Tour company director arrested, another on the run

PHUKET: Police arrested a senior director and shareholder of Tranlee Travel Co Ltd today for allegedly faking two Thai national ID cards used to register the company. Another director is on the run.

“Kritchakorn Roongmongkolnam, one of the company directors, surrendered today. The other, named Weerachai Kampaiprapankul, is still on the run,” said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Saman Chainarong.

Officials from the Phuket Provincial Police, the Revenue Department, the Phuket Business Development Office (BDO) and others visited the company offices this afternoon. The company’s financial documents are also being examined in detail.

“We cannot confirm their nationality yet, but we know that they are not Thai. They managed to obtain fake ID cards in Chiang Rai. The investigation has been ongoing for months now,” Col Saman said.

Tranlee Travel Co Ltd is a well established full-function tour service provider in Phuket. It is one of the largest tour providers on the island with 17 companies under its umbrella.

“We believe that the two directors hold more than 51 per cent of the company’s capital and we are working to prove that,” Col Saman said.

“Another issue highlighted during the investigation is tax collection. The company earns more than 160 million baht annually, but their financial records show more than 150 million baht in expenses. This amounts to only a few million baht of income, and thus only a few hundred thousand baht in taxes. This is very suspicious.”

Further charges may be pressed if more evidence is found, said Col Saman.

In 2014, the company came under fire from about 100 Thai guides who protested outside their offices for allegedly hiring illegal Chinese tour guides (story here).

— Kongleaphy Keam