Theerarak
Suthathiwong
Despite city hall pledges to crack down on Pattaya’s
scurrilous jet ski rental industry, tourists continue to fall victim to
scammers with a group of Ukrainians taking the latest beating from
extortionists.
Police were called to the beachfront near Welcome
Plaza hotel in South Pattaya Dec. 8 to find two female and one male
20s-age Ukrainians arguing with Sorayut Je-mad, 34, and Nattapoom
Poomnok, 25. The two Thais were demanded the Ukrainians pay about 78,000
baht for alleged scratches to jet skis they rented in front of the Royal
Garden Plaza.
When they refused to pay, the two allegedly grabbed
one of the women by the neck and forced them back to their hotel by
holding two of their friends hostage. Refusing to release the two people
they “detained” until their fee was paid, the Thais only ended up facing
the police after the victims contacted another Ukrainian friend.
Sorayut denied to police there was any physical
assault, that the Ukrainians had agreed to the 78,000 baht fee and
voluntarily left their friends at the beach while they went to retrieve
the cash. Police demanding to see the alleged damage were told the jet
skis had already been moved to a garage.
The “helpful” police officers involved “negotiated”
the price down to just 10,000 per each of the three jet skis, sticking
the Pattaya tourists with a 30,000 baht bill for supposed paint
scratches and a bad memory of Pattaya they’re sure to tell people back
home about.
The jet ski vendors were set free to find new
victims.
