Three Brits still in Phuket jail

PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Court has denied bail to a British family charged with bank fraud after they were caught using counterfeit cards to withdraw more than 100,000 baht from a Kasikorn Bank ATM in downtown Phuket City.

Lt Col Chakaphol Suchon of Phuket City Police Station told the Gazette that the three suspects are still being held at Phuket Provincial Prison awaiting their next court appearance.

Suspects Mark Hubert Veerasawmy, 44, his son Sonny, 19, and Jennifer Anne Chapman, 31, were arrested on February 18 after an alert citizen notified police that the father and son were behaving strangely. (Click here for the Gazette‘s original report.)

The three, described by police as a family, have refused to give any details about how they obtained the fake bank cards, except to say that they bought them off a man named “Peter”, Lt Col Chakaphol said.

Finding the elder Mr Veerasawmy’s testimony unconvincing, investigators will continue to seek further evidence in the case, he said.

“Their request for bail was denied by the court, which cited the possibility that they would flee the country if released,” Lt Col Chakaphol added.