Phuket officials accused of extorting Thai women and their foreign husbands

Multiple Thai women accused officials at district offices in Phuket of extorting money from them and their foreign husbands. The alleged malpractice involves overcharging them between 3,000 to 8,000 baht for marriage certificates, a substantial increase from the standard 200 baht fee.

These complaints were brought to the attention of a Facebook news page called Phuket Info Centre, whose administrator shared the grievances with the public on November 21.

The first woman claimed that while she had not personally encountered the issue, she witnessed her friend and the friend’s foreign husband falling victim to corruption at the district office. Acting as a witness for the couple, she observed officials instructing them to pay 3,500 baht.

The witness further disclosed that the officials assured the couple an expedited processing, enabling them to bypass the regular queue and obtain the certificate later in the afternoon. In contrast, numerous netizens revealed having to endure waiting times of one to two months to secure their appointments.

She added that the officials also looked down on Thai women who also had foreign husbands.

Another Thai woman said that she and her foreign husband had visited the district office four times to make sure that all their documents were correct. She had all the necessary documents but an official told her that for some reason she could not sign the marriage certificate that day.

Show me the money

The official then offered her the option of paying 4,000 baht to get the marriage certificate. She said she had to pay because she did not want to waste more time and the flights for her husband were much more expensive.

The next Thai woman said she had also paid 3,000 baht for her marriage certificate. Officials told her that the process would be very complicated and slow if she refused to pay.

The last woman said that she and her foreign husband went through an agency to get the marriage certificate. The agency charged them an extra 8,000 baht saying the money was for the officials. The agency told her that it was expensive because the document would be signed off-site.

The woman said she was confused as she did not request to sign the document outside the district office. The officials made an appointment with them at a restaurant in front of the district office to sign the certificate. She added that the extra payment did not include the cost of food and drink she had to pay for the officials.

The Facebook page stated that the fee for issuing a house registration, death certificate and identity card was only 10 baht and that the cost of issuing a marriage or divorce certificate was only 200 baht.

The Facebook page urged the relevant department to clarify the matter for the public. Phuket authorities reportedly scheduled the press conference yesterday, but it was later cancelled.