paradigm.

However, the bigger problem wasn’t that man tried to gain entry into Phuket. The bigger problem was that man already had gained entry into Phuket using this bluff. Multiple times.

The man reportedly works as a delivery driver and was coming from Phang Nga. He was driving a gleaming white Toyota pickup truck. His alleged ruse was thwarted by the Karon Police Deputy Chief Somporn Suri. Sompron pulled the man over and put a stop to the (alleged) malfeasance.

The unnamed man had proffered his ID card which was marked with 2 stickers signifying he gotten 2 doses of a vaccine. Thai media reports that the man started acting nervous and suspicious. They then asked him to exit the vehicle to answer some questions.

The man then reportedly admitted he was not in fact vaccinated. He went on to say that he wanted to get into Phuket, but also did not want to pay for a test. So, he asked a friend if he could borrow their proof of vaccination stickers and pass them off as his own. Incriminatingly, the man also showed the Line conversation with his friend about the sticker exchange/Covid ruse.

The delivery driver also reportedly admitted that he had used this ruse multiple times before to get into Phuket. The method did not work this time and officers did not let him onto the island. They also contacted the man’s employer to let them know what their employee did. It was not reported if he, or his friend, face any other repercussions

SOURCE: The Phuket News