Chinese tour firm employees nabbed
Romantic Samui Co ‘owes more than B3m’
SURAT THANI: Two Thais and one Chinese national have been arrested for allegedly serving as nominees for a Chinese-owned tour firm accused of cheating businesses on Koh Samui out of 3 million baht.
The three men — Somsak Burutchart, Patthaphol Ratbundit and 42-year-old Chinese national Liu Xiaofei — are the executive officers of Romantic Samui Co, based in Koh Samui district, Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau.
He was speaking during a news conference yesterday at Bophut police station where the trio were caught.
Ten tourist businesses operating on Koh Samui and other areas in Surat Thani on July 23 complained to Col Chalermchai Liangsakun, head of the national peacekeeping team on the island, that Romantic Samui Co, a Chinese firm, brought tour groups from China and had refused to pay bills totalling more than 3 million baht after using their services.
The firm used local services such as speedboats, rental vehicles, and hotel rooms on Koh Samui and Surat Thani.
When the Chinese groups arrived at Koh Samui or Surat Thani airport, the firm would send them to local operators who provided services on credit. Among the victims were five speedboat operators.
The Chinese firm would use the services of one speedboat operator until its credit line was exhausted and then switch to another operator. When it was time to pay, the firm refused, they said.
Pol Maj Gen Surachate said when these local operators faced a cash-flow problem, they complained to the police.
A Chinese woman, identified as Chanyan Ren, 42, who owns Romantic Samui Co had fled the country, leaving two Thai executives and one Chinese national in charge. The men refused to pay the debts.
Pol Maj Gen Surachate said an investigation found that the two Thais who previously worked as employees of Romantic Samui Co recieved monthly salaries of 10,000 baht. The tour firm was registered this year with capital of 100 million baht. Investigators have tracked the money trail and tax payments of the firm.
“Running a business like this (by using Thais as nominees) is rampant in tourist provinces such as Phuket. If we let them operate, safety standards will collapse.
“So, we have to join hands with neighbouring countries to intercept such operations, which do damage to our country. This is the first case that shifts focus from zero-dollar tours to use of Thai nationals as nominees to run a tour business in Thailand,’’ Pol Maj Gen Surachate said.
Mr Somsak confessed to having known Ms Changyan since 2014. The Chinese woman had appointed them as executives of Romantic Samui Co in February this year and he was paid 30,000 baht a month plus a promised year-end dividend.
He told police he was not aware that he was being used as a nominee by the Chinese-owned tour firm. He thought he was a mere shareholder.
He could not afford to pay the debts run up by the firm because all revenue had been transferred to the firm’s owner.
Bophut police have charged the three suspects with being hired as nominees and an arrest warrant has been issued for the absconding Chinese woman, Pol Maj Gen Surachate said.