A glorious act of philanthropy

PATONG: Any person whose face matches a photocopy of one of the passports seized in Haad Yai last week can claim 10,000 baht and a handwritten chit to reclaim the passport in Bangkok from a man waiting on Thaweewong Rd. Clutching his belt pouch tight, the philanthropist, who identified himself only as “Mr May”, said he will give 10,000 baht to any person whose face matches one of the passport photocopies. He told Gazette reporters yesterday that he will also give them a document that will enable them to collect their passport from Bangkok. The Gazette understands that those whose passports were seized paid only 2,500 baht for the dodgy service, so it appears that the charitable Mr May is not only covering the initial fee but also, remarkably, expenses. Immigration Chief Pol Col Apirak Hongtong denied any knowledge of Mr May, saying, “I don’t know of, nor have I heard of, any such person. He is probably an agent for the [immigration officials] who broke the law. “No one who has had his passport seized can get it back this way. The person must go to Immigration in Bangkok, where he will have to go through formalities and questioning before getting his passport back,” he added. Mr May declined to say how long he’ll be in Patong, so hurry – if your face matches, you could be a winner.