A Singaporean man’s solo getaway to Bangkok, Thailand, took a turn for the worse after he was scammed of over S$250 by a pair of strangers he just met.
Following the incident, he was left frustrated and had to rely on his credit card throughout his stay.
According to Shin Min Daily News, Mr Bai (name transliterated from Mandarin) arrived in Bangkok last Saturday (21 Feb).
The 47-year-old was approached by a man and a woman at a mall in the Ratchadamri district, and the trio struck up a conversation.
Source: SleepyChigo on Reddit
Upon learning of his nationality, the pair claimed they were planning a visit to Singapore and asked to see the Singapore dollar.
Without suspicion, Mr Bai took his wallet to show them his notes.
He noted that during the interaction, the man suddenly reached out to grab the wallet, Sin Chew Daily reports.
However, the attempt was unsuccessful, and the pair quickly left the scene. As such, Mr Bai did not give it much thought at the time.
“The man appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, in his 40s or 50s. The woman had very pale makeup and looked like she was in her 30s,” he said.
“After they left, an elderly woman approached me holding Thai baht, asking if the currency could be used in Thailand.”
“Looking back, I suspect they were all working together,” Mr Bai recounted.
After returning to his hotel, Mr Bai realised that seven 1,000-baht notes had been replaced with seven 100-baht notes.
The 7,000 baht (S$284) had been reduced to just 700 baht (S$28).
Source: Towfiqu barbhuiya on Canva, for illustration purposes only.
In a sense of frustration, Mr Bai reported the incident to the police that very night.
After filing the report, the police instructed him to take the report to the mall the following day to review the surveillance footage.
However, when Mr Bai returned to the police station on 23 Feb, he was informed that the officer in charge was on leave and could not accompany him to obtain the footage.
“I felt like they were just going through the motions, trying to delay until my trip ended and I returned home so the case would be dropped,” he said.
He pointed out that while he did not expect to recover his money, he hoped the Thai police would take action to prevent other tourists from suffering the same fate.
He admitted his mood was dampened, but he continued his four-day trip, relying on credit cards once his cash ran low.
Also read: 26-year-old S’porean dies in motorcycle accident in Thailand, believed to have skidded on wet road
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Featured image adapted from Towfiqu barbhuiya on Canva. For illustration purposes only.