Tourist trap: Fake guides from Vietnam rob compatriots in Thailand

A Vietnamese man faces legal punishment after he and his friends posed as tour guides to trick Vietnamese victims into travelling to Thailand and later robbing them, causing over 1 million baht in damages.

The theft occurred at a rented house in Soi Sukhumvit 101 in the Phra Khanong district of Bangkok at around 11.30am on August 21 of last year. The Vietnamese complainant, Tran, and his friends reported to Phra Khanong Police Station officers that they lost cash and mobile phones, valued at over 1 million baht, to the Vietnamese thief named Nong and his gang members.

According to the victims, Nong and other members pretended to be tour guides and offered a package to Vietnamese nationals who wanted to travel in Thailand.

The victims booked the service from the gang and arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on August 16. Tran and his friends then rented the house where the incident took place as their accommodation.

On the day of the incident, Nong and seven other gang members broke into the rented house and threatened the victims with knives.

The gang forced the victims into one room, restrained them with handcuffs and chains, and physically assaulted them. The gang then demanded each victim hand over their cash and mobile phone.

During the theft, Tran’s friend visited him at the house and called him at the front door. The thieves noticed the visitor and immediately fled the scene with the stolen belongings. Tran’s friend came to the victims’ aid and later took them to Phra Khanong Police Station to lodge a theft complaint.

After the incident, all of the Vietnamese suspects fled Thailand illegally via the border crossing point at the Second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge in the Isaan province of Mukdahan on August 26 last year.

Police officers closely monitored the arrival of the gang members until they detected that one of the suspects, Nong, had returned to Thailand and was hiding at accommodation in the central province of Samut Sakhon. Officers then travelled to the location to arrest Nong.

Nong was charged under Section 340 of the Criminal Law: conspiring with three or more people to commit theft and using a weapon to commit the crime. The penalty is imprisonment for 12 to 20 years and a fine of 240,000 to 300,000 baht.