Thailand News Airport Gates Fire Investigation and Romance Scam
Faster Immigration at Bangkok Airport
Thailand‘s making headlines again today. Faster immigration at Bangkok Airport, even more tragedy following the deadly beer hall fire, a frightening hotel security mystery, and foreign bikers discovering that Thai traffic laws really do apply to everyone. While an online romance proves very expensive indeed. Bangkok’s main Suvarnabhumi Airport is preparing to expand its automated passport control gates to travelers from another 31 nationalities by the end of August in another attempt to cut those sometimes daunting immigration queues.
With close to 70,000 international arrivals passing through each day, peak periods can still see considerable congestion. The expanded auto gate system should allow many more passengers to clear immigration without waiting for a traditional passport desk. The rollout will be introduced in stages depending on system readiness and whether travelers have compatible passports and biometric information available. Some visitors who have previously entered Thailand and already have biometric details recorded may be able to use the gates immediately.
Airport officials also plan to redirect passengers away from heavily congested immigration zones towards quieter areas while putting additional immigration officers on duty during the busiest arrival periods. So perhaps not quite goodbye to airport queues, but hopefully a little less time spent staring at the back of somebody else’s head after a 12-hour flight.
Thailand Beer Hall Fire Death Toll Rises
Some very sad news as two more victims of last month’s devastating beer hall fire have died in hospital taking the death toll to 41. 10 people remain hospitalized with four still receiving intensive care. So sadly, there remains concern that the final toll could rise further.
Investigators have blamed problems including electrical wiring and unsuitable materials for allowing the fire to spread rapidly above the suspended ceilings. As we reported yesterday with the death of a young off-duty police officer, smoke inhalation has been a major factor for some of those who initially survived the blaze but suffered serious internal injuries as well as burns. There has as yet been no clear announcement regarding compensation from the venue owners or their insurers.
Songkhla Hotel Room Security Investigation
In Songkhla, police are investigating a rather frightening complaint from a 34-year-old woman who says a man managed to open the door of her hotel room at around 4:00 in the morning. The woman was staying at a well-known local hotel when, according to her complaint, an unknown male guest began banging on her door before somehow managing to unlock it. Fortunately, she’d used the internal safety chain, which apparently prevented him from actually entering.
Understandably terrified, she called hotel staff who discovered that the man was staying in a neighboring room. Initially, it was suggested that he’d simply returned to the wrong room by mistake, which might explain trying the wrong door, but doesn’t explain why his key apparently opened it. The woman alleges that something similar happened more than once.
Hotel staff did not initially call police, so she subsequently made her own formal complaint and is seeking legal action over alleged trespass. Police are now investigating exactly what happened, and presumably one of the first questions for the hotel will be how one guest’s key could apparently open somebody else’s room.
Thai Police Traffic Enforcement for Foreign Riders
Meanwhile, a group of Malaysian motorcyclists have been left rather red-faced after complaining on social media about their treatment by Thai police in Hat Yai. The group of 17 riders claim they’d been stopped, issued with 15 tickets by a single officer, delayed for around 3 hours, and treated so badly that they vowed never to return. Senior police checked, and apparently that wasn’t quite how it happened. Authorities say several officers were involved, and nine tickets, not 15, were actually issued. Some motorcycles reportedly had modified flashing rear lights, while others had exhaust systems suspected of exceeding legal noise limits. Police say proper sound meters were used to check the exhausts, while riders were required to visit the police station to present documentation.
Authorities insist the riders were neither mistreated nor targeted because they were foreigners. So, the message is fairly straightforward. Thailand welcomes touring motorcyclists, but your exhaust doesn’t necessarily need to announce your arrival three villages in advance. And that’s particularly relevant here in Pattaya, where police have released the results of another weekend roadside operation following repeated complaints about foreign riders racing through residential areas during the early hours. Residents, particularly around South Pattaya, have complained about groups of mainly young foreign men riding noisily and irresponsibly, often without helmets. During the latest checks, police recorded five cases involving no helmet, 14 involving riders without a driving license, and another five involving motorcycles with incomplete or illegal equipment.
High-speed riding through populated areas in the middle of the night poses an obvious danger to pedestrians and other road users, and police say enforcement will continue. Over in Huai Yai, east of Pattaya, something positive has emerged from an otherwise dreadful story. Russian residents joined local villagers, teachers, and the village headman to present a thank you basket and words of encouragement to the local police chief following the rapid investigation into the deaths of two Russians and members of a Thai family. The crimes themselves shocked the community, but residents say the tragedy has unexpectedly brought Thai and foreign neighbors closer together. It’s a bond born from grief, certainly, but locals say there is now a noticeably stronger sense of community and cooperation between people who previously may simply have lived alongside one another without really knowing each other.
Online Romance and Marriage Dowry Scam
And finally, proof perhaps that online romance doesn’t only catch out foreigners in Thailand. A local administrative official apparently fell head over heels for a teacher he’d met through a dating site. After barely a month of romance, marriage was already being discussed. Friends say she was beautiful. He was perhaps somewhat surprised by his good fortune, and apparently he wasn’t particularly keen to risk letting this one get away. There was, however, the matter of the sinsod, the traditional Thai marriage dowry.
She reportedly wanted 300,000 baht. Our love-struck official didn’t have it, so he borrowed the money, including some from a relative. And then came the slight complication. She was apparently already married to a naval officer. And in another twist, the husband reportedly claims he’d been having problems of his own and wanted a divorce, saying he’d also lost around 100,000 baht during the relationship. The woman had allegedly been presenting herself online as young, single, and very much available.
A charitable organization has now become involved and believes there may be grounds for a fraud complaint while efforts are being made either to recover the man’s money or pursue the matter further. So, there you are. Love may indeed be blind, but before borrowing 300,000 baht to marry someone you’ve known for 4 weeks, perhaps it’s worth checking whether they’ve already got a husband.
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